The Waiver Wire: Deal or No Deal?
In my last post and in others on this blog, we have commented that requiring states to adopt more rigorous teacher evaluation systems in exchange for getting off the hook on the Highly Qualified Teacher provisions in NCLB is a pretty lousy deal. States will be much more enticed to submit a waiver proposal to escape the 100% proficiency cliff that is looming before them. However, I think the biggest relief states may get from winning a waiver is not in scrapping their proficiency targets or HQT, but rather in burying AYP once and for all and moving forward with new, state-determined accountabilitysystems. This is because AYP forces states to set-aside a maximum of 20% of their Title I funds for weak school improvement mechanisms – without AYP, these funds can instead be used to support interventions that may actually work.
Not only is AYP incredibly limiting in the information it provides, but its prescriptions are also extremely
Quick Hits (9.22.11)
Setting standards. An Arizona community college decided this week to strengthen their admissions requirements by mandating a placement test for all incoming students. Those who don’t perform at a 7th-grade level or higher in reading, math, and writing will be required to take non-credit remedial classes. No problem, right? Wrong. Officials expect that 2,300 students will fall into those remedial courses. (h/t Joanne Jacobs) (Arizona Daily Star)
Freedom of expression. Students in Wichita Falls, Texas, may be able to bare more skin soon. Board members are considering a revision of some student policies, including one that requires students to cover up
Addressing Higher Education Challenges
Last week, with Washington Monthly, we hosted “Charting the Future of Higher Education,” a live discussion on innovative solutions to address the challenges of higher education. The panel featured some of the nation’s leading innovators and thinkers on higher education policy. We hope you were able to join us for the event, but if not, here are a few highlights. (Or better yet, watch the event in full here.)
Washington Monthly Editor Paul Glastris began the conversation with the idea that if education is to remain the key to keeping our economy strong—and to promoting the American Dream—then colleges need to find the most talented students to admit. Yet, he pointed out the current system is more about the preservation of