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

Publication Date: April 2006

Publisher: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Author(s):

Research Area: Education

Type:

Abstract:

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLBA) contains several 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). Under the NCLBA, in addition to previous requirements for standards and assessments in reading and mathematics at three grade levels, all states participating in Title I-A are required to implement standardsbased assessments for pupils in each of grades 3-8 in reading and mathematics by the end of 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. Grants to states for assessment development are authorized, and $407.6 million has been appropriated for FY2006.

In addition, the NCLBA requires all states receiving grants under 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.

Under a High School Initiative associated with its FY2006 and FY2007 budget requests, the Administration proposed adding requirements for state reading and mathematics tests in two additional high school grades, and state NAEP tests in reading and mathematics in grade 12. Issues regarding expanded ESEA Title I-A pupil assessment requirements that may be addressed by the 109th Congress: Will states meet the expanded assessment requirements on schedule? Will federal grants be sufficient to pay the costs of meeting the assessment requirements? What might be the impact on NAEP of requiring state participation, as well as the impact of NAEP on state standards and assessments? What are the likely major benefits and costs of the expanded ESEA Title I-A pupil assessment requirements? And, should the assessment requirements be expanded further, as proposed by the Administration's High School Initiative?