Today, the Center on Education Policy (CEP) released a report that compares achievement trends since 2002 (or a more recent year in some states) on state reading and math tests for Title I students and students not participating in Title I.

The largest of the federal aid programs for K-12 schools, Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 supports extra instructional services for low-performing students in low-income schools and for all students in the highest-poverty schools. 

The study found achievement on state reading and math tests has improved in recent years for students participating in the Title I program in most of the 19 states with comparable data. Further, gaps between Title I participants and non-participants have also narrowed more often than they have widened since 2002, although trends were more positive at grades 8 and high school than at grade 4. The report, State Test Score Trends Through 2008-09, Part 4: Is Achievement Improving and Are Gaps Narrowing for Title I Students?, along with a one-page profile of state-specific performance trends for Title I and non-Title I students for each of the 19 states included in the study, are posted on the CEP website (www.cep-dc.org) and can be downloaded free-of-charge.

Click here to read the report PDF.