No Child Left Behind: The Test
by Stan Karp
October 23, 2004

Under the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), the federal government has mandated that all 91,000 public schools in the United States be rated on the basis of standardized test scores. The new law's unmistakable message is if it's not on a test, it's not worth knowing.

Accordingly, the following information about NCLB and U.S. education policy is presented in the form today's policymakers seem to love best: objective, multiple-choice questions that leave no room for
doubt, debate, or complete sentences.

Your goal is to circle the truth with a number-two pencil. You will have twenty minutes to complete the
test. You may not look at any other part of the magazine during that time. Nor may you talk, eat, go
to the bathroom, use a dictionary, or have a creative thought. You may sweat. Answers are at the end of each section. Sources and references are at the end.

I. Testing, Testing . . .

1. Under NCLB the following measure of inequality must be eliminated by 2014:

A. Inequality in school funding.

B. Inequality in child poverty rates.

C. Inequality in access to health care.

D. Inequality in family income.

E. Inequality in standardized test scores.

2. The percentage of schools that did not meet NCLB's "adequate yearly progress" targets for the 2002-03
school year included:

A. 5% of Alabama schools.

B. 14% of Wyoming schools.

C. 40% of Illinois schools.

D. 76% of Florida schools.

E. All of the above.

3. The reasons for these widely varying results include the fact that:

A. States have very different standards that make comparisons essentially meaningless.

B. The "AYP" targets are so arbitrary and inappropriate that eventually most schools will be on
the list anyway.

C. NCLB actually encourages some states to adopt lower standards to keep schools off the list.

D. The threshold size for counting student subgroups -- like special education students or English-language learners -- varies widely from state to state.

E. All of the above.

4. NCLB requires that schools make "adequate yearly progress" in equal increments toward 100% proficiency on state tests by 2014. However, according to testing research:

A. 70% of the year-to-year change in test scores for grade levels or schools is random variation.

B. The larger and more diverse a school is, the more likely it will fail to meet AYP.

C. One study concluded that "the AYP system cannot tell the difference between a learning gain and random noise."

D. All of these.

5. Examples of NCLB's impact on classrooms include:

A. In Maine, teacher-made, classroom-based assessments are being replaced by standardized tests.

B. Philadelphia fourth graders read fewer books.

C. Maryland schools are spending 20% less time on social studies.

D. Oregon is cutting foreign-language and music classes and spending more on testing.

E. A significant reduction in arts-education programs, particularly in urban schools with large
numbers of students of color.

F. All of the above.

Answers: 1 E, 2 E, 3 E, 4 D, 5 F

II. Show Me the Money . . .

6. Which of the following statements about NCLB funding is true?

A. Funding for NCLB has been about $26 billion below originally promised levels.

B. While dramatically increasing expectations for school and student performance, NCLB has increased
total U.S. school spending by about 1%.

C. Under NCLB, the federal share of total school spending has remained at about 7%, leaving states and
local districts to pay the rest.

D. All of the above.

7. Studies of the projected costs needed to meet NCLB mandates, even on its own narrow, test-score terms, have found that:

A. Annual K-12 education spending would have to increase about 30% over current levels.

B. This would require more than ten times the current funding for federal Title I programs serving high-
poverty schools.

C. The estimated costs of just developing and administering the additional tests NCLB mandates may
be more than twice what the law provides.

D. All of the above.

8. Which of the following statements about whether NCLB is an "unfunded mandate" is true?

A. Section 9527 of NCLB says: "Nothing in this Act shall be construed to authorize . . . the Federal
Government to . . . mandate a State or any subdivision thereof to spend any funds or incur any costs not paid for under this Act."

B. 90% of school superintendents have said NCLB requires them to make expenditures NCLB doesn't
provide.

C. The nonpartisan General Accounting Office concluded that NCLB did not qualify as an "unfunded
mandate" because states could refuse to accept federal funds if they didn't want to comply with its
provisions.

D. All of the above.

9. The approximately $130 billion spent so far on the war in Iraq is:

A. About 4 times what the federal government annually spends on K-12 programs for all 50 states.

B. Enough to hire 2.4 million elementary school
teachers.

C. Enough to provide Head Start slots for an
additional 18 million children.

D. Enough to provide full four-year college
scholarships for more than 3 million students.

E. Each of the above.



10. According to the Children's Defense Fund:

A. States spend on average almost three times as much
per prisoner as per public school pupil.

B. 9.3 million children lack health insurance.

C. Three million children live in households
suffering from hunger or "food insecurity without
hunger."

D. All of the above.



11. When parents were asked, "If there was more
federal money available for your school, which one of
[five choices] would you want it to go to?" they
replied as follows:

A. 52% chose smaller classes.

B. 12% would restore arts programs.

C. 11% said after-school programs.

D. 10% said increased professional development for
teachers.

E. 10% picked "implementing the No Child Left Behind
Act."

F. All of the above.



12. While Title I funds will increase by about $650
million for the 2004-05 school year, new formulas for
allocating the money to the poorest schools will mean:

A. More than 55% of Title I districts will receive
lower funding despite NCLB's increased mandates.

B. Ten states will lose up to 10% of their Title I
funding: Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan,
Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North
Dakota, and Pennsylvania.

C. Some urban districts, like San Francisco and
Oakland, will lose significant Title I funds.

D. Despite recent increases in federal spending, the
Title I program still serves only about 60% of the
children who meet its eligibility requirements.

E. All of the above.


Answers: 6 D, 7 D, 8 D, 9 E, 10 D, 11 F, 12 E


III. Policy Follies


13. Which of the following does NCLB specifically
provide funds for:

A. Smaller class sizes.

B. Multicultural education.

C. Full-day kindergarten.

D. Test research.



14. Which of the following provisions is NOT contained
in the NCLB legislation:

A. Greater access to school records for military
recruiters.

B. Greater access to school facilities for groups
like the Boys Scouts that discriminate against gays
and lesbians.

C. Greater access to bilingual programs for
English-language learners.

D. Guarantees of "constitutionally protected" prayer
in schools.

E. Greater access to school funds for faith-based and
religious groups.



15. In which area has the Bush Administration mandated
strict adherence to "scientifically proven" research?

A. The teaching of evolution.

B. Global warming.

C. Phonemic awareness.

D. Stem-cell research.



16. Which of the following NCLB sanctions has a proven
record of success as a school improvement strategy?

A. The imposition of private management on public
schools.

B. The wholesale replacement of school staff, called
"reconstitution."

C. The transfer of students and resources out of
"failing schools."

D. State takeovers of local school districts.

E. None of the above.



17. A 2003 Gallup poll on NCLB showed that:


A. 76% of the public knew "nothing" or "very little"
about the law.

B. 66% said a single statewide test was not a fair
measure of whether a school needed improvement.

C. 84% said that determining "reasonable improvement
from where [students] started" was a better measure of
school performance than a fixed test-score target.

D. 71% thought it was important to close gaps in test
scores among different racial groups.

E. Only 16% thought these gaps were caused primarily
by the quality of schooling they received.

F. All of the above.



18. A U.S. Department of Education survey of private
schools found that:

A. Two-thirds said they would refuse vouchers if they
had to accept students randomly.

B. Over half would refuse vouchers if they had to
administer the same tests that public schools do.

C. Three-quarters would refuse to accept
special-needs students or English-Language learners as
voucher students.

D. All of the above.



19. The U.S. Department of Education has responded to
widespread calls for more flexibility in its NCLB
regulations by:

A. Allowing districts to exclude not more than 1% of
special education students from state tests.

B. Insisting that any state that gives parents the
option of withdrawing their children from state
assessments must count such students as missing from
AYP participation rates.

C. Insisting that districts implement NCLB's
transfer provisions even where alternative placements
do not exist.

D. All of the above.



20. NCLB obligates schools that don't make "AYP" for
two years to allow students to transfer to other
schools. Which of the following was NOT a result of
this provision?

A. A lottery system in Chicago that rationed 1,100
available seats to the 270,000 students eligible to
transfer.

B. Overcrowding in many of New York City's more
successful small schools, which were required to
absorb many of the 8,000 students allowed to transfer
(out of a total of 300,000 eligible students).

C. The transfer of students and resources away from
schools most "in need of improvement."

D. The opening up of suburban districts to transfers
from urban districts.



21. NCLB obligates schools that don't make "AYP" for
three years to provide "supplemental tutoring"
services. Which of the following was a result of this
provision?

A. States have identified more than 1,400 "approved
providers" of supplemental services.

B. 63% of these providers are private companies.

C. Some districts have had to eliminate their own
supplemental tutoring programs in order to pay for
more expensive private programs that serve fewer kids.

D. One example of this is Southtown, Ill., where the
district eliminated a tutoring program that served 250
students with certified teachers in small classes of
10 and replaced it with a more expensive program where
Sylvan Learning Center will serve 50-60 students.

E. Tutors for private supplemental-service providers
do not have to meet the same "highly qualified"
standards as public school teachers.

F. All of the above.



22. The U.S. Department of Education has implemented
NCLB's parental involvement provisions by all EXCEPT:


A. Giving millions to pro-voucher groups to encourage
parents to use the transfer and tutorial provisions of
NCLB.

B. Directing schools to send letters home to parents
telling them their children's teachers don't meet
"highly qualified" status.

C. Encouraging state and local parent groups to "spy"
on schools and "expose" their failures.

D. Encouraging parents to attend school board and
site council meetings to advocate for school
improvement that serves the needs of all children.


Answers: 13 D, 14 C, 15 C, 16 E, 17 F, 18 D, 19 D, 20
D, 21 F, 22 D


IV. Words of Wisdom

Match the quote (23-28) with the source (A-F below):


23. "The results are unambiguous. In all 14 factors,
the gaps in student achievement mirror inequalities in
those aspects of school, early life, and home
circumstances that research has linked to
achievement."


24. "All things equal, I would prefer to have a child
in a school that has a strong appreciation for the
values of the Christian community, where a child is
taught to have a strong faith."


25. "I believe that any new programs developed on the
federal level should provide states and local school
boards with as much freedom from prescriptive or
onerous mandates as possible."


26. "This almost reads like our business plan."


27. "The scientific evidence we do have about teaching
and learning to read is now being selectively
reviewed, distorted, and misrepresented by the very
agents and agencies who should give us reliable
reports of what the research says."


28. "NCLB declares that education should be
scientific. It mentions "scientifically based
research" 110 times. Yet it has zero scientific basis
for what it prescribes. Nothing that it forces on the
states has been tried. It does turn our kids into lab
rats."


A. Richard Allington of the University of Florida, one
of the nation's leading researchers on reading and a
member of the Reading Hall of Fame.


B. Educational researcher Gerald Bracey.


C. Former Pennsylvania Secretary of Education Eugene
W. Hickok, testifying before the Committee on
Education and the Workforce, March 30, 1998. Today
Hickok is U.S. Deputy Secretary of Education,
responsible for implementing NCLB.


D. Parsing the Achievement Gap, a report from the
Educational Testing Service, October, 2003.


E. Rod Paige, U.S. Secretary of Education.


F. Peter Jovanovich, chief executive of Pearson
Education, a multibillion corporate publisher of tests
and education materials, describing President Bush's
education policies.


Answers: 23 D, 24 E, 25 C, 26 F, 27 A, 28 B


SCORING: Send your answers to Rethinking Schools,
along with your race, class, and gender and we will
send you a list of the slots in society for which you
seem qualified.


Sources and References

(Listed by question number and, where appropriate, by
answer letter)

1. "Questions & Answers On NCLB," U.S. Department Of
Education Website,
http://www.ed.gov/nclb/accountability/schools/accountability.html.

2. From The Capital To The Classroom: Year 2 Of The No
Child Left Behind Act
Center On Education Policy, Washington, D.C., January
2004, p. 56.

3. See "The NCLB Hoax" by Stan Karp,
http://www.rethinkingschools.org/special_reports/bushplan/hoax.shtml.

4. A and C: "No Child Left Behind: Costs And
Benefits," by William Mathis, Phi Delta Kappan, Vol.
84, No. 09 (May 2003), pp. 679-686; B: Penalizing
Diverse Schools, by John Novak And Bruce Fuller,
Policy Analysis For California Education Brief,
December 2003.

5. A: "No School Left Unscathed," by U.S.
Representative Tom Allen, Special To The Sun Journal,
November 9, 2003; B: "Battles Ahead Over NCLB,"
Philadelphia Inquirer, November 18, 2003; C: A Cause
For Concern -- History Education In Maryland, Maryland
Humanities Council, April 2003; D: Tips For Parent
Advocacy, National Arts Education Association, October
2003; E: Academic Atrophy The Condition Of The Liberal
Arts In America's Public Schools, by Claus Von Zastrow
with Helen Janc, Council For Basic Education, March
2004.

6. "Two Very Different Questions," by William Mathis,
Education Week, April 21, 2004.

7. A and B: "Two Very Different Questions," by
William Mathis, Education Week, April 21, 2004; C: See
"Debate Grows On True Costs Of School Law," Education
Week, February 4, 2004. Also see "GAO Says Costs For
State Tests All In How Questions Asked," Education
Week, May 21, 2003.

8. A: NCLB Act, Sec. 9527. Prohibitions On Federal
Government And Use Of Federal Funds; B:
"Superintendents And Principals Weigh In On Challenges
Of NCLB," Public Agenda, December 2003; C: Unfunded
Mandates: Analysis Of Reform Act Coverage, GAO Report,
May 2004.

9.
http://www.costofwar.com/index-public-education.html.

10. The State Of America's Children 2004, Children's
Defense Fund, July 13, 2004.

11. Poll Of Parents On "No Child Left Behind," Summary
Of Survey Findings, Results For America, A Project Of
Civil Society Institute, January 22-February 1, 2004.

12. Title I Funds: Who's Gaining, Who's Losing And
Why, Center On Education Policy, June 2004.

13. A-Z Index For NCLB,
http://www.ed.gov/nclb/index/az/index.html.

14. A-Z Index For NCLB,
http://www.ed.gov/nclb/index/az/index.html.

15. Questions And Answers On No Child Left Behind:
Reading,
http://www.ed.gov/nclb/methods/reading/reading.html.

16. Questions And Answers On No Child Left Behind:
Stronger Accountability,
http://www.ed.gov/nclb/accountability/schools/accountability.html
- 5.

17. "Public Ignorant Of 'No Child' Law, Poll Finds" by
John Gehring, Education Week, September 3, 2003.

18. "NJEA Report On Education," Newark Star Ledger,
October 19, 2003.

19. A: Dept. Of Education, Press Release, December 9,
2003; B: From The Capital To The Classroom: Year 2 Of
The No Child Left Behind Act, Center On Education
Policy, Washington, D.C., January 2004, p. 44; C:
"Education Dept. Offers Guidance On Choice,"
Associated Press, December 9, 2002.

20. A: From The Capital To The Classroom: Year 2 Of
The No Child Left Behind Act, Center On Education
Policy, Washington, D.C., January 2004, p. 94; B: "On
Front Lines, Casualties," by Michael Winerip, New York
Times, September 24, 2003.

21. From The Capital To The Classroom: Year 2 Of The
No Child Left Behind Act, Center On Education Policy,
Washington, D.C., January 2004, p. 104; and "Schools
Forced To Cut Tutoring To Buy Tutoring,"
DailySouthtown (Ill.), October 5, 2003.

22. A: Funding A Movement, People For The American
Way, November 21, 2003; B: Teacher Quality: Frequently
Asked Questions,
http://www.ed.gov/nclb/methods/teachers/teachers-faq.html;
C: July 2004 Letter To Rethinking Schools from the
Director of a Parent Information Resource Center in
Kansas describing federally sponsored informational
meetings during 2003-04.

23. Parsing The Achievement Gap, Educational Testing
Service, October 2003.

24. "Paige: No Religious Bias In Remarks," by Michael
A. Fletcher, Washington Post, April 10, 2003.

25. Testimony of then-Pennsylvania Secretary Of
Education Eugene W. Hickok Before House Committee On
Education And The Workforce, March 30, 1998.

26. "Pearson Hopes To Widen The Definition Of
Education," By Mark Walsh, Education Week, February
21, 2001.

27. Big Brother And The National Reading Curriculum,
by Richard Allington, Heinemann (2002), p. 4.

28. "Inside The No Child Left Behind Law," by Jay
Mathews, Washington Post, January 28, 2003.


Stan Karp (stankarp@aol.com) is a high school teacher
in Paterson, N.J., and an editor of Rethinking
Schools. This article appeared in the Fall 2004 issue
of Rethinking Schools.