NCLB grows.

Following in the footsteps of Tennessee and North Carolina, Delaware, Arkansas and Florida have quality growth models to use in their districts to ensure students in any particular grade are improving on test year after year under the No Child Left Behind law.

The three states received approval from the U.S. Department of Education last fall to use the plans, after Tennessee and North Carolina had previously received the OK to do so.

"There are many different routes for states to take, but they all begin with a commitment to annual assessment and disaggregation of data," U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings has stated. "And they all must lead to closing the achievement gap and every student reaching grade level by 2014. We are open to new ideas, but when it comes to accountability, we are not taking our eye off the ball."

Having already approved five high-quality growth models, the department plans to approve five more. A rigorous peer review process was used to ensure the process was fair. The department also plans to gather data to test the idea that growth models can be reliable in measuring student improve and holding schools accountable for results.

NCLB STATS

What the Public Really Wants:

80% of parents say if their child's school needs improvement they want more effort in helping their child achieve in that school. Public approval of charter schools has increased from 42% in 2000 to 53% in 2006.

Source: The 38th Annual Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup Poll of the Public's Attitude Toward Public Schools, 2006