US Ed. Dept approves states assessment system

Each state`s assessment system must earn federal approval by the end of the 2006-2007 school year for states to avoid financial penalties. Dr. Ken James, Arkansas Commissioner of Education, received a letter from USDOE Assistant Secretary Henry Johnson stating that a review demonstrated that Arkansas` standards and assessment system satisfies the No Child Left Behind requirements. Arkansas was notified by USDOE in June that the state`s assessment system was placed in "approval pending" status, largely because it used a portfolio GÇô or a series of tasks GÇô to assess the academic achievement of students with limited English abilities instead of the Benchmark Exam administered to other students. In August, the state Department submitted a new plan in which it agreed to assess these students using the regular exam but with accommodations such as lengthened testing time and the use of language dictionaries. Full approval of the assessment system also finalizes approval of the state`s "growth model" that was submitted for use in calculating schools` adequate yearly progress under NCLB. This model credits schools for improving the scores of individual students even though they have not reached "proficient" on the Benchmark Exams. Under NCLB, all students much score proficient or above by the 2013-2014 school year. (Copyright 2006 Newsroom Solutions, LLC)