Dive Summary:
- Thirty-one states and the District of Columbia have received waivers from the Obama administration releasing them from No Child Left Behind's most strenuous conditions, such as the requirement that all students must be proficient in reading and math by 2014.
- A Center for American Progress report being issued Friday shows varying goals from states with waivers--with eight states aiming to reduce the percentage of students not testing at grade level in reading or math by 50% in six years and Arizona saying its students would be proficient by 2020.
- The administration's waiver conditions also require that states use student performance on tests to evaluate teachers as well as students, and the report found that 14 states are planning to use student test results as 50% of a teacher's evaluation.
From the article:
In excusing more than half of the states from meeting crucial requirements of the No Child Left Behind education law, the Obama administration sought to require states to develop more realistic tools to improve and measure the progress of schools and teachers.
A report being issued on Friday by the liberal Center for American Progress shows that while some states have proposed reforms aimed at spurring schools and teachers to improve student performance, others may be introducing weaker measures of accountability. ...
