What No Child Left Behind Does for Parents and Children

· Supports learning in the early years, thereby preventing many learning difficulties that may arise later

· Provides more information for parents about their child's progress

Under No Child Left Behind, every state must measure every public school student's progress in reading and math in each of grades 3 through 8 and at least once during grades 10 through 12. Texas schools use the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS test) to measure Math, Language Arts, Science and Social Studies.

· Alerts parents to important information on the performance of their child's school

No Child Left Behind requires states and school districts to give parents easy-to-read, detailed report cards on schools and districts, telling them which ones are succeeding and why. Included in the report cards are student achievement data broken out by race, ethnicity, gender, English language proficiency, migrant status, disability status and low-income status; as well as important information about the professional qualifications of teachers. With these provisions, No Child Left Behind ensures that parents have important, timely information about the schools their children attend.

· Supports 21st Century Technology Skills

In this new era of education, children will no longer be trapped in the dead end of low-performing schools.

Making the Most of Education

Under No Child Left Behind, schools must use their federal funds to make needed improvements. Schools must plan the use of 21st Century technologies and assist teachers in gain on-going professional development to become life-long learners and users of technology. Integration of technology skills and real-world application into the learning environment will assist all students in gaining valuable experiences for future success.

· Improves teaching and learning by providing better information to teachers and principals

Annual tests to measure children's progress provide teachers with independent information about each child's strengths and weaknesses. With this knowledge, teachers can craft lessons to make sure each student meets or exceeds the standards. In addition, principals can use the data to assess exactly how much progress each teacher's students have made and to better inform decisions about how to run their schools.

· Ensures that teacher quality is a high priority

No Child Left Behind defines the qualifications needed by teachers and paraprofessionals who work on any facet of classroom instruction. It requires that states develop plans to achieve the goal that all teachers of core academic subjects be highly qualified by the end of the 2005-06 school year. States must include in their plans annual, measurable objectives that each local school district and school must meet in moving toward the goal; they must report on their progress in the annual report cards

· Gives more resources to schools - Putting Reading First

Today, more than $7,000 on average is spent per pupil by local, state and federal taxpayers. States and local school districts are now receiving more federal funding than ever before for all programs under No Child Left Behind: $23.7 billion, most of which will be used during the 2003-04 school year. This represents an increase of 59.8 percent from 2000 to 2003. A large portion of these funds is for grants under Title I of ESEA: Improving the Academic Achievement of the Disadvantaged.

· Allows more flexibility

In exchange for the strong accountability, No Child Left Behind gives states and local education agencies more flexibility in the use of their federal education funding. As a result, principals and administrators spend less time filling out forms and dealing with federal red tape. They have more time to devote to students' needs. They have more freedom to implement

innovations and allocate resources as policymakers at the state and local levels see fit, thereby giving local people a greater opportunity to affect decisions regarding their schools' programs.

· Focuses on what works

No Child Left Behind puts a special emphasis on implementing educational programs and practices that have been clearly demonstrated to be effective through rigorous scientific research. Federal funding will be targeted to support such programs. Federal funds are available to help reading teachers in the early grades strengthen old skills and gain new ones in instructional techniques that scientifically based research has shown to be effective.

What Arp ISD is Doing to Help Students Gain an Adequate Yearly Progress

Increased Student & Parent Support through:

· LightSpan Accounts for students & parents to assist in language acquisition skills Pre-K through 5th grades

· iStation Accounts for students and parents to assist early readers in acquiring essential pre-reading and reading skills.

· Achieve Now! Accounts for students to assess early reading and language acquisition skills via online and/or PlayStation technologies

· Texas Primary Reading Inventory, Accelerated Reading & STAR Reports

· Tutorials and Acceleration Classes

Support Teachers through:

· Professional Development in Reading & Writing Workshops for all Pre-K-5 teachers

· Professional Development in 21st Century Technologies (MS Class Server, Wireless Networks, TPRI Online, Zire Technologies) for all staff members

Accountability through Arp ISD Assessment Policy

1. A Yearly Expectation Assessment to measure Adequate Yearly Progress

2. Six Weeks & End of Course Benchmark Assessments to Measure Mastery of Texas Essential Knowledge & Skills

3. Reading Assessments for all students

4. TDS3.com for teaching and measuring TAKS tested skills in all 4 cores subjects (Math, Language Arts, Science, Social Studies)

5. SAT & ACT Preparation

6. Career & Technology dual credit and articulated course certifications for high school students