Challenge school categories

Today I continued reading the U.S. Department of Education's (USDOE) Blueprint for ESEA Reauthorization. This morning I read about the Department's proposed categories for schools, districts, and states. These designations will have an effect on a Local Education Agency's ability to secure federal funding and the flexibility with which that money can be spent.

The most notable change, as far as I know, is the introduction of Reward Schools. Reward Schools "are successful in reaching performance targets, significantly increasing student performance for all students, [and/or] closing achievement gaps" (USDOE, 2010).

The USDOE also identified three categories of Challenge Schools. Each category is described below.

• "The first category of Challenge schools will be the lowest-performing five percent of schools in each state, based on student academic achievement, student growth, and graduation rates, that are not making progress to improve." (USDOE, 2010)

• "The next five percent of low-performing schools will be identified in a warning category" (USDOE, 2010).

• "Schools that are not closing significant, persistent achievement gaps will constitute another category of Challenge schools." (USDOE, 2010)

What do you think? Does the USDOE have an appropriate model for categorizing schools? Will these categories advance the Department's primary goal of preparing every student for college or a career?

Reference

U.S. Department of Education, Office of Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development. (2010). A blueprint for reform: the reauthorization of the elementary and secondary education act. Washington, DC: Retrieved from http://www2.ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/blueprint/index.html