In an effort to further No Child Left Behinds reform, the Obama administration granted waivers to 10 states.
The states include Colorado, a recognized leader in education reform over the last three years, said Keith Owen, the associate commissioner at the Colorado Department of Education.
It really allows Colorado to use its current accountability system, which is much more thoughtful and accurate for schools and teachers and principals, Owen said.
Both Democratic Sens. Mark Udall and Michael Bennet lauded the decision while they work to reform No Child Left Behind. No Child Left Behind has been overdue for reform for the last five years, they said, and was designed to improve standards of reading and mathematics by 2014.
In October, Udall introduced a bill based on Colorados growth model, which would allow states to consider individual academic growth as a part of a schools overall performance. It was co-sponsored by Bennet, and is still in the first stages of the legislative process. Rep. Jared Polis, D-Colo., introduced a version of the senators bill Jan. 31 in the House of Representatives.
But Republican Rep. Scott Tipton, a co-sponsor of another bill in the House that will reform No Child Left Behind, said the waivers give more control to Washington as opposed to less.
Education matters are best handled at the local level, trusting our teachers, parents, school boards and communities to make decisions for our children not Washington, said Tipton in a news release.
In order to qualify for a waiver, Colorado had to demonstrate that it has college and career-ready expectations for all students, an implemented system of accountability, and teacher and principal evaluation and support systems.
Owen said it has done that by including writing and science in their tests, as well as requiring students to take the ACT.
The bill Tipton has co-sponsored, the Academic Partnerships Lead Us to Success Act, was introduced in July 2011. It intends to give states and local communities maximum flexibility to determine and implement education reform. States would go into a five-year agreement with the Department of Education and would give annual reports on progress.
I encourage the president to consider these types of common-sense alternatives to NCLB, and offer genuine no-strings-attached flexibility and relief from the mandates of NCLB, said Tipton.
No Child Left Behind was a bipartisan effort from the Bush administration that stressed standardized testing. Schools would face sanctions if they were unable to improve test scores.