In other words the worst kids are better and the above average kids are average.
I've seen this happen in Cali schools, although not directly related to NCLB, same concept.
One classroom with two distinct groups of kids. English, and non english speaking.
Teacher has to spend extra class time translating all the work into spanish, and thus the overall class suffers and lags behind other classrooms where only one language is spoken and everyone is expected to keep up.
Certainly it's not the only reason, but I would not doubt it is a factor.
SAT scores drop; some see red flag
By Mary Beth Marklein, USA TODAY Wed May 10, 7:00 AM ET
Some colleges are reporting double-digit drops in the average SAT scores of applicants this year, even as other credentials, such as class rank and college-prep coursework, remained similar to or grew stronger than last year's.
Among schools reporting large drops: The nine-campus University of California system, which saw a 15-point drop on average among applicants, Average composite scores for the ACT, a rival college entrance exam, were unchanged from last year.
It's not yet clear what the drops mean, but colleges are particularly curious because the scores are almost completely based on the new SAT, introduced last year by the non-profit College Board, which owns the test.
WHY IT MATTERS: Lower scores puzzle college admissions
"We need to have confidence in the test that we're using," says Stephen Farmer, director of admissions at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, which saw a 12-point drop.
No one has suggested that the declines are related to a scoring fiasco this year in which thousands of SAT scores were underreported. That has led to a lawsuit and prompted a New York state senator to consider new testing legislation.
The new wrinkle is reviving debate about the latest version of the SAT. That is "further undermining the credibility of the College Board at a time when they are very much on the defensive," says Bob Schaeffer, spokesman for FairTest, a non-profit testing critic in Cambridge, Mass.
James Montoya, a vice president of the College Board, says it is working with colleges to understand the large drops. Nationally, it estimates a 4- to 5-point decline this year across the critical reading and math sections, but all data are not in. Year-to-year fluctuations are common, he says.
Montoya suggests that a "decrease in repeat test-taking may account for some of the average score decline." Students who retest typically increase combined reading and math scores by about 30 points, he says.
That explanation makes some sense to Schaeffer. He says that trend probably developed because the new test costs more - $41.50 vs. $24.
Brad MacGowan, a college counselor at Newton North High School in Newtonville, Mass., suggests that fatigue could be a factor. A typical student gets three hours and 45 minutes to complete the new three-part test, which includes a writing section. The old, two-part version lasted three hours.
"You cannot expect students to perform at the same level over the extended length of time," he says.
