The Department of Education needs to improve the way it tracks
how states are implementing key provisions of the “no child
left behind” act of 2001, the Government Accountability Office
has said.
It cited “tight timeframes for determining school progress and
problems with student data,” as barriers to implementation,
and said that measuring achievement with faulty data could
lead to faulty conclusions about the extent to which schools
are meeting math and reading proficiency goals.
DoE monitoring state data quality policies in an effort to help
states improve their data systems, and after helping states
develop their plans to raise test scores, it conditionally
approved all of them – 28 of them fully — as of July 2004,
according to GAO-04-734.
It said DoE had assessment experts conduct site-specific
evaluations to help states with qualified NCLBA approval,
and although DoE officials are continually monitoring those
states, the department lacks “a written process that
delineates how and when each state will meet its conditions.”
By the 2005-06 school year, NCLBA requires states to increase
assessments. DoE has developed guidance to review and approve
the more extensive standards and assessments that states will
be making at that point, but again, DoE has yet to establish
“a written plan that clearly identifies the steps required,
interim goals, review schedules, and timelines,” said GAO.
It said that without such plans, states are in danger of
falling short of the programs goals.
