Through the miracle of technology, even though I’m far away, I’m able to bring you a quick roundup of Education Week‘s latest NCLB stories.
In “Key NCLB-Renewal Bills Withheld Until Fall,” Alyson Klein and I note that congressional committees have postponed action on NCLB until September, leaving some to question whether Congress has enough time to get a bill past before the presidential primaries dominate the political scene.
CORRECTED PARAGRAPH
In “12-State Study Finds Falloff in Testing Gains After NCLB,” Scott Cech reports on the latest academic research on student achievement during the NCLB era. The new study says that post-NCLB state test results are unreliable indicators, and that, as recorded on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, 4th graders’ reading scores in the 12 states researched have been essentially flat, while their math gains have slowed since 2002. The team lead by Bruce Fuller of the University of California, Berkeley, does not suggest that NCLB is responsible for the stagnation that he says occurred in the 12 states, but contends that states made more academic progress before NCLB became law.
Finally, in “Survey: Subjects Trimmed to Boost Math and Reading,” Alyson Klein gives a quick summary of the Center on Education Policy’s curriculum report.