The Vermont “No Child Left Behind” Letter that Tells the Truth
The federal testing law, No Child Left Behind (NCLB), requires that states inform parents when—by the standardized tests required by NCLB—their child’s school has been identified as a “failing” school. The problem is that, because NCLB required states to raise the “cut score” for student proficiency higher every year at the same time NCLB mandated that all schools make all their students be proficient by 2014, virtually all schools across America are now failing schools—by the ill-conceived mechanism of NCLB.
All but a hand-full of states have applied for and received NCLB waivers that the U.S. Department of Education has made available to states to release them from the ridiculous requirement that all schools be labeled failures and other penalties embedded in NCLB that have proven ill-advised or unworkable. To qualify for a NCLB waiver, however, states must meet the conditions Arne Duncan’s Department has established. The primary requirement is that states agree to evaluate and rate teachers based on the statewide standardized test the state created to test all students as required by NCLB. Washington state wanted to let school districts choose what test to use to evaluate and rate teachers, and Washington state was punished in April 2014, when the U.S. Department of Education rescinded its NCLB waiver.
A few states, however, do not have NCLB waivers. Last week Vermont’s Secretary of Education, Rebecca Holcombe explained why her state has never sought a waiver. Holcombesent out a letter to all the parents of Vermont, as required by NCLB—to tell them that their The Vermont “No Child Left Behind” Letter that Tells the Truth | janresseger: