Education Secretary Arne Duncan says he will announce a new waiver system Monday to give schools a break from student testing mandates in the federal No Child Left Behind law.
Critics say the benchmarks are unrealistic and brand schools as failures even if they make progress. Schools and districts where too few kids pass the tests for several years are subject to sanctions that can include firing teachers or closing the school entirely.
The plan to offer waivers to all 50 states, as long as they meet other school reform requirements, comes at the request of President Barack Obama, Duncan said. More details on the waivers will come in September, he said.
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