Duncan’s No Child Left Behind waivers may come with a catch: More reforms

Secretary of Education Arne Duncan says the federal government's role in education is "to be tight on goals but loose on the means for achieving those goals."

That's why Duncan is planning to issue waivers to states that are set to face sanctions under the federal No Child Left Behind law, which labels schools as failing if their students aren't making adequate progress on standardized tests each year. By 2014, every single American student is expected to be testing at grade level under the law, a goal set nearly 10 years ago that is clearly out of reach, especially for states that have recently raised their testing standards.

Duncan has said he will provide details on what is required from states to qualify for waivers in the fall. But interestingly, Duncan's own comments and those of sources who spoke to Education Week's Alyson Klein suggest that the waivers will not be entirely "loose" on how states should improve their kids' test scores. Klein writes:

The waiver plan will be an all-or-nothing, take-it-or-leave-it package—no a la carte picking-and-choosing allowed. In exchange for a waiver from the 2014 deadline and more funding flexibility, states would have to adopt college- or career-ready standards, propose their own differentiated accountability systems, and adopt teacher evaluation systems based in part on student growth on state tests.

That last part would represent the biggest victory for Duncan, as test-based teacher evaluations have been a big part of the administration's education reform platform. It's unclear if states would reject those conditions, especially given how badly some need relief from No Child Left Behind's sanctions. (Certain failing schools will have to offer--and pay for--after-school tutoring, for example.) Gene Wilhoit, the executive director of the Council of Chief State School Officers, said in a statement that the administration should "avoid being overly prescriptive in its waiver package."

The New Republic's Simon van Zuylen-Wood argues that demanding reforms in exchange for an exemption to federal law may be illegal, though it's unclear if anyone would challenge the move in court. Jack Jennings, the president of the Center on Education Policy, told Zuylen-Wood that Duncan and Obama may be "overstepping their authority," even if the waivers are the right thing to do.

Idaho, South Dakota, Utah and Montana have already told the department they will ignore parts of No Child Left Behind next year, waiver or no waiver. (The administration announced Montana would receive a waiver today, the Associated Press reported.) Arkansas, Kentucky, Michigan and Tennessee have asked for waivers already.

"Pretty soon all the schools will be failing in America, and at that point the law becomes meaningless,'' Larry K. Shumway, superintendent of public instruction in Utah, told the AP. "States are going to sit and watch federal accountability implode. We're seeing the end of an era.''