04/13/04 -- U.S. Education Secretary Rod Paige announced two new policy changes to the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) in a keynote speech at NSBA's Annual Conference in Orlando, Fla., March 29.
The changes address the provision in NCLB that requires at least 95 percent of a school's students to participate in the testing requirements -- as measured by total school population and by subgroup -- in order for the school to meet its adequate yearly progress (AYP) goals.
One policy change allows "exemption of students who encounter unavoidable medical circumstances or other absences that make testing impossible, even with make-up dates," Paige told the audience.
The other change allows schools to "average participation rates to include one or two of the previous years, as long as the average meets or exceeds 95 percent for the year in question."
In a statement issued after the speech, NSBA President George McShan said: "We are especially pleased that Education Secretary Rod Paige chose the NSBA Annual Conference to make the announcement. The participation rate provision is one of several important areas where school districts need flexibility to ensure that NCLB can serve its intended purpose."
"Common-sense flexibility, like the new participation rate policy, will support the goals of the program by preventing the misidentification of high-achieving schools and the subsequent loss of confidence in NCLB through the quirks of an overly rigid measurement system," McShan says.
In his speech at the NSBA Conference, Paige also announced the department will reach out more to school board members.
"As a former school board member [in Houston], I know the many demands and expectations you face," Paige told the audience. "I understand the many pressures that go with the job. I also know that you are looking to my department for dialogue, support, and partnership. So I have ordered the department to engage in an unprecedented effort to meet with school board members, administrators, teachers, and students."
The secretary addressed much of his speech to the critics of NCLB. Noting that there has been a "proliferation of misinformation and confusion," Paige acknowledged NCLB is "sometimes hard to understand, hard to explain."
According to Paige: "Many people jumped to conclusions before actually reviewing the law itself. They projected new assumptions, costly add-ons, and creative calculations. Legal wizards conjured up non-existent mandates."
The result has been "panic, bitter words, hard feelings, accusations, and threats," he says.
Paige called for efforts to "calm the turbulent waters" by having the "courage to accept change" and a "willingness to place our children's welfare before political gamesmanship."
"This is a workable law. It is a good law. There is much flexibility," Paige says.
He says NCLB is necessary "to guarantee a high-quality education for all children, making the educational system more inclusive, fair, and just."
"We are listening and making common-sense adjustments," Paige says. "But we are not willing to sidestep or ignore enforcement of the provisions of the law."