NCLB Capacity Building

Following are resources, documents, and tools CAS SCASS Study Groups have identified or created to assist states in meeting the requirements of NCLB: Data-Based Decision Making: Resources for Educators CAS Member States, in partnership with Edvantia (formerly AEL), have designed and implementation accountability systems for determining Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) in order to meet Title I requirements. The next challenge facing states in meeting Title I requirements is to assist schools identified under AYP as in need of improvement. To meet this challenge, states will be required to help districts provide technical assistance to schools in need of improvement in the use of data to guide school improvement efforts and monitor the impact of those efforts on student results. NCLB requirements will move state departments into levels of technical assistance to districts that require tools for data analysis, processes for systemic change based on data-driven decision-making, and skills for close assistance to schools. The Data-Based Decision Making: Resources for Educators web-based tool is designed for use by states, their district and school support teams, and distinguished educators, technical assistance providers, and districts to support continuous use of data in job-embedded school improvement during and between face-to-face assistance. For more information about the web-based tool, click on the icon below. District Audit Tool: A Method for Determining Level of Need for Support to Improvement CAS Member States, in partnership with Edvantia (AEL), have completed a three year project to help states prioritize their delivery of support to districts and schools that fail to meet AYP targets. The District Audit Tool includes methods for States to diagnose district functioning in research-based dimensions that correlate to positive student achievement gains on standards-based assessments. Scoring Guides and an Excel based Metric Calculator for examining intensity of need are diagnostic tools for making the priority determination. Using this diagnostic data, States can determine which districts require the highest levels of support and provide an objective method for allocating scarce resources. To find the District Audit Tool document, click on the section title above. For more information about the Metric Calculator, click on the icon below. Challenges in Assessment under NCLB CAS States have produced a series of e-papers focused on issues related to transitions in assessment to meet NCLB requirements. With testing at every grade level, the inclusion of new assessments in the system raises question about how they should be scaled and what their relationship to the old assessments will be. All of these issues raise concerns about the impact of these changes on the validity and reliability of the total assessment system, critical to the accuracy of decisions based primarily on these assessments. Alignment between standards, assessments, and their use in school reform is embedded in the challenges faced by States. Thus far the group has completed these papers in the series, all available for download on the CCSSO Website: Framework for Transitioning from IASA to NCLB Consistency for State Achievement Standards under NCLB Creating Aligned Standards and Assessment Systems Alternative Assessments for Students with Significant Cognitive Disabilities - Strategies for States' Prepartation for and Response to Peer Review  Additional resources, documents and tools are being identified and created. Check this page periodically for additions.

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document last updated 7/24/2008