State and Local Implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act, Volume IV—Title I School Choice and Supplemental Educational Services: Interim Report
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Background

A key aim of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) is to provide additional educational options to parents of students in low-performing Title I schools, specifically the opportunities to move their child to a higher-performing school or enroll their child in supplemental educational services. The purpose of this report is to examine the implementation across the country of the Title I school choice and supplemental educational services provisions in the 2003-04 and 2004-05 school years. The report presents findings on the implementation of parental choice options from the first year of the National Longitudinal Study of No Child Left Behind and the Study of State Implementation of Accountability and Teacher Quality Under No Child Left Behind. Findings in this report are based on data from state-level interviews, surveys of nationally representative samples of district officials, principals, and teachers, surveys of parents in eight districts, surveys of supplemental service providers in 16 districts, and student-level demographic and achievement data in nine districts.

Key Findings

Overall, states, districts, and providers were working to implement Title I school choice and supplemental services, and many parents were selecting these options for their students. Most districts reported that they offered Title I school choice and supplemental services if they were required to do so, and the number of students participating in both options (especially supplemental services) has increased substantially. Nonetheless, only a small proportion of eligible students actually participated in the choice options available to them. Three notable issues that may have contributed to reduce participation: Absence of available options, timing of notification of parents about school choice and supplemental educational services options, and problems with communication with parents.

Title I school choice and supplemental educational services participants represented about 1 percent and 17 percent, respectively, of eligible students in 2003-04.

In a sample of nine large urban districts, students participating in the Title I school choice and supplemental services options had lower prior achievement, on average, than other students in their districts.

In the nine districts, students who were eligible for the Title I school choice and supplemental services options were more likely to be minority students, compared with students who were not eligible for these options.

Most districts required to offer Title I school choice reported that they did offer this option to eligible students; however, districts were more likely to provide options at the elementary level than at the middle and high school levels.

A majority of districts (63 percent) reported that parents could choose from at least three supplemental service providers, and 38 percent reported five or more.

Low participation rates in school choice and supplemental services may be related to problems communicating with parents.

Most participating students received supplemental services from a private provider, but school districts and public schools that had been approved as providers also served a substantial share of students.

Supplemental service providers, in a subsample of 16 districts, described their services as consisting, on average, of about 57 hours per student per year.

Districts reported spending an average of $875 per participating pupil on Title I supplemental educational services in 2003-04.

Parents surveyed in eight of the large urban districts reported satisfaction with the school choice and supplemental services options.

As of early 2005, most states were working to develop and implement systems for monitoring and evaluating Title I supplemental service providers' effectiveness, but few had databases that would permit statewide examination of the achievement results of participating students.

This report is available on the U.S. Department of Education's Web site at www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/opepd/ppss/reports.html#title.


Last Modified: 04/07/2008