No Educator Left Behind is a series providing answers from the U.S. Department of Education to questions about the federal No Child Left Behind Act and how it will affect educators. If you have a question about No Child Left Behind, send an e-mail to Ellen Delisio, and we will submit your question to the Department of Education.

QUESTION:

How can teachers be convinced that NCLB is working?

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION:

No Child Left Behind is working, and I'd encourage those educators [who are skeptical] to take a look at the 2005 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) National and State Report Cards in Mathematics and Reading, also known as the Nation's Report Card. The Nation's Report Card confirms that we are heading in the right direction, particularly with younger students who have benefited from No Child Left Behind's core principles of annual assessment and disaggregation of data. The results in fourth grade are particularly encouraging, and we are truly heartened by the continued narrowing of the achievement gap. More information, including results from individual states, is available online at the National Center for Education Statistics.

As a former state policymaker, I know how eager states are to use these findings to inform their next policy decisions. The results clearly show a need to apply accountability principles and focused instruction in our middle and high schools in both rural and urban areas. I look forward to working with state and school officials to carry out these urgent, data-driven priorities for our students.

Read previous questions and answers in our No Educator Left Behind archive.