No Child Left Behind Waivers Promising Ideas from Second Round Applications By Jeremy Ayers and Isabel Owen With Glenda Partee and Theodora Chang

Purpose and method Purpose (“Checker’s Challenge”): identify innovation Method 1.Identify changes from current law and practice 2.Identify common themes across states 3.Identify promising or interesting ideas 4.Identify questions or concerns

Principles of ESEA flexibility 1.College- and career-ready expectations 2.State differentiated accountability 3.Effective instruction and leadership 4.Reducing duplication and burden

College and career readiness Some will prepare all teachers to support English learners (AZ, CT, MO). Some will streamline state agency (CT, LA). Some will fund rigorous courses (ID, LA). Some will create early warning systems (SC, VA, WA). Some will use competency- or standards-based report cards (CT, NC).

Accountability Some set ambitious annual goals (AR, DE, IL, MD, NC, NY, RI, WA). Others are unclear (IA, NV). Some school rating systems align with the goals (AR, DE, NC, NY) while others do not (LA, MO, OR, NV). 9 states would use letter grades or stars to rate schools. Most states would increase district accountability.

Accountability (cont.) Many would combine student subgroups, and vary in how they will identify low-performing schools. Many lacked detailed plans for turnaround, but several had systemic plans (AR, DE, IL, LA, RI). Most would identify low-performing schools every 2 years, but some would only do so every 3 or 4 years (MD, NC, OH, WI).

Instruction and leadership States vary widely in what measures they would use to evaluate teachers in both tested and non-tested subjects and grades. Some states (AZ, DE, NC, SC) would use technology to improve evaluation and professional development. A few states (OH, RI) shared detailed plans for ensuring students have equal access to effective teachers, but most did not.

Findings Policy and practice have changed significantly. Waivers per se did not stimulate innovation but were an opportunity to articulate a new vision. States proposed interesting and promising ideas. States lacked detail in aspects of accountability, teacher distribution, school turnaround, reducing burden, and increasing learning time. States are using various sources of funding to implement plans.

Recommendations Waiver reforms should set the stage for a new ESEA. The Department should ask for, and states should offer, more detail on plans. States should learn from each other through consortia or replication. The Department should increase staffing and capacity. States should implement plans coherently.