Where is Armstrong Williams When You Need Him?
October 20, 2005
Washington, DC - While the Bush Administration and its apologists use isolated statistics to argue that their No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) is working, a complete assessment of the Department of Education's national report card on NCLB shows that millions of children continue to be left behind. In fact, "By some measures, students were making greater gains before the law was put into effect." [New York Times, 10/20/05]
Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean today issued the following statement:
"Since the Bush Administration can no longer buy positive news coverage on education from Armstrong Williams, the Bush Administration is spinning harder than ever to hide the disastrous impact of its failure to fully fund No Child Left Behind. But no matter how hard the Bush Administration and its apologists try, they cannot hide the fact that President Bush's chronic underfunding of No Child Left Behind has denied millions of American schoolchildren the opportunity to succeed.
"The parents, students, and teachers of America deserve better than President Bush's failed leadership and broken promises on education. They deserve leadership in Washington that makes good on the promises they make to American schoolchildren, and they deserve leadership that provides all American children the educational opportunities they need to live the American dream. "
"Democrats are committed to providing that leadership. That is why we are fighting to reverse cuts in critical programs that could accelerate efforts to close the achievement gap. And, by fighting to reverse cuts in Head Start and Even Start, protect preschool programs, recruit and train skilled teachers, and improve our nation’s schools, Democrats are working to make sure that every American child has equal access to a quality education from trained teachers in a modern schools."
Test Scores Raising Slower Than Before NCLB. From 2000 to 2003, before NCLB took full effect, the percentage of fourth graders scoring proficient in math rose eight percentage points, compared with four points this year. The percentage of eighth graders proficient in math rose three points before the law, compared with one point this year. The trend holds true with reading scores as well. This year's fourth-grade reading scores were flat, with 31 percent of students scoring proficient this year, the same percentage as in 2003. Eighth grade reading scores actually declined, with 31 percent scoring as proficient, compared with 32 percent in 2003. [New York Times, 10/20/05]
Gaps Between Minority and Non-Minority Students Closing Too Slowly. According to Gage Kingsbury of the Northwest Educational Evaluation Association, if the results from the 2005 education report card are extrapolated, it will take 28 years for black and white students to perform at equal proficiency levels on fourth grade math testing. It would take 200 years or more for the gap to close on eighth-grade reading scores. [New York Times, 10/20/05]
President Bush Has Repeatedly Broken His Promise to Provide Federal Support for Education. President Bush's last four budgets (FY2002-2005) have cumulatively provided $27 billion less than what was pledged under NCLB. Even with the additional funds that Congress appropriated over Bush's budgets, American schools have received $17.2 billion less than what they were promised over the past three years. [President's FY 2005 Budget, www.ed.gov; historical data at www.ed.gov]
