News
NCLB
Park Jam
continued from page 1
cation students, it has also led to a number of schools being
labeled as ``failing.’’
Critics also say the law has had the unintended effect of
encouraging instructors to teach to the test and has led
schools to narrow their curricula.
Washington state schools chief Randy Dorn said the
waiver will lift the requirement that all students pass both
the state reading and math tests by 2014. It will also give
Washington school districts more flexibility about how they
spend some federal dollars.
In return, Washington will need to show improvement in
test scores for subgroups of students who have historically
had lower scores than average, such as those who qualify
for free- or reduced-price meals.
In late May, Wisconsin officials said they were modifying
In order to get a waiver, each
state had to promise to show
in other ways that its students
and schools are improving
some details of their waiver application and expected
approval soon.
The federal Education Department earlier wrote to offi-
cials in that state, saying Wisconsin had a number of com-
mendable proposals, but they were too short on detail.
Other waiver applications are still pending in 10 states
and the District of Columbia. Six waivers were approved
last month in Arkansas, Iowa, Missouri, South Dakota,
Utah and Virginia.
In order to get a waiver, each state had to promise to show
in other ways that its students and schools are improving,
and they were required to more closely link teacher evalua-
tions to student test scores, among other requirements.
Washington’s waiver application emphasized its embrace
Ronald and Frank Brown joined other members of the legendary Seattle funk band Wheedle’s Groove
for the Jackson Street Jam July 7 in Lavizzio Park. The event celebrated the rich musical history of
Seattle’s Central District.
of new national education standards, the state’s new teacher
and principal evaluations, and its efforts to take a broader
look at student achievement beyond reading and math by
also testing for writing and science.
The waiver agreement requires that by 2018, Washington
cut in half achievement gaps between various ethnic and
economic groups, when compared with 100 percent passage
rates. For example, if one group had 74 percent passing
reading in 2011, that group would need to have 87 percent
passing by 2018.
The agreement adds another requirement for Title I
schools, which are high-poverty public schools that get
extra money from the federal government to help students
who are behind academically or at risk of falling behind.
It requires the state education office to annually identify
priority schools, which are the 5 percent lowest-achieving
of Title I schools; focus schools, which are the lowest 10
percent of Title I schools; and reward schools, the highest
performing Title I schools or those making the most
progress in a given year.
Charter
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``The fact that so many voters across the
state stepped forward and signed our peti-
tions in record time clearly shows that
Washingtonians want another opportunity
to vote on allowing public charter schools in
our state,’’ said Shannon
Campion, executive director
of the Washington chapter of
Stand for Children, one of the
groups supporting the initia-
tive.
Dorn and Mary Lindquist,
president of the Washington
Education
Association,
expressed concern about the
amount of money that they
expect will be spent on the ballot campaign,
after more than $2 million was raised to col-
lect signatures.
``We’re going to be outspent 10- or-12-to-
one,’’ Lindquist predicted. She added, how-
ever, that the teacher’s union has the
strength of its members advocating for edu-
cation in every community across the state.
Whether more dollars from the National
Education Association, the WEA’s parent
organization, will come to Washington to
help with this fight has not been deter-
mined, Lindquist said.
Robin Lake, director of the University of
Washington’s Center on Reinventing Public
Education, and a national expert on charter
school research, said a law is an important
starting place for charter school quality, but
there’s no guarantee that every school will
be excellent.
``It takes commitment and on-the-ground
work after the law is implemented,’’ she
said.
Finding a balance between regulations
and freedom for creativity helped lead char-
ters to success in other places. Lake cited
success stories in Denver, New York City
``This bill circumvents the Constitution.
There’s no doubt in my mind,’’ Dorn said.
Some research shows charter schools
have been either OK, good or great for stu-
dents in 41 other states and the District of
Columbia. But a study of the
impact of the charter school move-
ment from Stanford University also
found about half of charter schools
were no better than traditional pub-
lic schools, a quarter were worse
and a quarter improved student
achievement.
The results were different when
schools were judged state-by-state,
instead of across the country
because individual state laws can be
matched with their results, Lake said.
Other details of the charter schools initia-
tive:
‘A law is an important starting place
for charter school quality, but there’s
no guarantee that every school will
be excellent’
and New Orleans, and noted failures in
states such as Arizona, which she says has
weak oversight and accountability.
Lake said this proposal is big on account-
ability, starts out slow with a
maximum of 40 charters over
five years, would force the clo-
sure of unsuccessful schools,
allows only nonprofit operators,
prioritizes proposals that would
serve economically and aca-
demically disadvantaged stu-
dents, and limits who could
authorize a new school.
That authority worried the
superintendent
of
public
instruction, Randy Dorn, who
questioned the constitutionality
of the proposal. He said it
appears to set up an alternative state schools
system to authorize and track the progress
of charters.
charter authorizer, but must meet the same
requirements and have the same success to
keep this designation. The other possible
charter ``authorizer’’ would be a statewide
board.
— School districts could turn over low-
achieving schools to a charter operator.
These new schools would need to welcome
every student from the old school who
wants to attend. In such cases, the district
would need to give the charter school a
building with free rent. Other charters will
get per-student funding from the state but
will have to find their own building.
— If more students want to attend a char-
ter school than the school has room for, the
students would be chosen by lottery.
— Charters are not required to negotiate
with the teacher’s union or hire union teach-
ers, but the teachers must be certified.
About 16 percent of charters
across the country are union-
ized.
— Students of charter
schools would still be
required to take the statewide
academic tests upon which
their success will be judged.
— Although these new
schools would be exempt
from many state laws, they
would have to follow all
applicable local, state and
federal health, safety, par-
ents’ rights, civil rights and
nondiscrimination laws.
The state’s largest teachers union says
the privately run, publicly funded
schools take money from traditional
public schools and have not been
shown to do a better job at improving
student achievement
— Religious charters would not be
allowed.
— School boards could apply to be a
July 11, 2012 The Seattle Skanner Page 3