Back to School / 7 Trends ... (Pgh Post-Gazette)

When he thinks about the federal No Child Left Behind Act, Jim Testerman of the Pennsylvania State Education Association is reminded of a statement attributed to Albert Einstein.

"Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts."

Back to School / 7 Trends to Watch: No Child Left Behind has altered the face of education

Second of a series, Monday, August 28, 2006

By Joe Smydo, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

"Supporters of the practice of high-stakes testing believe that the quality of American education can be vastly improved by introducing a system of rewards and sanctions for students' academic performance," researchers at Arizona State University's Education Policy Studies Laboratory said in a September 2005 report condemning the practice.

NCLB keeps score with the designation known as "adequate yearly progress" or "AYP."

While NCLB has focused all states on reading and math, the law hasn't standardized testing across the states. As a result, making AYP can be a tougher goal in one state than another.

"In Pennsylvania, the bar has been set very high for what it means to be proficient," Mr. Testerman said.

Others have suggested that the country move to a longitudinal analysis of test scores; that is, measure the proficiency of a class from one year to the next and drop the traditional approach of comparing one year's third-grade scores against third-grade scores of the preceding year. Proponents say the change would yield a better picture of whether more students are becoming proficient.