Florida applies for NCLB alternative assessment pilot program
Florida is applying to join an experimental program that could resolve some sharp differences between state and federal school assessment results. Many of the same schools that get good grades from the state, including some A-rated schools, fail to meet adequate yearly progress under the federal No Child Left Behind Act. Only about a third of Florida's schools met the federal standard last year. State education officials Monday said Florida has submitted an application to become one of 10 states the federal government will select for the pilot program. "This proposal allows us to distinguish between schools that have missed a few criteria and those that have demonstrated a chronic history of low performance," said Education Commission Eric J. Smith. Schools that get federal Title I money for disadvantaged students—about 1,400 of Florida's 3,800 public schools—can be required to take corrective action if they miss the mark. That can include special tutoring and replacing principals and faculty. As a result, an A-rated school that barely misses its federal goals for three consecutive years must implement the same measures as a D school that misses them by a wide margin. The pilot program will account for those differences by dividing failing schools into three categories—preventative, corrective and intensive—with different corrective steps depending on how badly they miss their goals.
Source: Miami Herald, 5/5/08, By Associated Press
[Editor’s Note: Background on the Differentiated Accountability program is below.]
NSBA School Law pages on Tennessee application for NCLB pilot program