Beginning this year, public schools in Georgia will no longer be judged on a snapshot of performance, but more on the yearlong list of achievements and goals it meets each school year.
Georgia was one of 10 states to receive a waiver from the federal No Child Left Behind provisions, allowing the state's public schools to demonstrate accountability in ways other than the narrow mandates of the law.
Gone for good is the annual measurement of whether schools met Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) – initials that have become the bane of educators – based on a single set of assessments: the CRCT in elementary and middle schools, and the Georgia High School Graduation Test.
The NCLB law was passed in 2001 and mandated all public school students be proficient in reading and math by 2014 (now 2015), or face an increasing set of penalties. After a decade of implementation, the only measurable impact is an increasing number of schools unable to meet the mark. In Fulton County, one out of four schools did not make AYP in 2011; a number that has grown each year as the assessment bar goes up.
Last fall, the Georgia Department of Education (GDOE) submitted a waiver to the U.S. Department of Education outlining an alternative assessment that would hold schools accountable for their educational achievements. While Georgia education officials had hoped to get a "hold harmless" year for 2011-2012 to allow a transition year, the federal Department of Education granted the waiver with the provision that accountability starts this year.
This year, GDOE will identify Priority Schools, Focus Schools and Reward Schools based on achievement data from all core content areas and graduation rates. At the end of this current school year, schools cataloged as Priority Schools and Focus Schools will replace current Needs Improvement Schools. Reward Schools will replace the current Distinguished Schools designation and will be announced in September.
"This [waiver] is wonderful news for Georgia's students, educators and parents," said State Schools Superintendent John Barge. "No longer will we be bound by the narrow definitions of success found in No Child Left Behind. We will now be able to hold schools accountable and reward them for the work they do in all subjects and with all students."
The GDOE will also identify Alert Schools, which will include those schools with a high number of students in nine subgroups primarily based on ethnic and socioeconomic categories. These Alert Schools will be identified, and measured, based on a more detailed evaluation of subgroup performance.
Georgia will also implement a K-12 plan that prepares students for careers or college as they exit high school.
A spokesman for the GDOE said the "penalties" for non-performing schools will be developed over the next few years; however the focus will be on measureable achievements each year.
The waiver also authorizes school systems to provide Flexible Learning Programs (FLPs) in place of Supplemental Education Services (SES). What this means, explain state officials, is the mandate to contract with private tutoring services for students no longer exists; providing the option to develop programs at the school level to raise the achievement levels of students.
"There was little evidence that [outside vendors] were achieving measurable results," said Matt Cardoza, spokesperson for the GDOE. "Schools will now have the ability to develop programs they believe will work best for their students."
Under NCLB, students at Needs Improvement Schools had the option to transfer to higher-performing schools; and hundreds of students opted to transfer. Cardoza said whether those students will be able to stay at their transfer school will be a local decision.
Labels: GDOE, Georgia School, Georgia Schools, No child left behind
# posted by
Brian Vanderhoff @ 7:58 AM
