June 28, 2007

The Honorable Joseph B. Morton
State Superintendent of Education
Gordon Persons Building
PO Box 302101
Montgomery, Alabama 36130-2101

Dear Superintendent Morton:

Thank you for submitting additional assessment materials for peer review under the standards and assessment requirements of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), as amended by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB). We appreciate the efforts required to prepare for the latest peer review that occurred in May 2007.

Based on the recommendations of the peer reviewers and the evidence you have provided to date, the status of Alabama's standards and assessment system is Approval Expected. This status indicates that a State administered an assessment system in grades 3-8 and high school in 2006-07 that the evidence to date suggests is fully compliant with the statutory and regulatory requirements. There are certain elements, however, that are not yet complete due to the nature of assessment development. Please note that full approval of the Alabama standards and assessment system is dependent upon whether the evidence that still needs to be submitted for peer review meets the NCLB standards and assessment requirements.

Alabama must provide, within two weeks of the date of this letter, a timeline for completing the evidence needed to satisfy the remaining requirements, as indicated in the enclosure to this letter. Please note that, because there are elements of Alabama's system that are not yet complete, we will place a condition on Alabama's fiscal year 2007 Title I, Part A grant award, which will continue until Alabama submits the required evidence and receives full approval of its standards and assessment system.

The Department remains committed to working with Alabama to meet the requirements of NCLB and to raising the performance of all children. Toward that end, let me reiterate my earlier offer of technical assistance to you. If you have any additional questions or want to request technical assistance, please do not hesitate to contact Grace Ross (grace.ross@ed.gov) or Patrick Rooney (patrick.rooney@ed.gov) of my staff.

Sincerely,

Kerri L. Briggs, Ph.D.
Acting Assistant Secretary

Enclosure

cc: Governor Bob Riley
Dr. Gloria Turner

4.0 - TECHNICAL QUALITY

1. AAA criterion-related validity evidence.
2. Validity and reliability in the form of technical manuals and/or reports for the AAA.
3. Inter-rater reliability reports for the AAA.
4. The administration, scoring, analysis, and reporting process associated with the AAA.
5. For the AAA, provide documentation of the standard setting process and final results.

7.0 - REPORTING

1. Populated student school, district (system), and State reports including AAA information and performance descriptors.

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