April 26, 2007
The Honorable Jim McBride
Superintendent
Wyoming Department of Education
Hathaway Building
2300 Capitol Avenue
Cheyenne, Wyoming 82002-0050
Dear Superintendent McBride:
Thank you for your participation in the U.S. Department of Education's (Department) standards and assessment peer review process under Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), as amended by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB).
In the letter to you on June 22, 2006, the Department enumerated the fundamental components as well as a number of additional technical issues that had not met the standards and assessment requirements of the ESEA. Specifically, the Department could not approve Wyoming's standards and assessment system due to outstanding concerns with the alternate assessment based on alternate academic achievement standards (the Alternate Proficiency Assessments for Wyoming Students, or PAWS-Alt) and the process for standards setting for the new assessments based upon the field trial and operational assessments.
In January 2007, the peer reviewers and Department staff evaluated additional evidence submitted by Wyoming. Based on the evidence received, we have determined that Wyoming's system still does not meet all of the statutory and regulatory requirements of Section 1111(b)(1) and (3) of the ESEA. I appreciate you taking the time last month to meet with Catherine Freeman and Sue Rigney to discuss the results of that peer review and I hope it helped you in preparing for the next peer review. I know that Wyoming submitted additional evidence that will be reviewed by the peers next week; I encourage you to bring in all available evidence for review.
Because the peer review did not resolve all outstanding issues, the status of Wyoming's standards and assessment system remains Approval Pending. The enclosure provides a detailed list of the evidence Wyoming must still submit to meet the requirements for a fully approved standards and assessment system. Please note that Wyoming must address all outstanding issues in order to have a fully compliant standards and assessment system under the ESEA by the end of the 2006-07 school year. Wyoming continues to be under Mandatory Oversight, as authorized under 34 C.F.R. ยง80.12, and the condition on your Title I, Part A grant award will continue.
I appreciate the steps Wyoming has taken toward meeting the requirements of the ESEA, and I know you are anxious to receive full approval of your standards and assessment system. We are committed to helping you get there and remain available to provide technical assistance regarding issues that you identify. Toward that end, let me reiterate my earlier offer of technical assistance. We will schedule an additional peer review when you have evidence available to further evaluate your system. If you have any questions or would like to discuss this further, please do not hesitate to contact Sue Rigney (Sue.Rigney@ed.gov) or Patrick Rooney (Patrick.Rooney@ed.gov) of my staff.
Sincerely,
Kerri L. Briggs, Ph.D.
Acting Assistant Secretary
Enclosure
cc: Governor Dave Freudenthal
Joe Simpson
Lesley Wangberg
Last Modified: 04/27/2007
|