Over the past few decades, concerns have escalated about the quality of education in the U.S. for students in the middle grades. Children entering adolescence have unique educational, social, and emotional needs. How effectively the nation is educating these students has long been a topic of research and debate. This study by the Center on…

Educational accountability has grown substantially over the last decade, due in large part to the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. Accordingly, educational researchers and policymakers are interested in the statistical properties of accountability models used for NCLB, such as status, improvement, and growth models; as well as others that are not…

After eight years of implementing the federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) and other school reforms, how much progress have states, school districts, and schools made in raising achievement for students from all backgrounds and closing achievement gaps based on race, ethnicity, income, and gender? To help answer this question, the Center on…

The District's demographics are such that achievement trends could only be determined for African American, male and female, and low income subgroups. In grade 8 (the only grade in which subgroup trends were analyzed by achievement level), Washington, DC students showed gains in both reading and math at the basic, proficient, and advanced levels…

In grade 8 (the only grade in which subgroup trends were analyzed by achievement level), California students made gains across the board in reading at the basic, proficient, and advanced levels for racial/ethnic subgroups, low income students, and boys and girls. In math, there were some declines at the basic achievement level. In terms of…

In grade 8 (the only grade in which subgroup trends were analyzed by achievement level), Colorado students showed gains in reading at the proficient level for racial/ethnic subgroups, low income students, and boys and girls. There were slight declines or flat trends for almost all subgroups at the advanced level in reading. In math, gains were…

In grade 8 (the only grade in which subgroup trends were analyzed by achievement level), Connecticut students showed gains across the board in math--at the basic, proficient, and advanced levels for racial/ethnic subgroups, low income students, and boys and girls. In reading, there were gains at the basic and proficient levels, but a slight…

In grade 8 (the only grade in which subgroup trends were analyzed by achievement level), Delaware students showed consistent gains in math at the basic, proficient, and advanced levels for racial/ethnic subgroups, low income students, and boys and girls. There were mixed results in reading. Achievement gaps narrowed in both reading and math in…

In grade 8 (the only grade in which subgroup trends were analyzed by achievement level), Florida students showed gains almost across the board in both reading and math at the basic, proficient, and advanced levels for racial/ethnic subgroups, low income students, and boys and girls. Progress has been made in narrowing achievement gaps in both…

This paper profiles the student subgroup achievement and gap trends in Indiana for 2010. Indiana made changes to its state testing program in 2009, so comparisons to earlier years could not be made for the sake of discerning trends in student achievement. Data on student achievement from earlier years are presented. (Contains 9 tables.) [For the…

This paper profiles the student subgroup achievement and gap trends in Oregon for 2010. In grade 8 (the only grade in which subgroup trends were analyzed by achievement level), Oregon showed a clear trend of gains in reading and math at the basic-and-above, proficient-and-above, and advanced levels for all major racial/ethnic subgroups, low-income…

This paper profiles the student subgroup achievement and gap trends in Washington for 2010. In grade 8 (the only grade in which subgroup trends were analyzed by achievement level), Washington showed across-the-board gains in math--improvements at the basic, proficient, and advanced levels for all racial/ethnic subgroups, low-income students, and…

This paper profiles the student subgroup achievement and gap trends in Tennessee for 2010. In grade 8 (the only grade in which subgroup trends were analyzed by achievement level), Tennessee showed across-the-board gains--improvements in reading and math at the proficient-and-above, and advanced levels for all racial/ethnic subgroups, low-income…

This paper profiles the student subgroup achievement and gap trends in South Carolina for 2010. South Carolina introduced new tests in grades 3-8, so trend data that include 2009 are not available. Progress in narrowing achievement gaps at grade 10 was mixed. Comparable data were available for 2004-2009 at grade 10. (Contains 9 tables.) [For the…

This paper profiles the student subgroup achievement and gap trends in Texas for 2010. In grade 8 (the only grade in which subgroup trends were analyzed by achievement level), Texas showed across-the-board gains--improvements in reading and math at the basic, proficient, and advanced levels for all racial/ethnic subgroups, low-income students, and…