- Stay Connected
NCLB – More State Waivers
Five more states have been granted relief from key requirements of the Bush-era No Child Left Behind law, bringing the total to 24 states given waivers, the Education Department said Friday.
Arkansas, Missouri, South Dakota, Utah and Virginia will be freed from the No Child Left Behind requirement that all students test proficient in math and science by 2014, a goal the nation remains far from achieving.
In exchange, the states and all others granted waivers must develop accountability plans that set new targets for raising achievement, advancing teacher effectiveness, preparing all students for careers and college and improving the performance of low-performing schools.
“We all understand that the best ideas don’t come from Washington, and moving forward, these states will have increased flexibility with federal funds and relief from NCLB’s mandates, allowing them to develop locally tailored solutions to meet their unique educational challenges,” Education Secretary Arne Duncan said in draft remarks released to The Associated Press.
Everyone pretty much agrees that the No Child Left Behind law is broken but Democrats and Republicans have been unable to agree on how to fix it. The law has been praised for highlighting the performance of minorities, English language learners, low-income students, and special education students. But, the law’s stringent guidelines have led to an increasing number of schools being labeled as “failing” and therefor subject to a prescribed set of interventions when even just one of the monitored groups miss the targets.
The Obama administration has pushed for a comprehensive reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, but congress has dismissed the effort. After Duncan warned that 82 percent of schools could be labeled “failing” — a figure many said was inflated, but nonetheless agreed to be rising — the administration announced last year that states could apply for waivers.
To receive a waiver, a state must demonstrate teacher evaluation systems that include at least three performance levels and factor in student progress, among other elements.
In Arkansas, for instance, schools will continue to be assessed annually on student performance in math and reading, but now also on achievement growth and high school graduation rates.
“We are not turning our back on accountability,” Tom Kimbrell, the state’s education commissioner, said in a statement. “With our new system of accountability, support and intervention, we will focus on specifics problems unique to each public school in Arkansas.”
…Read original article at Boston.com