ABSTRACT
This article argues that, although No Child Left Behind (NCLB) is not presented as a jobs policy (Bush’s slip during a Presidential Debate being the only place it is given such a moniker), the Act does function as a substitute for the creation of decently paying jobs for those who need them. Aimed particularly at the minority poor like its 1965 predecessor the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, NCLB acts as an antipoverty program because it is based on an implicit assumption that increased educational achievement is the route out of poverty for low-income families and individuals. NCLB stands in the place of policies like job creation and significant raises in the minimum wage which-although considerably more expensive than standardized testing-would significantly decrease poverty in the U.S.A.
