ESEA TITLE I, PART B: State Assessments Grants

Funding

$378M, allocated by formula and awarded competitively

Eligibility

SEAs and LEAs.

Sample Use of Funds

SEAs and LEAs have flexibility to carry out a wide variety of activities consistent with their specific needs. Activities could include:

• Refining State assessments to ensure their continued alignment with the challenging State academic standards and to improve the alignment of curricula and instructional materials;
• Ensuring the provision of appropriate accommodations available to English learners and children with disabilities to improve the rates of inclusion in regular assessments of such children, including professional development activities to improve the implementation of such accommodations in instructional practice;
• Eliminating any unnecessary assessments, which may include paying the cost associated with terminating procurement contracts; auditing State assessment systems and ensuring that LEAs audit local assessments;
• Supporting the dissemination of best practices from LEAs or other States that have successfully improved assessment quality and efficiency to improve teaching and learning;
• Conducting an audit of local assessments; allowing for collaboration with institutions of higher education, other research institutions, or other organizations to improve the quality, validity, and reliability of State academic assessments beyond the requirements for such assessments under ESSA;
• Designing the report cards and reports required under ESSA in an easily accessible, user friendly-manner that cross-tabulates student information by any category the State determines appropriate, as long as such crosstabulation does not reveal personally identifiable information about an individual student; and is derived from existing State and local reporting requirements.

This grant has an extensive list of uses of funds. View the complete ESSA Federal Funding Guide below for the full list.

Key Provision: Deferral

State compliance with the Title I assessment requirements is contingent on the annual appropriations level for the State Assessments program. For any year for which Congress appropriates less than a “trigger amount” of $369.1 million, States may defer the commencement or administration of State assessments.

For more information, contact Tom Zembar at 202.822.7109 or [email protected]

Next Steps

You have a right to know if your state or district applied for the funds and influence how they are spent. Most grants have already been disbursed to your state and district, but others may require an application.

Once you find a grant, make sure it’s appropriate for your intended use. Then, contact your local NEA Affiliate to organize an effort to hold your district and state accountable for how the money is used.