Department of Education

SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMS

Fiscal Year 2016 Request

CONTENTS

Page

Appropriations language............................................................................................................. D-1

Analysis of Language Provisions and Changes ......................................................................... D-3

Appropriation, Adjustments and Transfers ................................................................................. D-5

Summary of Changes ................................................................................................................. D-6

Authorizing Legislation................................................................................................................ D-8

Appropriations History............................................................................................................... D-10

Significant Items in FY 2015 Appropriations Reports............................................................... D-11

Summary of Request ................................................................................................................ D-12

Activities: ................................................................................................................................... D-16

Improving teacher quality State grants..................................................................................D-16

Mathematics and science partnerships.................................................................................D-27

Educational technology State grants.....................................................................................D-33

21st Century community learning centers.............................................................................D-38

State assessments ................................................................................................................D-46

Education for homeless children and youths ........................................................................D-52

Education for Native Hawaiians ............................................................................................D-56

Alaska Native education equity .............................................................................................D-60

Training and advisory services..............................................................................................D-64

Rural education .....................................................................................................................D-69

Supplemental education grants.............................................................................................D-78

Comprehensive centers ........................................................................................................D-81

State tables*.............................................................................................................................. D-90

* State tables reflecting 2015 allocations and 2016 estimates are posted on the Department’s Web page at: 

http://www2.ed.gov/about/overview/budget/statetables/index.html
SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMS

Appropriations language

For carrying out school improvement activities authorized by [parts A and B of title II, part B 

of title IV, parts A and B of title VI, and parts B and C of title VII of the ESEA;] the McKinneyVento Homeless Assistance Act; section 203 of the Educational Technical Assistance Act of 

2002; the Compact of Free Association Amendments Act of 2003; and the Civil Rights Act of 

1964, [$4,402,671,000, of which $2,585,661,000 shall become available on July 1, 2015, and 

remain available through September 30, 2016, and of which $1,681,441,000 shall become 

available on October 1, 2015, and shall remain available through September 30, 2016, for 

academic year 2015–2016]

1 $150,261,000: Provided, That [funds made available to carry out

part B of title VII of the ESEA may be used for construction, renovation, and modernization of 

any elementary school, secondary school, or structure related to an elementary school or 

secondary school, run by the Department of Education of the State of Hawaii, that serves a 

predominantly Native Hawaiian student body:2 Provided further, That funds made available to 

carry out part C of title VII of the ESEA shall be awarded on a competitive basis, and also may 

be used for construction:3 Provided further, That $48,445,000] $55,445,000 shall be available to 

carry out section 203 of the Educational Technical Assistance Act of 2002 and the Secretary 

shall make such arrangements as determined to be necessary to ensure that the Bureau of 

Indian Education has access to services provided under this section:

4 Provided further, That 

$16,699,000 shall be available to carry out the Supplemental Education Grants program for the 

Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of the Marshall Islands:5 Provided further, That 

the Secretary may reserve up to 5 percent of the amount referred to in the previous proviso to 

provide technical assistance in the implementation of these grants6 [:Provided further, That up to 

2.3 percent of the funds for subpart 1 of part A of title II of the ESEA shall be reserved by the 

Secretary for competitive awards for teacher or principal recruitment and training or professional 

enhancement activities, including for civic education instruction, to national not-for-profit 

D-1
organizations, of which up to 8 percent may only be used for research, dissemination, 

evaluation, and technical assistance for competitive awards carried out under this proviso:7

Provided further, That $152,717,000 shall be to carry out part B of title II of the ESEA].

8 

(Department of Education Appropriations Act, 2015.)

NOTES

No language is included for programs authorized under the expired Elementary and Secondary Education Act; 

when new authorizing legislation for the Elementary and Secondary Education Act is enacted, appropriations 

language for these programs will be proposed.

Each language provision that is followed by a footnote reference is explained in the Analysis of Language 

Provisions and Changes document, which follows the appropriations language.

D-2
SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMS

Analysis of Language Provisions and Changes

Analysis of Language Provisions and Changes

Language Provision Explanation

1

 [...of which $2,585,661,000 shall become 

available on July 1, 2015, and remain 

available through September 30, 2016, and 

of which $1,681,441,000 shall become 

available on October 1, 2015, and shall 

remain available through September 30, 

2016, for academic year 2015–2016]...

This language provides for a portion of funds 

to be appropriated on a forward-funded basis 

for Improving Teacher Quality State Grants, 

Mathematics and Science Partnerships, 

21st Century Community Learning Centers, 

State Assessments, Education for Homeless 

Children and Youths, and Rural Education. 

This language also provides that a portion of 

funds for Improving Teacher Quality State 

Grants is available on an advance-funded 

basis.

2

 ...[Provided, That funds made available to 

carry out part B of title VII of the ESEA may 

be used for construction, renovation, and 

modernization of any elementary school, 

secondary school, or structure related to an 

elementary school or secondary school, run 

by the Department of Education of the State 

of Hawaii, that serves a predominantly Native 

Hawaiian student body:...]

This language authorizes the use of funds 

appropriated for the Education for Native 

Hawaiians program for school construction, 

renovation, and modernization.

3

 ...[Provided further, That funds made 

available to carry out part C of title VII of the 

ESEA shall be awarded on a competitive 

basis, and also may be used for 

construction:...]

This language authorizes the use of funds 

appropriated for the Alaska Native Education 

Equity program for construction.

4

 [...Provided further, That $48,445,000] 

$55,445,000 shall be available to carry out 

section 203 of the Educational Technical 

Assistance Act of 2002 and the Secretary 

shall make such arrangements as 

determined to be necessary to ensure that 

the Bureau of Indian Education has access to 

services provided under this section:...

This language specifies the funding level for 

the Comprehensive Centers program and 

authorizes the Secretary to provide the 

Bureau of Indian Education access to 

program services.

5

 ...Provided further, That $16,699,000 shall 

be available to carry out the Supplemental 

Education Grants program for the Federated 

States of Micronesia and the Republic of the 

Marshall Islands:...

This language specifies the funding level for 

Supplemental Education Grants to the 

Federated States of Micronesia and the 

Republic of the Marshall Islands.

D-3
SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMS

Analysis of Language Provisions and Changes

Analysis of Language Provisions and Changes

Language Provision Explanation

6

 ...Provided further, That the Secretary may 

reserve up to 5 percent of the amount 

referred to in the previous proviso to provide 

technical assistance in the implementation of 

these grants:...

This language allows the Secretary to 

reserve up to 5 percent of Supplemental 

Education Grants funds to provide technical 

assistance for these grants.

7 ...[Provided further, That up to 2.3 percent 

of the funds for subpart 1 of part A of title II of 

the ESEA shall be reserved by the Secretary 

for competitive awards for teacher or principal 

recruitment and training or professional 

enhancement activities, including for civic 

education instruction, to national not-for-profit 

organizations, of which up to 8 percent may 

only be used for research, dissemination, 

evaluation, and technical assistance for 

competitive awards carried out under this 

proviso:...]

This language provides a specific amount for 

the Supporting Effective Educator 

Development program from the appropriation 

for the Improving Teacher Quality State 

Grants program.

8

 ...[Provided further, That $152,717,000 

shall be to carry out part B of title II of the 

ESEA].

This language specifies the funding level for 

the Mathematics and Science Partnerships 

program.

D-4
SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMS

Appropriation, Adjustments and Transfers

(dollars in thousands)

Appropriation/Adjustments/Transfers 2014 2015 2016

Discretionary:

Discretionary Appropriation............................................................ $4,397,391 $4,402,671 $4,693,171

Advance:

Advance for succeeding fiscal year......................... -1,681,441 -1,681,441 -1,681,441

Advance from prior year........................................... 1,681,441 1,681,441 1,681,441

Total, budget authority......................................... 4,397,391 4,402,671 4,693,171

D-5
SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMS

Summary of Changes

(dollars in thousands)

Summary of Changes

2015..................................................................................................... $4,402,671

2016..................................................................................................... 4,693,171

Net change .................................................................. +290,500

Increases: 2015 base

Change 

from base

Program:

Increased funding for the Mathematics and Science Partnerships

program to support more comprehensive reforms in science, 

technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education and 

improve teacher effectiveness and student engagement and 

achievement in STEM subjects. $152,717 +$50,000

Initial funding for the Educational Technology State Grants

program to support State subgrants to model districts that 

demonstrate how to effectively support teachers and leaders in 

using technology to improve instruction and personalize learning, 

and to build State capacity to help districts use technology to 

improve instruction as well as identify and scale effective local 

practices to other districts in the State. 0 +200,000

Increased funding for the State Assessments program to provide 

additional resources to States to support the effective 

implementation of assessments that are aligned to college- and 

career-ready standards that will help ensure that all students 

graduate from high school with the knowledge and skills they 

need to be successful in college and the workplace. 378,000 +25,000

Increased funding for the Education for Homeless Children and 

Youths program to ensure that these children and youths have 

access to services and activities to help them attend and succeed 

in school. 65,042 +6,500

Increased funding for the Education for Native Hawaiians

program to support the Administration’s Generation Indigenous 

(Gen I) Native youth initiative. 32,397 +1,000

Increased funding for the Alaska Native Education Equity

program to support the Administration’s Generation Indigenous 

(Gen I) Native youth initiative. 31,453 +1,000

D-6
SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMS

Summary of Changes

(dollars in thousands)

Increases: 2015 base

Change 

from base

Program: (continued)

Increased funding for the Comprehensive Centers program to 

expand support for SEAs as they implement challenging Statedetermined reforms in the areas of standards and assessments, 

differentiated accountability systems, and educator evaluation 

and support, and to allow the Centers to serve the Bureau of 

Indian Education. $48,445 +$7,000

Subtotal, increases +290,500

Net change +290,500

D-7
SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMS

Authorizing Legislation

(dollars in thousands)

Activity

2015

Authorized

footnote

2015

Estimate

footnote

2016

Authorized footnote

2016

Request

footnote

Improving teacher quality State grants (ESEA II-A) 0 $2,349,830

To be 

determined1 $2,349,830

Mathematics and science partnerships (ESEA II-B) 0 152,717

To be 

determined1 202,717

Educational technology State grants (ESEA II-D- 1 and 2) 0 0

To be 

determined1 200,000

21st century community learning centers (ESEA IV-B) 0 1,151,673

To be 

determined1 1,151,673

State assessments (ESEA VI-A-1) 0 378,000

To be 

determined1 403,000

Education for homeless children and youths (MVHAA Title VII-B) Indefinite 65,042 Indefinite 71,542

Education for Native Hawaiians (ESEA VII-B) 0 32,397

To be 

determined1 33,397

Alaska Native education equity (ESEA VII-C) 0 31,453

To be 

determined1 32,453

Training and advisory services (CRA IV) Indefinite 6,575 Indefinite 6,575

Rural education (ESEA VI-B) 0 169,8402

To be 

determined1 169,8402

Supplemental education grants (Compact of Free Association 

Act) $20,7173 16,699 $20,9743 16,699

Comprehensive centers (ETAA section 203) 0 48,445 04 55,445

Unfunded authorizations

UA Early reading first (ESEA I-B-2) 0 0 0 0

UA Special education teacher training (ESEA, Section 2151(d)) 0 0 0 0

UA Early childhood educator professional development (ESEA, 

Section 2151(e)) 0 0 0 0

UA Teacher mobility (ESEA, Section 2151(f)) 0 0 0 0

D-8
SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMS

Authorizing Legislation—continued

Activity

2015

Authorized

footnote

2015

Estimate

footnote

2016

Authorized footnote

2016

Request

footnote

Unfunded authorizations (continued)

UA Civic education (ESEA II-C-3) 0 0 0 0

UA Teaching American history (ESEA II-C-4) 0 0 0 0

UA State grants for innovative programs (ESEA V-A) 0 0 0 0

UA Foreign language assistance (ESEA V-D, Subpart 9) 0 0 0 0

UA Excellence in economic education (ESEA V-D, Subpart 13) 0 0 0 0

Total definite authorization $20,717 $20,974

Total appropriation $4,402,671 $4,693,171

Portion of request subject to reauthorization 4,542,910

Portion of request not authorized 55,445

1 The GEPA extension expired September 30, 2008; reauthorizing legislation is sought for fiscal year 2016. 2 The amount appropriated to carry out Title VI, Part B is to be distributed equally between Subparts 1 and 2. 3 Reflects amount initially authorized in fiscal year 2005, adjusted for inflation in accordance with the authorizing statute, which requires such adjustments 

through fiscal year 2023. 4 The GEPA extension expired September 30, 2009. The President’s fiscal year 2016 budget proposes authorizing this program through appropriations 

language.

D-9
SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMS

Appropriations History

(dollars in thousands)

Year

Budget Estimate 

to Congress

House 

Allowance Footnote

Senate 

Allowance Footnote AppropriationFootnote

2007 $4,973,158 N/A1 N/A1 $5,255,478

(2007 Advance for 2008) (1,435,000) (1,435,000)

2008 4,698,276 $5,693,668 $5,198,525 5,289,076

(2008 Advance for 2009) (1,435,000) (1,435,000) (1,435,000) (1,435,000)

Supp. (P.L. 110-329) 0 0 0 15,000

2009 4,566,323 5,399,6092 5,292,4222 5,362,016

(2009 Advance for 2010) (1,435,000) (1,435,000) (1,435,000) (1,681,441)

Recovery Act Supp. (P.L. 111-5) 0 1,066,000 1,070,000 720,000

2010 5,182,181 5,244,644 5,197,3163 5,228,444

(2010 Advance for 2011) (1,681,441) (1,681,441) (1,681,441) (1,681,441)

2011 1,890,779 5,221,4444 5,388,1733 4,593,8415

(2011 Advance for 2012) (0) (1,681,441) (1,681,441) (1,681,441)

Rescission (P.L. 112-74) (-3,178)

2012 1,664,979 4,332,1026 4,570,1456 4,544,596

(2012 Advance for 2013) (0) (1,681,441) (1,681,441) (1,681,441)

2013 1,219,357 4,394,8807 4,544,5967 4,397,391

(2013 Advance for 2014) (0) (1,681,441) (1,681,441) (1,681,441)

2014 1,075,559 N/A8 4,676,8623 4,397,391

(2014 Advance for 2015) (0) (1,681,441) (1,681,441)

2015 966,923 N/A8 4,402,6749 4,402,671

(2015 Advance for 2016) (0) (1,681,441) (1,681,441)

2016 4,693,171

(2016 Advance for 2017) (1,681,441)

1 This account operated under a full-year continuing resolution (P.L. 110-5). House and Senate allowances are 

shown as N/A (Not Available) because neither body passed a separate appropriations bill. 2 The levels for the House and Senate allowances reflect action on the regular annual 2009 appropriations bill, 

which proceeded in the 110th Congress only through the House Subcommittee and the Senate Committee. 3

 The level for the Senate allowance reflects Committee action only. 4

 The level for the House allowance reflects the House-passed full-year continuing resolution. 5

 The level for appropriation reflects the Department of Defense and Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act, 

2011 (P.L. 112-10). 6

 The level for the House allowance reflects an introduced bill and the level for the Senate allowance reflects 

Senate Committee action only. 7

 The levels for the House and Senate allowances reflect action on the regular annual 2013 appropriations bill, 

which proceeded in the 112th Congress only through the House Subcommittee and the Senate Committee. 8

 The House allowance is shown as N/A because there was no Subcommittee action. 9

 The level for the Senate allowance reflects Senate Subcommittee action only

D-10
SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMS

Significant Items in FY 2015 Appropriations Reports

Alaska Native Educational Equity

Manager’s 

statement: The Department shall conduct a new grant competition in fiscal year 2015 for the 

Alaska Native Educational Equity Assistance program. Additionally, the 

Department should continue its efforts to ensure maximum participation of Alaska 

Native organizations in programs funded under the Alaska Native Education 

Equity Act, implement statutory requirements that SEAs and LEAs apply in 

consortia with Alaska Native organizations, ensure that all grantees have 

meaningful plans for consultation with Alaska Native leaders, and strictly adhere 

to the programmatic priorities contained in the statute.

Response: The Department will conduct a new grant competition in fiscal year 2015 for this 

program consistent with the statutory requirements and priorities.

D-11
ACCOUNT

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FISCAL YEAR 2016 PRESIDENT'S BUDGET 

Click here for accessible version 

(in thousands of dollars) 2016

Category 2014 2015 President's 

Account, Program and Activity Code Appropriation Appropriation Budget Amount Percent

School Improvement Programs

 1. Improving teacher quality (ESEA II):

(a) Improving teacher quality State grants (Part A) 

Annual appropriation D 668,389 668,389 668,389 0 0.000%

Advance for succeeding fiscal year D 1,681,441 1,681,441 1,681,441 0 0.000%

Subtotal D 2,349,830 2,349,830 2,349,830 0 0.000%

(b) Mathematics and science partnerships (Part B) D 149,717 152,717 202,717 50,000 32.740%

 2. Educational technology State grants (ESEA II-D 1 and 2) D 0 0 200,000 200,000 ---

 3. 21st century community learning centers (ESEA IV-B) D 1,149,370 1,151,673 1,151,673 0 0.000%

 4. State assessments (ESEA VI-A-1) D 378,000 378,000 403,000 25,000 6.614%

 5. Education for homeless children and youths (MVHAA Title VII-B) D 65,042 65,042 71,542 6,500 9.994%

 6. Education for Native Hawaiians (ESEA VII-B) D 32,397 32,397 33,397 1,000 3.087%

 7. Alaska Native education equity (ESEA VII-C) D 31,453 31,453 32,453 1,000 3.179%

 8. Training and advisory services (CRA IV) D 6,598 6,575 6,575 0 0.000%

 9. Rural education (ESEA VI-B) D 169,840 169,840 169,840 0 0.000%

 10. Supplemental education grants (Compact of Free Association Act) D 16,699 16,699 16,699 0 0.000%

 11. Comprehensive centers (ETAA section 203) D 48,445 48,445 55,445 7,000 14.449%

Total, Appropriation D 4,397,391 4,402,671 4,693,171 290,500 6.598%

Total, Budget authority D 4,397,391 4,402,671 4,693,171 290,500 6.598%

Current 2,715,950 2,721,230 3,011,730 290,500 10.675%

Prior year's advance 1,681,441 1,681,441 1,681,441 0 0.000%

NOTES: D = discretionary program; M = mandatory program; FY = fiscal year 

Accounts are shown under the administering office that has primary responsibility for most programs in that account; however, there may be some programs that are administered by another office.

Detail may not add to totals due to rounding. 

2016 President's Budget 

Compared to 2015 Appropriation

Summary of Request

D-12D-12
SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMS

Summary of Request

The programs in the School Improvement Programs (SIP) account support State and local 

efforts to implement the reforms and educational improvements called for in the Elementary and 

Secondary Education Act (ESEA). More specifically, the activities in this account provide flexible 

resources to strengthen instruction and increase student achievement across the core content 

areas; prepare students to enter and succeed in college; and pay the costs of developing and 

administering student achievement assessments. The account also includes a variety of smaller 

programs addressing particular educational needs or special populations. The Administration’s 

request for programs in the SIP account (except for four non-ESEA programs) is proposed for 

later transmittal pending the enactment of ESEA reauthorization. 

The Administration is requesting approximately $4.7 billion for programs in this account, 

including:

• $2.3 billion for Improving Teacher Quality State Grants to provide flexible, formulabased support for States and LEAs to improve teacher and principal effectiveness and 

ensure the equitable distribution of effective and highly effective teachers and principals. 

The Department would reserve up to 5 percent of the appropriation for this program to 

support teacher and school leader enhancement projects with evidence of effectiveness 

and conduct related national leadership activities.

• $1.1 billion for 21st Century Community Learning Centers to support State and local 

efforts to implement in-school and out-of-school strategies for providing students (and, 

where appropriate, teachers and family members), particularly those in high-need

schools, the additional time, support, and enrichment activities needed to improve 

student achievement. The Administration’s request would continue to allow funds to be 

used for before- and after-school programs, summer enrichment programs, and summer 

school programs, and would also permit States and eligible local entities to use funds to 

support expanded-learning-time programs.

• $403.0 million for State Assessments to provide additional resources to States to 

support the effective implementation of assessments that are aligned to college- and 

career-ready standards that will help ensure that all students graduate from high school 

with the knowledge and skills they need to be successful in college and the workplace. A 

State could also use these funds to strengthen the capacity of LEAs and schools to 

provide all students the opportunity to increase their educational achievement, including 

to support reviews of their own assessments in an effort to eliminate redundancy and to 

ensure that they are of high quality, maximize instructional goals, and are designed to 

help students achieve State standards. The Department would also set aside $25 million 

of the fiscal year 2016 request to support competitive projects to help States address 

pressing needs they have identified for developing and implementing their assessments.

D-13
SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMS

Summary of Request—continued

• $202.7 million for Mathematics and Science Partnerships, which primarily provides 

formula funding to States to support competitive subgrants to LEAs in partnership with 

institutions of higher education, businesses, and other entities. The request includes 

targeted changes to strengthen the program, including: allowing States to reserve a 

portion of grant funds for State-level activities that are part of a comprehensive STEM 

education strategy from prekindergarten through grade 12; expanding the range of 

allowable subgrantee activities to include other activities to improve teacher effectiveness

and student engagement and achievement in STEM, particularly for students who are 

traditionally underrepresented in STEM fields; reserving up to $25 million to make 

competitive grants directly to eligible partnerships to carry out those expanded activities; 

and reserving up to 5 percent for national activities, including the development of a 

STEM Virtual Learning Network.

• $200.0 million for a revised Educational Technology State Grants program that would 

fund State subgrants to model districts to support teachers and leaders in using 

technology to improve instruction and personalize learning. The request would also build 

State capacity to help districts use technology to improve instruction as well as identify 

and scale effective local practices to other districts in the State.

• $169.8 million for Rural Education to provide resources to rural LEAs and schools that 

often face unique challenges in implementing ESEA.

• $71.5 million for Education for Homeless Children and Youths to provide educational 

and support services that enable homeless children and youth to attend and achieve 

success in school.

• $55.4 million for Comprehensive Centers to provide comprehensive technical 

assistance to grantees. The additional funding would improve the Department’s ability to 

provide targeted technical assistance to SEAs, particularly in priority areas such as 

making more evidence-based investments. The additional funding and appropriations 

language would also allow the centers to provide much needed assistance to the Bureau 

of Indian Education.

• $33.4 million for Education for Native Hawaiians to provide supplemental education 

programs and services to Native Hawaiian children and adults, in such areas as teacher 

training, family-based education, gifted and talented education, special education, higher 

education, and community-based education learning centers.

• $32.5 million for Alaska Native Education Equity to support the development and 

operation of supplemental education programs and services for Alaska Native children 

and adults.

D-14D-14
SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMS

Summary of Request—continued

• $16.7 million for Supplemental Education Grants program to provide support to the 

Federated States of Micronesia and to the Republic of the Marshall Islands in place of 

grant programs in which those Freely Associated States no longer participate pursuant to 

the Compact of Free Association Amendments Act of 2003.

• $6.6 million for Training and Advisory Services to support regional equity assistance 

centers that provide technical assistance to school districts in addressing educational 

equity related to issues of race, gender, and national origin.

D-15D-15
SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMS

Activities:

Improving teacher quality State grants

(Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, Title II, Part A)

(dollars in thousands)

FY 2016 Authorization: To be determined1

Budget Authority: 

Period of Fund Availability 2015 2016 Change

Annual appropriation $668,389 $668,389 0

Advance for succeeding fiscal year 1,681,441 1,681,441 0

Total 2,349,830 2,349,830 0

_________________

1 The GEPA extension expired September 30, 2008; reauthorizing legislation is sought for FY 2016.

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

Improving Teacher Quality State Grants provide funds to State educational agencies (SEAs) and 

local educational agencies (LEAs) to develop and support a high-quality teaching force through 

evidence-based activities. The program gives States and LEAs a flexible source of funding with 

which to meet their particular needs in strengthening the skills and knowledge of teachers and 

principals to enable them to improve student achievement in the core academic subjects. In 

return for this flexibility, LEAs are required to demonstrate annual progress in ensuring that all 

teachers of core academic subjects are highly qualified and that increasing numbers of teachers 

and principals are receiving high-quality professional development.

Improving Teacher Quality State Grants funds are distributed by formula. Each State receives 

the amount of funds that it received under the antecedent Eisenhower Professional 

Development State Grants and Class Size Reduction programs in fiscal year 2001, totaling 

around $2.1 billion. Remaining funds (around $300 million) are then allocated to States by 

formula, with 35 percent of remaining allocations based on States’ relative shares of the 

population age 5 to 17, and 65 percent based on States’ relative shares of children from lowincome families age 5 to 17. Each State must receive at least one-half of 1 percent of these 

remaining funds. The Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) in the Department of the Interior and the 

Outlying Areas each receive one-half of 1 percent of the appropriation.

Each State allocates 95 percent of its funds for subgrants to LEAs, 2.5 percent for subgrants to 

eligible partnerships (or a smaller percentage if the total amount reserved by all States for this 

purpose would exceed $125 million), and the remainder for State-level activities. A State 

awards subgrants to LEAs using a formula that is similar to the one that the Department uses for 

State allocations, except that, after LEAs receive the amount equivalent to their 2001 allocations 

from the Eisenhower Professional Development State Grants and Class Size Reduction 

programs, remaining funds are then allocated to LEAs by a formula based 20 percent on LEAs’ 

share of the population age 5 to 17 and 80 percent on LEAs’ share of children from low-income 

D-16
SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMS

Improving teacher quality State grants

families age 5 to 17. In addition to using these funds for professional development and classsize reduction, LEAs may use program funds for other activities to improve teacher and school 

leader quality, including implementing human capital management systems that improve access 

to excellent educators for all students, improving the ability of teachers and principals to 

effectively deliver college- and career-ready standards, and supporting the use of educational 

technology to improve instruction and personalize learning.

Subgrants to eligible partnerships are awarded competitively by the State agency for higher 

education working in conjunction with the SEA. Eligible partnerships must include an institution 

of higher education and its division that prepares teachers and principals, a school of arts and 

sciences, and a high-need LEA, and may include other entities. Partnerships that receive a 

subgrant must use the funds to provide professional development in core academic subjects to 

teachers, highly qualified paraprofessionals, and, if appropriate, principals.

States may use their State-level funds for a variety of activities, including the reform of teacher 

and principal certification or licensing requirements, teacher mentoring, creation or improvement 

of alternative routes to certification, teacher recruitment and retention programs, tenure reform, 

professional development for teachers and principals, technical assistance to LEAs, activities to

promote State reciprocity of teacher and principal certification or licensing, performance-based 

compensation systems, and pay differentiation programs.

The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), as reauthorized by the No Child Left 

Behind Act of 2001, required all SEAs receiving Title I, Part A funds to develop a plan to have all 

public school teachers of core academic subjects meet the Act’s definition of a “highly qualified 

teacher” no later than the end of the 2005-2006 school year. “Highly qualified” means that the 

teacher: (1) has obtained State certification or licensure; (2) holds a minimum of a bachelor’s 

degree; and (3) has demonstrated subject-matter competency in each of the academic subjects 

in which he or she teaches.

In the fiscal year 2011 appropriations act, Congress directed the Department to use 1 percent of 

that year’s appropriation for the new Supporting Effective Educator Development (SEED) 

program. Congress increased this set-aside to 1.5 percent in fiscal years 2012 and 2013, 

2 percent in fiscal year 2014, and 2.3 percent in fiscal year 2015. Under the SEED program, the 

Department makes grants to national nonprofit organizations to support projects with evidence of

effectiveness that recruit, select, and prepare or provide professional development activities for 

teachers or principals. The 2014 appropriations act also allowed the Department to reserve up 

to 10 percent of SEED funds for related research, dissemination, evaluation, technical 

assistance, and outreach activities; this reservation was reduced to 8 percent of SEED funds in 

fiscal year 2015.

This is a forward-funded program that includes advance appropriations. A portion of the funds 

becomes available for obligation on July 1 of the fiscal year in which they are appropriated and 

remains available for 15 months through September 30 of the following year. The remaining 

funds become available on October 1 of the fiscal year following the appropriations act and 

remain available for 12 months, expiring at the same time as the forward-funded portion.

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Improving teacher quality State grants

Funding levels for the past 5 fiscal years were:

Fiscal Year (dollars in thousands)

2011......................................................................$2,464,876

2012........................................................................2,466,567

2013........................................................................2,337,830

2014........................................................................2,348,898

2015........................................................................2,349,830

FY 2016 BUDGET REQUEST

The Administration requests $2.3 billion for the Improving Teacher Quality State Grants program 

for fiscal year 2016, the same as the 2015 level. The request will support ongoing State and 

local efforts to improve teacher and principal effectiveness and ensure that all students have 

equitable access to effective and highly effective teachers and principals.

States and their LEAs are strengthening how they recruit and prepare new teachers and school 

leaders, how they use evaluation to provide meaningful support to teachers and school leaders, 

and how they keep the best teachers and leaders in schools in order to elevate the overall 

quality of instruction and improve student achievement. Teachers and principals are working 

hard to implement rigorous new college- and career-ready (CCR) standards and assessments 

that will help improve student knowledge and preparation for success in higher education and 

the workforce. Improving Teacher Quality State Grants provide funds to address educator 

needs by fostering teacher and principal collaboration and the creation of excellent instructional 

teams through efforts to recruit, prepare, evaluate, support, and retain effective teachers, 

principals, and other school leaders, especially in high-need LEAs, schools, fields, and subjects.

The Administration will also seek appropriations language that would increase in the statutory 

set-aside for State-level activities from 2.5 percent to 5 percent. This will help address the need 

for increased State capacity, especially in ensuring the full and effective implementation of CCR 

standards. The additional resources will allow States to help their LEAs provide the preparation 

and substantial support and intensive professional development necessary for teachers and 

school leaders so that they feel prepared to teach to the new standards effectively.

The request would also increase support for the SEED program to 5 percent of the total 

appropriation for Improving Teacher Quality State Grants. Under the SEED program, the 

Department makes grants to national nonprofit organizations to support teacher and school 

leader enhancement projects with evidence of effectiveness and conducts related national 

leadership activities.

The Department would reserve up to an additional 0.5 percent of the appropriation for Improving 

Teacher Quality State Grants for evaluation.

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PROGRAM OUTPUT MEASURES (dollars in thousands)

Measures 2014 2015 2016

Funding for States awards $2,267,704 $2,260,655 $2,197,209

Range of State awards $10,869-255,376 $10,833-254,503 $10,516-246,644

Average State award $43,610 $43,474 $42,254

Amount for Outlying Areas $11,690 $11,690 $11,690

Amount for BIE $11,690 $11,690 $11,690

Evaluation $11,7491 $11,7492 $11,749 2

Supporting Effective Educator 

Development Grants and 

National Activities $46,997 $54,046 $117,492

_________________

1 The fiscal year 2014 appropriations act authorized the Department to pool evaluation funds reserved under 

section 9601 of the ESEA and use those pooled funds to evaluate any ESEA program. In 2014, the Department 

combined funds totaling $4.8 million from a number of ESEA programs, including $1,349 thousand from the 

Improving Teacher Quality State Grants program, in order to support new, high-priority evaluations. 2 The fiscal year 2015 appropriations act authorized the Department to pool evaluation funds reserved under 

section 9601 of the ESEA and use those pooled funds to evaluate any ESEA program. The Administration’s fiscal 

year 2016 budget would continue this authority. Some or all of the funds that may be reserved from the Improving 

Teacher Quality State Grants program under section 9601 may be used under the ESEA pooled evaluation authority 

in fiscal years 2015 and 2016.

PROGRAM PERFORMANCE INFORMATION

Performance Measures

This section presents selected program performance information, including, for example, GPRA 

goals, objectives, measures, and performance targets and data; and an assessment of the 

progress made toward achieving program results. Achievement of program results is based on 

the cumulative effect of the resources provided in previous years and those requested in 

FY 2016 and future years, and the resources and efforts invested by those served by this 

program.

The measures established by the Department to assess the performance of the Improving 

Teacher Quality State Grants program gauge the percentage of core academic classes taught 

by highly qualified teachers in elementary and secondary schools as a whole compared to the 

percentage in high-poverty schools. Since 2007, these data have been collected by the 

Department’s EDFacts/Education Data Exchange Network (EDEN).

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Improving teacher quality State grants

Goal: To improve teacher and principal quality and increase the number of highly 

qualified teachers in the classroom and highly qualified principals and assistant 

principals in schools. 

Objective: Show an annual increase in the percentage of classes taught by highly qualified 

teachers. 

Measure: The percentage of core academic classes in high-poverty elementary schools taught 

by highly qualified teachers.

Year Target Actual

2011 100% 97%

2012 100 97

2013 100 97

2014 100

2015 100

2016 100

Measure: The percentage of core academic classes in high-poverty secondary schools taught 

by highly qualified teachers.

Year Target Actual

2011 100% 94%

2012 100 94

2013 100 95

2014 100

2015 100

2016 100

Measure: The percentage of core academic classes taught by highly qualified teachers in 

elementary schools.

Year Target Actual

2011 100% 98%

2012 100 98

2013 100 98

2014 100

2015 100

2016 100

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Improving teacher quality State grants

Measure: The percentage of core academic classes taught by highly qualified teachers in 

secondary schools.

Year Target Actual

2011 100% 95%

2012 100 96

2013 100 96

2014 100

2015 100

2016 100

Additional information: The program made progress on this objective from 2011 to 2012 but 

did not meet the 100 percent targets called for under current law. Results for 2014 are expected 

in fall 2015.

Measure: The number of States that reduce the difference between the percentage of core 

academic classes taught by highly qualified teachers in elementary schools in the highest 

poverty quartile and the percentage of core academic classes taught by highly qualified 

teachers in elementary schools in the lowest-poverty quartile.

Year Target Actual

2011 34

2012 22

2013 32

2014

2015

2016

Measure: The number of States that reduce the difference between the percentage of core 

academic classes taught by highly qualified teachers in secondary schools in the highest 

poverty quartile and the percentage of core academic classes taught by highly qualified 

teachers in secondary schools in the lowest-poverty quartile.

Year Target Actual

2011 32

2012 27

2013 21

2014

2015

2016

Additional information: These measures present the number of States that reduced (from the 

year prior to the year for which the data are reported) the difference in the percentage of core 

academic classes taught by highly qualified teachers in highest poverty versus lowest poverty 

schools. For example, 32 States reduced the difference in these percentages in elementary 

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schools between 2012 and 2013, and 21 States reduced the difference in these percentages in 

secondary schools between those 2 years. Results for 2014 are expected in fall 2015. The 

Department also expects to set targets for these measures in spring 2015.

Efficiency Measure

The efficiency measure for the Improving Teacher Quality State Grants program focuses on 

decreasing the average number of days between the date of a monitoring visit and the date that 

the Department sends a monitoring report to the State. In fiscal year 2010, the Department took 

an average of 16 days to send a monitoring report to States after monitoring. The target was 

36 days. The Department did not conduct monitoring visits in fiscal year 2011 because program 

staff were working with States on their revised State plans for ensuring that all teachers are 

highly qualified. In addition, the Department was unable to conduct onsite monitoring in 2012 

and 2013 due to a lack of staff capacity, but did conduct fiscal monitoring of all grantees. The 

Department began a new round of monitoring in fall 2014, including in-person and desk 

monitoring.

Other Performance Information

The Department has used Improving Teacher Quality State Grants evaluation funds to conduct 

rigorous impact studies on preservice training, professional development, equitable distribution 

of effective teaching, and teacher retention strategies.

Completed Evaluations

A study of preservice training,

1 released in February 2009, identified different models of teacher 

preparation, including alternative routes to certification, and compared the performance of 

students whose teachers received different types of preparation. It found no differences in 

performance on reading and math assessments of students whose teachers trained through 

traditional routes versus teachers who had pursued alternative routes to certification. Another 

study on preservice teacher preparation, released in September 2013, looked at the 

effectiveness of teachers who entered teaching through two highly selective alternative routes to 

certification: Teach For America (TFA) and The New Teacher Project’s Teaching Fellows 

program.2 The study found that, on average, students assigned to novice TFA teachers had 

higher math scores than students assigned to comparison teachers, including more experienced 

teachers, in the same schools. Students of Teaching Fellows and of comparison teachers had 

similar scores, on average, on the math tests they took at the end of the school year, but the 

differences in scores varied depending on the selectivity of the alternative routes to certification 

and teacher experience. Teaching Fellows’ students had higher math scores than students 

taught by teachers from less-selective alternative routes to certification, but similar scores to 

students taught by teachers from traditional routes to certification. Novice Teaching Fellows’ 

students had higher scores than students taught by novice comparison teachers; experienced 

Teaching Fellows’ students had similar scores to students taught by experienced comparison 

1 “An Evaluation of Teachers Trained Through Different Routes to Certification,” February 2009, 

http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/projects/evaluation/tq_training.asp. 2 “An Evaluation of the Impact on Secondary Student Math Achievement of Two Highly Selective 

Routes to Alternative Certification,” http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/projects/evaluation/tq_alternative.asp. 

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teachers. This research indicates that teachers who enter the profession through alternative 

routes to certification can help fill teacher shortages in hard-to-staff schools and subjects without 

reducing student achievement. However, it also suggests that predicting teacher effectiveness 

at the time of hiring appears to be difficult. A third study on preservice training described the 

implementation of teacher residency grant projects that included a year-long “clinical” 

experience, integrated coursework, and co-teaching with an experienced mentor.3 These grants 

generally also provided support and mentoring after participants enter the classroom. The 

report, published in fall 2014, noted that retention rates for novice teachers from residency 

programs were similar to retention rates for other novice teachers. On average, 92 percent of 

novice teachers from residency programs and 90 percent of comparison group novice teachers 

stayed in the same district; around 4 percent of novice teachers from residency programs and 

6 percent of comparison novice teachers left the teaching profession.

The Department also invested in two studies of teacher professional development to identify and 

test promising approaches to in-service training. The first, published in September 2008, 

examined the extent to which particular professional development activities (not necessarily 

related to federally funded activities) change instructional practices in ways that research 

suggests are effective in improving student achievement in early reading.

4

 It found that although 

there were positive impacts on teachers’ knowledge of scientifically based reading instruction, 

neither of the two professional development activities in the study led to higher student test 

scores over a 1-year period, and there were no other significant effects of coaching activities on 

instructional practices. 

The second study examined particular professional development activities that focus on 

improving middle school student achievement in mathematics.

5

 An interim report on this study, 

published in April 2010, found that providing middle-school teachers 1 year of intensive math 

professional development (about 55 hours of specialized training during the 2007-08 school 

year) did not significantly improve their students’ math achievement compared to achievement of 

students whose teachers did not receive that professional development. The training did not 

significantly improve teacher knowledge, either, relative to the comparison group of teachers, but 

did affect one aspect of instructional practice: teachers who received the intensive professional 

development more frequently engaged in activities that elicited student thinking. The final report, 

released in May 2011, found that the intensive professional development activities were 

implemented as intended, but teacher turnover limited the amount of training teachers received. 

For example, some teachers left the study schools and others entered as the study progressed, 

so not all teachers had the opportunity to experience the full course of professional 

development. The report found no evidence that the intensive professional development 

resulted in improved teacher knowledge, as measured by a specially designed assessment. 

Finally, there was no evidence that the intensive professional development led to improvements 

in student achievement in the specific math content (rational numbers knowledge) covered by 

3 “Implementation Evaluation of Teacher Residency Programs,” 

http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/projects/evaluation/tq_residency.asp. 4 “The Impact of Professional Development Models and Strategies on Teacher Practice and Student 

Achievement in Early Reading, September 2008,” 

http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/projects/evaluation/tq_reading.asp. 5 “Middle School Mathematics Professional Development Impact Study, May 2011,” 

http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/projects/evaluation/tq_mathematics.asp. 

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the professional development. As described below (under Ongoing Evaluations), the 

Department plans to build on lessons learned from this evaluation and to measure the impact—

on teacher knowledge, classroom practices, and student achievement—of math professional 

development that focuses on mathematical content and integrating that content into the 

classroom at the upper elementary school grades.

The Department also evaluated existing induction programs in order to identify promising 

teacher retention strategies and to examine the impact of induction programs on student 

achievement.6

 The first report, released in October 2008, found that there was no statistically 

significant difference between retention rates of teachers who participated in a comprehensive 

teacher induction activity and teachers in a control group who received what their schools 

typically offered for induction. The second report, released in August 2009, includes information 

from 10 districts in which teachers were offered 1 year of induction services (“1-year districts”) 

and 7 districts in which teachers were offered 2 years of induction services (“2-year districts”). 

The report found no discernible impact of comprehensive induction on teacher retention rates 

after 2 years for either 1-year or 2-year districts. In addition, the report found that there were no 

statistically significant impacts on overall student achievement across all grade levels in reading 

or math during the teachers’ second year. The final report on induction programs, released in 

June 2010, found that among teachers who received 2 years of the specific comprehensive 

induction services tested, there was no impact on student achievement during the first 2 years, 

but there was a positive impact on student achievement in both reading and math in the third 

and final year of the study. Receiving only 1 year of induction services as designed in this study 

had no impact on student achievement. In addition, neither 1 year nor 2 years of comprehensive 

induction services led to improvements in teacher retention rates. 

In addition, the Department has used program evaluation funds to assess the progress that 

States, school districts, and schools have made in implementing the teacher quality and 

professional development provisions of the ESEA. The report of this assessment, which was 

released early in 2009, is based on the second round of data collection from 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.”7

 It presents findings from 

interviews with State education officials in all States and surveys of nationally representative 

samples of school district officials, principals, and teachers conducted in 2004-05 and 2006-07. 

The study found that by 2006-07, the vast majority of classes (around 94 percent) were taught 

by teachers who had met their States’ requirements for being considered highly qualified under 

the ESEA. However, teachers in high-poverty and high-minority schools, as well as special 

education and middle school teachers, were less likely to be highly qualified. Moreover, even 

among teachers who were considered highly qualified, teachers in high-poverty schools had less 

experience and were less likely to have a degree in the subject they taught. In 2006-07, 

44 percent of school districts reported facing moderate or major challenges in attracting qualified 

applicants for teaching positions in mathematics, 53 percent for science, and 55 percent for 

special education. More than 90 percent of high-minority districts reported difficulty attracting 

highly qualified applicants in mathematics and science. 

6 “Impact Evaluation of Teacher Induction Programs; October 2008, August 2009, and June 2010,” 

http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/projects/evaluation/tq_induction.asp. 7 “State and Local Implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act, Volume VIII--Teacher Quality 

Under NCLB: Final Report,” http://www2.ed.gov/rschstat/eval/teaching/nclb-final/index.html. 

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Improving teacher quality State grants

Finally, the Department is concerned with ensuring the equitable distribution of effective 

teachers. A recent evaluation in this area looked at the effects of offering incentives to highperforming teachers to teach in low-performing schools with high-need students.

8

 An initial 

report, published in April 2012, found that filling teacher vacancies in these schools using 

transfer incentives was feasible but required making the transfer offer to a large candidate pool 

to attract enough transferees. The report also noted that the teachers who transferred had, on 

average, 5 years more experience than teachers normally tapped to fill such positions. The final 

report, released in fall 2013, also examined teacher retention rates and the impact on student 

achievement in the low-performing schools to which the high-performing teachers transferred. 

The study found that the incentives improved retention rates during the 2-year incentive-payment 

period for the high-performing teachers who transferred; however, there was no statistically 

significant difference in retention rates in the fall immediately after the last incentive payment. In 

addition, the study found that the transfer incentives had a positive impact on student 

achievement in mathematics and reading at the elementary school level in each of the 2 years 

after a teacher transferred. These impacts were equivalent to raising achievement by 4 to 10 

percentile points relative to the average of all students in their state. The study found no impact 

on student achievement at the middle school level. The study authors also estimated that the 

transfer incentive program in elementary schools was more cost-effective than class-size 

reduction strategies aimed at generating the same impacts on student achievement, but 

cautioned that overall cost-effectiveness can vary depending on a number of factors, such as 

teacher retention rates.

Ongoing Evaluations

The Department is currently supporting one additional study on preservice teacher preparation 

that will examine teacher preparation programs with features thought to be promising.

9

 This 

study will explore whether the instructional skills that teachers, particularly teachers of English 

Learners, learn about and have opportunities to practice in their preparation programs are 

associated with novice teachers’ effectiveness in the classroom. The report, expected in fall 

2017, will look at the relationships between the teachers' experiences in their preparation 

programs and the achievement of students in their classrooms.

The Department is also continuing research on the effectiveness of in-service teacher training. 

A study of elementary school math professional development will look at the impact of 

specialized professional development in that area on teachers’ content knowledge and 

classroom practices, as well as on changes in student achievement.10 The report from this 

study, expected in 2016, will also describe how the professional development was implemented. 

A second study will examine the effect of supports for teachers to use data to guide instruction

on student academic achievement and other outcomes.11 Finally, a new study will evaluate the 

8 “Impact Evaluation Of Moving High-Performing Teachers to Low-Performing Schools,” 

http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/projects/evaluation/tq_recruitment.asp. 9 “A Study of Promising Features of Teacher Preparation Programs,” 

http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/projects/evaluation/tq_teacherprep_us.asp. 10 “Impact Evaluation of Math Professional Development,” 

http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/projects/evaluation/tq_mathpd.asp. 11 “Impact Evaluation of Data-Driven Instruction Professional Development for Teachers,”

http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/projects/evaluation/tq_datadriven.asp. 

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impact of support for principals on teacher retention, effectiveness of instructional staff, and 

student academic achievement.12

Another evaluation on the equitable distribution of effective teachers will provide information 

about the distribution of effective teachers within districts over a 5-year period based on valueadded measures.13 An interim report, released in fall 2013, looked at disadvantaged students’ 

access to effective teaching in grades 4 through 8 in English/language arts (ELA) and 

mathematics in 29 geographically dispersed school districts over the 2008-09 to 

2010-11 school years. Levels of access varied across school districts in the study sample, but 

disadvantaged students had on average less access to effective teaching, compared to nondisadvantaged students, and did not have greater access to effective teaching in any school 

district. The report authors estimated that providing these students with equal access to 

effective teaching would reduce the student achievement gap from 28 percentile points to 

26 percentile points in ELA and from 26 percentile points to 24 percentile points in mathematics 

in a given year. The final report, expected in late 2015, will also explore any changes in that 

distribution that may be associated with district strategies to ensure an equitable distribution of 

effective teachers.

The Department has also begun a study on the impact of teacher and leader performance 

evaluation and support systems.

14 This study will address the impact of these systems on 

educator practices, supports provided to educators, and student academic achievement. It will 

also describe districts’ and educators’ experiences implementing these systems. A report on the 

study’s first year of implementation is expected in late 2015.

The Department is also examining the implementation of policies promoted through ESEA 

Titles I and II at the State, district and school levels, in four core areas: State content standards, 

aligned assessments, accountability and school turnaround, and developing effective teachers 

and leaders. The study will reflect the impact of ESEA flexibility and other initiatives on the 

implementation of Title I and Title II of the ESEA. Baseline data was collected in the 2013-2014 

school year and an initial report is expected in late 2015.

12 “Impact Evaluation of Support for Principals,” 

http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/projects/evaluation/tq_principals.asp. 13 “Study of the Distribution of Effective Teaching,” 

http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/projects/evaluation/tq_distribution.asp. 14 “Impact Evaluation of Teacher and Leader Performance Evaluation Systems,” 

http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/projects/evaluation/tq_performance.asp. 

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Mathematics and science partnerships

(Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, Title II, Part B)

(dollars in thousands)

FY 2016 Authorization: To be determined1

Budget Authority:

2015 2016 Change

$152,717 $202,717 +$50,000

_________________

1 The GEPA extension expired September 30, 2008; reauthorizing legislation is sought for FY 2016.

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

The Mathematics and Science Partnerships program supports State and local efforts to improve 

students’ academic achievement in mathematics and science by improving elementary and 

secondary school mathematics and science teacher education and professional development. 

The Department provides grants to States by formula based on the number of children ages 5 to 

17 who are from families with incomes below the poverty line, with no State receiving less than 

0.5 percent of the appropriation. States then award funds competitively to eligible partnerships, 

which must include an engineering, mathematics, or science department of an institution of 

higher education (IHE) and a high-need local educational agency (LEA). Partnerships may also 

include other engineering, mathematics, science, or teacher training departments of an IHE; 

additional LEAs and public or private elementary or secondary schools, including charter 

schools; businesses; and nonprofit or for-profit organizations with demonstrated success in 

improving the effectiveness of mathematics and science teachers.

Authorized program activities include summer workshops or institutes that train teachers to use 

curricula that are based on scientific research and aligned with challenging State academic 

content standards; innovative distance-learning programs; and programs that bring teachers 

together with working scientists, mathematicians, and engineers to expand teachers’ subjectmatter knowledge and research. Grantees may also use program funds to develop more 

rigorous mathematics and science curricula that are aligned with challenging State and local 

academic content standards and to recruit individuals with mathematics, science, and 

engineering majors into the teaching profession through signing and performance incentives, 

stipends, and scholarships. 

Mathematics and Science Partnerships is a forward-funded program. Funds become available 

for obligation on July 1 of the fiscal year in which the funds are appropriated and remain 

available for 15 months through September 30 of the following year.

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Mathematics and science partnerships

Funding levels for the past 5 fiscal years were:

Fiscal Year (dollars in thousands)

2011 ...........................................................$175,127

2012 .............................................................149,716

2013 .............................................................141,902 

2014 .............................................................149,717

2015 .............................................................152,717

FY 2016 BUDGET REQUEST

The Administration requests $202.7 million for Mathematics and Science Partnerships for fiscal 

year 2016, an increase of $50 million over the fiscal year 2015 level. Consistent with the 

Administration’s Federal Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) 

Education Five-Year Strategic Plan, the request includes targeted changes to strengthen the 

program and reform STEM education. These changes would create a more cohesive approach 

than under current law and encourage States and partnerships to better leverage local, regional, 

and Federal STEM assets, be more responsive to local STEM industry needs, and reach more 

students. Specifically, the Administration will seek appropriations language that would:

• Allow States to reserve up to 20 percent of grant funds for State-level activities that are 

part of a comprehensive strategy for the provision of high-quality STEM instruction and 

support to students from prekindergarten through grade 12, including developing or 

maintaining State or regional STEM education reform networks;

• Expand the range of allowable activities of partnership subgrantees to include other 

activities to improve STEM education, particularly for students who are traditionally 

underrepresented in STEM fields, including: (1) developing, testing, and expanding the 

use of technology-based and other evidence-based practices to improve teacher 

effectiveness and student engagement and achievement in STEM subjects; and

(2) providing increased opportunities for students to have authentic STEM experiences, 

both during the school day and in informal settings, and to interact with, learn from, and 

be inspired by STEM professionals and experts; 

• Allow the Department to reserve up to $25 million to make competitive grants directly to 

eligible partnerships that leverage local and regional resources and assets to carry out 

the expanded activities described in the preceding bullet, which could include rigorous 

programs of STEM study that involve inquiry-, project-, and work-based learning as well 

as advanced coursework, including dual enrollment and other options for high school 

students to earn credit toward a postsecondary certificate or degree; and

• Allow the Department to reserve up to 5 percent of the appropriation for national 

activities, including the development of a STEM Virtual Learning Network to facilitate 

interaction among STEM educators and to accelerate identification, dissemination, and 

use of effective practices as well as other technical assistance on developing and 

implementing innovative approaches to STEM education.

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Mathematics and science partnerships

Our Nation’s economic competitiveness depends on our ability to improve and expand STEM 

learning and engagement. In a 2005 report, “Rising Above the Gathering Storm,” the National 

Academies concluded that a primary factor influencing the future health of the American 

economy and our ability to create jobs is innovation resulting from advances in science and 

engineering. Yet U.S. students finished behind those of 29 countries in mathematics and 22 

countries in science on the 2012 Program for International Student Assessment, which 

measures the mathematics and science literacy of 15-year-olds in the world’s most advanced 

countries. For the United States to build and maintain the highly skilled workforce and nourish 

the technological innovation needed to remain competitive in the global economy, we must 

improve STEM teaching and learning and ensure access to rigorous courses of study for our 

students.

Federal agencies have developed a range of STEM education programs over the years to 

accomplish this goal but recognize the need for continued improvement. Over the past 2 years, 

the Administration has made considerable progress towards creating a more cohesive 

framework for delivering STEM education. Guided by the Federal STEM Education Five-Year 

Strategic Plan and a significant reorganization of programs, agencies are increasing 

coordination, strengthening partnerships, and identifying ways to leverage existing resources to 

improve the reach of agency assets. A strengthened Mathematics and Science Partnerships 

program is essential to fully realizing this new framework. 

A stronger Mathematics and Science Partnerships program would allow the field to learn from 

and build on models currently in use in several States and LEAs with a deep STEM education 

focus. For example, Ohio launched the first statewide STEM Learning Network in 2007, 

including several successful STEM schools and an intensive partnership structure that has now 

expanded to engage additional States in STEM education reform. This multi-state network is 

working to develop models for leveraging STEM resources, create evaluation frameworks, and 

provide tools to help with policy, practice, and partnership development. The Administration’s 

proposal would help identify the most effective practices in these leading-edge States and LEAs

and help take them to scale nationwide by fostering new systems of support and expanding the 

evidence base for effective practices in STEM teaching and learning.

PROGRAM OUTPUT MEASURES (dollars in thousands)

Measures 2014 2015 2016

State Formula Grants

Amount to States $148,968 $151,953 $167,581

Range of State awards 745-18,411 760–18,585 838-20,496

Average State award 2,660 2,713 2,993

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Mathematics and science partnerships

Measures 2014 2015 2016

Eligible Partnership Competitive 

Grants

Amount for new awards 0 0 $24,750

Peer review of new award 

applications 0 0 250

National activities, including evaluation $749 $764 10,136 _______________

NOTE: The fiscal year 2014 appropriations act authorized the Department to pool evaluation funds reserved under 

section 9601 of the ESEA and use those pooled funds to evaluate any ESEA program. The fiscal year 2015 

appropriations act provided the same authority and the Administration’s fiscal year 2016 budget would continue this 

authority. While the Department did not pool funds from Mathematics and Science Partnerships under this authority 

in fiscal year 2014, it may do so in fiscal years 2015 and 2016.

PROGRAM PERFORMANCE INFORMATION

Performance Measures

This section presents selected program performance information, including, for example, GPRA 

goals, objectives, measures, and performance targets and data; and an assessment of the 

progress made toward achieving program results. Achievement of program results is based on 

the cumulative effect of the resources provided in previous years and those requested in fiscal 

year 2016 and future years as well as the resources and efforts invested by those served by this 

program.

The 2014 data for these measures are expected to be available in summer 2015.

Goal: To improve the quality of mathematics and science instruction and increase both 

the number of highly qualified mathematics and science teachers and the achievement of 

students participating in Mathematics and Science Partnerships programs.

Objective: Demonstrate the effectiveness of professional development activities for 

Mathematics and Science Partnerships teachers through increased achievement on 

assessments of mathematics and science content knowledge.

Measure: The percentage of Mathematics and Science Partnerships teachers who significantly 

increase their content knowledge, as reflected on project-level pre- and post-assessments.

Year Target – Math Actual – Math Target – Science Actual – Science

2011 65% 65% 65% 74%

2012 65 61 65 69

2013 65 63 65 67

2014 65 65

2015 65 65

2016 65 65

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Mathematics and science partnerships

Additional Information: Data for this measure are provided only for teachers who completed 

pre- and post-assessments.

Objective: Increase the percentage of students in classrooms of Mathematics and Science 

Partnerships teachers who score at the proficient level or above in State assessments of 

mathematics and science.

Measure: The percentage of students in classrooms of Mathematics and Science Partnerships 

teachers who score at the proficient level or above in State assessments of mathematics or 

science.

Year Target – Math Actual – Math Target – Science Actual – Science

2011 50% 65% 50% 67%

2012 52 64 52 67

2013 54 55 54 69

2014 56 56

2015 58 58

2016 60 60

Additional Information: Student assessment data are available only for subjects and grades 

that are tested using a statewide assessment. 

The decrease in the percentage of students scoring at or above proficient on State mathematics 

assessments in 2013 can be explained, in part, by States’ transition to more rigorous 

assessments based on college- and career-ready standards. The Department is considering 

whether to adjust the targets for this measure based on actual performance under the new 

assessments.

Objective: Increase the percentage of Mathematics and Science Partnerships projects that use 

an experimental or quasi-experimental design for their evaluations, that conduct their 

evaluations successfully, and for which evaluations yield scientifically valid results.

Measure: The percentage of Mathematics and Science Partnerships projects that report using 

an experimental or quasi-experimental design for their evaluations.

Year Target Actual

2011 41% 47%

2012 42 50

2013 43 49

2014 44

2015 45

2016 46

Measure: The percentage of Mathematics and Science Partnerships projects that use an 

experimental or quasi-experimental evaluation design that is conducted successfully and yields 

scientifically valid results.

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Mathematics and science partnerships

Additional Information: The Department’s contractor collects information related to evaluation 

from annual performance reports and assesses evaluation designs using a rubric that was 

developed for the Department in 2007 and revised in 2011 and 2012 to better align with What 

Works Clearinghouse standards. This measure includes only evaluation designs for which 

sufficient information is provided to enable an assessment. The Department believes that 

conveying high expectations for project evaluation through the rubric and prominently featuring 

subgrantees with strong evaluation designs in technical assistance and dissemination activities 

have contributed to the increase in the percentage of evaluations that are conducted 

successfully and with rigor.

Efficiency Measure

Measure: The percentage of State educational agencies that submit complete and accurate 

data on program performance measures in a timely manner.

Year Target Actual

2011 100% 100%

2012 100 100

2013 100 100

2014 100

2015 100

2016 100

Additional Information: To help ensure accuracy, the Department requires State program 

coordinators to review the data before they are submitted to the Department.

Year Target Actual

2011 16% 25%

2012 17 29

2013 18 30

2014 19

2015 20

2016 21

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Educational technology State grants

(Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, Title II, Part D, Subparts 1 and 2)

(dollars in thousands)

FY 2016 Authorization: To be determined1

Budget Authority: 

2015 2016 Change

0 $200,000 +$200,000

_________________

1 The GEPA extension expired September 30, 2008; reauthorizing legislation is sought for FY 2016.

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

The Educational Technology State Grants program is designed to help educators use 

technology effectively for innovative approaches that accelerate learning and improve student 

outcomes, such as blended and personalized learning. The program also builds State capacity 

to identify effective practices for supporting teachers and principals in their use of technology 

and scale those practices to benefit educators and students in all districts. 

The statute requires the Department to allocate program funds to State educational 

agencies (SEAs) in proportion to each State’s share of funds received under Part A of Title I of 

the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), except that no State receives less than 

one-half of 1 percent of the amount available for all States. The Department also must reserve 

three-quarters of 1 percent of the appropriation for schools supported by the Department of the 

Interior/Bureau of Indian Education and one-half of 1 percent for grants to the Outlying Areas, 

and may reserve up to 2 percent for national activities.

SEAs must distribute at least 95 percent of the State’s allocation to local educational

agencies (LEAs). Beginning in the fiscal year 2006 appropriations act, Congress annually 

included language allowing States to award up to 100 percent of funds competitively (this 

provision did not apply to the $650 million provided in fiscal year 2009 through the American 

Recovery and Reinvestment Act). SEAs are permitted to reserve up to 5 percent of the State’s 

allocation for administration and other State-level activities. 

The Educational Technology State Grants program is forward funded. Funds become available 

for obligation on July 1 of the fiscal year in which they are appropriated and remain available for 

15 months through September 30 of the following year.

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Funding levels for the past 5 fiscal years were:

Fiscal Year (dollars in thousands)

2011 ........................................................................ 0

2012 ........................................................................ 0

2013 ........................................................................ 0

 

2014 ........................................................................ 0

2015 ........................................................................ 0

FY 2016 BUDGET REQUEST

The Administration requests $200 million in fiscal year 2016 for Educational Technology State 

Grants to help ensure teachers and leaders have the skills and tools to use technology 

effectively to improve instruction and personalize learning. States will make competitive 

subgrants to model districts that have basic technology infrastructure, including a minimum 

student to computer ratio and internet speed, and that commit to use of evidence-based 

strategies where possible. The request would specifically encourage the use of evidence and 

build the evidence base about the use of technology to improve student outcomes. The funding 

would also build State capacity to help districts use technology to improve instruction as well as 

identify and scale effective local practices to other districts in the State. While this program has 

not been funded since 2010, the Administration believes that key reforms will position it well to 

support the President’s broader ConnectED initiative.

Educators recognize the ways that technology can transform teaching. Ninety-two percent of 

teachers say the Internet has a “major impact” on their ability to access content, resources, and 

materials to support classroom instruction. The Administration is expanding access to the 

Internet through its ConnectED Initiative, which includes a one-time $2 billion investment by the 

Federal Communications Commission (FCC), a yearly $1.5 billion increase in the FCC’s E-Rate 

program, as well as an additional $2 billion in private sector contributions. However, FCC 

funding is limited to supporting connectivity and cannot be used to provide teacher training or 

professional development related to the use of the connectivity to improve learning. Therefore, 

while these investments are significant, the impact is likely to fall far short of its potential without 

a simultaneous effort to help ensure that teachers and leaders are prepared to use the 

technology to improve professional learning and deliver personalized instruction.

Technology itself is no panacea for instructional improvement; the last three decades 

demonstrate that merely acquiring technology, such as buying personal computers or installing 

smart boards in classrooms, does little by itself to improve student achievement or other 

outcomes. However, there is growing evidence that when educators get the proper tools, 

training, and time to use technology well, they can transform learning for their students and 

themselves. For example, one Massachusetts high school, in an effort to address long-standing 

academic challenges, implemented a school-wide blended learning model for students and 

teachers alike. Students, parents, and school staff post lectures, videos, and assignments 

online so the entire school community has access to needed information. Educators were 

provided with virtual tools to collaborate with school leaders on a regular basis, thereby receiving 

more immediate and meaningful feedback, as well as access to online teaching resources that 

support professional development needs. The high school’s student achievement results have 

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Educational technology State grants

been impressive, particularly compared to peer schools, including making substantial gains in 

the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System and winning the 2014 High School 

Gold Award from the National Center for Urban School Transformation (NCUST). This example 

highlights the ways in which a robust investment in supporting teachers and leaders with 

technology-enabled tools can transform instruction and generate dramatic improvement in 

student outcomes. The National Education Technology Plan outlines other approaches (see 

http://www.ed.gov/edblogs/technology/netp-2010/).

Unfortunately, too few teachers and principals have the resources they need to learn how 

technology can improve the way instruction is provided, and such support may be weakest in 

high-need schools where it can have the greatest impact. A recent Pew study of Advanced 

Placement and National Writing Project teachers found that nearly 40 percent of teachers with 

students from low-income families say their school is “behind the curve” in effectively using 

digital tools in the learning process, compared to only 15 percent of teachers of students from 

higher income families. This “digital divide” suggests that while some educators are improving 

their use of technology to deliver effective instruction, it may be exacerbating rather than closing 

existing achievement and equity gaps in our public schools. In addition, schools often lack 

sufficient privacy protections around the technology they do have, including terms in contracts 

and the privacy and security practices of third party vendors.

Creating Model Districts

Through this program, States would make competitive awards to high-need LEAs to support the 

creation of exemplary models of transforming learning through effective use of educational 

technology. Grantees would implement such technology-enabled activities as: (1) providing inperson or virtual coaching from expert teachers to help educators use technology and data to 

personalize instruction; (2) creating virtual networks that allow educators to share resources, 

collaborate on lessons, and share feedback; or (3) expanding online learning so all students can 

access courses and instruction, including advanced coursework, that may not be available in 

their schools, especially in rural and high needs schools. For example, one Arizona district 

worked with its educators to create a district-wide instructional program that includes 

professional development resources and formative assessments aligned to State standards that 

is now available online to all 9,000 teachers in the district. Due to the popularity of the program, 

which saves countless planning hours for teachers and school leaders, and which has 

demonstrated promising student achievement results, 85 other districts and charter schools in 

the State are now partnering with that district to share standards-aligned instructional resources.

The Administration’s request will help State leaders seed more of these models in their districts 

while also promoting efforts to scale up effective local technology-based initiatives so that they 

can be shared statewide.

Developing State Capacity

States would also use program funds to hire dedicated educational technology leaders with 

knowledge of the fast-evolving resources in this area as well as an understanding of how best to 

put them into use in schools. These leaders would support the development of evidence-based 

practices and resources among all districts in the State. They would support the creation of and 

updates to robust privacy protections for students and parents on digital platforms. They would 

also explore opportunities for innovation and new models for statewide and regional technology 

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procurement of both hardware and learning software, such as model contracts, cooperative 

purchasing, buyer’s consortia, advanced market commitments, and greater transparency for 

technology product contracts at the State and district levels. For example, the Department 

anticipates that States would create education collaboration portals open to all districts that 

would include, in part, ready access to activities and tools supported through local subgrants. In 

particular, States have a critical role to play in fostering collaboration among districts, so districts 

do not have to work in isolation. Georgia, for instance, provides analytic tools so educators can 

seamlessly access needed resources, including professional development networks and student 

performance data, to help create personalized learning for all students. States like Rhode Island 

provide infrastructure support, connect schools, and broker connections between professional 

development providers and the districts. 

Based on the Department’s experience implementing this program when it was previously 

funded, the Administration will seek appropriations language to make important programmatic 

improvements. In particular, the new appropriations language would: (1) require SEAs to award 

100 percent of subgrant funds competitively; (2) target subgrant awards to applicants with 

existing technology capacity, including connectivity and devices; (3) promote evidence-based 

practices; (4) limit local spending on hardware; and (5) ensure that all States are able to reserve 

sufficient funds to support meaningful State-level activities.

Consistent with the authorizing statute, the Department would reserve up to 2 percent of 

program funds for evaluation and national leadership activities, such as working with States and 

districts to improve procurement and technology planning practices, help spur innovation in 

technology products, and disseminate innovative and evidence-based technology tools and 

products. Specific activities could also include helping SEAs and LEAs identify critical shared 

needs and solutions and streamline technology procurement practices. 

PROGRAM OUTPUT MEASURES (dollars in thousands)

Measures 2016

Amount for State grants $193,550

Range of State grants 968-22,478

Average State grant 3,722

Amount for BIE 1,470

Amount for Outlying Areas 980

National activities 4,000 _______________

NOTE: The fiscal year 2014 appropriations act authorized the Department to pool evaluation funds reserved under 

section 9601 of the ESEA and use those pooled funds to evaluate any ESEA program. The fiscal year 2015 

appropriations act provided the same authority and the Administration’s fiscal year 2016 budget would continue this 

authority. While the Department did not pool funds from Educational Technology State Grants under this authority in 

fiscal year 2014, it may do so in fiscal year 2016.

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PROGRAM PERFORMANCE INFORMATION

Performance Measures

The primary goal of the Educational Technology State Grants program is to improve the 

academic achievement of students, particularly students who attend high-poverty or lowperforming schools, through the effective use of technology. The Department would establish 

new performance indicators to assess the program’s impact. These measures would focus on 

areas such as achievement outcomes for students with increased access to high-quality 

courses, materials, and personalized learning opportunities via technology; the number of 

teachers that participate in online communities of practice; the amount of funding repurposed to 

support educational activities through using openly-licensed digital textbooks; and the frequency 

of parental contact through the use of technology.

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21st Century community learning centers

(Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, Title IV, Part B)

(dollars in thousands)

FY 2016 Authorization: To be determined1

Budget Authority: 

2015 2016 Change

$1,151,673 $1,151,673 0

_________________

1 The GEPA extension expired September 30, 2008; reauthorizing legislation is sought for FY 2016.

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

The 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) program enables communities to 

establish or expand centers that provide additional student learning opportunities, such as 

before- and after-school programs and summer school programs, and provide related services 

to their families. Centers must target their services primarily to students who attend schools 

eligible to operate a schoolwide program under Title I of the Elementary and Secondary 

Education Act (ESEA) (which are schools with at least a 40 percent child poverty rate) or other 

schools that serve a high percentage of students from low-income families. In addition to 

activities designed to help students meet State and local student academic achievement 

standards, program funds may be used to provide other activities that complement and reinforce 

the regular school-day program of participating students, such as art and music education 

activities, recreational activities, telecommunications and technology education programs, 

expanded library service hours, family engagement and literacy programs, and drug and 

violence prevention activities.

Program funds are allocated by formula to States. Of the total appropriation, the Department 

reserves up to 1 percent to carry out national activities and up to 1 percent for grants to the 

Bureau of Indian Education in the Department of the Interior and to the Outlying Areas. The 

Department allocates the remaining funds to States in proportion to each State’s share of funds 

in the previous fiscal year under Part A of ESEA Title I. However, no State may receive less 

than one-half of 1 percent of the total amount available for States.

Each State educational agency (SEA) must award at least 95 percent of its allocation 

competitively to local educational agencies (LEAs), community-based organizations, faith-based 

organizations, or other public or private entities that can demonstrate experience, or the promise 

of success, in providing educational and related activities. In making awards, States give priority 

to applications that: (1) propose to target services to students who attend schools identified as 

in need of improvement under Title I; and (2) are submitted jointly by at least one LEA that 

receives funds under Part A of Title I and at least one community-based organization or other 

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21st Century community learning centers

public or private entity. States must make awards of at least $50,000 per year for a period of 

3 to 5 years.

An SEA may reserve up to 2 percent of its allocation for administrative expenses, including the 

costs of conducting its grants competition. In addition, an SEA may reserve up to 3 percent of 

its allocation for monitoring local programs, providing technical assistance and training, and 

evaluating the effectiveness of the State’s program.

As part of ESEA flexibility, an SEA may request a waiver to use 21st CCLC funds to support 

high-quality expanded learning time (ELT) during the school day, in addition to activities during 

non-school hours or periods when school is not in session (i.e., before- and after-school or 

during the summer). This waiver allows grantees to use 21st CCLC funds for activities to 

support high-quality ELT during the regular school day in a school that has extended its normal 

school day, school week, or school year to provide additional instruction or educational 

programs for all students.

This program is forward funded. Funds become available for obligation on July 1 of the fiscal 

year in which they are appropriated and remain available for 15 months through September 30 

of the following year.

Funding levels for the past 5 fiscal years were:

Fiscal Year (dollars in thousands)

2010 ........................................................$1,166,166

2011 .........................................................1,153,854

2012 ..........................................................1,151,673

2013 ..........................................................1,091,564

2014 ..........................................................1,149,370

2015 ..........................................................1,151,673

FY 2016 BUDGET REQUEST

The Administration requests $1.2 billion in fiscal year 2016 for the 21st Century Community 

Learning Centers (21st CCLC) program, the same as the 2015 level. The Administration will 

also seek appropriations language to allow State educational agencies (SEAs) to use 21st 

CCLC funds to support expanded learning time (ELT) during the school day. This proposal 

would expand to all States the flexibility currently available to the 44 States (including the District 

of Columbia and Puerto Rico) approved for ESEA flexibility, under which 21st CCLC funds may 

be used for activities to support high-quality ELT during the regular school day in a school that 

has extended its normal school day, school week, or school year to provide additional instruction 

or educational programs for all students. For example, the additional time could be used for 

supplemental academic enrichment activities that support a well-rounded education for students 

and increase collaboration and planning time for teachers, or for partnering with an outside

organization, such as a nonprofit organization, that has demonstrated experience in improving 

student achievement. This enhanced flexibility would allow communities to determine the best 

strategies for providing their students and teachers the time and support they need to improve 

student and school performance.

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21st Century community learning centers

This request will increase the likelihood for positive student outcomes resulting from activities 

supported by the 21st CCLC program. Research suggests that programs that significantly 

increase the total number of hours in a regular school schedule can produce gains in student 

academic achievement. Other research suggests that high-quality after-school programs may 

have a positive impact on other desirable student outcomes, such as higher attendance during 

the regular school day. However, data from the current 21st CCLC program suggest that low 

student participation rates may be limiting the program’s effectiveness. For example, States 

reported that only half of the total number of students served (about 875,000 of over 1.7 million) 

attended programs for 30 days or more over the course of the 2012-13 program year. Using 

funds to support the implementation of ELT programs during a lengthened school day could 

improve program performance by minimizing or eliminating such participation problems. In 

addition, allowing schools to provide comprehensive and integrated services (often referred to 

as “wraparound services”) at the school site, including during the school day, would help to meet 

the educational, developmental, mental, behavioral, and emotional health needs of students, 

families, and members of the community. The Department is also considering other ways to 

improve program performance and grantee accountability.

Finally, the Department would reserve a portion of the funds for national activities, including 

research, data collection, technical assistance, outreach, and dissemination. These activities 

would focus on the identification and promotion of effective efforts to expand learning time; 

provide comprehensive services; increase community and parental involvement; and improve 

science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. For example, the 

Department has collaborated with NASA to launch a pilot education initiative designed to 

address the national need for a STEM-educated workforce and to create and evaluate STEM 

resources for 21st CCLC grantees.1

 This initiative also supported two key goals of the Federal 

Committee on STEM Education, the Federal STEM Education Five-Year Strategic Plan, and the 

Cross-Agency Priority Goal on STEM: increasing student engagement in STEM experiences 

and implementing more effective coordination among Federal agencies with STEM education 

investments.

PROGRAM OUTPUT MEASURES (dollars in thousands)

Measures 2014 footnote2015 Footnote2016 footnote

Formula Grant Program

Amount distributed to States $1,126,382 $1,128,639 $1,128,639

FG Range of awards to States $5,632-$124,945 $5,643-$132,439 $5,643-$131,075

FG Average State award $21,661 $21,705 $21,705

FG Reservation for State 

activities (maximum) $33,791 $33,859 $33,859

FG Reservation for State

administration (maximum) $22,528 $22,573 $22,573

1 Information about the ED-NASA initiative, including videos of student projects, is available online at 

http://www.ed.gov/blog/2014/01/working-together-to-build-tomorrows-stem-workforce/.

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21st Century community learning centers

Measures 2014 footnote2015 Footnote2016 footnote

National activities and evaluation $11,4941 $11,5172 $11,5172

Amount for Bureau of Indian 

Education and the Outlying 

Areas $11,494 $11,517 $11,517

Data on Centers

Data on Centers: 

Number of centers supported 10,000 10,000 10,000 Data on Centers: 

Total students served 1,730,000 1,750,000 1,750,000 Data on Centers: 

Students attending 30 days or 

more 875,000 900,000 900,000 Data on Centers: 

Total adult family members 

served 293,000 300,000 300,000

_________________

1 The fiscal year 2014 appropriations act authorized the Department to pool evaluation funds reserved under 

section 9601 of the ESEA and use those pooled funds to evaluate any ESEA program. In 2014, the Department 

combined funds totaling $4.8 million from a number of ESEA programs, including $2,700 thousand from the 

21st CCLC program, in order to support new, high-priority evaluations. 2 The fiscal year 2015 appropriations act authorized the Department to pool evaluation funds reserved under 

section 9601 of the ESEA and use those pooled funds to evaluate any ESEA program. The Administration’s fiscal 

year 2016 budget would continue this authority. Some or all of the funds that may be reserved from the 21st CCLC 

program under section 9601 may be used under the ESEA pooled evaluation authority in fiscal years 2015 and 

2016.

PROGRAM PERFORMANCE INFORMATION

Performance Measures

This section presents selected program performance information, including, for example, GPRA 

goals, objectives, measures, and performance targets and data; and an assessment of the 

progress made toward achieving program results. Achievement of program results is based on 

the cumulative effect of the resources provided in previous years and those requested in 

FY 2016 and future years, and the resources and efforts invested by those served by this 

program. 

Goal: To establish community learning centers that help students in high-poverty, lowperforming schools meet academic achievement standards, that offer a broad array of 

additional services designed to complement the regular academic program, and that offer 

families of students opportunities for educational development. 

Objective: Participants in 21st CCLC programs will demonstrate educational and social 

benefits and exhibit positive behavioral changes.

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Measure: The percentage of regular program participants whose mathematics grades improve 

from fall to spring.

Year

Target 

Elementary

School 

Participants

Target

Middle and 

High School 

Participants

Target

All 

Participants

Actual 

Elementary

Participants

Actual

Middle and 

High School 

Participants

Actual

All 

Participants

2011 48.5% 48.5% 48.5% 39.5% 34.1% 37.2%

2012 48.5 48.5 48.5 34.2 32.4 33.4

2013 48.5 48.5 48.5 30.7 30.3 30.7

2014 48.5 48.5 48.5

2015 48.5 48.5 48.5

2016 48.5 48.5 48.5

Measure: The percentage of regular program participants whose English grades improve from 

fall to spring.

Year

Target 

Elementary

School 

Participants

Target

Middle and 

High School 

Participants

Target

All 

Participants

Actual 

Elementary

Participants

Actual

Middle and 

High School 

Participants

Actual

All 

Participants

2011 48.5% 48.5% 48.5% 40.3% 35.7% 38.1%

2012 48.5 48.5 48.5 34.9 32.8 47.0

2013 48.5 48.5 48.5 31.0 30.3 30.9

2014 48.5 48.5 48.5

2015 48.5 48.5 48.5

2016 48.5 48.5 48.5

Additional information: A “regular program participant” is defined as a student who attends the

program for 30 days or more during the course of the school year. To report data by grade span 

for this measure, the data system sorts program performance data by analyzing participant 

demographic information at the center level (as opposed to the individual student level). For this 

reason, programs that serve youth of all ages are not included in the columns disaggregated by 

grade level. Implementation of a new performance data system will delay the receipt of 2014 

data until spring 2016.

Measure: The percentage of regular program participants who improve from not proficient to 

proficient or above on State assessments.

Year

Target 

Elementary

Reading

Target Middle 

and High School 

Math

Actual 

Elementary

Reading

Actual Middle 

and High School 

Math

2011 40.0% 25.0% 19.9% 18.2%

2012 45.0 25.0 27.2 19.8

2013 45.0 25.0 20.2 17.8

2014 45.0 25.0

2015 45.0 25.0

2016 45.0 25.0

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21st Century community learning centers

Additional information: The Department calculates results for this measure by dividing the 

number of regular participants who scored proficient or better in spring of the reporting year (but

were not proficient in the previous year) by the total number of current-year regular participants 

who scored below proficient the previous spring. For a regular participant to be included in the 

data for this measure, the center has to have data on the student’s prior-year and current-year 

State assessment results. The 2013 data represent approximately 582,000 regular elementary 

school-aged attendees and 275,000 regular middle- and high-school-aged attendees. 

Implementation of a new performance data system will delay the receipt of 2014 data until spring 

2016.

Measure: The percentage of students with teacher-reported improvements in student behavior.

Year

Target 

Elementary

School 

Participants

Target

Middle and 

High School 

Participants

Target

All 

Participants

Actual 

Elementary

Participants

Actual

Middle and 

High School 

Participants

Actual

All 

Participants

2011 75% 75% 75% 68.4% 63.3% 68.7%

2012 75 75 75 69.9 64.6 67.9

2013 75 75 75 68.5 64.2 67.1

2014 75 75 75

2015 75 75 75

2016 75 75 75

Additional information: As with the measures for reading and math grades and proficiency, to 

report data by grade span for this measure the data system sorts program performance data by 

analyzing participant demographic information at the center level (as opposed to the individual 

student level). For this reason, programs that serve youth of all ages are not included in the 

columns disaggregated by grade level. Implementation of a new performance data system will 

delay the receipt of 2014 data until spring 2016.

Efficiency Measures

The Department developed three operational efficiency measures for the 21st CCLC program.

Measure: The percentage of SEAs that submit complete data on 21st CCLC program 

performance measures by the deadline.

Year Target Actual

2011 90% 94%

2012 95 78

2013 95

2014 95

2015 95

2016 95

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21st Century community learning centers

Measure: The average number of days it takes the Department to submit a final monitoring 

report to an SEA after the conclusion of a site visit.

Year Target Actual

2011 35 55

2012 35 60

2013 35

2014 35

2015 35

2016 35

Measure: The average number of weeks a State takes to resolve compliance findings in a 

monitoring visit report.

Year Target Actual

2011 4 3

2012 4 3

2013 4

2014 4

2015 4

2016 4

Additional information: This measure tracks States’ timeliness in responding to the 

Department’s fiscal management monitoring findings that require States to take corrective action 

within 30 days. Examples of such fiscal management findings include: drawing down funds in a 

manner that is not consistent with State and Federal policies; awarding funds for periods other 

than between 3 and 5 years (the subgrant length required by the statute); and improperly limiting 

entities eligible for subgrants.

Other Performance Information

In 2009, the Department’s Institute of Education Sciences (IES) released “The Evaluation of 

Enhanced Academic Instruction in After-School Programs,” based on a rigorous study that 

developed and tested the effectiveness of two after-school interventions (one each in math and 

reading) that were adapted from materials from existing school-day curricula that are based on 

sound theory or that have scientific evidence of effectiveness. The evaluation found a 

statistically significant improvement in student achievement between students in the math afterschool program and those in the regular after-school activities after 1 year of enhanced 

instruction, but no additional achievement benefit beyond the 1-year impact after 2 years of 

participation. In study sites implementing the reading program, there was no statistically 

significant difference in reading achievement between students in the reading after-school 

program and those in the regular after-school activities after 1 year of the program; after 2 years 

of the program, there was a statistically significant negative impact on reading achievement. It is 

important to note that the sample of centers was not nationally representative and that findings 

from this study cannot, therefore, be generalized to the 21st CCLC program. 

In addition, the Department’s Policy and Program Studies Service (PPSS) analyzed data from a 

nationally representative sample of 21st CCLC programs to evaluate State and local program 

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implementation. The resulting report, “21st Century Community Learning Centers: Descriptive 

Study of Program Practices,” was released in July 2010. The evaluation focused on how, and to 

what extent, funds support high-quality programs that emphasize academic content, as well as 

staffing patterns and other features of after-school program implementation that may have an 

impact on the quality of the programming offered. Centers reported that about half of their 

students attended roughly 2 days a week or more. In addition, three-quarters of the centers 

reported that a typical student participated in reading activities (75 percent) and mathematics 

activities (81 percent) for less than 4 hours per week. About half of centers reported offering 

professional development opportunities to staff through training courses or conferences.

The Department also conducted two additional studies of the 21st CCLC program. Through the 

first, led by PPSS, the Department collected information about State-administered competitions 

for 21st CCLC subgrants. The second study, led by IES, focused on assessing the 

implementation of ELT programs in States that received the authority, under ESEA flexibility, to 

use 21st CCLC funds to support ELT during the school day. The Department is using 

information from these studies to strengthen technical assistance to States that conduct 

competitions and improve program management.

D-45D-45
SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMS

State assessments

(Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, Title VI, Part A, Subpart 1)

(dollars in thousands)

FY 2016 Authorization: To be determined1

Budget Authority: 

PP2015 2016 Change

$378,000 $403,000 +$25,000

_________________

1 The GEPA extension expired September 30, 2008; reauthorizing legislation is sought for FY 2016.

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) requires States to test all 

students annually in grades 3 through 8 and once in high school in reading (or language arts) 

and mathematics, and to administer annual assessments in science once in each of three grade 

spans specified in the law (grades 3-5, 6-9, and 10-12). Furthermore, States must assess the 

English proficiency of all limited English proficient students annually. Under current law, the 

annual assessments in reading and mathematics are used to determine whether States, local 

educational agencies (LEAs), and schools are making adequate yearly progress (AYP) toward 

the goal of all students attaining proficiency by 2013-2014. The science and language 

proficiency assessments are not required for the determination of adequate yearly progress. 

Under the Department’s ESEA flexibility initiative, the Department is providing States, LEAs, and 

schools with flexibility from the current law to improve academic achievement and improve the 

quality of instruction for all students. All of the 42 States approved thus far, plus the District of 

Columbia and Puerto Rico, use these annual assessments to measure the progress of schools 

toward annual measurable objectives set as part of their systems of differentiated accountability, 

recognition, and support.

All assessments must be used for purposes for which such assessments are valid and reliable, 

include measures that assess higher-order thinking skills and understanding, and enable 

achievement results to be disaggregated by major racial and ethnic group, gender, poverty, 

disability, English proficiency, and migrant status. The annual assessments can provide critical 

information about student achievement and progress to parents and teachers, which can be 

used to help improve instruction and meet specific student needs.

The Grants for State Assessments program provides formula grants to States to pay the costs of 

developing the standards and assessments required by Title I of the ESEA. Once a State has 

put in place those standards and assessments, it may use program funds to pay for the 

administration of the assessments and for other activities related to ensuring that the State’s 

schools and LEAs are held accountable for results and helping students attain academic 

D-46
SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMS

State assessments

standards. Such activities may include, among other things, developing standards and 

assessments in subjects other than those required by Title I, expanding the range of testing 

accommodations for students with disabilities and for limited English proficient students, 

professional development aligned with State standards and assessments, and developing 

multiple measures to ensure the validity and reliability of State assessments. Funds also may be

used to acquire and to train teachers and other staff to use the educational technology needed 

to implement new, computer-based assessments, and to purchase add-ons and diagnostic 

information related to such assessments.

Under the funding formula, 0.5 of 1 percent of the appropriation is reserved for the Department 

of the Interior/Bureau of Indian Education and 0.5 of 1 percent goes to the Outlying Areas. From 

the remaining funds, each State receives $3 million and then a share of any remaining funds 

based on its proportion of students ages 5 through 17.

The ESEA also authorizes Grants for Enhanced Assessment Instruments, a competitive grant 

program under which the Department makes awards to support efforts by States, or consortia of 

States, to: (1) improve the quality, validity, and reliability of State academic assessments; 

(2) measure student academic achievement through the use of multiple measures from multiple 

sources; (3) chart student progress over time; and (4) use comprehensive instruments such as

performance- and technology-based assessments. To date, the Department has made 50 

awards under the program. Those grants have supported projects to increase the accessibility 

and validity of assessments for students with disabilities or limited English proficiency; develop 

English language proficiency assessments; use technology to improve State assessments; and 

provide intensive, high-quality professional development for using assessment data to improve 

instruction. 

State Assessments is a forward-funded program. Funds become available for obligation on 

July 1 of the fiscal year in which they are appropriated and remain available for 15 months 

through September 30 of the following year.

Funding levels for the past 5 fiscal years were:

Fiscal Year (dollars in thousands)

2011...................................................................................... $389,951

2012.........................................................................................389,214

2013.........................................................................................368,900

2014.........................................................................................378,000

2015.........................................................................................378,000

FY 2016 BUDGET REQUEST

For 2016, the Administration requests $403 million for State Assessments, an increase of 

$25 million over the 2015 appropriation. The request includes $378 million in formula grants to 

States and $25 million in competitive awards for Enhanced Assessments Instruments. 

Annual assessments aligned to college- and career-ready standards play a key role in helping 

schools support student learning. They provide information to teachers, parents, and students 

D-47D-47
SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMS

State assessments

about student progress towards college- and career readiness, while also giving teachers 

valuable feedback that allows them to better engage students and improve their academic 

achievement. However, assessments should support teaching and learning, not detract from it, 

and schools and districts should work to minimize the classroom time devoted to test preparation 

for both State and local assessments. The State Assessment formula grants help States 

improve the quality of assessments and may be used to help LEAs improve their own 

assessments and eliminate redundant and unnecessary assessments so that they can improve 

their efforts to help students achieve State standards. 

The increase proposed for fiscal year 2016 would help States to support the effective 

implementation of assessments that are aligned to State-determined college- and career-ready 

(CCR) standards. By school year 2016-2017, when fiscal year 2016 funds are available to SEAs 

and LEAs, the Department expects that at least 42 States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto 

Rico will be administering high-quality assessments aligned to college- and career-ready 

standards. These assessments will measure higher order thinking skills, appropriately assess 

all students, including students with disabilities and English Learners, and provide timely, useful 

data to students, teachers, and parents. State formula grant funds may be used to support 

continuous improvement and accessibility in the development and implementation of these 

assessments. In addition, these resources would allow States to improve their own 

technological capacity, as well as that of their districts and schools, to implement computerbased assessments and use technology to implement other elements of their assessment 

systems (such as scoring and reporting). 

The request also would provide $25 million for competitive grants under the Enhanced 

Assessment Instruments program to support projects designed to help States address pressing 

needs they have identified for developing and implementing their assessments, which could 

include providing high-quality professional development for teachers using assessment data to 

improve instruction and meet student needs, helping parents understand how assessments 

provide information about their children’s academic achievement and needs, developing 

computer-based or other new assessments or assessment items, using technology to help 

administer or analyze assessments, developing tools to help analyze the quality, alignment, and 

uses of assessments, or conducting research to contribute to assessment knowledge and 

quality. 

PROGRAM OUTPUT MEASURES (dollars in thousands)

Measure: 2014 2015 2016

Grants for State Assessments:

Amount for State Grants $365,361 $365,361 $374,120

Estimated number of awards 52 52 52

Range of awards $3,272-$28,691 $3,272-$28,691 $3,283-$29,779

Average award $7,026 $7,026 $7,387

BIE and Outlying Areas $3,691 $3,691 $3,880

D-48D-48
SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMS

State assessments

Measure: 2014 2015 2016

Grants for Enhanced 

Assessment Instruments:

Funding for new awards $8,948 $8,948 $24,950

Number of new awards 2-3 2-3 3-5

Range of new awards $2,800-$4,000 $2,800-$4,000 $5,000-$8,400

Peer review of applications 30 $30 $50

_________________

NOTE: The fiscal year 2014 appropriations act authorized the Department to pool evaluation funds reserved 

under section 9601 of the ESEA and use those pooled funds to evaluate any ESEA program. The fiscal year 2015 

appropriations act provided the same authority and the Administration’s fiscal year 2016 budget would continue this 

authority. While the Department did not reserve funds from the State Assessments program under this authority in 

fiscal year 2014, it may do so in fiscal years 2015 and 2016.

PROGRAM PERFORMANCE INFORMATION

The goal of the program is to support States in the development of the State assessments 

required under Title I of the ESEA. The performance measure is the number of States (including 

DC and PR) that have reading/language arts and mathematics assessments that align with the 

State's academic content standards for all students in grades three through eight and in high 

school and science assessments that align with the State's academic content standards for all 

students in each of three grade spans (grades 3 through 5, 6 through 9, and 10 through 12). 

The determination of whether a State has met these requirements is based on formal peer 

reviews of State standards and assessment systems; the Department determines whether to 

approve State assessment systems based on the outcome of those reviews. 

In December 2012, the Department notified States that it was suspending the peer reviews of 

State assessment systems under Title I in order to update the current peer review process. The 

timing of this suspension reflects both transitions by many States to new assessments and 

advances in the field since the previous process was established. The Department intends to 

use the process to help States improve the technical quality of their assessment systems. 

Below is a chart showing the approval status of State assessment systems as of December 12, 

2012:

Approval Status of State Assessment Systems as of December 12, 2012

Number of States with approved reading/language arts, mathematics, and 

science assessments 33

Number of States with approved reading/language arts and mathematics 

assessments (but not science) 5

Number of States that do not have approved reading/language arts or 

mathematics assessments, or both, because of changes to a previously 

approved assessment system 5

Number of States that have never received approval for their assessment 

systems 9

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SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMS

State assessments

In addition, the Department is revising the regulations pertaining to State assessment systems 

under Title I, issued on April 9, 2007, that allow States the option of developing alternate 

assessments based on modified academic achievement standards for students with disabilities 

that meet certain criteria. To ensure that students with disabilities are held to the same high 

standards as their nondisabled peers and are able to benefit from the general education 

curriculum that will prepare them for success in college and careers, the revised rule will 

remove the States’ authority to administer such assessments after the 2014-15 school year. 

Under the final rule, however, States will continue to be able to adopt alternate academic 

achievement standards and to measure the achievement of students with the most significant 

cognitive disabilities against those standards. The Department expects to issue final regulations 

on this matter in 2015. Sixteen States previously developed alternate assessments based on 

modified academic achievement standards, but due to State commitments under ESEA flexibility 

or Race to the Top-Assessment grant projects, all 16 States have discontinued these 

assessments for Title I accountability as of the end of the 2013-14 school year. Further, under 

ESEA flexibility, all States with an approved ESEA flexibility request are required to implement 

an alternate assessment aligned to college- and career-ready standards in the 2014-2015 

school year. A State can meet this requirement through its alternate assessment based on 

alternate academic achievement standards for students with the most significant cognitive 

disabilities.

The Department conducted a pilot review of products from grantees that received fiscal year 

2005 funding in order to obtain baseline data for the performance measures for the Grants for 

Enhanced Assessment Instruments program. These measures assess the extent to which 

funded projects produce significant research on assessments, in particular regarding 

accommodations and alternate assessments for students with the most severe cognitive 

disabilities, and whether grantees disseminate information on the advances in assessment that 

result from their grants. The grantee’s final products were reviewed by expert panels. The 

review found that five of the eight grants funded in fiscal year 2005 produced significant 

research, methodologies, products, or tools relating to assessment systems or assessments, 

and five of the eight grants also produced significant research, methodologies, products, or tools 

specifically relating to accommodations and alternate assessments for students with disabilities 

and limited English proficient students. 

Efficiency Measures

The Department adopted an efficiency measure that tracks the average number of days per 

peer review session it takes the Department to issue an initial standards and assessment 

decision letter to a State after receiving a submission. 

Year Target Actual

2008 90 78.23

2009 90 100.9

2010 90 183.4

2011 90 127.3

2012 90 111.3

Additional information: The Department reviews State standards and assessment systems in 

order to determine whether a State has met each of the requirements specified in the authorizing 

D-50D-50
SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMS

State assessments

statute. At this time, every State has submitted evidence for review multiple times. The 

Department has announced suspension of peer reviews for State assessment systems. There 

will be no updates for this measure until a new peer review process for State assessment 

systems is implemented.

D-51D-51
SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMS

Education for homeless children and youths

(McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, Title VII, Subtitle B)

(dollars in thousands)

FY 2016 Authorization: Indefinite

Budget Authority:

2015 2016 Change

$65,042 $71,542 +$6,500

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

The Education for Homeless Children and Youths program helps ensure that all homeless 

children and youth have equal access to the same free, appropriate public education available to 

other children through grants to States to: (1) establish or designate an Office of Coordinator of 

Education of Homeless Children and Youth; (2) develop and carry out a State plan for the 

education of homeless children; and (3) make subgrants to local educational agencies (LEAs) to 

support the education of those children. 

The Department allocates program funds to States through a formula based on each State's 

share of funds under Title I, Part A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). A 

State may not receive less than $150,000, 0.25 percent of the total program appropriation for the 

fiscal year, or the amount of the State’s fiscal year 2001 allocation, whichever is greatest. 

Program funds are also reserved for the outlying areas (0.1 percent of a fiscal year’s 

appropriation) and the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) of the Department of the Interior 

(1 percent). In addition, the Department is authorized to reserve funds to provide technical 

assistance (if requested by a State) and conduct evaluation and dissemination activities.

A State may reserve up to 25 percent (or in the case of a State receiving the minimum award, 

50 percent) of its allocation for State-level activities and must use remaining funds to make 

subgrants to LEAs. LEAs may use subgrant funds for such activities as providing enriched 

supplemental instruction, transportation, professional development, referrals to health care, and 

other services to facilitate the enrollment, attendance, and success in school of homeless 

children, including preschool-aged children, and youth.

Education for Homeless Children and Youths is a forward-funded program. Funds become 

available for obligation on July 1 of the fiscal year in which they are appropriated and remain 

available through September 30 of the following year.

D-52
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Education for homeless children and youths

Funding levels for the program for the past 5 fiscal years were:

Fiscal Year (dollars in thousands)

2011 .............................................................$65,296

2012 ...............................................................65,173

2013 ...............................................................61,771

2014 ...............................................................65,042

2015 ...............................................................65,042

FY 2016 BUDGET REQUEST

The Administration requests $71.5 million for Education for Homeless Children and Youths for 

fiscal year 2016, an increase of $6.5 million compared to the fiscal year 2015 level. An 

important component of the national effort to end the cycle of homelessness, this program helps 

reduce and eliminate the barriers to educational success faced by homeless children, such as 

transportation and healthcare needs, and provide access to academic services available to other 

children, including preschool programs, special education, gifted and talented programs, and 

career and technical education. 

While program funding has remained flat since fiscal year 2010, the number of enrolled 

homeless students as reported by States has increased by a third between fiscal years 2010 

and 2013 (the most recent year for which data are available), from 939,903 students to 

1,258,182 students. The requested increase will help ensure that States and LEAs can provide 

the services needed to improve educational outcomes for homeless children and youth.

In complement to its request for Education for Homeless Children and Youths, the Department 

will continue to promote, through technical assistance and monitoring as appropriate, the 

effective implementation of the provision initiated in the fiscal year 2014 appropriations act that 

allows funds under Title I Grants to Local Educational Agencies to be used to provide homeless 

children and youths with services not ordinarily provided to other students under that program, 

including supporting LEA liaisons for homeless children and youths and providing transportation.

PROGRAM OUTPUT MEASURES (dollars in thousands)

Measures 2014 2015 2016

Amount for State grants $63,283 $63,262 $69,669

Average State award 1,217 1,217 1,340

Amount to BIE 650 650 715

Amount to Outlying Areas 65 65 72

National activities 1,044 1,065 1,086

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SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMS

Education for homeless children and youths

PROGRAM PERFORMANCE INFORMATION

Performance Measures

This section presents selected program performance information, including, for example, GPRA 

goals, objectives, measures, and performance targets and data; and an assessment of the 

progress made toward achieving program results. Achievement of program results is based on 

the cumulative effect of the resources provided in previous years and those requested in fiscal 

year 2016 and future years, as well as the resources and efforts invested by those served by this 

program.

The 2014 data for these measures are expected to be available in summer 2015.

Goal: To ensure access of homeless children and youth to the same free, appropriate 

public education as is provided to other children and youth.

Objective: Homeless children and youth will have greater access to a free and appropriate 

public education.

Measure: The percentage of homeless children and youth, grades three through eight, who are 

included in statewide assessments in reading and mathematics, as reported by LEA 

subgrantees.

In 2013, 97.8 percent of students identified as homeless at the time of State assessments were 

included in State assessments in reading, and 97.9 percent of such students were included in 

State assessments in mathematics. In 2012, those rates were 98.1 and 98.0 percent, 

respectively.

Additional Information: Beginning in 2011, the Department developed a new method of 

calculating assessment participation rates of homeless students using different data elements in 

the Education Data Exchange Network. We believe this method produces more accurate and 

reliable results than the method used in prior years. The Department is considering whether to 

continue reporting on this measure in future years.

Measure: The percentage of assessed homeless students, grades three through eight, who 

meet or exceed proficiency on State assessments in reading and mathematics.

Year Target – Reading Actual – Reading Target – Math Actual – Math

2011 60% 51% 60% 51%

2012 63 50 63 47

2013 66 45 66 41

2014 69 69

2015 73 73

2016 77 77

Additional Information: Data for this measure are reported only for local educational agencies 

(LEAs) receiving subgrants under the program. The Department has worked to improve 

performance and reporting for this and the preceding measure by requiring States to report on 

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SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMS

Education for homeless children and youths

the measures through the Consolidated State Performance Report and the Education Data 

Exchange Network and by providing, together with the National Center for Homeless Education 

(the Department’s technical assistance contractor), a variety of guidance and technical 

assistance, including an annually updated Federal data collection guide for the program. The 

Department has also worked with its Data Quality Initiative contractor to assess the reliability of 

State-reported data on homeless students and to develop strategies to help States improve data 

quality. 

The decrease in the percentage of students scoring at or above proficiency on State 

assessments in 2013 can be explained, in part, by States’ transition to more rigorous 

assessments based on college- and career-ready standards. The Department is considering 

whether to adjust the targets for this measure for future years based on actual performance 

under the new assessments.

Other Information

The Department initiated a national study of implementation of the Homeless Children and Youth 

Education program in the fall of 2010. The study will examine, at the State and local levels, 

program administration and use of funds, efforts to collect data on homeless students, policies to

remove barriers faced by homeless students, and coordination of services to homeless students. 

Results from the study are expected to be available in February 2015.

D-55D-55
SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMS

Education for Native Hawaiians

(Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, Title VII, Part B) 

(dollars in thousands)

FY 2016 Authorization: To be determined1, 2

Budget Authority: 

Period of Fund Availability 2015 2016 Change

$32,397 $33,397 +$1,000

_________________

1 The GEPA extension expired September 30, 2008; reauthorizing legislation is sought for FY 2016. 2 Under current law, of the amount available to carry out Sections 7204 and 7205 of ESEA, $500 thousand is to 

be reserved for a direct grant to the Native Hawaiian Education Council to carry out Section 7204.

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

The Education for Native Hawaiians program supports the provision of supplemental education 

services to the Native Hawaiian population. Competitive grants are awarded to eligible 

applicants for a variety of authorized activities in such areas as teacher training, family-based 

education, gifted and talented education, special education, higher education, and communitybased education learning centers. Eligible applicants include Native Hawaiian educational

organizations and community-based organizations, public and private nonprofit organizations, 

agencies, and institutions with experience in developing or operating Native Hawaiian programs 

or programs of instruction in the Native Hawaiian language, and other entities. 

The program also supports the activities of the Native Hawaiian Education Council. The Council 

uses funds directly and is authorized to make grants to facilitate its coordination of the 

educational and related services and programs available to Native Hawaiians. It also provides 

administrative support and financial assistance to island councils authorized by the statute. The 

Council receives a minimum award of $500,000 annually.

Funding levels for the past 5 fiscal years were:

Fiscal Year (dollars in thousands)

2011..............................................................$34,246

2012................................................................34,181

2013................................................................32,397

2014................................................................32,397

2015................................................................32,397

D-56
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Education for Native Hawaiians

FY 2016 BUDGET REQUEST

For fiscal year 2016, the Administration requests $33.4 million for the Education for Native 

Hawaiians program, $1 million more than the 2015 level. The proposed increase is part of the 

President’s plan to make more funding available to programs that support Native youth, as part 

of the “Generation Indigenous” initiative. The budget request would continue support for 

competitive grants to eligible entities.

Data on the educational performance of Native Hawaiian students demonstrate the continuing 

need for this program. In 2013, 60.9 percent of Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander students 

demonstrated grade-level proficiency in reading and 46.6 percent in mathematics on Hawaii’s 

State assessment, compared to 72.1 percent in reading and 59.3 percent in mathematics for all 

Hawaiian students. This gap between Native Hawaiians and their peers remains consistent 

across grade levels. In the 4th grade, 62.8 percent of Native Hawaiian students met or exceeded 

proficiency in reading and 53.6 percent met or exceeded proficiency in mathematics, compared 

to 72.5 percent in reading and 63.8 percent in mathematics for all Hawaiian students. In the 8th

grade, 61.6 percent of Native Hawaiian students met or exceeded proficiency in reading and 

46.0 percent met this level in mathematics, compared to 74.7 percent in reading and 

55.4 percent in mathematics for all Hawaiians students. 

Program grants help address these gaps by developing programs tailored to the educational and 

cultural needs of Native Hawaiian students in order to improve their performance in the 

classroom and increase their chances of graduating from high school.

PROGRAM OUTPUT MEASURES (dollars in thousands)

Measure 2014 2015 2016

Amount for new awards $10,055 $6,769 $5,092

Number of new awards 18 9 6

Amount for continuation awards $21,518 $24,786 $27,463

Number of continuation awards 18 19 27

Native Hawaiian Education 

Council $500 $500 $500

Peer review of new award 

applications

$324 $342 $342

_________________

NOTE: The fiscal year 2014 appropriations act authorized the Department to pool evaluation funds reserved 

under section 9601 of the ESEA and use those pooled funds to evaluate any ESEA program. The fiscal year 2015 

appropriations act provided the same authority and the Administration’s fiscal year 2016 budget would continue this 

authority. While the Department did not reserve funds from the Education for Native Hawaiians program under this 

authority in fiscal year 2014, it may do so in fiscal years 2015 and 2016.

D-57D-57
SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMS

Education for Native Hawaiians

PROGRAM PERFORMANCE INFORMATION 

Performance Measures

This section presents selected program performance information, including GPRA goals, 

objectives, measures, and performance targets and data, and an assessment of the progress 

made toward achieving program results. Achievement of program results is based on the 

cumulative effect of the resources provided in previous years and those requested in fiscal 

year 2016 and future years, as well as the resources and efforts invested by those served by this 

program.

The Department established new performance measures for this program in 2008, partly in 

response to recommendations from the Government Accountability Office (GAO), to gauge more 

accurately and reliably the effectiveness of this program.

The Department used the new measures beginning with the fiscal year 2009 cohort of new 

grantees.

Measure: The percentage of students served by the program that met or exceeded proficiency 

standards in reading on the State’s annual assessments.

Year Native Hawaiian Students All Students

2012 59% 71%

2013 70 72

2014

2015

2016

Measure: The percentage of students served by the program that met or exceeded proficiency 

standards in math on the State’s annual assessments.

Year Native Hawaiian Students All Students

2012 47% 57%

2013 47 57

2014

2015

2016

D-58D-58
SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMS

Education for Native Hawaiians

Measure: The percentage of students served by the program that met or exceeded proficiency 

standards in science on the State’s annual assessments.

Year Native Hawaiian Students All Students

2012 48% 33%

2013 16 34

2014

2015

2016

Measure: The percentage of students served by the program demonstrated school readiness in 

literacy.

Year Target Actual

2012 41% 44%

2013 42 43

2014 43

2015 44

2016 45

Additional Information: In 2012, this measure applied to only two grantees.

Measure: The percentage of students in schools served by the program who graduate from 

high school with a regular high school diploma in 4 years.

Year Native Hawaiian Students All Students

2012 77% 82%

2013 79 77

2014

2015

2016

Measure: The percentage of students receiving Hawaiian language instruction through a grant 

under the program who meet or exceed proficiency standards in reading on a test of the 

Hawaiian language

Year Target Actual

2012 55% 50%

2013 50 50

2014 50

2015 50

2016 50

D-59D-59
SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMS

Alaska Native education equity

(Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, Title VII, Part C) 

(dollars in thousands)

FY 2016 Authorization: To be determined1

Budget Authority: 

Period of Fund Availability 2015 2016 Change

$31,453 $32,453 +$1,000

_________________

1 The GEPA extension expired September 30, 2008; reauthorizing legislation is sought for FY 2016.

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

The Alaska Native Education Equity program supports supplemental educational programs and 

services for Alaska Natives. The program awards competitive grants to eligible applicants for a 

variety of authorized activities, such as teacher training and student enrichment programs. 

Eligible applicants include Alaska Native organizations, educational entities with experience in 

developing or operating Alaska Native programs or programs of instruction conducted in Alaska 

Native languages, cultural and community-based organizations, and other entities. At least 

$1 million must be used for parenting education activities.

Activities supported by these grants include the development and implementation of curricula 

and educational programs that address needs of the Alaska Native student population, 

professional development activities for educators, the development and operation of home 

instruction programs for Alaska Native preschool children that help ensure the active 

involvement of parents in their children’s education, family literacy services, student enrichment 

programs in science and mathematics, and dropout prevention programs.

Section 7304(d)(2) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) requires the 

following grants to be awarded annually: $1 million for cultural education programs operated by 

the Alaska Native Heritage Center; $1 million for a cultural exchange program operated by the 

Alaska Humanities Forum; $2 million for an Alaska Initiative for Community Engagement; and 

$2 million for the Cook Inlet Tribal Council’s Partners for Success program, a dropout prevention 

program. However, since fiscal year 2012, appropriations language has required all program 

funds to be awarded competitively.

All grantees may use no more than 5 percent of their awards for administrative costs.

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SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMS

Alaska Native education equity

Funding levels for the past 5 fiscal years were:

Year (dollars in thousands)

2011 .............................................................$33,248

2012 ...............................................................33,185

2013 ...............................................................31,453

2014 ...............................................................31,453

2015 ...............................................................31,453

FY 2016 BUDGET REQUEST

For fiscal year 2016, the Administration requests $32.5 million for the Alaska Native Education 

Equity program, $1 million more than the fiscal year 2015 level. The increase is proposed as

part of the President’s plan to make more funding available to programs that support Native 

youth, as part of the “Generation Indigenous” initiative. The budget request would support the 

continued provision of education-related services to the Alaska Native population while

eliminating directed funding for particular organizations because the Administration believes that 

competing these funds will lead to higher-quality programs and improved student outcomes. 

The proposed increase would be used for new awards; most other funds would be used for 

continuation awards.

Data on the educational performance of Alaska Native students demonstrate the continuing 

need for this program. Results from the spring 2013 Alaska Standards-Based Assessment 

indicated that Alaska Native and American Indian students in the State continue to lag behind 

their peers in academic performance. Because Alaska Natives constitute approximately 

95 percent of the State’s American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) student population, the AI/AN 

scores are good proxies for Alaska Native achievement. Fifty percent of AI/AN students 

demonstrated proficiency on the 4th-grade reading assessment, compared to 75 percent of all 

4th-grade students, and 54 percent of AI/AN students achieved proficiency in mathematics, 

compared to 75 percent of all 4th-grade students. Eighth-grade assessments showed similar 

results as 62 percent of AI/AN students demonstrated proficiency on the 8th-grade reading 

assessment, compared to 82 percent of all 8th-grade students, and 47 percent of AI/AN students 

achieved proficiency in mathematics, compared to 66 percent of all 8th-grade students. 

Data from the 2013 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) show similar 

achievement gaps. In 4th-grade reading, 7 percent of AI/AN students in Alaska were proficient, 

while the overall average for all students in Alaska was 27 percent. There were similar 

differences in 8th-grade reading (12 percent proficient compared to 31 percent for all students in 

Alaska), 4th-grade mathematics (13 percent proficient compared to 37 percent for all students in 

Alaska), and 8th-grade mathematics (15 percent proficient compared to 33 percent for all 

students in Alaska). 

In addition to achievement data, the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development 

reported that the annual dropout rate (the proportion of students who drop out of school during 

the course of a year) among AI/AN students in grades 7 through 12 was 6.2 percent in the 

2012-2013 school year. This was higher than the rate for any other racial or ethnic group in the 

State and well above the statewide rate of 4.0 percent. Further, Alaska’s Report Card to the 

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Alaska Native education equity

Public: 2012-2013 reported that the AI/AN high school graduation rate was 57.1 percent, while 

the statewide figure was 71.8 percent.

Alaska’s geography and population patterns add to the challenge of delivering quality 

educational services to Alaska Native students. The State has many rural districts, which often 

house few schools spread out over large remote areas, and Alaska Native students are 

disproportionately enrolled in small, rural, and isolated schools.

Program grants help address these barriers by developing programs tailored to the educational 

and cultural needs of Alaska Native students in order to improve their performance in the 

classroom and increase their chances of graduating from high school.

PROGRAM OUTPUT MEASURES (dollars in thousands)

Measure 2014 2015 2016

Amount for new awards $12,662 $17,116 $2,360

Number of new awards 20 27 5

Amount for continuation 

awards

$18,476 $14,022 $29,778

Number of continuation 

awards

36 21 47

Peer review of new award 

applications

$315 $315 $315

_________________

NOTE: The fiscal year 2014 appropriations act authorized the Department to pool evaluation funds reserved 

under section 9601 of the ESEA and use those pooled funds to evaluate any ESEA program. The fiscal year 2015 

appropriations act provided the same authority and the Administration’s fiscal year 2016 budget would continue this 

authority. While the Department did not reserve funds from the Alaska Native Education Equity program under this 

authority in fiscal year 2014, it may do so in fiscal years 2015 and 2016.

PROGRAM PERFORMANCE INFORMATION

Performance Measures

This section presents selected program performance information, including GPRA goals, 

objectives, measures, and performance targets and data, and an assessment of the progress 

made toward achieving program results. Achievement of program results is based on the 

cumulative effect of the resources provided in previous years and those requested in fiscal 

year 2016 and future years, as well as the resources and efforts invested by those served by this 

program.

The Department established new and revised performance measures in 2008 that more 

accurately and reliably gauge the effectiveness of this program. The new indicators measure: 

(1) the percentage of Alaska Native students in schools served by the program who meet or 

exceed proficiency standards for reading, mathematics, and science on the State’s annual 

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assessments; (2) the percentage of Alaska Native children participating in early learning and 

preschool programs who demonstrate school readiness in language and literacy as measured 

by the Revised Alaska Developmental Profile (RADP); and (3) the percentage of students in 

schools served by the program who graduate from high school with a high school diploma in 

4 years. 

The Department used these measures beginning with the fiscal year 2009 cohort of new 

grantees. Baseline data are available for 2012. In 2012, 57 percent of students in schools 

served by the program met or exceeded proficiency standards for reading, 47 percent of 

students met or exceeded proficiency standards for math, and 32 percent of students met or 

exceeded proficiency standards in science on the State’s annual assessments. The second 

measure regarding school readiness applied to only three grantees; 29 percent of participating 

children demonstrated school readiness. Fifty three percent of students in schools served by the

program graduated from high school with a high school diploma in 4 years. The Department 

expects to have year one data available later in 2015.

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Training and advisory services

(Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IV)

(dollars in thousands)

FY 2016 Authorization: Indefinite

Budget Authority: 

2015 2016 Change

$6,575 $6,575 0

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

The Training and Advisory Services program supports efforts to achieve the intent of Title IV of 

the Civil Rights Act by aiding educators in preparing, adopting, and implementing plans for 

desegregating public schools and solving equity problems related to race, gender, and national 

origin. To carry out those activities, the Department awards 3-year grants to regional Equity 

Assistance Centers (EACs) in each of the 10 Department of Education regions. The EACs are 

part of the Department’s wide-ranging technical assistance network that includes the regional 

educational laboratories, Comprehensive Centers, What Works Clearinghouse, Office of Special 

Education Program-funded Technical Assistance Centers, and other Department-supported 

single centers designed to provide high-quality support that is accessible, comprehensive, and 

relevant to SEAs, LEAs, and schools as they tackle the important work of ensuring a high-quality 

education for all students. 

The EACs provide services to school districts upon request. Typical activities include 

disseminating information on successful educational practices and on legal requirements related 

to nondiscrimination on the basis of race, sex, and national origin in educational programs. 

Other activities include training designed to develop educators' skills in such areas as the 

identification of race and sex bias in instructional materials and technical assistance in the 

identification and selection of appropriate educational programs to meet the needs of a diverse 

student body.

Funding levels for the past 5 fiscal years were:

Year (dollars in thousands)

2011..................................................................................... $6,975

2012....................................................................................... 6,962

2013....................................................................................... 6,598

2014....................................................................................... 6,598

2015....................................................................................... 6,575

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FY 2016 BUDGET REQUEST

For fiscal year 2016, the Administration requests $6.6 million for the Training and Advisory 

Services program, the same as the 2015 level. The fiscal year 2016 funds would support the 

first year of multi-year grants to 10 regional EACs. 

The fiscal year 2011 competition included four priorities for projects that would support the goal 

of equal access to a high-quality education for all students: (1) a competitive preference priority 

on improving the effectiveness and distribution of teachers or principals; (2) a competitive 

preference priority on strategies to improve school engagement, school environment, school 

safety, family and community engagement; (3) an invitational priority on enabling more databased decision-making; and (4) an invitational priority on promoting science, technology, 

engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. The Department will review the effectiveness 

of these priorities in consideration of priorities for the fiscal year 2016 competition.

The Department has decided to lengthen the project period for grant awards in future 

competitions as a way to provide more continuity of service to the field and realize greater costefficiencies. As a first step, in April 2014, the Department published a notice of waiver and

extension of the project period for the current cohort of centers. The waiver permits the 

Department to extend the project periods of the centers by 1 or 2 years. The Department 

received only positive comments and feedback in response to this notice. In light of this 

extension and the public response to it, the Department anticipates making 5-year awards in 

future competitions, beginning in 2016.

PROGRAM OUTPUT MEASURES (dollars in thousands) 

Measures 2014 2015 2016

Amount for continuation awards $6,575 $6,552 0

Number of continuation awards 10 10 0

Amount for new awards 0 0 $6,486

Peer review of new award 

applications 0 0 $66

Number of new awards 0 0 10

Data collection $23 $23 $23

PROGRAM PERFORMANCE INFORMATION

Performance Measures

This section presents selected program performance information, including, for example, GPRA 

goals, objectives, measures, and performance targets and data; and an assessment of the 

progress made toward achieving program results. Achievement of program results is based on 

the cumulative effect of the resources provided in previous years and those requested in 

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FY 2016 and future years, and the resources and efforts invested by those served by this 

program.

The Department gathers data to inform the program’s performance measures through customer 

surveys administered by the Library of Congress’s Federal Research Division. 

Goal: To support access and equity in public schools and help school districts solve 

equity problems in education related to race, sex, and national origin.

Objective: Provide high-quality technical assistance and training to public school districts in 

addressing equity in education.

Measure: The percentage of customers of Equity Assistance Centers (EACs) who develop, 

implement, or improve their policies or practices, or both, in eliminating, reducing, or preventing 

harassment, conflict, and school violence.

Year Target Actual

2011 71% 42%

2012 72 62

2013 73 51

2014 74 49

2015 75

2016 76

Additional information: “Actual” data reflect results from the prior program year. Changes in 

positive responses for this measure could be explained by more or fewer customers seeking this 

type of assistance since the denominator includes all customers. The percentages for individual 

EACs ranged from 35 percent to 77 percent in 2014. While the overall percentage is lower in 

2014, the lowest rating of a center in 2014 is 15 percentage points higher than the lowest rating 

of a center in 2013.

Measure: The percentage of customers of Equity Assistance Centers who develop, implement, 

or improve their policies and practices, or both, for ensuring that students of different race, sex, 

and national origin have equitable opportunity for high-quality instruction.

Year Target Actual

2011 76% 82%

2012 77 85

2013 78 78

2014 79 80

2015 80

2016 80

Additional information: Changes in positive responses for this measure could be explained by 

more or fewer customers seeking this type of assistance since the denominator includes all 

customers. The percentages for individual EACs ranged from 64 percent to 90 percent in 2014. 

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Measure: The percentage of customers who report that the products and services they 

received from the Equity Assistance Centers are of high quality.

Year Target Actual

2011 90% 96%

2012 90 94

2013 90 94

2014 90 94

2015 90

2016 90

Additional information: Customers have responded very positively on the quality of the 

products and services they have received, and 94 percent of the respondents gave the products 

and services a “very high” or “high” rating of quality in 2014. The percentages for individual 

EACs receiving a rating of “high” or “very high” ranged from 86 percent to 100 percent in 2014.

Measure: The percentage of customers who report that the products and services they 

received from the Equity Assistance Centers are of high usefulness to their policies and 

practices.

Year Target Actual

2011 90% 90%

2012 90 92

2013 90 93

2014 90 89

2015 90

2016 90

Additional information: Customers have responded positively to this measure for 9 years in a 

row, and the program has generally met or exceeded its targets. In 2014, 89 percent of the 

respondents gave the products and services a “very high” or “high” rating of usefulness. The 

percentages for individual EACs receiving a rating of “high” or “very high” ranged from 

71 percent to 100 percent.

Efficiency Measures

The Department has implemented a measure of administrative efficiency (the number of working 

days to send a monitoring report measure) to assess the Training and Advisory Services 

program and other Department programs. A second efficiency measure for carry over funds 

was established specifically for Training and Advisory Services and the Comprehensive Centers 

program.

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Measure: The percentage of Equity Assistance Center grant funds carried over in each year of 

the project.

Year Target Actual

2011 10% 5%

2012 10 6

2013 10 2

2014 10 1

2015 10

2016 10

Additional information: The percentage of funds carried over is calculated as the expected 

carryover reported by grantees in the annual performance report, divided by the total funds 

awarded during the current grant cycle.

Measure: The number of working days it takes the Department to send a monitoring report to 

grantees after monitoring visits. 

Year Target Actual

2011 45 60

2012 45 30

2013 45 30

2014 45 38

2015 45

2016 45

Additional information: The program office conducted 2 monitoring visits in late fiscal 

year 2013. One of the reports was sent 30 days after the visit, which was in fiscal year 2013; the 

second report was sent 38 days after the visit, which fell in fiscal year 2014. The program office 

did not schedule any monitoring visits to occur in fiscal year 2014.

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(Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, Title VI, Part B)

(dollars in thousands)

FY 2016 Authorization: To be determined1

Budget Authority:

2015 2016 Change

$169,840 $169,840 0

_________________

1 The GEPA extension expired September 30, 2008; reauthorizing legislation is sought for FY 2016.

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

Part B of Title VI of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), the Rural Education 

Achievement program (REAP), authorizes two programs to assist rural school districts in 

carrying out activities to help improve the quality of teaching and learning in their schools. The 

Small, Rural School Achievement (SRSA) program provides funds to rural local educational 

agencies (LEAs) that serve small numbers of students; the Rural and Low-Income School 

(RLIS) program provides funds to rural LEAs that serve high concentrations of poor students, 

regardless of the LEA’s size. Funds appropriated for REAP are divided equally between the 

SRSA and the RLIS programs.

The two programs have similar accountability requirements. Participating LEAs are required to 

administer an assessment that is consistent with the ESEA Title I assessment requirements. An 

LEA has 3 years to make adequate yearly progress (AYP) as defined by the State under ESEA 

Title I. If, after 3 years, an LEA is making AYP, it may continue to participate in the program. If it 

does not make AYP, an LEA may continue to participate only if it agrees to use all of its 

applicable funding to carry out Title I school improvement activities.

REAP is a forward-funded program. Funds become available for obligation on July 1 of the 

fiscal year in which they are appropriated and remain available for 15 months through 

September 30 of the following year.

SMALL, RURAL SCHOOL ACHIEVEMENT PROGRAM (Subpart 1)

To be eligible to receive funds under the SRSA program, an LEA must: (1) have a total average 

daily attendance (ADA) of less than 600 students or serve only schools that are located in 

counties that have a population density of fewer than 10 persons per square mile; and (2) serve 

only schools that have a National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) locale code of 7 (rural) 

or 8 (rural near an urban area) or are located in an area of the State defined as rural by a 

governmental agency of the State.

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The Department makes formula allocations directly to eligible LEAs based on the number of 

students in ADA in the schools served by the LEA and the amount the LEA received under 

certain Federal programs in the previous fiscal year. For each eligible LEA, the Department 

calculates an initial allocation that is equal to $20,000 plus $100 for each child in ADA above 50, 

with a maximum initial allocation of $60,000. An LEA’s final allocation is equal to the initial 

allocation minus the amount received in “applicable funding,” which are funds allocated under 

the Improving Teacher Quality State Grants, Educational Technology State Grants, Safe and 

Drug-Free Schools and Communities State Grants, and State Grants for Innovative Programs, in 

the previous fiscal year (since fiscal year 2011, only the Improving Teacher Quality State Grants

program has been funded).

LEAs may use program funds to carry out activities authorized under: (1) Part A of Title I 

(Grants to Local Educational Agencies); (2) Part A of Title II (Improving Teacher Quality State 

Grants); (3) Part D of Title II (Educational Technology State Grants); (4) Title III (Language 

Instruction for Limited English Proficient and Immigrant Students); (5) Part A of Title IV (Safe and 

Drug-Free Schools and Communities State Grants); (6) Part B of Title IV (21st Century 

Community Learning Centers); and (7) Part A of Title V (State Grants for Innovative Programs). 

Eligible LEAs also may (under the “REAP-Flex” authority) consolidate funds they receive from 

these sources (except for Title I, Part A) to carry out effective activities under any of the 

authorized programs, including Title I, Part A. 

RURAL AND LOW-INCOME SCHOOL PROGRAM (Subpart 2)

Under the RLIS program the Department makes formula allocations to States based on each 

State’s share of children in ADA in all eligible LEAs. Eligible LEAs must: (1) have a Census 

child-poverty rate of at least 20 percent and (2) serve only schools that have an NCES locale 

code of 6 (small town), 7 (rural), or 8 (rural near an urban area). States have the option of 

allocating funds to eligible LEAs competitively or through a formula based on the number of 

children in ADA in eligible LEAs within the State. A State may also use an alternative formula to 

allocate funds if it can demonstrate that an alternative method would better target funds to 

eligible LEAs that serve the highest concentrations of poor students. 

LEAs use program funds for: (1) teacher recruitment and retention; (2) teacher professional 

development; (3) educational technology; (4) parental involvement activities; (5) activities 

authorized under Part A of Title IV (Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities); (6) activities 

authorized under Part A of Title I (Grants to LEAs); and (7) activities authorized under Title III 

(Language Instruction for Limited English Proficient and Immigrant Students).

Lastly, the Department allocates one-half of 1 percent of RLIS funds to the Bureau of Indian 

Education of the Department of the Interior and an equal amount to the Outlying Areas. 

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Funding levels for the past 5 fiscal years were:

Year (dollars in thousands) fn

2011............................................................$174,532

2012..............................................................179,193

2013..............................................................169,840

2014..............................................................169,840

2015..............................................................169,840

FY 2016 BUDGET REQUEST

For fiscal year 2016, the Administration is requesting $169.8 million for REAP, the same as the 

2015 level. The requested level would provide an average LEA award of approximately $20,000 

under SRSA and an average LEA subgrant of approximately $42,000 under RLIS.

The Administration supports continued funding for REAP because of the significant challenges 

that rural LEAs face in meeting the objectives of the ESEA. According to the National Center for 

Education Statistics (NCES), in school year 2011-12, 33 percent of the Nation’s public schools 

were located in rural areas, with 25 percent of all public school students enrolled at these 

schools. The small size and remoteness of many rural schools and districts creates a different 

set of challenges from those of urban schools and districts. For example, rural schools and 

districts generally do not benefit from economies of scale and, thus, can face greater per-pupil 

costs in areas such as staffing or transportation. This may explain, in part, why rural school 

districts often are not able to offer their students the same level of access to advanced 

coursework as other districts. In 2009, just 32 percent of students graduating high school in 

rural areas had earned credits in dual credit, Advanced Placement, or International 

Baccalaureate courses, compared to 48 percent of city and 44 percent of suburban high school 

graduates. 

In addition, because of size and location, many small, rural districts have faced difficulty in 

meeting the ESEA requirement that students receive instruction in the core academic subjects 

from teachers who are fully certified by the State and have demonstrated competency in the 

subjects they teach. These districts also face challenges recruiting and retaining effective 

teachers. Rural teachers are frequently called upon to teach multiple subjects, which, in turn, 

requires teachers to obtain multiple certifications in order to meet the statutory definition of 

“highly qualified.” REAP funds can help rural LEAs meet the challenge of recruiting and

retaining a staff of highly qualified and effective teachers.

Rural districts frequently receive allocations under the Department’s formula grant programs that 

are too small to allow the LEA to address effectively the purposes for which the funds are 

appropriated. For example, among districts eligible for SRSA in fiscal year 2014, the fiscal year 

2013 median of allocations under the Improving Teacher Quality State Grants program was 

$12,713. Recognizing that rural districts frequently receive small allocations from Federal 

formula grants, the “REAP-Flex” authority gives SRSA-eligible LEAs the flexibility to make more 

effective use of their small Federal formula allocations. An eligible LEA may use its formula 

allocation under the Improving Teacher Quality State Grants program to carry out authorized 

activities or for activities authorized under Part A of Title I, Part D of Title II (Educational 

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Technology), Title III (English Language Acquisition), Part A of Title IV (Safe and Drug-Free 

Schools and Communities), Part B of Title IV (21st Century Community Learning Centers), or 

Part A of Title V (Innovative Programs). An estimated 41 percent of eligible districts notified their 

respective State of their intention to take advantage of this authority in school year 2012-13. Yet 

even when the eligible LEAs consolidate their allocations under these programs, they typically 

do not have enough money to provide effective educator professional development, strengthen 

school safety, or address the other statutory objectives in a meaningful manner. REAP funds 

supplement these small formula grant allocations under other ESEA programs and assist rural 

LEAs in financing and implementing approaches to meeting ESEA requirements and addressing 

the other challenges they face.

PROGRAM OUTPUT MEASURES (dollars in thousands)

Measures 2014 2015 2016

Small, rural school achievement(SRSA)

SRSATotal funding $84,920 $84,920 $84,920

Number of LEAs receiving grants 4,274 4,274 4,274

SRSAverage LEA grant $20 $20 $20

SRSAverage award per student (whole $) $75 $75 $75

SRSARange of awards to LEAs 0 - $60 0 - $60 0 - $60

Rural and low-income schools(RLIS)

RLISTotal funding $84,920 $84,920 $84,920

RLISAmount for State grants $84,070 $84,070 $84,070

RLISAmount for BIE $425 $425 $425

RLISAmount for Outlying Areas $425 $425 $425

RLISNumber of States receiving grants 44 44 44

RLISNumber of LEAs receiving subgrants 2,015 2,015 2,015

RLISAverage State grant $1,911 $1,911 $1,911

RLISAverage LEA subgrant $42 $42 $42

RLISAverage award per student (whole $) $21 $21 $21

RLISRange of awards to States $28 - $6,692 $28 - $6,692 $28 - $6,692

RLISEstimated range of subgrants to LEAs $1 – $475 $1 – $475 $1 – $475

_________________

NOTE: The fiscal year 2014 appropriations act authorized the Department to pool evaluation funds reserved 

under section 9601 of the ESEA and use those pooled funds to evaluate any ESEA program. The fiscal year 2015 

appropriations act provided the same authority and the Administration’s fiscal year 2016 budget would continue this 

authority. While the Department did not reserve funds from REAP under this authority in fiscal year 2014, it may do 

so in fiscal years 2015 and 2016. 

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PROGRAM PERFORMANCE INFORMATION

Performance Measures

This section presents selected program performance information, including, for example, GPRA 

goals, objectives, measures, and performance targets and data; and an assessment of the 

progress made toward achieving program results. Achievement of program results is based on 

the cumulative effect of the resources provided in previous years and those requested in 

FY 2016 and future years, as well as the resources and efforts invested by those served by this 

program.

Goal: Raise educational achievement of students in small, rural school districts.

Objective: Local educational agencies (LEAs) participating in REAP programs will make 

adequate yearly progress (AYP) after the third year.

SRSA and RLIS both have had a performance measure for the percentage of participating LEAs 

that make AYP after 3 years in their respective program. SRSA and RLIS grantees with 3 or 

more years in the program have shown a significant decrease in meeting AYP in recent years. 

Declines under this performance measure for both programs are likely attributable, in part, to 

increases in States’ “annual measureable objectives” (the percentage of children achieving 

proficiency that an LEA must attain in order to make AYP) rather than declines in proficiency 

rates, which have remained relatively stable as shown in the tables below. The Department will 

no longer provide data for this measure because more than half the States are now under ESEA 

Flexibility and, therefore, success in making AYP is no longer a meaningful measure for this 

program.

Objective: Students enrolled in LEAs participating in REAP programs will score proficient or 

better on States’ assessments in reading/language arts and mathematics in each year through 

the 2013-2014 academic year.

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Measure: The percentage of students enrolled in LEAs participating in the Small, Rural 

School Achievement (SRSA) program who score proficient or better on States’ assessments in 

reading/language arts in each year through the 2013-2014 academic year. 

Year Target Actual

2011 86% 75%

2012 90 72

2013 94 69

2014 100

2015 100

2016 100

Measure: The percentage of students enrolled in LEAs participating in the Small, Rural 

School Achievement (SRSA) program who score proficient or better on States’ assessments in 

mathematics in each year through the 2013-2014 academic year.

Year Target Actual

2011 86% 71%

2012 91 68

2013 96 65

2014 100

2015 100

2016 100

Measure: The percentage of students enrolled in LEAs participating in the Rural and LowIncome School (RLIS) program who score proficient or better on States’ assessments in 

reading/language arts in each year through the 2013-2014 academic year.

Year Target Actual

2011 88% 68%

2012 92 67

2013 96 64

2014 100

2015 100

2016 100

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Measure: The percentage of students enrolled in LEAs participating in the Rural and LowIncome School (RLIS) program who score proficient or better on States’ assessments in 

mathematics in each year through the 2013-2014 academic year.

Year Target Actual

2011 85% 66%

2012 90 64

2013 95 60

2014 100

2015 100

2016 100

Additional information: The performance targets for these measures reflect the ESEA goal 

that 100 percent of students enrolled in districts participating in both the SRSA and RLIS 

programs will be proficient by 2014. This target is no longer relevant for LEAs in ESEA Flexibility 

States. Data for 2014 are expected in October 2015. 

Objective: Eligible rural school districts will use the REAP flexibility authority.

Measure: The percentage of eligible school districts using the REAP flexibility authority.

Year Target Actual

2011 65% 51%

2012 65 34

2013 65 41

2014 65

2015 65

2016 65

Additional information: While this measure was developed to capture the percentage of 

eligible districts actually using the flexibility authority, the best available information is on the 

number of districts reporting to the State their intent to use this authority. Since there is little 

reason to believe that LEAs would provide this notification and not use the authority, reported 

intent serves as a reasonable proxy. The large decrease in 2012 is likely, in part, the result of 

incomplete data from some States. The figure for 2013 is based on more complete data from 

the States and, therefore, likely a more accurate reflection of this proxy for the use of REAP 

flexibility. Data for 2014 are expected in October 2015.

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Efficiency Measure

Measure: The percentage of SRSA program grants awarded by August 30 of each fiscal year.

Year Target Actual

2011 80% 100%

2012 80 100

2013 80 100

2014 80 100

2015 80

2016 80

Additional information: Due to difficulty in processing over 4,000 SRSA grants to LEAs in a 

timely manner in the early years of the program, the Department established a measure to track 

the efficiency of this task. The Department has had great success since creating the measure, 

and now has made 100 percent of SRSA awards by August 30 in each of the past 4 years. 

Other Performance Information

The Department is conducting a study of REAP, with fiscal year 2012 funding, which is 

examining implementation at the State and LEA levels. Specifically, the Department will obtain 

information on the practices REAP grantees are using to target their greatest needs; how they 

assess effectiveness in key areas, such as teacher recruitment, professional development and 

retention, strategies for school improvement, and the use of technology; how and to what extent 

they combine or coordinate the use of REAP funding with other Department or Federal funds; 

and what challenges they face in spending their REAP funding within the grant period. 

Respondents include State, LEA, and school level administrators, as well as professional 

development and technical assistance providers. The final report is expected to be available in 

spring 2016.

The Department released an evaluation report of the RLIS program in June 2010, which can be 

accessed at http://www2.ed.gov/rschstat/eval/rural/rlis-report.doc. The purpose of this study was 

to examine implementation at the State and district levels. Specifically, the Department obtained 

information on State RLIS priorities and monitoring, State progress toward achieving RLIS goals, 

characteristics of RLIS districts, uses of RLIS funds, and student achievement and AYP trends 

in participating districts. The report found that the coordinators saw RLIS as a supplemental 

program, rather than as a stand-alone program, and that they believed that their subgrantee 

LEAs used their funds to support efforts to make AYP. All nine States in the sample were 

requiring RLIS districts to engage in a comprehensive planning process and to address gaps 

identified through local needs assessments, and seven of the States implemented RLIS through 

an integrated planning process that required LEAs to show how they planned to use funding 

from Federal programs. Survey respondents indicated that funds were primarily used to 

purchase technology, support professional development, and support Title I, Part A activities. 

From the 2002–03 school year to the 2007–08 school year, the rate of academic improvement in 

mathematics and reading for districts that received RLIS funding was significantly greater than 

for non-RLIS rural districts; however, the evaluation did not examine causality, and achievement 

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gains cannot be attributed to the RLIS program. The report also found that, on average, RLIS 

districts had more students than other rural LEAs but fewer students than all LEAs nationally, 

that student-to-teacher ratios in RLIS LEAs were higher than in other rural LEAs but similar to 

the national average, and that per-pupil expenditures were substantially lower in RLIS LEAs than 

in other rural LEAs and the national average. 

Section 6224(c) of ESEA requires the Department to prepare a biennial report to Congress on 

the RLIS program. The report must describe the methods SEAs have used to award grants and 

provide technical assistance, how LEAs and schools have used RLIS funds, and the progress 

made toward meeting the goals and objectives outlined in the SEA applications. In 

December 2011, the Department submitted to Congress its biennial report for school years 

2008-09 and 2009-10. The report includes the finding that of the 41 States receiving fiscal year 

2009 funds, all but 5 awarded funds to eligible LEAs by formula based on each eligible LEA’s 

share of students in average daily attendance. One State used a modified formula that targeted 

a greater share of program funds to LEAs with poverty rates greater than 40 percent, and four 

States awarded funds on a competitive basis. The report had findings that were consistent with 

the 2010 evaluation report, in that technology, professional development, and Title I, Part A 

activities were the most frequently reported uses of funds. Finally, it is difficult to link LEA 

progress toward goals to activities specifically supported with RLIS funds, but the report does 

include examples provided by the States of LEA progress toward program goals. The report for 

school years 2010-11 and 2011-12 is expected to be released in fall 2015.

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Supplemental education grants

(Compact of Free Association Amendments Act of 2003, Section 105(f)(1)(B)(iii))

(dollars in thousands)

FY 2016 Authorization: $20,9741

Budget Authority:

Period of Fund Availability 2015 2016 Change

$16,699 $16,699 0

_________________

1 The 2016 authorization is based on the fiscal year 2005 authorization level, adjusted for inflation in accordance

with statutory requirements.

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

The Compact of Free Association Amendments Act of 2003 (P.L. 108-188) eliminated the 

participation of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) and the Republic of the Marshall 

Islands (RMI) in most domestic formula grant programs funded by the Departments of Education 

(ED), Health and Human Services (HHS), and Labor (DOL). As a replacement, beginning in 

fiscal year 2005, the Act authorizes supplemental education grants in an amount that is roughly 

equivalent to the total formula funds that these entities received in fiscal year 2004 under the 

Federal formula programs for which they are no longer eligible. These grants augment the 

funds that the FSM and the RMI receive for general education assistance under their Compacts 

of Free Association with the U.S. Government.

The Act eliminated the participation of the FSM and the RMI in the following Department of 

Education programs: Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Title I Grants to Local 

Educational Agencies; Career and Technical Education Grants under Title I of the Carl D. 

Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006; Adult Basic and Literacy Education State 

Grants; Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunities Grants; and Federal Work-Study. 

However, they remain eligible for participation in other Department programs, including the 

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act State Grants and programs under Part A, Subpart 1 of 

Title IV of the Higher Education Act, as well as ED, HHS, and DOL competitive programs. Also, 

the Act eliminated FSM and RMI participation in programs under Title I (other than Job Corps) of 

the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (DOL) and Head Start (HHS). 

The Department of Education is required to transfer funds appropriated for Supplemental 

Education Grants to the Department of the Interior (DOI) for disbursement to the RMI and the 

FSM not later than 60 days after the appropriation becomes available. Appropriations are to be 

used and monitored in accordance with an interagency agreement between the four cabinet 

agencies and in accordance with the “Fiscal Procedure Agreements” entered into by the FSM 

and the RMI with the U.S. Government. These agreements call for the funds to be used at the 

local school level for direct educational services focused on school readiness, early childhood 

education, elementary and secondary education, vocational training, adult and family literacy, 

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and the transition from high school to postsecondary education and careers. They may not be 

used for construction or remodeling, the general operating costs of school systems, or teacher 

salaries (except the salaries of teachers who carry out programs supported by the grants). 

The FSM and the RMI may request technical assistance from ED, HHS, or DOL, on a 

reimbursement basis. While past year’s appropriations acts also permitted the FSM and the 

RMI to reserve up to 5 percent of their grants to pay for such technical assistance as well as for 

administration of their grants, the fiscal year 2015 appropriations act included language that 

shifted this authority from the FSM and RMI to ED, allowing the Department to reserve up to 

5 percent of Supplemental Education Grants funds to provide technical assistance for these 

grants.

Funding levels for the past 5 fiscal years were as follows:

Fiscal Year (dollars in thousands)

2011.........................................................................................$17,652

2012...........................................................................................17,619

2013...........................................................................................16,699

2014...........................................................................................16,699

2015...........................................................................................16,699

FY 2016 BUDGET REQUEST

The Administration requests $16.7 million, the same as the 2015 level, to maintain funding for 

Supplemental Education Grants to the RMI and the FSM. The request would ensure the 

continuation of services for residents of the RMI and the FSM. The Administration is seeking 

appropriations language that would continue to allow the Department of Education to reserve up 

to 5 percent of appropriated funds to provide technical assistance to support effective use of 

program funds to improve educational outcomes in the RMI and the FSM. 

A majority of the funding in fiscal years 2005 through 2009 was used to support early childhood 

education. The RMI and the FSM have also used Supplemental Education Grants for education 

improvement programs, vocational and skills training, and professional development. Both the 

RMI and the FSM are also using funds to prepare students for jobs that may result from the 

Guam military build-up. For example, funds to the RMI have supported an Accelerated Boot 

Camp Trades Academy in collaboration with the College of the Marshall Islands while funds to 

the FSM have supported projects developed in partnership with the Guam Trades Academy. 

The Administration anticipates that fiscal year 2016 funding would be used for similar purposes. 

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PROGRAM OUTPUT MEASURES (dollars in thousands)

Measures 2014 2015 2016

Grant to the Federated States of 

Micronesia $11,142 $11,142 $11,142

Grant to the Republic of the Marshall 

Islands 5,557 5,557 5,557

PROGRAM PERFORMANCE INFORMATION

The Department has not established performance measures for this program because it is 

operated by the Department of the Interior.

A December 2006 General Accounting Office report, entitled “Compacts of Free Association: 

Micronesia and the Marshall Islands Face Challenges in Planning for Sustainability, Measuring 

Progress, and Ensuring Accountability,” documented both the continuing need for improvement 

in the public education systems of the Freely Associated States and the difficulties in obtaining 

and reporting performance data for this program. The RMI, according to the report, was not able 

to measure progress towards its educational goals because the data the Republic collected 

were inadequate, inconsistent, and incomplete. Tests to measure achievement were not 

administered in 2005 and 2006, and some of the tests the Republic used were not aligned with 

the curriculum used in RMI schools and thus were not adequate measures of student 

achievement. The FSM also lacked consistent performance outcomes and measures; 

measures and outcomes had been established but had constantly changed, making it difficult to 

track progress.

Additional information from the Department of the Interior (DOI) covering the 5-year period 

between 2004 and 2009 highlights the continuing challenges faced by both entities in improving 

the quality of education due to a lack of qualified teachers, poor facilities, and a high absentee 

rate among students and teachers. While access to elementary and secondary education has 

increased in the RMI and student enrollment has also increased despite significant outmigration, the RMI continues to have few standardized tests for assessing student achievement, 

a high dropout rate, and a low percentage of highly qualified teachers. The FSM continues to 

struggle with low student achievement, discouraging student drop-out rates, and problematic 

teacher attendance. 

Both entities began tracking 20 education indicators and established data collection systems 

between 2004 and 2006 and have continued to track data on their indicators. However, the 

most recent GAO study from 2013 entitled “Compacts of Free Association: Micronesia and 

Marshall Islands Continue to Face Challenges Measuring Progress and Ensuring 

Accountability,” found that in reviewing subsets of the education indicators that eight of nine 

indicators for FSM and three of five indicators for RMI were not sufficiently reliable to assess 

progress primarily due to missing, incomplete, or inconsistent data.

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Comprehensive centers

(Education Technical Assistance Act of 2002, Title II, Section 203)

(dollars in thousands)

FY 2016 Authorization: To be determined1

Budget Authority:

2015 2016 Change

$48,445 $55,445 $7,000

_________________

1 The GEPA extension expired September 30, 2009; reauthorizing legislation is sought for FY 2016.

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

The Education Technical Assistance Act (ETAA) authorizes support for not less than 

20 Comprehensive Centers to provide training, technical assistance, and professional 

development to build State capacity to provide high-quality education for all students, particularly 

those in low-performing local educational agencies (LEAs) and schools. Centers provide 

support to State educational agencies (SEAs), and through them, to LEAs and schools, helping 

them make evidence-based investments that have been shown to improve student outcomes. 

Comprehensive Centers are part of the Department’s wide-ranging technical assistance network 

that includes the regional educational laboratories (RELs), What Works Clearinghouse, Equity

Assistance Centers, Office of Special Education Program-funded Technical Assistance Centers, 

and other Department-supported single centers designed to provide high-quality support that is 

accessible, comprehensive, and relevant to SEAs, LEAs, and schools as they tackle the 

important work of ensuring a high-quality education for all students. 

The statute requires that the Department fund a minimum of 10 regional centers. In 2012, the 

regional centers were aligned to match the 12 REL regions, with the addition of 3 centers in 

particularly large or populous regions. In order to provide robust and efficient technical 

assistance through the comprehensive center program, the Department established content 

centers in addition to the regional centers (see following chart). The content centers create 

materials, tools, and training that reflect national expertise to complement and support the direct 

services that regional centers provide to SEAs. The current cohort of Comprehensive Centers, 

which started in 2012, includes 7 content centers and 15 regional centers. Based on needs that 

States identified in the national program evaluation and regional advisory committee reports 

submitted by the statutorily required regional advisory committees, as well as on Administration 

priorities, the following content centers were established: standards and assessment 

implementation, innovations in learning, promoting great teachers and leaders, school 

turnaround, enhancing early learning outcomes, college- and career-readiness and success, 

and building State capacity and productivity. Regional centers identify relevant information 

generated by these content centers in their local work with SEAs to build their capacity to 

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implement school and district improvement measures and objectives, reflecting the increasing 

role SEAs play in establishing and implementing priorities. 

Each comprehensive center must develop a 5-year plan for carrying out authorized activities. 

The plan of each center is developed to address the needs of SEAs in meeting ESEA student 

achievement goals, as well as priorities established by the Department and the States. Each 

center has an advisory board, with representation from SEAs, LEAs, institutes of higher 

education, educators, administrators, policymakers, researchers, and business representatives, 

that advises the center on: (1) allocation of resources, (2) strategies for monitoring and 

addressing the region’s educational needs (or the regional centers’ needs in the case of the 

content centers), (3) maintaining a high standard of quality in the performance of its activities, 

and (4) carrying out the center’s activities in a manner that promotes progress toward improving 

student academic achievement. 

Comprehensive Centers Network

Regional Center States Served

Appalachia Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia

California California

Central Colorado, Kansas, and Missouri

Florida and the Islands Florida, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands

Great Lakes Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio

Mid-Atlantic Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania

Midwest Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin

North Central Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming

Northeast Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode 

Island, and Vermont

Northwest Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington

Pacific American Samoa, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, 

Guam, Hawaii, and the Republic of Palau

South Central Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, and Oklahoma

Southeast Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, Mississippi, and South Carolina

Texas Texas

West Arizona, Nevada, and Utah

Content Centers

Standards & Assessments Implementation

Great Teachers & Leaders

School Turnaround

Enhancing Early Learning Outcomes

College- & Career- Readiness & Success

Building State Capacity & Productivity

Innovations in Learning

Regional Centers

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Other Department programs sometimes need assistance in a particular area to support State 

initiatives. In cases where an existing content center has the needed expertise, the Department 

has provided supplemental funds for additional work. For example, the Center on Great 

Teachers and Leaders receives additional funding from the Special Education Technical 

Assistance and Dissemination program as well as from the Career and Technical Education 

National Activities program to provide technical assistance on serving students with disabilities 

and on effective instruction and leadership in career and technical education. The Indian 

Education National Activities program provides support to 4 regional centers (North Central, 

Northwest, South Central, and West) that serve States with the largest populations of American 

Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) students and to the Center on Standards and Assessment 

Implementation to produce information that addresses the needs of AI/AN students. Similarly, 

the Department uses School Improvement Grant (SIG) national activities funding to expand the 

Center on School Turnaround’s capacity to provide technical assistance to SIG grantees. 

Finally, the Department uses Preschool Development Grant national activities funding to enable 

the Center on Enhancing Early Learning Outcomes to offer technical assistance to State 

recipients of Preschool Development Expansion Grants. 

The statute requires the National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, a 

component of the Department’s Institute of Education Sciences (IES), to carry out an 

independent evaluation of the Comprehensive Centers (both regional and content) to determine 

the extent to which each center meets its objectives. More information on the outcomes from 

this evaluation is included in the program performance information section.

Funding levels for the past 5 fiscal years were:

Year (dollars in thousands)

2011 .............................................................$51,210

2012 ...............................................................51,113

2013 ...............................................................48,445

2014 ...............................................................48,445

2015 ...............................................................48,445 

FY 2016 BUDGET REQUEST

For fiscal year 2016, the Administration requests $55.4 million for the Comprehensive Centers 

program, $7 million more than the 2015 level, in order to support more fully SEAs in their 

increasing role in setting education priorities and providing technical assistance to LEAs and 

schools as they tackle difficult reforms and to allow the Centers to serve the Bureau of Indian 

Education (BIE). Through the new Office of State Support (OSS), the Department will work with 

the Comprehensive Centers to improve coordination among all K-12 technical assistance 

centers, resulting in a more aligned, relevant, accessible, and robust support system for SEAs.

Additional funding for the Comprehensive Centers in fiscal year 2016 would allow the 

Department to target supplemental funding to areas of greatest need as identified by the States, 

through the OSS or other sources. The establishment of the OSS in early fiscal year 2015 

reflects the changing role of SEAs in driving Statewide education reform and providing support 

to LEAs and schools. In the national evaluation of the first cohort of Comprehensive Centers, 

SEAs reported that the Comprehensive Centers had facilitated the expansion of States’ 

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capacity, particularly in the area of Statewide systems of support or school support teams, but 

that the Centers did not have the time or resources necessary to fully meet State demand for 

services. Through the OSS, the Department can now identify the areas of unmet need and 

which Comprehensive Centers may be best leveraged to address that need, dedicating 

additional resources towards enhancing technical assistance in those targeted areas. The 

Department could also use funds to better coordinate the dissemination of information and 

technical assistance across Department programs through the OSS, working with IES and the 

Office of Special Education Programs, among others. For example, funds could increase center 

capacity to support States as they design and implement new teacher preparation accountability 

systems and work to improve equitable access to effective educators, two areas of need. One 

way to do this would be to provide more funding to the Center on Great Teachers and Leaders 

to enhance its technical assistance in these two specific areas. If the OSS identifies that there is 

need for a more centralized place where States can easily access all materials on any one topic, 

the Department could provide more funding to the Center on Building State Capacity and 

Productivity. This content center could serve as a central dissemination resource for SEAs, 

publishing information generated not only by other Comprehensive Centers but also other 

Department technical assistance providers so that the Department’s technical assistance 

resources are more accessible and coordinated. 

Under current law, the Comprehensive Centers are not permitted to provide direct support to the 

BIE, resulting in a huge gap in services that is especially detrimental to BIE schools, which are 

most in need of assistance. The budget request for fiscal year 2016 includes appropriations 

language that would make the BIE eligible to receive services from the Comprehensive Centers, 

as well as a request for the necessary additional resources to accommodate this expanded 

demand without decreasing resources for SEAs. Consistent with the BIE Blueprint for Reform, 

the Comprehensive Centers would support the BIE as it transforms from a direct provider of 

education into an organization that serves as a capacity-builder and service-provider to tribes 

with BIE-funded schools. The Comprehensive Centers would provide an important source of 

expertise to support the BIE, in the same way they serve SEAs. 

The Department awarded a contract for a new national evaluation of this program in September 

2013 and fiscal year 2016 funds would provide ongoing support for it. 

PROGRAM OUTPUT MEASURES (dollars in thousands)

Measures 2014 2015 2016

Number of centers 22 22 22

Center awards $46,939 $46,395 $53,258

Average award $2,134 $2,109 $2,421

Evaluation $1,506 $2,050 $2,187

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PROGRAM PERFORMANCE INFORMATION

Performance Measures

This section presents selected program performance information, including, for example, GPRA 

goals, objectives, measures, and performance targets and data; as well as an assessment of the 

progress made toward achieving program results. Achievement of program results is based on 

the cumulative effect of the resources provided in previous years and those requested for fiscal 

year 2016 and future years, as well as the resources and efforts invested by those served by this 

program.

The Department placed strong emphasis on developing rigorous performance measures for the 

Centers, in part through a Departmentwide effort to create common performance measures for 

technical assistance programs. The measures are designed to analyze the quality, relevance, 

and usefulness of the services provided by the Centers, the extent to which each center meets 

the objectives of its respective plan, and whether their services meet the educational needs of 

the SEAs, LEAs, and schools.

As part of the Department’s national evaluation of the Comprehensive Centers, initiated in 2006, 

the contractor led panel reviews and conducted surveys annually beginning in 2007. An analysis

of the results of those reviews and surveys provided data for the Centers’ performance 

measures from 2007 – 2009. Grantees reported performance measurement data for 2010 and 

beyond through their individual performance reports. The Department will consider revising the 

language of the measures so that they do not depend on a specific data source.

Goal: To improve student achievement in low-performing schools under the ESEA.

Objective: Improve the quality of technical assistance.

Measure: The percentage of all Comprehensive Centers’ products and services that are 

deemed to be of high quality by an independent review panel of qualified experts or individuals 

with appropriate expertise to review the substantive content of the products and services.

Year Target Actual

2011 59% 92%

2012 66 94

2013 73 95

2014 80 95

2015 80

2016 80

Additional information: The actual data were collected and reported using client surveys 

developed by the Centers in conjunction with their evaluators. The designs of client surveys 

used to collect data for these measures varied widely by center. The 2014 data represent 19 of 

the 22 Centers in year 2 of their projects.

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Measure: The percentage of all Comprehensive Centers’ products and services that are 

deemed to be of high relevance to educational policy or practice by target audiences.

Year Target Actual

2011 78% 89%

2012 79 94

2013 80 95

2014 80 94

2015 80

2016 80

Additional information: The actual data were collected and reported using client surveys 

developed by the Centers in conjunction with their evaluators. The designs of client surveys 

used to collect data for these measures varied widely by center. The 2014 data represent 19 of 

the 22 Centers in year 2 of their projects.

Objective: Technical assistance products and services will be used to improve results for 

children in the target areas.

Measure: The percentage of all Comprehensive Centers’ products and services that are 

deemed to be of high usefulness to educational policy or practice by target audiences.

Year Target Actual

2011 65% 89%

2012 70 91

2013 75 94

2014 80 92

2015 80

2016 80

Additional information: The actual data were collected and reported using client surveys 

developed by the Centers in conjunction with their evaluators. The designs of client surveys 

used to collect data for these measures varied widely by center. The 2014 data represent 19 of 

the 22 Centers in year 2 of their projects.

Efficiency Measures

The Department implemented a common measure of administrative efficiency to assess the 

Comprehensive Centers program and other technical assistance programs. The measure is the 

percentage of grant funds that the Centers carry over for each year of operations. Data for the 

measure are available each year in September, after Department staff have reviewed data for 

the previous 12-month budget cycle, and are presented in the table below. The Department also 

established a second efficiency measure for the program: the number of working days following 

a monitoring visit that it takes the Department to send a monitoring report to grantees. 

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Objective: Improve the operational efficiency of the program.

Measure: The percentage of Comprehensive Center grant funds carried over in each year of 

the project.

Year Target Actual

2011 10% 2%

2012 10 3

2013 10 20

2014 10 8

2015 10

2016 10

Additional information: The Centers had 40 percent carryover in 2006, the baseline year, 

which was likely the result of their receiving initial grant awards several months into the 

beginning of the first award year. A higher carryover amount in 2013 is likely due to grantees 

carrying over more funds following the first year of their awards; first year spending is often lower 

than planned due to time required for start-up and planning. 

Measure: The number of working days following a monitoring visit that it takes the Department 

to send a monitoring report to grantees. 

Year Target Actual

2011 45 58

2012 45 144

2013 45 NA

2014 45 NA

2015 45

2016 45

Additional information: The Department conducted two monitoring visits in fiscal year 2011 

with reports due in fiscal year 2012. The report for the first visit was sent to the grantee within 

28 working days after the visit, well within the 45-day target. Due to extensive preparations for 

the fiscal year 2012 grant competition, the report for the second visit was delayed. Since that 

grantee did not receive a new award under the fiscal year 2012 competition and thus was no 

longer a grantee beginning in fiscal year 2013, the Department did not send a report; thus, all 

annual working days were counted for that report. The Department did not conduct monitoring 

visits in fiscal years 2012, 2013, or 2014.

Other Performance Information

In addition to providing data for the performance measures, the first national evaluation of the 

Comprehensive Centers authorized under the ETAA assessed: (1) the extent to which the 

Centers met the objectives of their respective technical assistance plans and the educational 

needs of SEAs, and (2) whether the Centers’ assistance has expanded SEAs’ capacity to 

provide technical assistance to help LEAs and schools meet their statutory requirements. The 

evaluation also examined how the Centers respond to the changing needs of SEAs for technical 

assistance, SEAs’ reliance on the Centers compared to other technical assistance sources, the 

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overall costs for SEAs in providing ESEA-related technical assistance, and the estimated dollar 

value of the Centers’ products and services to SEAs.

In July 2010, the first interim report from the national evaluation provided an analysis of data 

obtained through surveys of comprehensive center clients and expert reviews of comprehensive 

center projects, covering the 2006-07 program year, the second year of center operations. In 

this first round of project ratings, the content centers had higher mean ratings of technical quality 

for their sampled projects than did the regional centers, while the regional centers had higher 

mean ratings of relevance than did the content centers. There was no statistically significant 

relationship between ratings of quality and ratings of relevance or usefulness, which suggests 

that achieving high technical quality (judged on the basis of expert peer reviews) was unrelated 

to the delivery of assistance thought by clients to be highly relevant or useful. There was a high 

correlation between relevance and usefulness. 

The final report, covering the 2007-08 and 2008-09 program years, was released August 31, 

2011 (see: http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/pubs/20114031/). The report indicated that both the regional 

centers and the content centers conducted activities consistent with their design and that, over

the 3-year period of the study, the regional centers and content centers were increasingly 

involved in each other’s projects. Similarly, an increasing number of State managers reported 

each year that center assistance served their purposes, with “statewide systems of support” 

cited most frequently as a State priority. The proportion of State managers reporting that center 

assistance had served the State’s purposes completely rose from 36 percent in 2006-07 to 

56 percent in 2008-09. Statewide systems of support was also the topic most frequently 

addressed in center projects each year. Among the managers who reported that their States’ 

purposes were not completely served, a larger proportion in each year reported wanting more 

interaction with the Centers. In 2008-09, 43 percent of those State managers said, “center staff 

are not able to spend as much time working with the State as we would like.” 

State managers confirmed that States relied upon multiple sources of technical assistance and 

that they used these sources for different purposes. The Centers were cited as the top source 

for technical assistance in 2007-08 and 2008-09 when compared to the RELs, professional 

associations, senior managers from other SEAs, consulting firms or private contractors, colleges 

and universities, and the Department of Education. Across different purposes for technical 

assistance, the Centers were cited as the top source for planning steps to solve a problem, 

completing tasks that the State lacked capacity to complete (either in resources or skills), and 

developing the skills of SEA or intermediate education agency staff. The Centers were cited 

second to professional associations as a resource States used to gather information or keep 

current with new ideas.

Further, State managers reported that center assistance had expanded State capacity in the 

area of statewide systems of support. Among State managers who reported statewide systems 

of support or school support teams to be a State priority for assistance in 2008-09, 82 percent 

credited center assistance with a “great” or “moderate” expansion of State capacity in this area. 

To a lesser extent, State managers also credited the Centers with expanding their States’ 

capacity in other areas during the same year, from 77 percent in the areas of research-based 

curriculum, instruction, or professional development in academic subjects to 39 percent in ESEA 

provisions on supplemental educational services and choice.

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On average, across each of the 3 years, the ratings for quality, relevance, and usefulness 

increased. The average quality rating was consistently higher for content center projects than 

for regional center projects while the average relevance ratings were higher for regional centers 

than content centers in the first 2 years of the study. There were no consistent differences in the 

usefulness ratings between regional centers and content centers.

The evaluation of the 2012 cohort of grantees will examine how the individual centers intend to 

build SEA capacity (their theories of action) and what types of activities they conduct to build 

capacity. The evaluation will address broad questions in three areas: how did the centers 

design their work, how did the centers operate, and what was the result of the centers’ work? 

This evaluation will yield a report on the centers’ designs and theories of action (scheduled for 

March 2016), two interim reports on the centers’ implementation and outcomes in two priority 

areas (scheduled for March 2017), and a final report (scheduled for September 2018).

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State tables

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