Testing flap may impact state request for federal SIG waiver
In a move rife with political irony, the California State Board of Education is likely to approve this week a request to the U.S. Department of Education for a time extension to spend about $63 million in School Improvement Grant money.
But what would otherwise be a routine appeal may be colored by the ongoing dispute between Gov. Jerry Brown and U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan over the state’s plan to suspend most of its student testing next year.
Duncan has warned that some $15 million in administrative Title I money could be withheld but the department has also made a veiled threat about other federal money at risk – including School Improvement Grants.
Perhaps most problematic for California’s new request concerning SIG funds is that the decision-maker and recipient of the waiver is the very same federal official who issued a stinging threat via letter last month – Deborah S. Delisle, assistant secretary over the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education.
State officials have little choice but to make the request given the complex circumstances
Study suggests focus on lowest performers hurts high achievers
Education policies heavily focused on raising proficiency levels among America’s lowest-performing students have stalled the academic growth of a large percentage of bright, higher-achieving disadvantaged pupils, according to researchers at the University of Connecticut.