FA

CT

SH

EE

T2007

No Child LeftNo Child LeftBehind ABehind ActctSummary oSummary of Selected Prf Selected Proovisionsvisions

NCLRNATIONAL COUNCIL OF LA RAZA

w w w . n c l r . o r g

Basic Provisions. The No Child Left Behind Act(NCLB) requires annual state tests in at leastreading and math for every child in grades threethrough eight, beginning in the 2005-2006school year. In 2007-2008, schools must addscience tests, although these are not required onan annual basis. The state tests must:

◗ Be aligned with state academic standards

◗ Be valid and reliable for the purposes forwhich they are being used

◗ Be consistent with nationally-recognizedprofessional and technical standards

◗ Be useful for diagnostic purposes (althoughnot restricted to this use)

◗ Allow for test data to be disaggregated byrace, ethnicity, English proficiency, gender,migrant, disability, and socioeconomicstatus

English Language Learner Provisions. Englishlanguage learners (ELLs) must be tested, to theextent practicable, in the language and form mostlikely to yield accurate results for ELLs, except thatELLs who have attended schools in the U.S. (notincluding Puerto Rico) for three consecutive yearsmust be tested in English unless it is determined,on a case-by-case basis, that native-language testswill yield more accurate results. In that case,those ELLs can be tested in their native languagefor up to two additional years. States must havebegun administering English-language proficiencytests to ELLs by the 2002-2003 school year.

Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP). Each state mayset its own definition of AYP and is required toensure that all students meet the state’s“proficient” level of academic achievement in 12years from the 2001-2002 school year (100%proficiency). AYP must include separatemeasurable annual goals for all students andgroups of students, characterized by race,ethnicity, English proficiency, disability, andsocioeconomic status.

AYP must be based on each state’s academicstandards and shall be measured primarily by thestate assessments, and may include othermeasures, such as:

◗ Other assessments

◗ Grade retention rates

◗ Attendance rates

◗ Participation in gifted and advanced courses

Elementary schools must use one additionalmeasure, and high schools must use graduationrates.

Baseline Data. The states must use 2001-2002school-year data on student proficiency levels asthe baseline data against which states mustmeasure progress toward meeting AYP. Thebaseline data must be set based on the subgroupof students with the lowest proficiency level, oron the school within each state whose studentsare at the 20th percentile ranking, whichevermeasure is higher.

Schools with a subgroup of students (such asELLs) who are not making AYP can avoid sanctionsif that subgroup makes some progress.

Measuring Academic Progress

Testing

The legislation requires state report cards that must containinformation such as:

◗ Student achievement data disaggregated by race,ethnicity, gender, English proficiency, disability status,migrant status, and poverty

◗ Academic objectives for each subgroup

◗ The percentage of students not tested

◗ Information on other indicators of progress

◗ High school graduation rates

◗ Professional qualifications of teachers in the state

School district report cards must include some of thesemeasures as well as district- and school-level information,including:

◗ How many schools in the district have been identifiedfor school improvement

◗ How students in the district fared on the stateassessment and other AYP measures

◗ At the school level, whether a school has beenidentified for improvement

School Improvement. A school shall be identified for “schoolimprovement” if it fails to make AYP for two consecutive years.Schools must come up with a two-year school improvementplan that addresses the specific problem that caused theschool to be identified for improvement, includes professionaldevelopment, and enhances parental and communityinvolvement. Sanctions are triggered in the following mannerafter the school has been identified for improvement:

Year Two – Students attending schools identified for schoolimprovement can immediately transfer to another school inthe district.

Year Three – Students in such a school can continue to transferand can receive supplemental services outside of the school ifthe school fails to make AYP one year after it has beenidentified for school improvement.

Year Four – If the school fails to make AYP for two years afterit has been identified for school improvement, students cancontinue to transfer and receive supplemental services, andthe school can be reconstituted. Reconstitution includes suchoptions as replacing the staff relevant to the school’s failureto make AYP, changing the curriculum, and extending theschool day or year.

Year Five – If a school fails to make AYP for three years afterit has been identified for school improvement, the abovestudent services and school-level options apply. In addition,the school can be reopened as a charter school, turned over toa private management company, or be subject to a statetakeover.

Title III of the No Child Left Behind Act makes certain changesto the Bilingual Education Act, now called the EnglishLanguage Acquisition, Language Enhancement, and AcademicAchievement Act. These include:

Program Structure. With a few changes, the BilingualEducation Act remains a competitive program until at least$650 million is appropriated. At that point, the EmergencyImmigrant Education Program and the Bilingual Education Actare consolidated and converted into a new formula-basedprogram.2 The purpose of the program remains the same: toprovide high-quality instructional programs so that ELLs learnEnglish and attain high levels of academic achievement.

National Reservation of Funds. The legislation reservesfunds at the national level for certain activities, including a6.5% reservation of the federal funding amount for a nationalprofessional development program that will be competed atthe national level to colleges/universities.

State-to-School District Distribution of Funds. States willreceive the money and from that amount reserve up to 15% ofstate funds to support instructional services, tutoring, andmentoring for recently-arrived immigrant children and youth.States will provide funds to school districts based on thenumber of ELLs in the district. Districts will be required to

NCLR ■ Page 2

F a c t S h e e t ■ N o C h i l d L e f t B e h i n d A C T

Accountability and Sanctions

Report Cards

Bilingual Education

NCLR ■ Page 3

F a c t S h e e t ■ N o C h i l d L e f t B e h i n d A C T

provide the state with a program plan, which must complywith Title I provisions to test children annually in English whohave been in the United States for three or more consecutiveyears, and show how schools will help students meet academicachievement and English-language-acquisition benchmarks.

Program Improvement. Language instruction educationalprograms will be required to develop an improvement plan,including professional development and programimprovements, if they fail to meet performance objectives fortwo consecutive years. If programs are still failing after fourconsecutive years, then the programs will be required torevamp their approach to educating ELLs, and states maywithhold funds or require replacement of personnel related toprogram failure.

Parental Involvement. The final measure retains current lawregarding notifying parents of their child’s participation inbilingual or ESL programs. The agreement does provideparents of ELLs with greater choice and information regardingservices for their children, and expands outreach to involveparents more effectively in programs.

Time Limits. The agreement does not include House languageto require a three-year limit on language instruction for ELLs.Programs will be held accountable for ensuring that studentsmake gains in learning English and academic achievement.

Use of Native-Language Instruction. The legislation doesnot impose a restriction on schools which would have allowedthem only to use English-only programs, and allows schooldistricts to choose an approach that will help ELLs succeedacademically.

Performance Objectives and Accountability. The legislationrequires states to establish annual achievement objectives forthe development and attainment of English proficiency ofstudents enrolled in language instruction educationalprograms. Programs will be held accountable for meetingthese annual targets, while also meeting AYP to ensure thatstudents keep up with challenging academic standards.

The No Child Left Behind Act makes significant changes to the21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st Century)program, which provides funding for after-school programs.These include:

Definition of Community Center. The previous law defined21st Century “community centers” as school-based after- orbefore-school centers. The new law allows other entities tooperate these centers, including community-basedorganizations (CBOs). The new law also explicitly definesthese centers as entities that help students meet academicstandards and provide family literacy services, which includeadult ESL services.

Funding Stream. The previous law sent funds to schooldistricts that applied for a 21st Century grant. The new lawwill send funds to states based on the proportion of Title Ifunds they receive compared to other states. These funds willthen be competed to school districts, CBOs, or consortia ofsuch eligible entities. Priority will be given to school districtsor CBOs in areas with Title I students.

Services Allowed. The new law allows grant recipients toprovide a variety of services, including:

◗ Academic enrichment services, particularly in reading,math, and science

◗ Arts and music education activities

◗ Tutoring services (including those provided by seniorcitizen volunteers) and mentoring programs

◗ Programs that provide after-school activities for ELLswhich emphasize language skills and academicachievement

◗ Recreational activities

◗ Telecommunications and technology education programs

◗ Expanded library service hours

◗ Programs that promote parental involvement and familyliteracy

◗ Programs that provide assistance to students who havebeen truant, suspended, or expelled, to allow thesestudents to improve their academic achievement

◗ Drug- and violence-prevention programs, counselingprograms, and character education programs

After-School Programs

NCLR ■ Page 4

F a c t S h e e t ■ N o C h i l d L e f t B e h i n d A C T

The No Child Left Behind Act retains parent provisions fromthe Elementary and Secondary Education Act, which provideschool-based parental involvement services. In addition, itincludes the Parental Information and Resource Centers from

Goals 2000, which provide state-level parent assistanceservices. It also establishes Local Family Information Centers,which provide parent information and training through CBOsto parents of Title I students.

Parental Involvement

Sources: No Child Left Behind Act Conference Report; National Association for Bilingual Education