Effects of No Child Left Behind waiver unclear locally

<p>As President Barack Obama on Thursday freed up Florida and nine other states from some of the dictates of the landmark federal No Child Left Behind Act, Alachua County Public Schools officials said they are unsure how Florida's waiver will affect students locally.</p><p>Despite the district's state school grade of an A, only one mainstream public school made the "adequate yearly progress," or AYP, as called for in No Child Left Behind. That school is Newberry Elementary. Charter schools Micanopy Area Cooperative School, Alachua Learning Center and One Room School House also made AYP this past school year.</p><p>Superintendent Dan Boyd has called adequate yearly progress "the biggest joke in America."</p><p>Under the waiver, it is up to the states to determine what measure for adequate yearly progress it will use and how many students constitute a subgroup. Subgroups of various students are used to measure yearly progress. In Florida, for instance, 30 students make up a subgroup; 200 students in Texas constitute a subgroup.</p><p>Deputy Superintendent Sandy Hollinger said the impact of the waiver on students is unclear.</p><p>"I don't know that it's going to make that much difference for us," she said. "Until we have a national standard on these subgroups, it's never going to be a level playing field."</p><p>The changes at the state level may cause some struggling students to be underserved, said Mary Brownell, a professor of special education at the University of Florida's College of Education.</p><p>"They're not very specific on how they're going to be accountable to students with disabilities and, quite frankly, other subgroups of students," she said. "We are very concerned about schools watering down expectations for our students if there aren't clear guidelines. Students with learning disabilities are making very nice strides with increased accountability," including graduating high school at a greater rate.</p><p>States and districts aren't always providing intensive instruction based on proven evidence, she said.</p><p>"Is everything being done to help students achieve the way they need to achieve?" she said. "From my experience, I can't say the answer to that is yes."</p>