The U.S. Department of Education recently released information pertaining to the 2004 National Assessment of Educational Progress, also known as the nation’s report card. This long-term assessment has used the same testing criteria for over 30 years.

Despite what people have not heard, the results were dramatic. More than half of the progress made by 9-year-olds over the entire 30-year history has been made in the last five years. Long-standing achievement gaps between young, white students and black and Hispanic students fell to the lowest level ever.

Despite claims that No Child Left Behind was racially discriminatory because too many poor and minority schools were identified as noncompliant, the data suggests that holding schools accountable does indeed help the students who need it most. While high school students are still lagging, this is also understandable given the fact that they were not subjected to the testing regimen and habits instilled in the younger students.

That is not to suggest that the law is not in need of fine tuning. It still needs to address equitable testing for special-needs students. The law is also less effective in addressing inequities in rural areas with fewer minorities.

And, yes, in a perfect world, more money would be made available to assist states in meeting the act’s goals. However, the obstructionist legislators in Augusta who advocated ignoring the law primarily because of their vitriolic hatred of President Bush are the ones truly in need of additional education.

Robert D. Beauchesne, Lewiston

Copy the Story Link