Question of the Month
June
2006
What are some
examples of state efforts to ensure that remediation services are
provided to low-achieving students?
As states have become more active and
stringent in the assessment of K-12 students, they also have stepped
up efforts to ensure that low-achieving children are identified and
helped. Examples inside and outside this region illustrate some of the
strategies being employed to help students "catch up" and
attain academic success (including high school graduation).
In 2005, when they made changes to the
state’s assessment system, Michigan lawmakers included two
stipulations: 1) individual reports must be produced detailing whether
each student’s scores meet state expectations and standards, and 2)
schools must identify students in "extraordinary need" of
assistance.
Ohio requires
that its school districts provide intervention services to students
who score below proficient on an achievement test or perform below
grade level on a diagnostic assessment. The state earmarks funding for
these remediation services, which include small-group instruction
during the school day and one-on-one tutoring after school. A May 2005
report on Ohio’s academic intervention services is available at www.loeo.state.oh.us.
According to the Education Commission
of the States (ECS), one common state remediation strategy is summer
school. For example, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota and
Ohio are among the 12 states that offer summer programs to help
students reach reading proficiency levels. States such as Illinois,
Nebraska and Minnesota target remedial instruction in math
and/or science. Indiana is one of nine U.S. states that offer
summer programs designed exclusively to help high school students meet
graduation requirements.
An August 2005 study by ECS (www.ecs.org/html/issue.asp?issueID=225)
highlights various other remediation policies, including
early-intervention efforts in Minnesota and Wisconsin.
Minnesota requires its school districts to identify young students at
risk of not learning to read by the second grade. These districts must
then offer special help — summer school or intensified reading
instruction, for example — to these students. Wisconsin has a
special grant program for school districts wanting to provide
assistance to students (in preschool to fifth grade) with significant
academic needs. A state-approved assessment is used to measure these
students’ progress.
Examples of state strategies outside
the region include:
• Virginia’s Project Graduation,
which offers special summer academies for high school students,
provides distance learning opportunities, and disseminates "best
practices" for schools to help struggling students and track
their progress;
• the Massachusetts Academic Support
Services Program, which targets help for students at high risk of
failing the state’s high school exit exam; and
• a requirement in Washington that
school districts develop learning plans for students who do not meet
state-assessed standards.
For
more information on this or any other public policy issue, please call
630-925-1922 or complete the online
form for research services.
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