Obama Administration Releases Blueprint for Reauthorization of No Child Left Behind 

On March 15, 2010, the Department of Education and President Obama unveiled their "Blueprint for Reform," which contains the administration's plan to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.  The purpose of the blueprint, according to President Obama's introduction, is to "renovate a flawed law" and outline "a re-envisioned federal role in education."

While the blueprint contains a variety of initiatives to improve public education, it lists four priorities:

- Improve teacher and principal effectiveness to ensure that every classroom has a great teacher and every school has a great leader;

- Provide information to families to help them evaluate and improve their children's schools and to educators to help them improve their students' learning;

- Implement college- and career-ready standards and developing improved assessments aligned with those standards; and

- Improve student learning and achievement in America's lowest-performing schools by providing intensive support and effective interventions.

In order to meet these goals, the blueprint contains provisions for raising student standards and adopting national standards for students.  It contains provisions for developing assessments of student progress that are aligned with college- and career- ready standards.  With respect to teachers, the blueprint expands upon many of the concepts introduced by the Race to the Top Initiative.

In addition to the priorities in the blueprint, the administration also calls upon states and school districts to create a more equitable system for all students.  It looks to creating accountability at all levels, meeting the needs of diverse learners, and moving toward comparability in resources between high- and low-performing schools.