Oklahoma Loses Waiver From No Child Left Behind Provisions (due to leaving Common Core)

New York Times ^ | August 28, 2014 | MOTOKO RICH

[reaganaut1]

As a result of its retreat from Common Core, a set of reading and math standards adopted by more than 40 states, Oklahoma was notified Thursday that it lost its waiver from key provisions of No Child Left Behind, the signature Bush-era education law.

Under the waiver, Oklahoma — along with 42 other states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico — were released from the requirement under the old law that all students demonstrate proficiency in reading and math by 2014 or be declared failing.

To receive the waiver, Oklahoma had committed to adopting more rigorous “college and career ready” standards. To fulfill this requirement, many states adopted Common Core, although some states, like Virginia, devised their own standards that were certified by the state’s colleges and universities.

In June, Gov. Mary Fallin of Oklahoma signed a bill withdrawing the state from Common Core. The state subsequently said it would revert to standards it was using in 2010. The department has said those standards are inadequate, given the poor performance of Oklahoma students on national tests. In 2013, only a third of fourth graders in the state reached proficiency in math and less than a third hit the benchmark in reading.

[reaganaut1]

From what I've read, the Common Core standards may not be worse than most of the state standards they are replacing, but Common Core advocates have lied in saying that state adoption of the standards has been purely voluntary.

[cableguymn]

OK should just tell the fed-gov to stuff it. It’s the Obama way.

[yldstrk]

All the states should tell the Feds to shove off

[henkster]

Indiana ditched Commonist Core a few months ago, but just today it was announced we got a one year extension on the No Child Left Behind waiver.

The feds are certainly not being consistent.

[Sequoyah101]

Proficiency in reading and math? Why, the very idea of it is outrageous to think children should be able to read and do their sums.

I guess the feds and the edumacation wonks have figured out how to screw that up as well.

[Maceman]

In 2010, Barack Obama called for fixing the public education system by giving us the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and “Race to the Top,”

which he said would fix the education system already fixed by the 2001 GW Bush and Ted Kennedy legislation called “No Child Left Behind,”

which was supposed to fix a system supposedly already fixed by a 1994 piece of federal legislation called “Goals 2000,”

which was supposed to fix a system already fixed by “America 2000,”

which was a 1991 response during the Bush administration to a 1983 federal report on education called “A Nation at Risk,

which was published a full four years after Jimmy Carter first fixed the nation’s public school system by establishing a cabinet-level Department of Education in 1979.

[OnlyRational]

I dunno. It is voluntary, but it’s also written into the standards that if you don’t accept them, you don’t get waived from NCLB.

Since I don’t believe there should be federal OR state interference in education, I would refuse to comply to Common Core, refuse to comply with NCLB, and refuse ALL federal funds for education. Tell the counties to deal with it or close down the public schools. Fixes the problem right quick.