More Resources NCLB Success Stories

Because of No Child Left Behind's accountability provisions, schools and parents are getting the information and help they need to focus attention and resources on the children who need it most—and it's working.

NCLB Benefits Children, Empowers Parents, Supports Teachers and Strengthens Schools.

• All children are counted under NCLB, and schools are responsible for making sure every child is learning.
• Parents are given unprecedented information and new options for their children, which may include free tutoring.
• Teachers utilize assessment data and scientifically based teaching methods to improve classroom instruction.
• Schools identified as in need of improvement receive extra help and resources to raise student achievement.

Multiple studies and reports show that student achievement is rising across America:

• The long-term Nation's Report Card (NAEP) results, released in July 2005, showed elementary school student achievement in reading and math at all-time highs and the achievement gap closing.

  • For America's nine-year-olds in reading, more progress was made in five years than in the previous 28 combined.
  • America's nine-year-olds posted the best scores in reading (since 1971) and math (since 1973) in the history of the report. America's 13-year-olds earned the highest math scores the test ever recorded.
  • Reading and math scores for African American and Hispanic nine-year-olds reached an all-time high.
  • Math scores for African American and Hispanic 13-year-olds reached an all-time high.
  • Achievement gaps in reading and math between white and African American nine-year-olds and between white and Hispanic nine-year-olds are at an all-time low.

• The state-by-state Nation's Report Card results, released in October 2005, showed improved achievement in the earlier grades in which NCLB is focused. In the last two years, the number of fourth-graders who learned their fundamental math skills increased by 235,000—enough to fill 500 elementary schools!

  • Across-the-board improvements were made in mathematics and in fourth-grade reading.
  • African American and Hispanic students posted all-time highs in a number of categories.
  • Forty-three states and the District of Columbia either improved academically or held steady in all categories (fourth- and eighth-grade reading and fourth- and eighth-grade math).

• The Nation's Report Card Trial Urban District Assessments for Reading and Math, released in Dec. 2005, showed students in select urban school districts improving faster than their peers over the last two years.

  • Fourth-graders in 8 of 10 urban districts made larger gains in math than the national average.
  • Fourth-graders in 7 of 10 urban districts made larger gains in reading than the national average.
  • Eighth-graders in 7 of 10 urban districts made more progress in basic math skills than the national average.

• The Nation's Report Card Science 2005 Report found significant academic gains by fourth-graders.

  • Overall, fourth-graders improved four points in science achievement over 1996 and 2000 levels, with the lowest-performing students making the largest gains.
  • African American and Hispanic fourth-graders made significant gains as well, narrowing the achievement gap.

• And the Nation's Report Card Trial Urban District Assessment for Science, released in Nov. 2006, showed narrower achievement gaps for low-income students than for the entire student body, between nearly all of the participating school districts and the nation.

President Bush's FY 2007 budget request demonstrates his continued commitment to education, with dramatic funding increases over 2001 for key education programs, including:

• 29% increase in total Federal education funding (from $42.2 billion in 2001 to $54.4 billion in 2007);
• 33% increase in total K-12 funding (from $27.3 billion in 2001 to $36.3 billion in 2007);
• 40.4% increase in total NCLB funding (from $17.4 billion in 2001 to $24.4 billion in 2007);
• 45% increase in Title I (from $8.8 billion in 2001 to $12.7 billion in 2007);
• 68.5% increase for Special Education (IDEA) grants to states (from $6.34 billion in 2001 to $10.7 billion in 2007); and
• Quadrupled funding for reading (from $286 million in 2001 to $1.2 billion in 2007) (a 300% increase).