August 25, 2008
The Honorable Jim McBride
State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Wyoming Department of Education
2300 Capitol Ave, 2nd Floor
Hathaway Building
Cheyenne, Wyoming 82002-0050
Dear Superintendent McBride:
I am writing regarding our review of Wyoming'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. After reviewing the evidence submitted, I am pleased to note that it appears that Wyoming has met these requirements for 2007-08. However, Wyoming must submit final participation data to ensure that all students were included in the assessment system. Please let us know within 10 days of receipt of this letter when Wyoming will have those data available so that we can confirm that Wyoming has, in fact, met the basic requirements for administering science assessments in 2007-08. States that do not provide the outstanding evidence to verify that they have met the four criteria for the 2007-08 school year have not met the basic requirements of the statute and will be subject to consequences, such as withholding of Title I, Part A administrative funds.
In 2008-09, Wyoming must provide evidence for peer review that demonstrates full compliance of its science standards and assessments. In anticipation of that required peer review, Wyoming 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 Wyoming's efforts to monitor student progress toward meeting challenging science standards.
Based on the evidence received from Wyoming, which was reviewed by the peers and Department staff, we have concluded that Wyoming does not yet meet all the statutory and regulatory requirements of section 1111(b)(1) and (3) of the ESEA. Specifically, Wyoming must submit evidence of its science academic achievement standards, alignment of those standards with grade-level content, and technical quality of the science assessments that were administered for the first time in 2007-08. The complete list of evidence needed to address these concerns is enclosed with this letter. We have scheduled peer reviews for states' science assessments for the weeks of October 25 through November 2, 2008, and March 23 through 27, 2009. All materials for review must be provided to the Department three weeks before the peer review is scheduled.
Please keep in mind that science standards and assessments represent one piece of a state's complete standards and assessment system, which also includes regular and alternate assessments for reading/language arts and mathematics. As stated in my letter to you on November 13, 2007, Wyoming's standards and assessment system for reading/language arts and mathematics is currently designated Approval Pending. In order to be fully approved, Wyoming must demonstrate that all components of its standards and assessment system as administered in 2008-09, including general and alternate assessments for reading, mathematics, and science, comply with all ESEA requirements for standards and assessment systems.
We look forward to working with Wyoming 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 Don Watson (Don.Watson@ed.gov) or Lauren Prehoda (Lauren.Prehoda@ed.gov) of my staff.
Sincerely,
Kerri L. Briggs, Ph.D.
Enclosure
cc: Governor Dave Freudenthal
Joe Simpson
Lesley Wangberg
Last Modified: 09/18/2008
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