Many Early Achievers Lose Academic Edge, Researchers Conclude

Report cites NCLB, anti-ability-grouping policies

A new study finds that many high-performing students lose ground from elementary to middle school and from middle school to high school, and the authors ask what that means for America’s role as a world leader in innovation.

The study , released last week by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, raises questions about whether in the era of the No Child Left Behind Act and the dismantling of policies that group students by ability, public schools have been forced to make a trade-off, said Michael J. Petrilli, the executive vice president of the Washington think tank and a former U.S. Department of Education official under President George W. Bush.

“Is helping kids at the bottom improve hurting kids at the top?” he said, acknowledging that discussing that point can be difficult, but arguing that it’s necessary. “Let’s be honest about the trade-offs. It doesn’t make you a bad...