A valid concern facing School districts within the state of Ohio, as well as across the country, is situated around methods to increase student performance on standardized high stakes tests and achieve the requirements of the mandated No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Law. Simultaneously, school districts are confronting a multitude of challenges to decrease the impact of student suspension and expulsion within school cultures and comply with local policies such as the Zero Tolerance Discipline Policies. The contextualization of both the local Zero Tolerance Discipline Policy and the national NCLB mandate in relationship to standardized high stakes testing and the impact of the two upon one another define the purpose of this qualitative study. This study investigated the systematic methods in which K-12 faculty in an urban school district responded to the sometimes conflicting testing mandates of complying with NCLB and the Zero Tolerance Discipline Policy. The rationale was to use critical theory to examine education faculty's opinions, perceptions, and strategies involving the implementation of: (1) locally mandated Zero Tolerance Discipline Policies; (2) nationally mandated standardized high stakes testing laws; and (3) how both policy and law can be counterproductive to one another. The information discussed and the findings of this study have implications for legislatures, superintendents, administrators, teachers, students, parents, intervention specialists, state agencies and researchers. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]