ED Expands Growth Model Program

On Tuesday, July 3, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) expanded the growth model pilot to include Alaska and Arizona, which are immediately approved to use a growth model for the 2006-2007 school year. The pilot program now includes eight fully approved states and one conditionally approved state. According to a department spokeswoman, no additional states will be considered for the program.

The states and their approval dates include:
1. North Carolina (May 2006)
2. Tennessee (May 2006)
3. Delaware (November 2006)
4. Arkansas (November 2006)
5. Florida (June 2007)
6. Iowa (May 2007)
7. Ohio (Conditional, May 2007)
8. Alaska (July 2007)
9. Arizona (July 2007)

All applicant states had to meet the bright-line principles required to participate in the growth model program. Those principles require that the applicants, at least:
• Ensure that all students are proficient by 2014 and set annual state goals to ensure that the achievement gap is closing for all groups of students;
• Set expectations for annual achievement based upon meeting grade-level proficiency and not upon student background or school characteristics;
• Hold schools accountable for student achievement in reading/language arts and mathematics;
• Ensure that all students in tested grades are included in the assessment and accountability system, hold schools and districts accountable for the performance of each student subgroup, and include all schools and districts;
• Include assessments, in each of grades 3 through 8 and high school, in both reading/language arts and mathematics that have been operational for more than one year and have received approval through the NCLB standards and assessment review process for the 2005-06 school year. The assessment system must also produce comparable results from grade to grade and year to year;
• Track student progress as part of the state data system; and
• Include student participation rates and student achievement as separate academic indicators in the state accountability system.

Resources:
Alyson Klein, “U.S. OKs Pilot ‘Growth Models’ for Last 2 States,” Education Week, July 3, 2007.
“Secretary Spellings Approves Additional Growth Model Pilots for 2006-2007 School Year,” Press Release, U.S. Department of Education, July 3, 2007.
Author: DAD