NCLB Reauthorization News

We may be getting somewhere, at long last. News on two fronts show organizations writing reports about some of the real problems with NCLB.

The Center on Education Policy has released recommendations from two meetings held last fall. The first recommendation is sorely needed:

Encourage states to develop methods to measure teacher effectiveness that could be incorporated into teacher certification and licensure systems for veteran teachers; and refine the NCLB definition of a highly qualified teacher to address the unique circumstances of certain kinds of teachers, such as special education teachers and teachers in rural areas who teach multiple subjects.

The Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) released a report at the end of January summarizing their recommendations. Here they are (our comments are in italics):

1. Promote innovative models and reinvent peer review. "The reauthorized
   ESEA should encourage, not stifle, innovation, and it should improve the peer review process to make it a true state-federal partnership in that regard – with a focus on knowledge enhancement and promotion of educationally sound models rather than monitoring for narrow compliance. " Can't happen soon enough!!
   
2. Improve accountability determinations. "The reauthorized ESEA should
   encourage use of a variety of accountability models focused on individual student achievement that build on adequate yearly progress (AYP) to promote more valid,
   reliable, educationally meaningful accountability determinations."
3. Differentiate consequences. "NCLB requires the same classifications and interventions for Title I schools and districts regardless of whether they missed performance goals by a little or a lot, regardless of the plans and capacities in place, and regardless of the interim progress being made. This is neither efficient nor effective."
4. Improve assessment systems.
   
5. Properly include students with disabilities. "For inclusion in assessment and accountability to be valid, it must be educationally meaningful for each student, and federal law (both ESEA and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act [IDEA] working together) should reflect that."
6. Properly include English language learners. "For inclusion in assessment and accountability to be valid, it must be educationally meaningful for each student, and federal law (both Title I and Title III of ESEA, working together) should reflect that."
7. Enhance teacher quality. "Federal law should encourage states to establish multiple measures for teacher quality, set ambitious but meaningful bars, and leverage those bars to improve teacher preparation and performance over time." We would like to see more flexibility language here, enabling effective teachers to keep doing what they're doing.
8. Strengthen resources.
   We noticed that the Bush administration's proposed 2008 budget includes cuts in education funding. The cuts are deeper than they appear on first look because funds that are currently used for educating children would be moved -- they will go to testing companies for the development of more standardized tests, this time at the high school level.