Since it was first enacted in 1965, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act has described
the federal requirements for public schools. The Act is scheduled for reauthorization every five
to seven years. President George W. Bush proposed major changes in the federal role in
education in 2001. With bipartisan support and input from state educators, the new ESEA, also
called NCLB, makes major changes in the federal role and was intended to put more resources
into states to support public schools with increased accountability.
The largest single allocation of federal funding for education flows through Title I funding. Recognizing that children from lower economic status neighborhoods face
greater academic challenges at school, federal funding is provided to schools with
higher percentages of students coming from low income or low socioeconomic status. Schools
receiving this extra federal funding are referred to as Title I schools. The administration and
staff at Title I schools use this extra federal funding to develop instructional programs that
support student achievement. The reauthorization of ESEA led to NCLB, and NCLB mandates
that all schools will be expected to make specific gains in student achievement. Title I schools
are required to follow specific mandates if they fail to make gains in student achievement.
Because of the Alaska Standards Based Assessments, all public school students across Alaska
take the same tests to determine whether they are meeting standards. Reports from the tests are
provided to parents to gauge their child's progress. Districts, schools and teachers use the reports
to assess and modify instructional programs and to identify students who need remediation.
Schools, the district and the state must make AYP to show that students are learning. The goal is
for 100% of students to at least score as proficient in language arts and math by the 2013-2014
school year.
There has been an AYP requirement in the law since 1994. AYP calls on states to establish a
timeline for bringing 100% of students up to proficient level on state assessments. States start by
defining AYP, which are the measurements of academic improvement a school must achieve to
ensure that at the end of 12 years, every student graduating will have mastered the basics. Each
state chooses where to set the initial academic achievement bar based on the lowest demographic group or based on a measure of the lowest achieving schools in the state, whichever is higher.
Once the initial bar is established, the state is required to "raise the bar" gradually to reach 100%
proficiency in reading, writing, and math at the end of 12 years. The initial bar must be raised
after two years, and subsequent thresholds must be raised at least once every three years.
States must develop Annual Measurable Objectives each school year. Testing results must be
disaggregated by subgroups based on all students, low-income students, six race/ethnicity
categories, students with disabilities and Limited English Proficient students.
Schools that have not made the state-defined AYP for two consecutive school years will be identified before the beginning of the next school year as needing school improvement.
After a school is identified for improvement status, it develops an improvement plan. Parents are invited to participate in the development of this plan. In the ASD, Title I school students who
are eligible may apply to receive supplement educational services (free tutoring).
If a Title I school does not make AYP for three consecutive years, the school remains in school improvement status and the ASD must continue to offer supplement educational services (free tutoring) to eligible students, as well as public school choice to all students who attend that
school.
If the Title I school does not make AYP for four consecutive years, the district must implement
certain corrective actions to improve the school, such as replacing certain staff or fully
implementing a new curriculum, while continuing to offer public school choice and
supplemental services.
If a Title I school fails to make AYP for five consecutive years, it is identified for restructuring.
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How has testing changed with this law?
