According to the Statesman:
Texas fourth- and eighth-grade students have made large gains in math in the past 15 years, but more moderate progress in reading, according to federal test results released Tuesday.
The National Assessment of Educational Progress, also known as the Nation's Report Card, offers a state-by-state view of fourth- and eighth-grade student performance in the two core subject areas.On average, students in Texas performed as well or better than their peers across the nation. The average Texas eighth-grade math score this year was 286 on a scale of 500, up 28 points since 1990 and six points higher than this year's national average. The eighth-grade reading score this year was 261, not significantly different from the 1998 score and the same as the national average.
Critics of No Child Left Behind, including Monty Neill, co-executive director of the nonprofit National Center for Fair and Open Testing in Cambridge, Mass., said the test results show that progress has slowed since the 2001 law took effect.
"This happened despite the fact that curriculum narrowed in many schools to little more than test preparation in reading and math," Neill said.