Credit Where Credit’s Due

So what’s the relationship between the rise in NAEP scores and NCLB? An editorial in The Bangor Daily News cautions against drawing a direct correlation: ”NCLB hasn’t been around long enough, the changes in national scores aren’t dramatic enough and too many other factors influence outcomes to draw any conclusions.”

The editorial notes that NAEP math scores have been scooting upwards long before NCLB, but the achievement gap hasn’t budged. In its next iterations, the BDN says, NCLB needs to be more flexible to fold in evolving knowledge about how best to assess student learning.

“…[I]t’s inaccurate to attribute academic progress to the act so early in its life. Almost all states have emphasized increased testing in the last decade; students may simply be better at taking tests now. It is accurate to conclude that there is scant evidence to conclude that NCLB is actually hurting student achievement, which is not much of a legacy. But who said education was easy?”

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