'Huge Gap' Found in States' Student Testing

An article in the Washington Times...
Read the complete article HERE.

There are big differences in how states are measuring student achievement in reading and math, and many state test standards set the bar far lower than national test standards, a new federal report released yesterday shows.

The study -- by the research arm of the Education Department -- is the government's first official comparison of states' testing standards since 2002 enactment of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) law.

It will likely play a role in this year's effort to renew that law, which requires states to test students and set goals to bring all to proficiency level in reading and math by 2014, but doesn't mandate specific standards or define "proficiency."