School Reform and Improvement

What Does the Legislation Say?

Title I of the Improving America's Schools Act Title I of the Improving America's Schools Act (IASA) of 1994 , provides direction and encouragement for ongoing school improvement through both the targeted assistance schools program and the schoolwide program. Together they help educators view reform as a means of improving academic achievement for all students, especially those most challenged by new high content and performance standards.

Targeted Assistance Schools Program

The targeted assistance schools program provides funds for services for our nation's neediest children-- those children who are from low-income families and who are failing academically or are at risk for failing. Requirements for targeted assistance programs, though not as comprehensive in focus as schoolwide programs, call for the coordination of resources from targeted assistance funding with other district, State and Federal resources to help children meet State content and performance standards. More importantly, the legislation also requires that schools receiving these funds review on an ongoing basis the progress of students participating in targeted assistance programs and reform such programs if students do not make adequate progress toward meeting State standards (Section 1115 [c] [2]). Further encouragement for school improvement through both Title I targeted assistance and schoolwide programs is evident in the law's requirements concerning the Local Educational Agency's (LEA) annual review. Any LEA that receives funds from Title I must annually review whether each school receiving such funds is making adequate yearly progress toward enabling its students to meet State standards. The results of these yearly assessments are communicated to individual schools so that they may refine their instructional programs, if necessary. Schools that do not meet the requirements for adequate yearly progress are designated in need of school improvement. These schools must, through consultation with parents, the LEA, and the school support team, develop a school plan or revise an existing one that is designed to improve the academic achievement of participating students to meet the goal of adequate yearly progress. Integral to this school improvement plan is professional development focused on improving the skills of school staff and technical assistance, such as that provided by the Region III Comprehensive Center, to help the school develop and implement its school improvement plan (Section 1116 [a-c]).

Schoolwide Program

Title I's flagship program for K-12 educational reform and improvement is the schoolwide program. The rationale behind the schoolwide approach is based on the tenet that strengthening curriculum and assessment, improving instruction in all academic areas, and providing enrichment activities beyond the regular school day or year for all students in high-poverty schools broadens opportunities for the neediest students. Thus, the purpose of a schoolwide program is to upgrade the entire educational program in a school, and, as with targeted assistance programs, funds targeted for the schoolwide may be combined with other State, Federal and local funds in order to do so. Schools eligible for schoolwide funds must serve a school attendance area in which not less than 50 percent of the children are from low-income families or not less than 50 percent of the children enrolled in the school are from such families. Schoolwide programs must include the following components: a comprehensive needs assessment, schoolwide reform strategies, instruction by highly-qualified professional staff, professional development, strategies to increase parental involvement, plans for assisting preschool children in the transition from early childhood programs to the elementary school, measures to include teachers in decision-making regarding the use of assessments, and activities to ensure that students having difficulty meeting standards are given extra assistance. (Section 1114 [a-b]).