Request to Amend Accountability Plan – North Carolina – NCLB Policy Letters to States

October 23, 2006

The Honorable June St. Clair Atkinson
Superintendent of Public Instruction
North Carolina Department of Public Instruction
Education Building
301 North Wilmington Street
Raleigh, North Carolina 27601-2825

Dear Superintendent Atkinson:

I am writing in response to North Carolina’s request to amend its State accountability plan under Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), as amended by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB). Following our discussions with your staff, the changes that are aligned with NCLB are now included in an amended State accountability plan that North Carolina submitted to the Department on October 17, 2006. I am pleased to fully approve North Carolina’s plan, which will be posted on the Department’s website. A summary of the approved amendments is enclosed with this letter.

As you know, any further requests to amend the North Carolina accountability plan must be submitted to the Department for review and approval as required by section 1111(f)(2) of Title I. I would also like to commend you again for meeting the requirements of NCLB and having a fully approved assessment system. North Carolina must continue to provide information to the Department for peer review as it continues to develop its standards and assessments.

Please also be aware that approval of North Carolina’s accountability plan for Title I, including the amendments approved above, does not indicate that the plan complies with Federal civil rights requirements, including Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, and requirements under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

NCLB has provided a vehicle for States to raise the achievement of all students and to close the achievement gap. We are seeing the results of our combined endeavor; achievement is rising throughout the nation. I appreciate North Carolina’s efforts to raise the achievement of all students and hold all schools accountable. If you need any additional assistance to implement the standards, assessments, and accountability provisions of NCLB, please do not hesitate to contact Patrick Rooney (Patrick.Rooney@ed.gov) or Zollie Stevenson (Zollie.Stevenson@ed.gov) of my staff.

Sincerely,

Henry L. Johnson

Enclosure

cc: Governor Michael Easley
Lou Fabrizio

Amendment to the North Carolina Accountability Plan

The following is a summary of the State’s approved amendments. Please refer to the Department’s website (www.ed.govhttps://www2.ed.gov/admins/lead/account/stateplans03/index.html) for the complete North Carolina accountability plan.

Starting points, annual measurable objectives (AMOs), and intermediate goals (Elements 3.1, 3.2, and 3.2b)

Revision: North Carolina administered a new mathematics assessment in grades 3-8 in 2005-06. Consequently, North Carolina revised its starting point, AMOs, and intermediate goals for the mathematics assessments in grades 3-8. The current and proposed goals are provided in the table below. In addition, North Carolina will calculate safe harbor for mathematics results in grades 3-8 using the results of a linking study to equate the 2004-05 and 2005-06 results.

Decision Letters on State Accountability Plans