Real Improvement for Real Students: Test Smarter, Serve Better

2006 ◽  
Vol 76 (4) ◽  
pp. 557-563 ◽  
Author(s):  
BETTY STERNBERG
Keyword(s):  
No Child Left Behind ◽  
Academic Success ◽  
Gold Standard ◽  
Standard Testing ◽  
Multiple Resources ◽  
Left Behind ◽  
The Right ◽  
Improving Student Achievement ◽  
Limited Usefulness ◽  
Formative Testing

In this essay, Betty J. Sternberg argues that the increased money and time spent on meeting the summative testing requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) adds little to the existing "gold standard" testing conducted by the State of Connecticut. Sternberg highlights the challenges faced by one state in meeting the requirements of NCLB: She identifies the diversion of multiple resources, the limited usefulness of summative testing, and the inability of testing companies to meet increased demands as impediments to improving student achievement. Using Connecticut's program-focused accountability model, Sternberg posits that the right combination of formative testing in conjunction with summative testing and supplementary programming ensures the academic success of all students.

Research Committee: Research in Mathematics Education: Multiple Methods for Multiple Uses

2009 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 216-240
Author(s):  
Michael Battista ◽  
Timothy Boerst ◽  
Jere Confrey ◽  
Eric Knuth ◽  
Margaret S. Smith ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
No Child Left Behind ◽  
Federal Government ◽  
Gold Standard ◽  
Field Trials ◽  
Research Committee ◽  
Left Behind ◽  
Randomized Field Trials ◽  
Multiple Uses ◽  
Time And Energy ◽  
Research In Mathematics Education

I do not think any thoughtful researcher today believes that experiments or randomized field trials are the “gold standard” for addressing all the important questions in educational research. Yet, because these designs are now required by the 2001 No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) and are being strongly encouraged in other federal legislation and funding initiatives, scholars, practitioners, parents, and researchers must devote time and energy to fighting these designs when they are inappropriate or irrelevant, which is often the case. Despite long-standing objections from prominent methodologists and reservations expressed by national groups and committees, key policymakers in the federal government are encouraging the pursuit of experimental designs primarily or exclusively (Eisenhart, 2005, p. 246).

Are NCLB’s Measures, Incentives, and Improvement Strategies the Right Ones for the Nation’s Low-Performing High Schools?

2007 ◽  
Vol 44 (3) ◽  
pp. 559-593 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Balfanz ◽  
Nettie Legters ◽  
Thomas C. West ◽  
Lisa M. Weber
Keyword(s):  
High Schools ◽  
No Child Left Behind ◽  
Adequate Yearly Progress ◽  
Regression Models ◽  
Logistic Regression Models ◽  
Left Behind ◽  
Improvement Strategies ◽  
State Report Card ◽  
The Right ◽  
Status Analysis

This article examines the extent to which adequate yearly progress (AYP) is a valid and reliable indicator of improvement in low-performing high schools. For a random subsample of 202 high schools, the authors investigate the school characteristics and the federal and state policy contexts that influence their AYP status. Logistic regression models reveal that the strongest predictors of AYP status in low-performing high schools are the number of student subgroups for which schools are accountable and their No Child Left Behind improvement status. Analysis of state report card data further paints a confusing landscape in which improving low-performing high schools are sanctioned whereas similar schools showing less improvement are not.

A Close Look at No Child Left Behind

ASHA Leader ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 9 (17) ◽  
pp. 1-29
Author(s):  
Susan Boswell
Keyword(s):  
No Child Left Behind ◽  
Left Behind
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