The Flexibility of the No Child Left Behind Act

I recently read an article in Time Magazine discussing the new flexibility of the No Child Left Behind Act the Obama administration is offering states. At least 10 states have been approved for flexibility including Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, Oklahoma and Tennessee. This new flexibility helps state and local educators develop their own standards of meeting individual students needs rather than just teaching the test. It wants educators to evaluate beyond test scores, using observation, peer reviews, student's own work and parent and student feedback. The state will allow more leeway to schools on how Title I federal dollars are spent. Although Pennsylvania is not one of those states requesting flexibility, I feel that as a future educator this is definitely a weight lifted off the shoulders of education. It provides teachers with more opportunity to fulfill the needs of each student individually and broadens the horizon for students capacity to learn without such rigid structure and endless pressure. It's only a matter of time before more states apply for this opportunity.