National Assessment of Educational Progress

Mathematics, 2009           

Representative samples of fourth- and eighth-grade public school students from 18 urban districts participated in the 2009 assessment. Eleven of the districts also participated in the 2007 assessment, and 10 participated in 2003. Between 1,800 and 4,300 fourth- and eighth-graders were assessed in each district.

• In comparison to 2007, average mathematics scores for students in large cities increased in 2009 at both grades 4 and 8; however, only two participating districts at each grade showed gains.
• Scores were higher in 2009 for Boston and the District of Columbia at grade 4, and for Austin and San Diego at grade 8.
• No districts showed a decline in scores at either grade.
• In comparison to 2003, scores for students in large cities were higher in 2009 at both grades 4 and 8.
• Increases in scores were also seen across most urban districts that participated in both years, except in Charlotte at grade 4 and in Cleveland at grades 4 and 8, where there were no significant changes.

Improving Low-Performing Schools: Lessons from Five Years of Studying School Restructuring under No Child Left Behind

By the Center on Education Policy

This report synthesizes five years of CEP's research on state and local efforts to improve persistently low-performing schools in accordance with the No Child Left Behind Act. CEP conducted this research in six states -- California, Georgia, Maryland, Michigan, New York, and Ohio -- and in 23 districts and 48 schools within those states. The report also makes recommendations for improving federal assistance in this area.

By Seema Mehta, Los Angeles Times, December 6, 2009

The bell signaling the end of the school day at De Anza Elementary in Baldwin Park rang more than an hour ago. But hundreds of students are still at school, studying vocabulary, practicing math and completing homework under the supervision of teachers.

By Erin Richards, Journal Sentinel, November 29, 2009

Lennise Crampton, a 40-year-old Milwaukee mother of eight, sometimes wonders how her children would have performed in school if she'd known how to be a better parent from the start.

A single mother until she married this year, Crampton usually managed decent meals and clothing and getting her kids to class. It was up to the school, she thought, to handle the education part.