On May 24, U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings announced the approval of two additional growth-based accountability models. Iowa's model has been immediately approved for use in the 2006-07 school year. Ohio's model was also approved on the condition that the state adopt a uniform minimum group size for all subgroups, including students with disabilities and limited English proficiency, in Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) determinations for the 2006-07 school year. The Department intends to approve no more than 10 models for the pilot program. In May 2006, North Carolina and Tennessee received approval to implement their models during the 2005-06 school year. Then, last November, Arkansas, Delaware, and Florida (conditionally) received approval to implement their models during the 2006-07 school year. Thus, three slots remain.
The growth models seek to track the performance of individual students over time to determine progress made to meet AYP under No Child Left Behind (NCLB), rather than taking a snapshot of a student's performance at one given time. To be approved for the pilot program, states must submit detailed plans to the Department of Education on assessment systems that will be used to measure student progress.
CEC supports a growth model approach to assessing a student's performance for means of meeting AYP. Read CEC's policy on Assessment and Accountability
More information on the Department's Growth Model Program
