June 29, 2006
TThe Honorable Clifford B. Janey
Superintendent of Public Schools
District of Columbia Public Schools
825 North Capitol Street, N.E.
Suite 900
Washington, DC 20002
Dear Superintendent Janey:
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). For the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS), this review examined evidence of DCPS’ standards and assessment system under the Title I requirements in both the Improving America’s Schools Act of 1994 (IASA) and the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB). I appreciate the efforts required to prepare for the peer review. As you know, with the implementation of NCLB’s accountability provisions, each school, district, and State is held accountable for making adequate yearly progress (AYP) towards having all students proficient by 2013–14. An assessment system that produces valid and reliable results is fundamental to a State’s accountability system.
The peer review of DCPS’ standards and assessment system occurred May 10-12, 2006. The results of this peer review indicate that additional evidence is necessary for DCPS to meet the statutory and regulatory requirements of Section 1111(b)(1) and (3) of the ESEA under both the IASA and NCLB.
With respect to the Title I standards and assessment requirements under NCLB, as you will recall, the Department laid out new approval categories in a letter to the Chief State School Officers on April 24, 2006. These categories better reflect where States collectively are in the process of meeting the statutory standards and assessment requirements and where each State individually stands. Based on these new categories, the current status of DCPS’ standards and assessment system is Approval Pending. This status indicates that DCPS’ standards and assessment system administered in the 2005–06 school year has two fundamental components that are missing or that do not meet the statutory and regulatory requirements, in addition to other outstanding issues that can be addressed more immediately. These deficiencies must be resolved in a timely manner so that the standards and assessment system administered next year meets all requirements. The Department believes that DCPS can address the outstanding issues by the next administration of its assessment system, that is, by the end of the 2006–07 school year.
DCPS’ system has two fundamental components that warrant the designation of Approval Pending. Specifically, the Department cannot approve DCPS’ standards and assessment system due to outstanding concerns with the alignment of the alternate assessment based on alternate achievement standards (the District of Columbia Alternate Assessment, or DC CAS-Alt) to grade-level content standards and the technical quality of all assessments, particularly the reliability and the appropriateness of accommodations. Please refer to the enclosure for a detailed list of the evidence DCPS must submit to meet the requirements for an approved standards and assessment system.
Accordingly, DCPS is placed under Mandatory Oversight, pursuant to 34 C.F.R. §80.12. As you know, DCPS has already been designated a “high-risk grantee” under 34 C.F.R. §80.12, and special conditions addressing other matters have been placed on DCPS’ grant awards. Based on the Mandatory Oversight status, there will be additional specific conditions placed on DCPS’ fiscal year 2006 Title I, Part A grant award. DCPS must provide, not later than 25 business days from receipt of this letter, a plan and detailed timeline for how the District will meet the remaining requirements to come into full compliance by the end of the 2006–07 school year. Beginning in September 2006, the District of Columbia must also provide bi-monthly reports on its progress implementing the plan. If, at any time, the District of Columbia does not meet the timeline set forth in its plan, the Department will initiate proceedings, pursuant to Section 1111(g)(2) of the ESEA, to withhold 15 percent of the District of Columbia’s fiscal year 2006 Title I, Part A administrative funds, which will then revert to local educational agencies (schools in DCPS and eligible charter schools) in the District of Columbia.
As you know, DCPS has not yet received approval of its standards and assessment system under IASA. Based on the recommendations of the peer reviewers and the evidence you have provided, we believe that DCPS administered an assessment system in grades 3–8 and high school in 2005–06 that the evidence to date suggests is fully compliant with the statutory and regulatory requirements under IASA, which are more limited than those under NCLB. We recognize, however, that there are certain elements that cannot be completed by July 1, 2006, due to the nature of assessment development, such as setting academic achievement standards. The enclosure lists the evidence that is needed to establish compliance with the IASA requirements. In the plan and timeline requested above, DCPS should ensure that this evidence is submitted by December 1, 2006. Please know that, if DCPS does not meet the timeline for submitting this evidence, the Department will withhold, as required by section 1111(g)(1) of the ESEA, 25 percent of DCPS’ Title I, Part A State administrative funds for fiscal year 2006.
I know you are anxious to receive full approval of your standards and assessment system and we are committed to helping you get there. Toward that end, let me reiterate my earlier offer of technical assistance. We remain available to assist you however necessary to ensure you administer a fully approved standards and assessment system. 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 request reconsideration of the conditions, please do not hesitate to contact Catherine Freeman (catherine.freeman@ed.gov) or Sue Rigney (sue.rigney@ed.gov) of my staff.
Sincerely,
Henry L. Johnson
Enclosure
cc: Mayor Anthony Williams
Dr. Robert C. Rice
Last Modified: 07/03/2006
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