NCLB Waivers get a Reality Check
The trajectory of our nation's schools from the train wreck of No Child Left Behind to a new and fresh set of calamitous policies has been checked by the ways in which these so-called reforms are playing out across the country.
First, what is happening with student achievement? The latest results are in from the National Assessment of Educational Progress and they reveal that in spite of a decade of No Child Left Behind, growth in student achievement remains essentially flat. Lisa Guisbond of FairTest wrote here:
Overall, growth was more rapid before and flattened after NCLB took effect. For example, 4th grade math scores jumped 11 points from 224 to 235 between 1996 and 2003, but increased only 3 points between 2005 and 2011. Grade 8 math scores went from 273 to 278 between 2000 and 2003, but increased only 1 point, from 283 to 284, between 2009 and 2011.
