Obama sets public schools on new course

“But in practice, it often fell short”.

“This state loves local control, and so the hope is that we turn control over to our local school districts, our local school boards”, said Marisa Perez, the State Board of Education member representing San Antonio.

Garrison believes her students will succeed more with this new law and is excited to see them excel.

Obama hailed the new law as a true bipartisan effort, calling the bill signing a “Christmas miracle”. No there were, but I really think this is a good example of how bipartisanship can work. This law only takes effect in the 2017-18 school year, and as Obama warned this morning, “now the hard work begins”.

A big change came Thursday in how public education is overseen and regulated in the United States. On the stage with him were Republican Rep. John Kline of Minnesota, chairman of the House Education and Workforce Committee, and Sen.

Paul Salah, associate superintendent for educational services at the Wayne County Regional Educational Services Agency, said there will be many stakeholders who will give input to the state in changing the way that under-performing schools are assisted. The federal authorities will be barred from requiring the use of tests in teacher evaluations. Because of Race to the Top, more states set higher standards, allowed charter schools to expand, intervened in failing schools, and used data to evaluate teachers and principals. But they could weigh factors other than test scores and student performance – such as teacher engagement – to determine whether schools are meeting standards.

Standardized testing would still be mandatory under the new law, with all students in grades three through eight required to take reading and mathematics assessments each year.

The law establishes a 0 million annual grant to send more kids to preschool.

No more Common Core – maybe.

“It wasn’t long after the law was passed that we realized it was full of flaws”, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid said shortly before the vote.

The college and career-ready curriculum guidelines were created by the states, but became a flashpoint for those critical of Washington’s influence in schools. But the legislation also encourages states to set caps on the amount of time students spend on testing. The bill aims to maintain the important civil rights components from No Child Left Behind, while providing greater flexibility and discretion to states and school districts as opposed to the one-size-fits-all requirements that previously limited innovation at the state and local levels.