In a March 31 letter to the U.S. Department of Education, Acting Commissioner of Education Lucille Davy requested important changes to the state’s plan to implement the federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB).

The requested changes to New Jersey’s Consolidated State Accountability Workbook are in line with recommendations made to Davy last month by Leadership for Educational Excellence  (LEE), a coalition of the state’s major education groups, including NJSBA.

Davy asked the federal education department for the following changes:

• Increase, from 20 to 30 students, the size of all subgroups (except one), whose test results can affect a school’s or a school district’s adequate yearly progress. Such subgroups include economically disadvantaged students and students of various ethnic and racial groups. If student test scores in any one of these groups do not reach certain benchmarks, the entire school or district is deemed as not making adequate progress.
  
  Davy’s request, however, would also reduce the current size of the special education subgroup from 35 students to 30. NJSBA and the LEE Group had recommended a uniform subgroup size no smaller than 35 for all student categories. Nonetheless, NJSBA is pleased that Commissioner Davy requested a uniform subgroup size, a move that will provide New Jersey with additional flexibility in administering the Alternate Proficiency Assessment to students with disabilities.
  
  
• Make accommodations for the fact that one day of testing may not provide a wholly accurate snapshot of a school’s performance. The LEE Group had recommended the accommodations (called “confidence levels”).

Upon federal review and approval, the changes would apply to the spring 2006 state assessment results.

Bundling Data The LEE Group also recommended that the state Department of Education return to averaging grades separately, thereby reversing the decision made last year to aggregate or “bundle” data across grades. This recommendation, however, was not part of the commissioner’s request to the U.S. Department of Education.