The timing of this new opinion paper is highly suspect. Democrats lost no time trumpeting the news. Between 1994 and 1998, black fourth-graders in Texas showed gains on the state reading tests that were about three times their improvement on the national tests, the study said. Overall, however, in several categories on the national test, white Texas students improved more than did minority students in the state, meaning that the gap between them widened rather than narrowed during Bush's tenure. According to TAAS, the gap is smaller and decreasing greatly.
Many teachers say the coaching comes at the expense of writing, science and library time.
Texas education officials say coaching students to pass the test is legitimate because the state test reflects and undergirds the curriculum. Bush aides accused RAND of sitting on the new study because Klein had publicly mentioned some research on the subject a few months ago. But RAND said the report became ready for release only this week. This is a scrupulously nonpartisan institution. News Jobs AP Shopping Archives Entertain.