The following bits of information paint a picture of where we currently stand.

• The reauthorization process for NCLB will begin next year for enactment in 2007, giving proponents of change an opportunity to modify the law.
• With $57 million in funding, National Regional Advisory Committees have been formed (December 2004) in ten regions to discuss the challenges and needs of NCLB. These committees replace fifteen Comprehensive Centers, ten Regional Technology in Education Consortia, and ten Eisenhower Regional Math/Science Consortia.
• Reading reform efforts in education have resulted in gradual achievement gains in elementary grade levels. However, students are not moving rapidly into fluency and comprehension, proficiency that translates into literacy to meet skills needed in a post-secondary job market, according to a recent RAND study. The average differences in proficiency rates (percentage points) among subgroups are high, especially among ethnic groups, poverty and non-poverty levels, and English Language Learner (ELL) students vs. peers.
• Expansion of NCLB into increased high school assessment was recently proposed. Assessment in grades nine through eleven would receive funding of $250 million. Eighth-grade test results would be used for ninth-grade intervention. A $500 million high-school teacher performance fund is also included. State participation in the grade twelve NAEP test would be mandatory. In addition, $1.5 billion has been requested for high-school reform.
• The National Governors Association (NGA) Governors’ National Summit in February 2005 urged Congress to
  • consult with states on expansion of federal testing in high schools before mandating implementation,
  • provide sufficient funding to meet school improvement goals, and
  • allow more gubernatorial authority in using federal dollars for NCLB-related solutions.
• Thirteen states (graduating one third of the students in the country) banded together to find ways to increase high school graduation rates and college readiness rates by
  • raising standards,
  • redesigning curricula,
  • tying tests and accountability to life knowledge/skills, and
  • recognizing individual solutions—not one-size-fits-all—and not high stakes.
• In general, student scores are rising on state tests.
• Students eligible for school transfer numbered in excess of 3.2 million in 2003-04, yet only one percent actually transferred. Forty-eight percent of urban districts were required to offer choice. Capacity problems abounded in inner-city schools receiving transfer students. Logistical issues in large districts/inner-city schools have been cited as impacting transfer rates. Of the school districts required to offer choice, 69 percent said they did not know what impact choice was having on achievement, making it all the more important for the federal government and states to target funding and technical assistance to fix the schools students already attend.
• The number of students receiving supplemental services (tutoring) more than doubled from the previous year to 218,000, representing 11.3 percent of eligible students in 2003-04. The recent announcement that a teachers union in New York is entering the supplemental services industry will increase the number of providers and perhaps raise the quality of services. However, measuring the quality of tutoring has been inconsistent.
• The National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE) conference recently suggested three major themes for the days ahead: 1) true high school reforms focused on core issues of literacy, high school structure, teacher quality, and dropout prevention; 2) effectively closing achievement gaps with relevant, challenging, and integrated curricula and highly qualified teachers; and 3) better alignment of high schools with post-secondary institutions.
• Recommendations emerging from the conference are:
  • requiring open and full disclosure by the USDOE on states’ issues,
  • granting permission to use Limited-English Proficient (LEP) students’ proficiency attainment to hold districts/schools accountable regarding LEP students,
  • counting Individual Education Plan (IEP) completion toward Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) regardless of diploma award,
  • setting professional qualifications for instructional personnel in the supplemental service-provider sector,
  • allowing states to develop alternate assessments for students with significant disabilities but for whom current alternate assessments would not be appropriate (gap kids); and
  • exempting small, rural, and/or limited resource schools from some AYP requirements.
• The recent Center on Educational Policy Report observed a broad range of NCLB results and issues
  • NCLB has focused greater attention on the needs of lower-achieving students, an awareness that will result in change and improvement, over time.
  • The use of test-score data to inform decisions about teaching and learning is increasing. Formative assessment is a vital key to informing instruction in the classroom.
  • The expectation that 100 percent of students will perform at “proficient” levels by 2014 is currently considered to be unrealistic.
  • One hundred percent of districts surveyed indicate an increasing use of student data to inform instruction.
  • Ninety-nine percent of districts surveyed report aligning curriculum and instruction to standards and assessment.
  • Ninety-nine percent report extra or more intensive instruction to low-achieving students.
  • Ninety-nine percent report increased quality and quantity of professional development for teachers.
  • One-fifth of reporting districts say they have increased required time spent on math and reading, resulting in less time for social studies (27 percent), science (22 percent), and the arts (20 percent).
  • States report a serious lack of capacity: i.e., limited staff size (45 states); limited staff expertise (31 states); a serious or moderate challenge in providing assistance to schools in need (42 states).
  • Funding and staffing to help low-performing schools and students is a growing issue.
  • The proportion of teachers who are highly qualified is rising. Most of the nation’s current teachers of basic academic subjects already meet NCLB requirements for highly qualified teachers. The toughest categories in which to meet requirements are special education, middle school, and teachers in rural areas. Schools with large numbers or high percentages of poor and minority students have the largest proportions of teachers not highly qualified under NCLB guidelines.
  • More collaboration is occurring among stakeholders at all levels in education.
  • Most educators find NCLB testing requirements for students with disabilities and ELL to be the greatest areas of need under the Act. Although there is some flexibility in these areas, it is not enough yet. On the plus side, more inclusive approaches are being explored for teaching students with disabilities and ELL needs.
  • Achievement gaps between white and African-American, white and Hispanic, and ELL and non-ELL students are narrowing, report 73 percent of states and 72 percent of districts surveyed.
  • Approximately 13 percent of all 6,000 schools participating in Title I have remained in the same category: needing improvement. Over time, however, the concentration of these schools has shifted to be predominantly within very large districts and urban areas.
  • Most states felt funding for NCLB was too low. Eleven states reported they were adequately funded to provide technical assistance to schools; thirteen states said funds were sufficient to monitor the quality and effectiveness of supplemental service providers. However, 80 percent of districts surveyed felt they had NCLB-associated costs not covered by federal funding.
  • Ten percent of Title I schools were mandated to offer supplemental services, yet only 18 percent of students in these schools took advantage of the services. Twenty percent of schools reported increased student performance as a result.
• The report recommended that the USDOE provide additional funding to increase states’ and districts’ capacities, beef up the oversight of supplemental services provision, and provide transparency in communications among the states. With the upcoming Higher Education Act reauthorization, the report recommended to remedy disparities in teacher quality that NCLB has helped to reveal. A long-term change was recommended: allow a small number of pilot states to experiment with different types of growth models to meet NCLB accountability, thus emphasizing gains in achievement, rather than reaching fixed achievement targets.

Copyright 2005 by Measured Progress. All rights reserved.