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Learn about promising ideas and changes from second-round NCLB waiver applications, including accountability measures and innovative practices to improve education. The report highlights various state initiatives and offers recommendations for future reforms.
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No Child Left Behind Waivers Promising Ideas from Second Round Applications By Jeremy Ayers and Isabel Owen With Glenda Partee and Theodora Chang
Purpose and method • Purpose (“Checker’s Challenge”): identify innovation • Method • Identify changes from current law and practice • Identify common themes across states • Identify promising or interesting ideas • Identify questions or concerns
Principles of ESEA flexibility • College- and career-ready expectations • State differentiated accountability • Effective instruction and leadership • Reducing duplication and burden
College and career readiness • Some will prepare all teachers to support English learners (AZ, CT, MO). • Some will streamline state agency (CT, LA). • Some will fund rigorous courses (ID, LA). • Some will create early warning systems (SC, VA, WA). • Some will use competency- or standards-based report cards (CT, NC).
Accountability • Some set ambitious annual goals (AR, DE, IL, MD, NC, NY, RI, WA). Others are unclear (IA, NV). • Some school rating systems align with the goals (AR, DE, NC, NY) while others do not (LA, MO, OR, NV). • 9 states would use letter grades or stars to rate schools. • Most states would increase district accountability.
Accountability (cont.) • Many would combine student subgroups, and vary in how they will identify low-performing schools. • Many lacked detailed plans for turnaround, but several had systemic plans (AR, DE, IL, LA, RI). • Most would identify low-performing schools every 2 years, but some would only do so every 3 or 4 years (MD, NC, OH, WI).
Instruction and leadership • States vary widely in what measures they would use to evaluate teachers in both tested and non-tested subjects and grades. • Some states (AZ, DE, NC, SC) would use technology to improve evaluation and professional development. • A few states (OH, RI) shared detailed plans for ensuring students have equal access to effective teachers, but most did not.
Findings • Policy and practice have changed significantly. • Waivers per se did not stimulate innovation but were an opportunity to articulate a new vision. • States proposed interesting and promising ideas. • States lacked detail in aspects of accountability, teacher distribution, school turnaround, reducing burden, and increasing learning time. • States are using various sources of funding to implement plans.
Recommendations • Waiver reforms should set the stage for a new ESEA. • The Department should ask for, and states should offer, more detail on plans. • States should learn from each other through consortia or replication. • The Department should increase staffing and capacity. • States should implement plans coherently.