White House: 10 States Get Education Waiver (AP/NPR) {NCLB in death spiral?}

[eppur_se_muova]

by The Associated Press

President Obama on Thursday will free 10 states from the strict and sweeping requirements of the No Child Left Behind education law in exchange for promises to improve the way schools teach and evaluate students.

The move is a tacit acknowledgement that the law's main goal, getting all students up to par in reading and math by 2014, is not within reach.

The first 10 states to receive the waivers are Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, Oklahoma and Tennessee, the White House said. The only state that applied for the flexibility and did not get it, New Mexico, is working with the administration to get approval.

Obama said he was acting because Congress had failed to update the law despite widespread agreement it needs to be fixed.

"If we're serious about helping our children reach their potential, the best ideas aren't going to come from Washington alone," Obama said in a statement, released before the official announcement later Thursday. "Our job is to harness those ideas, and to hold states and schools accountable for making them work."

A total of 28 other states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico have signaled that they, too, plan to seek waivers — a sign of just how vast the law's burdens have become as the big deadline nears.
***
more: http://www.npr.org/2012/02/09/146625029/white-house-official-10-states-get-education-waiver

[dixiegrrrrl]

1. So he DOES have power to change some of the Bush crap?

And can around the Republican Iron Curtain?
How did he create that "waiver"?
'Cause I would like to see him waiver a few more things.

[former9thward]

2. NCLB was authored by Ted Kennedy.

It passed with bi-partisan support. I don't like it because of the over use of standardized testing but this was a product of both parties.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

9. but he wasn't perfect. He stopped Nixon from pushing national health,

he allowed his ego to get in the way at other times. Overall, he was a lion and did much good, but this is another example of not so good.

Leave no childs behind has done damage to our schools. We need to leave it behind.

[amandabeech]

10. One of my problems with it is that the tests are not standardized among the states.

Kids in Alabama take a test that's different from the one in New Jersey that's different from the one in Oregon, and there is no office or official to make sure that the tests are equivalent in difficulty.

That leaves a lot of wiggle room for states to dumb-down the tests.

From what I gather, they do because there is a lot of money and jobs on the line here.

If I were in charge, Obama would waive the whole thing except for standardized tests in a few grades.

[AllTooEasy]

6. key word is "some"

I wish he could erase the memory of W from my brain, and reanimate all of the troops Bush sacrificed.

[mzmolly]

14. So he IS changing some of the Bush crap?

[dixiegrrrrl]

16. lol...I could have expressed that better.

I "get" that the Republicans are blocking a lot of stuff.
but I do not get that his appointed head of DOJ cannot investigate massive bank fraud, yet no comment or action from our President.
( not to mention firing Holder's ass and getting a REAL AG in there)
THAT crap started with Bushie..well, prolly earlier, but really took off with Bush.
So did this whole TSA groping, the invasion of our privacy, the corporate take over of our country, etc.
THAT crap I was expecting a Dem President to at least be up in arms about
instead of up in drones attacking other countries.

I come from the time of Nixon when firing the US AG for refusing to break the law was considered by most of the country as
a shocking thing.It was a significant factor in Nixon resigning.

then we got Gonzales, during the Bush regime.

sigh....my heart actually hurts at times.

[eppur_se_muova]

3. UPDATE: Obama on CNN, MSNBC now!

http://www.whitehouse.gov/live/president-obama-speaks-providing-state-flexibility-under-no-child-left-behind

[d_r]

4. I see this as good news/bad news

1. Not a fan of NCLB

2. I don't think standardized tests should be overused to evaluate student progress

On the other hand-

3. Even though I don't think standardized tests should be the sole measure of progress, I think it is a damned shame that we can't improve education enough to reach those benchmarks so we give up.

Hard to explain, but I have mixed feelings.

In principle, I don't want us to just focus on teaching to the test. In reality, I'm sad that we can't even get that right.

[eppur_se_muova]

5. WH announcement here:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2012/02/09/no-child-left-behind-announces-flexibility-exchange-reform-ten-states

[Uncle Joe]

7. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, eppur_se_muova.

[MNBrewer]

8. Glad to see that MN is one of them

[SomeGuyInEagan]

11. As am I.

So, what's brewin', MNBrewer?

[MNBrewer]

12. Just bottled a Belgian Dark Strong ale

Looking forward to drinking it in 2-4 weeks.

[mzmolly]

15. Where's the "like" button

when ya need it?

[mzmolly]

13. Applause!

[Igel]

17. The law was stupid at the time.

You'll never get 100% of kids doing anything. You can't dictate that when you've reached success rates in the 90s that there won't be a statistical fluke that drives scores down.

Or a demographic change that means low scoring kids that move into the area won't drag the scores.

It was folly when a small group of inexperienced folk decided that they could dictate to those with greater knowledge how things ought really to be done and gave themselves the power to do so. Obama's amended the folly, but mostly to say that the words imposed by people 10 years ago, codified and therefore predictable, won't do the dictating. Instead, people will do the dictating in something more like real time, meaning that the requirements will be flexible and arguably less predictable. Rule of law, however bad, is probably a bit better than rule by men.

They're changing a bad thing. It might be better. Probably not.

[yurbud]

18. I gave this a rec for the ''death spiral'' Why not put EDUCATORS in charge of ed policy

instead of Wall Street privatization and test selling snake oil hucksters?

Obama could shore up support with his base if he kick those assholes to the curb instead of kicking a core Democratic constituency, teachers, in the nuts by keeping them.

Obama has helped teachers with the money in the stimulus to keep many from being laid off, but his support for the right wing vision of education ''reform'' hangs over teachers' heads like a guillotine waiting to drop.