CALIFORNIA WANTS OWN 'NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND' RULES

San Francisco Chronicle Editorial | http://bit.ly/JUB5sG

Arne Duncan | T. Rob Brown / Associated Press

Wednesday, May 23, 2012  ::  The state Department of Education, after saying it wouldn't, is applying for a waiver from the No Child Left Behind law that funnels federal money to help students with extra needs to learn.

Not the waiver package granted 11 states and under consideration for 27 other states.

California wants its own, special waiver. U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan should not grant it, and probably won't. With more than 80 percent of public schools nationwide (and even more in California) on track to miss academic proficiency requirements of the law by next year's deadline, states are desperate for relief from impending dire sanctions.

California wants a waiver that stops labeling schools as failing, gives districts greater flexibility in how they spend federal school improvement program funds and allows the state to drop the federal accountability measure and instead rely solely on the state's measure of academic improvement.

The real sticking point is that under President Obama's package, states must relate teacher and principal evaluations to student test scores, which California teachers union and state education officials oppose. Obama also wants curriculum standards that prepare students for college and careers, and for states to adopt common education standards.

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson says the federal standards are too costly - he estimates $3 billion - and that federal demands impinge on states' rights. Meanwhile, California has made inadequate progress on closing achievement gaps and reforming its evaluation systems for teachers and principals.

In 2003, 35 percent of California students were proficient in English. Today, 54 percent are. In 2003, 35 percent of California students were proficient in math. Today, 50 percent are. Despite the improvement, too many students are being left behind.

California educators see the state as a leader in educational accountability whose innovations could change the nation. But California is not excelling in academic performance.

Instead, the state should allow school districts to apply for federal waivers independently of the state. The state needs to submit an application that has a chance for federal approval and to improve students' opportunity to succeed, not distract from the efforts to improve our schools.