Dive Summary:
- In a letter to state education officials Tuesday, Education Secretary Arne Duncan wrote that states could hold off on using performance evaluations tied to results from new tests until the 2016-17 school year.
- The delay is meant to address concerns from teachers' unions and school administrators who felt they weren't given enough time to adjust to new Common Core math and reading standards before they were held accountable for them.
- A majority of states adopted the new "college and career ready" standards in exchange for waivers from No Child Left Behind, as many were in risk of violating a provision requiring all students to be proficient in math and reading by 2014, but educators in many of those states had grown concerned that they weren't given enough time to adapt the new material to their classrooms.
From the article:
... The department will now allow states to apply, in effect, for waivers from their waivers. States that are introducing new tests will also be relieved of having to give both new and old tests in the same school year.
“This decision ensures that the rollout of new, higher, state-selected standards will continue on pace,” Mr. Duncan said in a statement, “but that states that need it will have some flexibility in when they begin using student growth data for high-stakes decisions.” ...
