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 U.S. Government Accountability Office (February/March 2008) Conflicting requirements under No Child Left Behind are preventing some struggling schools from getting the financial help to boost achievement, according to this Government Accountability Office report. The law calls for states to devote 4% of Title I funding to turning around high-poverty, low-performing schools. But another overriding rule prevents states from using the full amount in schools with the most serious problems if that means cutting funding from other school systems. Instructional Time in Elementary Schools: A Closer Look at Changes for Specific Subjects Center on Education Policy (February 2008) Most of the nation's elementary schools have added at least 75 minutes of instruction time in reading and math each week since the enactment of No Child Left Behind, but many did so by skimming the time from the teaching of science, social studies, the arts, recess and physical education. The findings in the analysis offer further evidence that NCLB has led to sizeable shifts in the curriculum The Evidence Suggests Otherwise. The Pangloss Index: How States Game the No Child Left Behind Act EducationSector (November 2007) This nonpartisan, non-profit, independent think tank has released this report that contends states are gaming the system - manipulating statistics to make their schools appear better than they really are - under the federal No Child Left Behind Act. In Need of Improvement: NCLB and High Schools Alliance for Excellent Education (June 2007) In 2001, when the president's proposal for a significant expansion of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 was introduced and later debated, and ratified by Congress, very little attention was being paid by policymakers, the national education community, or the public to the nation's high schools. In fact, President Bush's original 28-page proposal for ESEA reauthorization only mentioned the term "high school" twice. As the law comes up for reauthorization in the 110th Congress, much more is known about the crisis in America's high schools and the need for an appropriate federal role as part of a national solution. Implementing the No Child Left Behind Teacher Requirements Center on Education Policy (August 2007, posted November 2007) This report (scroll down to fourth entry) examines how states and school districts have implemented No Child Left Behind's teacher quality requirements. Has Student Achievement Increased Since No Child Left Behind? Center on Education Policy (June 2007) Since 2002, the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) has spurred far-reaching changes in elementary and secondary education, all aimed at accomplishing the same fundamental goal - to improve students' academic achievement. As the Congress prepares to reauthorize the Act, two related questions matter most: 1. Has student achievement in reading and math increased since NCLB was enacted? 2. Have achievement gaps between different subgroups of students narrowed since NCLB was enacted? This report attempts to answer those questions. Scroll down to find the report. How Educators in Three States (Georgia) Are Responding to Standards-Based Accountability Under NCLB The Rand Corp. (June 2007) According to this three-year study, majorities of elementary and middle school science and math teachers in all three states (California, Georgia and Pennsylvania) report in surveys that they are making positive changes in the classroom by focusing on their states' academic standards or searching for better teaching methods. At the same time, though, sizeable percentages of educators are also spending more time teaching test-taking strategies, focusing more narrowly on the topics covered on state tests, and tailoring teaching to the "bubble kids" -- the students who fall just below the proficiency cutoffs on state tests. (This is a Research Brief. Rand charges for the full report.) Recommendations for Reauthorization of No Child Left Behind Education Trust (April 2007) This Washington-based research and advocay group has studied the No Child Left Behind Act that is up for reauthorization later this year. Here are their recommendations on what needs to happen. It Takes a Parent: Transforming Education in the Wake of the No Child Left Behind Act Appleseed (October 2006) This national network of public interest law centers, has published this comprehensive evaluation of parent involvement in public schools, with special attention to the No Child Left Behind Act. The report finds districts, federal officials and state policymakers all need to expand their efforts to ensure both that NCLB's parent provisions are followed and that parents are enlisted as key resources in reducing achievement gaps and helping all students succeed. Georgia Partnership President Dr. Steve Dolinger is quoted in the Executive Summary. Click here for a press release and here for the full report. Smart testing: Let's Get It Right - How assessment-savvy have states become since NCLB? American Federation of Teachers (July 2006) This report argues that half of the more than 800 high-stakes state tests given to satisfy No Child Left Behind don't appear to line up with the states' academic standards, raising basic questions about using such assessments to judge schools, students or teachers. One aspect of the problem, the report says, is the quality of the standards themselves. Here's the report. No Child Left Behind Act - States Face Challenges Measuring Academic Growth (Testimony before the House Committee on Education and the Workforce) Government Accountability Office (July 2006) According to this report, carefully-constructed growth models can help meet No Child Left Behind's goal of getting the nation's students to academic proficiency, but states face technical hurdles in creating models that work. Read it here. Educational Architects: Do State Education Agencies Have the Tools Necessary to Implement NCLB? Center On Education Policy (May 2007, posted July) The second report in a series of CEP publications on the implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act examines the capacity of state education agencies to carry out the requirements of NCLB. (Scroll down and click on left side - NCLB, then scroll down to locate the report.) |
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