It is 2012, and Ohio is nowhere near meeting the deadline to have 100 percent of its students proficient in math and reading within two years. No state is, and none will. The proficiency requirement in the federal education law, No Child Left Behind, is quixotic and a major reason President Obama has offered to waive the mandate along with others, releasing 10 states this month to pursue more realistic and achievable goals. The Ohio Department of Education is finalizing its application for another round of waivers.
For all its rigidity and the heavy-handedness, the current law sought to correct an educational system failing to educate millions of children. It sought to ensure that state school systems are held accountable for providing all students a measurably high quality of education, adequate to the demands of the future. A decade later, that goal remains a driving force for school reform.
The White House argues the waiver offers states that have adopted far-reaching reform programs the flexibility to implement them free from restrictive mandates that are “driving the wrong behaviors.” What the president offers with the waiver is a trade-off.
In return for scrapping the proficiency deadline and easing restrictions on the use of federal funds, the White House makes its own demands. It expects applicants to submit reform plans that support effective teaching and leadership; assess and reward student and school performance; reduce duplication; and ensure all students are adequately prepared for college or careers. As with the Race to the Top grants, the White House insists that a state’s application represent broad buy-in from educators, policymakers and the public at large.
The Ohio Department of Education can claim credibly that it deserves the flexibility waiver. For one, Ohio actively participated in developing, and has adopted, the rigorous national Common Core Standards. The argument is reasonable that winning competitive Race to the Top grants demonstrates the state’s commitment to comprehensive and practical plans to raise academic standards and strengthen accountability.
In the end, the real challenge for Ohio policymakers resides in what they do to ensure that the waiver will result in measurable achievement. For instance, the state wants to replace the current proficiency ratings (from Excellent with Distinction to Academic Emergency) with letter grades from A through F. What would be gained?
