Major Report on No Child Left Behind Is First Comprehensive Look at States' Progress, Challenges
Thursday, July 15, 2004

Education Commission of the States issues most complete data on implemenation of NCLB; teacher preparation proves to be one of greatest challenges

ORLANDO -- States are making substantial progress implementing the controversial No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), although they still have far to go in some areas, says a new report released today by the Education Commission of the States (ECS).

At a special session of The 2004 National Forum on Education Policy, under way through Friday in Orlando, ECS issued the most comprehensive report available to date examining states' progress, successes and challenges related to NCLB.

"ECS Report to the Nation: State Implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act" is based primarily on results from a one-of-a kind database, developed by ECS staff with a $2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education. The report compares state progress from March 2003 through March 2004.

"There has been and continues to be a great deal of discussion around NCLB on many levels," said Ted Sanders, president of ECS.
"But this is the first chance the nation has had to view the issues in terms of what states are actually doing."

For example, through its research, ECS found that as of March 2004:
-- All 50 states had met or were partially on track to meeting half of the 40 key requirements of NCLB ? an 11% increase over March 2003.
-- All but two states and the District of Columbia had met or were partially on track to meeting 75% of the requirements -- an impressive 109% increase over March 2003.
-- Five states -- Connecticut, Kentucky, New York, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania -- had met or were partially on track to meeting all 40 NCLB requirements.

"Not since 'A Nation at Risk' has a report on education been so needed," said Milton Goldberg, ECS Distinguished Senior Fellow. "The ECS Report to the Nation demonstrates that major shifts in state education policy can occur over a relatively short time. While adaptations in No Child Left Behind continue to be made, the overall progress is remarkable."

Challenges however, remain. The findings show the following:
-- Few states are on track to implementing high quality professional development -- for all teachers.
-- Only 10 states appear fully on track to ensuring that both new and veteran teachers are qualified to teach in their subject areas.
-- Fewer than half the states are on track to making sure that scientifically based technical assistance is provided to low- performing schools.
-- Many states do not have in place the technical infrastructureneeded to collect, isaggregate and report data at the school, district and state levels.

Tying ECS' findings to other research efforts, the organization worked with key constituent members to identify five recommendations for federal officials and state policymakers.

Those recommendations are:
-- Embrace NCLB as a Civil Rights Issue
-- Ensure Performance Growth of All Students, Not Just Low- Performing Students
-- Reassess Adequate Yearly Progress
-- Strengthen State Highly Qualified Teacher Requirements
-- Build State and Local Capacity.

ECS also provided more detailed recommendations that address specific components of NCLB. In addition, the report looks at how states are doing, what states are doing, and issues and challenges states face in addressing seven major categories of the law: standards and assessment, adequate yearly progress, school improvement, supplemental services, safe schools, report cards and teacher quality.

"It is time to realize the promise of educational quality set forth 50 years ago in the Brown vs. Board of Education decision, which increased access for millions of American children," concluded Sanders. "NCLB holds the potential to help fulfill that promise, and we must build upon the findings of this report to make the law work."

The NCLB database, which ECS staff continues to maintain, records actual policy enactments and calculates trends by quarter. At a glance, visitors can see how the nation as a whole is progressing on the seven NCLB categories, how individual states are faring and how states compare to one another.

To learn more about this report and to access the NCLB database online, visit the ECS Web site at http://www.ecs.org/NCLB.

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The Education Commission of the States (ECS) is a national, nonprofit organization that helps governors, legislators, state education officials and others identify, develop and implement public policies to improve student learning at all levels. A nonpartisan organization, ECS was formed in 1965 and is located in Denver, Colorado.

ECS has over 35 years of experience helping states adopt and implement policies to improve their education system in ways consistent with their unique historical, social, economic, and political contexts. ECS is also the only national organization whose staff serves all the constituencies that must be involved to make the promise of NCLB a
reality: governors and their education policy advisors, legislators and legislative staff, chief state school officers, state education board members, state higher education officers, and business leaders.