BAY STATE COULD BE MODEL FOR US ED LAW

Author(s):    Michele Kurtz, and Mary Leonard, Globe staff Date: January 7, 2003 Page: A1 Section: Metro/Region

The Bush administration is expected to announce tomorrow that Massachusetts' system to determine how well schools are educating all students has won federal approval and could serve as a model for other states trying to comply with the federal No Child Left Behind Act, administration officials said yesterday.

For months, state officials have worked closely with the US Department of Education to be among the first states whose so-called accountability systems passed muster under the new federal education law. A key component of No Child Left Behind, which President Bush signed into law a year ago tomorrow, requires states to test students in English and math and hold schools accountable each year for how much progress they make toward having every student proficient by 2014. Like some other states, Massachusetts already had been assessing schools based on student performance on tests and improvement over time. The Commonwealth joined a handful of states last summer that volunteered to submit their accountability plans early, and pored over complex details with federal officials to make changes to comply with the law. Massachusetts and a few other states that won early approval are expected to be touted tomorrow at a White House event attended by Bush and US Secretary of Education Rod Paige.

Massachusetts education officials wouldn't comment yesterday on whether their accountability plan had been approved but said they were hopeful federal officials would announce the approval tomorrow. A federal official confirmed yesterday that Massachusetts and a few other states have met the requirements for approval, but Paige must still sign off on the plans.

With the pending announcement, state officials said an approval would be a strong endorsement of the state's three-year-old system, which gauges school progress by students' performance on the English and math sections of the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System.

"We've been rolling out a school and district accountability system involving on-site inspections and school and district ratings for several years now," state Board of Education Chairman James A. Peyser said. "Since that forms the core of what's being put in place at the national level, it's not surprising we're among the first to get formal approval by the feds."

Other states must submit their preliminary accountability plans to the federal government for review by the end of the month. States that don't comply or whose plans do not meet federal requirements could face the loss of some federal funds.

To help other states that may not have launched accountability systems yet, federal officials plan to post on the Internet the first plans approved for a few states, State Education Commissioner David P. Driscoll said.

Under No Child Left Behind, schools must make a certain amount of progress each year toward ensuring that every student is proficient in English and math. States define "proficiency," and Massachusetts officials say the state's standard is higher than most.

Parents at schools that persistently fail to make adequate yearly progress in meeting the goal can transfer their children to other schools or receive free private tutoring. Schools that fail to make adequate progress for several years can face sanctions including removal of the principal and teachers, or a state takeover.

While many state school administrators embrace the spirit of the new law, they argue the mandates for testing and improving teacher quality are ambitious and difficult to implement quickly. They also complain that the US Department of Education's guidance for meeting the law's accountability requirements did not reach state administrators until Thanksgiving.

"They are struggling to meet the deadlines," said Patricia Sullivan, deputy executive director at the Council of Chief State School Officers.

Federal officials who reviewed Massachusetts' plan praised the MCAS for its rigor and the state's accountability system for having understandable expectations for schools, said Juliane Dow, associate commissioner for accountability and targeted assistance.

To comply with the law, the state in November issued ratings that included whether each school had made adequate yearly progress. Massachusetts also assigned schools labels such as "critically low" or "very high," which are not federally mandated but are another way to gauge school performance, state education officials said.

The state then worked aggressively to make further changes to its accountability system to win federal approval. Perhaps the most significant: The state will report performance for each school broken down by groups of students, including ethnicity, low-income, limited English proficient, and disabled. The state Board of Education approved the additions in December, also adding graduation and attendance rates.

While the state issues school ratings every two years, federal officials are requiring Massachusetts to release less-extensive assessments - telling whether each school made adequate yearly progress - annually.

By being among the first states to have their accountability plans approved, state officials also hope to hold more sway when any changes to the law are considered in the future. "If some of us want to try eventually to see changes that make some common sense, it seems to me we're in a far better position to influence any changes if we've been a leader in compliance," Driscoll said.

Some education leaders around the country are concerned that more schools may need additional resources as an increasing number are designated "needing improvement" because one subgroup of students - such as those with limited English - may fail to make enough progress.

Senator Edward M. Kennedy, the chief Democratic sponsor of the legislation in the Senate, has criticized the White House for not providing states more funds in the 2003 budget to implement the law. "This approval shows once again that Massachusetts is leading the way on education reform," Kennedy said yesterday. He urged the Bush administration "to do its part to fund these important reforms for our schools."


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