Posted on 06/06/2007 1:48:30 AM PDT by ricks_place
Study's Authors Unsure Whether to Credit Law for Gains
The nation's students have performed significantly better on state reading and math tests since President Bush signed his landmark education initiative into law five years ago, according to a major independent study released yesterday.
The study's authors warned that it is difficult to say whether or how much the No Child Left Behind law is driving the achievement gains. But Republican and Democratic supporters of the law said the findings indicate that it has been a success. Some said the findings bolster the odds that Congress will renew the controversial law this year.
"This study confirms that No Child Left Behind has struck a chord of success with our nation's schools and students," U.S. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings said in a statement. "We know the law is working, so now is the time to reauthorize."
The report, which experts called the most comprehensive analysis of test data from all 50 states since 2002, concluded that the achievement gap between black and white students is shrinking in many states and that the pace of student gains increased after the law was enacted. The findings were particularly significant because of their source: the nonpartisan Center on Education Policy, which in recent years has issued several reports that have found fault with aspects of the law's implementation.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Authors are too honest to fudge data but too liberal to credit President Bush.
But because it's not a conservative idea, even conservatives won't give President Bush any credit for doing something that has improved the lives of our young people.
One of those "a pox on both your houses" moments.
How unnecessary an expansion is it if it is doing what the states can't do on their own?
"Discouraged creativity"? One of those useless comments that makes me wish the speaker were in front of me, so I could slap him.
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Some improvement, but at what cost?
They could have just issued vouchers, saved a LOAD of our money, and gotten better results!! Thanks George and Teddy. Brilliant power grab you have there.
All they do is teach to the test now. Drill kids enough and you can get them to pass a multiple choice test. The system sucks.
Yeah, let's have the federal government get involved in everything! And let's let Ted Kennedy write the bills! Woo-hoo!
Yeah, let's not argue the merits of the law, let's just spout some lame cliches! Shouting 'Woo-hoo's' better than thinking!
Merit’s of the law? Argue away- I’d love to hear it.
Read the article. Or isn't literacy a conservative value?
Kids' scores up--gee, how awful. How completely fascist. Let's spend more money on farm subsidies rather than money on education. Dern kids and their "books"!
I don’t like the federal gov’t being involved in education, but something was needed to get teachers to teach, and not just propagandize. The uproar from teachers unions tells me the idea behind it is good.
We’re settling for less with this approach to education, and claiming a great victory.
VOUCHERS are the answer.
This is way too expensive an expansion of government power for the results. Government education sucks. Just because Bush’s signature is on it doesn’t make it any better.
My thoughts EXACTLY.
I want the federal government to stay out of such things, but if you actually know the law--something the Ted- Kennedy- wrote-it-so-it-sucks crowd obviously doesn't think is necessary to form an opinion--you see it is about federal money going into programs controlled by THE STATE. I'd wager that every single one of the complainers has their own federal programs that fund local concerns they'd like you to keep your hands off, thank you. But they were so easily whipped into a frenzy over THIS particular one. Interesting.
As someone who actually works in a school I can tell you the propagandizing you mention is alarming. Those same teachers spout the union bull about NCLB--"teaching to the test" blah blah.
What they and the Teddyhater crowd have in common is they can't seem to grasp that the testing and standards are determined at the STATE level.
As the kids say--"Duh!"
The same critics don't get so bothered over corporate welfare, or farm subsidies, or the tons of waste in even programs we all agree are decent.
But put money into educating our future leaders? Even if the states control the standards? Hell no!
I can't respect such intentional ignorance of how things work; I can't understand such "values". And not one of these critics has demonstrated how even federal funding of education is a bad thing.
How are higher test scores "settling for less"?
VOUCHERS are the answer.
But vouchers were defeated. So I guess we just shrug and say "Oh well"?
This is way too expensive an expansion of government power for the results. Government education sucks. Just because Bush’s signature is on it doesn’t make it any better.
The rhetorical excesses aside (who said anything about it being "netter" because it has Bush's signature?), how much is "way too expensive"? What is your yardstick for whether or not this is too much?
On a sidenote, what's this about? You like Kennedy or something? Do you think he's good for Massachusetts?
Funny our kids...seniors...number who failed the test...43%. 43% won’t graduate! And that is after all the money thrown at our school system.
Don’t know what to say or think, I just don’t see the same results as the article. Sad, very sad.
That's exactly the problem. Instead of standing his ground and explaining the solution to the public, Bush capitulated to the libs and enacted YET ANOTHER massive expansion of government. He gained no political advantage by doing so either- he did it because government schools are what he believes in- not the private sector.
It was bad politics, and it's bad policy. He's a believer in big government, and this crappy law is one of the most excellent examples.
It actually is a fantastic idea and we have seen some real improvements because of it.
Unfortunately effecting consequences on states that fail to follow the dictates have been inconsistent.
States get fed funding for education? then the federal government can and should expect a return of quality education. I for one do not want to see NCLB going away anytime soon.
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