It’s the hallmark of a successful politician.

Pepe: You can’t recruit and train significantly more/better teachers until you make the pay and/or working conditions better.

Hell, the system is already pushing out an average of 10% of it’s successful and promising teachers every year, more in districts like this one.

If the system can’t find a way to keep, train and support a Harvard grad willing to work 70 hours a week, what business do you have demanding more fodder?

I think the biggest issue that the conflicting reports about the NAEP bring up is the fact that the outcomes are debatable. Obviously if such discrepancy exists, then significant progress has not been made. I blame a tendency of districts to rush into choosing band-aids that are not research based and that do not truly address the issues. In addition, our country has refused to work on the biggest factor within our sphere of influence and a fairly accurate predictor of students success: quality of teaching. Better teachers need to be recruited and training of teachers needs to be drastically improved.

It is obvious that NCLB is not working to the extent that its backers had hoped. Some are able to argue that it has had a negative effect on student achievement. Time for a different system of accountability.

Repeat after me. The emperor has no clothes.

Refusal to deal with, or discuss reality because reality isn’t what you want it to be is not a hallmark of a successful educator.

http://scholasticadministrator.typepad.com/thisweekineducation/2009/04/kids-make-gains-in-reading-math—-in-news—-children-in-the-us-are-improving-in-reading-and-math-with-low-achieving-stu.html

I’d add that previous NAEP results have demonstrated slowing progress since the beginning of NLCB, both in overall score gains and in closing most gaps (some of which have widened). BTW, the long-term trend report does not include state-level data, only national data.

Diane

Math and reading scores continue to rise slowly but steadily, according to results released today by the National Assessment of Educational Progress in “The Nation’s Report Card: Trends in Academic Progress in Reading and Mathematics 2008.” Scores for various age groups and racial/ethnic groups generally are on the rise as well, though scores for African-American, Hispanic and economically disadvantaged students remain below the overall average.

WASHINGTON — We applaud America’s educators, parents and students for the impressive results found in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) long-term trend results released today.

The results describe a continuing rise in student achievement. Compared with the results from when these reading and math tests were first given nearly four decades ago, the 2008 results show statistically significant increases for 9- and 13-year-olds overall, and for African-Americans, Hispanics and whites among 9-, 13- and 17-year-olds. Through 2008, African-American and Hispanic students in all age groups had greater gains than white students in both math and reading, and these findings too are statistically significant.

Despite substantial long-term progress in closing achievement gaps, especially in math, stubborn gaps remain for poor and minority students. We have an economic and moral obligation to improve education and social supports dramatically for these students. To do so, we need strong core standards for what students should learn, and a comprehensive education system that includes guides for teachers, model lesson plans, pre-service teacher education, in-service professional development, conditions and materials that are conducive to teaching and learning, and appropriate textbooks—all based on common standards.

We also need to recognize that schools can do only so much to offset the effects of poverty. We must address out-of-school factors such as access to early childhood education, after-school programs and healthcare as part of any serious effort to provide equal educational opportunities for all children.