II 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 833 

To provide grants to States to ensure that all students in the middle grades 

are taught an academically rigorous curriculum with effective supports 

so that students complete the middle grades prepared for success in 

secondary school and postsecondary endeavors, to improve State and 

district policies and programs relating to the academic achievement of 

students in the middle grades, to develop and implement effective middle 

grades models for struggling students, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 14, 2011 

Mr. WHITEHOUSE (for himself, Mr. REED, Mr. BROWN of Ohio, Mr. 

FRANKEN, and Mr. AKAKA) introduced the following bill; which was read 

twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 

Pensions 

A BILL 

To provide grants to States to ensure that all students in 

the middle grades are taught an academically rigorous 

curriculum with effective supports so that students complete the middle grades prepared for success in secondary 

school and postsecondary endeavors, to improve State 

and district policies and programs relating to the academic achievement of students in the middle grades, 

to develop and implement effective middle grades models 

for struggling students, and for other purposes. 


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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 ‘‘Success in the Middle 

5 Act of 2011’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) International comparisons indicate that stu9 dents in the United States do not start out behind 

10 students of other nations in mathematics and 

11 science, but that they fall behind by the end of the 

12 middle grades. 

(2) Less than 1 13 ⁄3 of 8th grade students in the 

14 United States, and only 3 percent of such students 

15 who are English language learners, can read with 

16 proficiency, according to the 2009 National Assess17 ment on Educational Progress (NAEP). The per18 centage of 8th grade students proficient in reading 

19 and the average reading scores for 8th grade stu20 dents has remained essentially static since 1998. In 

21 contrast, NAEP reading scores and achievement lev22 els for 4th grade students have increased signifi23 cantly. 

(3) In mathematics, just over 1 24 ⁄3 of students in 

25 8th grade show skills at the NAEP proficient level, 


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1 and nearly 30 percent score below the basic level. 

2 The percentage of 8th grade students scoring above 

3 the basic level was 10 points higher in 2009 than in 

4 2000, but for 4th grade students, the percentage in5 creased 17 points, more than double the increase for 

6 middle grades students. In 8th grade, the gaps be7 tween the average mathematics scores of White and 

8 Black students and between White and Hispanic 

9 students were approximately as wide in 2009 as in 

10 1990. 

11 (4) Fewer than 1 in 4 of the students who 

12 graduate from secondary school meet, as 8th grad13 ers, all 4 of ACT’s EXPLORE College Readiness 

14 Benchmarks, the minimum level of achievement that 

15 ACT has shown is necessary if students are to be 

16 college- and career-ready upon graduation from sec17 ondary school. 

18 (5) Lack of basic skills at the end of middle 

19 grades has serious implications for students. Stu20 dents who enter secondary school 2 or more years 

21 behind grade level in mathematics and literacy have 

22 only a 50-percent chance of progressing on time to 

23 the 10th grade; those not progressing are at signifi24 cant risk of dropping out of secondary school. 


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1 (6) Middle grades students are hopeful about 

2 their future, with 93 percent believing that they will 

3 complete secondary school and 86 percent antici4 pating that they will attend an institution of higher 

5 education. 

6 (7) Sixth grade students who do not attend 

7 school regularly, who are subjected to frequent dis8 ciplinary actions, or who fail mathematics or English 

9 have less than a 15-percent chance of graduating 

10 secondary school on time and a 20-percent chance of 

11 graduating 1 year late. Without effective interven12 tions and proper supports, these students are at risk 

13 of subsequent failure in secondary school, or of drop14 ping out. 

15 (8) Student transitions from elementary school 

16 to the middle grades and to secondary school are 

17 often complicated by poor curriculum alignment, in18 adequate counseling services, and unsatisfactory 

19 sharing of student performance and academic 

20 achievement data between grades. 

21 (9) According to ACT, the level of academic 

22 achievement that students attain by 8th grade has 

23 a larger impact on the students’ college and career 

24 readiness upon graduation from secondary school 


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1 than anything that happens academically in sec2 ondary school. 

3 (10) Schools that serve children in the middle 

4 grades are almost twice as likely as elementary 

5 schools to be identified for improvement, corrective 

6 action, or restructuring (22 percent as compared to 

7 13 percent) under section 1116 of the Elementary 

8 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

9 6316). 

10 (11) Middle grades improvement strategies 

11 should be tailored based on a variety of performance 

12 indicators and data, so that educators can create 

13 and implement successful school improvement strate14 gies to address the needs of the middle grades, and 

15 so that teachers can provide effective instruction and 

16 adequate assistance to meet the needs of at-risk stu17 dents. 

18 (12) To stem a dropout rate nearly twice that 

19 of students without disabilities, students with dis20 abilities in the critical middle grades must receive 

21 appropriate academic accommodations and access to 

22 assistive technology, high-risk behaviors such as ab23 senteeism and course failure must be monitored, and 

24 problem-solving skills with broad application must be 

25 taught. 


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1 (13) Local educational agencies and State edu2 cational agencies often do not have the capacity to 

3 provide support for school improvement strategies. 

4 Successful models do exist for turning around low5 performing middle grades, and Federal support 

6 should be provided to increase the capacity to apply 

7 promising practices based on evidence from success8 ful schools. 

9 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

10 In this Act: 

11 (1) ESEA DEFINITIONS.—The terms ‘‘elemen12 tary school’’, ‘‘local educational agency’’, ‘‘secondary 

13 school’’, and ‘‘State educational agency’’ have the 

14 meanings given the terms in section 9101 of the Ele15 mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

16 U.S.C. 7801). 

17 (2) DIGITAL LITERACY SKILLS.—The term 

18 ‘‘digital literacy skills’’ has the meaning given the 

19 term in section 202 of the Museum and Library 

20 Services Act (20 U.S.C. 9101). 

21 (3) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti22 ty’’ means a partnership that includes— 

23 (A) not less than 1 eligible local edu24 cational agency; and 

25 (B)(i) an institution of higher education; 


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1 (ii) an educational service agency (as de2 fined in section 9101 of the Elementary and 

3 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

4 7801)); or 

5 (iii) a nonprofit organization with dem6 onstrated expertise in high-quality middle 

7 grades intervention. 

8 (4) ELIGIBLE LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.— 

9 The term ‘‘eligible local educational agency’’ means 

10 a local educational agency that serves not less than 

11 1 eligible school. 

12 (5) ELIGIBLE SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘eligible 

13 school’’ means an elementary or secondary school 

14 that contains not less than 2 or more successive 

15 grades beginning with grade 5 and ending with 

16 grade 8 and for which— 

17 (A) a high proportion of the middle grades 

18 students attending such school go on to attend 

19 a secondary school with a graduation rate of 

20 less than 65 percent; 

21 (B) more than 25 percent of the students 

22 who finish grade 6 at such school, or the ear23 liest middle grade level at the school, exhibit 1 

24 or more of the key risk factors and early risk 

25 identification signs, including— 


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1 (i) student attendance below 90 per2 cent; 

3 (ii) a failing grade in a mathematics 

4 or reading or language arts course; 

5 (iii) 2 failing grades in any courses; 

6 and 

7 (iv) out-of-school suspension or other 

8 evidence of at-risk behavior; or 

9 (C) more than 50 percent of the middle 

10 grades students attending such school do not 

11 perform at a proficient level on State student 

12 academic assessments required under section 

13 1111(b)(3) of the Elementary and Secondary 

14 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(3)) 

15 in mathematics or reading or language arts. 

16 (6) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

17 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 

18 meaning given the term in section 101 of the Higher 

19 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001). 

20 (7) MIDDLE GRADES.—The term ‘‘middle 

21 grades’’ means any of grades 5 through 8. 

22 (8) PRINCIPLES OF SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH.— 

23 The term ‘‘principles of scientific research’’ has the 

24 meaning given the term in section 200 of the Higher 

25 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1021). 


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1 (9) SCIENTIFICALLY VALID RESEARCH.—The 

2 term ‘‘scientifically valid research’’ has the meaning 

3 given the term in section 200 of the Higher Edu4 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1021). 

5 (10) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 

6 means the Secretary of Education. 

7 (11) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 

8 the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and the 

9 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. 

10 (12) STUDENT WITH A DISABILITY.—The term 

11 ‘‘student with a disability’’ means a student who is 

12 a child with a disability, as defined in section 602 

13 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 

14 (20 U.S.C. 1401). 

15 TITLE I—MIDDLE GRADES 

16 IMPROVEMENT 

17 SEC. 101. PURPOSES. 

18 The purposes of this title are to— 

19 (1) improve middle grades student academic 

20 achievement and prepare students for rigorous sec21 ondary school course work, postsecondary education, 

22 independent living, and employment; 

23 (2) ensure that curricula and student supports 

24 for middle grades education align with the curricula 


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1 and student supports provided for elementary and 

2 secondary school grades; 

3 (3) provide resources to State educational agen4 cies and local educational agencies to collaboratively 

5 develop school improvement plans in order to deliver 

6 support and technical assistance to schools serving 

7 students in the middle grades; and 

8 (4) increase the capacity of States and local 

9 educational agencies to develop effective, sustainable, 

10 and replicable school improvement programs and 

11 models and evidence-based or, when available, sci12 entifically valid student interventions for implemen13 tation by schools serving students in the middle 

14 grades. 

15 SEC. 102. FORMULA GRANTS TO STATE EDUCATIONAL 

16 AGENCIES FOR MIDDLE GRADES IMPROVE17 MENT. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—From amounts appropriated 

19 under section 107, the Secretary shall make grants under 

20 this title for a fiscal year to each State educational agency 

21 for which the Secretary has approved an application under 

22 subsection (f) in an amount equal to the allotment deter23 mined for such agency under subsection (c) for such fiscal 

24 year. 


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1 (b) RESERVATIONS.—From the total amount made 

2 available to carry out this title for a fiscal year, the Sec3 retary— 

4 (1) shall reserve not more than 1 percent for 

5 the Secretary of the Interior (on behalf of the Bu6 reau of Indian Affairs) and the outlying areas for 

7 activities carried out in accordance with this section; 

8 (2) shall reserve 1 percent to evaluate the effec9 tiveness of this title in achieving the purposes of this 

10 title and ensuring that results are peer-reviewed and 

11 widely disseminated, which may include hiring an 

12 outside evaluator; and 

13 (3) shall reserve 5 percent for technical assist14 ance and dissemination of best practices in middle 

15 grades education to States and local educational 

16 agencies. 

17 (c) AMOUNT OF STATE ALLOTMENTS.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para19 graph (2), of the total amount made available to 

20 carry out this title for a fiscal year and not reserved 

21 under subsection (b), the Secretary shall allot such 

22 amount among the States in proportion to the num23 ber of children, aged 5 to 17, who reside within the 

24 State and are from families with incomes below the 

25 poverty line for the most recent fiscal year for which 


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1 satisfactory data are available, compared to the 

2 number of such individuals who reside in all such 

3 States for that fiscal year, determined in accordance 

4 with section 1124(c)(1)(A) of the Elementary and 

5 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

6 6333(c)(1)(A)). 

7 (2) MINIMUM ALLOTMENTS.—No State edu8 cational agency shall receive an allotment under this 

subsection for a fiscal year that is less than 1 9 ⁄2 of 

10 1 percent of the amount made available to carry out 

11 this title for such fiscal year. 

12 (d) SPECIAL RULE.—For any fiscal year for which 

13 the funds appropriated to carry out this title are less than 

14 $500,000,000, the Secretary is authorized to award grants 

15 to State educational agencies, on a competitive basis, rath16 er than as allotments described in this section, to enable 

17 such agencies to award subgrants under section 104 on 

18 a competitive basis. 

19 (e) REALLOTMENT.— 

20 (1) FAILURE TO APPLY; APPLICATION NOT AP21 PROVED.—If any State educational agency does not 

22 apply for an allotment under this title for a fiscal 

23 year, or if the application from the State educational 

24 agency is not approved, the Secretary shall reallot 


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1 the amount of the State’s allotment to the remaining 

2 States in accordance with this section. 

3 (2) UNUSED FUNDS.—The Secretary may 

4 reallot any amount of an allotment to a State if the 

5 Secretary determines that the State will be unable to 

6 use such amount within 2 years of such allotment. 

7 Such reallotments shall be made on the same basis 

8 as allotments are made under subsection (c). 

9 (f) APPLICATION.—In order to receive a grant under 

10 this title, a State educational agency shall submit an appli11 cation to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and 

12 accompanied by such information as the Secretary may 

13 reasonably require, including a State middle grades im14 provement plan described in section 103(a)(4). 

15 (g) PEER REVIEW AND SELECTION.—The Sec16 retary— 

17 (1) shall establish a peer-review process to as18 sist in the review and approval of proposed State ap19 plications; 

20 (2) shall appoint individuals to participate in 

21 the peer-review process who are educators and ex22 perts in identifying, evaluating, and implementing 

23 effective education programs and practices (includ24 ing in the areas of teaching and learning, edu25 cational standards and assessments, school improveVerDate Mar 15 2010 21:55 Apr 18, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S833.IS S833

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1 ment, and academic and behavioral supports for 

2 middle grades students, and in addressing the needs 

3 of students with disabilities and English language 

4 learners in the middle grades), which individuals 

5 may include recognized exemplary middle grades 

6 teachers and middle grades principals who have been 

7 recognized at the State or national level for exem8 plary work or contributions to the field; 

9 (3) shall ensure that States are given the op10 portunity to receive timely feedback, and to interact 

11 with peer-review panels, in person or via electronic 

12 communication, on issues that need clarification dur13 ing the peer-review process; 

14 (4) shall approve a State application submitted 

15 under this title not later than 120 days after the 

16 date of submission of the application unless the Sec17 retary determines that the application does not meet 

18 the requirements of this title; 

19 (5) may not decline to approve a State’s appli20 cation before— 

21 (A) offering the State an opportunity to 

22 revise the State’s application; 

23 (B) providing the State with technical as24 sistance in order to submit a successful applica25 tion; and 


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1 (C) providing a hearing to the State; and 

2 (6) shall direct the Inspector General of the De3 partment of Education to— 

4 (A) review final determinations reached by 

5 the Secretary to approve or deny State applica6 tions; 

7 (B) analyze the consistency of the process 

8 used by peer-review panels in reviewing and rec9 ommending to the Secretary approval or denial 

10 of such State applications; and 

11 (C) report the findings of this review and 

12 analysis to Congress. 

13 SEC. 103. STATE PLAN; AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES. 

14 (a) MANDATORY ACTIVITIES.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—A State educational agency 

16 that receives a grant under this title shall use the 

17 grant funds— 

18 (A) to prepare and implement the needs 

19 analysis and middle grades improvement plan, 

20 as described in paragraphs (3) and (4), of such 

21 agency; 

22 (B) to make subgrants to eligible local 

23 educational agencies or eligible entities under 

24 section 104; and 


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1 (C) to assist eligible local educational agen2 cies and eligible entities, when determined nec3 essary by the State educational agency or at the 

4 request of an eligible local educational agency 

5 or eligible entity, in designing a comprehensive 

6 schoolwide improvement plan and carrying out 

7 the activities under section 104. 

8 (2) FUNDS FOR SUBGRANTS.—A State edu9 cational agency that receives a grant under this title 

10 shall use not less than 80 percent of the grant funds 

11 to make subgrants to eligible local educational agen12 cies or eligible entities under section 104. 

13 (3) MIDDLE GRADES NEEDS ANALYSIS.— 

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—A State educational 

15 agency that receives a grant under this title 

16 shall enter into a contract, or similar formal 

17 agreement, to work with entities such as na18 tional and regional comprehensive centers (as 

19 described in section 203 of the Educational 

20 Technical Assistance Act of 2002 (20 U.S.C. 

21 9602)), institutions of higher education, or non22 profit organizations with demonstrated exper23 tise in high-quality middle grades reform, to 

24 prepare a plan that analyzes how to strengthen 

25 the programs, practices, and policies of the 


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1 State in supporting students in the middle 

2 grades, including the factors, such as local im3 plementation, that influence variation in the ef4 fectiveness of such programs, practices, and 

5 policies. 

6 (B) PREPARATION OF PLAN.—In preparing 

7 the plan under subparagraph (A), the State 

8 educational agency shall examine policies and 

9 practices of the State, and of local educational 

10 agencies within the State, affecting— 

11 (i) middle grades curriculum instruc12 tion and assessment; 

13 (ii) education accountability and data 

14 systems; 

15 (iii) teacher quality and equitable dis16 tribution; 

17 (iv) interventions that support learn18 ing in school; 

19 (v) family and community engagement 

20 in education; and 

21 (vi) student and academic support 

22 services, such as effective school library 

23 programs and school counseling on the 

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1 ning for entry into postsecondary edu2 cation and the workforce. 

3 (4) MIDDLE GRADES IMPROVEMENT PLAN.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—A State educational 

5 agency that receives a grant under this title 

6 shall develop a middle grades improvement plan 

7 that— 

8 (i) shall be a statewide plan to im9 prove student academic achievement in the 

10 middle grades, based on the needs analysis 

11 described in paragraph (3); and 

12 (ii) describes what students are re13 quired to know and do to successfully— 

14 (I) complete the middle grades; 

15 and 

16 (II) make the transition to suc17 ceed in academically rigorous sec18 ondary school coursework that pre19 pares students for postsecondary edu20 cation, independent living, and em21 ployment. 

22 (B) PLAN COMPONENTS.—A middle grades 

23 improvement plan described in subparagraph 

24 (A) shall also describe how the State edu25 cational agency will do each of the following: 


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1 (i)(I) Ensure that the curricula and 

2 assessments for middle grades education 

3 are aligned with secondary school curricula 

4 and assessments and prepare students to 

5 take challenging secondary school courses 

6 and successfully engage in postsecondary 

7 education; and 

8 (II) ensure coordination, where appli9 cable, with the activities carried out 

10 through grants for P–16 education align11 ment under section 6201(c)(1) of the 

12 America COMPETES Act. 

13 (ii) Ensure that professional develop14 ment is provided to school leaders, teach15 ers, and other school personnel in— 

16 (I) addressing the needs of di17 verse learners, including students with 

18 disabilities and English language 

19 learners; 

20 (II) using challenging and rel21 evant research-based best practices 

22 and curricula; and 

23 (III) using data to inform in24 struction. 


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1 (iii) Identify and disseminate informa2 tion on effective schools and instructional 

3 strategies for middle grades students based 

4 on high-quality research. 

5 (iv) Include specific provisions for stu6 dents most at risk of not graduating from 

7 secondary school, including English lan8 guage learners and students with disabil9 ities. 

10 (v) Provide technical assistance to eli11 gible entities to develop and implement 

12 their early warning indicator and interven13 tion systems, as described in section 

14 104(d)(2)(D). 

15 (vi) Define a set of comprehensive 

16 school performance indicators that shall be 

17 used, in addition to the indicators used to 

18 determine adequate yearly progress, as de19 fined in section 1111(b)(2)(C) of the Ele20 mentary and Secondary Education Act of 

21 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(2)(C)), to evalu22 ate school performance, and guide the 

23 school improvement process, such as— 

24 (I) student attendance and ab25 senteeism; 


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1 (II) earned on-time promotion 

2 rates from grade to grade; 

3 (III) percentage of students fail4 ing a mathematics, reading or lan5 guage arts, or science course, or fail6 ing 2 or more of any courses; 

7 (IV) teacher quality and attend8 ance measures; 

9 (V) in-school and out-of-school 

10 suspension or other measurable evi11 dence of at-risk behavior; and 

12 (VI) additional indicators pro13 posed by the State educational agen14 cy, and approved by the Secretary 

15 pursuant to the peer-review process 

16 described in section 102(g). 

17 (vii) Ensure that such plan is coordi18 nated with State activities to turn around 

19 other schools in need of improvement, in20 cluding State activities to improve sec21 ondary schools and elementary schools. 

22 (viii) Ensure that such plan includes 

23 specific provisions to improve family and 

24 community engagement in education in the 

25 middle grades. 


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1 (b) PERMISSIBLE ACTIVITIES.—A State educational 

2 agency that receives a grant under this title may use the 

3 grant funds to— 

4 (1) develop and encourage collaborations among 

5 researchers at institutions of higher education, State 

6 educational agencies, educational service agencies 

7 (as defined in section 9101 of the Elementary and 

8 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

9 7801)), local educational agencies, and nonprofit or10 ganizations with demonstrated expertise in high11 quality middle grades interventions, to expand the 

12 use of effective practices in the middle grades and 

13 to improve middle grades education; 

14 (2) support local educational agencies in imple15 menting effective middle grades practices, models, 

16 and programs that— 

17 (A) are evidence-based or, when available, 

18 scientifically valid; and 

19 (B) lead to improved student academic 

20 achievement; 

21 (3) support collaborative communities of middle 

22 grades teachers, administrators, school librarians, 

23 and researchers in creating and sustaining informa24 tional databases to disseminate results from rigorous 


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1 research on effective practices and programs for 

2 middle grades education; and 

3 (4) increase middle grades student and aca4 demic support services, such as effective school li5 brary programs and school counseling on the transi6 tion to secondary school and planning for entry into 

7 postsecondary education and the workforce. 

8 SEC. 104. COMPETITIVE SUBGRANTS TO IMPROVE LOW9 PERFORMING MIDDLE GRADES. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—A State educational agency that 

11 receives a grant under this title shall make competitive 

12 subgrants to eligible local educational agencies and eligible 

13 entities to enable the eligible local educational agencies 

14 and eligible entities to improve low-performing middle 

15 grades in schools served by the agencies or entities. 

16 (b) PRIORITIES.—In making subgrants under sub17 section (a), a State educational agency shall give priority 

18 to eligible local educational agencies or eligible entities 

19 based on— 

20 (1) the respective populations of children de21 scribed in section 102(c)(1) served by the eligible 

22 local educational agencies participating in the 

23 subgrant application process; and 


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1 (2) the respective populations of children served 

2 by the participating eligible local educational agen3 cies who attend eligible schools. 

4 (c) APPLICATION.—An eligible local educational 

5 agency or eligible entity that desires to receive a subgrant 

6 under subsection (a) shall submit an application to the 

7 State educational agency at such time, in such manner, 

8 and accompanied by such information as the State edu9 cational agency may reasonably require, including— 

10 (1) a comprehensive schoolwide improvement 

11 plan described in subsection (d); 

12 (2) a description of how activities described in 

13 such plan will be coordinated with activities specified 

14 in plans for schoolwide programs under section 1114 

15 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 

16 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6314) and school improvement 

17 plans required under section 1116(b)(3) of such Act 

18 (20 U.S.C. 6316(b)(3)); and 

19 (3) a description of how activities described in 

20 such plan will be complementary to, and coordinated 

21 with, school improvement activities for elementary 

22 schools and secondary schools in need of improve23 ment that serve the same students within the par24 ticipating local educational agency. 


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1 (d) COMPREHENSIVE SCHOOLWIDE IMPROVEMENT

2 PLAN.—An eligible local educational agency or eligible en3 tity that desires to receive a subgrant under subsection 

4 (a) shall develop a comprehensive schoolwide improvement 

5 plan for the middle grades that shall— 

6 (1) include the information described in sub7 section (c)(2); 

8 (2) describe how the eligible local educational 

9 agency or eligible entity will— 

10 (A) identify eligible schools; 

11 (B) ensure that funds go to the highest 

12 priority eligible schools first, based on the eligi13 ble schools’ populations of children described in 

14 section 102(c)(1); 

15 (C) use funds to improve the academic 

16 achievement of all students, including English 

17 language learners and students with disabilities, 

18 in eligible schools; 

19 (D) implement an early warning indicator 

20 and intervention system to alert schools when 

21 students begin to exhibit outcomes or behaviors 

22 that indicate the student is at increased risk for 

23 low academic achievement or is unlikely to 

24 progress to secondary school graduation, and to 

25 create a system of evidence-based interventions 


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1 to be used by schools to effectively intervene, 

2 by— 

3 (i) identifying and analyzing, such as 

4 through the use of longitudinal data of 

5 past cohorts of students, the academic and 

6 behavioral indicators in the middle grades 

7 that most reliably predict dropping out of 

8 high school, such as attendance, behavior 

9 measures (including suspensions, officer 

10 referrals, or conduct marks), academic per11 formance in core courses, and earned on12 time promotion from grade-to-grade; 

13 (ii) analyzing student progress and 

14 performance on the indicators identified 

15 under clause (i) to guide decisionmaking; 

16 (iii) analyzing academic indicators to 

17 determine whether students are on track to 

18 graduate on time, and developing appro19 priate evidence-based intervention; and 

20 (iv) identifying or developing a mecha21 nism for regularly collecting and report22 ing— 

23 (I) student-level data on the indi24 cators identified under clause (i); 


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1 (II) student-level progress and 

2 performance, as described in clause 

3 (ii); 

4 (III) student-level data on the in5 dicators described in clause (iii); and 

6 (IV) information about the im7 pact of interventions on student out8 comes and progress; 

9 (E) increase academic rigor and foster stu10 dent engagement to ensure students are enter11 ing secondary school prepared for success in a 

12 rigorous college- and career-ready curriculum, 

13 including a description of how such readiness 

14 will be measured; 

15 (F) implement a systemic transition plan 

16 for all students and encourage collaboration 

17 among elementary grades, middle grades, and 

18 secondary school grades; 

19 (G) increase community and family en20 gagement in education in the middle grades to 

21 support student success; and 

22 (H) provide evidence that the strategies, 

23 programs, supports, and instructional practices 

24 proposed under the schoolwide improvement 

25 plan are new and have not been implemented 


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1 before by the eligible local educational agency 

2 or eligible entity; and 

3 (3) provide evidence of an ongoing commitment 

4 to sustain the plan for a period of not less than 4 

5 years. 

6 (e) REVIEW AND SELECTION OF SUBGRANTS.—In 

7 making subgrants under subsection (a), the State edu8 cational agency shall— 

9 (1) establish a peer-review process to assist in 

10 the review and approval of applications under sub11 section (c); and 

12 (2) appoint individuals to participate in the 

13 peer-review process who are educators and experts in 

14 identifying, evaluating, and implementing effective 

15 education programs and practices, including— 

16 (A) experts in areas of teaching and learn17 ing, educational standards and assessments, 

18 school improvement, in addressing the needs of 

19 students with disabilities and English language 

20 learners in the middle grades, and in the aca21 demic and behavioral supports for middle 

22 grades students; and 

23 (B) recognized exemplary middle grades 

24 teachers and principals who have been recogVerDate Mar 15 2010 21:55 Apr 18, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00028 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S833.IS S833

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1 nized at the State or national level for exem2 plary work or contributions to the field. 

3 (f) REVISION OF SUBGRANTS.—If a State edu4 cational agency, using the peer-review process described 

5 in subsection (e), determines that an application for a 

6 grant under subsection (a) does not meet the requirements 

7 of this title, the State educational agency shall notify the 

8 eligible local educational agency or eligible entity of such 

9 determination and the reasons for such determination, and 

10 offer— 

11 (1) the eligible local educational agency or eligi12 ble entity an opportunity to revise and resubmit the 

13 application; and 

14 (2) technical assistance to the eligible local edu15 cational agency or eligible entity, by the State edu16 cational agency or a nonprofit organization with 

17 demonstrated expertise in high-quality middle grades 

18 interventions, to revise the application. 

19 (g) MANDATORY USES OF FUNDS.—An eligible local 

20 educational agency or eligible entity that receives a 

21 subgrant under subsection (a) shall carry out the fol22 lowing: 

23 (1) Align the curricula for grades kindergarten 

24 through 12 for schools within the local educational 


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1 agency to improve transitions from elementary 

2 grades to middle grades to secondary school grades. 

3 (2) In each eligible school served by the eligible 

4 local educational agency receiving or participating in 

5 the subgrant: 

6 (A) Align the curricula for all grade levels 

7 within eligible schools to improve grade to grade 

8 transitions. 

9 (B) Implement evidence-based or, when 

10 available, scientifically valid instructional strate11 gies, programs, and learning environments that 

12 meet the needs of all students and ensure that 

13 school leaders and teachers receive professional 

14 development on the use of these strategies. 

15 (C) Ensure that school leaders, teachers, 

16 pupil service personnel, school librarians, and 

17 other school staff understand the developmental 

18 stages of adolescents in the middle grades and 

19 how to deal with those stages appropriately in 

20 an educational setting. 

21 (D) Implement organizational practices 

22 and school schedules that allow for effective 

23 leadership, collaborative staff participation, ef24 fective teacher teaming, and parent and com25 munity involvement. 


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1 (E) Create a more personalized and engag2 ing learning environment for middle grades stu3 dents by developing a personal academic plan 

4 for each student and assigning not less than 1 

5 adult to help monitor student progress. 

6 (F) Provide all students, and the students’ 

7 families, with information about, and assistance 

8 with, the requirements for secondary school 

9 graduation, admission to an institution of high10 er education, and career success. 

11 (G) Utilize data from an early warning in12 dicator and intervention system described in 

13 subsection (d)(2)(D) to identify struggling stu14 dents and assist the students as the students 

15 transition from elementary school to middle 

16 grades to secondary school. 

17 (H) Implement academic supports, such as 

18 effective school library programs, and effective 

19 and coordinated additional assistance programs 

20 to ensure that students have a strong founda21 tion in reading, writing, mathematics, and 

22 science skills. 

23 (I) Implement evidence-based or, when 

24 available, scientifically valid schoolwide pro25 grams and targeted supports to promote posiVerDate Mar 15 2010 21:55 Apr 18, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00031 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S833.IS S833

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1 tive academic outcomes, such as increased at2 tendance rates and the promotion of physical, 

3 personal, and social development. 

4 (J) Develop and use effective formative as5 sessments to inform instruction. 

6 (h) PERMISSIBLE USES OF FUNDS.—An eligible local 

7 educational agency or eligible entity that receives a 

8 subgrant under subsection (a) may use the subgrant funds 

9 to carry out the following: 

10 (1) Implement extended learning opportunities 

11 in core academic areas including more instructional 

12 time in literacy, mathematics, science, history, and 

13 civics in addition to opportunities for language in14 struction and understanding other cultures and the 

15 arts. 

16 (2) Provide evidence-based professional develop17 ment activities with specific benchmarks to enable 

18 teachers and other school staff to appropriately 

19 monitor academic and behavioral progress of, and 

20 modify curricula and implement accommodations 

21 and assistive technology services for, students with 

22 disabilities, consistent with the students’ individual23 ized education programs under section 614(d) of the 

24 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 

25 U.S.C. 1414(d)). 


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1 (3) Employ and use instructional coaches, in2 cluding literacy, mathematics, and English language 

3 learner coaches. 

4 (4) Provide professional development for con5 tent-area teachers and school librarians on working 

6 effectively with English language learners and stu7 dents with disabilities, as well as professional devel8 opment for English as a second language educators, 

9 bilingual educators, and special education personnel. 

10 (5) Encourage and facilitate the sharing of data 

11 among elementary grades, middle grades, secondary 

12 school grades, and postsecondary educational institu13 tions. 

14 (6) Create collaborative study groups composed 

15 of principals or middle grades teachers, or both, 

16 among eligible schools within the eligible local edu17 cational agency receiving or participating in the 

18 subgrant, or between such eligible local educational 

19 agency and another local educational agency, with a 

20 focus on developing and sharing methods to increase 

21 student learning and academic achievement. 

22 (i) PLANNING SUBGRANTS.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—In addition to the subgrants 

24 described in subsection (a), a State educational 

25 agency may (without regard to the preceding proviVerDate Mar 15 2010 21:55 Apr 18, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00033 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S833.IS S833

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1 sions of this section) make planning subgrants, and 

2 provide technical assistance, to eligible local edu3 cational agencies and eligible entities that have not 

4 received a subgrant under subsection (a) to assist 

5 the local educational agencies and eligible entities in 

6 meeting the requirements of subsections (c) and (d). 

7 (2) AMOUNT AND DURATION.—Each subgrant 

8 under this subsection shall be in an amount of not 

9 more than $100,000 and shall be for a period of not 

10 more than 1 year in duration. 

11 SEC. 105. DURATION OF GRANTS; SUPPLEMENT NOT SUP12 PLANT. 

13 (a) DURATION OF GRANTS.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para15 graph (2), grants under this title and subgrants 

16 under section 104(a) may not exceed 3 years in du17 ration. 

18 (2) RENEWALS.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—Grants and subgrants 

20 under this title may be renewed in 2-year incre21 ments. 

22 (B) CONDITIONS.—In order to be eligible 

23 to have a grant or subgrant renewed under this 

24 paragraph, the grant or subgrant recipient shall 


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1 demonstrate, to the satisfaction of the granting 

2 entity, that— 

3 (i) the recipient has complied with the 

4 terms of the grant or subgrant, including 

5 by undertaking all required activities; and 

6 (ii) during the period of the grant or 

7 subgrant, there has been significant 

8 progress in— 

9 (I) student academic achieve10 ment, as measured by the annual 

11 measurable objectives established pur12 suant to section 1111(b)(2)(C)(v) of 

13 the Elementary and Secondary Edu14 cation Act (20 U.S.C. 

15 6311(b)(2)(C)(v)); and 

16 (II) other key risk factors such 

17 as attendance and on-time promotion. 

18 (b) FEDERAL FUNDS TO SUPPLEMENT, NOT SUP19 PLANT, NON-FEDERAL FUNDS.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—A State educational agency, 

21 eligible local educational agency, or eligible entity 

22 shall use Federal funds received under this title only 

23 to supplement the funds that would, in the absence 

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1 pating in programs assisted under this title, and not 

2 to supplant such funds. 

3 (2) SPECIAL RULE.—Nothing in this title shall 

4 be construed to authorize an officer, employee, or 

5 contractor of the Federal Government to mandate, 

6 direct, limit, or control a State, local educational 

7 agency, or school’s specific instructional content, 

8 academic achievement standards and assessments, 

9 curriculum, or program of instruction. 

10 SEC. 106. EVALUATION AND REPORTING. 

11 (a) EVALUATION.—Not later than 180 days after the 

12 date of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter for 

13 the period of the grant, each State receiving a grant under 

14 this title shall— 

15 (1) conduct an evaluation of the State’s 

16 progress regarding the impact of the changes made 

17 to the policies and practices of the State in accord18 ance with this title, including— 

19 (A) a description of the specific changes 

20 made, or in the process of being made, to poli21 cies and practices as a result of the grant; 

22 (B) a discussion of any barriers hindering 

23 the identified changes in policies and practices, 

24 and implementation strategies to overcome such 

25 barriers; 


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1 (C) evidence of the impact of changes to 

2 policies and practices on behavior and actions 

3 at the local educational agency and school level; 

4 and 

5 (D) evidence of the impact of the changes 

6 to State and local policies and practices on im7 proving measurable learning gains by middle 

8 grades students; 

9 (2) use the results of the evaluation conducted 

10 under paragraph (1) to adjust the policies and prac11 tices of the State as necessary to achieve the pur12 poses of this title; and 

13 (3) submit the results of the evaluation to the 

14 Secretary. 

15 (b) AVAILABILITY.—The Secretary shall make the re16 sults of each State’s evaluation under subsection (a) avail17 able to other States and local educational agencies. 

18 (c) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY REPORTING.—On 

19 an annual basis, each eligible local educational agency and 

20 eligible entity receiving a subgrant under section 104(a) 

21 shall report to the State educational agency and to the 

22 public on— 

23 (1) the performance on the school performance 

24 indicators (as described in section 103(a)(4)(B)(vi)) 

25 for each eligible school served by the eligible local 


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1 educational agency or eligible entity, in the aggre2 gate and disaggregated by the subgroups described 

3 in section 1111(b)(2)(C)(v)(II) of the Elementary 

4 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

5 6311(b)(2)(C)(v)(II)); and 

6 (2) the use of funds by the eligible local edu7 cational agency or eligible entity and each such 

8 school. 

9 (d) STATE EDUCATIONAL AGENCY REPORTING.—On 

10 an annual basis, each State educational agency receiving 

11 grant funds under this title shall report to the Secretary 

12 and to the public on— 

13 (1) the performance of eligible schools in the 

14 State, based on the school performance indicators 

15 described in section 103(a)(4)(B)(vi), in the aggre16 gate and disaggregated by the subgroups described 

17 in section 1111(b)(2)(C)(v)(II) of the Elementary 

18 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

19 6311(b)(2)(C)(v)(II)); and 

20 (2) the use of the funds by each eligible local 

21 educational agency in the State and by each eligible 

22 school. 

23 (e) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Every 2 years, the Sec24 retary shall report to the public and to Congress— 


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1 (1) a summary of the State reports under sub2 section (d); and 

3 (2) the use of funds by each State under this 

4 title. 

5 SEC. 107. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

6 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

7 this title $1,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2012 and such 

8 sums as may be necessary for each of the 5 succeeding 

9 fiscal years. 

10 TITLE II—RESEARCH 

11 RECOMMENDATIONS 

12 SEC. 201. PURPOSE. 

13 The purpose of this title is to facilitate the genera14 tion, dissemination, and application of research needed to 

15 identify and implement effective practices that lead to con16 tinual student learning and high academic achievement in 

17 the middle grades. 

18 SEC. 202. RESEARCH RECOMMENDATIONS. 

19 (a) STUDY ON PROMISING PRACTICES.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after 

21 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

22 shall enter into a contract with the Center for Edu23 cation of the National Academies to study and iden24 tify promising practices for the improvement of mid25 dle grades education. 


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1 (2) CONTENT OF STUDY.—The study described 

2 in paragraph (1) shall identify promising practices 

3 currently being implemented for the improvement of 

4 middle grades education. The study shall be con5 ducted in an open and transparent way that provides 

6 interim information to the public about criteria 

7 being used to identify— 

8 (A) promising practices; 

9 (B) the practices that are being consid10 ered; and 

11 (C) the kind of evidence needed to docu12 ment effectiveness. 

13 (3) REPORT.—The contract entered into pursu14 ant to this subsection shall require that the Center 

15 for Education of the National Academies submit to 

16 the Secretary, the Committee on Health, Education, 

17 Labor, and Pensions of the Senate, and the Com18 mittee on Education and the Workforce of the 

19 House of Representatives a final report regarding 

20 the study conducted under this subsection not later 

21 than 1 year after the date of the commencement of 

22 the contract. 

23 (4) PUBLICATION.—The Secretary shall make 

24 public and post on the Web site of the Department 


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1 Education the findings of the study conducted under 

2 this subsection. 

3 (b) SYNTHESIS STUDY OF EFFECTIVE TEACHING

4 AND LEARNING IN MIDDLE GRADES.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after 

6 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

7 shall enter into a contract with the Center for Edu8 cation of the National Academies to review existing 

9 research on middle grades education, and on factors 

10 that might lead to increased effectiveness and en11 hanced innovation in middle grades education. 

12 (2) CONTENT OF STUDY.—The study described 

13 in paragraph (1) shall review research on education 

14 programs, practices, and policies, as well as research 

15 on the cognitive, social, and emotional development 

16 of children in the middle grades age range, in order 

17 to provide an enriched understanding of the factors 

18 that might lead to the development of innovative and 

19 effective middle grades programs, practices, and 

20 policies. The study shall focus on— 

21 (A) the areas of curriculum, instruction, 

22 and assessment (including additional supports 

23 for students who are below grade level in read24 ing, writing, mathematics, and science, and the 

25 identification of students with disabilities) to 


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1 better prepare all students for subsequent suc2 cess in secondary school, postsecondary edu3 cation, and cognitively challenging employment; 

4 (B) the quality of, and supports for, the 

5 teacher workforce; 

6 (C) aspects of student behavioral and so7 cial development, and of social interactions 

8 within schools that affect the learning of aca9 demic content; 

10 (D) the ways in which schools and local 

11 educational agencies are organized and operated 

12 that may be linked to student outcomes; 

13 (E) how development and use of early 

14 warning indicator and intervention systems can 

15 reduce risk factors for dropping out of school 

16 and low academic achievement; and 

17 (F) identification of areas where further 

18 research and evaluation may be needed on these 

19 topics to further the development of effective 

20 middle grades practices. 

21 (3) REPORT.—The contract entered into pursu22 ant to this subsection shall require that the Center 

23 for Education of the National Academies submit to 

24 the Secretary, the Committee on Health, Education, 

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1 mittee on Education and the Workforce of the 

2 House of Representatives a final report regarding 

3 the study conducted under this subsection not later 

4 than 2 years after the date of commencement of the 

5 contract. 

6 (4) PUBLICATION.—The Secretary shall make 

7 public and post on the Web site of the Department 

8 of Education the findings of the study conducted 

9 under this subsection. 

10 (c) OTHER ACTIVITIES.—The Secretary shall carry 

11 out each of the following: 

12 (1) Create a national clearinghouse, in coordi13 nation with entities such as What Works and the 

14 Doing What Works Clearinghouses, for research in 

15 best practices in the middle grades and in the ap16 proaches that successfully take those best practices 

17 to scale in schools and local educational agencies. 

18 (2) Create a national middle grades database 

19 accessible to educational researchers, practitioners, 

20 and policymakers that identifies school, classroom, 

21 and system-level factors that facilitate or impede 

22 student academic achievement in the middle grades. 

23 (3) Require the Institute of Education Sciences 

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1 ance of schools serving middle grades students, and 

2 of middle grades students who are most at risk of 

3 educational failure, which may be coordinated with 

4 the regional educational laboratories established 

5 under section 174 of the Education Sciences Reform 

6 Act of 2002 (20 U.S.C. 9564), institutions of higher 

7 education, agencies recognized for their research 

8 work that has been published in peer-reviewed jour9 nals, and organizations that have such regional edu10 cational laboratories. Such research shall target spe11 cific issues such as— 

12 (A) effective practices for instruction and 

13 assessment in mathematics, science, technology, 

14 and literacy; 

15 (B) academic interventions for adolescent 

16 English language learners; 

17 (C) school improvement programs and 

18 strategies for closing the academic achievement 

19 gap; 

20 (D) evidence-based or, when available, sci21 entifically valid professional development plan22 ning targeted to improve pedagogy and student 

23 academic achievement; 

24 (E) the effects of increased learning or ex25 tended school time in the middle grades; and 


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1 (F) the effects of decreased class size or 

2 increased instructional and support staff. 

3 (4) Strengthen the work of the existing national 

4 research and development centers under section 

5 133(c) of the Education Sciences Reform Act of 

6 2002 (20 U.S.C. 9533(c)), as of the date of enact7 ment of this Act, by adding an educational research 

8 and development center dedicated to addressing— 

9 (A) curricular, instructional, and assess10 ment issues pertinent to the middle grades 

11 (such as mathematics, science, technological flu12 ency, the needs of English language learners, 

13 and students with disabilities); 

14 (B) comprehensive reforms for low-per15 forming middle grades; and 

16 (C) other topics pertinent to improving the 

17 academic achievement of middle grades stu18 dents. 

19 (5) Provide grants to nonprofit organizations, 

20 for-profit organizations, institutions of higher edu21 cation, and others to partner with State educational 

22 agencies and local educational agencies to develop, 

23 adapt, or replicate effective models for turning 

24 around low-performing middle grades. 


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1 SEC. 203. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS; RESERVA2 TIONS. 

3 (a) AUTHORIZATION.—There are authorized to be ap4 propriated to carry out this title $100,000,000 for fiscal 

5 year 2012 and such sums as may be necessary for each 

6 of the 5 succeeding fiscal years. 

7 (b) RESERVATIONS.—From the total amount made 

8 available to carry out this title, the Secretary shall re9 serve— 

10 (1) 2.5 percent for the studies described in sub11 sections (a) and (b) of section 202; 

12 (2) 5 percent for the clearinghouse described in 

13 section 202(c)(1); 

14 (3) 5 percent for the database described in sec15 tion 202(c)(2); 

16 (4) 42.5 percent for the activities described in 

17 section 202(c)(3); 

18 (5) 15 percent for the activities described in 

19 section 202(c)(4); and 

20 (6) 30 percent for the activities described in 

21 section 202(c)(5). 

Æ 


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