GLEN BURNIE, Md., Jan. 9 (UPI) -- President George Bush marked the fourth anniversary of the No Child Left Behind Act with a visit to a Maryland school he says has excelled under the bill.
The president and first lady Laura Bush visited the North Glen Elementary School in the Washington suburb of Glen Burnie, Md. Bush said that from 2003-05, the school dramatically improved its reading proficiency scores in reading and math.
In 2003, 57 percent of students at the school were considered proficient in reading and 46 percent were in math. After the 2005 testing, 82 percent of North Glen students were proficient in reading and 84 percent were in math.
Overall he said scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress last year showed fourth graders set records in reading and math. There have also been signs of closing the so-called achievement gaps between different ethnic groups.
"The system is working," Bush said. "... One of our goals has got to be to achieve that -- closed that achievement gap. And we're doing it."
Under the NCLB law, all children are to be reading at grade level by Grade 3. The act calls for annual testing for students in grades 3-8.
