Educational Progress, or Lack Thereof

Andrew Coulson of Cato responds to the latest National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) data here. The picture is bleak. Students’ skills haven’t changed much since testing began 30-something years ago, but the United States has spent more and more money only to get those same results.

Coulson is absolutely correct about this:

Anyone who points to the slightly higher scores in the early grades as cause for celebration is missing the point.

Nobody hires a fourth-grader. Gains in elementary school achievement are worth something only if they can be sustained until students graduate.