Mixed Grades in a New Education Report
The education secretary says stats show No Child Left Behind is working.
The 2007 National Assessment of Education Progress, known as the Nation's Report Card, was released today for reading and math in fourth and eighth grade—and what it tells us about our children's abilities in mathematics and reading is bound to add fuel to the already contentious debate about No Child Left Behind.
"Student achievement is on the rise," says Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings. "No Child Left Behind is working. It's doable, reasonable and necessary. Any efforts to weaken accountability would fly in the face of rising achievement."
Since the law was enacted in 2001, many schools, particularly poor ones, have been turned into boot camps that focus instruction on reading and math. Critics of the law complain that it is too harsh, too inflexible and is forcing schools to narrow their curriculum—giving up science, social studies, physical education and recess in favor of reading and math instruction.
At least in math, though, that narrow focus seems to be paying off. In fourth grade, overall mathematics scores have risen from 226 in 2000 to 240 in 2007. The gap between black and white students, which was 31 points in 2000, has narrowed to 26. Eighth-graders made similar gains, with math scores rising from 273 in 2000 to 281 in 2007. White students are scoring slightly better, but black and Hispanic students have made larger improvements and are narrowing the gap.
"What we're seeing is sustained positive change," says Jim Rubillo, executive director of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. "The message we take away from these scores is, "Let's keep at it!'"
The reading scores of our nation's schoolchildren, though, tell another, more disquieting story. Much of the focus of No Child Left Behind has been on the early years. Correspondingly, reading scores for fourth-graders have gone up from 213 in 2000 to 221 in 2007, and the gap between white students and black and Hispanic kids have narrowed slightly. So far, so good. What troubles experts, though, is that gains in reading achievement are not being sustained as children age. Reading scores in eighth grade have remained about the same—and the gap between white middle-schoolers and black and Hispanic middle-schoolers (a significant 27 and 24 points, respectively) isn't budging. "What these scores tell us is that in the places we have expended the time, attention and resources in reading, among our youngest kids, we've seen a payoff," says Tim Shanahan, former president of the International Reading Association. "But what we're doing to meet the reading needs of older children is not enough."
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Member Comments
Posted By: Dan Rabbit @ 07/16/2008 5:00:21 PM
Comment: I am also a 4th grade teacher, MEd, 20+yrs in the classroom. NCLB is a huge mistake. It forces teachers to teach all students the same thing at the same time in the same way in order to make the highest possible scores on the same test. This is insanity. No two children even of the same age have the same interests, abilities, or learning styles. We were told NOT to teach science or social studies, and our students were not allowed even one minute of recess all year. After school tutoring and Saturday school further added to the boot camp atmosphere. Principals and teachers are fired if less than the required number of students fail the test and are promised huge bonuses of some undisclosed number of students make high enough scores. This kind of pressure caused good teachers to get out and bad teacher to be tempted to cheat. Of course it produces student progress AS MEASURED BY THE TEST but is this really progress? Does it make sense to require ALL students to take algebra? NCLB does. Think about it, how many times a day do you actually use algebra? Whole schools are "closed" if the required progress is not made not only by the whole student body but by the required percentage of each and every 'at risk' ethnic, racial, and income subgroup. So a 4000 student high school can be closed because a half dozen students of a particular subgroup fail to pass one section of that year's test. Closed means that the building is closed, the students are reassigned to a number of other campuses, and the teachers must reapply for jobs on other campuses. How on earth does that help anyone? Did those few childred fail because there was something flawed with the bricks and mortar at their old campus? NCLB crushes creativity, both of teachers and students. Instead of fostering a love of learning, it creates an oppressive climate inwhich the test is not just the thing but the only thing.
Posted By: teacher4g @ 04/29/2008 6:25:25 PM
Comment: As a fourth grade teacher I completely disagree with the Education Secretary. NCLB is inherently flawed in design. Standardized tests are not the be all and end all of determining student success. In fact, I don' t know a single undergraduate or graduate teaching program that teaches their student teachers to base student success based upon these types of tests. Standardized test have been proven to be somewhat flawed and are not always an accurate measure of student knowledge. I agree that standardized tests can sometimes be a useful tool for educators,(although in NY, the scores are given back so late it is hard to see the results as useful) however, other, more authentic forms of assessments must be used in the classroom. Educators must foster a love of learning in each of their students. Students should work hard because of this, not for a grade on a multiple choice test.
I think that the reason that we are not seeing the same results in reading as we are in math is because of how this legislation is influencing how reading is taught in schools. Books, magazines, and other forms of authentic texts are being abandoned in favor of reading textbooks. This is not the type of reading kids will be expected to do outside of school. How are kids going to learn to love reading from textbooks, worksheets, and standardized tests? If you ask me this is undermining the intelligence of each and every student in this country!
Posted By: teacher4g @ 04/29/2008 6:25:13 PM
Comment: As a fourth grade teacher I completely disagree with the Education Secretary. NCLB is inherently flawed in design. Standardized tests are not the be all and end all of determining student success. In fact, I don' t know a single undergraduate or graduate teaching program that teaches their student teachers to base student success based upon these types of tests. Standardized test have been proven to be somewhat flawed and are not always an accurate measure of student knowledge. I agree that standardized tests can sometimes be a useful tool for educators,(although in NY, the scores are given back so late it is hard to see the results as useful) however, other, more authentic forms of assessments must be used in the classroom. Educators must foster a love of learning in each of their students. Students should work hard because of this, not for a grade on a multiple choice test.
I think that the reason that we are not seeing the same results in reading as we are in math is because of how this legislation is influencing how reading is taught in schools. Books, magazines, and other forms of authentic texts are being abandoned in favor of reading textbooks. This is not the type of reading kids will be expected to do outside of school. How are kids going to learn to love reading from textbooks, worksheets, and standardized tests? If you ask me this is undermining the intelligence of each and every student in this country!