States Punch Reset Button under NCLB

Given the flexibility to revise their academic goals under the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, a vast majority of the states that received federal waivers are setting different expectations for different subgroups of students, an "Education Week" analysis shows. That marks a dramatic shift in policy and philosophy from the original law. The waivers issued by the U.S. Department of Education let states abandon the goal of 100 percent proficiency in reading and mathematics for all students and instead hold schools accountable for passing rates that vary by subgroup--as long as those schools make significant gains in closing gaps in achievement. The leeway to set the new academic goals tacitly acknowledges that the 100 percent goal is unrealistic. But it also means that members of racial and ethnic minorities, English-language learners, and students with disabilities will fail to master college- and career-readiness standards by the end of the 2016-2017 school year at greater rates in most waiver states. Offered the new flexibility, only eight states--Arizona, Colorado, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, New Mexico, South Carolina, and Oregon--set the same targets for all students, according to the "Education Week" analysis of the 34 new state accountability plans. (Wisconsin has the same goal in 2017 for all students, but sets different targets until then.) Although virtually all observers agree now that the NCLB law's demand of 100 percent proficiency for all students is unworkable, many also say the message was important--that schools should be able to get all students to achieve at grade level in math and reading within 12 years after the law took effect. Now, the message is different, and seemingly more realistic: Academic goals can vary, even by subgroup, as long as states significantly close achievement gaps.