NAEP Scores

Test scores up according to the latest NAEP, which newspaper articles all claim is known as "the nation's report card" even though no actual human beings say this. Drawing sweeping conclusions from this data sounds fun, but Margie Yeager says not to:

Whether the gains are directly attributable to NCLB is another question, and NCLB foes FairTest and the AFT make a reasonable point that scores rose fastest from 2000 to 2003 in most areas. It's important to remember that NAEP is a blunt measurement tool that tests discrete groups of students (as opposed to tracking individual student growth over time), and tying progress on the test directly to any specific reform is at best, educated guesswork.

That, though, is really boring so just take it for granted that these results absolutely confirm the rightness of all my beliefs about education policy.