NAEP results are in and you are likely to encounter a discussion from most news outlets (see NY Times article – I knew open access to the NY Times would be useful). Really short version – math scores are up a little, reading results are mixed, various political groups interpret differently (NCLB may be good or it may be misdirected).
If you are interested in NCLB, I would offer Volume 44, No.3, American Educational Research Journal as suggested reading. This is a special issue on NCLB and there are several analyses to review. I would suggest the following (my bias is obvious in previous posts) – Hursh, D. (2007). Assessing no child left behind and the rise of neoliberal education policies. AERJ, 44, 493-518.
One short quote from the conclusion (p. 514):
…, I strongly suggest that the exams used to assess schools have increased the number of high school dropouts. They have no made curricula more rigorous, and neither have they closed the achievement gap …
