The problem addressed by this study is the impact of the current high-stakes accountability policy on the work of teachers, and whether this impact has created an environment of intensification. Research has shown that intensification manifests itself in teachers' feeling a loss of autonomy, a de-professionalization of their working environment, and a loss of technical skill in their teaching practice need citations.

A total of 246 high school teachers from a single district responded to a 24-item web-based survey regarding teachers' perceptions of instructional and curricular autonomy, professionalization, and workplace elements associated with intensification. Based on their responses, four findings emerged. First, teachers felt that they possessed both instructional and curricular autonomy and that they were afforded the freedom to employ their own professional expertise. Second, teachers felt that publisher-supplied curriculum and administrative guidelines influenced their decision making more than did test results or accountability policies. Third, the teachers did not experience their environment as one of job intensification. Fourth, core academic teachers (those who taught English language arts, mathematics, social science, and science) indicated the presence in the school environment of some elements related to intensification: A loss of professional autonomy, pressure to focus more on what is urgent in the classroom than what is needed, and pressure to sacrifice quality of instruction for quantity.