New Report Examines Students Since 'No Child Left Behind' Passed

The controversial Bush-Administration policy "No Child Left Behind" (NCLB) seems to have secured its place in line for an overhaul during President Obama's tenure in the White House.

National Education Secretary Arne Duncan said last week that, "Many teachers complain bitterly about NCLB's emphasis on testing. Principals hate being labeled as failures. Superintendents say it wasn't adequately funded. And many parents just view it as a toxic brand that isn't helping children learn." NCLB, signed by George W. Bush in early 2002, requires students to be measured primarily through standardized testing. States are required to set their own standards, and failure to show progress in reaching those goals can result in a decrease of federal funding. According to Duncan, the biggest problem with NCLB "is that it doesn't encourage high learning standards. In fact, it inadvertently encourages states to lower them. The net effect is that we are lying to children and parents by telling kids they are succeeding when they are not." The study from the Center for Education Policy focused on fourth-grade math and reading scores. As the Christian Science Monitor found, the study found that all subgroups "made more gains than declines at all three achievement levels – basic, proficient, and advanced. In particular, gains were made in math. The most noteworthy gains were for Latino students scoring at or above proficient in math: Ninety-five percent of the states with data reported improvement." Jack Jennings, the president of the Washington-based CEP, said, "By no means are we saying that we’re in nirvana, there’s a long way to go. But as a nation, if we ask schools to narrow the achievement gap and that’s what the schools are doing, we should give them credit for it.”