The pressure for elementary schools to show progress under No Child Left Behind has come at a cost - less time is being devoted to social studies, science, art and music.
But time for reading and math has received a substantial boost, according to a study that examined 349 of the nation's school systems.
The report released yesterday by the Center on Education Policy shows that some school districts increased math and reading time by as much as 150 minutes a week, while cutting time for social studies, science, music and art by one-third.
The center, a nonpartisan group that has followed the effects of the law over the past six years, has provided annual updates analyzing its effectiveness.
The report was a geographically representative sampling of districts and did not break out results by state, so it was not possible to glean information specific to Maryland schools.
However, a check of school systems in the Baltimore area confirms that the trend is in effect here.
"What we're finding is, high-stakes testing is driving curriculum and driving the practices that teachers use because they're under pressure to raise test scores, and that's especially true in poorer districts where the scores tend to be lower," said the center's president, Jack Jennings.
The study is a deeper look into findings released by the center in July and offers the most detailed account yet of the changing public school day since NCLB took effect in 2002.
Jennings said research showed that test scores were rising, presumably because of the emphasis being placed on reading and math. He said he was surprised by the degree to which school systems had reduced teaching time in the other subjects to achieve increases on standardized tests.
2014 deadline
No Child Left Behind requires every public school student to perform at or above grade level in key subjects such as reading, math and science by 2014.
The sweeping federal testing mandate is in its sixth year, and President Bush is struggling to renew it against a backdrop of growing bipartisan opposition. The new report provides fodder for detractors of No Child Left Behind who dislike the sanctions placed on schools that don't show gains. Critics also say the act has forced school systems to weaken their curriculums in a harried quest for higher scores on state tests.
