The impact of NCLB’s accountability measures is growing, according to a new report from the Center on Education Policy.
The number of schools in restructuring for the 2007-08 school year (i.e. those that missed AYP for five years) rose by more than 50 percent over the previous year, according to the Washington-based policy group, which has conducted some of the most extensive research on NCLB’s implementation. CEP estimates that 3,599 schools were in the restructuring process in the 2007-08 school year. That’s about 7 percent of all Title I schools nationwide.
CEP researchers expect the number to keep rising as schools fail to keep up with the escalating achievement targets set by states. In its review of 42 schools, CEP found that 19 failed to make AYP even though the percentage of students scoring as proficient increased. In the five states that CEP is tracking closely, 19 percent of restructuring schools made AYP based on test results from the 2006-07 year.
