International Montessori Council

Just in case you missed it, on March 26 the New York Times reported that thousands of public schools across the United States have reducing class time spent on other subjects in response to the reading and math testing requirements laid out in No Child Left Behind. In the case of some low-proficiency students, time spent on anything but the core subjects has been eliminated.

Many schools have drastically increased the amount of class time that low-proficiency students spend on reading and math, “mainly because the federal law, signed in 2002, requires annual exams only in those subjects and punishes schools that fall short of rising benchmarks.”

According to the Times, “The intense focus on the two basic skills is a sea change in American instructional practice, with many schools that once offered rich curriculums now systematically trimming courses like social studies, science and art.”

A nationwide survey by the Center on Education Policy, found that since the passage of the federal law, 71% of the nation's 15,000 school districts had reduced the hours of instructional time spent on history, music and other subjects to open up more time for reading and math.

The increasing focus on reading and math has divided the nation's educational establishment. Some authorities argue that the federal law's focus on basic skills is raising achievement in thousands of low-performing schools. Others warn that “by reducing the academic menu to steak and potatoes, schools risk giving bored teenagers the message that school means repetition and drilling.”

The survey that is coming out this week looks at 299 school districts in 50 states. It was conducted as part of a four-year study of No Child Left Behind and appears to be the most systematic effort to track the law's footprints through the classroom, although other authorities have warned of its effect on teaching practices.