Feds Ease Demands of No Child Left Behind on Michigan Schools

Royal Oak Schools will now have more flexibility in determining how to address student achievement now that Michigan is among several states granted a waiver by the U.S. Department of Education today.

In a press release Thursday morning, state Superintendent of Public Instruction Mike Flanagan called the flexibility approval great news for students and schools. “This approved flexibility to No Child Left Behind (NCLB) will help us continue our efforts to get all kids career- and college-ready, and close the achievement gap between various student populations," he said.

The NCLB waiver granted to Michigan is good news for all local and state educational initiatives because it opens up some flexibility, said Sara Olson, Director of Instruction, Royal Oak  Schools.

"This means that schools and districts can use various types of student learning data to determine appropriate goals for student achievement and to implement programs that serve the needs of their community," Olson said. "What the change essentially means is that the state no longer has to follow the guidelines set by the government that requires all students to be passing statewide standardized tests by 2014. They can also be more flexible in how they spend NCLB dollars and find ways to measure academic growth that doesn't rely solely on tests."

Critics have argued the 2014 deadline was based on "arbitrary targets" and "one-size-fits-all" strategies for proficiency.  And now states can set the pace and determine exactly what students will need to learn based on their own accountability standards. deemed to be tougher than statewide tests in the past.

And key is that local districts will be allowed to develop their own interventions and plans for those who are performing poorly academically. Districts also no longer will face penalties for not meeting goals, such as annual yearly progress.

Royal Oak has had a strong commitment to serving all students in their path towards high achievement, Olson said. The district offers several different types of programs to support students with difficulties, including: 

• phonemic interventions for younger students who may have problems with letter-sound recognition and fluency and vocabulary-building
• initiatives for older readers who may have problems with reading comprehension
• interventions for mastering math facts and basic concepts such as fractions 
• math support and credit recovery programs for older students to gain mastery and earn credit in math coursework such as Algebra and Geometry

“We went to bat for local school districts because we know they are working hard to improve student achievement, but needed this flexibility from the ‘one-size-fits-all’ structure of No Child Left Behind,” Flanagan said in the release. “We’ve gotten them the flexibility and assistance, but in return, are raising expectations and transparency. The end result will be higher achievement levels for all students and a greater future for Michigan.”