Senate Bill Revising No Child Left Behind Law Excludes Test Score Requirement in Teacher Evaluations
A bipartisan Senate bill updating the No Child Left Behind law and remove many of its onerous elements has been announced. While it retains the yearly test requirement in reading and math for students in third through eighth grade, it excludes the linking of test scores to the teacher-rating system.
The bipartisan Senate bill that will revise the No Child Left Behind law, removing many of its onerous elements, was announced on Tuesday. Earlier this year, Republican House representatives were forced to postpone the vote on the proposed legislation after it became clear that it would not receive the amount of support it needs.
The proposal was sponsored by Senators Patty Murray (D-Washington), and Lamar Alexander (R-Tennessee).
It would retain the yearly math and reading test requirements for third to eighth graders, and the one-time administration of the tests in high school. Test scores will also be required to be broken down by income and race, and be made public. However, the framework that classified nearly every public school as failing will be removed. It would also end a requirement that triggered teachers to start an all-out campaign - the use of test scores in their job evaluations.
The Senate bill mandates states to adopt the academic standards in math, science, and reading that would allow students to attend public universities without the need for remedial classes, or meet the state's vocational guidelines. It would, however, deprive the education secretary the authority to approve such standards, Motoko Rich and Tamar Lewin of The New York Times reported.
Also, based on the proposed bill, the federal government will no longer advise states on how they should handle chronically failing schools.
"This is a big deal," said American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten. "It goes back to the original intent of the law, to level the playing field for at-risk kids."
The NCLB law was passed in 2001 as George W. Bush's signature education achievement. It had established a set of burdensome punishments for schools that failed to produce "adequate yearly progress" on the student test scores. The law expired in 2007, but the Congress kept on failing to reauthorize what was previously known as the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.
While the House bill was being drafted, President Barack Obama concentrated on how it will impact funding for schools with the highest number of needy students. These schools receive extra federal funding under the existing law, and the Senate bill will retain this criteria.
The White House in a statement called the bill "an important step."Senate Bill Revising No Child Left Behind Law Excludes Test Score Requirement in Teacher Evaluations : News : ISchoolGuide: