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Will No Child Waiver Boost Teacher Morale?

NASHVILLE, Tenn (AP) — Gov. Bill Haslam says he hopes Tennessee's waiver from the federal No Child Left Behind education law boosts teacher morale.

President Barack Obama announced yesterday that Tennessee is among 10 states to receive the waiver.

No Child Left Behind requires all students to be proficient in reading and math by 2014, which critics say is unrealistic.

Phil Waldrop, the Associate Dean at Middle Tennessee State’s College of Education says it’s one less thing for teachers to worry about.

"I think this is going to have the effect of allowing teachers to focus on the processes and standards in Tennessee as we have them and know that we're improving student achievement without having the divided attention of No Child Left Behind and its kind of provisions."

Under its waiver, Tennessee is proposing to raise overall achievement by at least 3 percent each year and to cut achievement gaps in half over an 8-year period.