Supplemental Priorities for Discretionary Grant Programs, 27637-27641 [2011-11650]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 92 (Thursday, May 12, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27637-27641]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-11650]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[Docket ID ED-OS-2010-0011]
RIN 1894-AA00


Supplemental Priorities for Discretionary Grant Programs

AGENCY: Department of Education.

ACTION: Notice of final supplemental priorities and definitions for 
discretionary grant programs; correction.

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SUMMARY: On December 15, 2010, the Department of Education published in 
the Federal Register (75 FR 78486) a notice announcing final 
supplemental priorities and definitions for the Department's 
discretionary grant programs (Supplemental Priorities NFP). This notice 
makes several technical corrections to the Supplemental Priorities NFP.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Margo Anderson, U.S. Department of 
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 4W311, Washington, DC 20202-
5910. Telephone: (202) 205-3010; or by e-mail: Margo.Anderson@ed.gov.
    If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), call the 
Federal Relay Service (FRS), toll free, at 1-800-877-8339.
    Individuals with disabilities can obtain this document in an 
accessible format (e.g., braille, large print, audiotape, or computer 
diskette) on request to the contact listed in this section.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Supplemental Priorities NFP included several technical errors 
that we are correcting in this notice. In addition, for ease of 
reference, we are including the full text of all of the priorities and 
definitions (as corrected) in Appendix A to this notice.

Corrections

    In FR Doc. 2010-31189, published in the Federal Register on 
December 15, 2010 (75 FR 78486), make the following corrections:
    1. On page 78496, in the first column, under the heading Changes, 
in the fifth line, the word ``regular'' is inserted before the word 
``high''.
    2. On page 78497, in the first column, under the heading Priority 
8--Increasing Postsecondary Success, in paragraph (d), the word 
``regular'' is inserted before the word ``high''.
    3. On page 78503, in the first column, in paragraph (d), a comma is 
inserted after the word ``programs'' in the fifth line of paragraph 
(d).
    4. On page 78507, in the first column, under the heading Priority 
3--Improving the Effectiveness and Distribution of Effective Teachers 
or Principals, paragraph (b)(2) is corrected to read as follows:
    (2) Data that include, in significant part, student achievement (as 
defined in this notice) or student growth (as defined in this notice) 
data and may include multiple measures in States or local educational 
agencies that do not have the teacher or principal evaluation systems 
described in paragraph (1).
    5. On page 78507, in the second column, under the heading Priority 
6--Technology, the parenthetical ``(as defined in this notice)'' is 
inserted after the word ``achievement''.
    6. On page 78507, in the third column, under the heading Priority 
8--Increasing Postsecondary Success, in paragraph (d), the word 
``regular'' is inserted before the word ``high''.
    7. On page 78508, in the second column under the heading Priority 
13-Enabling More Data-Based Decisionmaking, a comma is inserted after 
the word ``programs'' in the fifth line of paragraph (d).
    8. On page 78508, in the second column, under the heading Priority 
15--Supporting Programs, Practices, or Strategies for Which There Is 
Strong or Moderate Evidence of Effectiveness, the parenthetical ``(as 
defined in this notice)'' is removed from the second and third lines of 
the statement of the priority.
    9. On page 78510, in the first column, in the definition of Quasi-
experimental study, in the third line of the definition, the words 
``experimental design'' are replaced with the words ``experimental 
study''.
    10. On page 78510, in the first column, in the definition of Quasi-
experimental study, in the second sentence, the parenthetical ``(as 
defined in this notice)'' following the words ``quasi-experimental 
studies'' is removed.
    Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1221e-3, 20 U.S.C. 3474.

Electronic Access to This Document

    You may view this document, as well as all other Department of 
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Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available free at this site.

    Note: The official version of this document is the document 
published in the Federal Register. Free Internet access to the 
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Regulations is available on GPO Access at: https://www.gpoaccess.gov/nara/.


    Dated: May 6, 2011.
Arne Duncan,
Secretary of Education.

Appendix A: Final Supplemental Priorities And Definitions

Final Priorities

I. Advancing Key Cradle-to-Career Educational Reforms

    Priority 1--Improving Early Learning Outcomes.
    Projects that are designed to improve school readiness and success 
for high-need children (as defined in this notice) from birth through 
third grade (or for any age group of high-need children within this 
range) through a focus on one or more of the following priority areas:
    (a) Physical well-being and motor development.

[[Page 27638]]

    (b) Social-emotional development.
    (c) Language and literacy development.
    (d) Cognition and general knowledge, including early numeracy and 
early scientific development.
    (e) Approaches toward learning.
    Priority 2--Implementing Internationally Benchmarked, College- and 
Career-Ready Elementary and Secondary Academic Standards.
    Projects that are designed to support the implementation of 
internationally benchmarked, college- and career-ready academic 
standards held in common by multiple States and to improve instruction 
and learning, including projects in one or more of the following 
priority areas:
    (a) The development or implementation of assessments (e.g., 
summative, formative, interim) aligned with those standards.
    (b) The development or implementation of curriculum or 
instructional materials aligned with those standards.
    (c) The development or implementation of professional development 
or preparation programs aligned with those standards.
    (d) Strategies that translate the standards into classroom 
practice.
    Priority 3--Improving the Effectiveness and Distribution of 
Effective Teachers or Principals.
    Projects that are designed to address one or more of the following 
priority areas:
    (a) Increasing the number or percentage of teachers or principals 
who are effective or reducing the number or percentage of teachers or 
principals who are ineffective, particularly in high-poverty schools 
(as defined in this notice) including through such activities as 
improving the preparation, recruitment, development, and evaluation of 
teachers and principals; implementing performance-based certification 
and retention systems; and reforming compensation and advancement 
systems.
    (b) Increasing the retention, particularly in high-poverty schools 
(as defined in this notice), and equitable distribution of teachers or 
principals who are effective.
    For the purposes of this priority, teacher and principal 
effectiveness should be measured using:
    (1) Teacher or principal evaluation data, in States or local 
educational agencies that have in place a high-quality teacher or 
principal evaluation system that takes into account student growth (as 
defined in this notice) in significant part and uses multiple measures, 
that, in the case of teachers, may include observations for determining 
teacher effectiveness (such as systems that meet the criteria for 
evaluation systems under the Race to the Top program as described in 
criterion (D)(2)(ii) of the Race to the Top notice inviting 
applications (74 FR 59803)); or
    (2) Data that include, in significant part, student achievement (as 
defined in this notice) or student growth (as defined in this notice) 
data and may include multiple measures in States or local educational 
agencies that do not have the teacher or principal evaluation systems 
described in paragraph (1).
    Priority 4--Turning Around Persistently Lowest-Achieving Schools.
    Projects that are designed to address one or more of the following 
priority areas:
    (a) Improving student achievement (as defined in this notice) in 
persistently lowest-achieving schools (as defined in this notice).
    (b) Increasing graduation rates (as defined in this notice) and 
college enrollment rates for students in persistently lowest-achieving 
schools (as defined in this notice).
    (c) Providing services to students enrolled in persistently lowest-
achieving schools (as defined in this notice).
    Priority 5--Improving School Engagement, School Environment, and 
School Safety and Improving Family and Community Engagement.
    Projects that are designed to improve student outcomes through one 
or more of the following priority areas:
    (a) Improving school engagement, which may include increasing the 
quality of relationships between and among administrators, teachers, 
families, and students and increasing participation in school-related 
activities.
    (b) Improving the school environment, which may include improving 
the school setting related to student learning, safety, and health.
    (c) Improving school safety, which may include decreasing the 
incidence of harassment, bullying, violence, and substance use.
    (d) Improving parent and family engagement (as defined in this 
notice).
    (e) Improving community engagement (as defined in this notice) by 
supporting partnerships between local educational agencies, school 
staff, and one or more of the following:
    (i) Faith- or community-based organizations.
    (ii) Institutions of higher education.
    (iii) Minority-serving institutions or historically black colleges 
or universities.
    (iv) Business or industry.
    (v) Other Federal, State, or local government entities.
    Priority 6--Technology.
    Projects that are designed to improve student achievement (as 
defined in this notice) or teacher effectiveness through the use of 
high-quality digital tools or materials, which may include preparing 
teachers to use the technology to improve instruction, as well as 
developing, implementing, or evaluating digital tools or materials.
    Priority 7--Core Reforms.
    Projects conducted in States, local educational agencies, or 
schools where core reforms are being implemented. Such a project is one 
that is conducted--
    (a) In a State that has adopted K-12 State academic standards in 
English language arts and mathematics that build towards college- and 
career-readiness;
    (b) In a State that has implemented a statewide longitudinal data 
system that meets all the requirements of the America Competes Act; and
    (c) In a local educational agency or school in which teachers 
receive student growth (as defined in this notice) data on their 
current students and the students they taught in the previous year and 
these data are provided, at a minimum, to teachers of reading/language 
arts and mathematics in grades in which the State administers 
assessments in those subjects.
    Priority 8--Increasing Postsecondary Success.
    Projects that are designed to address one or more of the following 
priority areas:
    (a) Increasing the number and proportion of high-need students (as 
defined in this notice) who are academically prepared for and enroll in 
college or other postsecondary education and training.
    (b) Increasing the number and proportion of high-need students (as 
defined in this notice) who persist in and complete college or other 
postsecondary education and training.
    (c) Increasing the number and proportion of high-need students (as 
defined in this notice) who enroll in and complete high-quality 
programs of study (as defined in this notice) designed to lead to a 
postsecondary degree, credential, or certificate.
    (d) Increasing the number of individuals who return to the 
educational system to obtain a regular high school diploma; to enroll 
in college or other postsecondary education or training; to obtain 
needed basic skills leading to success in college or other 
postsecondary education or the workforce; or to enter, persist in, and

[[Page 27639]]

complete college or rigorous postsecondary career and technical 
training leading to a postsecondary degree, credential, or certificate.
    (e) Increasing the number and proportion of high-need students (as 
defined in this notice) who enroll in and complete graduate programs.
    (f) Increasing the number and proportion of postsecondary students 
who complete college or other postsecondary education and training and 
who are demonstrably prepared for successful employment, active 
participation in civic life, and lifelong learning.

II. Addressing Needs of Student Subgroups

    Priority 9--Improving Achievement and High School Graduation Rates.
    Projects that are designed to address one or more of the following 
priority areas:
    (a) Accelerating learning and helping to improve high school 
graduation rates (as defined in this notice) and college enrollment 
rates for students in rural local educational agencies (as defined in 
this notice).
    (b) Accelerating learning and helping to improve high school 
graduation rates (as defined in this notice) and college enrollment 
rates for students with disabilities.
    (c) Accelerating learning and helping to improve high school 
graduation rates (as defined in this notice) and college enrollment 
rates for English learners.
    (d) Accelerating learning and helping to improve high school 
graduation rates (as defined in this notice) and college enrollment 
rates for high-need students (as defined in this notice).
    (e) Accelerating learning and helping to improve high school 
graduation rates (as defined in this notice) and college enrollment 
rates in high-poverty schools (as defined in this notice).
    (f) Accelerating learning and helping to improve high school 
graduation rates (as defined in this notice) and college enrollment 
rates for all students in an inclusive manner that ensures that the 
specific needs of high-need students (as defined in this notice) 
participating in the project are addressed.
    Priority 10--Promoting Science, Technology, Engineering, and 
Mathematics (STEM) Education.
    Projects that are designed to address one or more of the following 
priority areas:
    (a) Providing students with increased access to rigorous and 
engaging coursework in STEM.
    (b) Increasing the number and proportion of students prepared for 
postsecondary or graduate study and careers in STEM.
    (c) Increasing the opportunities for high-quality preparation of, 
or professional development for, teachers or other educators of STEM 
subjects.
    (d) Increasing the number of individuals from groups traditionally 
underrepresented in STEM, including minorities, individuals with 
disabilities, and women, who are provided with access to rigorous and 
engaging coursework in STEM or who are prepared for postsecondary or 
graduate study and careers in STEM.
    (e) Increasing the number of individuals from groups traditionally 
underrepresented in STEM, including minorities, individuals with 
disabilities, and women, who are teachers or educators of STEM subjects 
and have increased opportunities for high-quality preparation or 
professional development.
    Priority 11--Promoting Diversity.
    Projects that are designed to promote student diversity, including 
racial and ethnic diversity, or avoid racial isolation.
    Priority 12--Support for Military Families.
    Projects that are designed to address the needs of military-
connected students (as defined in this notice).

III. Building Capacity for Systemic Continuous Improvement

    Priority 13--Enabling More Data-Based Decision-Making.
    Projects that are designed to collect (or obtain), analyze, and use 
high-quality and timely data, including data on program participant 
outcomes, in accordance with privacy requirements (as defined in this 
notice), in one or more of the following priority areas:
    (a) Improving instructional practices, policies, and child outcomes 
in early learning settings.
    (b) Improving instructional practices, policies, and student 
outcomes in elementary or secondary schools.
    (c) Improving postsecondary student outcomes relating to 
enrollment, persistence, and completion and leading to career success.
    (d) Providing reliable and comprehensive information on the 
implementation of Department of Education programs, and participant 
outcomes in these programs, by using data from State longitudinal data 
systems or by obtaining data from reliable third-party sources.
    Priority 14--Building Evidence of Effectiveness.
    Projects that propose evaluation plans that are likely to produce 
valid and reliable evidence in one or more of the following priority 
areas:
    (a) Improving project design and implementation or designing more 
effective future projects to improve outcomes.
    (b) Identifying and improving practices, strategies, and policies 
that may contribute to improving outcomes. Under this priority, at a 
minimum, the outcome of interest is to be measured multiple times 
before and after the treatment for project participants and, where 
feasible, for a comparison group of non-participants.
    Priority 15--Supporting Programs, Practices, or Strategies for 
which there is Strong or Moderate Evidence of Effectiveness.
    Projects that are supported by strong or moderate evidence. A 
project that is supported by strong evidence (as defined in this 
notice) will receive more points than a project that is supported by 
moderate evidence (as defined in this notice).
    Priority 16--Improving Productivity.
    Projects that are designed to significantly increase efficiency in 
the use of time, staff, money, or other resources while improving 
student learning or other educational outcomes (i.e., outcome per unit 
of resource). Such projects may include innovative and sustainable uses 
of technology, modification of school schedules and teacher 
compensation systems, use of open educational resources (as defined in 
this notice), or other strategies.
Definitions
    Carefully matched comparison group design means a type of quasi-
experimental study (as defined in this notice) that attempts to 
approximate an experimental study (as defined in this notice). More 
specifically, it is a design in which project participants are matched 
with non-participants based on key characteristics that are thought to 
be related to the outcome. These characteristics include, but are not 
limited to:
    (1) Prior test scores and other measures of academic achievement 
(preferably, the same measures that the study will use to evaluate 
outcomes for the two groups);
    (2) Demographic characteristics, such as age, disability, gender, 
English proficiency, ethnicity, poverty level, parents' educational 
attainment, and single- or two-parent family background;
    (3) The time period in which the two groups are studied (e.g., the 
two groups are children entering kindergarten in the same year as 
opposed to sequential years); and
    (4) Methods used to collect outcome data (e.g., the same test of 
reading skills

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administered in the same way to both groups).
    Community engagement means the systematic inclusion of community 
organizations as partners with local educational agencies and school 
staff. These organizations may include faith- and community-based 
organizations, institutions of higher education (including minority-
serving institutions and historically black colleges and universities), 
business and industry, or other Federal, State, and local government 
entities.
    Experimental study means a study that employs random assignment of, 
for example, students, teachers, classrooms, schools, or districts to 
participate in a project being evaluated (treatment group) or not to 
participate in the project (control group). The effect of the project 
is the average difference in outcomes between the treatment and control 
groups.
    Graduation rate means a four-year adjusted cohort graduation rate 
consistent with 34 CFR 200.19(b)(1) and may also include an extended-
year adjusted cohort graduation rate consistent with 34 CFR 
200.19(b)(1)(v) if the State in which the proposed project is 
implemented has been approved by the Secretary to use such a rate under 
Title I of the ESEA.
    High-need children and high-need students means children and 
students at risk of educational failure, such as children and students 
who are living in poverty, who are English learners, who are far below 
grade level or who are not on track to becoming college- or career-
ready by graduation, who have left school or college before receiving, 
respectively, a regular high school diploma or a college degree or 
certificate, who are at risk of not graduating with a diploma on time, 
who are homeless, who are in foster care, who are pregnant or parenting 
teenagers, who have been incarcerated, who are new immigrants, who are 
migrant, or who have disabilities.
    High-poverty school means a school in which at least 50 percent of 
students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunches under the 
Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act or in which at least 50 
percent of students are from low-income families as determined using 
one of the criteria specified under section 1113(a)(5) of the 
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended. For middle 
and high schools, eligibility may be calculated on the basis of 
comparable data from feeder schools. Eligibility as a high-poverty 
school under this definition is determined on the basis of the most 
currently available data.
    Interrupted time series design means a type of quasi-experimental 
study (as defined in this notice) in which the outcome of interest is 
measured multiple times before and after the treatment for program 
participants only. If the program had an impact, the outcomes after 
treatment will have a different slope or level from those before 
treatment. That is, the series should show an ``interruption'' of the 
prior situation at the time when the program was implemented. Adding a 
comparison group time series, such as schools not participating in the 
program or schools participating in the program in a different 
geographic area, substantially increases the reliability of the 
findings.\1\
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    \1\ A single subject or single case design is an adaptation of 
an interrupted time series design that relies on the comparison of 
treatment effects on a single subject or group of single subjects. 
There is little confidence that findings based on this design would 
be the same for other members of the population. In some single 
subject designs, treatment reversal or multiple baseline designs are 
used to increase internal validity. In a treatment reversal design, 
after a pretreatment or baseline outcome measurement is compared 
with a post treatment measure, the treatment would then be stopped 
for a period of time; a second baseline measure of the outcome would 
be taken, followed by a second application of the treatment or a 
different treatment. A multiple baseline design addresses concerns 
about the effects of normal development, timing of the treatment, 
and amount of the treatment with treatment-reversal designs by using 
a varying time schedule for introduction of the treatment and/or 
treatments of different lengths or intensity.
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    Military-connected student means: (a) A child participating in an 
early learning program, a student in preschool through grade 12, or a 
student enrolled in postsecondary education or training who has a 
parent or guardian on active duty in the uniformed services (as defined 
by 37 U.S.C. 101, in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast 
Guard, National Guard, or the reserve component of any of the 
aforementioned services) or (b) a student who is a veteran of the 
uniformed services, who is on active duty, or who is the spouse of an 
active-duty servicemember.
    Moderate evidence means evidence from previous studies whose 
designs can support causal conclusions (i.e., studies with high 
internal validity) but have limited generalizability (i.e., moderate 
external validity), or studies with high external validity but moderate 
internal validity. The following would constitute moderate evidence:
    (1) At least one well-designed and well-implemented (as defined in 
this notice) experimental or quasi-experimental study (as defined in 
this notice) supporting the effectiveness of the practice, strategy, or 
program, with small sample sizes or other conditions of implementation 
or analysis that limit generalizability;
    (2) At least one well-designed and well-implemented (as defined in 
this notice) experimental or quasi-experimental study (as defined in 
this notice) that does not demonstrate equivalence between the 
intervention and comparison groups at program entry but that has no 
other major flaws related to internal validity; or
    (3) Correlational research with strong statistical controls for 
selection bias and for discerning the influence of internal factors.
    Open educational resources (OER) means teaching, learning, and 
research resources that reside in the public domain or have been 
released under an intellectual property license that permits their free 
use or repurposing by others.
    Parent and family engagement means the systematic inclusion of 
parents and families, working in partnership with local educational 
agencies and school staff, in their child's education, which may 
include strengthening the ability of (a) Parents and families to 
support their child's education and (b) school staff to work with 
parents and families.
    Persistently lowest-achieving schools means, as determined by the 
State: (i) Any Title I school in improvement, corrective action, or 
restructuring that (a) is among the lowest-achieving five percent of 
Title I schools in improvement, corrective action, or restructuring or 
the lowest-achieving five Title I schools in improvement, corrective 
action, or restructuring in the State, whichever number of schools is 
greater; or (b) is a high school that has had a graduation rate as 
defined in 34 CFR 200.19(b) that is less than 60 percent over a number 
of years; and (ii) any secondary school that is eligible for, but does 
not receive, Title I funds that: (a) Is among the lowest-achieving five 
percent of secondary schools or the lowest-achieving five secondary 
schools in the State that are eligible for, but do not receive, Title I 
funds, whichever number of schools is greater; or (b) is a high school 
that has had a graduation rate as defined in 34 CFR 200.19(b) that is 
less than 60 percent over a number of years.
    To identify the persistently lowest-achieving schools, a State must 
take into account both: (i) The academic achievement of the ``all 
students'' group in a school in terms of proficiency on the State's 
assessments under section 1111(b)(3) of the ESEA in reading/language 
arts and mathematics combined; and (ii) the school's lack of progress 
on those assessments over a

[[Page 27641]]

number of years in the ``all students'' group.
    Privacy requirements means the requirements of the Family 
Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), 20 U.S.C. 1232g, and its 
implementing regulations in 34 CFR part 99, the Privacy Act, 5 U.S.C. 
552a, as well as all applicable Federal, State and local requirements 
regarding privacy.
    Programs of study means career and technical education programs of 
study, which may be offered as an option to students (and their parents 
as appropriate) when planning for and completing future coursework, for 
career and technical content areas, that--
    (a) Incorporate secondary education and postsecondary education 
elements;
    (b) Include coherent and rigorous content aligned with challenging 
academic standards and relevant career and technical content in a 
coordinated, non-duplicative progression of courses that align 
secondary education with postsecondary education to adequately prepare 
students to succeed in postsecondary education;
    (c) May include the opportunity for secondary education students to 
participate in dual or concurrent enrollment programs or other ways to 
acquire postsecondary education credits; and
    (d) Lead to an industry-recognized credential or certificate at the 
postsecondary level, or an associate or baccalaureate degree.
    Quasi-experimental study means an evaluation design that attempts 
to approximate an experimental study (as defined in this notice) and 
can support causal conclusions (i.e., minimizes threats to internal 
validity, such as selection bias, or allows them to be modeled). Well-
designed and well-implemented (as defined in this notice) quasi-
experimental studies include carefully matched comparison group designs 
(as defined in this notice), interrupted time series designs (as 
defined in this notice), or regression discontinuity designs (as 
defined in this notice).
    Regression discontinuity design study means, in part, a quasi-
experimental study (as defined in this notice) design that closely 
approximates an experimental study (as defined in this notice). In a 
regression discontinuity design, participants are assigned to a 
treatment or comparison group based on a numerical rating or score of a 
variable unrelated to the treatment such as the rating of an 
application for funding. Another example would be assignment of 
eligible students, teachers, classrooms, or schools above a certain 
score (``cut score'') to the treatment group and assignment of those 
below the score to the comparison group.
    Rural local educational agency means a local educational agency 
(LEA) that is eligible under the Small Rural School Achievement (SRSA) 
program or the Rural and Low-Income School (RLIS) program authorized 
under Title VI, Part B of the ESEA. Eligible applicants may determine 
whether a particular LEA is eligible for these programs by referring to 
information on the Department's Web site at https://www2.ed.gov/nclb/freedom/local/reap.html.
    Strong evidence means evidence from previous studies whose designs 
can support causal conclusions (i.e., studies with high internal 
validity), and studies that in total include enough of the range of 
participants and settings to support scaling up to the State, regional, 
or national level (i.e., studies with high external validity). The 
following are examples of strong evidence:
    (1) More than one well-designed and well-implemented (as defined in 
this notice) experimental study (as defined in this notice) or well-
designed and well-implemented (as defined in this notice) quasi-
experimental study (as defined in this notice) that supports the 
effectiveness of the practice, strategy, or program; or
    (2) One large, well-designed and well-implemented (as defined in 
this notice) randomized controlled, multisite trial that supports the 
effectiveness of the practice, strategy, or program.
    Student achievement means--
    (a) For tested grades and subjects: (1) A student's score on the 
State's assessments under the ESEA; and, as appropriate, (2) other 
measures of student learning, such as those described in paragraph (b) 
of this definition, provided they are rigorous and comparable across 
schools.
    (b) For non-tested grades and subjects: alternative measures of 
student learning and performance, such as student scores on pre-tests 
and end-of-course tests; student performance on English language 
proficiency assessments; and other measures of student achievement that 
are rigorous and comparable across schools.
    Student growth means the change in student achievement (as defined 
in this notice) for an individual student between two or more points in 
time. A State may also include other measures that are rigorous and 
comparable across classrooms.
    Well-designed and well-implemented means, with respect to an 
experimental or quasi-experimental study (as defined in this notice), 
that the study meets the What Works Clearinghouse evidence standards, 
with or without reservations (see https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/references/idocviewer/doc.aspx?docid=19&tocid=1 and in particular the 
description of ``Reasons for Not Meeting Standards'' at https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/references/idocviewer/Doc.aspx?docId=19&tocId=4#reasons).

[FR Doc. 2011-11650 Filed 5-11-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P