By: Deborah Johnson Wood
Differentiated Accountability, a new pilot program announced by the United Stated Department of Education, was one topic of discussion among many for Todd Zoellick when he visited the Grand Rapids and the Rockford Public Schools last month. Zoellick is one of U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings’ top officials representing Michigan and five other Great Lakes states.
“I met with parents and educators, and a lot of questions came up over assessments to test students,” Zoellick says. “The government realizes that looking at a child at just one point in their school year, say fourth grade, and then later during another year is not the best way to measure student achievement.”
Zoellick says that while some entire schools are not meeting adequate yearly progress, others are not reaching certain standards simply because a handful of students are not achieving. The intent of Differentiated Accountability is to allow states to deal with issues on a school-by-school basis.
“We want to treat different situations differently,” Zoellick says, “but in order to change No Child Left Behind, Congress has to act on it. Until they do, we’ve been authorized to put this pilot program in place.”
Secretary Spellings will select 10 states to participate. Those states must meet the standards of the pilot, and submit a proposal outlining the issues the schools face and how the state would like to address them. Schools will be in the pilot one full year.
During his visit, Zoellick also met with the school superintendents, teachers, administrators and students, toured several schools, observed classes and learned more about the GRPS Centers of Innovation Initiative.
Source: Todd Zoellick, U.S. Department of Education
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Deborah Johnson Wood is the development news editor for Rapid Growth Media. She can be contacted at [email protected].
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