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June 6, 2007
Causality between student gains and NCLB unclear, but not to Dept. of EdThere's much buzz in Washington about a new report released yesterday by the Center on Education Policy that showed state test scores in reading and math have gone up since 2002 when NCLB was passed, and that the achievement gap between white and minority students appears to have narrowed. Read all about it here in the Washington Post.
The report looks at student achievement (aka test scores) since the passage of NCLB but does not attempt to attribute the rise in test scores to NCLB. Despite that, the U.S. Department of Education was quick to ride the report's coattail, issuing statements about NCLB's positive effect on student achievement. If Secretary Spellings had read the report, she would know that the authors of the CEP report specifically cautioned against drawing a cause-and-effect conclusion between test score trends and NCLB. It's good news that test scores are up, but to hastily attribute the cause in order to score political points is irresponsible.
Although NCLB was signed into law in 2002, its effect was not likely felt until much later. Consider when it was passed, states had to redesign their accountability and assessment systems to comply with the law. In fact, half of the states to date--after five years of implementation--are still not in compliance, according to ED's own review. Standard setting and realignment are not easy tasks that can be done in a few weeks.
Many states also completely overhauled their assessment systems; while others continue to make changes to theirs over the years, making comparison of test scores from year to year difficult if not impossible. The report also identifies other limitations such as sketchy data and changes in testing rules over the years. It suggests that increased student learning or teaching to the test can be reasons for the rise in test scores.
NSBA agrees that NCLB definitely has an effect on teaching and learning, but how much it impacts student achievement is too difficult to gauge now given the law is still relatively young. Perhaps the more appropriate question to ask now is whether NCLB is using the right accountability tools to measure school performance. For example, CEP's report found that the achievement gaps between white and black, white and Hispanic and low-income and more affluent students have narrowed in Florida over the study period. However, under NCLB's accountability system, the number of Florida schools not making adequate yearly progress continue to climb, with many going into the punitive restructuring phase.
NSBA does not believe NCLB is currently measuring school performance accurately, and has made 40 some recommendations to Congress to correct the flaws. We need to know how students are doing after NCLB, but reliable achievement data are hard to come by when the accountability framework used to measure schools are flawed.
Posted June 6, 2007 5:43 PM | No Child Left Behind
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