Test Gains Reigniting Old Debate

Did NCLB law play a role in history, civics scores?

Elementary school students have a stronger grasp of U.S. history, and what it means to be a knowledgeable citizen, than they did a few years ago, new test results suggest. And part of the reason they’re better informed about history and citizenship, some argue, is that they’re better readers.

That was the view put forward by U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings, among others, who saw the hand of the No Child Left Behind Act’s reading requirements in the latest results of the National Assessment of Educational Progress, released last week.

Debating what role, if any, those mandates are playing in improving student progress has become almost a ritual accompanying the release of test scores for the heavily scrutinized NAEP, often referred to as...