I 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1977 

To establish an alternative accountability model. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 14, 2013 

Mr. POLIS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Education and the Workforce 

A BILL 

To establish an alternative accountability model. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Growth to Excellence 

5 Act of 2013’’. 

6 SEC. 2. ACCOUNTABILITY MODEL. 

7 Section 1111(b) of the Elementary and Secondary 

8 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(b)) is amended— 

9 (1) in paragraph (3), by adding at the end the 

10 following: 

11 ‘‘(E) ASSESSMENTS ABOVE AND BELOW

12 GRADE LEVEL.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding 

2 any other requirement of this paragraph, a 

3 State may carry out this paragraph 

4 through the use of adaptive assessments 

5 that— 

6 ‘‘(I) are administered through a 

7 computerized means; 

8 ‘‘(II) are aligned with grade-level 

9 academic content standards; and 

10 ‘‘(III) measure academic growth 

11 above and below grade level. 

12 ‘‘(ii) REQUIREMENTS FOR ADAPTIVE

13 ASSESSMENTS.—For the results of any 

14 adaptive assessment to be included in the 

15 accountability model described under para16 graph (12), such results must provide the 

17 information necessary to determine ade18 quate student growth in accordance with 

19 paragraph (12)(C)(i).’’; and 

20 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘(11) CRITERIA AND IMPLEMENTATION OF AC22 COUNTABILITY MODEL.— 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.— 

24 ‘‘(i) TRANSITIONAL PARTICIPATION.— 

25 Prior to a State’s adoption of college and 


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1 career ready academic content standards 

2 and college and career ready assessments, 

3 as defined in subparagraphs (B) and (C) 

4 of paragraph (13), a State may apply to 

5 the Secretary to replace the State plan re6 quirements under paragraph (2) with the 

7 accountability requirements under para8 graph (12). 

9 ‘‘(ii) REQUIRED PARTICIPATION.— 

10 After the adoption of college and career 

11 ready academic content standards and col12 lege and career ready assessments, as de13 fined in subparagraphs (B) and (C) of 

14 paragraph (13) and required under this 

15 subsection— 

16 ‘‘(I) a State shall comply with 

17 this paragraph and paragraph (12) in 

18 lieu of paragraph (2); and 

19 ‘‘(II) references in this Act to 

20 section 1111(b)(2) shall be deemed to 

21 be references to this paragraph and 

22 paragraph (12). 

23 ‘‘(B) CRITERIA.—A State that participates 

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1 graph (12) shall carry out the following activi2 ties: 

3 ‘‘(i) Implement challenging college 

4 and career ready academic content stand5 ards, as defined in paragraph (13)(B). 

6 ‘‘(ii) Implement college and career 

7 ready assessments, as defined in paragraph 

8 13(C). 

9 ‘‘(iii) For a secondary school that 

10 awards diplomas, measure graduation rates 

11 as defined in section 200.19(b)(1) of title 

12 34, Code of Federal Regulations. 

13 ‘‘(iv) Assess not less than 2 of the fol14 lowing additional indicators of whether stu15 dents are college and career ready: 

16 ‘‘(I) Student scores on the ACT. 

17 ‘‘(II) Student scores on the SAT. 

18 ‘‘(III) The percentage of students 

19 who attend an institution of higher 

20 education. 

21 ‘‘(IV) College remediation rates. 

22 ‘‘(V) Results from Advanced 

23 Placement or International Bacca24 laureate exams. 


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1 ‘‘(VI) Student grade point aver2 ages at an institution of higher edu3 cation. 

4 ‘‘(VII) Rates of completion of the 

5 first year at an institution of higher 

6 education. 

7 ‘‘(v) Provide a comprehensive State 

8 system of accountability for schools that do 

9 not meet the goals that are defined in sub10 clauses (V) and (VI) of paragraph 

11 (12)(B)(i), which aims to ensure that each 

12 student is college and career ready before 

13 such student graduates from a secondary 

14 school that awards diplomas and which 

15 shall include, at a minimum— 

16 ‘‘(I) the evaluation of each school 

17 and each group of students described 

18 in paragraph (2)(C)(v)(II) against an19 nual progress targets described in 

20 subclauses (V) and (VI) of paragraph 

21 (12)(B)(i) that are aligned with the 

22 goal of ensuring that each student is 

23 college and career ready before such 

24 student graduates from secondary 

25 school; 


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1 ‘‘(II) a system of categorization 

2 that will group schools based on— 

3 ‘‘(aa) how the overall per4 formance of students, and the 

5 performance of each subgroup of 

6 students described in paragraph 

7 (2)(C)(v)(II), at such school com8 pares to each annual progress 

9 target described in subclauses 

10 (V) and (VI) of paragraph 

11 (12)(B)(i); and 

12 ‘‘(bb) if the school is a sec13 ondary school, how students at 

14 such school perform when meas15 ured against key indicators of 

16 college and career readiness, as 

17 described in clauses (iii) and (iv); 

18 ‘‘(III) supports and consequences 

19 for each school in the State, as appro20 priate for each school based on the 

21 categorization described in subclause 

22 (II); and 

23 ‘‘(IV) incentives for schools that 

24 consistently exceed the annual 

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1 clauses (V) and (VI) of paragraph 

2 (12)(B)(i). 

3 ‘‘(vi) Adopt intervention mechanisms 

4 for schools, as described in section 1116. 

5 ‘‘(vii) Ensure that adequate student 

6 growth reports are delivered, in a timely 

7 manner, to parents and teachers (as appro8 priate) to enable parents and teachers to 

9 examine student progress toward becoming 

10 college and career ready. 

11 ‘‘(C) ASSESSMENTS ABOVE AND BELOW

12 GRADE LEVEL.— 

13 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out 

14 the assessment requirements described in 

15 subparagraph (B)(ii), a State may use 

16 adaptive assessments described in para17 graph (3)(E). 

18 ‘‘(ii) REQUIREMENTS FOR ADAPTIVE

19 ASSESSMENTS.—For the results of any 

20 adaptive assessment to be included in the 

21 accountability model described under para22 graph (12), such results must provide the 

23 information necessary to determine ade24 quate student growth in accordance with 

25 paragraph (12)(C)(i). 


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1 ‘‘(12) ACCOUNTABILITY MODEL.— 

2 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each State that will 

3 use an accountability model under this para4 graph shall submit a plan to the Secretary, 

5 which shall demonstrate that the State has de6 veloped and will implement a single, statewide 

7 State accountability system that will be effective 

8 in ensuring that all local educational agencies, 

9 public elementary schools, and public secondary 

10 schools meet the standard of adequate student 

11 growth as defined under this paragraph. 

12 ‘‘(B) COMPONENTS OF THE ACCOUNT13 ABILITY MODEL.— 

14 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Each State ac15 countability model shall— 

16 ‘‘(I) be based on the academic 

17 standards and academic assessments 

18 adopted under paragraphs (1), (3), 

19 and (11), and other academic indica20 tors consistent with subparagraph 

21 (C)(ii); 

22 ‘‘(II) take into account the 

23 achievement of all public elementary 

24 school and secondary school students; 


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1 ‘‘(III) be the same accountability 

2 model that the State uses for all pub3 lic elementary schools and secondary 

4 schools and all local educational agen5 cies in the State; 

6 ‘‘(IV) include components that 

7 recognize successful schools and that 

8 require intervention measures in 

9 struggling schools, which the State 

10 will use to hold local educational agen11 cies and public elementary schools and 

12 secondary schools accountable for stu13 dent achievement and for ensuring 

14 that such agencies and schools meet 

15 the standard of adequate student 

16 growth as described in subparagraph 

17 (C), in accordance with this para18 graph; 

19 ‘‘(V) establish annual progress 

20 targets for each school that— 

21 ‘‘(aa) aim to reduce by half, 

22 in less than six years— 

23 ‘‘(AA) the difference 

24 between the percentage of 

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1 forming schools in the State 

2 who meet the college and ca3 reer ready academic content 

4 standards described in para5 graph (13)(B) or make ade6 quate student growth, as de7 scribed in subparagraph (C), 

8 and the percentage of such 

9 students at each school that 

10 is not a top performing 

11 school; and 

12 ‘‘(BB) for each cat13 egory of students described 

14 in paragraph (2)(C)(v)(II), 

15 the difference between the 

16 percentage of students who 

17 meet the college and career 

18 ready academic content 

19 standards described in para20 graph (13)(B) or make ade21 quate student growth, as de22 scribed in subparagraph (C), 

23 at the top performing 

24 schools in the State, and the 

25 percentage of such students 


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1 at each school that is not a 

2 top performing school; 

3 ‘‘(bb) are required to ensure 

4 that students are making ade5 quate yearly growth to be on 

6 track to college and career readi7 ness not later than the end of the 

8 2019–2020 school year; or 

9 ‘‘(cc) include another meth10 od that is educationally sound, 

11 rigorous, and will result in ambi12 tious, but achievable, targets for 

13 all students and the subgroups of 

14 students described in paragraph 

15 (2)(C)(v)(II); 

16 ‘‘(VI) establish annual progress 

17 targets for each secondary school that 

18 awards diplomas that— 

19 ‘‘(aa) aim to reduce by half, 

20 in less than 6 years, the dif21 ference between the percentage of 

22 all students and for each sub23 group of students described in 

24 paragraph (2)(C)(v)(II) who 


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1 graduate from such secondary 

2 school and 90 percent; or 

3 ‘‘(bb) establishes another 

4 single graduation rate goal for 

5 each subgroup of students de6 scribed in paragraph 

7 (2)(C)(v)(II) that is educationally 

8 sound, rigorous, ambitious and 

9 achievable; and 

10 ‘‘(VII) establish a system of cat11 egorization and related interventions 

12 and rewards that groups local edu13 cational agencies based on their 

14 schools’ and students’ performance as 

15 measured by the annual progress tar16 gets established in subclauses (V) and 

17 (VI) of subparagraph (B)(i). States 

18 may also include additional indicators 

19 such as those established in para20 graph 12(C)(ii) in their accountability 

21 system for local educational agencies. 

22 ‘‘(ii) DEFINITION OF TOP PER23 FORMING SCHOOL.—In this paragraph, the 

24 term ‘top performing school’ means a 

25 school that is ranked at the 90th percentile 


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1 when all schools in a State are ranked 

2 (with separate rankings for elementary 

3 schools and for secondary schools) from 

4 lowest to highest, based on the percentage 

5 of students at each school who meet chal6 lenging college and career ready academic 

7 content standards. 

8 ‘‘(iii) TOP PERFORMING SCHOOLS.—A 

9 top performing school shall be considered a 

10 school that is meeting annual progress tar11 gets under subclauses (V) and (VI) of 

12 clause (i), for such time as the school re13 mains a top performing school. 

14 ‘‘(C) ADEQUATE STUDENT GROWTH.— 

15 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘ade16 quate student growth’ shall be defined by 

17 a State— 

18 ‘‘(I) to mean— 

19 ‘‘(aa) for each student at a 

20 school who is not on track to 

21 being college and career ready in 

22 a subject, a rate of growth indi23 cating that the student will be on 

24 track to being college and career 

25 ready within 3 years, or by the 


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1 last year of student testing, 

2 whichever is earlier; and 

3 ‘‘(bb) for a student who is 

4 on track to being college and ca5 reer ready in a subject, but is not 

6 yet college and career ready, a 

7 rate of growth equal to not less 

8 than 1 year of academic growth; 

9 and 

10 ‘‘(II) in a manner that— 

11 ‘‘(aa) applies the same high 

12 standards of academic achieve13 ment to all public elementary 

14 school and secondary school stu15 dents in the State; 

16 ‘‘(bb) is statistically rig17 orous, valid, and reliable; 

18 ‘‘(cc) results in continuous 

19 and substantial student academic 

20 improvement; and 

21 ‘‘(dd) measures the progress 

22 of public elementary schools, sec23 ondary schools, local educational 

24 agencies, and the State based on 

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1 scribed in paragraphs (3) and 

2 (11). 

3 ‘‘(ii) MEASURES OF ADEQUATE

4 SCHOOL PERFORMANCE.— 

5 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—A State may 

6 develop a composite measure of a 

7 school’s adequate student growth, as 

8 described under this paragraph, to be 

9 used for public reporting, that may in10 corporate 1 or more of the following 

11 indicators: 

12 ‘‘(aa) Overall student cohort 

13 proficiency or growth to pro14 ficiency on the assessments 

15 adopted under paragraphs (3) 

16 and (11) over a period of 2 or 

17 more years. 

18 ‘‘(bb) The percentage of stu19 dents who are making sufficient 

20 growth to meet the college and 

21 career ready academic content 

22 standards, as described in para23 graph (13)(B), before the last 

24 year that the student is in the 

25 student’s current school, or in 


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1 less than 3 years, whichever oc2 curs earlier. 

3 ‘‘(cc) Progress in closing 

4 achievement gaps between each 

5 group of students listed in para6 graph (2)(C)(v)(II) and the over7 all student population of the 

8 school over a period of 2 or more 

9 years. 

10 ‘‘(dd) For secondary schools 

11 that award diplomas, a contin12 uous and substantial increase in 

13 the graduation rate (as defined 

14 in section 200.19(b)(1) of title 

15 34, Code of Federal Regula16 tions). 

17 ‘‘(ee) Year-to-year growth 

18 and growth to proficiency on the 

19 assessments adopted under para20 graphs (3) and (11). 

21 ‘‘(ff) Attendance for all pub22 lic elementary school students. 

23 ‘‘(gg) The percentage of stu24 dents who earn sufficient credits 

25 to be promoted to the next grade. 


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1 ‘‘(hh) The percentage of 

2 high school graduates who attend 

3 an institution of higher edu4 cation. 

5 ‘‘(ii) The percentage of high 

6 school graduates who do not re7 quire remediation at an institu8 tion of higher education. 

9 ‘‘(II) VALIDITY AND RELI10 ABILITY.—The State shall ensure that 

11 each indicator described in this clause 

12 is rigorous, valid for the indicator’s 

13 assigned use, reliable, and consistent 

14 with any relevant nationally recog15 nized professional and technical 

16 standards. 

17 ‘‘(III) REPORTING OF INDICA18 TORS.—A State shall publicly report 

19 each of the selected indicators that 

20 are included within the composite 

21 measure of adequate school perform22 ance, as described in this clause, in 

23 the aggregate and disaggregated by 

24 each group of students described in 

25 paragraph (2)(C)(v)(II). 


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1 ‘‘(D) ANNUAL IMPROVEMENT FOR

2 SCHOOLS.—Each year, for a school to meet the 

3 standard for adequate student growth under 

4 this paragraph, not less than 95 percent of each 

5 group of students described in paragraph 

6 (2)(C)(v)(II) who are enrolled in the school are 

7 required to take the assessments, consistent 

8 with paragraph (3), including subparagraph 

9 (C)(xi) of such paragraph, and with— 

10 ‘‘(i) accommodations provided in the 

11 same manner as those provided under sec12 tion 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 

13 (29 U.S.C. 794); and 

14 ‘‘(ii) accommodations and alternative 

15 assessments provided in the same manner 

16 as those provided under section 

17 612(a)(16)(A) of the Individuals with Dis18 abilities Education Act. 

19 ‘‘(E) EVALUATION.— 

20 ‘‘(i) SECRETARIAL DUTIES.—The Sec21 retary shall— 

22 ‘‘(I) establish a rigorous peer-re23 view process, which shall include a di24 verse board of experts and community 

25 stakeholders, to assist in the review of 


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1 State accountability model plans, 

2 based on the criteria described in sub3 paragraphs (B) and (C)(i); 

4 ‘‘(II) appoint individuals to the 

5 peer-review process who are represent6 ative of parents, teachers, State edu7 cational agencies, and local edu8 cational agencies, and who are famil9 iar with educational standards, assess10 ments, accountability, the needs of 

11 low-performing schools, and other 

12 educational needs of students; 

13 ‘‘(III) if the Secretary determines 

14 that the State plan does not meet the 

15 requirements of this paragraph, im16 mediately notify the State of such de17 termination and the reasons for such 

18 determination; 

19 ‘‘(IV) not decline to approve a 

20 State’s accountability model plan be21 fore— 

22 ‘‘(aa) offering the State an 

23 opportunity to revise its account24 ability model plan; 


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1 ‘‘(bb) providing technical as2 sistance in order to assist the 

3 State to meet the requirements of 

4 this paragraph; 

5 ‘‘(cc) providing a hearing; 

6 and 

7 ‘‘(dd) allowing the State to 

8 communicate with peer reviewers 

9 in order to further explain or jus10 tify the merits of the State’s ac11 countability model plan; and 

12 ‘‘(V) have the authority to dis13 approve a State accountability model 

14 plan for not meeting the requirements 

15 of this paragraph, but shall not have 

16 the authority to require a State, as a 

17 condition of approval of the State ac18 countability model plan, to include in, 

19 or delete from, such plan 1 or more 

20 specific elements of the State’s aca21 demic content standards or to use 

22 specific academic assessment instru23 ments or items. 

24 ‘‘(ii) STATE REVISIONS.—A State ac25 countability model plan shall be revised by 


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1 the State educational agency if it is nec2 essary to satisfy the requirements of this 

3 paragraph. 

4 ‘‘(F) APPROVED SCHOOLS.—If, as of the 

5 date of enactment of the Growth to Excellence 

6 Act of 2013, a State has already received ap7 proval from the Secretary to use an account8 ability model, the Secretary may allow such 

9 State a period of not more than 2 years from 

10 the date of enactment of such Act to transition 

11 to the use of the accountability model described 

12 in this paragraph. 

13 ‘‘(13) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

14 ‘‘(A) COLLEGE AND CAREER READY.—The 

15 term ‘college and career ready’, when used with 

16 respect to a student, means that the student 

17 meets the requirements necessary to be admit18 ted into credit-bearing, nonremedial, entry-level 

19 coursework at a State public institution of high20 er education. 

21 ‘‘(B) COLLEGE AND CAREER READY ACA22 DEMIC CONTENT STANDARDS.—The term ‘col23 lege and career ready academic content stand24 ards’ means challenging academic content 


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1 standards (as required under paragraph (1)) 

2 that are— 

3 ‘‘(i) developed based on evidence that 

4 mastery of such standards corresponds to 

5 being college and career ready without the 

6 need for remediation; and 

7 ‘‘(ii)(I) common to a significant num8 ber of States; or 

9 ‘‘(II) approved by a system of public 

10 4-year institutions of higher education in 

11 the State, such that mastery of such 

12 standards leads to placement into credit13 bearing, nonremedial, first-year coursework 

14 for a student admitted to an institution of 

15 higher education that is part of such sys16 tem. 

17 ‘‘(C) COLLEGE AND CAREER READY AS18 SESSMENTS.—The term ‘college and career 

19 ready assessments’ means an assessment for 

20 mathematics and an assessment for reading or 

21 language arts that— 

22 ‘‘(i) measures the annual academic 

23 growth of individual students; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) is aligned with the college and 

2 career ready academic content standards 

3 described in this paragraph; and 

4 ‘‘(iii) meets the requirements under 

5 paragraph (3). 

6 ‘‘(D) ON TRACK TO BEING COLLEGE AND

7 CAREER READY.—The term ‘on track to being 

8 college and career ready’ in a subject means 

9 that a student is performing at or above grade 

10 level, such that the student will be college and 

11 career ready in the subject before graduation 

12 from secondary school, as measured by the 

13 State assessment system.’’. 

Æ 


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