TOPEKA – The Kansas State Board of Education is seeking flexibility in how Kansas schools are held accountable for student performance under the federal No Child Left Behind legislation. In a letter sent to U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan this week, State Board of Education Chairman David Dennis asked that the annual targets for student performance on state reading and math assessments be held at 2009-2010 levels until the state is able to implement new Common Core Standards and related assessments in those curricular areas.
“Seeking this flexibility for Kansas schools is something our State Board feels strongly about,” Dennis said. “Because the federal legislation that provides the guidelines by which schools are held accountable for student performance is due to be reauthorized, this is an ideal time to request this modification to our state accountability plan.”
In asking for the flexibility to hold annual performance targets steady, rather than have them rise each year until reaching 100 percent in the 2013-2014 school year, Dennis cited a number of reform efforts Kansas has implemented that are likely to mirror reforms in a reauthorized Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), more commonly known as No Child Left Behind.
Last March, the U.S. Department of Education released the Blueprint for Reform, which laid out a framework for the reauthorization of ESEA. Included in the Blueprint was the use of common standards for student performance, as well as assessments to measure that performance. Kansas is among 41 states that have adopted the Common Core Standards for English/language arts and mathematics, which were developed through a state-led initiative organized by the National Governor’s Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers. In addition, Kansas is among the governing states in the SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium, a group of 31 states working to develop the next generation of assessments aligned to the Common Core Standards.
The Blueprint for Reform also recommends moving away from the current accountability system in No Child Left Behind to a growth model, which considers not just whether students and schools are able to meet a specific target for performance, but whether they’re showing marked improvement in performance over time. Kansas has in place a longitudinal database that will allow the state to develop an effective growth model for accountability purposes.
“In light of Kansas’ demonstrated commitment to continuing reform, and the state’s intent to maintain challenging performance targets, I think the request for some flexibility while we work to implement the new standards and assessments is appropriate,” Dennis said.
The Kansas 2009-2010 Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) performance targets for percent of students meeting standards or above were 82.3 percent in mathematics for grades K-8 and 76.4 percent for grades 9-12. In reading the targets were 83.7 percent for grades K-8 and 81.3 percent for grades 9-12.
A copy of the letter to Duncan can be found online on the Kansas State Department of Education website. Dennis is hopeful a response to the request will be available in early May, at the conclusion of the state’s testing cycle.
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