States Get Feedback on Waiver Applications

The second round of waiver applicants, 26 states plus the District of Columbia, have received feedback from the Department of Education on their requests.  Education Week examined 22 of the 27 letters sent to applicants, and found some common areas of concern:

1. Almost every state needs to do a better job of explaining how they will train teachers/principals to implement the Common Core.
2. Many states were asked to be explicit about how they would make the standards accessible for ELLs and special education students.
3. Many states had trouble clarifying how they would cope with transitions (i.e., from old standards to the Common Core or from old accountability systems to new ones).
4. The Department was also unimpressed with the way in which many states created their “annual measurable objectives.”  Many of the targets weren’t rigorous enough or didn’t explain how states would intervene in schools that were not meeting targets.
5. Many states also were called out for not explicitly addressing how they would handle “Priority” (bottom 5%) and “Focus” (those in danger of slipping into the bottom) schools.
6. Almost every state was also critiqued for not doing enough to explain how they were working with stakeholders, particularly groups representing students who are typically underserved (ELLs, students with disabilities, minorities).

Education Week also notes that the Department commented that some of the requests went beyond the scope of what the NCLB waivers are meant to do.  For example, Vermont wanted to add a fifth model it could use with schools getting SIG funds, and Ohio wanted to give ELLs an extra year before they are tested in ELA for accountability purposes.

To find out specifics on each state’s waiver status, please visit http://tinyurl.com/c4ydx62.  You can also get caught up on what has already taken place with NCLB waivers by visiting my earlier posts here and here.