Hill leaders strike deal on ESEA reauthorization
Citing multiple sources, EdWeek reports that House and Senate education committee leaders reached a preliminary agreement yesterday on an ESEA reauthorization bill. According to EdWeek, an official conference committee will likely review the bill next week, with possible final House and Senate floor votes within a matter of weeks. EdWeek said that each of the four education leaders involved, Senate education committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-WA), House education committee Chairman John Kline (R-MN) and Ranking Member Bobby Scott (D-VA), "walked out of the negotiations with his or her biggest priority intact." NEA has urged Congress for years to correct the problems created by NCLB and to provide more resources and supports for students through an ESEA reauthorization.
Responding to the news, NEA President Lily Eskelsen García said: "Today we are a step closer to rewriting a federal education law that commits America to the success of every student regardless of ZIP code. While we welcome this progress, our work is not done. We look forward to working with the Congressional conference committee members to ensure that we produce a bill that, when signed by the president, gives every student the opportunity, support, tools, and time to learn."
Nebraska pulls NCLB waiver request
The Omaha World-Herald reports that Nebraska suspended its request to obtain an NCLB waiver. According to the story, Nebraska Education Commissioner Matt Blomstedt withdrew the request because of his optimism that an ESEA reauthorization bill will pass under a new House speaker. The U.S. Department of Education (ED) recently expressed displeasure with Nebraska's new teacher evaluation system, the story said.
Louisiana NCLB waiver renewed, placed on high-risk status
Louisiana received an NCLB waiver renewal, but joined Texas and South Dakota on the list of states placed on high-risk status. ED expressed concerns about Louisiana's failure, so far, to align its alternate assessments for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities with the state's college- and career-ready standards, and with limitations in the state's English Language Proficiency (ELP) standards and assessments. Colorado is the only waiver state still waiting to hear from ED about its renewal status.
Report chronicles state and local actions to rein in testing abuse
The National Center for Fair & Open Testing (FairTest) issued a report, Testing Reform Victories 2015: Growing Grassroots Movement Rolls Back Testing Overkill, documenting efforts around the country last school year to limit excessive testing. Among the highlights of the study, as summarized by FairTest:
- Policy-makers repealed California's graduation test. Six other states recently overturned similar requirements, reversing a trend toward exit exams.
- Florida, Oklahoma, New York, and North Carolina suspended or revised their test-based grade promotion policies. New Mexico legislators blocked their governor's attempt to impose one.
- Several other states, including Texas, Minnesota, Virginia, Colorado, and Maryland rolled back testing mandates. So did many districts, led by Lee County, Florida .
- Promising efforts to develop alternative systems of assessment and accountability are under way in California, New Hampshire and New York.
The study's author, Lisa Guisbond, said that activists would learn lessons from these successes "to expand and strengthen the testing resistance movement and ensure that policy makers go beyond lip service to implement meaningful assessment reforms."
Study: dismal performance by students in fully online charter schools
A new study by the Stanford-based Center for Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO) found that students taking all of their classes by computer from home at fully online, or virtual, taxpayer-funded charter schools learned dramatically less than their counterparts at traditional public schools. Fully online schools, while enrolling only about one-half of 1 present of K-12 students, are growing rapidly and are projected to see continued rapid enrollment growth in the near future.
The Online Charter School Study, funded by the procharter Walton Family Foundation, looked at annual academic performance of students from the 2009-2010 to the 2012-2013 school years in 17 states and the District of Columbia, and found that full-time online charter students lost an average of about 72 days of learning in reading and 180 days-the equivalent of an entire school year-in math. Students attending "brick and mortar" schools who take one or two online courses, and students attending schools which use a combination of face-to-face and online instructional approaches ("blended learning" schools) were not included in the study. For more information about the debate over virtual schools, consult the National Center for Education Policy's annual "Virtual Schools in the U.S." reports.
Early Learning Challenge grantees make progress on key indicators
ED released a positive analysis of recent annual performance reports for 20 Early Learning Challenge grantees. Congress authorized the Race to the Top -- Early Learning Challenge (RTTT--ELC ) in 2011 with the goal of improving the quality of early learning programs for children from birth to five years of age. The new analysis shows significant progress toward this goal on several indicators including the development of comprehensive early learning standards, the implementation of Tiered Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (TQRIS), and the use of Kindergarten Entry Assessments (KEAs).
The RTTT--ELC encouraged states to develop quality rating systems to assist parents in identifying high-quality early learning programs. The number of programs enrolled in TQRIS systems and the number of children attending programs with the highest quality rating has increased dramatically through investments made with RTTT-ELC funds.
Many states used RTTT-ELC funds to revise their early learning standards to better align with their K-3 education standards.
Nineteen of the 20 grantees used RTT-ELC funds to develop KEAs to help kindergarten teachers better understand the learning needs of their students when they enter kindergarten and inform instructional decisions.
White House convenes stakeholders for first summit on next generation high schools
On Tuesday, the Obama administration hosted educators, philanthropists, and advocates for the first in a series of activities to support next generation high schools. As part of the president's call "for a national effort to create more Next Generation High Schools-schools that incorporate key elements of redesign including personalized learning, work-based learning experiences, deeper ties to post-secondary [education], and include a focus on expanding STEM opportunities," the meeting showcased upwards of $375 million of public and private support for schools. During the day-long meeting, senior White House staff led policy discussions, including a lightning round of school models, and acknowledged that continued engagement and involvement of educators was essential for success.
Take Action
Congress is close to the final steps involved in passing an ESEA reauthorization bill, with an official conference committee likely to consider a compromise leadership agreement next week. Tell Congress to cross the finish line by passing a bill that both ends the era of No Child Left Behind and gets ESEA right for our students.
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