The author reports on a long-stalled, bipartisan rewrite of the No Child Left Behind Act approved by the Senate education committee which faces steep political hurdles, including opposition from civil rights and business leaders who see it as a step back on student and school accountability and from Republican lawmakers who say it does not pull…

The author reports on a measure to renew the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), which faces steep political hurdles. Leaders of the Senate education committee still aim to push a bipartisan revision of the much-criticized No Child Left Behind Act through Congress by year's end, in time to stave off the Obama administration's move to…

State lawmakers voted in 2009 to completely revamp Kentucky's education accountability system. That means new academic standards, new assessments, and a new baseline for student achievement--a tall order for a school that's already under enormous pressure to demonstrate gains. This article reports on how a Kentucky high school takes stock after…

Four months after President Barack Obama made education a centerpiece of his State of the Union address, lawmakers charged with reauthorizing the Elementary and Secondary Education Act are beginning to sketch out their own visions for aspects of the law's renewal. The prospects that Congress will meet the president's goal--a comprehensive,…

School districts and educators chafing under the mandates of the No Child Left Behind Act are hoping to prod the U.S. Department of Education into giving them a reprieve from the provisions they see as most onerous, as the prospects for an overhaul of the law by Congress anytime soon remain cloudy. The Obama administration and congressional…

Civil rights, business, and education advocates are warning that Congress and the Obama administration may be willing to defang a key portion of the No Child Left Behind Act in their quest to make the law more flexible, shortchanging racial minorities and other historically overlooked student subgroups in the process. Their concern comes amid…

The Obama administration's proposal to revamp the signature yardstick used to measure schools' progress under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) is being seen as a bold step toward revising a key feature of the law, even as questions loom about how a new system would work. Under the plan, adequate yearly progress (AYP)--the…

The Obama administration will waive cornerstone requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act, including the 2014 deadline for all students to be proficient in math and reading/language arts, and will give states the freedom to set their own student-achievement goals and design their own interventions for failing schools. In exchange for that…

At the Republican National Convention in St. Paul this week, President Bush was expected to anoint Senator John McCain as his successor and the new leader of the party. However, it remains far from clear whether Senator McCain--and other top Republicans--will continue to embrace the federal mandates on school accountability at the center of the No…

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan signaled last week that the Department of Education is poised to launch reauthorization efforts for the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. He used a meeting of high-level education stakeholders to underline his likely priorities for reauthorization of the law. The new version of the law, he said, will…

The eagerly awaited federal guidelines on some $100 billion in stimulus funding for public education aim to pump money out quickly, while giving the U.S. Department of Education leverage to demand improvements from states and districts. But those same states and districts are also warned not to expect the hefty sums for K-12 programs in the…

This article reports on a higher education bill awaiting President Bush's signature which moves to increase accountability for programs that prepare teachers. It also refocuses the main federal funding source for education schools on collaborations between such schools and local K-12 districts to improve clinical teacher-training experiences and…

The National Governors Association, which largely took a pass on the debate over the No Child Left Behind Act as it was being crafted six years ago, released recommendations for its renewal that aim to preserve the federal role in holding states accountable for student learning, while seeking greater flexibility in several key areas. Under the…

This article reports that education will be on the ballot November 4, even if the subject hasn't been on voters' minds much during the 2008 campaign season. The results of the elections are likely to have a significant impact on the way schools are financed, governed, and held accountable for the academic performance of their students. At the…

This article describes the contents of a proposal released last week by a coalition that includes some of the most prominent critics of the No Child Left Behind Act. It asks Congress to scrap the accountability system at the center of the federal education law in favor of one that holds schools responsible for improving teacher training and…