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SACRAMENTO — State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell today responded to a report by the Center on Education Policy, "Answering the Question that Matters Most: Has Student Achievement Increased Since No Child Left Behind?" The report cited achievement gains in California and nationwide since 2002, but pointed out that the gains might also be attributed to state and local policy initiatives.

"California has had rigorous content standards and accountability in place since well before the implementation of No Child Left Behind, and the hard work done to align instruction, materials, professional development, and testing to our standards is clearly paying off," O'Connell said. "Public education in California is on the right track."

O'Connell urged staying the course with the standards-based instruction that has led to achievement gains by all student groups and has made it his top priority to find ways of more quickly improving the achievement of those groups that lag behind, including African-American students, students with disabilities, and English learners.

"I strongly agree with the goals of No Child Left Behind, but as the Center's report points out, the federal system's single measure of achievement gives no credit for even significant gains in achievement by students who have not yet reached the high bar of proficiency," O'Connell said. "Also, because state standards vary widely, states such as California that expect more of their students are more likely to fall short of the federal accountability goal, while states that hold lower expectations may appear to be doing better. That is both misleading and unfair.

"I firmly believe that California's Academic Performance Index — a model based on achievement growth from year to year — offers the public a more accurate and more comprehensive picture of school performance."