Dive Brief:

• The U.S. Department of Education approved the No Child Left Behind waiver applications of  Arkansas, Colorado, Nevada, South Dakota, and Virginia
• The waivers will be in place for the 2014-15 school year and give the chosen states some wiggle room from the stringent Bush-era expectations. For example, had the states not received the waivers, it would have been expected that 100% of their students pass the 2013-14 state exams.  
• Nevada State Superintendent Dale Erquiaga told the Associated Press that the state will use the flexibility to implement the Common Core and assessments-tied evaluations for students and teachers.  

Dive Insight:

The doling out of NCLB waivers and the general relief states feel once they receive them indicates an issue with the current system. No Child Left Behind imposed seemingly unattainable expectations —100% of students being proficient by the 2013-14 school year — and now the only way to get waivers is to agree to a number of conditions like the Common Core State Standards and teacher evaluations. This system leaves little leeway for states that want their education system to look different, or believe they have a way to increase proficiency that may look different. While not everyone may agree with the tactics of the NCLB waivers, one thing the process has going for it is "strategies."  Instead of just setting goals like NCLB did, the waivers require states to actually develop and implement strategies — albeit with little wiggle room.