Giving Compass' Take:

· In contrast to previous reports, Chalkbeat explains that a new study conducted during the No Child Left Behind era has shown that pressuring schools to raise test scores has little effect on improving student performance. 

· Will this change with the new ESSA? What is the best way to improve student performance? Are test scores the best way to measure academic success? 

· Read more on school standards and test scores with Tim Goral at District Administration.

Does tightening the screws on schools and teachers lead to benefits for students?

For the past couple of decades, school reform efforts have assumed that the answer is yes. Setting ambitious goals, and putting pressure on schools to reach them, would push students ahead. And past research has shown that math scores rose as more states began threatening and sanctioning schools with low test scores in the 2000s.

But a new study shows that continuing to “raise the bar” during the No Child Left Behind era only had a modest effect at best. That raises questions about whether the small gains were worth the political controversy, and what critics claim were the educational costs, of putting a greater focus on test scores.

“These results suggest that the ratcheting [up] of test-based accountability pressures alone is not enough to sustain improvements in student achievement,” conclude researchers Vivian Wong, Coady Wing, David Martin, and Anandita Krishnamachari.

Read the full article about pressuring schools by Matt Barnum at Chalkbeat.