The State/Federal Cogs of Change

Abstract

IT IS DIFFICULT to find a person who unabashedly admires each and every detail of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act. However, amid all the howls and moans about the implementation of NCLB, the flywheel has been whirring, catching, and turning. In some places, it has turned more than in others, but no matter what the underlying philosophy or concerns about the flaws in NCLB, the cogs have continued to move into place. Since the last quarter of 2002, the Education Commission of the States (ECS) has been tracking activity related to 40 different elements of NCLB in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. It has been an enormous undertaking and one in which staff members have had to engage in considerable discourse regarding the interpretation of many of these elements. Rest assured, we have not been without our own howls and moans. That said, we have watched the cogs begin to mesh. Although the flywheel of policy action began to turn right after the big law's enactment, perhaps the greatest synchronization has occurred since last March. During that time, states have made particularly large strides as they have either added policies or tweaked old ones to meet the requirements of the law. In March 2003, for example, 25 states had policies to support academic content standards in reading/language arts in grades 3-8 and in high school. By January 2004, 36 states had such policies, and 15 others were at least partially on track toward meeting this requirement. (Note that the ECS determination of whether or not a state is meeting the requirements of NCLB reflects the views of the ECS staff and in no way reflects judgments made by the U.S. Department of Education.) More dramatically, in March 2003, 24 states had a policy in place to ensure the inclusion of 100% of English-language learners in state academic assessments (in reading/language arts, mathematics, and science) no later than the year specified by NCLB for each subject. Eleven states appeared to have enacted no policy, 15 appeared to be partially on track toward meeting the requirement, and the activity in one was unclear. By January 2004, 45 states (87%) had ensured the inclusion of students classified as English-language learners, and six states appeared to be partially on track toward doing so. More Progress Here are the numbers for other areas as well. Note that the numbers total 51. The requirement (in italics) is followed by a brief explanation and by a summary of its status as of 2003 and 2004. Inclusion of students with disabilities. The state has a policy in place to ensure the inclusion of 100% of students with disabilities in state academic assessments (in reading/language arts, mathematics, and science) no later than the year specified by NCLB for each subject. As of March 2003, 36 states had such a policy; nine were partially on track; four had no policy evident; and the activity in two was unclear. As of January 2004, 50 states had such a policy, and one was partially on track. Disaggregation of results. The results are disaggregated and reported at the state, district, and school levels for the required subgroups (race/ethnicity, low income, disability, English-language learners, gender, and migrant status). As of March 2003, 12 states disaggregated results in this way; 25 were partially on track to do so; 12 were not; and the activity in two was unclear. As of January 2004, 42 states were disaggregating data; seven were partially on track; and no policy or practice was evident in two states. Accountability for all subgroups. All public schools and local education agencies are held accountable for the achievement of individual subgroups (race/ethnicity, low income, disability, English- language learners). As of March 2003, nine states were holding schools accountable for these subgroups; 14 were partially on track toward doing so; 24 had no policy or practice evident; and the activity in four was unclear. …