October 16, 2008
The Honorable Deborah Gist
State Superintendent for Education
Office of the State Superintendent of Education
Government of the District of Columbia, One Judiciary Square
441 4th Street, NW, Suite 350 North
Washington, DC 20001
Dear Superintendent Gist:
I am writing regarding our review of the District of Columbia's science assessments under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), as amended by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB).
As outlined in my letter of February 28, 2008, states had to meet four basic requirements in science for the 2007-08 school year. In particular, each state was required to: (1) have approved content standards in science; (2) administer a regular and alternate science assessment in each of three grade spans; (3) include all students in those assessments; and (4) report the results of the regular and alternate science assessments on state and district report cards. Based on the evidence submitted, I have concluded that the District of Columbia did not meet these requirements for 2007-08. Specifically, the District of Columbia has not provided evidence that all high school students are included in the biology assessment. Consequently, the Department intends to withhold five percent of the District of Columbia's fiscal year 2008 Title I, Part A administrative funds, totaling $23,051, pursuant to section 1111(g)(2) of the ESEA. The District of Columbia has the opportunity, within 20 business days of receipt of this letter, to show cause in writing why the Department should not withhold these funds. If the District of Columbia cannot show cause, the Department will withhold five percent of the District of Columbia's fiscal year 2008 Title I, Part A administrative funds, which will then revert to Title I, Part A funds available for allocation to schools in the District of Columbia.
In 2008-09, the District of Columbia must provide evidence for peer review that demonstrates full compliance of its science standards and assessments. In anticipation of that required peer review, the District of Columbia chose to participate in an optional technical assistance peer review in May 2008. I appreciate the efforts that were required to prepare for the technical assistance peer review and hope that the process provides useful feedback that will support the District of Columbia's efforts to monitor student progress toward meeting challenging science standards. I also recognize that this past June marked the one year anniversary of the development of the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) and understand that you have been working to reorganize and establish an effective unit.
Based on the evidence received from the District of Columbia, which was reviewed by the peers and Department staff, I have concluded that the District of Columbia's science assessments do not yet meet all the statutory and regulatory requirements of section 1111(b)(1) and (3) of the ESEA. Specifically, I have concerns with the academic achievement standards, full assessment system, technical quality, alignment, inclusion and reporting of the science component of the District of Columbia Comprehensive Assessment System (DC CAS) and the District of Columbia Comprehensive Assessment System Alternate (DC CAS-Alt). The enclosed list of evidence describes the information and documentation that the District of Columbia will need to provide to be able to demonstrate that its science standards and assessments satisfy all relevant ESEA requirements. We have scheduled peer reviews for states' assessments for the weeks of October 25 through November 2, 2008, and March 23 through 27, 2009. A state must submit evidence to the Department three weeks prior to the review in which it is participating.
Please keep in mind that science assessments represent one piece of a state's complete standards and assessment system, which also includes general and alternate assessments for reading and mathematics. As stated in my letter to you on April 25, 2008, the District of Columbia's standards and assessment system is currently designated Approval Pending. The District of Columbia must demonstrate that all outstanding components of its standards and assessment system as administered in 2008-09, including the general and alternate assessments for reading, mathematics, and science, comply with all ESEA requirements for state standards and assessment systems. I commend OSSE for working with me and my staff to sign the Memorandum of Agreement on October 3, 2008 demonstrating the District of Columbia's intent to come into compliance and administer a fully approved standards and assessment system for reading and mathematics in the 2008-09 school year.
We look forward to working with the District of Columbia to support a high-quality standards and assessment system, of which science standards and assessments are an integral part. If you would like to discuss this further, please do not hesitate to contact Sue Rigney (Sue.Rigney@ed.gov) or Jessica Morffi (Jessica.Morffi@ed.gov) of my staff.
Sincerely,
Kerri L. Briggs, Ph.D.
Enclosure
cc: Mayor Adrian Fenty
Bill Caritj
Kimberly Statham
Last Modified: 10/24/2008
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