Yesterday, the Dayton administration applied for a waiver from No Child Left Behind, making it one of the first 11 states to do so. In the waiver request [DOCX], the administration described a strong commitment to evaluating our schools, but evaluating them in ways NCLB does not allow. Here’s an excerpt from the application

Since the last reauthorization of the ESEA, Minnesota has raised academic standards, developed tools for holding schools accountable for improving the academic performance of students, and provided schools with support to improve the quality of instruction. The waivers and principles included in this Flexibility Request proposal will allow Minnesota to utilize these carefully developed tools for improving student learning and increasing the quality of instruction.

Minnesota’s academic standards are the core of our accountability system. Schools are accountable for all students meeting statewide college- and career-ready academic standards. All accountability efforts are, therefore, directed at increasing the likelihood that students will achieve proficiency on the assessments aligned to the state standards.

ESEA Flexibility will allow us to take advantage of a wider variety of data to better identify schools that truly need support. With legislative support, Minnesota has developed a growth model to measure students’ academic performance from year-to-year. If approved, Minnesota will use growth metrics, along with proficiency status and graduation rates to identify schools for Priority, Focus and Reward. The addition of growth data to the accountability system will give the public a more complete picture of how schools are performing.

Minnesota’s experience with No Child Left Behind has shown it that it is not enough to just measure schools for accountability. Schools need to put the right school improvement plans in place, and have the necessary support from the state, and other education partners. School improvement requires teams of dedicated working together. With the help of such teams, Priority and Focus Schools will implement plans based on Turnaround Principles to change the trajectory of the school. ESEA Flexibility will allow schools, LEAs and MDE to exercise financial and programmatic flexibility to implement essential activities at those schools that are most in need of support.

Evaluating scools is important, but No Child Left Behind’s one-size-fits-all approach has never been a good idea. Minnesota can do better on its own.