Feds reject assessment program

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BY KEVIN O' HANLON / The Associated Press

Nebraska Education Commissioner Doug Christensen lashed out Wednesday at the U.S. Department of Education for rejecting the state’s assessment system under “No Child Left Behind.”

“I am disappointed by the federal decision and disappointed by the way we have been treated by them,” Christensen said, “In fact, I cannot recall a professional issue in my over 40 years as an educator over which I have been so disappointed.”

The 2001 No Child Left Behind Act was designed to make sure children receive an adequate education by monitoring their progress.

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Christensen

Christensen

In 2003, Christensen was hailed by school administrators around the country for refusing to comply with federal education reform law by implementing a statewide test for students.

Under No Child Left Behind, states were called upon to devise and offer the same tests in reading and math for every child each year in third through eighth grades, as well as one year of high school.

Christensen defended Nebraska’s method that allows each school district to come up with its own methods to meet the state’s standards for writing, reading, math, science and social studies/history.

The Education Department approved Nebraska’s testing system in 2004.

But Margaret Spellings, who became education secretary in January 2005, overturned the 2004 decision.

States that don’t receive federal approval stand to lose so-called “Title I” money — some $125,000 for Nebraska this year— that is used to administer No Child Left Behind.

“We feel blind-sided by the decision,” Christensen said. “First, the decision is a blatant violation of the ‘partnership’ around which this work was to be created and documented. Second, it is a violation of the process that was to be fair, open, and evidence-based. Third, it is a violation of past agreements reached. And fourth, it is a violation of the law itself.”

Department of Education officials said they would not comment on Christensen’s statements.

But in a letter to Christensen, the Education Department’s Henry Johnson said the agency “fully supports local assessment models.”

“However, the statute and regulations also require that we hold these local assessment systems to the same rigorous standards as statewide assessments,” he said.

Johnson noted that the department in April notified the states of its new “approval categories.”

“These categories better reflect where states collectively are in the process of meeting the statutory standards and assessment requirements and where each state individually stands,” Johnson said. “The department cannot approve Nebraska’s standards and assessment system due to outstanding concerns regarding whether all local assessment systems meet the requirements of academic content standards in reading and mathematics in grades 3-8 and high school,” among other things.

Christensen said the state would appeal the decision.

“This is not the way a partnership is run and not a way for anyone to be treated,” he said. “If we treated our schools in a one-sided and mean-spirited way, we would be out of business. We would not even consider being so arbitrary and/or heavy-handed.”