Advocates of child health will be disturbed at recent comments on reading and education that have emanated from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). In March 8, 2001, testimony before the US House Committee on Education and the Workforce, Dr G. Reid Lyon, Chief of the Child Development and Behavior Branch of the NICHD, represented the NICHD at a hearing to discuss President Bush’s proposals for yearly testing of children from grades 3 through 8, and for accountability, a system of rewards and punishments based on test scores.

Lyon began his testimony by stating that he was “pleased to have been asked to address the subcommittee on issues relevant to the use of assessments and accountability to raise student achievement, particularly with respect to how these issues and our NICHD reading research findings are reflected in President Bush’s reading initiatives.” He stated that President Bush’s...

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