Utah will not pursue NCLB flexibility option

The State Board of Education opted Friday not to pursue an option that would allow greater flexibility in AYP designations.

Officials said that at first glance the move looked like a great option, but it would lead to greater intrusion by the federal government.

The federal mandate No Child Left Behind aims to have all students reading and doing math proficiently by 2014.

States issue reports measuring adequate yearly progress, or AYP, toward the goal. Every student group, based on race, income, disability and limited English skills, has to make progress on tests or the school fails. If a low-income school fails two years in a row it goes into "school improvement" and face sanctions.

In January the U.S. Department of Education presented an option of "differentiated accountability" that would make the law more flexible. States that participate would be able to distinguish those schools in improvement that are just missing the mark and those that need significant reform.

It would allow schools that are in school improvement to vary the intensity and type of interventions to match the academic reasons a school fails to meet federal benchmarks.

The new flexibility will be granted to only 10 states with priority given to those states that have 20 percent or more schools in "school improvement." Only 5 percent of Utah schools carry the designation.

Judy Park, state associate superintendent, said that if the state entered into the differentiated accountability program, it would be required to do more reporting to the federal government and submit even more in-depth and detailed data concerning the interventions.

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