Accountability-Related Provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001

NCLBA-- Title I -- IMPROVING THE ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT OF THE DISADVANTAGED

SEC. 1111 STATE PLANS

(b) ACADEMIC STANDARDS, ACADEMIC ASSESSMENTS, AND ACCOUNTABILITY.-

(2) ACCOUNTABILTY

• (A) IN GENERAL.-Each State plan shall demonstrate that the State has developed and is implementing a single, statewide State accountability system that will be effective in ensuring that all local educational agencies, public elementary schools, and public secondary schools make adequate yearly progress as defined under this paragraph. Each State accountability system shall-
  • (i)be based on the academic standards and academic assessments adopted under paragraphs (1) and (3), and other academic indicators consistent with subparagraph (C)(vi) and (vii), and shall take into account the achievement of all public elementary school and secondary school students;
  • (ii)be the same accountability system the State uses for all public elementary schools and secondary schools or all local educational agencies in the State, except that public elementary schools, secondary schools, and local educational agencies not participating under this part are not subject to the requirements of section 1116; and
  • (iii)include sanctions and rewards, such as bonuses and recognition, the State will use to hold local educational agencies and public elementary schools and secondary schools accountable for student achievement and for ensuring that they make adequate yearly progress in accordance with the State's definition under subparagraphs (B) and (C).
• (B) ADEQUATE YEARLY PROGRESS.-Each State plan shall demonstrate, based on academic assessments described in paragraph (3), and in accordance with this paragraph, what constitutes adequate yearly progress of the State, and of all public elementary schools, secondary schools, and local educational agencies in the State, toward enabling all public elementary school and secondary school students to meet the State's student academic achievement standards, while working toward the goal of narrowing the achievement gaps in the State, local educational agencies, and schools.
• (C) DEFINITION.-'Adequate yearly progress' shall be defined by the State in a manner that-
  • (i) applies the same high standards of academic achievement to all public elementary school and secondary school students in the State;
  • (ii) is statistically valid and reliable;
  • (iii) results in continuous and substantial academic improvement for all students;
  • (iv) measures the progress of public elementary schools, secondary schools and local educational agencies and the State based primarily on the academic assessments described in paragraph (3);
  • (v) includes separate measurable annual objectives for continuous and substantial improvement for each of the following:
    • (I) The achievement of all public elementary school and secondary school students.
    • (II) The achievement of-
      • (aa) economically disadvantaged students;
      • (bb) students from major racial and ethnic groups;
      • (cc) students with disabilities; and
      • (dd) students with limited English proficiency; except that disaggregation of data under subclause (II) shall not be required in a case in which the number of students in a category is insufficient to yield statistically reliable information or the results would reveal personally identifiable information about an individual student;
  • (vi) in accordance with subparagraph (D), includes graduation rates for public secondary school students (defined as the percentage of students who graduate from secondary school with a regular diploma in the standard number of years) and at least one other academic indicator, as determined by the State for all public elementary school students; and
  • (vii) in accordance with subparagraph (D), at the State's discretion, may also include other academic indicators, as determined by the State for all public school students, measured separately for each group described in clause (v), such as achievement on additional State or locally administered assessments, decreases in grade-to-grade retention rates, attendance rates, and changes in the percentages of students completing gifted and talented, advanced placement, and college preparatory courses.
• (D) REQUIREMENTS FOR OTHER INDICATORS.-In carrying out subparagraph (C)(vi) and (vii), the State-
  • (i) shall ensure that the indicators described in those provisions are valid and reliable, and are consistent with relevant, nationally recognized professional and technical standards, if any; and
  • (ii) except as provided in subparagraph (I)(i), may not use those indicators to reduce the number of, or change, the schools that would otherwise be subject to school improvement, corrective action, or restructuring under section 1116 if those additional indicators were not used, but may use them to identify additional schools for school improvement or in need of corrective action or restructuring.
• (E) STARTING POINT.-Each State, using data for the 2001-2002 school year, shall establish the starting point for measuring, under subparagraphs (G) and (H), the percentage of students meeting or exceeding the State's proficient level of academic achievement on the State assessments under paragraph (3) and pursuant to the timeline described in subparagraph (F). The starting point shall be, at a minimum, based on the higher of the percentage of students at the proficient level who are in-
  • (i) the State's lowest achieving group of students described in subparagraph (C)(v)(II); or
  • (ii) the school at the 20th percentile in the State, based on enrollment, among all schools ranked by the percentage of students at the proficient level.
• (F) TIMELINE.-Each State shall establish a timeline for adequate yearly progress. The timeline shall ensure that not later than 12 years after the end of the 2001-2002 school year, all students in each group described in subparagraph (C)(v) will meet or exceed the State's proficient level of academic achievement on the State assessments under paragraph (3).
• (G) MEASURABLE OBJECTIVES.-Each State shall establish statewide annual measurable objectives, pursuant to subparagraph (C)(v), for meeting the requirements of this paragraph, and which-
  • (i) shall be set separately for the assessments of mathematics and reading or language arts under subsection (a)(3);
  • (ii) shall be the same for all schools and local educational agencies in the State;
  • (iii) shall identify a single minimum percentage of students who are required to meet or exceed the proficient level on the academic assessments that applies separately to each group of students described in subparagraph (C)(v);
  • (iv) shall ensure that all students will meet or exceed the State's proficient level of academic achievement on the State assessments within the State's timeline under subparagraph (F); and
  • (v) may be the same for more than 1 year, subject to the requirements of subparagraph (H).
• (H) INTERMEDIATE GOALS FOR ANNUAL YEARLY PROGRESS.-Each State shall establish intermediate goals for meeting the requirements, including the measurable objectives in subparagraph (G), of this paragraph and that shall-
  • (i) increase in equal increments over the period covered by the State's timeline under subparagraph (F);
  • (ii) provide for the first increase to occur in not more than 2 years; and
  • (iii) provide for each following increase to occur in not more than 3 years.
• (I) ANNUAL IMPROVEMENT FOR SCHOOLS.-Each year, for a school to make adequate yearly progress under this paragraph-
  • (i) each group of students described in subparagraph (C)(v) must meet or exceed the objectives set by the State under subparagraph (G), except that if any group described in subparagraph (C)(v) does not meet those objectives in any particular year, the school shall be considered to have made adequate yearly progress if the percentage of students in that group who did not meet or exceed the proficient level of academic achievement on the State assessments under paragraph (3) for that year decreased by 10 percent of that percentage from the preceding school year and that group made progress on one or more of the academic indicators described in subparagraph (C)(vi) or (vii); and
  • (ii) not less than 95 percent of each group of students described in subparagraph (C)(v) who are enrolled in the school are required to take the assessments, consistent with paragraph (3)(C)(xi) and with accommodations, guidelines, and alternative assessments provided in the same manner as those provided under section 612(a)(17)(A) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and paragraph (3), on which adequate yearly progress is based (except that the 95 percent requirement described in this clause shall not apply in a case in which the number of students in a category is insufficient to yield statistically reliable information or the results would reveal personally identifiable information about an individual student).
• (J) UNIFORM AVERAGING PROCEDURE.-For the purpose of determining whether schools are making adequate yearly progress, the State may establish a uniform procedure for averaging data which includes one or more of the following:
  • (i) The State may average data from the school year for which the determination is made with data from one or two school years immediately preceding that school year.
  • (ii) Until the assessments described in paragraph (3) are administered in such manner and time to allow for the implementation of the uniform procedure for averaging data described in clause (i), the State may use the academic assessments that were required under paragraph (3) as that paragraph was in effect on the day preceding the date of enactment of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, provided that nothing in this clause shall be construed to undermine or delay the determination of adequate yearly progress, the requirements of section 1116, or the implementation of assessments under this section.
  • (iii) The State may use data across grades in a school.
• (K) ACCOUNTABILITY FOR CHARTER SCHOOLS.-The accountability provisions under this Act shall be overseen for charter schools in accordance with State charter school law.

SEC. 1116 ACADEMIC ASSESSMENT AND LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY AND SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT.

(a) LOCAL REVIEW.-

(1) IN GENERAL.-Each local educational agency receiving funds under this part shall-

• (A) use the State academic assessments and other indicators described in the State plan to review annually the progress of each school served under this part to determine whether the school is making adequate yearly progress as defined in section 1111(b)(2);
• (B) at the local educational agency's discretion, use any academic assessments or any other academic indicators described in the local educational agency's plan under section 1112 (b)(1)(A) and (B) to review annually the progress of each school served under this part to determine whether the school is making adequate yearly progress as defined in section 1111(b) (2), except that the local educational agency may not use such indicators (other than as provided for in section 1111(b)(2)(I)) if the indicators reduce the number or change the schools that would otherwise be subject to school improvement, corrective action, or restructuring under section 1116 if such additional indicators were not used, but may identify additional schools for school improvement or in need of corrective action or restructuring;
• (C) publicize and disseminate the results of the local annual review described in paragraph (1) to parents, teachers, principals, schools, and the community so that the teachers, principals, other staff, and schools can continually refine, in an instructionally useful manner, the program of instruction to help all children served under this part meet the challenging State student academic achievement standards established under section 1111(b)(1); and
• (D) review the effectiveness of the actions and activities the schools are carrying out under this part with respect to parental involvement, professional development, and other activities assisted under this part.

(2) AVAILABLE RESULTS.-The State educational agency shall ensure that the results of State academic assessments administered in that school year are available to the local educational agency before the beginning of the next school year.

(b) SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT.-

(1) GENERAL REQUIREMENTS.-

• (A) IDENTIFICATION.-Subject to subparagraph (C), a local educational agency shall identify for school improvement any elementary school or secondary school served under this part that fails, for 2 consecutive years, to make adequate yearly progress as defined in the State's plan under section 1111(b)(2).
• (B) DEADLINE.-The identification described in subparagraph (A) shall take place before the beginning of the school year following such failure to make adequate yearly progress.
• (C) APPLICATION.-Subparagraph (A) shall not apply to a school if almost every student in each group specified in section 1111(b)(2)(C)(v) enrolled in such school is meeting or exceeding the State's proficient level of academic achievement.
• (D) TARGETED ASSISTANCE SCHOOLS.-To determine if an elementary school or a secondary school that is conducting a targeted assistance program under section 1115 should be identified for school improvement, corrective action, or restructuring under this section, a local educational agency may choose to review the progress of only the students in the school who are served, or are eligible for services, under this part.
• (E) PUBLIC SCHOOL CHOICE.-
  • (i) IN GENERAL.-In the case of a school identified for school improvement under this paragraph, the local educational agency shall, not later than the first day of the school year following such identification, provide all students enrolled in the school with the option to transfer to another public school served by the local educational agency, which may include a public charter school, that has not been identified for school improvement under this paragraph, unless such an option is prohibited by State law.
  • (ii) RULE.-In providing students the option to transfer to another public school, the local educational agency shall give priority to the lowest achieving children from low-income families, as determined by the local educational agency for purposes of allocating funds to schools under section 1113(c)(1).
• (F) TRANSFER.-Students who use the option to transfer under subparagraph (E) and paragraph (5)(A), (7)(C)(i), or (8)(A)(i) or subsection (c)(10)(C)(vii) shall be enrolled in classes and other activities in the public school to which the students transfer in the same manner as all other children at the public school.

(2) OPPORTUNITY TO REVIEW AND PRESENT EVIDENCE; TIME LIMIT.-

• (A) IDENTIFICATION.-Before identifying an elementary school or a secondary school for school improvement under paragraphs (1) or (5)(A), for corrective action under paragraph (7), or for restructuring under paragraph (8), the local educational agency shall provide the school with an opportunity to review the school-level data, including academic assessment data, on which the proposed identification is based.
• (B) EVIDENCE.-If the principal of a school proposed for identification under paragraph (1), (5)(A), (7), or (8) believes, or a majority of the parents of the students enrolled in such school believe, that the proposed identification is in error for statistical or other substantive reasons, the principal may provide supporting evidence to the local educational agency, which shall consider that evidence before making a final determination.
• (C) FINAL DETERMINATION.-Not later than 30 days after a local educational agency provides the school with the opportunity to review such school-level data, the local educational agency shall make public a final determination on the status of the school with respect to the identification.

Complete text of Section 1111(b) of The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001

Complete text of Section 1116 of The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (Assessment and Local Educational Agency and School Improvement)

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Last updated on 2/28/2008 7:56:16 AM