Lecture 14 POLS 207 Outline of Last Lecture Federal Role in Education I No Child Left Behind A Increased federal role B Federally mandated standardized testing for all C All children proficient by 2014 D Reduced differences among groups Outline of Current Lecture NCLB the Obama Administration and Education Oh My I Continuing issues in NCLB II The Obama Administration s educational agenda A Race to the Top B National Assessment of Educational Progress common standards Current Lecture 2001 NCLB Act Withholding federal funds Failing to make AYP adequate yearly progress with parental choice Continuing issues in No Child Left Behind Re authorization due in 2007 but with 08 and 09 financial crisis 10 healthcare fight 12 elections and continued divided national government Complicated politics of re authorization beyond traditional Republican ambivalence about federal involvement re authorization esp stressful for Democrats o Minorities traditionally suspicious of standardized testing o BUT with NCLB and its subgroup reporting requirements it becomes hard to cover up failures of different groups by lumping them in with everyone else Teachers unions and their professional associations view of NCLB testing requirements range from ambivalence to outright opposition esp if test results linked to teacher pay tenure All of this matters for the reauthorization of NCLB because racial and ethnic minorities and teachers are important elements of the Democratic base and without widespread Democratic support in Congress NCLB will not be reauthorized Obama Administration s educational agenda See also D M 16 541 42 Note that the federal role in education was not a significant issue of the 2008 election Neither party addressed it extensively Increase federal financial aid Incentives disadvantaged schools math and science teachers Alternative certification programs Encourage states to develop common subject matter standards Link teacher pay to student achievement Race to the Top A competitive grant program that is supposed to encourage states and local school districts to use spare money to raise their standards Competitive grants 8 billion to the states if Use international standards as benchmarks Implement turnaround strategies Encourage charter schools Develop data systems for tracking individual student achievement o Rewards teachers for improving students performance meant to undercut teacher opposition to linking pay to test scores Link teacher and principal pay to test scores Some state legislatures had to change their states laws particularly regarding linking teacher pay to student achievement Some states had forbidden that sort of policy Implementing policy changes through waivers a way to get around an inactive congress Typical provision in legislation authorizing administrative agency e g the Secretary of to waive part or all of law s requirements provisions e g NCLB waive any statutory or regulatory requirement Obama Administration will waive the 2014 proficiency requirement IF the state 45 states expected to request Develops rigorous standards for achieving college or career readiness In other words change the goal to college or career readiness rather than grade level proficiency in reading and math These new standards might actually be more rigorous than the gradelevel proficiency ones but don t have to worry about AYP Tracks individual student achievement Evaluates teacher performance using in part test scores e g a growth model of student achievement Who defines educational standards Old fear of federal control NCLB prohibits federal government nation wide tests o Section 6301 Nothing in this Act shall be construed to authorize the Federal Government to mandate direct or control instructional content academic achievement standards and assessments curriculum or program of instruction as a condition of eligibility National Assessment of Educational Progress given to a random sampling of students every other year or so to determine percentage that are proficient AKA the nation s report card State written tests vs NAEP test 85 of Texas fourth graders proficient in reading on state test 27 on NAEP cf LA 14 v 20 BUT MS 87 v 18 on NAEP o These data State v NAEP results create pressures for standardized national tests and curricula since national tests are showing much lower proficiency rates than state tests However there is some legitimate criticism of national benchmarks Obama s Race to the Top initiative encourages states to develop common standards