The guidance is simply that — guidance. Schools can choose to use the model survey or not, it's their choice.

We believe very strongly in these children and we're not granting waivers without the data to back it up,

This is unprecedented. In recent memory, we have never seen this number of displaced schoolchildren.

We've said for the past six months that this was stupid, wrong, and ill-advised. There's nothing in today's action that changes our opinion.

A core principle of No Child Left Behind is annual testing in grades three through eight -- so that we know how students are doing,

The funds have been provided for testing, but Connecticut apparently wants to keep those funds without using them as intended.