Progressive Reforms Aid Low Performers
False Assumption: Relaxing school accountability after No Child Left Behind and adopting progressive education methods would improve outcomes for low-performing students.
Written by FARAgent on February 11, 2026
NAEP scores rose steadily from 2003 to 2013 under No Child Left Behind, which mandated proficiency for all students by 2014 and focused on low performers with penalties for failing schools. Gains were strongest at the bottom, especially in math. Critics called its goals unrealistic and teaching punitive, leading states to seek waivers by the early 2010s.
The Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 replaced NCLB with looser state control. Around 2013, bottom-quartile scores began falling, a trend that worsened through 2019, plunged during COVID, and continued to 2024. Low scorers from poor families, English learners, and disabled students suffered most, while top performers stabilized post-pandemic.
Growing evidence points to relaxed accountability and progressive ideas during the Great Awokening as factors. Mississippi improved with phonics and bottom-25% focus; woke Oregon saw crashes. Critics question pandemic-only blame, noting pre-2013 gains and adult cognitive declines tied to smartphones, but mounting data shows accountability's end hurt the vulnerable.
People Involved
- In the early 2000s, George W. Bush pushed No Child Left Behind as a way to raise expectations for all students. He called it a stand against the soft bigotry of low expectations. The policy aimed to help low performers through accountability. [1]
- Years later, Ibram X. Kendi emerged as a voice in the Great Awokening. His ideas shifted focus toward equity and white guilt. Critics argue this mindset replaced rigorous reforms with something softer. [1]
▶ Supporting Quotes (2)
“part of Mr. Bush’s campaign against what he called “the soft bigotry of low expectations” in public schools.”— Why did NAEP scores decline during Great Awokening?
“they were better than Ibram X. Kendi as the intellectual giant of the era.”— Why did NAEP scores decline during Great Awokening?
Organizations Involved
States like Oregon took the lead in progressive education. They enforced ideas that favored equity over phonics and strict accountability. This approach, critics say, led to sharp drops in scores for non-affluent students. [1] In contrast, Mississippi schools bucked the trend. They stuck with phonics and added measures to track the bottom 25 percent. Mounting evidence suggests this helped them avoid the national slide. [1]
▶ Supporting Quotes (2)
“In contrast, woke Oregon has sabotaged its non-affluent students with its addiction to progressive nostrums:”— Why did NAEP scores decline during Great Awokening?
“Mississippi’s lowest-scoring fourth graders have improved since 2013, and eighth graders have fallen less than the national average.”— Why did NAEP scores decline during Great Awokening?
The Foundation
No Child Left Behind came under fire for its focus on tests. Critics called it a drill-and-kill system that skipped arts and social studies. Its proficiency goals struck many as harsh and out of reach. This view fueled calls for waivers and a new approach, even as bottom students had shown gains under the old rules. [1] After NCLB, closing racial gaps looked impossible to some. A sub-belief took hold: lower standards through white guilt might work better than rigor. Growing questions surround whether this ignored the evidence of prior progress. [1]
▶ Supporting Quotes (2)
“Critics argued it was too punitive, with unrealistic goals. Many said it led a “drill and kill” culture of teaching to the test, leaving less time for other important subjects like social studies and the arts.”— Why did NAEP scores decline during Great Awokening?
“opinion changed during the Great Awokening to hopelessness about closing the racial gap in performance combined with optimism that you could guilt-trip white people”— Why did NAEP scores decline during Great Awokening?
How It Spread
No Child Left Behind drew heat from both left and right. Testing fatigue spread through critics' arguments in media and academia. By the 2010s, waivers became common. The Every Student Succeeds Act followed in 2015. This happened amid the Great Awokening's push for equity. Critics argue the shift amplified doubts about accountability, sidelining dissenters in the process. [1]
▶ Supporting Quotes (1)
“But the law was also deeply unpopular on the left and the right.”— Why did NAEP scores decline during Great Awokening?
Resulting Policies
Congress passed the Every Student Succeeds Act in 2015. It ended federal mandates for proficiency. Power went back to the states. The law assumed progress would continue without penalties. Mounting evidence challenges whether this relaxation helped low performers as intended. [1]
▶ Supporting Quotes (1)
“By the early 2010s, states had gotten waivers from the law, and in 2015, the Every Student Succeeds Act returned power to the states, which in many cases led to more relaxed accountability.”— Why did NAEP scores decline during Great Awokening?
Harm Caused
Bottom-quartile scores on the NAEP began falling around 2013. The decline lasted a decade. Poor students, disabled ones, and English learners suffered the most. Drops continued after COVID, while top scores held steady. [1] Blue-collar kids faced the worst of it. They relied on in-person structure. White-collar families managed Zoom better. Critics argue these harms highlight flaws in the progressive shift. [1]
▶ Supporting Quotes (2)
“For at least a decade, starting around 2013, students in the bottom quartile have been losing ground on the National Assessment of Educational Progress... Since the pandemic, their scores have often continued to fall, even as high achieving students stabilize.”— Why did NAEP scores decline during Great Awokening?
“most of the decline during covid was among the bottom half of test-takers. White collar kids do okay going to school on Zoom, but blue collar kids benefit from going to school in person”— Why did NAEP scores decline during Great Awokening?
Downfall
NAEP data revealed a turn by 2015. Gains from before 2013 started to reverse. The bottom half saw the steepest drops. Successes in places like Mississippi stood out. They kept phonics and accountability for low performers. Critics argue this exposes weaknesses in relaxed methods, though the debate remains open. [1]
▶ Supporting Quotes (1)
“Overall test scores on the federal National Assessment of Educational Progress rose from 2003 through 2013, then drifted down through 2019... their decline began back around 2015.”— Why did NAEP scores decline during Great Awokening?
Sources
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[1]
Why did NAEP scores decline during Great Awokening?reputable_journalism