Will NCLB waivers make a difference?

Now that the Obama Administration has begun to grant waivers from some of the most troublesome components of the decade-old No Child Left Behind Act (see EdWeek), one wonders what it means for real change. Ten states now don't have to show that 100% of kids are proficient in reading and math by 2014, but in Massachusetts and Florida (two of the states granted waivers), the MCAS and FCAT tests still rule, the arts have been particularly decimated in our urban schools, and rich curricular choices at many high schools have been replaced with MCAS/FCAT test prep courses. So far, all we seem to be hearing (hear NPR story) is that states will use those tests in growth models rather than cross-sectional ones. Maybe it's real relief, but doesn't seem like a huge change in a general testing mentality.