New Texas Teacher Evaluation System Draws No Child Left Behind Waiver

In exchange for implementing a new statewide teacher and principal evaluation system, the U.S. Department of Education has granted Texas a one-year waiver from No Child Left Behind benchmarks deemed unreachable by the Texas Education Agency. Sixty-eight charter schools and districts will pilot the controversial new evaluation method, which conforms to a federal mandate requiring districts to base at least 20 percent of teacher and principal scores on student performance measures. (Houston Chronicle)