Channeling the frustration felt and privately expressed by many an Oregon schoolteacher, the state has taken a step to extract education from the grip of federal control. Education funding is tied to federal standards unless states adopt “customized and collaborative strategies to overcome obstacles and improve outcomes for students.”
According to Governor John Kitzhaber’s office, states may seek waivers if they implement “rigorous and comprehensive state-developed plans” to help improve educational outcomes for students and the quality of instruction, as well as close achievement gaps and increase equity.
The Governor stated in a press release that Oregon has “learned a lot from our decade-long experiment with No Child Left Behind, but the program has not given us the tools we need to make meaningful improvements to student achievement and performance.”
Instead, Gov. Kitzhaber said the state needs a new solution.
“Oregon needs a home-grown alternative that builds on practices teachers and schools across Oregon are using to help students succeed,” he said.
Instead of using the accountability system put in place by the No Child Left Behind Act, Oregon’s proposed application waiver would replace the federal focus on annual standardized tests with “achievement compacts.”
These compacts would be agreements between school districts and the recently created Oregon Education Investment Board to increase student growth and college and career readiness.
