By Maria Glod and Daniel de Vise
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, October 2, 2008

Since enactment of the No Child Left Behind law, students from poor families in the Washington area have made major gains on reading and math tests and are starting to catch up with those from middle-class and affluent backgrounds, a Washington Post analysis shows.

The achievement gap between economic groups, long a major frustration for educators, has narrowed in the region's suburban schools since President Bush signed the law in 2002, according to Maryland and Virginia test data.

In Montgomery County, for instance, students in poverty have earned better scores on Maryland's reading test in each of the past five years, slicing in half the 28 percentage-point gulf that separated their pass rate from the county average. They also have made a major dent in the math gap. In Fairfax County, another suburban academic powerhouse, such students have slashed the achievement gaps on Virginia tests.

In the District, where most public school students come from low-income homes, reading and math scores have risen since the 2006 debut of new tests. But fewer than half of the students passed the spring D.C. exams. In Prince George's County, where about half of the students come from poverty, overall scores have climbed steadily since 2003, but the system still trails its wealthier neighbors.

The results show substantial progress in the Washington area toward the law's core goal: raising performance of disadvantaged children. Although concerns persist about the law's emphasis on standardized tests, many educators say it has forced schools to concentrate more systematically on each struggling student.

"As much as I'd say I wish we didn't have to necessarily take these tests, I know it's made us better," said Angela Robinson, principal at Loudoun County's Sugarland Elementary School, which reached achievement targets under the law this year after falling short in 2007. "Before NCLB was put in place, yes, we paid attention to those groups, but it was not with the same focus that we do now."

Despite optimism about rising scores, some experts caution that state tests are an unreliable gauge because standards vary from place to place. They point to national test scores that show progress at a much slower pace than in the Washington area, with some achievement gaps holding steady. Many principals and teachers question whether all students, including most of those with disabilities, should be held to the same academic goals. Many suburban parents complain that schools spend too much time "teaching to the test" and give short shrift to such subjects as history, music and the arts. And on the campaign trail, No Child Left Behind has lost its appeal for Republicans and Democrats.

Debate continues about how much the law has helped or hurt public education, but there is little doubt that it has led to significant changes, amounting to a cultural shift in many schools.

Teachers, once largely on their own, often work in teams to improve and fine-tune lessons and brainstorm ways to help students. The massive expansion of testing -- required every year from grades 3 through 8, and once in high school -- has become part of the classroom fabric. Many schools have added periodic mini-tests that help provide an instructional road map. When a few kids stumble, they often get extra help. When an entire class misses questions, the teacher is likely to tackle the lesson again.

Through the law, the federal government mandates that schools become an equalizer for children -- and prove it through test scores. Middle- and upper-class children, who typically have more books at home and are read to more often, usually arrive at school with a head start.

The law set the ambitious goal of having all students pass grade-level reading and math exams by 2014. Overall gains aren't enough. Groups of students, including racial and ethnic minorities and those from families poor enough to qualify for school lunch subsidies, must also reach targets. Schools that fall short face various sanctions.

Scores are rising steadily in the area's largest suburban systems. Still, only three posted pass rates higher than 90 percent on state reading tests: Fairfax, Loudoun and Howard county schools. None topped 90 percent in math.

The data show that testing changes can result in peaks and valleys in scores. This year, Virginia for the first time rated thousands of English learners, many of them from immigrant families, through samples of schoolwork instead of a regular test. That led scores to jump. The District's pass rates plummeted when new tests were introduced in 2006, but they have bumped up.

As Congress considers reauthorizing the law, it is unclear what the next incarnation of No Child Left Behind will look like. Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Barack Obama (D-Ill.) support the law's aim, but each says he would push for change if elected president. A recent Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup poll found that a quarter of those surveyed said the law is helping schools. Twenty-two percent said it is hurting.

"There is a belief among parents that there is an obsession with assessments now, and that school systems, individual schools, spend all their time teaching to the test," said Montgomery County school board member Patricia O'Neill (Bethesda-Chevy Chase).

Under the law, struggling schools may be required to offer private tutoring, to allow students to transfer or even to reorganize. But in practice, experts say, the most powerful lever for change is the stigma of being perceived as a failing school.

Noyes Elementary School in Northeast Washington, where more than three-quarters of students live in poverty, was receiving good marks until the D.C. testing change in 2006. Principal Wayne Ryan said the new test was harder. The school's reading pass rate dropped from 77 percent to 24 percent; the math pass rate, from 63 percent to 10 percent.

Teachers were stung. "We redoubled our efforts to make sure that this didn't happen again," Ryan said.

The school focused on material covered in the test, and in 2007, the share of students with a passing grade jumped 25 points in math and 22 in reading. Scores climbed again last spring. Noyes Elementary touted its success in a flier that compared its scores to those of nearby charter schools.

The onus of failure also sparked a shakeup at Shady Grove Middle School in Montgomery County. Three years ago, the school missed a test-score target. If just one more student from a low-income family had passed in reading, the school would have made adequate yearly progress, the label of success.

"We were stopped dead in our tracks," Principal Lance Dempsey said. "It was very crushing. And it was by one kid."

Dempsey launched a schoolwide literacy plan. She pushed teachers to learn techniques to integrate reading into every subject and gave them weekly training in reading instruction. Teachers started meeting regularly to identify students who were falling behind and to make plans to help them. Educators across the region are taking similar steps. Physical education and art teachers often weave math and literacy lessons into games and projects.

The result, Dempsey said, is a better school. "I think it gave us an opportunity to say, 'Whoa, we are leaving a few kids behind.' " In 2005, only two-fifths of students in poverty passed in reading. This year, almost three-fourths passed.

At Bailey's Elementary School, where more than 50 percent of students are from poverty, scores for such students missed state targets for reading and math in 2007. This year, the school, in the Falls Church area of Fairfax, cleared the bar in reading but fell just short in math. Now, teams of teachers meet once a week to strategize on reading and a second time to better math instruction. In the past, Principal Jay McClain said, such meetings were less focused, and teachers discussed things such as field trips.

In the law's early years, McClain said, schools concentrated on students who needed a small boost to pass. Now, they are seeking to improve teaching for all.

"When you're at risk of failing, it provides the incentive to say we have to do this," McClain said. "Before it would have been nice to do such-and-such a thing, but it's gotten to be an imperative."