NCLF is the Elementary and Secondary Education Act as reauthorized by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. Other key points mentioned in the article:
Grade 4 reading gain from 2002 until 2009: 4 points – less than one-half of one point per year. From 2000 to 2002, the gain was 11 points.
Grade 8 reading gain from 2002 to 2009: 2 points -- less than one quarter of a point per year. The previous grade 8 reading test was 1998, and the gain from 1998 to 2002 was 4 points.
Grade 4 math gain from 2003 to 2009: 5 points. The gain from 2000 to 2003, however, was 14 points, with the pre-NCLB period covering most of the gains.
Grade 8 math gain from 2003 to 2009: 9 points. The gain from 2000 to 2003 was 6 points. Even in what amounts to the best case scenario, the rate of gain in the NCLB period has slowed down compared with the previous period.
The author says that since NCLB, the rate of gain in both subjects, both grades, for almost all categories of students, have slowed. And this is clearly true for Hispanics.
Source: National Journal Expert Education, “Why NCLB Fails Hispanic Students,” April 2011,