June 2008 — News
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NEA: Test Scores Improving in Spite of NCLB
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Have reading and math scores improved since the enactment of NCLB? In some cases yes, according to a study released this week by the Center on Education Policy (CEP). But according to the report's authors, the results do not indicate cause and effect. And, according to the National Education Association (NEA), any improvements in student test scores may have come in spite of NCLB rather than because of it.
The report, Has Student Achievement Increased Since 2002?: State Test Score Trends Through 2006-07, examined state test data and National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) through 2007. What it found were the following for states that had adequate data to study:
- At the elementary level, 21 states showed "moderate to large gains" in math for students scoring at or above a level deemed proficient, and 17 made such gains in reading;
- At the middle school level, 22 states showed similar gains in math, 14 in reading; and
- At the high school level, 12 states showed similar gains in math, eight in reading.
The report also indicated that achievement gaps between groups of students (economic, racial) have in many cases narrowed in the period since NCLB's enactment. But CEP was quick to note that it has not established a causal relationship between NCLB and improvements on test scores or in the narrowing of achievement gaps.
According to CEP, "It is impossible ... to determine the extent to which these trends in test results have occurred because of NCLB. Since 2002, many different but interconnected policies and programs have been undertaken to raise achievement and close achievement gaps – some initiated by states or school districts on their own, and some in response to federal requirements. Other possible explanations for increased test scores and narrowed gaps include, among others, districts and schools devoting more instructional time to reading and math, and students and teachers becoming more familiar with the content and format of state tests."
