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Akron
Beacon Journal...
Proficient
learners
June 5, 2012
In 2001,
education reformers on Capitol Hill and the White House set a high goal
for the
nation’s public schools: The No Child Left Behind Act would ensure that
every
child was proficient in math and reading by 2013-14. States would set
proficiency targets and measure districts and schools on Adequate
Yearly
Progress. Progressively stern interventions awaited districts and
schools that
failed persistently to make the required progress.
As an
aspiration, the goal of 100 percent proficiency is commendable. But the
mandate
is far from realistic, as the intervening years have made clear. Arne
Duncan,
the secretary of education, estimates that by the deadline 80 percent
of the
nation’s schools will be failures under the federal law. The Ohio
Department of
Education’s estimate is 90 percent of the state’s schools. In offering
states
the option to apply for relief, the Obama White House merely
acknowledges the
mandate is inoperable.
Ohio’s
application for a waiver was granted this week, one of 19 states to
date given
the go-ahead to replace achievement requirements. The relief comes with
conditions, among them that state school systems improve teacher
evaluations,
close achievement gaps, ensure students are college- or career-ready at
graduation and raise achievement levels in low-performing schools and
student
groups.
In return
for the relief, the state has pledged, in addition to other key
proposals, to
implement rigorous academic standards, a new system for evaluating the
performance of teachers and principals and a new A - F letter-grade
rating
system for schools and to cut by 50 percent the achievement gap in math
and
reading within six years.
Success
depends on setting the right course from the start and making sure the
state
devotes the necessary resources to follow through. The responsibility
falls
largely on leadership in the Statehouse. Some key elements for a
higher-achieving system already are on the books, among them the
rigorous national
Common Core curriculum and new teacher-licensing requirements. Other
important
pieces are stalled in controversy. For instance, language regarding
Gov. John
Kasich’s proposal to change to a letter-grade rating system for
districts and
schools, a critical part of the waiver application, was stripped from
Senate
Bill 316 in the House, legislators complaining, understandably, about
the
clarity of the rating criteria.
The waiver
represents a clear challenge, an opportunity and flexibility for Ohio
to show
initiative in creating a globally competitive school system that serves
all
students well. Ohio’s application promises as much. The concern is how
well the
governor and legislators will manage the opportunity.
Read this
and other articles at the Akron Beacon Journal
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