A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

Part III -- Guidance for Reviewers for Reviewing Comprehensive Plans Developed Under the Goals 2000: Educate America Act

Opportunity-to-Learn Standards or Strategies

Does the State plan establish standards or strategies for providing all students the opportunity to learn to challenging academic standards, based on those factors as the State deems appropriate to ensure that all students receive a fair opportunity to achieve the knowledge and skills described in State content and student performance standards? (Section 306(d))

Some examples might include strategies:

  • to increase family involvement in learning;
  • to promote safe and secure schools;
  • to increase access to high quality instructional staff, curricula, instructional materials, and technologies for all children, such as providing distance learning for students in rural areas;
  • to incorporate research and effective practices focussed on supporting achievement among children and youth of diverse backgrounds;
  • to identify and assist schools where not all children are meeting high academic standards and to provide additional professional development, instructional time and resources and alternative approaches for students with special needs;
  • to create school-to-work opportunities as a method for improving student achievement;
  • to promote partnerships among schools, communities, and institutions of higher education.

NOTE: The Goals 2000 Act provides flexibility for States and localities to exercise their own discretion regarding how and whether to implement opportunity-to-learn standards or strategies. (Section 306(d)(2))

Making Improvements Systemwide

How effective are the strategies to assist local educational agencies (LEAs) and schools throughout the State in helping all students reach the challenging State standards? (Section 306(g))

Some examples might include:

  • procedures to disseminate the State's vision for education reform throughout the State and make it a meaningful and integral part of each school's purpose;
  • grassroots involvement of parents, educators, business, post- secondary institutions, and the general public in setting the standards, developing strategies to reach those standards, and continued involvement as partners in implementing the strategies;
  • strategies for expanding each year the number of LEAs and schools meaningfully involved in reforms aimed at high standards and goals, through strategic planning, discretionary grants, programs, etc.;
  • incentive and recognition efforts, such as exemplary programs, funding incentives for closing achievement gaps, etc.;
  • provisions to assist low-achieving schools;
  • integration of Title I, Eisenhower professional development, Special Education, Perkins, and other funding programs in order to better aid effective teaching and learning practices;
  • partnerships with Indian tribes and Bureau of Indian Affairs- funded schools, where applicable.

Clarification Note on Technology

The Goals 2000 legislation identifies technology as a powerful tool for improving student learning and achievement in all schools. In Section 317 and elsewhere, the Act places great emphasis on the need to integrate the use of technology throughout the State improvement plan. Peer reviewers, therefore, are expected to be cognizant of how the State plan proposes to use technology to advance their overall strategies for improving teaching and learning. Among the many possible uses of technology, the reviewers should focus on its application to the promotion of higher student achievement, to the participation of all schools and school districts in reform efforts, to the development and implementation of an educational technology support system, and to the promotion of shared usage of resources. More specific elements to support these focus areas can be found in section 317(d).

Dropout Strategies

How well does the plan include strategies to enable local educational agencies (LEAs) and schools to meet the needs of school-aged children who have dropped out of school and to bring them back into the educational system? (Section 306(i))

Does the plan provide strategies to help children who have dropped out of school meet State content and performance standards? (Section 306(i))

Some examples might include:

  • strategies to help parents and schools prevent children from dropping out of school, such as by providing information about educational support or alternative settings;
  • effective means of identifying children who have dropped out of school;
  • strategies to collaborate with other agencies and community groups, such as libraries, to help children who have dropped out of school receive the support they need to complete their education;
  • strategies to include dropouts in the State's school-to-work opportunities system and make linkages with the State's adult education system;
  • strategies to create short-term and long-term incentives for students to return to school, such as through work-study contracts under which schools find part-time jobs in or out of school for students.

Governance, Accountability and Management

What are the State's strategies for improving governance, accountability, and management of the State's education system to help all students perform at high levels? (Section 306(e))

Some examples might include:

  • making information on school quality and student performance available to parents, communities, and educators, such as through the use of a school report card that includes State test scores, expenditures, and dropout rates;
  • holding LEAs and schools accountable for improved student performance, providing incentives for improvement, and developing effective means for assisting or otherwise intervening in LEAs or schools not making adequate progress;
  • organizational change within the SEA that will enable it to be both flexible towards and supportive of local improvement efforts;
  • strategies to involve a broad range of teachers, students, and parents in their school's decision-making;
  • use of technology for improving accountability and management;
  • provisions to move decision-making closer to learners, including charter schools and public school choice.

Effective Benchmarks and Timelines

Does the plan include specific benchmarks of improved student performance and timelines for reaching them? (Section 306(k))

Are there clear benchmarks of progress toward carrying out the major components of the plan (including the elements described in Section 306 (c) through (j) in the Act) and timelines for doing so? (Section 306(k))

Does the State have in place or under development the necessary data systems to track and report to the public, in meaningful and understandable ways, progress toward reaching the benchmarks? (Section 306(k), 306(m))

Some examples might include benchmarks and timelines relating to:

  • the development of content and student performance standards geared to high achievement, and the curriculum, instructional strategies, and assessments that are aligned with these standards;
  • indicators of progress toward implementation of a data system that will track and report to the public the achievement of students, with breakdowns for schools, LEAs, and diverse student populations;
  • progress in student achievement toward the challenging standards;
  • progress in meeting the National Education Goals and/or State goals;
  • the schools' performance in enabling students to achieve to high standards;
  • increased parental and community participation in reform activities;
  • the creation of professional development programs and accreditation certificates tied to challenging standards;
  • the development of a means of providing technical assistance to districts and schools to help them implement reforms.

Program Improvement and Regular Review

How will the State monitor progress toward implementing the State and local improvement plans? (Section 306(m))

What procedures will the State use, consistent with State law, to assist schools that are not meeting the State content standards voluntarily adopted by the State within established timelines? (Section 306(m))

What process will the State use for periodically reviewing and updating any State content standards, State student performance standards, State opportunity- to-learn standards or strategies, and State assessments? (Section 306(o))

Some examples might include:

  • indicators and timelines to measure the progress of local reform efforts and the improvement of student achievement;
  • provisions for technical assistance to schools that need help;
  • mechanisms for obtaining input and feedback from educators, parents, students, post-secondary institutions, the general public, and employers on reform efforts and implementation of standards and assessments;
  • the development of a statewide technology network to collect, analyze, and report progress on school improvement at the State and local levels;
  • mechanisms for identifying and disseminating exemplary practices for helping all students meet the standards;
  • the development of periodic needs assessments that involve the community;
  • mechanisms to modify plans or programs based on feedback.

Coherent and Coordinated Strategies

How effectively are the strategies contained in the plan integrated to help all children learn to high standards and meet the State's education goals? (Section 302(a), 306(n)(2)(B))

How well does the plan show integration between the State's ongoing education reform approach and the use of Goals 2000 funds? (Section 302)

Some examples of integration might include:

  • strategies to assist parents in helping their children work towards achieving high standards, with specific strategies aimed at effectively reaching and involving the parents of children who are economically disadvantaged, of limited English proficiency, or who have disabilities;
  • increasing the access of all students and families to various community services at a school or a nearby site;
  • strategies to help parents learn about the use of technology in their children's education;
  • strategies to tie all programs, including programs in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and the School-to-Work Opportunities Act, to the achievement of high standards by all students;
  • the development of mechanisms for LEAs to submit consolidated local plans or applications to the State;
  • a demonstration of a clear relationship between Goals 2000 subgrants and State grant programs or local district or school planning requirements;
  • strategies to enable decision-making to include the community and be close to the learners.

Does the plan set out strategies to coordinate vocational education, federally supported under the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Education Act, with wider State reform efforts? (Section 306(l))

Does the State plan describe how planning and implementation of the State's School-to-Work Opportunities system will be incorporated into its reform efforts? Does the State plan include a description of how secondary schools will be modified in order to provide career guidance, the integration of academic and vocational education, and learning at work sites? (Section 306(j))

Some examples might include:

  • State and local strategies that show how school-to-work opportunities systems and vocational education programs will incorporate the State's academic content and performance standards while also focusing on high-level career skills;
  • professional development activities that include academic and vocational teachers and support the integration of the State's content and performance standards with vocational and school-to- work curricula;
  • the development of business-education-labor partnerships to expose students to integrated and high quality academic and work experiences, such as apprenticeships, internships, and mentorships;
  • joint planning and development at the State and local level for the integration of academic and vocational education through a coherent sequence of courses;
  • guidance, counseling, and career development activities and services which prepare students for college and careers in which there will be future opportunities for advancement;
  • a description of how rural and remote schools will provide school-to-work and vocational education opportunities and how technologies and telecommunications can and are supporting those efforts.

[Part II] [Part IV of Guidance for Reviewers for Reviewing
Comprehensive Plans Developed Under the Goals 2000]