In last week's News and Analysis ("NCLB Watch: Will the center rise again?"), Michael J. Petrilli inaccurately characterized the reauthorization bill put forward by Senators Lieberman, Landrieu, and Coleman. It does not, alas, allow schools that make Adequate Yearly Progress to escape from the law's Highly Qualified Teachers (HQT) mandate. It does, however, allow entire states to opt out of the HQT requirements if they implement a peer-reviewed system to evaluate teacher and principal effectiveness. We regret the mistake--and regret even more that the bill excludes the more powerful "make AYP, avoid HQT" idea.
