The Business of Education: July 2012

The recent race for educational gains outlined by the federal government under No Child Left Behind has turned from a long distance run to a sprint; only the runners have turned around from the predetermined finish line established by the US Department of Ed to run their own local races with the approval of waivers.

As reported July 6, 2012 on the ED.gov, Washington and Wisconsin are the latest to be approved by the Obama Administration bringing the number of approved waivers to 26 States with 10 additional states and the District of Columbia currently under review.

Each waiver request has been based on the disconnect between the expected goals and the reality of their position in the race with some states lagging far behind the leaders and no real front runner expected to finish. "It is a remarkable milestone that in only five months, more than half of the states in the country have adopted state-developed, next-generation education reforms to improve student learning and classroom instruction, while ensuring that resources are targeted to the students that need them most," said U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan. "A strong, bipartisan reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act remains the best path forward in education reform, but as 26 states have now demonstrated, our kids can't wait any longer for Congress to act."[1]

US Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan
agrees with flaws in current NCLB model.

The 26 states that have been approved for waivers from NCLB include: Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin.

The 10 other states (plus Washington, D.C.) with outstanding requests for waivers include: Arizona, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Mississippi, Nevada, Oregon and South Carolina.
Education Secretary Arne Duncan said he is taking action because of “universal clamoring” from officials in nearly every state, who say they cannot meet the unrealistic requirements of the nine-year-old federal education law.Washington Post - August 2011 - U.S. to grant waivers for No Child Left Behind

Everyone enjoys a good race; however, state after state begins to see their runners tiring as the hurdles continue to grow in number and size with escalating demands, culminating in the goal of 100 % proficiency for all students in reading and math by 2014. Failure to reach this goal will result serious sanctions for their schools, including the loss of federal aid.

As reported in the Post: “Educators say that the pressure of trying to reach 100 percent proficiency has created an unhealthy focus on standardized tests, with continual drilling in the classroom and a narrowing of curriculum that excludes anything beyond math and reading. Some also blame the law for creating a warped atmosphere that led educators to allegedly rig test results in Atlanta, Baltimore and the District of Columbia.”

This growing viewpoint is also shared by the officials as Duncan relayed the following message to the coaches, “The law’s weaknesses have undermined education reform, Duncan said. Since the law allows states to create their own standards and measures of proficiency, some have “dummied down” standards to inflate test scores, Duncan said.