Oregon's Test Scores

Good news on Oregon schools - scores just released on Oregon statewide tests went up significantly. The gains were systemic. All content areas and grade levels - except 10th grade which continues to pose a problem -- had significant gains.

What you won't hear is credit given for the test score gains to President Bush for his No Child Left Behind law that for the first time put real consequences on schools that don't meet test score targets.

Now, to be clear - I am critical of certain elements of NCLB. I'm on record with my specific criticisms. But I am not against the notion that schools and teachers should be held accountable to test score targets - and that is one of the central elements of NCLB, and one of the things that we hear the most caterwauling about from educrats.

And so I find it very amusing that these same educrats are taking bows for Oregon's test score gains as if they would have happened without NCLB, as if they would have had these same results even if there were no real consequences if test scores did not improve.

I'm still waiting for the first school administrator to publicly credit NCLB for providing the incentive that made these test score gains possible.