States Promise Higher Standards for NCLB Leniency

All but 1 applicant cite common core

In hopes of getting relief from key tenets of the No Child Left Behind Act, 11 states are proposing large-scale efforts to train their educators in new academic standards, create or oversee development of new instructional resources, and redesign their testing systems.

The proposals represent plans from the first round of applicants in the U.S. Department of Education's waiver program , which allows states to escape requirements such as bringing all students to proficiency on state tests by 2014.

In exchange, however, states must establish new accountability systems that win federal approval, and the first-round batch of applications shows a wide range of such plans. More states are expected to apply for waivers by the second-round deadline of Feb. 21. ( "NCLB Waiver Plans Offer Hodgepodge of Grading Systems," ...