What is No Child Left Behind?
How does No Child Left Behind impact Minnesota schools?
What does NCLB mean for your school?
What does NCLB mean for students?
What tests are used?
Are all students tested?
When are students tested?
What is considered proficient student achievement in Minnesota?
How is progress measured?
Besides test scores, what other factors are used to measure progress?
What does NCLB mean for Minnesota teachers?
What does NCLB mean to paraprofessionals?
How is the public informed about schools’ progress?
What happens to schools that don’t achieve AYP?

What is No Child Left Behind? back to top
The No Child Left Behind Act is the latest version of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), a federal law first enacted in 1965. The law has been reauthorized, or tuned up, every six to eight years since then.

ESEA established many of the “Titles” schools operate under today. Title I, for example, provides services to low income students. Titles II and IV provide funds for innovative new practices. Title IX provides equal access for girls and young women to all aspects of education, including athletics.

President Bush called the latest version of the ESEA “No Child Left Behind.” It was signed into law on Jan. 8, 2002, and will be reauthorized again in 2007.

How does No Child Left Behind impact Minnesota schools? back to top
No Child Left Behind (NCLB) has sweeping accountability measures that have impacted every public school in Minnesota. The law requires states to establish statewide academic standards for all students, statewide testing on those standards and a comprehensive reporting system to demonstrate progress.

What does NCLB mean for your school? back to top
The law requires that your school, like all others in Minnesota and the nation, achieve academic proficiency for all students by the 2013-14 school year.

Each school is required to demonstrate that it is making “Adequate Yearly Progress” (AYP) toward meeting the 2013-14 goal.

Each state determines what constitutes academic proficiency and Adequate Yearly Progress.

What does NCLB mean for students? back to top
Students will be tested far more often than in the past. The Minnesota Legislature has adopted new statewide standards in reading, math and science that will be tested by the state to meet NCLB requirements. Students are tested annually in reading and math in grades 3-8 and at least once in grades 10-12. Starting in 2007-08, students will be tested in science at least once in grades 3-5, 6-9 and 10-12.

What tests are used? back to top
In Minnesota, the primary tests are the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments (MCAs). These state-developed tests are now aligned to state content standards and called MCA II. Students also take the Basic Skills Test, which is required for graduation. But this test does not meet the new federal requirements for a statewide accountability system. Expect it to be revised.

In addition, all states must participate in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) reading and math testing for grades 4 and 8, provided the federal government pays the cost of participation.

Are all students tested? back to top
NCLB requires that all students be included in the statewide accountability system. This includes students with disabilities as well as students with Limited English Proficiency (LEP). LEP students may take the Test of Emerging Academic English (TEAC) in lieu of the MCAs in reading. A small percentage of severely disabled students are allowed to take alternative assessments.

Test results are reported not only for the entire school population, but also for the following subgroups: LEP, special education, low income, African Americans, American Indians, white, Hispanic and Asian.

When are students tested? back to top
Beginning in spring 2006, MCA IIs will be administered across the state in late April or early May.  Test results will be back within 42 days.

What is considered proficient student achievement in Minnesota? back to top
In Minnesota, the state has established a test score of 1420 or Level 3 as the “proficient” level for all students taking the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments (MCA). Student results on the MCA IIs will be reported in five achievement levels:

• Level 1 – Significant gaps in knowledge and skills for grade level work.
• Level 2 – Partial skills and knowledge required for grade level work.
• Level 3 – Solid grade level knowledge and skills.
• Level 4 – Advanced knowledge and skills compared to grade level peers.
• Level 5 – Superior knowledge and skills compared to grade level peers.

How is progress measured? back to top
The state establishes proficiency goals which all subgroups must meet for the school to achieve AYP. Even if a school is doing well, it may fail to make AYP based on the results of one subgroup.

Besides test scores, what other factors are used to measure progress? back to top
All students in every subgroup must make adequate yearly progress in academics and at least one other factor – graduation rates for high schools (80 percent) and attendance for elementary and secondary and middle schools. Proficiency results may be averaged over a three-year period.

NCLB also requires that 95 percent of students in each subgroup take the test.

What does NCLB mean for Minnesota teachers? back to top
NCLB requires teachers in core academic areas to meet federally established minimum professional qualifications, which the law terms “highly qualified.”

Each teacher must meet all these requirements:

• Hold a valid full state teacher license for the core academic subject he or she is teaching.
• Have a minimum of a bachelor’s degree.
• Have a major (for secondary teachers) or sufficient subject matter competency (for elementary and middle-level teachers) in the core subject areas; or pass the Praxis II Content Test in a core academic subject area or demonstrate subject matter competence via an alternative process called HOUSSE that helps some licensed teachers become “highly qualified.”

Ninety-six percent of Minnesota teachers meet the federal “highly qualified” standard.

What does NCLB mean to paraprofessionals? back to top
NCLB also requires that all paraprofessionals working in Title I schools be “highly qualified” by the end of the 2005-06 school year. Paraprofessionals must demonstrate that they are highly qualified in one of three ways:

• Complete an associate degree.
• Complete two years of study at an institution of higher education.
• Demonstrate knowledge of reading, writing, and math and the ability to assist in instructing these subjects, through a rigorous, state or local assessment. This assessment must be equivalent to the rigor of two-year college-level work.

How is the public informed about schools’ progress? back to top
All school districts and the state are required to prepare an annual report card that shows the academic progress of all students and each subgroup of students, the graduation rate of high schools, the attendance rate of middle and elementary schools, the percentage of students who took the statewide test and the percentage of staff (teachers and paraprofessionals) who meet the NCLB “highly qualified” standard.

What happens to schools that don’t achieve AYP? back to top
All schools are expected to make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP), but only Title I schools, schools that serve a high percentage of poor or minority students, face sanctions if they do not.

• If a Title I school fails to make adequate yearly progress for two consecutive years, it will receive technical assistance from the school district and/or the Minnesota Department of Education. It must offer students the choice to attend another public school. It must provide transportation to students who choose other schools in the district – and it must use up to 5 percent of its Title I funds to do so.
• If a Title I school fails to make adequate progress for three consecutive years, the school will also be required to offer “supplemental education services” chosen by parents, including private tutoring. These schools and districts must reserve up to 20 percent of Title I funds to cover the cost of tutoring, transportation and other supplemental services.
• If a Title I school fails to make adequate progress for four consecutive years, the district must implement “corrective actions,” such as replacing staff or adopting new curriculum.
• If a Title I school does not make adequate progress for five consecutive years, it would be identified for reconstitution. It would be required to set up an alternative governance structure, such as reopening as a charter school or turning operation of the school over to the state.

NCLB resources
Education Minnesota NCLB page
Basics, updates and FAQs.

Elementary and Secondary Education Act
Full text of the NCLB law.