No State Left Behind--main

February 2002

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This report was prepared by the Education Commission of the States (ECS) under the auspices of the State Education Policy Network, a partnership of the Council of Chief State School Officers, ECS, Education Leaders Council, National Association of State Boards of Education, National Conference of State Legislatures and National Governors Association. Preparation was partially supported by two grants from the U.S. Department of Education (R215U0100 and R215U0122). Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Department of Education.

Contents
Acknowledgments	Appendix A
Introduction	Alignment of Title I and General State Accountability Systems, 1999-2000
Section 1 - Accountability and Assessment	Appendix B
State Academic Standards and Student Achievement Standards Adequate Yearly Progress Annual Student Testing English-Language Proficiency Assessments Participation in Biennial NAEP State Report Cards Consequences for Low-Performing Schools/School Improvement School Support and Recognition	Examples of State Approaches to Comprehensive Data Systems
Section 2 - Reading/Literacy	Appendix C
Reading First Initiative Early Reading First	Resources for Adequate Yearly Progress
Section 3 - Teaching Quality	Appendix D
Qualifications of Teachers Qualifications of Paraprofessionals Teacher Qualification Disclosure Teacher and Principal Training and Recruiting Funds Transition to Teaching Early Childhood Educator Professional Development Troops to Teachers	Description of Corrective Actions for Low-Performing Schools
Section 4 - School Choice and Innovative Programs	Appendix E
Innovative Programs Charter School Programs Credit Enhancement Initiatives To Assist Charter School Facility Acquisition, Construction and Renovation Voluntary Public School Choice Magnet Schools Assistance Foundations for Learning Grants (Promotion of School Readiness Through Early Childhood Emotional and Social Development)	Teacher Preparation and Certification
Section 5 - Flexibility	Appendix F
State and Local Transferability Act State and Local Flexibility Demonstration Rural Education Initiative	Elementary and Secondary Education Act, Appropriations to States and Territories
	Appendix G
	Elementary and Secondary Education Act, Appropriations to States and Territories, Title I Funding
	Appendix H
	Elementary and Secondary Education Act, Appropriations to States and Territories -- Other Programs
	Appendix I
	Related ECS Publications

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

No State Left Behind: The Challenges and Opportunities of ESEA 2001 is the result of collaborative work by ECS staff members under the leadership of Mary Fulton, policy analyst in the ECS Clearinghouse. Kathy Christie, vice president for information management and ECS Clearinghouse, contributed significantly to the overall content of the report.

Among the staff who contributed to the research and writing of various sections were: Michael Allen, Kirstin Craciun, Michael Griffith, Twanna Latrice Hill, Jessica McMaken, Ravay Snow-Renner and Todd Ziebarth.

Organization and editing were done by Josie Canales, James Frey, Cathy Walker, Sherry Freeland Walker, Suzanne Weiss and Anna West.

ECS would also like to thank the following people for reviewing and commenting on various drafts of this document: Milton Goldberg, ECS Distinguished Senior Fellow and senior adviser, National Alliance of Business; Sandy Kress, former senior adviser to President Bush on education; and Nelson Ashline, ECS consultant.

INTRODUCTION

On January 8, 2002, President George W. Bush signed into law the revised Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), the most significant federal education policy initiative in a generation.

This new law, a potent blend of new requirements, incentives and resources, poses enormous challenges for states. It sets deadlines for them to expand the scope and frequency of student testing, revamp their accountability systems and guarantee that every classroom is staffed by a teacher qualified to teach in his or her subject area. It requires states to make demonstrable progress from year to year in raising the percentage of students proficient in reading and math, and in narrowing the test-score gap between advantaged and disadvantaged students. And it pushes them to rely more heavily on research-based approaches to improving school quality and student performance.

But the new law also presents states with a range of new resources, tools and opportunities.

Federal spending on ESEA programs will increase significantly (see Appendix F). Nearly $1 billion a year will be provided over the next five years to help states and districts strengthen K-3 reading programs, and there will be increased federal support for before- and after-school programs, school libraries, charter schools and "reading readiness" programs for preschoolers in high-poverty neighborhoods. States and school districts will be given added flexibility in several areas, including teacher professional development and education technology, to use federal funds as they see fit. And Title I, the largest ESEA program, has been revised to give an extra financial boost to school districts with high concentrations of poor children.

Implementing the reforms embodied in the revised ESEA will be a tall order. Only 15 states currently have testing programs that meet the new requirements, for example, and most states do not have the infrastructure to support the level of data collection, disaggregation and reporting that the new law requires. In an election year, with recession sapping state tax revenues and some of the new law's deadlines kicking in as early as this fall, states will have their hands full deciding not just how to comply with the new law, but how to take maximum advantage of its potential to improve student achievement.

The Education Commission of the States (ECS) stands ready to assist state leaders in the complex and challenging task at hand. This analysis, No State Left Behind: The Challenges and Opportunities of ESEA 2001, is the latest in a series of reports that began last year when the legislation was first introduced (see Appendix I). The series will culminate in a set of policy briefs on its major components - accountability, literacy, teaching quality, finance, flexibility and choice, and the collection, analysis and use of data.

As you will see, this report provides:

A summary of the major provisions and requirements of the new law
Information about timelines and funding levels
An updated look at states' readiness to implement various provisions of the new law
A set of "self-assessment" questions for policymakers to consider as they make decisions about how to move forward.

In preparing this report, ECS drew on a variety of sources ranging from our own 50-state surveys and analyses to government reports and other publications. The data used in this report represent the best information available at this time and may not reflect recent changes in state policy. We invite state leaders to contact ECS to share information about such changes.

In the coming months, ECS also will sponsor a series of conferences and offer technical assistance focused on comprehensive approaches to implementing the revised ESEA, and how states can use it to enhance and accelerate their education reform efforts.

For more information about these services, click on the "ESEA Essentials" button on the home page of the ECS Web site (www.ecs.org). This special section features a downloadable version of this report, ESEA-related news and links to various sites, including the full text of the law and to other useful sources of information and support.

Editor's note: Throughout this document, the terms "school districts" and "state education departments" are used rather than the terms "local education agencies" and "state education agencies," which are used in the ESEA 2001 law. Likewise, the term "English Language Learners" is used in place of the federal term, "Limited English Proficient."

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The Education Commission of the States is a nonprofit, nationwide organization that helps state leaders shape education policy. It is ECS policy to take affirmative action to prevent discrimination in its policies, programs and employment practices.

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