No Child Left Behind
Frequently Asked Questions
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What is the Elementary and Secondary Education Act?
 Since
it was first enacted in 1965, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)
has described the federal requirements for public schools. The Act must be
re-authorized every five to seven years. President George 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 the No Child Left Behind
Act, makes major changes in the federal role and puts more resources into
states to support public schools in exchange for increased accountability.
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Why is the term Title I used often when talking about this Act?
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
socio-economic status (SES). 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 "No Child Left Behind", mandates that all schools
will be expected to make specific gains in student achievement. However, only
those schools receiving Title I funding will currently be required to meet
criteria related to teacher and paraprofessional qualifications, and only Title
I schools will be required to follow specific mandates if they fail to make
gains in student achievement.
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What Anchorage School District schools receive Title I funding?
Twenty
(20) ASD schools receive Title I funds. They include:
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AVAIL Secondary
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Benny Benson Secondary
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Creekside Elementary
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Clark Middle School
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Denali Elementary
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Fairview Elementary
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Government Hill Elementary
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McLaughlin Secondary
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Mountain View Elementary
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Muldoon Elementary
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North Star Elementary
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Ptarmigan Elementary
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SEARCH Secondary
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Taku Elementary
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Tyson Elementary
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Ursa Major Elementary
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Ursa Minor Elementary
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Williwaw Elementary
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WillowCrest Elementary
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Wonder Park Elementary
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How does this tie into the State of Alaska Quality Schools Initiative,
Benchmark testing and Standards?
Alaska Content and Performance Standards are directly linked to
the Benchmark Assessments and these will be used to determine whether
a school is making adequate yearly progress. The Alaska
State Department of Education will determine how the Alaska Quality
Schools Initiative ties into the new legislation.
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How has testing changed with this law?
Because of the Quality Schools Initiative, 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 what
is called "Adequate Yearly Progress" to
show that students are learning. The goal is for all schools to be proficient
in 12 years.
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What is Annual Yearly Progress and what does it do?
There has been an Annual Yearly Progress
(AYP) requirement in the law since 1994. AYP calls on states to
establish a timeline for bringing 100% of students up to the proficient
level on state assessments. States start by defining AYP -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.
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What happens to schools that do not make AYP?
States
must develop annual Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) objectives for each school.
These objectives must be disaggregated by student groups based on poverty, race
and ethnicity, disability, and Limited English Proficiency.
Schools that have not made state defined adequate yearly progress for two
consecutive school years will be identified before the beginning of the next
school year as needing school improvement.
Immediately after a school is found to be in need of improvement, they will
develop a two-year plan to turn around the school. Every student in the school
will be given the option to transfer to a school not identified for school
improvement.
If the school does not make AYP for three consecutive years, the school remains
in school improvement status and the district must continue to offer public
school choice to all students. The school must also provide supplemental
education services to disadvantaged children who remain at the school. Parents
can choose the services their child needs from a list of approved providers.
If the 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 pay for supplemental services.
If a school fails to make adequate yearly progress for five consecutive years,
it will be identified for restructuring.
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