The purpose of this study was to examine teachers' current and retrospective perceptions of empowerment within the context of the No Child Left Behind Legislation. Much of the empowerment research to date was conducted prior to the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act which was signed into law in January, 2002. The legislation mandates that K-12 public educators meet specific accountability measures by 2014, including Adequate Yearly Progress requirements for students in reading and mathematics. Although most educators agree that the intent of the legislation is positive, since implementation of NCLB, anecdotal and empirical research indicate that many educators are voicing frustration (Centolanza, 2007; Honawar, 2007; Jones, Jones & Hargrove, 2003; Koppich, 2005; National Education Association (NEA), 2007). Additionally, empirical research indicates that there is a relationship between teacher empowerment and two school characteristics, AYP status of schools (Coble, 2007; Koppich, 2005) and school level (Coble, 2007). Therefore, it is important that consequences of current school policy decisions be examined to ascertain their impact on the stated beliefs of teachers with respect to their feelings of empowerment across these two factors. Through the use of a survey, open-ended questions and interviews, the questions that my research addressed are: (1) Do teachers' perceptions of empowerment differ across school level and the AYP status of schools? (2) Do teachers report changes in perceptions of empowerment since implementation of NCLB, if so, what do teachers report to be the factors contributing to these changes? The findings indicate that elementary school teachers' perceptions of Autonomy are greater for teachers in schools meeting AYP than those in schools that have not. Also, elementary school teachers have greater perceptions of Decision Making opportunities and Self Efficacy than middle school teachers. This research contributes to the existing body of empowerment research by reconfirming previous findings regarding teacher empowerment, AYP status of schools and school level. It also contributes to our understanding of teachers' perceptions of empowerment as the 2014 NCLB accountability date draws near. [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.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]