Alaska's application for flexibility in measuring AYP has been rejected

Alaska’s application to the U.S. Department of Education (ED) for flexibility in measuring adequate yearly progress (AYP) under the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) has been rejected. Alaska was one of 16 states vying for 10 spots in a pilot program to allow states to judge a school's progress based on the percentage improvement in its students' test scores rather than on whether the scores have hit specific targets. Five states-Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, North Carolina and Tennessee-have already been accepted into the pilot program, leaving only five open slots. Les Morse, Alaska Department of Education director of assessments and accountability, believes the problem with current NCLB system for measuring AYP is that it fails to give credit to schools if their students are not proficient but improving. He argues that under Alaska's proposal schools would not be penalized as long as the students were making improvements toward becoming proficient in four years. "We think that's a fair system for schools because it actually recognizes them for making those gains for kids," he says. Instead of measuring AYP based on a comparison of annual test scores, Alaska's proposal would instead compare individual students' progress as they advance through their education. Mr. Morse argues that Alaska’s approach would be beneficial for its rural school districts, where test results from small schools can be unpredictable and misleading because of high student turnover. U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) expresses disappointment with the rejection but believes that the new Democratic leadership in Congress may be inclined to amend NCLB to allow different measures of progress. "I have made very clear that there are aspects of No Child Left Behind that need a legislative fix," she says. "In a state like Alaska, we need to have some additional flexibility."

[Editor’s Note: ED’s press release below announces the approval of the Delaware, Arkansas, and Florida growth model plans. Background on the pilot program is provided starting at the second link. Education Week has a lengthy story about the implications of the last week’s national elections for education policy, especially the reauthorization of NCLB. See also the pre-election speculation on BoardBuzz, NSBA’s daily blog.]