Most states showed significant improvements in student reading and math achievement, especially at the elementary levels, the report said. In Utah, the low-income student gap narrowed for both math and reading in three grades analyzed. The gap for Latino students narrowed in reading but showed mixed results for math.
"I'm not a bit surprised by the result," said Judy Park, associate superintendent of student achievement at the Utah State Office of Education. She hadn't seen the study but was pleased to learn it didn't attribute gains solely to the NCLB law, saying other state and local efforts also deserve credit.
No one, however, asserts that Utah has done all it needs to bridge the state's still-significant achievement gap between Utah's white and minority students. A two-day training session to help educators understand and overcome racial inequality in schools will conclude today.
"The gaps themselves are still there," Kathleen Christy, Salt Lake City School District's assistant to the superintendent, said from the session.
Tuesday's report is the first in a trio from the Center on Education Policy, a Washington, D.C.-based advocate for more effective public schools. The center has been studying implementation of the NCLB act since its inception.
The act ties federal Title I funding for disadvantaged students to performance on state achievement tests. It aims to focus attention on lower-achieving groups of students, whose poor scores can be masked by a higher-scoring majority.
Educators have said the law sets schools up to fail. It creates categories of kids - such as students with disabilities or limited English skills - who, by definition, are struggling in school. It then deems entire schools lacking if a single group doesn't make the grade.
Congress will debate reauthorization of the act this year.
The new study analyzed state test scores from all 50 states to discern trends since NCLB took effect in 2002. Some states had comparable test data for 2002 and beyond, while others have changed state tests significantly over the years.
In states that had three or more years of comparable data, most showed improved reading and math performance since 2002. And although achievement gaps persist, most narrowed rather than widened.
And average yearly gains were greater after NCLB took effect in nine of the 13 states with sufficient data.
However, "it is very difficult, if not impossible, to determine the extent to which these trends in test results have occurred because of NCLB," the study concluded, noting that numerous federal, state and local reforms were implemented during the past five years. "It becomes nearly impossible to sort out which policy or combination of policies is responsible for test score gains."
Utah's education leaders are reluctant to say NCLB added incentive to help struggling students, citing instead a range of new tools that have helped schools better respond to student needs.
"I don't think that one thing can take credit for it," said Deborah Swensen, state education office test development coordinator. "Every year schools evaluate what students are doing, what are their needs and how to meet those needs."
After a year spent studying Utah's achievement gap, a minority-student achievement task force organized this week's two-day session to broaden the conversation, said Brenda Burrell, state education office minority-student achievement specialist. Courageous Conversations About Race, a book by Utah native Curtis Linton, will guide discussions among educators and leaders in the Salt Lake City and Granite school districts.
"There is proven research out there that shows the achievement gap can be narrowed and closed," Burrell said. "We're going to come up with an answer for Utah."
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* NICOLE STRICKER can be reached at nstricker@sltrib.com or 801-257-8999.
