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Thursday, April 26, 2012

States' waivers will allow school accountability testing beyond math and science

Many states are seeking waivers for parts of the No Child Left Behind Act, and some may be allowed to consider more than math and reading test scores in accountability systems, on which some federal funding depends, reports Erik Robelen of Education Week. Seven of 11 states that won waivers in the first wave of requests, and about a dozen of those in the second wave have included such provisions in their waiver request. Schools intend to first ask for science to be added, then writing, then social studies.

Kelly Price of the Georgia Science Teachers Association said the group is excited about science being added because it has been neglected since NCLB was instated. Similar stories have been told in other states, including Kentucky, where teachers at one school reportedly didn't start teaching social studies until May, after the tests had been given. Kentucky is also one of several states, including Florida and South Carolina, that had separate state accountability testing which covered other subjects. Those states are asking to combine systems into a unified one.

These plans are coming to light as Arizona State University professor Eugene Judson completes a study revealing that states with science as part of their accountability calculations "see significantly higher achievement gains over time at the fourth grade in the subject than states that do not," Robelen reports. Judson also found that extra attention on science doesn't take away from math or reading. The waivers will be good through the end of the 2013-2014 school year. (Read more)

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