Download or read book Accountability Issues to Watch Under NCLB Waivers written by Nancy Kober and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page 11 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In September 2011, the Obama Administration invited states to apply for waivers of key requirements of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) as amended by the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). The Administration's waiver initiative offers states the flexibility to move away from the flawed provisions of NCLB, including several significant requirements intended to hold schools accountable for raising student achievement. The waivers also give states a chance to design new accountability systems that incorporate the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and common assessments being developed with the leadership and cooperation of many states. As of September 1, 2012, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) had approved waiver applications from 33 states and D.C. These waivers will remain in effect through 2013-14, and states will have to request an extension for future years. This report highlights issues to watch over the next few years as states with waivers implement new accountability systems. For each of the issues discussed in this report, the authors have tried to consider the implications for public education systems, teachers, and students. The discussion must be speculative because the new systems are just getting underway, and key details have yet to be determined in some states.
Download or read book What Impact Will NCLB Waivers Have on the Consistency Complexity and Transparency of State Accountability Systems written by Wayne Riddle and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page 30 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In September 2011, the Obama Administration initiated a program to grant states waivers of several significant requirements of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), as amended by the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). This initiative grew out of a concern that "in its implementation, No Child Left Behind had some serious flaws that are hurting our children instead of helping them," as President Obama noted in a speech announcing the waivers (The White House, 2011). The provisions that can be waived include several requirements of NCLB intended to hold schools accountable for raising student achievement. To receive NCLB waivers, states must apply to the U.S. Department of Education (ED) and must meet various requirements not currently in federal law. These new requirements relate to adopting college- and career-ready standards and assessments, developing differentiated accountability systems, implementing teacher and principal evaluation systems that factor in growth in student achievement, and reducing administrative burden. This report compares the new accountability provisions in the waiver states with those in the NCLB statute. Examples from select waiver states are included to illustrate how these new provisions will work within some specific statewide accountability systems. The report focuses on the complexity, transparency, and consistency across states of the new accountability systems in the waiver states, both on their own terms and in comparison with the NCLB statutory requirements. (Contains 4 footnotes.).
Download or read book NCLB Waivers and Accountability written by Kathryn Young and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 4 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When it comes to state education accountability systems, times are changing fast. This is clearer than ever with the advent of not only waivers from No Child Left Behind (NCLB) but also the multitude of state accountability index systems and "A through F" school-grading systems rolling out across the country. The multiple measures of college and career readiness included in the new systems offer potential benefits over the use of state test scores and graduation rates alone. For example, states can now create a more nuanced and comprehensive view of college and career readiness that might include end-of-course assessments, success on college-level courses, and graduation rates, as well as growth in student achievement. However, if these new indices are to be accurate and meaningful, states must not water down accountability measures within them, particularly accountability measures for improving graduation rates. This brief provides five questions that can help states and districts ensure strong graduation rate accountability, using data already available in state reporting systems.
Download or read book Major Accountability Themes of Second Round State Applications for NCLB Waivers written by Wayne Riddle and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page 17 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This report analyzes the NCLB waiver applications submitted in the second round by 26 states and Washington, D.C. to the U.S. Department of Education in February 2012. Among the findings in the report is that, like the first round of applications, these states are proposing new accountability systems that will lead to greater complexity both within states and between states, but at the same time will be more integrated with states' own existing accountability systems. Also, nearly all the state applications propose annual achievement targets and performance levels that are more nuanced than what is currently in place under NCLB. At the same time, 19 of the 27 applications analyzed will use a combined subgroup for accountability decisions, rather than all of the student subgroups mandated under NCLB. None of the states analyzed will continue to require school choice and SES in schools identified for improvement, as is currently mandated. (Contains 1 footnote.).
Download or read book Differentiated Accountability and Education Production written by Steven W. Hemelt and published by . This book was released on 2017 with total page 48 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 2011, the U.S. Department of Education granted states the opportunity to apply for waivers from the core requirements of No Child Left Behind (NCLB). In exchange, states implemented systems of differentiated accountability in which they identified and intervened in their lowest-performing schools ("Priority" schools) and schools with the largest achievement gaps between subgroups of students ("Focus" schools). We use administrative data from Michigan in a series of regression-discontinuity analyses to study the effects of these reforms on schools and students. Overall, we find that neither reform had appreciable impacts on various measures of school staffing, student composition, or academic achievement. We find some evidence that the Focus designation led to small, short-run reductions in the within-school math achievement gap - but that these reductions were driven by stagnant performance of lower-achieving students alongside declines in the performance of their higher-achieving peers. These findings serve as a cautionary tale for the capacity of the accountability provisions embedded in the recent reauthorization of NCLB, the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), to meaningfully improve student and school outcomes.
Download or read book A Step Forward Or a Step Back written by Daria Hall and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 14 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 2002, No Child Left Behind ushered in sweeping changes in school accountability. Diverging from the federal government's long history of leaving this matter largely to the states, a Congress broadly dissatisfied with the slow pace of educational improvement stepped in with a new framework designed to set schools on a path to getting all students to "grade level" by 2014. Virtually all observers--including critics of the law--applaud the attention NCLB focused on improving the achievement of students who had, for far too long, been poorly served by schools. Over time, however, even the law's staunchest supporters began noting its limitations and negative effects. These flaws could and should have been fixed through a reauthorization. But despite several attempts, Congress couldn't agree on a new version of the law. Frustrated with the legislative gridlock and worried about the damage an outmoded law could do, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan granted waivers from key accountability provisions of NCLB to states willing to undertake certain reforms. The waivers have sparked heated debate. But so far, there's been more heat than light. This is the second phase of the author's ongoing analysis aimed at shedding more light on the waivers. Her analysis compares the waivers with critical elements of a good accountability system and asks: What is the quality of the plans put forward by the states and approved by the U.S. Department of Education? When given an opportunity, what kind of choices did states make? Did their plans preserve a focus on underserved students, while also mitigating the most widely acknowledged problems with NCLB? She hopes that the questions raised in this report--which can be asked and answered in every state granted a waiver--will spark conversation and action among all who believe that, done right, accountability is an important tool in the effort to raise achievement and close gaps. This paper presents five questions that educators, advocates, and policymakers in every waiver state ought to ask about expectations in the accountability system for which their state has been approved. (Contains 10 notes.).
Download or read book States Perspectives on Waivers written by Jennifer McMurrer and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 30 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On February 9, 2012, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan granted 10 states waivers of key accountability requirements of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), as amended by the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act. One year later, applications for this ESEA flexibility, also known as NCLB waivers, had been approved for an additional 24 states and the District of Columbia. States that receive waivers have the flexibility to depart from some of NCLB's most significant requirements, such as judging school performance against a goal of 100% of students reaching reading and math "proficiency" by 2014 and implementing specific interventions in schools that fall short of performance targets. States with approved waiver applications must meet several new requirements, described below, that relate to standards and assessments, accountability systems, teacher and principal evaluation, and reductions in administrative burden. This report by the Center on Education Policy (CEP) at The George Washington University describes states' early experiences in applying for waivers and their plans for implementing the new systems outlined in their applications. The findings are based on a CEP survey administered in the fall of 2012. A total of 38 states responded to the survey, including 32 states with approved waiver applications (counting D.C. as a state) and 6 states whose applications were still pending as of the fall of 2012 when the survey was administered. Several key findings emerged from the survey results: (1) States believe that the waivers address several of the problems they see with the NCLB accountability requirements; (2) States are optimistic that the waivers will improve student learning; (3) Waivers have shaped state policies and accelerated some reforms; (4) Changes in teacher and principal evaluation systems are well underway, despite resistance in some states from teachers; (5) States have mixed views about whether implementing the various aspects of the waivers will cost more than implementing similar NCLB provisions; and (6) Many state officials are concerned about what will happen to the programs and policies in their waiver plans if ESEA is reauthorized. Study methods are appended. [This report was written with the assistance of Nancy Kober.].
Download or read book Holding NCLB Accountable written by Gail L. Sunderman and published by Corwin Press. This book was released on 2008 with total page 561 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: By mandating high standards for all students, the No Child Left Behind Act has promised to close the achievement gap and bring all students up to proficient levels by 2014. The challenge is in connecting the goals of NCLB legislation with the realities of change in the classroom.
Download or read book Do Schools Respond to Pressure written by Vivian C. Wong and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page 14 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Over the last decade, accountability reform has been at the forefront of the domestic policy agenda. Although the Obama Administration was critical of some elements of No Child Left Behind (NCLB), its policies endorsed high-stakes testing and expanded the scope of the stakes. With the Race to the Top and an NCLB waiver process, the administration doubled down on using student test results for high stakes purposes, making not only schools but also teachers and principals accountable for student achievement growth. This study addresses methodological challenges for evaluating NCLB by introducing a new quantitative measure for describing states' accountability systems. To create the implementation measure of states' accountability policies from 2003 to 2011, the authors combine a dataset they created of states' accountability policies with information from several federal data sources, including the NAEP and the Common Core of Data (CCD). Their implementation measure is unique in that it depends only on state policies, but not on population characteristics of schools and students within states. The measure allows them to describe quantitatively states' implementation of accountability policies during the NCLB pre-waiver period, to assess how these policies changed over time, and to examine how schools responded to state accountability pressures. The study employs a research design called simulated instrumental variables, which has not been used to study educational reforms but is well suited to uncover links between policy implementation and outcomes. In the preliminary analyses, they used the population of Pennsylvania schools in 2007-2008 to serve as the fixed sample that was "fed" through the AYP calculator. They authors chose Pennsylvania schools because the state department of education provided them with sufficient input information needed for their calculator and included schools with enough variation that reflect changes in state policies across time. Overall it was found that a 1% increase in stringency of Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) policy led to a 0.07% increase in schools' failure rates. Tables and figures are appended.
Download or read book A Critical Investigation of Florida s NCLB Waiver and School Leader Sensemaking written by Stacey Kesten and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This study used a combination of descriptive statistics and qualitative methods to investigate Florida's NCLB waiver with respect to its school accountability grading system as it was applied to elementary, middle, and K-8 schools in a large, urban school district. Using publicly accessible school accountability data for the 2013-2014 academic year, the quantitative component of this study examined the extent to which Florida's school grading system hides or highlights reading performance disparities across student subgroups. Quantitative results indicate that the exclusion of disaggregated data in accountability rating determinations functions to systematically mask critical disparities in reading proficiency between student subgroups, even at the highest rated schools. As a result, performance inequities are largely rendered invisible making it possible for highly graded schools to receive accountability rewards and accolades despite substantial performance disparities for Black/African American students and students with disabilities. In-depth interviews were conducted with 10 school leaders from five moderate to highly graded schools in order to better understand school leader sensemaking with respect to the NCLB waiver and school grades. Several themes emerged related to the ways in which school leaders interpret, communicate, and respond to school accountability grades, student performance, and state policy more generally. Overall, findings from this study paint a picture of school leaders as ambivalent policy actors. Depending on context, willingness, and individual perceptions, leaders were at times limited and in other circumstances more liberated in their capacity for recognizing and counteracting less than equitable policies and systems. Results from this study have implications for policy design, leadership practice, and school leadership preparation.
Download or read book The Mismeasure of Education written by Jim Horn and published by IAP. This book was released on 2013-07-01 with total page 286 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With new student assessments and teacher evaluation schemes in the planning or early implementation phases, this book takes a step back to examine the ideological and historical grounding, potential benefits, scholarly evidence, and ethical basis for the new generation of test based accountability measures. After providing the political and cultural contexts for the rise of the testing accountability movement in the 1960s that culminated almost forty years later in No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top, this book then moves on to provide a policy history and social policy analysis of value-added testing in Tennessee that is framed around questions of power relations, winners, and losers. In examining the issues and exercise of power that are sustained in the long-standing policy of standardized testing in schools, this work provides a big picture perspective on assessment practices over time in the U. S.; by examining the rise of value-added assessment in Tennessee, a fine-grained and contemporary case is provided within that larger context. The last half of the book provides a detailed survey of the research based critiques of value-added methodology, while detailing an aggressive marketing campaign to make value-added modeling (VAM) a central component of reform strategies following NCLB. The last chapter and epilogue place the continuation of test-based accountability practices within the context of an emerging pushback against privatization, high stakes testing, and other education reforms. This book will be useful to a wide audience, including teachers, parents, school leaders, policymakers, researchers, and students of educational history, policy, and politics.
Download or read book School Performance Accountability and Waiver Reforms written by Thomas Sean Dee and published by . This book was released on 2017 with total page 26 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: States that received federal waivers to the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act were required to implement reforms in designated "Focus Schools" that contribute to achievement gaps. In this study, we examine the performance effects of such "differentiated accountability" reforms in the state of Louisiana. The Focus School reforms in Louisiana emphasized school-needs assessments and aligned technical assistance. These state reforms may have also been uniquely high-powered because they were linked to a new letter-based school-rating system. We examine the impact of these reforms in a sharp regression discontinuity (RD) design based on the assignment of schools to Focus status. We find that, over each of three years, Louisiana's Focus School reforms had no measurable impact on school performance. We discuss evidence that these findings may reflect policy uncertainty and implementation fidelity at the state and local level.
Download or read book No Child Left Behind written by United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page 96 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book K 12 Education written by US Government Accountability Office and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page 30 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Beginning in 2011, the Department of Education (Education) used its statutory authority to invite states to apply for waivers from certain provisions in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) through its Flexibility initiative. To receive Flexibility waivers, states had to agree to meet other requirements related to college- and career-ready expectations, school accountability and support, and effective instruction. Education approved Flexibility waivers for 43 states. In December 2015, Congress reauthorized the ESEA, which modified Education's waiver authority. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) was asked to review Education's Flexibility initiative. GAO examined the extent to which Education assessed states' ability to fully implement their Flexibility waivers and the process it used to oversee the waivers. GAO reviewed relevant federal laws, guidance, and key documents related to the Flexibility initiative, such as monitoring reports; and interviewed Education officials. GAO reviewed Education's documents and identified states facing multiple challenges in implementing their waivers. GAO also interviewed officials in five states, selected to reflect a range of challenges states faced in implementing the waivers. GAO recommends that Education evaluate its Flexibility initiative oversight process to identify lessons learned and incorporate any applicable lessons into its plans for overseeing state implementation of the new law. Education generally agreed and outlined steps to address the recommendation. Appended are: (1) Key Benefits and Challenges of Flexibility Waivers, According to Officials in Selected States; (2) No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLBA) Provisions Waived Through the Flexibility Initiative; (3) Comments from the Department of Education; and (4) GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments.
Download or read book Standards Based Accountability Under No Child Left Behind written by Laura S. Hamilton and published by Rand Corporation. This book was released on 2007-05-24 with total page 303 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since 2001-2002, standards-based accountability provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 have shaped the work of public school teachers and administrators in the United States. This book sheds light on how accountability policies have been translated into actions at the district, school, and classroom levels in three states.
Download or read book Brookings Big Ideas for America written by Michael E. O'Hanlon and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2017 with total page 416 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As a new administration takes office, what are the biggest issues facing the country? The Brookings Institution offers answers to that question in this volume, which continues the Brookings tradition of providing each incoming administration with a nonpartisan analysis of the major domestic and foreign questions confronting America. On the domestic front, Brookings scholars tackle topics ranging from health care and improving economic opportunity to criminal justice reform, lawful hacking, and improving infrastructure. The alliance system, the relationship with China, nuclear weapons, terrorism, and the ongoing conflicts in Afghanistan and Syria among the foreign policies issues addressed. Throughout, Brookings scholars share their individual ideas on how best to address the agenda that awaits the new administration.
Download or read book No Child Left Behind Waiver Applications written by Jeremy Ayers and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page 37 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Obama administration has offered states the chance to waive some requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act. States are required, however, to make specific reforms in exchange for increased flexibility. The administration has been clear it wants states to engage in "ambitious but achievable" reforms rather than merely asking for a pass from the law. Applications submitted for the first round of waivers by 11 states to get a feel for how ambitious and achievable they are were reviewed. In taking a qualitative snapshot of the applications, a few findings emerged: (1) Clarity of goals; (2) Clarity of school ratings; (3) Inclusion of subgroups; (4) Readiness to evaluate educators; and (5) Reduction of burden. Two aspects of state applications were then examined: their evaluation and accountability systems. From that review two states--Tennessee and Massachusetts--"stand out" for articulating clear and challenging goals, proposing focused school-rating systems, and having data infrastructure that will help them implement evaluation systems. This report outlines what states must submit in their applications and summarizes some key elements of what states proposed or did not propose. The report concludes with findings that span the applications and recommendations for the Department of Education. Appended are: (1) Flexibility from No Child Left Behind requirements; and (2) Reforms required to receive flexibility. (Contains 2 charts and 24 endnotes.).
