DO THE WA[I]VE: announced by President Obama to allow schools to bypass certain provisions from the No Child Left Behind Act, which has been criticized for rigidity and overly ambitious goals. States must pass three test to qualify: 1) rigorous evaluation for teachers and principals; 2) set high achievement standards; 3) develop turnaround plans strategies specifically for the lowest performing schools. Sounds a little vague? All the deets and paperwork here. The announcement occurred just three days after the Thomas B. Fordham Institute released a study (120,000 students over 1,500 U.S. schools) that found that 30 to 50 percent of America's "high flying" students fail to maintain their elite performance over time. It raises questions about what NCLB has done to gifted students, notes Liz Dwyer of GOOD Magazine.
