WASHINGTON, Sept. 25 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Jeanne Allen, founder and president of the Center for Education Reform, issued the following statement in response to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, or "Nation's Report Card," issued earlier today:
"As a nation, our proficiency levels are rising, and this is good news. It's important to recognize the driving forces behind the long-term improvement.
"Scores are not rising in a vacuum. We have seen improvement only since meaningful education reform began to take hold about 15 years ago. States began adopting performance standards. About the same time, the charter school movement began to grow. And several years later, No Child Left Behind brought added accountability to public schools.
"The NAEP snapshot of student achievement tells us students are learning more, but not nearly enough. With proficiency levels still well below 50 percent, we have much more to do. This data can drive education policy changes that are critical to our children's success.
"We must move with urgency to improve all of our schools through greater accountability, greater flexibility so that schools can change, and more expansive opportunities for parents to choose the best learning environment for their child when conventional education no longer works for them."
The Center for Education Reform (CER) creates opportunities for and challenges obstacles to better education for America's communities. Founded in 1993, CER combines education policy with grassroots advocacy to foster positive and bold education reforms For more information, visit http://www.edreform.com/
Center for Education Reform
