La prensa de los Estados Unidos de América comenta en estos días, desde variadas perspectivas y con diferentes énfasis, el estudio que viene de publicar el Center on Education Policy , titulado Answering the Question That Matters Most: Has Student Achievement Increased Since No Child Left Behind?
Bajar texto completo aquí. 1,3 MB
Este estudio, de gran escala, busca determinar si la aplicación de las medidas contempladas en el programa No Child Left Behind NCLB) de la administración Bush ha mejorado los resultados de aprendizaje y reducido las brechas entre diferentes gtrupos de alumnos.
Las conclusiones reportan progreso en el desempeño de los alumnos en una mayoría de los estados y escasos avances en reducir la brecha entre alumnos de diferente origen socio-económico, como expresa el reportaje del Diario The Washinton Post cuyo texto se acompaña más abajo.
Asimismo, el estudio señala la dificultad que entraña el separar el efecto que pudiera haber tenido la NCLB respecto del efecto de los múltiples y variados otros mproigramas que loos estados han estado aplicando para mejorar la calidad de la educación en sus colegios.
Las principales conclusiones del estudios son las siguientes:
1. In most states with three or more years of comparable test data, student achievement in reading and math has gone up since 2002, the year NCLB was enacted.
2. There is more evidence of achievement gaps between groups of students narrowing since 2002 than of gaps widening. Still, the magnitude of the gaps is often substantial.
3. In 9 of the 13 states with sufficient data to determine pre- and post-NCLB trends, average yearly gains in test scores were greater after NCLB took effect than before.
4. It is very difficult, if not impossible, to determine the extent to which these trends in test results have occurred because of NCLB. Since 2002, states, school districts, and schools have simultaneously implemented many different but interconnected policies to raise achievement.
5. Although NCLB emphasizes public reporting of state test data, the data necessary to reach definitive conclusions about achievement were sometimes hard to find or unavailable, or had holes or discrepancies. More attention should be given to issues of the quality and transparency of state test data.
El reportaje del Washington Post agrega los siguientes antecedentes de resumen:
The study examined the percentage of students whose scores were rated as proficient or higher, a frequently reported measure, and a less-common statistical tool, known as “effect size,” to help gauge average student performance. Conclusions were drawn from states that administered comparable tests for at least three years. Gaps in the data meant that not all states were included in evaluations of certain subjects and grade levels.
The study found that gains tended to be larger in math than in reading and larger at the elementary level than in middle and high school.
In elementary school math, 37 out of 41 states with adequate data showed significant gains.
In middle school reading, such increases were found in 20 out of 39 states, and in high school reading, in 16 out of 37.
The study also found that 14 of 38 states with sufficient data showed shrinking gaps in reading scores between black and white students and that there was no evidence of a widening achievement gap in that subject in other states. The researchers cautioned that the gaps remain enormous, with black students scoring as many as 30 percentage points, on average, behind white students in some states.
Ver texto completo del reportaje más abajo.
Asimismo, ver más abajo el comunicado de prensa del Center on Education Policy entregado al momento de darse a conocer el estudio.
Recursos asociados
Informe de la Comisión No Child Left Behind, 14 febrero 2007

Scores Up Since ‘No Child’ Was Signed
Study’s Authors Unsure Whether to Credit Law for Gains
By Amit R. Paley
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, June 6, 2007; A01
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.
Jack Jennings, president of the District-based center and a former Democratic congressional aide, said a decade of school improvement efforts at local, state and national levels has contributed to achievement gains.
“No Child Left Behind, though, is clearly part of the mix of reforms whose fruit we are now seeing,” he said.
Some skeptics said the study overstated the extent of academic gains. Others said the law should not be credited for the positive results.
“There are a lot of problems with No Child Left Behind that we need to fix because they work against some of the progress that is being noted in this study,” said Edward J. McElroy, president of the American Federation of Teachers, a 1.3 million-member union.
The law requires all public school students to be tested in reading and math every year from grades 3 through 8 and once in high school, and it prescribes a series of sanctions on schools that do not make adequate progress. States and the District are allowed to design their own tests and set their own standards.
President Bush and senior Democratic lawmakers are seeking to renew No Child Left Behind this year, despite mounting attacks on the law from the political left and right. Some conservative Republicans call the law an unnecessary expansion of federal government, and some liberal Democrats complain it has placed too much emphasis on high-stakes tests and discouraged creativity.
Key lawmakers worry that if the law is not reauthorized by year’s end, it will become next to impossible to do so until a new president takes office in 2009. One crucial sign of progress or stalemate is whether the congressional education committees approve a bill before the August recess.
Rep. Dale E. Kildee (D-Mich.), chairman of the House subcommittee that oversees elementary and secondary education, plans to review the center’s study with Jennings in a hearing tomorrow.
“I think the study certainly will be helpful for winning reauthorization of No Child Left Behind,” Kildee said. “Passing a major education bill is difficult, but I think the energy is there, and this study will contribute to the will to get something done.”
Researchers for the nearly $1 million study — titled “Answering the Question That Matters Most: Has Student Achievement Increased Since No Child Left Behind?” — spent 18 months gathering data from the states, much of which was verified and brought together for the first time. They said D.C. public schools did not cooperate.
The study examined the percentage of students whose scores were rated as proficient or higher, a frequently reported measure, and a less-common statistical tool, known as “effect size,” to help gauge average student performance. Conclusions were drawn from states that administered comparable tests for at least three years. Gaps in the data meant that not all states were included in evaluations of certain subjects and grade levels.
The study found that gains tended to be larger in math than in reading and larger at the elementary level than in middle and high school.
In elementary school math, 37 out of 41 states with adequate data showed significant gains.
In middle school reading, such increases were found in 20 out of 39 states, and in high school reading, in 16 out of 37.
The study also found that 14 of 38 states with sufficient data showed shrinking gaps in reading scores between black and white students and that there was no evidence of a widening achievement gap in that subject in other states. The researchers cautioned that the gaps remain enormous, with black students scoring as many as 30 percentage points, on average, behind white students in some states.
The analysis also found that test-score gains accelerated after enactment of No Child Left Behind in nine of the 13 states with sufficient data.
In the Washington region, the study confirmed previous reports of increases in reading and math scores in Maryland and Virginia.
Virginia was one of the few states where gains slowed after 2002. Andrew J. Rotherham, a member of the state Board of Education, said Virginia had made major progress before the law took effect.
Some scholars criticized the report’s methodology. Bruce Fuller, a professor of education and public policy at the University of California at Berkeley, said it made little sense to draw conclusions when so few states have adequate data. He also said the researchers overstated small gains and did not adequately address states that he said have been dumbing down standards.
“These big-hearted analysts, to amend an adage, look at a glass that’s nine-tenths’ empty and celebrate that it’s one-tenth full,” Fuller wrote in an e-mail.
Chester E. Finn Jr., president of the District-based Thomas B. Fordham Foundation and who has criticized the law’s implementation, said the study showed that academic performance is moving in the right direction even though much remains to done.
“It’s not champagne time,” Finn said. “But it’s not sackcloth and ashes time, either.”
© 2007 The Washington Post Company
———————————————————————————————–
Comunicado de Prensa
Student Achievement in Reading and Mathematics Has Increased Overall Since Passage of the No Child Left Behind Act
Report Finds More Evidence of Achievement Gaps Narrowing Than Widening Since 2002
WASHINGTON – June 5, 2007 – Student achievement in reading and math has increased since the No Child Left Behind Act was enacted in 2002, according to the most comprehensive and thorough study to date of the results of state tests administered as part of the landmark federal education law.
In addition, the number of states in which achievement gaps among groups of students have narrowed far exceeds the number of states in which gaps widened since 2002, according to Answering the Question that Matters Most: Has Student Achievement Increased Since No Child Left Behind?, a report from the Washington, D.C.-based Center on Education Policy (CEP).
The study is unique as it includes verified data from all 50 states – much of which is available for the first time in the report – and investigates achievement trends both before and after the passage of NCLB. The report also limits its analysis to testing data that is comparable from year-to-year, eliminating data in grades and subjects where states have made significant changes to their assessment systems.
The report also uses two methods for evaluating achievement, including the percentage of students considered proficient – the primary measure of adequate yearly progress under NCLB – and effect sizes, a measure based on average test scores that addresses some of the limitations of the percentage proficient measure. Using either method, the report finds that the number of states showing achievement gains since 2002 is far greater than the number showing a decline. In addition, yearly gains are generally greater after 2002 in states where comparable data prior to 2002 was available.
However, 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. “American educators and students were asked to raise academic achievement, and they have done so,” said Jack Jennings, president & CEO of the independent, private nonprofit Center on Education Policy.
“The weight of evidence indicates that state test scores in reading and mathematics have increased overall since No Child Left Behind was enacted. However, there should be no rush to judgment as there may be many factors contributing to the increased achievement.”
The study identified several possible reasons for the results, including increased learning, teaching to the test, more lenient tests, scoring or data analyses, and changes in the populations tested. “Any or all of these factors in combination could be contributing to these trends,” the report indicates.
Biggest Gains at the Elementary Level
Using the percentage of students reaching proficiency and effect sizes, the report finds that the biggest improvements since 2002 were seen in elementary level math, where 22 of 25 states with comparable data demonstrated moderate-to-large gains on both measures, and no state showed a moderate-to-large decline. When looking at only at the percentage of students scoring proficient, 37 of 41 states with trend data in elementary math showed moderate-to-large gains.
Reading performance has also increased since 2002, especially at the elementary level. Of the 25 states with sufficient trend data for elementary reading, 14 states made gains based on both performance measures. When looking only at the percentage proficient, 29 states experienced moderate-to-large gains, while only two states experienced declines. Additional findings from the report include the following:
§ Average yearly gains in test scores were greater after 2002 than before in nine of 13 states with sufficient data to determine achievement trends before and after NCLB. Four other states experienced slower rates of increase since 2002. However, the report warns that because such a limited number of states had both pre-and post-NCLB data, it is difficult to say whether this trend is truly representative of the national picture.
§ There is more evidence of achievement gaps narrowing than widening since 2002, though gaps remain substantial. In 14 states the gaps between White and African American students have narrowed in reading at all three grade spans, while no state had reading gaps that widened at all grade spans. White-Hispanic gaps narrowed at all three grade levels in reading in 13 of the 40 states with sufficient data.
§ Data required to perform rigorous analyses of achievement trends are not available in many states. While NCLB requires states to report a massive amount of test data used to gauge school effectiveness, mandatory data was sometimes incomplete. CEP found that complete data on the percentage of students proficient were available on the Web in just 25 states. Further, data on the numbers of students tested were available for students in general in 44 states and for subgroups of students in 43 states. CEP analyzed up to 16,000 data points in each state for the report.
“The ever-changing nature of test results that are continuously modified due to revisions, appeals, corrections, rescoring, and other administrative issues makes an accurate and complete picture of NCLB a moving target,” said Jennings. “There is a clear need for more transparency in test data.”
The report is the first of a three-phase study of student achievement and represents a continuation of a broader national study of federal, state, and local implementation of NCLB that CEP has been conducting since 2002. Throughout 2007, CEP will release additional new research on the implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act.