Schools chief places focus on under-performing students
State Superintendent of Education John White on Tuesday proposed major changes in how public schools and students are evaluated, including a new focus on about 230,000 students performing below grade level.
The state would make the changes if the U.S. Department of Education agrees to reduce some of its requirements under a 2001 law called the No Child Left Behind act, called NCLB.
“This proposal would reduce bureaucracy while raising the bar for student achievement,” White said in a 40-minute conference call with reporters.
The plan calls for:
- A new focus on helping the one-third of Louisiana’s public school population performing below grade level.
- Revamping the way schools are rated yearly by the state, which is linked to the letter grade they get.
- Eliminating a wide range of federal requirements on local school districts, including school and district improvement plans, written proposals on how to make progress and how certain federal dollars have to be spent.
“That means in tight budget times we will give districts unprecedented levels of flexibility in exchange for rigorous standards,” he said.
White’s proposal will hinge on whether federal officials approve a waiver, which was offered states in September.
Louisiana’s request is due by Feb. 21.
Eleven waivers have been issued. Officials in 29 other states have said they plan to seek one.
“We have an application that is as comprehensive and ambitious as anyone’s,” White said.
The federal law is designed to improve student achievement by requiring states to develop standardized tests in certain grades, staff schools with teachers who meet detailed requirements and show yearly progress to avoid sanctions.
Critics contend the federal rules are hindering student gains, but Congress has been unable to agree on changes.
White said his plan would reduce federal red tape on local school officials, improve school standards and better link them to a new curriculum, which takes effect for the 2014-15 school year.
Under the plan, the state would create a new “super subgroup” of students performing below grade level in math or English.
Schools where such students made better-than-expected gains would benefit in their annual school performance scores and be eligible for financial rewards.
“This will add a new dimension to our accountability system,” he said. “It will reward those schools making big gains with the hardest-to-serve students.”
In another area, current rules use test scores, attendance and dropout rates to come up with a performance score for schools with students from kindergarten through eighth grade.
Under the change, those scores would stem strictly from test scores.
In addition, high school scores would stem from two sources: ACT scores, which gauge college readiness, and graduation rates.
Under current policies, 70 percent of those calculations are based on end-of-course exams and 30 percent on the school’s graduation rate.
White said while the proposal will be submitted to federal officials later this month, it will also be reviewed by the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.
Penny Dastugue, president of the panel, said in a prepared statement that the change would improve Louisiana’s “nationally ranked accountability system” while eliminating rules that detract from student achievement.
White said a 2010 law that will change the way public school teachers are evaluated and Gov. Bobby Jindal’s 2012 education agenda will also be part of the state’s bid.
The new rating system for schools would take effect in the fall of 2013.
About 700,000 students attend public schools in Louisiana.