Changes to NCLB would affect schools differently

For most public schools, the perceived heavy hand of the federal government would become a lighter touch under President Obama's plan to rewrite the No Child Left Behind law. But for others, the consequences of academic failure would stiffen considerably, the Washington Post reported.
The proposal to update what is formally known as the Elementary and Secondary Education Act divides nearly 100,000 schools into three broad categories: those rewarded for high performance; those challenged and shaken up because they are struggling; and the huge number in the middle that are pushed to improve but given freedom to innovate."For the vast majority of schools, we're going to get rid of prescriptive interventions," Education Secretary Arne Duncan told reporters Monday.
Duncan heads to Capitol Hill on Wednesday to start selling the administration's 41-page blueprint to the House and Senate education committees. The 2002 law, a signature initiative of President George W. Bush's, is overdue for reauthorization. Democratic and Republican lawmakers have launched hearings and bipartisan talks on a new education bill. But there is no certainty that Congress will act before fall elections.
Under the law, public schools are rated every year on their progress toward a goal of 100 percent proficiency in reading and math by 2014 for students tested in grades 3 through 8 and once in high school. Those that fall short of targets for two consecutive years face an escalating series of consequences under certain conditions. The first consequence is a mandate to offer transfers to a better school. The second is a mandate to offer tutoring.
The two mandates would become options under Obama's proposal. And the label of "failing to make adequate yearly progress" would vanish. In the 2008-09 school year, according to the Center on Education Policy, about one-third of schools fell short of what is known as "AYP."
Mike Petrilli, a former Bush administration education official and analyst with the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, called the Obama plan realistic. "It uses federal power to give political cover to reformers at the state and local level, but focuses most of its muscle . . . on a handful of the worst schools," Petrilli wrote in a blog post. He described the No Child law's sanctions as "a bust."
Education Department officials said 5 percent of the lowest-performing schools would face radical interventions, including replacing the principal in nearly all cases. Those are tougher remedies than current law provides. The next-lowest 5 percent would be placed on watch lists and forced to take major steps. Another 5 percent with wide gaps in achievement between disadvantaged and better-off students would face interventions.
High-flying schools, Duncan said, would be rewarded with funding and increased flexibility and autonomy. He said that group would include schools with high test scores and those that make large gains -- at least 10 percent of the schools in each state, officials said.
As for the large middle group, he said, the government would not ignore them but would take a largely hands-off approach. If they started to stagnate, Duncan said, they would get more scrutiny. "Carrots and sticks across the board," he said. "Rewards and consequences."
How this switch would play out in the near future is unclear. Without congressional action this year, Duncan conceivably could take some administrative steps toward flexibility. His predecessor, Margaret Spellings, did that frequently during the Bush years.
Even if Congress revises the law, changing school accountability systems in 50 states and the District would take years. Separately, there is a state-led move to shift academic standards toward a new goal for all students to graduate ready for college and the workforce. That would mean, in turn, new curriculum and new tests.
Obama's plan leapfrogs past the tough question of whether to eliminate entirely the 2014 goal of proficiency for all students. In essence, the administration is leaving that up to Congress. Instead, Obama points toward a new academic goal that would take effect in stages over the next few years: for all students to meet "college- and career-ready" standards by 2020.
Teachers unions have criticized the plan as relying too much on testing to fix schools and not enough on helping educators. David A. Sanchez, president of the California Teachers Association, said Obama had embraced "the same one-size-fits-all and flawed foundation" of the Bush-era law "that has unfairly and unproductively used test scores to label public schools."

Obama wants to overhaul No Child Left Behind

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is proposing to overhaul the No Child Left Behind education law, replacing the school accountability system that has slapped a failing label on more than a third of schools, including many that made big gains but just missed their annual targets.
No Child Left Behind prods schools to improve test scores each year, so that every student can read and do math on grade level by the year 2014.
In his budget plan, Obama proposed judging schools differently, looking at student growth and schools’ progress from one year to the next. Schools that do well would get incentives and rewards; schools that do poorly would face intervention and other consequences.
Education Secretary Arne Duncan credited No Child Left Behind with shining a spotlight on children who need the most help. But he told reporters Monday on a conference call the law “does too little to reward progress.”
The president’s budget plan says Obama would recognize and reward schools for helping kids make gains, even if they aren’t yet on grade level.
Administration officials have spent recent weeks discussing their goals in meetings with education groups. Kati Haycock, president of the Education Trust, said “this administration is not going to retreat” from pushing poor-performing schools to do better.
“The reality is, less might be expected of some, but more will be expected of others,” said Haycock, who participated in the meetings.
There are no details yet; officials have spoken only broadly about their plan.
Championed by President George W. Bush and signed into law in 2002, No Child Left Behind is overdue for a rewrite and Obama hopes Congress will pass a new law this year.
Critics argue the law’s annual reading and math tests have forced other subjects like music and art from the classroom and that schools were promised billions of dollars that never showed up.
The new budget blueprint, and the recent meetings with education groups, give a look at Obama’s thinking on other aspects of the law:
—Teachers. The 2002 law said all teachers in core academic subjects must be “highly qualified” but let states define what that meant; as a result, most teachers in the U.S. are now deemed highly qualified. Instead, Obama wants to measure teachers by how much their students improve, and he wants to do a better job of making sure disadvantaged kids, who are more likely to get inexperienced teachers, get experienced ones. The budget would create a $950 million competitive grant program for teacher recruitment and retention.
—Spending. Obama wants to make federal education spending more competitive to drive states and schools to do better, rather than relying on formulas that give states and districts a certain amount of money regardless of how well they educate kids. The president began with the $4.35 billion “Race to the Top” competitive grant program created by the economic stimulus. His budget would make more K-12 spending competitive — but money from the larger programs, those for poor children and children with disabilities, still would be distributed through traditional formulas. And his budget would add another $1.35 billion to the Race to the Top program.
—Standards. The president is pushing states to adopt tougher academic standards; his budget would give states money to align math and science teaching with higher standards. Nearly all the states have signed onto an effort by the National Governors Association and Council of Chief State School Officers to develop a set of high-quality standards. The Race to the Top program also will reward states for working toward those standards.