A study released in March 2006 by the Center on Education Policy found that since the passage of NCLB in 2002, 71 percent of the school districts surveyed reported that they have "reduced elementary school instructional time in at least one other subject to make more time for reading and mathematics—the subjects tested for NCLB. In some case study districts, struggling students receive double periods of reading or math or both—sometimes missing certain subjects altogether." The study was conducted as part of a four-year study of NCLB and appears to be the most systematic effort to track the law's footprints through the classroom. The findings were based on (1) a survey of all 50 states, (2) a nationally representative survey of 299 school districts, (3) case studies of 38 geographically diverse districts and 42 schools, (4) six special analyses of critical issues in implementing NCLB, and (5) three national forums.
The full report can be found here.
In the report, “Academic Atrophy: The Condition of Liberal Arts in America’s Public Schools” (Von Zastrow & Janc, 2004), the authors describe how the arts, foreign language, and elementary social studies are being squeezed out by a focus on the two subjects tested under NCLB. The Council of Basic Education’s report discussed results from a survey of 956 principals in four states - Indiana, Maryland, New Mexico, and New York. The researchers found evidence that the narrowing was most severe in schools with higher numbers of minority and low-income students. “We saw ample evidence of waning commitment to the arts, foreign language, and elementary social studies. What’s more, we found that the greatest erosion of the curriculum is occurring in schools with high minority populations – the very populations whose access to such a curriculum has been historically most limited.” According to the study, 47% of high-minority elementary school principals reported decreases in social studies instruction.
The full report can be found here.
2 comments:
The most frustrating aspect of this report is that the outcry against NCLB by thousands of teachers was simply ignored. But what satisfaction is there in saying I told you so. . .?
Depends on how you say and to whom you say "I told you so."
Given the right framing and the right audience, "I told you so" adds credibility to what opponents of NCLB have been saying for a long time. It also makes us look a little less like Chicken Little.
:-)
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