PIRLS 2006 Encyclopedia

PIRLS 2006 EncyclopediaUnited StatesOverview of the Education SystemIn the United States, government-financed public education is considered to be a nationalinterest, a state responsibility, and locally operated. The goal of the U.S. Department ofEducation, which was elevated to a Cabinet-level department in 1980, is to ensure equaleducational opportunities for every individual and to promote improvements in thequality and usefulness of education through federally supported research, evaluation,and sharing of information. 3The U.S. Constitution does not mention education as a federal function, thus, itremains a state responsibility. Each of the states and extra-state jurisdictions hasestablished a state department of education, headed by a state superintendent orcommissioner (with oversight from a state board of education). The role of the stateeducation departments is to distribute federal and state financial resources, establishpolicy for graduation requirements and teacher certification requirements, providecurriculum guidance, conduct student assessments, and ensure that efficient and effectiveschool opportunities are made available to every eligible child in the state.States have delegated the operation of schools to local governments, which in turnhave assigned the role to elected or appointed school boards. Local school boards raisefunds, establish policy and operating regulations, and hire superintendents to manage andoperate the district. Superintendents hire principals, teachers, and other staff and carry onthe day-to-day activities of operating schools, with the oversight of the school board. Thelocal district is responsible for curriculum decisions, standards implementation, facilitiesconstruction and maintenance, and operation of school programs. In the 2003–04 schoolyear, there were 14,383 school districts in the United States. 4 The variation in district sizeis reflected in the fact that 6% of the districts (850) contained 52% of the total students.Furthermore, 70% of the districts (10,124) contained only 17% of the students.In 2001, Congress renewed the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA).This legislation provides funding for a variety of education programs, the main one beingassistance to schools to improve the learning of children from low-income families. Therenewed law is known as the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB). According toNCLB, beginning no later than the 2005–06 school year, a state must administer annualassessments in reading/language arts and math in each of grades 3 through 8 and at leastonce in grades 10 through 12. 5 The law requires states to report, at the school level, on theachievement of students tested. Test results must be reported in terms of the percentagesof students in at least three levels of academic achievement (e.g., basic, proficient, andadvanced). Furthermore, assessment results must be disaggregated and reported by sex;major racial/ethnic groups; English language proficiency status; students with disabilitiesas compared to all other students; economically disadvantaged students as comparedto students who are not economically disadvantaged; and migrant status. States areexpected to apply sanctions to those schools not meeting federal requirements for studentprogress in achievement. While this legislation has brought about an increased educationoversight and direction by the federal government, the U.S. education system continuesto be decentralized.424