This report by the Center on Education Policy (CEP), an independent nonprofit organization, examines trends in the achievement of high school students on the state reading/English language arts (ELA) and mathematics tests used for accountability under the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). This study confirms that there is reason for concern about…

According to this author, it was inevitable that No Child Left Behind's emphasis on standardized testing and scientifically-based reading instruction would lead to a standardized curriculum. Programs such as Open Court, Success for All, and Direct Instruction further refined standardized curriculum to a scripted curriculum that requires teachers…

Although No Child Left Behind (NCLB) might have left an impression that only standardized tests and adequate yearly progress (AYP) mattered on the general public, the frustration over the narrow curricular focus also has created an opportunity in the education-policy realm, sparking conversations on what it takes to educate the whole child. This…

Tests are a natural part of education, from the quizzes, essays, and classroom tests that teachers have traditionally administered to the high-stakes tests that states use to make decisions about graduation, promotion, and school funding and governance. In this article, the author stresses the need to learn the unintended consequences of…

In this article, the author presents the story of Hope--an education student who, despite many successes, was consistently unable to pass the reading portion of a screening test (Praxis I) that is a prerequisite to student teaching in her home state of Georgia. Hope's only trouble was the fact that she was a slow reader due to attention deficit…

It is readily apparent that testing raises academic standards at both the state and the federal levels. The three Rs currently touted as aims for school improvement--rigor, relevance, and relationships--can be applied to testing as well. The connection between standardized testing and rigor can be easily made, while the relevance of testing is…

In this article, the author discusses the No Child Left Behind (NCLB)-required testing and privatization in public education. The author points out that the NCLB is not a step in the right direction. It is a deeply damaging, mostly ill-intentioned law, and no one genuinely committed to improving public schools (or to advancing the interests of…

Many principals and teachers have concluded that high-stakes testing, particularly the kind of high-stakes testing which has been mandated by the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, is doing grave damage to education and to the lives of children. Parents and other community members likewise worry about the consequences of schools focusing on test…

In an interview, Douglas Holtz-Eakin, director of the Congressional Budget Office, told National Public Radio's Terry Gross that determining the annual funding requirements for a program such as Social Security is relatively easy. According to him, health care is very different and is a lot harder to solve than Social Security. In this article,…