Education

Minnesota, Other States Left Behind in Accountability Pilot

March 18, 2008 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings traveled to St. Paul, Minn., to announce today that she’s inviting states to experiment with “differential accountability.” In her speech, she didn’t mention one important detail: Minnesota doesn’t qualify.

Minnesota’s testing system hasn’t been approved by the federal Education Department—one of four criteria states must meet to win approval under the pilot project. (The other three are: a teacher-quality plan approved by the feds; clean federal monitoring reports; and what the department calls “timely and transparent” AYP reports. It’s all spelled out in the department’s fact sheet.) What’s more, the program will give priority to states in which more than 20 percent of schools have been declared in need of improvement under NCLB. Minnesota has fewer than 20 percent of its schools in that category.

Even so, Minnesota could apply for the new program and win approval for its plan. But it wouldn’t be allowed to implement its plan until it met all of the criteria, Chad Colby, an Education Department spokesman, told me in an e-mail today. Florida had a similar experience when the department approved its growth model plan.

With these criteria, I wonder how many states are in the same boat as Minnesota. I’ve asked the department how many states meet all the criteria. I’ll report it to you when I get it. In the meantime, you can read about today’s announcement in Spellings Offers Latitude on Poor-Performing Schools. There will be more to come in next week’s paper.

Bonus links on reaction to the proposal:
FairTest says the pilot project is “rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic.”
Gene Wilhoit of the Council of Chief State School Officers calls the plan “a step in the right direction.”
Eduwonk says the roll out was too political, but adds that the policy “might generate some new ideas on how to refine No Child’s accountability rules.”

A version of this news article first appeared in the NCLB: Act II blog.

Events

English Learners Webinar Family and Community Engagement: Best Practices for English Learners
Strengthening the bond between schools and families is key to the success of English learners. Learn how to enhance family engagement and support student achievement.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Mathematics Webinar
How an Inquiry-Based Approach Transforms Math Learning
Transform math learning with an approach that empowers students to become active, engaged learners.
Content provided by MIND Education
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Student Achievement Webinar
Scaling Tutoring through Federal Work Study Partnerships
Want to scale tutoring without overwhelming teachers? Join us for a webinar on using Federal Work-Study (FWS) to connect college students with school-age children.
Content provided by Saga Education

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Education Briefly Stated: October 2, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
8 min read
Education Briefly Stated: September 18, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
9 min read
Education Briefly Stated: August 28, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
9 min read
Education Briefly Stated: August 21, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
9 min read