NAEP gaps; 2003; what is to be done?
Three quick points:
First: Aaron Pallas looked at NAEP results from 2003 to 2011 (the NCLB years) for all 50 states and DC to identify instances in which whites gained while lower-scoring other groups gained even more, hence closing the gap in a positive way. For the 4 tests (reading and math at grades 4 and 8) there were very few cases, and occurred in one state usually affected only one demographic group in one subject and grade in that state. No state showed systematic progress. This is a clearly written, short piece. Pallas points out that while NAEP alone cannot fairly evaluate NCLB, it is one piece of evidence, and the evidence is not friendly to NCLB.http://eyeoned.org/content/the-nations-report-card-and-nclb-friends-or-foes_277/#more-277
Second, I agree with Sandy Kress that we spend too much time going back and forth with each other, but the idea that there is some 'middle period' between pre-and post NCLB is fairly absurd. The law was signed January