Research and Reports

2008-09 Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) Results:
Many More Schools Fail In Most States

(October 20, 2008)
In virtually every state that has released AYP results this school year (results based on 2007-08 tests that determine status for schools for the 2008-09 school year), the number of schools failing to make AYP has increased, dramatically so in many cases. In several states, the rate at which schools are failing AYP doubled, tripled, and even quadrupled. NEA is tracking these results as states release them.

CEP Takes a Closer Look at how NCLB Narrows the Curriculum

Last summer, the Center on Education Policy's groundbreaking study  (PDF news release, 43Kb, 2 pages ) on the use of instructional time in elementary schools documented our members' concern that NCLB was narrowing the curriculum. A key finding from that study: 44 percent of school districts reported cutting time from one or more subjects or activities at the elementary level-social studies, science, art and music, physical education, lunch and/or recess--to devote more time to reading and math.

Now CEP has taken a closer look at the magnitude of those changes in instructional time in elementary schools since NCLB took effect in 2002. According to the new report, Instructional Time in Elementary Schools: A Closer Look at Changes for Specific Subjects,  (PDF, news release, 126Kb, 2 pages ) districts increasing time for English language arts and math had done so by an average of 43 percent, or about three hours each week. To make room for the added time for English and math, districts reducing time in other areas averaged cuts of about 32 percent across those subjects, nearly 2.5 hours each week. Some of the districts reduced their time in one subject, while other districts decreased instructional time in several areas.

"We knew that many school districts had made shifts in the time spent teaching different subjects since the No Child Left Behind was enacted, but we had little evidence of the magnitude of these changes within those districts," said Jack Jennings, CEP president. "Digging deeper into the data, we now know that the amount of time spent teaching reading, math and other subjects has changed substantially. In other words, changes in curriculum are not only widespread but also deep." February 2008

Civil Rights Project Book Questions the Value of NCLB

A new book released by The Civil Rights Project/Proyecto Derechos Civiles (CRP/PDC) at UCLA's Graduate School of Education and Information Studies raises serious questions about NCLB’s focus and benefits. Holding NCLB Accountable: Achieving Accountability, Equity, and School Reform,  written by a team of noted research experts, offers these conclusions:

• The current NCLB accountability system does not provide the information we need to know how students are performing or what to do to advance students' learning and improve instruction.
• Evidence that NCLB is working to improve student achievement and close achievement gaps is not promising.
• Many of the NCLB provisions, including the definition of highly qualified teachers, the design of the testing and accountability regulations, and the reliance on mandates, impede school reform and make it more difficult for high schools serving low-income students to do their work.

January 2008

Poll Shows Public Increasingly Views NCLB Unfavorably

More Americans are more familiar with NCLB than they were a year ago -- and they like it even less. That was a key finding of the 39th Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup Annual Poll of the Public's Attitudes Toward the Public Schools. This year's poll also shows that 52 percent of Americans believe that the federal law is limiting what children are taught -- at the expense of subjects such as art, science, health and social studies -- and a significant majority believe that more must be done to prepare students to compete in a global economy.

When asked about the amount of testing in the schools, 43 percent of the public believe that there is too much, which is a 12 percentage point increase since 2002. Parents are even more concerned, with 52 percent saying there is too much testing, a 20 point increase since 2002.

These and other findings show that the public's attitude toward NCLB is increasingly unfavorable. It was the first time since 2003 when the PDK/Gallup Poll started asking the question that a majority of respondents said they know "a great deal" or "fair amount" about NCLB. August 2007

Two Studies Highlight Issues with HQ Teachers under NCLB

Two new reports are shedding some much-needed light on the issue of highly qualified teachers under NCLB.

One study, released by the Department of Education, found that while some 90 percent of teachers may be considered "highly qualified'' under the federal law, that states used very different standards to define the HQ status and that the characteristics of teachers in high-poverty schools who met the HQ standard differed significantly from those for teachers in more affluent schools. Teachers in the disadvantaged schools hold fewer bachelor’s and master’s degrees in their fields and are more likely to be new to the profession than their peers.

This large-scale federal study, undertaken by the American Institutes for Research and the Rand Corporation, is part of an ongoing congressionally mandated evaluation of the federal Title I program for disadvantaged students.

A report from the Center for Education Policy, which examined how states and school districts have implemented NCLB’s teacher quality requirements, found that, according to state and district officials, the HQ teacher requirements have had minimal or no impact on student achievement and have not had a major impact on teacher effectiveness. The report also discusses state and district implementation of the federal requirements to equitably distribute experienced, highly qualified teachers among higher and lower poverty schools. August 2007

Study says Low and High Achievers Being Left Behind

A study by two University of Chicago economists  (PDF, 271Kb, 42 pages) suggests that NCLB is leaving many children behind, especially low and high performers. The report focuses on the fallout from accountability systems that tie rewards and sanctions to the number of students in certain groups who meet a predetermined proficiency standard. The report says that accountability systems created under NCLB provide few incentives for teachers to focus their attention on the least able and the most able students. According to the authors, "Schools may find it optimal to ignore students who have little or no chance of reaching proficiency without intensive and costly intervention … and to limit services for gifted children who are likely already proficient." July 2007

Student Achievement Gains Have Slowed Since NCLB

New research shows that states were making more progress in raising student test scores in the 1990s than they have since enactment of the federal No Child Left Behind Act in 2002.

The study is reported in the current issue of Education Researcher, a peer-reviewed scholarly journal published by the prestigious American Educational Research Association.

AERA said the researchers pushed beyond earlier studies by tracking progress in both state and federal test scores in 12 diverse states, going back to 1992 in many cases. This approach captured the generally positive effects of maturing state-led accountability programs in both reading and math, gauged by state officials and the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Read more.  July 2007

Study Finds Test Scores Up Since NCLB, But Cause Remains Unclear

A study by the Center on Education Policy  shows there have been improvements in math and reading testing results since passage of the No Child Left Behind Act, but also says the cause of the gains is not entirely clear.

The independent nonprofit Center on Education Policy (CEP) released the report, Answering the Question that Matters Most: Has Student Achievement Increased Since No Child Left Behind?, which CEP described as the "most comprehensive and thorough study to date of the results of state tests administered as part of the landmark federal education law."

But the CEP points out in its own news release that "the report notes that the gains cannot be attributed directly to No Child Left Behind, as considerable federal, state, and local reform efforts have all been underway prior to and since 2002." Find out more. June 2007

Key NCLB Requirement Lacks Research Support

There isn't enough research to know whether or not third-party tutoring and other "Supplemental Education Services" required by the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) act does any good, according to a policy brief funded and issued by the Great Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice in East Lansing, MI.

The report finds that SES programs have low participation rates and offer limited services for English Language Learners and special education students. It also finds that states and school districts lack the capacity to offer significant monitoring or accountability for SES programs -- in stark contrast to the NCLB law's strict accountability measures applied to the schools themselves. May 2007

Study Points to NCLB Changes Congress Should Consider

This study, "Beyond the Mountains: An Early Look at Restructuring Results in California," by the Center on Education Policy examines the No Child Left Behind Act's restructuring process in California. The number of California schools in NCLB restructuring nearly doubled in the last year, increasing from 401 schools in 2005-06 to 701 in 2006-07, or roughly 8% of California schools. CEP's study found that California schools in restructuring implementing multiple reform efforts tailored to individual school needs were more likely than other schools in restructuring to meet AYP targets in English language arts.

These researchers also concluded that lawmakers should consider allowing use of the "growth model" concept to measure schools' progress in meeting academic targets and should revise testing requirements for English language learners and special education students.

A CEP news release, as well as a copy of the full 28-page report are available online at the CEP Web site. March 2007

Coalition Urges Focus on Capacity-Building

The Forum on Educational Accountability (FEA) released a report calling on legislators to use ESEA reauthorization as an opportunity to help build capacity to improve schools. The new FEA report --  Redefining Accountability: Improving Student Learning by Building Capacity ( PDF, Executive Summary, 9 pages)-- recommends that states and districts be held accountable for implementing fundamental reforms in professional development and family involvement as well as improvements in learning as measured by multiple assessment tools, rather than being labeled and punished. The group’s report builds on the 14 principles in the Joint Organizational Statement on NCLB. February 2007