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States Rush to Remain Compliant Under NCLB Waivers
posted by: Ruthie | May 12, 2014, 05:51 PM   


With Washington slated to lose their No Child Left Behind (NCLB) waiver over their failure to incorporate student test scores into teacher evaluations, other states are feeling the heat over waiver compliance. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan recently warned states he is likely to “revoke a waiver, or two, or three.” Without waivers from the Department of Education, states will be forced to comply with all of the regulatory provisions of NCLB.


In Michigan, legislation is needed to require assessment data be used in teacher evaluations. If the state doesn’t pass this legislation in the next few months, they will also most likely lose their waiver after review.

Mike Flanagan, the state superintendent
, reflected concern that the Michigan legislature won’t act in time. “I believe we will lose our federal waiver, and that will be bad for kids,” he said. “Our state legislature doesn’t believe we will. I hope they’re right. It’s an awfully big gamble to take, though.”

Similarly in Oregon, education officials are quickly working to come up with a teacher-evaluation system that will pass federal inspection. The system will be based on a variety of factors, with student growth on assessments accounting for 20% of a teacher’s evaluation, and the other 80% coming from administrator observations and leadership skills.

Arizona was also put on high-risk due to their lack of effective teacher evaluation systems and because of the large emphasis on graduation rates as a factor in a school’s overall rating. As a result, Arizona has made it clear that state assessment results must be a “significant” factor, and will leave it up to local districts and charters to decide just what that means in terms of a percentage.

Lastly, the Department of Education sent Indiana, the first state to overturn its adoption of the Common Core State Standards, a letter explaining that conditions have now been placed on its waiver. Although adopting the Common Core isn’t a mandate of receiving an NCLB waiver, states do have to embrace standards that will get students ready for college or the workforce.

While Indiana’s state school board recently approved a new set of standards to replace the Common Core, the Department of Education is now asking the state to provide evidence that these new standards align with the state university system, as well as to outline a detailed plan for assessing students based on the new standards.

The compliance issues among the states raise questions about the entire waiver system and the inability of Congress to pass new federal education legislation. While the Department of Education has been successful in urging states to adopt reforms, it seems many states are adopting new regulations in favor of dropping old ones.

Have NCLB waivers affected any policies in your state?
Comment below.

 

 

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