A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

Background

The 1988 Hawkins-Stafford Amendments to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act were intended to stimulate reform and improvement in the Chapter 1 program, the Federal government's largest elementary and secondary education program. The Amendments emphasized accountability for results through the program improvement provisions, schoolwide change through the schoolwide project provisions, increased parent involvement, and better coordination with other education programs.

The Follow-Up State Survey collected information on State administration of the program during the 1991-92 school year, the third year of implementation of the new Chapter 1 program requirements. The final report of this study presents findings of a survey of Chapter 1 coordinators in State Educational Agencies (SEAs).

Findings

Program Improvement

• Though considerable energy has gone into setting standards, meeting standards, and identifying schools for improvement, more than half of the SEAs identify schools for improvement only when Chapter 1 students' achievement gains are below the minimum standard set in the statute (i.e., no gain).

• On average, 50 percent of identified schools test out of program improvement (meaning the student achievement scores show the minimum gain required by the State) before carrying out their program improvement plans.

• In school year 1991-92, about 14 percent of all Chapter 1 schools were implementing plans for program improvement.

• State Committees of Practitioners composed of local administrators, teachers and parents, as required by the statute, are increasingly recommending higher standards for identifying schools for program improvement.

Parent Involvement

Districts are using more strategies to involve parents in their children's education. For example, 21 percent of districts now implement strategies for involving parents who lack literacy skills or whose native language is not English, compared with 8 percent in 1989-90.

Schoolwide Projects

Schoolwide projects continue to increase and in the 1991-92 school year represented about 29 percent of eligible schools (schools with low-income levels of 75 percent or higher). Of those that have completed their 3-year evaluations, virtually all met the requirements that allow them to renew their status as Chapter 1 schoolwide projects.

Coordination

Coordination between Chapter 1 and the regular school program has increased as a focus of State monitoring of local Chapter 1 programs in 40 States. Twenty-one States also reported they were involved in collaborative efforts between Chapter 1 and other social services through State-level interagency committees.

Conclusions

The findings from this study show that the Hawkins-Stafford Amendments have yet to result in fundamental educational change in Chapter 1 programs across the country. More attention seems to be paid to the procedural requirements of the law rather than to implementing major reforms in Chapter 1 schools. Another problem is that SEA staff feel they do not have sufficient time to carry out major leadership initiatives. On average, State coordinators reported spending between 2 and 3 person-days per year in each program improvement school implementing a joint (State-local) program improvement plan. The report suggests that more resources and support may be needed to help the State staff move beyond their traditional responsibilities associated with program administration.

Copies of the report are available by writing to the Planning and Evaluation Service, 600 Independence Avenue, SW, Room 4165, Washington, DC 20202 or by phoning (202) 401-0590.

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Last update September 1996 (swz).