STANDARDS-RELATED PROVISIONS IN THE NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND ACT OF 2001

Standards-Related Provisions of the
No Child Left Behind Act

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

SEC. 1111 STATE PLANS

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

(1) CHALLENGING ACADEMIC STANDARDS.

(A) IN GENERAL.–Each State plan shall demonstrate that the State has adopted challenging academic content standards and challenging student academic achievement standards that will be used by the State, its local educational agencies, and its schools to carry out this part, except that a State shall not be required to submit such standards to the Secretary.

(B) SAME STANDARDS.–The academic standards required by subparagraph (A) shall be the same academic standards that the State applies to all schools and children in the State.

(C) SUBJECTS.–The State shall have such academic standards for all public elementary school and secondary school children, including children served under this part, in subjects determined by the State, but including at least mathematics, reading or language arts, and (beginning in the 2005—2006 school year) science, which shall include the same knowledge, skills, and levels of achievement expected of all children.

(D) CHALLENGING ACADEMIC STANDARDS.–Standards under this paragraph shall include–

(i) challenging academic content standards in academic subjects that–

(I)specify what children are expected to know and be able to do;
(II)contain coherent and rigorous content; and
(III)encourage the teaching of advanced skills; and

(ii) challenging student academic achievement standards that–

(I)are aligned with the State’s academic con-tent standards;
(II)describe two levels of high achievement (proficient and advanced) that determine how well children are mastering the material in the State academic content standards; and
(III)describe a third level of achievement (basic) to provide complete information about the progress of the lower-achieving children toward mastering the proficient and advanced levels of achievement.

(E) INFORMATION.–For the subjects in which students will be served under this part, but for which a State is not required by subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C) to develop, and has not otherwise developed, such academic standards, the State plan shall describe a strategy for ensuring that students are taught the same knowledge and skills in such subjects and held to the same expectations as are all children.

(F) EXISTING STANDARDS.–Nothing in this part shall prohibit a State from revising, consistent with this section, any standard adopted under this part before or after the date of enactment of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.

(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 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...
(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.

(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.

(3) ACADEMIC ASSESSMENTS.–

(A) IN GENERAL.–Each State plan shall demonstrate that the State educational agency, in consultation with local educational agencies, has implemented a set of high-quality, yearly student academic assessments that include, at a minimum, academic assessments in mathematics, reading or language arts, and science that will be used as the primary means of determining the yearly performance of the State and of each local educational agency and school in the State in enabling all children to meet the State’s challenging student academic achievement standards, except that no State shall be required to meet the requirements of this part relating to science assessments until the beginning of the 2007—2008 school year.

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)

For questions about this information, contact oeamail@dpi.wi.gov

Last updated on 2/26/2008 10:43:28 AM