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1 [1] (January 31, 2018)

handle is hein.crs/govcext0001 and id is 1 raw text is: FF. ' riE -E-.$r~h , . i Updated January 31, 2018 Elementary and Secondary Education Act: Overview of Title I-A Academic Accountability Provisions The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) was comprehensively reauthorized by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA; P.L. 114-95) on December 10, 2015. The ESSA made numerous changes to the standards, assessments, and academic accountability requirements that pertain to Title I-A of the ESEA. The new accountability requirements replaced or modified those enacted under the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB; P.L. 107-110). Title I-A of the ESEA authorizes aid to local educational agencies (LEAs) for the education of disadvantaged children. Title I-A grants provide supplementary educational and related services to low-achieving and other students attending elementary and secondary schools with relatively high concentrations of students from low-income families. As a condition of receiving Title I-A funds, states, LEAs, and public schools must comply with numerous requirements related to standards, assessments, and academic accountability systems. Each state educational agency (SEA) is required to submit a state plan delineating its academic accountability system, among other state plan requirements, for approval by the U.S. Department of Education (ED) in order to receive Title I-A funds. This plan must be developed by the SEA with timely and meaningful consultation with other education stakeholders, including governors, state boards of education, members of the state legislature, school staff, and parents. The plan must be peer-reviewed through a process established by the Secretary of Education (hereinafter referred to as the Secretary) and then approved by the Secretary. The state plan will remain in effect for the duration of the state's participation in Title I-A and must be periodically reviewed and revised as necessary by the SEA to reflect any changes in the state's strategies or programs under Title I-A. As part of this plan, SEAs are required to provide information on their standards, assessments, and academic accountability systems. SEAs were required to submit their state plans by April 3, 2017, or September 18, 2017. Each state receiving Title I-A funds is required to provide an assurance in its state plan that it has adopted challenging academic content standards and aligned academic achievement standards (hereinafter referred to as academic standards) in reading or language arts (RLA), mathematics, and science (and any other subject selected by the state). The achievement standards must include at least three levels of achievement. In addition, states are required to demonstrate that these academic standards are aligned with entrance requirements for credit-bearing coursework in the state's system of public higher education and relevant state career and technical education standards. The state is permitted to adopt alternate academic achievement standards for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities provided, among other requirements, that the standards are aligned with the challenging state content standards required for other students. The state is also required to demonstrate that it has adopted English language proficiency standards that are derived from the domains of speaking, listening, reading, and writing; address the different proficiency levels of English learners; and are aligned with the challenging state academic standards. The ESEA explicitly states that a state is not required to submit the challenging state academic standards, alternative academic standards, or English proficiency standards to the Secretary for review or approval. The Secretary also does not have the authority to mandate, direct, control, coerce, or exercise any direction or supervision over any of the challenging State academic standards adopted or implemented by a State. Each state plan must demonstrate that the SEA, in consultation with LEAs, has implemented assessments in mathematics, RLA, and science. The mathematics and RLA assessments must be administered in each of grades 3-8 and once during high school. The science assessment must be administered once in grades 3-5, grades 6-9, and grades 10- 12. Thus, each state must administer 17 assessments each school year, but no individual student will take more than 3 of these assessments in a given school year. The assessments must be aligned with the state academic standards. A state may implement alternate assessments aligned with alternate academic achievement standards for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities. However, for each subject tested, no more than 1% of all students tested may take the alternate assessment. Each state plan must also demonstrate that the LEAs in the state will administer an annual assessment of English proficiency for all English learners that is aligned with the state's English language proficiency standards. Prior to the enactment of the ESSA, under the provisions of NCLB the ESEA required SEAs to develop accountability systems that included a focus on schools and LEAs making adequate yearly progress (AYP) each year, based on several specified measures that included performance goals based K~:> p\w -- , gn'a', goo mppm qq\ M , q 'M I 11\111WILiM,