The Standards and Assessments Peer Review

Program Overview

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) established requirements for the standards and assessment systems of states. The requirements include seven different components or sections, each section including several critical elements. In order to address these requirements states prepare and submit a report with accompanying documentation. This report and documentation constitutes a state’s “submission”. The submission is then reviewed by Peer Reviewers, national experts knowledgeable in the fields of standards and assessment.

In reviewing state submissions two things have been noticed. First, states often fail to submit evidence to address a critical required element and secondly, in cases where evidence is submitted the documentation may not adequately address the full scope or intent of the element.

This User’s Guide provides general information to help states prepare their submissions for review, a summary of the essential requirements for each section of the submission and information regarding specific elements that is often overlooked.

This Guide should be viewed as a companion piece to the Standards and Assessments Peer Review Guidance: Information and Examples for Meeting Requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, updated January 12, 2009.

Because the requirements for NCLB are comprehensive, as noted earlier a state’s submission can be quite substantial in terms of volume and substance. This may present a challenge for reviewers in ensuring that the information actually needed is present and that the information provided meets the requirements. To facilitate the review and enhance the efficiency of the process we have developed general recommendations that apply to the entire submission from a state.