A new report contends that President Bush’s No Child Left Behind initiative for public education might not achieve its goal of 100 percent proficiency by 2014.
The report, released last week by the Northwest Evaluation Association, examined national elementary test scores from the past three years. It looked at scores from the beginning and end of each school year to track improvement within a single year as well as year-to-year changes.
Donna McCahon, director of strategic partnerships for the association, said that although the study shows overall growth in test scores during the past three years, schools aren’t improving quickly enough to achieve total proficiency by 2014.
The Bush administration says the act will help achieve that goal by punishing schools that don’t live up to its expectations. If a school undergoes two consecutive years of subpar test scores, students gain the ability to transfer elsewhere.
“At the present rate of growth, we can’t meet the goal,” McCahon said. “We’re going to have to keep focusing on those children most at risk.”
Vanessa Lilly, public relations officer for the National Education Association, said some of the shortfalls of No Child Left Behind have been obvious from its first implementation.
In particular, Lilly said, the required standardized testing reduces available funds for education.
“We believe that the law has caused more bureaucracy and paperwork, less money and things that are actually needed,” she said. “The law is in fact an unfunded mandate, and we want the resources in the classroom.”
Virginia’s Department of Education has criticized what it calls the act’s inflexibility.
