Education Week (you may have to register for full access) recently offered several articles on NCLB. Putting the information together, it appears that NCLB has raised average performance, but has not benefited more able students.
I have come to think of NCLB in terms of trade-offs rather than improvements. Math and language arts scores may rise, but students have fewer experiences with art or social studies. The focus on avoiding test failure comes at the cost of less interest in improving the performance of those most capable. These are not improvements when one takes a broader perspective. Present policies do not “move every child forward”.
Ironically (I guess this is irony), the GF Herald reported today that more children in North Dakota are being left behind. Every school my children attended (elementary through high school) made the list for not meeting AYP. For the record, I think my kids received a high quality education. Unfortunately, if they were still in school, the data indicate NCLB would mean that their talents would be less rather than more likely to be developed.
Tags: nclb
