8/3/04 - States are making substantial progress implementing the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), although most still have a long way to go, reports the Education Commission of the States.
According to ECS Report to the Nation: State Implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act, released July 14, all 50 states had met or were partially on track to meeting half of the 40 key requirements of NCLB as of March 2004.
All states, except for Nebraska, Wyoming, and the District of Columbia, had met or were partially on track to meeting 75 percent of the requirements, ECS finds.
Five states - Connecticut, Kentucky, New York, Oklahoma, and Pennsylvania - had met or were partially on track to meeting all 40 NCLB requirements.
The report is based on ECS's NCLB database on state-enacted policies, which was developed with a $2 million grant from the U.S. Education Department.
The report finds some states struggling to meet some of the NCLB requirements, particularly with regard to the provisions on highly qualified teachers.
For example:
• Not a single state appears to be on track to meet the requirement that all teachers of core academic subjects in elementary and secondary schools are highly qualified. NCLB requires this goal to be met by the 2005-06 school year.
• No states are on track to implementing the requirement for high-quality professional development for teachers, although 12 states have made some progress. NCLB requires states to create annual measurable objectives for increasing the percentage of teachers receiving high-quality professional development.
• Only 10 states appear fully on track to ensuring that both new and veteran teachers are qualified to teach in their subject areas.
States also are falling behind in other areas:
• Fewer than half the states are on track to making sure that scientifically based technical assistance is provided to low-performing schools.
• Many states do not have in place the technical infrastructure needed to collect, disaggregate, and report data at the school, district, and state levels.
• Only 19 states are on track to meet the requirement to distribute an annual state report card with extensive information on student achievement. The report cards must include such information as student achievement data disaggregated by student demographic groups, school district performance toward meeting adequate yearly progress goals, and graduation rates.
By March, 41 states appeared to be on track to meet the NCLB requirement that states have a single accountability system that applies to all public schools and districts.
Some states, including Colorado and Florida, have chosen to maintain their existing state accountability systems while also adopting a new system in accordance with NCLB.
Such parallel systems are acceptable, the report states, but "may produce confusion among parents, teachers, and the media." That is particularly true when a school receives a high rating under a state system, but fails to make AYP under NCLB.
The report includes the following recommendations for state and federal policymakers:
• Embrace NCLB as a civil rights issue. "The 50th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education is a stark reminder that school integration has not been accompanied by equality of student academic achievement across color and income lines," the report states. "The clearly set goals of NCLB offer an unprecedented opportunity to raise expectations and significantly narrow achievement gaps that persist in U.S. schools."
• Ensure performance growth of all students, not just low-performing students.
• Reassess AYP. Noting that AYP does not follow the progress of students over time, the report says that approach would provide "a more accurate picture of student performance and how schools and teachers are contributing to the gains."
• Strengthen state requirements on highly qualified teachers. "In many instances, states have set high standards for veteran teachers," the report says, "but they are accompanied by less rigorous provisions that provide a 'trap door' through which teachers can escape the intent of the law."
• Build state and local capacity. States and school districts must provide assistance to schools labeled as "in need of improvement," even though they are experiencing budget and staff reductions, the report says. "This may require reallocation of resources and new forms of collaboration."