No Opt Out For Kansas on No Child Left Behind

– Kansas won’t be able to avoid the toughest
years of the federal No Child Left Behind law’s implementation.
The U.S. Department of Education denied the state’s request for
a waiver Friday.
The law says 100 percent of students are supposed to fare well
on state tests by 2014. Some states have been phasing in higher
targets gradually, with districts facing the highest benchmarks in
the next few years.
Kansas wanted to hold the annual targets for state tests in
reading and math at 2009-2010 levels until it can implement new
national education standards. Tests based on those new standards
aren’t expected to start until the 2014-2015 school year in Kansas.