News Brief

06/18/13

Arne Duncan Allows Waiver States Extra Time on Teacher Evaluation

Education Week (06/18/13) Klein, AlysonThe U.S. Department of Education (DOE) will give additional flexibility to states whose No Child Left Behind Act waiver requests were approved before the summer of 2012, allowing them to delay the use of student growth on state tests in their teacher evaluations for one year until the 2016-17 school year. Such flexibility would be granted on a case-by-case basis. According to U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan, "To be very clear, this is not a pause or a moratorium. Some states won't seek that flexibility because they are already well ahead." States seeking the additional flexibility need to have "robust" plans for ensuring teachers have a good grasp of the new Common Core State Standards and related assessments. Additionally, the DOE will allow states to eliminate double-testing by submitting requests to use either a field test intended to work out any issues in the new assessment system or the regular state assessment. Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) Executive Director Chris Minnich supports the move to avoid double-testing. Meanwhile, CCSSO President and Massachusetts Education Commissioner Mitchell Chester says, "[The department's decision] strikes the right balance between flexibility and urgency."
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