Category Archives: No Child Left Behind (NCLB)

State and Locals to U.S. Senate: Rewrite No Child Left Behind Act – Education Week

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By Alyson Klein

A collection of big-name state and local government groups really, really wants U.S. Senate leaders to bring a bill to the floor to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, and soon.

“State governments, localities, and schools need a long-term resolution for the issues raised by the current federal education law, the No Child Left Behind Act,” write the National Governors Association, the Council of Chief State School Officers, the National League of Cities, the National Association of State Boards of Education, the National Conference of State Legislatures, and four other groups, in a letter sent to Senate leaders today.

via State and Locals to U.S. Senate: Rewrite No Child Left Behind Act – Politics K-12 – Education Week.

At-risk students may lose under NCLB waivers | EdSource Today

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By Kathryn Baron

States with waivers from No Child Left Behind may be letting schools off the hook from helping their most at-risk students, according to a report released Tuesday by the Campaign for High School Equity, a coalition of civil rights organizations.

NCLB waivers give states flexibility from some of the most challenging requirements of the federal education law, including that 100 percent of students in Title I, or low-income, schools must be proficient in math and reading by the end of the current academic year. In exchange, the states agreed to implement a teacher evaluation process that is tied to student test scores.

via At-risk students may lose under NCLB waivers, civil rights groups say | EdSource Today.

Financial Implications for NCLB Waiver States on ‘High-Risk’ Status – Education Week

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By Michele McNeil

For the three high-risk states placed on “high-risk status” last week, losing their No Child Left Behind Act waiver is probably the ultimate penalty.

But it’s not the only penalty that U.S. Department of Education has at its disposal.

In the press call last week announcing that Kansas, Oregon, and Washington are on “high-risk status” for teacher-evaluation woes linked to their waivers, federal officials said there could be some financial penalties, which could lead up to the ultimate loss of the waiver. (That’s if the states fail to get back on track.)

 

via Financial Implications for NCLB Waiver States on ‘High-Risk’ Status – Politics K-12 – Education Week.

Should Students Who Test Well Be Rewarded? – Education Week

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By Ross Brenneman

“When the star-bellied children went out to play ball, could a plain-bellied get in the game? Not at all. You could only play if your bellies had stars, and the plain-bellied children had none upon thar’s.”
—Dr. Seuss, “The Sneetches” (1961)

“And when I’m old and I’ve had my fun, I’ll sell my invention so that everyone can be superheroes. Everyone can be super! And when everyone’s super … no one will be.”
—Syndrome, “The Incredibles” (2004)

Virtue is its own reward, but stuff is a nice reward, too.

At Mulberry Elementary School in Houma, La., the children with the best state assessment performances from the year before can wear whatever clothes they like in the first month of school, in place of standard uniforms.

via Should Students Who Test Well Be Rewarded? – Rules for Engagement – Education Week.

Those federal school waivers: It ain’t over yet | EdSource Today

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By Peter Schrag / commentary

The waivers that eight large California school districts got this week from U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan are yet another measure of the power of the federal law they tried to escape from.

The law has been cumbersome and stupid enough to prompt them — and many states — to seek better ways to pursue the same, or better, goals. But the waivers are not the end of this odyssey; they’re barely the beginning.

via Those federal school waivers: It ain’t over yet | EdSource Today.

U.S. Department of Education Grants California Districts’ CORE Waiver – Education Week

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By Michele McNeil

UPDATED

The U.S. Department of Education granted an unprecedented waiver Tuesday under the No Child Left Behind Act to eight California districts that together educate 1 million students, upending a long tradition of state-based school accountability.

The first-of-its-kind waiver, good for one year, essentially allows the eight districts to set up their own accountability system outside of the state of California’s—and largely police themselves through their own board of directors. The districts known as CORE, for California Office to Reform Education, will operate under a new “school quality improvement index” that will be based 60 percent on academic factors such as test scores and graduation rates, 20 percent on social-emotional factors such as the absentee rate, and 20 percent on culture and climate factors such as student and parent surveys. The CORE districts are Fresno, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Oakland, Sacramento, San Francisco, Sanger and Santa Ana.

via U.S. Department of Education Grants California Districts’ CORE Waiver – Politics K-12 – Education Week.

A compelling or distracting NCLB waiver? | EdSource Today

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By Kathryn Baron

Education Secretary Arne Duncan’s approval of the CORE districts’ waiver from unattainable provisions of the No Child Left Behind law, exposed some old and some new internecine disputes in California education.

Duncan called it the “right thing to do” for the 1 million students enrolled in the eight districts. Others used different words.

Among policymakers and advocates who commented on the decision, EdSource Today found common themes among differences of opinion.

via A compelling or distracting NCLB waiver? | EdSource Today.

Eight California districts receive historic NCLB waiver | EdSource Today

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By John Fensterwald

Eight California school districts collectively will receive the first district waiver from penalties under the No Child Left Behind law, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced Tuesday.

Duncan praised the districts’ “creative, thoughtful, innovative proposal.” He said that 1 million students will benefit from the districts’ “rigorous expectations” and that other states will learn from the collaborative strategies that the districts are pledging to carry out. “Frankly, working directly with districts wasn’t an easy decision,” Duncan said. “We’re not taking this up because it was simple, but because it was the right thing to do.”

via Eight California districts receive historic NCLB waiver | EdSource Today.

Arne Duncan on Tony Bennett, NCLB Waivers, and ESEA Renewal – Education Week

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By Michele McNeil

Yesterday, I sat down with U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan for a 30-minute, wide-ranging interview, which produced these key takeaways: He doesn’t seem worried at all about the larger, federal-policy implications of the Tony Bennett grading scandal. A decision about the California CORE waiver is not imminent. And, he thinks working on ESEA reauthorization, as of right now, is a waste of time.

What follows are snippets from our conversation in his office yesterday.

via Arne Duncan on Tony Bennett, NCLB Waivers, and ESEA Renewal – Politics K-12 – Education Week.

Advocates Call for End to Testing Under Modified Academic Standards – Education Week

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By Christina Samuels

The Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities, an advocacy coalition based in Washington, is calling for the U.S. Department of Education to rescind a regulation that allows some students with disabilities to be tested on “modified academic achievement standards.” Such tests are sometimes called known as “2 percent tests” because regulations allow 2 percent of all students, or about 20 percent of students with disabilities, to take such assessments and be counted as proficient under the No Child Left Behind Act.

via Advocates Call for End to Testing Under Modified Academic Standards – On Special Education – Education Week.

Special Education Groups Criticize House NCLB Rewrite – Education Week

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By Christina Samuels

Groups representing special education administrators and teachers as well as people with disabilities have given a big thumbs down to a House bill that would reauthorize the long-delayed Elementary and Secondary Education Act, also known as No Child Left Behind.

My colleague Alyson Klein has done a thorough job explaining the political machinations behind the bill, known as HR 5 or the Student Success Act, which passed yesterday on a 221-207 vote. No House Democrats voted in favor. The Senate education committee passed its own version of the ESEA in June, but it has yet to be taken up by the full Senate.

via Special Education Groups Criticize House NCLB Rewrite – On Special Education – Education Week.

The NCLB Reauthorization Edition of the Friday Reading List (Better on Monday Morning) – Education Week

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By Alyson Klein

Still recovering from No Child Left Behind on the House floor? So are we. But before you put your copy of H.R. 5, aka “the Student Success Act” on the shelf, check out these good reads:

More lawmakers and officials put in their two cents on NCLB reauthorization late Friday. Rep. John A. Boehner, the speaker of the House and an original author of NCLB, said the law was past ready for a makeover. “I remain proud of what we accomplished more than a decade ago, but the simple fact is that our nation’s education policies are long overdue for an update.” More here. Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., the top Republican on the Senate education committee, is delighted with the House’s move to scrap a mandate that states craft evaluation systems based on student outcomes. He said the House bill is now a “kissing cousin” of his own legislation. Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan released a very long anti-endorsement that does nothing to disguise his frustration with Brokedown Congress. Snippet below, read the rest here.

via The NCLB Reauthorization Edition of the Friday Reading List (Better on Monday Morning) – Politics K-12 – Education Week.

Districts leave Washington without waiver but still confident one is coming | EdSource Today

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By John Fensterwald

Representatives of nine California districts did not head home from Washington on Friday, after two and a half days of intense discussions with federal officials, with the waiver from the No Child Left Behind law that they had been hoping for.

But Rick Miller, executive director of the nonprofit district collaborative that is submitting the waiver application, called the talks “productive” and said the districts are “one iteration away” from finishing a document for a final up or down decision by Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. Duncan did not participate in the discussions last week, Miller said.

via Districts leave Washington without waiver but still confident one is coming | EdSource Today.

President asked to veto GOP reauthorization of No Child Left Behind | EdSource Today

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By Kathryn Baron

U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan called on President Obama to veto a Republican-sponsored reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act if it should come before him. The U.S. House of Representatives on Friday passed H.R. 5, dubbed the Student Success Act and authored by House education committee chair, Rep. John Kline, R-Minn., on a straight party-line vote of 221 to 207.

It’s a sharp reversal of the broad bipartisan support surrounding the first incarnation of NCLB, which was sponsored by such unlikely allies as liberal Massachusetts Democrat Edward Kennedy in the Senate and conservative Republican John Boehner of Ohio in the House. The new bill is also a departure from the strong accountability measures built into Bush’s version of NCLB.

via President asked to veto GOP reauthorization of No Child Left Behind | EdSource Today.

House Passes Partisan NCLB Rewrite, But Rocky Road Still Ahead – Education Week

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By Alyson Klein

After two days of partisan debate on an issue that used to bring Democrats and Republicans together in a kumbaya chorus, the House of Representatives passed a GOP-only reauthorization of the long-stalled No Child Left Behind Act.

The bill, approved 221-207, would maintain the NCLB law’s signature testing schedule and its practice of breaking out student-achievement data by particular groups of students (such as English-language learners and students in special education).

via House Passes Partisan NCLB Rewrite, But Rocky Road Still Ahead – Politics K-12 – Education Week.

House Lawmakers Set to Debate No Child Left Behind Act Rewrite – Education Week

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By Alyson Klein

On the eve of a possible vote in the U.S. House of Representatives on long-stalled legislation to rewrite the No Child Left Behind Act, the bill’s road to passage is still somewhat bumpy. House leaders have scheduled votes for Thursday on a host of amendments to the proposed Elementary and Secondary Education Act revision—26 of them altogether. But so far, a vote on final passage hasn’t been scheduled, which gives leaders extra time to twist some arms, if they need to. The final vote could be Thursday, Friday, or later, if need be.

via House Lawmakers Set to Debate No Child Left Behind Act Rewrite – Politics K-12 – Education Week.

Cantor, Kline Push No Child Left Behind Rewrite, Public School Choice – Education Week

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By Alyson Klein

School choice will be part of the debate when the U.S. House of Representatives takes up its version of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, possibly as early as this week. The House Majority Leader, Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Va., who has become much more active on K-12 issues lately, has introduced an amendment that would allow Title I dollars to follow children to the public school of their choice, including charter schools.

The amendment would help “the most vulnerable kids, including foster children and those with disabilities. It is a public school choice amendment for children to have an experience like this,” Cantor said at a press conference at Two Rivers Public Charter School in Washington. The school has the longest waiting list of any charter school in the district.

via Cantor, Kline Push No Child Left Behind Rewrite, Public School Choice – Politics K-12 – Education Week.

Lawmakers May Debate Testing, Teacher Evaulations in NCLB Renewal – Education Week

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By Alyson Klein

Big news of the week is that the U.S. House of Representatives may consider a long-stalled bill to renew the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. (It’s set for possible floor consideration on Thursday, according to the House schedule.)

UPDATE: House leaders are doing intensive outreach on the bill today. Advocates say it looks like the vote count is going to be close. If GOP leaders don’t have enough support, they could pull the bill from consideration this week. After all, there are two other bills scheduled. “They have a back-up bill and a back-up to the back-up,” one advocate said.

via Lawmakers May Debate Testing, Teacher Evaulations in NCLB Renewal – Politics K-12 – Education Week.

CORE districts to make final personal pitch for No Child Left Behind waiver | EdSource Today

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By John Fensterwald

Quickly running out of time, a delegation from nine California school districts will go to Washington this week to make a last pitch to federal officials for a waiver from the No Child Left Behind law.

Officials from the California Office to Reform Education (CORE), the umbrella organization that the nine districts created, remain optimistic that Secretary of Education Arne Duncan will grant them a unique districtwide waiver from significant penalties and requirements under NCLB. The immediate obstacle facing them, for the waiver to take effect in the upcoming school year, is time. Districts are up against deadlines for contracts with companies that provide services, such as tutoring, in schools that have failed to meet NCLB’s academic targets. Especially for Los Angeles Unified, a CORE district, these must be signed within a week or so, said Rick Miller, executive director of CORE.

via CORE districts to make final personal pitch for No Child Left Behind waiver | EdSource Today.