Educational Testing: Implementation of ESEA Title I-A Requirements Under the No Child Left Behind Act: RL31407.

Autor: Riddle, Wayne C.
Předmět:
Zdroj: Congressional Research Service: Report; 4/6/2004, p1, 38p
Abstrakt: The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLBA) contains several new requirements related to pupil assessments for states and local educational agencies (LEAs) participating in Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Title I-A (Education for the Disadvantaged). These expand upon less extensive requirements that were adopted under the Improving America's Schools Act (IASA) of 1994. Under the NCLBA, in addition to the IASA requirements for standards and assessments in reading and mathematics at three grade levels, all states participating in Title I-A will be required to implement standards-based assessments for pupils in each of grades 3-8 in reading and mathematics by the 2005-2006 school year. States will also have to develop and implement assessments at three grade levels in science by the 2007-2008 school year. Pupils who have been in U.S. schools for at least three years must be tested (for reading) in English, and states must annually assess the English language proficiency of their limited English proficient (LEP) pupils. Assessments must be of "adequate technical quality," and grants are authorized for development of enhanced assessments. Grants to states for assessment development are authorized, and $390 million has been appropriated for FY2004. In addition, the NCLBA requires all states receiving grants under ESEA Title I-A to participate in National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) tests in 4th and 8th grade reading and mathematics to be administered every two years, with all costs to be paid by the federal government. NAEP is a series of ongoing assessments of the academic performance of representative samples of pupils primarily in grades 4, 8, and 12. Beginning in 1990, NAEP has conducted a limited number of state-level assessments wherein the sample of pupils tested in each participating state is increased in order to provide reliable estimates of achievement scores for pupils in the state. Previously, all participation in state NAEP was voluntary, and additional costs associated with state NAEP were borne by participating states. The statutory provisions authorizing NAEP are amended by the NCLBA to maximize consistency with the NCLBA requirements and prohibit the use of NAEP assessments by agents of the federal government to influence state or LEA instructional programs or assessments. Issues regarding the expanded ESEA Title I-A pupil assessment requirements, which may be addressed by the 108th Congress, include: What types of assessments will meet the ESEA Title I-A requirements? How strict will the Department of Education be in reviewing and approving state assessment systems, and will states meet the expanded assessment requirements on schedule? What will be the cost of developing and implementing the assessments, and to what extent will federal grants be available to pay for them? What might be the impact of the requirement for annual assessment of the English language proficiency of LEP pupils? What might be the impact on NAEP of requiring state participation, as well as the impact of NAEP on state standards and assessments? And what are the likely major benefits and costs of the expanded ESEA Title I-A pupil assessment requirements? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Databáze: Complementary Index