Press Releases

For Immediate Release: 2 March 2009

Report Examines State Supports for Low-Performing Schools and Districts

Boston, Mass. — A new Issues & Answers Report published by the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) describes and analyzes how eight state education agencies (SEAs) work with low-performing schools and districts under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB). The Regional Educational Laboratory Northeast and Islands (REL-NEI) produced the report, which includes information from SEAs in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York State, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

The report examines the criteria SEAs use for identifying low-performing schools and districts, the number of schools and districts categorized in each state as low performing, the services and supports SEAs offer those schools and districts, and the rationales SEA staff give for their approaches to intervention. Among other observations, the researchers found a common experience across the SEAs: In each, more schools were newly identified as low performing in the 2007–08 academic year than moved out of that designation.

“No Child Left Behind requires states to provide intensive support to Title I schools that fail to make adequate yearly progress for two or more successive years, yet the law also offers states flexibility in how they do this,” said Project Co-Director Sonia Caus Gleason, a consultant with Learning Innovations at WestEd. “This report describes how states are approaching this task, their rationales for particular interventions, and the research that informs these strategies.”

On Wednesday, March 25, REL-NEI will host a webinar on the report: “How Eight State Education Agencies in the Northeast and Islands Region Identify and Support Low-Performing Schools and Districts.” For more information, visit http://www.relnei.org/events.upcoming.statesupports.php.

The research was requested by senior education agency officials in the Northeast and Islands Region who want to understand what states are doing to support low-performing schools and districts and how different approaches and interventions work. Because the eight states and jurisdictions examined in the report are diverse, policies and supports vary to suit different contexts, student populations, educational resources, academic needs, and local traditions.

“What Puerto Rico schools might need is different from what Vermont or New York schools need, but all state education officials share the common goal of ensuring that their students achieve,” said Project Co-Director Leslie Hergert of Education Development Center, Inc. (EDC), which administers REL-NEI in partnership with WestEd.

The researchers found that the eight SEAs differ widely in how they define low-performing schools and districts, determine academic proficiency, calculate adequate yearly progress, and offer assistance to schools and districts that need it. During the data-collection period, from July 2007 through April 2008, each SEA provided services required under NCLB, with major differences in several areas, including:

• The percentage of schools identified as low performing ranged from 11 percent in Vermont to more than 50 percent in Puerto Rico.
• The percentage of districts identified as low performing ranged from 0 percent in Maine to 28 percent in Rhode Island.
• Three SEAs focused their supports directly at the school level, while three other SEAs focused their interventions at the district level; the last two SEAs directly supported both districts and schools.
• Three states provided supports to non-Title I schools that are low performing, even though that is not required by NCLB.

The report further describes the methodology and limitations of the data collection, explains the requirements set forth by NCLB regarding state accountability systems, and provides brief profiles of the eight SEAs’ supports and interventions for low-performing schools and districts. It was written by Hergert, Caus Gleason, and Carole Urbano, with Charlotte North.

Download the report from the IES website and detailed state profiles and additional supplemental materials from the REL-NEI website.

For more information about this report , e-mail Ashley Gaddis: agaddis@edc.org.

The Regional Educational Laboratory Northeast and Islands (REL-NEI) is run by Education Development Center, Inc. (EDC), the American Institutes for Research (AIR), and WestEd’s Learning Innovations program. REL-NEI is one of 10 Regional Educational Laboratories funded by the Institute of Education Sciences at the U.S. Department of Education. REL-NEI provides rigorous research that is relevant to national education priorities, responsive to local needs, and usable for policy and practice. Visit www.relnei.org.

This project has been funded at least in part with federal funds from the U.S. Department of Education under Contract Number ED-06-CO-0025. The content of this publication does not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the U.S. Department of Education nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.

Education Development Center, Inc. (EDC) is a global nonprofit organization that develops, delivers, and evaluates innovative programs to address some of the world’s most urgent challenges in education, health, and economic development. Celebrating its 50th year, EDC manages more than 300 projects in 35 countries. Visit www.edc.org.