Are Test Scores Really Rising?

School Reform and Campaign Rhetoric

By Bruce Fuller

Call it honest pride or calculated strategy. As the election nears, President Bush is trumpeting in higher notes the apparent success of his No Child Left Behind Act reforms, aiming to erode Sen. John Kerry’s support among women and moderate voters.

“We’re making great progress. We’re closing the achievement gap,” Mr. Bush triumphantly claimed at a campaign stop in Pennsylvania last month. Before throngs of cheering delegates to the Republican convention in New York City, the president explained how he’s turning the schools around: “Those who spend your tax dollars must be held accountable; … when a school district receives federal funds we expect [students] to learn.”

U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige came close to crying out “mission accomplished” during his prime-time convention speech, proclaiming that “all across America, test scores are rising, students are learning, the...