NCLB Discussion

Evaluation Research

According to the federal government, NCLB is making a difference in the lives of children. For example, the most recent national test scores show that:

• In reading, nine-year-olds have made larger gains in the past five years than at any point in the previous twenty-eight years.
• In math, nine-year-olds and thirteen-year-olds earned the highest scores in the history of the test.
• In both reading and math, African American and Hispanic students are scoring higher, and are beginning to close the achievement gap with their Caucasian peers.¹⁵

Two NCLB programs that specifically influence the early childhood grades pre-K–3 are Reading First and Early Reading First.

Reading First

• Provides grants to states to help schools and school districts improve children’s reading achievement through scientifically proven methods of instruction.
• Funds professional development, scientifically based instructional programs, materials, and strategies, valid and reliable screening, diagnostic and ongoing classroom assessments, and statewide accountability and leadership structures.
• Under the NCLB Act, funding for fiscal years 2002 through 2005 amounted to $3.96 billion for Reading First and $348 million for Early Reading First.¹⁶

Early Reading First

• Enhances children’s language, cognitive, and early reading skills through professional development for teachers.
• Provides early language and reading development and instructional materials as developed from scientifically based reading research.
• Provides preschool-age children with cognitive learning opportunities in high-quality language and literature-rich environments.
• Uses screening assessments to effectively identify preschool children who may be at risk for reading failure.
• Improves existing early childhood programs by integrating scientifically based reading research into all aspects of the program (including instructional materials, teaching strategies, curricula, parent engagement, ande professional development).¹⁷

According to Amy Holcombe, Ph.D., principal of Falkener Elementary School in Greensboro, North Carolina, federally funded schools have benefited from the NCLB legislation in many ways:

• NCLB requires that all teachers working in Title I schools be highly qualified. Previously, lateral entry or uncertified teachers could work as teaching faculty at federally funded schools. Now that this is no longer allowed, teaching faculty at federally funded schools are 100 percent highly qualified.
• NCLB provides for federal funding for each student qualifying for a free or reduced-price lunch. With this funding, Title I schools are able to purchase many additional resources including teaching faculty, instructional supplies, professional development, student field trips, and parental involvement activities.
• NCLB has generated a more focused approach to teaching to the individual needs of students. Previously, if a school’s overall percentage of on-grade-level students was high, they were considered to be performing well. Now that those data are disaggregated by subgroup, it has become apparent that some schools are not meeting the needs of all students equally. In an effort to meet the requirements of NCLB, schools are utilizing research-based strategies to ensure that students are receiving individualized instruction designed to meet their learning needs.

Notes

14. The White House, Good Start, Grow Smart: The Bush Administration's Early Childcare Initiative, 2002, http://www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/earlychildhood/earlychildhood.html.

15. The White House, The No Child Left Behind Act: Challenging Students Through High Expectations, October 2006, http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/10/20061005-2.html.

16. U.S. Department of Education, Reading First: Over $4.3 Billion to Improve the Reading Skills of Young Children, 2005, http://www.ed.gov/programs/readingfirst/nclb-reading-first.html.

17. U.S. Department of Education, Early Reading First, 2006, http://www.ed.gov/program/earlyreadingindex.html.