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News from Department of Education - Report released by DOE: Analysis of New Jersey’s Census-Based Special Education Funding System
DOE website: Department of Education solicits comment on draft ESEA waiver outline.Christie Administration Seeks Public Input on NCLB Waiver Centered on Increasing Flexibility and Strengthening Accountability
NJ Spotlight - Fine Print: NCLB Waiver Application -- Draft Outline…A closer look at the Christie administration's waiver for the federal No Child Left Behind Act
Star Ledger - New Jersey looks to waive requirements of 'No Child Left Behind,' proposes new school accountability system...Click on More here to get to links to DOE report and Waiver Application, as well as related news articles
News from Department of Education
Analysis of New Jersey’s Census-Based Special Education Funding System
News– DOE website:
Department of Education solicits comment on draft ESEA waiver outline.
NJ Spotlight - Fine Print: NCLB Waiver Application -- Draft Outline…A closer look at the Christie administration's waiver for the federal No Child Left Behind Act
NJ Spotlight - Fine Print: NCLB Waiver Application -- Draft Outline…A closer look at the Christie administration's waiver for the federal No Child Left Behind Act
, November 4 in Education|Post a Comment
What it is: As previously announced, the Christie administration plans to apply for a waiver from the federal No Child Left Behind Act, joining what will likely be dozens of other states in seeking exemption from some of the federal law’s most draconian requirements. This is the outline released yesterday of that coming application, with some new details on how the administration plans to identify and intervene in flagging schools and how it would reward successful ones, including with money.
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Why it matters: The 11-page outline is as much a political document as a policy one, outlining Gov. Chris Christie’s education agenda as he moves into the second half of his term. On the one hand, the application follows much of what the Obama administration proposed in offering the waivers in the first place -- including new labels for schools. On the other, it also presses some pet political causes for Christie, including teacher tenure and charter schools and a school voucher bill.
The list: In announcing the state’s hopes for a waiver from NCLB, the administration also released the list of schools that currently don’t meet the law’s definition of “adequate yearly progress.” More than half of the state’s schools now miss the mark, a number that is only going to go up as the required achievement levels continue to rise.
The deadline and public input: The application is due November 14, and the administration is asking for public to comment by next Wednesday on the outline and the application.
The reaction: It is largely wait and see, as more details emerge in the coming days and weeks. The state’s School Boards Association said it was worried that it would give more power to the state in dictating changes in schools. An urban schools advocate said it looks like the administration is proposing more labeling of so-called failing schools, not less.
The details, and lack thereof: The outline includes many of the details that had been called for in the federal guidelines, including new rules for identifying and intervening in the lowest performing schools. In that, the very bottom 5 percent of schools in terms of student achievement would be called “Priority Schools” and the bottom 10 percent in terms of gaps in achievement for low-income and other special needs students would be called “Focus Schools.” Where the details are vague is what will happen to them. The federal guidelines call for interventions including new leadership and faculty, but the state’s outline says those will be custom-made to each school, leaving broad discretion.
The Reward Schools: As part of the federal rules, New Jersey will also identify highest achieving schools in various categories, including how well their subgroups of students perform. And deviating from the federal guidelines, the administration is offering to some financial incentives to those Reward Schools, although it didn’t say how much that would be or whom would receive it.
Everyone else: That leaves a fourth category of schools that are neither the high- nor low-fliers, and acting education commissioner Chris Cerf has said that he will revamp the state’s annual School Report Cards to highlight how schools progress and compare against similar communities. The details of that new scoring system tentatively called “School Performance Reports,” which may include letter grades for each school is still to be determined through a working group within the department, the application said.
The politics: The administration has used the outline to promote two of its more controversial proposals: a new school voucher law and another to allow private firms to take over management of failing public schools. The proposed Opportunity Scholarship Act, allowing one-for-one tax credits to companies donating to “scholarships” for low-income students to attend private schools, is pending in the legislature and expected to see a vote in the coming months. The proposed Urban Hope Act, sponsored by state Sen. Donald Norcross (D-Camden), would allow for charter conversions of the lowest-performing schools at the request of the districts, teachers, or parents.
Teacher evaluation and tenure: The application outlines the administration’s well-known proposal to revamp teacher evaluation and ultimately tie some consequences to those evaluations in terms of teacher tenure protections. The teacher evaluation system -- including a reliance on student achievement as being up to half of a teacher’s grade -- is now being tested in 11 pilot districts. A bill that would tie those evaluations to whether a teacher receives and keeps tenure is pending in the state Senate, with action also expected in the coming months.
Star Ledger - New Jersey looks to waive requirements of 'No Child Left Behind,' proposes new school accountability system
Published: Friday, November 04, 2011, 7:45 AM Updated: Friday, November 04, 2011, 7:52 AM
New Jersey’s bid to waive the requirements of a federal education law includes proposals to reward high-performing schools and force low-performing ones to remove ineffective teachers, according to a draft of the state’s application.
The "No Child Left Behind" law requires all public school students to demonstrate proficiency in math and reading by 2014, but it would be nearly impossible for New Jersey to comply — 55 percent of the state’s public schools have students who do not meet that standard, test data show.
In seeking the waiver from 100 percent compliance, the state’s application proposes a new system for public school accountability that would group schools into three tiers based on students’ performance on standardized tests. The federal law deems any school not in compliance as failing, a penalty that could result in withheld funds after the 2014 deadline.
According to the state’s application, the 5 percent of schools with the lowest test scores would be deemed "priority." Another group with low graduation rates or wide achievement gaps would be considered "focus." The state’s best schools would be called "reward."
Acting Education Commissioner Christopher Cerf said the proposed accountability system would support struggling schools and offer credit for progress toward the "flawed" federal law’s goal of having all students demonstrate proficiency in math and reading.
"There is no one-size-fits-all approach to school improvement, which is why we must focus our resources and most significant interventions on those schools with a longstanding history of low performance," Cerf said.
The Department of Education released a draft Thursday of the state’s waiver application to seek public comment on the proposals. Comments must be submitted through the department’s website by Nov. 9.
Under the application, "priority" schools could be forced to fire their principals, remove ineffective teachers and extend the school day to boost achievement. "Reward" schools would be given financial bonuses.
The application notes swift passage of Gov. Chris Christie’s education reform bills would make it easier to implement the state’s proposals. Legislation the governor supports includes overhauling teacher tenure, offering bonuses to the best teachers and expanding access to charter schools.
Changing state law would make the application’s proposals more effective, a Department of Education spokesman said.
Martha DeBlieu, a research director for the New Jersey Education Association, the state’s largest teacher’s union, said the application is not an appropriate venue to advocate for legislative proposals the union does not support.
