- ‘No Child’ law whittled down by White House, By Motoko Rich, July 6, 2012, New York Times: “In just five months, the Obama administration has freed schools in more than half the nation from central provisions of the No Child Left Behind education law, raising the question of whether the decade-old federal program has been essentially nullified. On Friday, the Department of Education plans to announce that it has granted waivers releasing two more states, Washington and Wisconsin, from some of the most onerous conditions of the signature Bush-era legislation. With this latest round, 26 states are now relieved from meeting the lofty – and controversial – goal of making all students proficient in reading and mathematics by 2014. Additional waivers are pending in 10 states and the District of Columbia…”
- More than half the states now free from some rules of ‘No Child Left Behind’ education law, Associated Press, July 6, 2012, Washington Post: “The Obama administration said Friday that two more states, Washington and Wisconsin, will be exempted from many requirements of the federal ‘No Child Left Behind’ education law. The decision brings to 26 the number of states granted waivers as Congress remains at a stalemate regarding an overhaul to former President George W. Bush’s signature accomplishment. With more than half of the states now free from many of the law’s requirements, there are questions about the future of No Child Left Behind…”
- Two more states granted waivers from No Child Left Behind, for total of 26, By Stacy Teicher Khadaroo, July 6, 2012, Christian Science Monitor: “With the approval Friday of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) waivers for Washington State and Wisconsin, more than half the states are now moving forward with their own accountability plans for schools. President Obama directed the US Department of Education last year to start the waiver process to give states flexibility from some parts of the federal law, which has been due for a rewrite since 2007. In exchange, states have to show detailed plans for preparing all students for college and careers, targeting federal aid to the students most in need, and pushing for better evaluation and support of teachers and principals…”
Tag: No Child Left Behind
No Child Left Behind Waiver Requests
- Education Dept.: States seeking waivers should do more to make sure no student is left behind, Associated Press, January 31, 2012, Washington Post: “In its initial review of No Child Left Behind waiver requests, the U.S. Education Department highlighted a similar weakness in nearly every application: States did not do enough to ensure schools would be held accountable for the performance of all students. The Obama administration praised the states for their high academic standards. But nearly every application was criticized for being loose about setting high goals and, when necessary, interventions for all student groups – including minorities, the disabled and low-income – or for failing to create sufficient incentives to close the achievement gap…”
- Eyebrows raised over initial NCLB waiver bids, By Alyson Klein, January 31, 2012, Education Week: “A pair of Democratic education leaders in Congress have raised red flags about the first batch of state applications for waivers that would give states flexibility from some requirements of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. The lawmakers-U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin, of Iowa, the chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, and U.S. Rep. George Miller, of California, the House education panel’s ranking member-worry that accountability under the law’s current version, the No Child Left Behind Act, will be significantly watered down if many of the applications are approved as submitted. They’re urging U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan to adhere to the very high bar he says he’s set for approval, and to work with states to improve their plans…”
No Child Left Behind Waiver – Oregon
Oregon seeks OK to judge schools on overall performance, not success with small groups that typically struggle, By Betsy Hammond, January 8, 2012, The Oregonian: “Oregon schools that serve a concentration of low-income students will face a distinctly different accountability system this fall if the U.S. Department of Education approves the state’s plan. Under the federal No Child Left Behind law, Oregon schools that receive federal funds to help disadvantaged students have been judged since 2003 mainly by whether they got enough low-income, special education, minority or limited-English students to pass state reading and math tests. Schools that didn’t — more than 80 in 2011 — faced a series of escalating consequences, such as having to offer students a transfer to another school or free private tutoring. Now Oregon, like many other states, proposes to scrap that system for one that measures success in a whole new way — and offers more flexible consequences to schools whose results are deemed inadequate…”