No waiver left behind: states welcome more flexibility in meeting the challenging requirements of No Child Left Behind.

• Author: Posey, Lee
• Position: EDUCATION

It came as no surprise when President Obama announced in September 2011 that the U.S. Department of Education would grant states waivers from particular provisions in the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) law.

Congress had failed to come up with an agreement on how to revamp the sweeping federal education law signed by President George W. Bush in 2002, and the Obama administration argued that waivers would offer states more flexibility in complying with some of law's most onerous requirements.

West Virginia, like most states, took advantage of the offer and received a waiver. Last year, lawmakers passed major comprehensive education reform, and having the waiver "is helping West Virginia move in the direction we want to as a state," says Senator Robert Plymale (D), chair of the Senate Education Committee.

With the addition of Illinois in April (the most recent to receive a waiver), 43 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico have received waivers.

But now a few states risk losing their waivers, as Washington state did at the end of April, and others face the difficult task of making education policy decisions within the uncertain and changing world of waivers.

Flexibility With Requirements

The waivers granted states flexibility in how and when they achieved certain requirements in the law, as well as how they used the federal education funds.

The original waivers granted states more time to help 100 percent of their students achieve proficiency in reading/language arts and mathematics. In exchange for this greater flexibility, states had to agree to:

* Transition to college- and career-ready standards.

* Develop an effective way to differentiate the performance level of individual schools.

* Hold low-performing schools accountable for improvements, yet provide the support they need.

* Establish teacher and principal evaluations based in part on student achievement.

Especially attracted to the waivers were many school leaders from low-performing schools who were seeking a more reasonable set of student achievement targets and more influence in deciding what intervention strategies would be most effective in their schools.

Like most states, Idaho sought the waiver for the flexibility it offered in assessing student learning, says Idaho Senator John Goedde (R), chair of the Senate Education Committee.

"Idaho will use multiple measures, including academic growth and completion of dual credit courses as well as SAT scores, rather than just the...