Paid Advertisement
NCLB is history — and now the hard work begins
By Laura Barrett
C;ongress;finally;buried;No;Child;Left;Behind;in;December, replacing;it;with;the;Every
Student;Succeeds;Act.;Now;what?
Most;educators;and;students;won’t
experience;dramatic;changes;based;on
the;new;law;—;at;least;not;right;away.
While;the;1,000-page;law;abolishes
several;significant;federal;education
mandates,;most;of;those;mandates
are;now;baked;into;Massachusetts
laws;and;regulations.;State;education
officials;have;not;publicly;expressed
an;interest;in;rolling;any;of;them;back.
“The;only;real;solution;continues
to;be;organizing;for;the;schools;our
students;deserve,”;said;MTA;President
Barbara;Madeloni.;“At;least;now;state
education;officials;can’t;hide;behind
the;claim;that;‘Arne;Duncan;is;making
us;do;this;to;you.’;They;have;to;own
their;policies,;including;the;ones;that
so;many;teachers,;students;and;parents
say;are;hurting;our;students;and
undermining;the;quality;of;education
Passage;of;ESSA;strengthens
arguments;for;H.;340,;an;MTA-backed
bill;that;would;establish;a;three-year
moratorium;on;the;high-stakes;use
of;standardized;tests,;since;most
—;though;not;all;—;of;the;stakes
associated;with;test;scores;are;now;left
to;states;to;determine.
One;area;ripe;for;reform;is
educator;evaluation:;The;federal
government;no;longer;requires
Massachusetts;to;use;student;test
scores;in;the;evaluation;system.;That
mandate;is;contained;in;state;education
regulations;but;not;in;state;law.
“Congress;finally;heard;that;using
test;scores;in;this;way;was;destructive,
time-consuming;and;invalid,”;said
Madeloni.;“We;need;to;deliver;the;same
message;to;Governor;Charlie;Baker
and;the;Department;of;Elementary;and
Secondary;Education.;Districts;have
wasted;enough;time;already;creating
District-Determined;Measures;solely
for;the;purpose;of;evaluating;teachers,
The;following;are;highlights;of
portions;of;the;new;law;that;affect
testing;and;accountability,;comparing
current;requirements;under;the;state’s
NCLB;waiver;to;ESSA.
n Testing:;As;is;the;case;under
current;law,;ESSA;requires;students;to
take;standardized;tests;in;mathematics
and;English;language;arts;every;year;in
grades;three;to;eight;and;once;in;high
school;and;to;take;science;tests;at;least
once;in;each;of;the;three;grade;spans:
elementary,;middle;and;high;school.
One;exception:;Up;to;seven;states
may;apply;to;let;districts;try;out;local
assessments;with;permission;from;the
U.S.;Department;of;Education.
n Testing Participation:;Under
the;NCLB;waiver,;schools;with
less;than;90;percent;participation
can;be;ranked;no;higher;than;Level
3;regardless;of;student;scores,
while;those;with;90;to;95;percent
participation;can;be;ranked;no;higher
than;Level;2.;ESSA;calls;for;a;95
percent;participation;rate,;with;states
deciding;how;to;factor;lower;rates;into
the;accountability;system.;The;default
position;is;for;the;state;to;continue;its
current;requirements.
n Testing Goal:;The;wildly
unrealistic;NCLB;goal;that;all;students
score;“proficient”;in;English;language
arts;and;math;by;2014;has;long;since
gone;by;the;boards.;Instead,;the
state’s;NCLB;waiver;requires;schools
to;achieve;a;50;percent;reduction;in
“proficiency;gaps”;for;all;subgroups;by
2017.;Under;ESSA,;states;determine
their;own;goals.;However,;since
Massachusetts;created;the;“proficiency
gaps”;goal;in;applying;for;the;waiver,
the;DESE;may;not;want;to;change;that
metric.
n Identification of Schools:
Currently,;schools;in;the;lowest;20
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