Will NCLB Bring True Equity to Education?

NCLB’s stated goal to shine a light on the achievement gap between white students and students of color has received widespread support. However, the law’s use of school-level sanctions to raise student achievement has been questioned by educators, researchers, and state school officials. A new study released by the Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA) examines whether NCLB, in its implementation, can close the achievement gap and, more importantly, whether the law will help bring true equality of educational opportunity to all American children.

Wide Range of Students Included in Study

In April 2005, NWEA, a partnership of school districts and educational agencies, released the first in what will be a series of annual studies investigating the impact of NCLB on student achievement. Using its extensive Growth Research Database, NWEA studied the math scores of over 300,000 students in over 200 school districts, and the reading scores of over 300,000 students in 200 districts. The study examined “achievement levels,” or yearly test scores, as required by NCLB, and “achievement growth,” or the rate at which student achievement changes. The test scores were measured on a common scale from the 2001-02 school year to the 2003-04 school year. The common measurement scale facilitated comparison over time and the calculation of growth scores.

Increase in Test Scores Pre-dated NCLB

The study found that test scores have increased since the enactment of NCLB. The study also found that math scores increased more than reading scores.

However, the authors note that the increase in test scores is not necessarily the result of NCLB. For the past decade, NAEP test scores have been increasing. The increases may be small, say the authors, but when sustained over time, they represent remarkable growth.

The authors also raise questions about the use of test scores for accountability purposes. Math is almost exclusively learned in school; therefore, the authors surmise, performance on math tests is more susceptible to changes in instruction. Reading proficiency, on the other hand, depends on many factors outside of school, such as whether or not a child is read to at home. Since factors not under a school’s control help determine reading proficiency, the authors question whether sanctioning schools will be effective in raising student achievement in reading.

Rates of Growth Declined Since NCLB

Despite the rise in test scores, the study found that achievement growth declined for all groups since the enactment of NCLB. The decline in math growth was greater than the decline in reading growth. As the authors point out, this finding does not bode well for meeting the ultimate goal of NCLB. Although growth rates prior to NCLB were significant, they are not large enough to enable schools to meet the unprecedented goals of NCLB. The authors note, as do many other researchers and experts, that no one has ever achieved the goal, mandated by NCLB, that 100 percent of public school children reach proficiency in each subject tested by 2014. Declining growth rates make that goal seem all the more impossible.

Troubling Findings for Students of Color

The authors found a pervasive gap in the rates of achievement between white students and Latino, African American, and Native American students. The study found that students of color who started out with the same scores as white students lost ground as time went on. The study also found that growth gaps were not limited to low-performing minority students, but rather existed at all levels of achievement.

Does NCLB Focus on the Correct “Achievement Gap”?

The study notes that, prior to NCLB, the achievement gap was defined as the difference between the median scores on a test of two groups. However, NCLB changed the definition of the achievement gap to mean the difference, among different groups, in the percentage of children meeting proficiency. The authors point out that the latter definition is not reliable, because the standard for proficiency varies from state to state. Moreover, the authors caution that if we rely only on percentages of students meeting proficiency and do not address the patterns of growth rates among groups, we are in fact masking a continuing gap in achievement.

The authors stress that public policy should not define equity as “merely closing the gap between the low performers and the middle.” They point out that if all students meet proficiency, but students of color still lag behind in mean scale score performance, access to top jobs and schools will still be denied to minority groups. True equity in education will allow all students at all skill levels to achieve a degree of success that reflects their true capabilities, without regard to their ethnicity. NWEA’s plan to examine these growth patterns every year will aid in tracking whether NCLB brings us closer to the goal of helping all children reach their full potential.

Prepared by Wendy C. Lecker, May 16, 2005