Alabama school systems received a brief reprieve from the ever-hardening federal No Child Left Behind standards this weekend — but local educators say a new waiver is only a stopgap measure, and doesn’t address the bigger problem.
The problem, according to Cullman County Board of Education Superintendent Billy Coleman? Too much interference at the federal level, and a lack of resources to reach what are quickly becoming unattainable goals.
“The problem is the federal government was placing requirements without really providing the resources to get there, and that isn’t right,” Coleman said. “It’s hard to hold people accountable, and not provide them with the resources to meet proficiency. We don’t need meeting AYP (Adequate Yearly Progress) to be what drives our decisions. We need less federal government in local issues.”
The federal government issued Alabama a one-year waiver to freeze the student proficiency requirements at the 2011 level. Normally the number of students needed to pass standardized tests to achieve adequate yearly progress (AYP) increases each year.
The law requires that 100 percent of students read and do math at grade level by 2014. Each year the number of students who must pass the test increases, and the number of schools meeting the standards declines.
Alabama is among 26 states receiving a waiver from some part of the decade-old law.
State education officials are working on their own accountability system, and the federal government granted the waiver to allow more development time.
Coleman said he favors the development of state standards, and believes that option could provide a more fair system to determine success.
“I think it gives the state some of the opportunity to set some more realistic goals to define ‘good schools’ in terms that go beyond test scores, and there are a lot of great characteristics,” he said. “I think we’ll still have accountability, which is good, but I think that will be more meaningful. I think the state understands better what makes a great school than Washington does.”
Cullman City School Superintendent Dr. Jan Harris said she was also pleased with the waiver’s approval, and she hopes the “inadequacies” of No Child Left Behind can be addressed soon.
“This freeing of the annual objectives will allow the state department to implement the end of course test, and new procedures for accountability,” she said. “We look forward to working together to create those measures in the state of Alabama in the next year.”
* The Associated Press contributed to this report.
* Trent Moore can be reached by e-mail at trentm@cullmantimes.com, or by telephone at 734-2131, ext. 220.
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