Report: Schools Could Improve on NCLB Tutoring, Choice

Students aren’t taking advantage of tutoring options under the No Child Left Behind Act, schools are faltering when it comes to notifying parents about school transfer options under the law, and the number of Title I schools identified as needing improvement has nearly doubled in recent years, according to a study released last week by the Department of Education.

The congressionally mandated report on Title I, the $12.7 billion federal program designed to improve education for disadvantaged students, was released April 5. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings highlighted the report the same day in a speech at a forum on school choice in Jamaica, N.Y.

The report found that only 17 percent of eligible students nationwide signed up for the free tutoring that Title I schools are required to offer after not meeting educational targets for three years in a row. However, the number of students receiving those supplemental educational services increased more than four-fold in the two-year period from the 2002-03 school year...