The Owl Newsletter

The Owl: "No Child Left Behind" Act— Clash Over Details Masks Agreement on Fundamentals

ISSUE 49 | JULY 22, 2002

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The Owl has just returned from the annual meeting of the Education Commission of the States (ECS), held July 9 - 12 in Hollywood, Calif. This is where nearly 500 higher-ups in state governments compare notes on their efforts to run schools wisely.

This year's unofficial theme was us vs. them, or rather, states vs. the federal folks. Uniting the normally disunited state education leaders, at least within the state departments of education, is shock, anger, and puzzlement at the unrealistic deadlines and goals imposed by the U.S. Department of Education.

Interestingly, I heard no state officials take issue with the feds' more active role in shaping education policy. No gripes about reporting results. No disagreements over the extension of testing into every grade level between grades three and eight in reading and math. This reflects the new concensus that more or less unites most Democrats and Republicans on K-12 issues. Rather, the concerns I heard were about implementation matters:

How could districts be expected to attain higher results with fewer resources?
How could states meet a September 2002 deadline for creating complex, heavily disaggregated school and district level accountability reports?
How could districts provide space for students transferring from "underperforming" schools to already crowded alternate sites?
How could some states (Arkansas and Wyoming) show no schools failing to make adequate yearly progress, while in other states (Michigan and California), more than a thousand schools fall into this category?

The state officials' verdict was unanimous: The feds want too much, too fast.

One indicator of the tension was the federal folks selection of young Scott Jenkins to represent the DoE. He was frankly unqualified to answer objections, having been on the job just eight weeks.

Another indicator of tension was news that Vermont may in fact turn down Title I money entirely, because the strings attached are too burdensome.

FUNDAMENTAL AGREEMENT

But oddly, I heard no objections of a higher order. Certainly, with a roster of attendees that included governors, legislators, and state superintendents, one would expect forthright debate and candor, not shyness. No one objected to the NCLB law that required all students in grades three through eight to attain proficiency in reading and math by the year 2014. Nor did anyone object to measuring adequate yearly progress.

This Owl predictsthat in the short run we'll see waivers and exceptions galore. The federal folks will wiggle out of their stiff suit of armor and provide more reasonable deadlines and more forgiving goals. But I also predict that the logic of this new federal activism will lead to more choice among public schools for parents, more testing to be sure, and more reporting of results.

RECOMMENDATIONS AND ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

The Owl recommends you get ready to dance to the feds' new tune. They may be imposing unrealistic deadlines, but their "get tough" rhythm is not to be dismissed lightly. Once they bend their deadlines and set new ones, they will begin enforcing them. I predict they will indeed cut funding to some states by the end of this year.

My second recommendation is prepare for the battle over adequate yearly progress. This measure will determine which schools win and which lose in the years ahead. Look to Bill Sanders and the SASinSchool folks for the best solution to this riddle. Read more about him.

My third recommendation is that you turn to ECS for help, starting with the ECS website. It is a treasure-trove of information. It covers the NCLB (officially the Elementary Secondary Education Act) with an eye toward helping those of you who have to live with it. Their site is open to all.

It includes reports on the readiness of the states to implement the law, a summary of the main points of the new law, and a series of three issue briefs that are well worth perusing. They are:

But to get the word straight from the horses mouth, go directly to the federal DoEs website covering the No Child Left Behind Act.

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