Purpose: As the federal government has retreated from taking a dominant role in encouraging implementation of common K–12 standards, states and districts have moved to fill this education policy vacuum. This study aims to understand how state and district leaders are navigating this new policy environment. Research Methods/Approach: Drawing upon 47 interviews with state and district administrators conducted in 2016 and 2017, we used deductive coding based on a policy attributes theory to examine the co-occurrence of codes for specificity, consistency, authority, power, and stability. Throughout this process, we assessed interrater reliability through paired coding, research team discussions, and recoding to uncover broad themes. Findings: We identify the concept of “smart power” as a ubiquitous mechanism that leaders are utilizing to balance buy-in (authority) and accountability (power). We find that this balance remains precarious and highly dependent upon local political contexts. Smart power can allow for more thoughtful and sustainable implementation strategies that increase teacher support for these policies—or it can become a rhetorical device without substantive change. Implications: We reveal the enduring appeal of accountability policies even when administrators express reservations about falling back on the legacy of No Child Left Behind. These findings hold broad relevance for the implementation of K–12 standards moving forward, particularly as states consider how to build legitimacy and buy-in toward new and revised standards-based policies in the wake of the pandemic.

中文翻译：

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不让一个孩子掉队后标准实施中的“智慧电力”

目的：随着联邦政府不再在鼓励实施通用 K-12 标准方面发挥主导作用，各州和地区已开始填补这一教育政策真空。本研究旨在了解州和地区领导人如何驾驭这种新的政策环境。研究方法/方法：根据 2016 年和 2017 年对州和地区管理人员进行的 47 次访谈，我们使用基于政策属性理论的演绎编码来检查代码的共现性、一致性、权威性、权力和稳定性。在整个过程中，我们通过配对编码、研究团队讨论和重新编码以发现广泛的主题来评估评价者之间的可靠性。发现：我们将“智能权力”的概念确定为领导者用来平衡支持（权威）和问责（权力）的一种无处不在的机制。我们发现这种平衡仍然不稳定，并且高度依赖于当地的政治环境。聪明的权力可以允许更深思熟虑和可持续的实施策略，增加教师对这些政策的支持——或者它可以成为一种修辞手段而没有实质性的改变。启示：我们揭示了问责制政策的持久吸引力，即使管理人员对回归“不让一个孩子掉队”的遗产表示保留意见。这些发现与向前推进 K-12 标准的实施具有广泛的相关性，特别是当各州考虑如何在大流行之后建立合法性并接受新的和修订的基于标准的政策时。