Testing Takes Over More money, more testing.
That seems to be the gist of education legislation as it developed between the George W. Bush White House and the Republican-controlled Congress early on in the new presidential Administration. Despite some predictions that conservative Republicans and some liberal Democrats would not accept President Bush's call for every-year testing, this component of the bill in the Senate, included in its version of the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, was approved in a subcommittee with little discussion. Apparently, the public's support of annual testing has taken the wind out of the anti-testing folks. In February, the final report recommended that NAEP data be collected every year. This fits with the Bush Administration's plan to require states to use student samples every year from NAEP, as well as to test all students in grades 3-8 on reading and math every year.