Obama Administration Exempting Schools From Federal Law’s Testing Mandate

[WestVirginiaRebel]

CNS News:

(AP) - State and local education officials have been begging the federal government for relief from student testing mandates in the federal No Child Left Behind law, but school starts soon and Congress still hasn't answered the call.

Education Secretary Arne Duncan says he will announce a new waiver system Monday to give schools a break.

The plan to offer waivers to all 50 states, as long as they meet other school reform requirements, comes at the request of President Barack Obama, Duncan said. More details on the waivers will come in September, he said.

The goal of the No Child Left Behind law is to have every student proficient in math and reading by 2014. States have been required to bring more students up to the math and reading standards each year, based on tests that usually take place each spring. The step-by-step ramping up of the 9-year-old law has caused heartburn in states and most school districts, because more and more schools are labeled as failures as too few of their students meet testing goals.

Critics say the benchmarks are unrealistic and brands schools as failures even if they make progress. Schools and districts where too few kids pass the tests for several years are subject to sanctions that can include firing teachers or closing the school entirely.

Through the waivers, schools will get some relief from looming deadlines to meet testing goals as long as they agree to embrace other kinds of education reforms such as raising standards, helping teachers and principals improve, and focusing on fixing the lowest performing schools.

Duncan and Melody Barnes, director of the Domestic Policy Council at the White House, said the administration will encourage every state to apply and will work with them to meet the requirements.
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When in doubt...waiver!

[pollyannaish]

I am not a fan of NCLB. BUT, the premise is correct its just the measurement criteria that are screwy. Fix that and the whole thing should work.

 

But that would take effort, and understanding and engagement to come up with an overhaul plan. Easier and slicker to wave one's magic wand and exempt failures.

 

If I write him a letter, I wonder if he would exempt me from participating the depressingly recessed economy. It's making me feel bad about myself.

[Argyle58]

I am not a fan of NCLB. BUT, the premise is correct its just the measurement criteria that are screwy. Fix that and the whole thing should work.

 

But that would take effort, and understanding and engagement to come up with an overhaul plan. Easier and slicker to wave one's magic wand and exempt failures.

 

If I write him a letter, I wonder if he would exempt me from participating the depressingly recessed economy. It's making me feel bad about myself.

 

I rarely disagree with you, Pollyannaish, but NCLB is indicative of any outcome based educational plan. It encourages "educators" to train students to pass a test, not to teach them general academics, which is supposed to be the job. The Atlanta Public School District is an extreme example of this premise, but in virtually every public school district in the country, staff and administration concentrate on training students to pass the proscribed exams rather than TEACHING.

 

The good old system...Pass or Fail, based on performance, worked for almost 200 years. It wasn't until the Federal Government came up with sliding scales and exemptions that our dominance in the world of academics waned. Once "Self Esteem" became a factor in academic excellence, we were doomed to fail in that regard as a society.