I 
112TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1547 
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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 14, 2011 
Mr. GRIJALVA (for himself, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. HOLT, Mr. SCOTT of Vir-
ginia, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, and Mr. FATTAH) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Work-
force 
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 com-
plete the middle grades prepared for success in secondary 
school and postsecondary endeavors, to improve State 
and district policies and programs relating to the aca-
demic 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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Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Success in the Middle 
Act of 2011’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
In this Act: 
(1) International comparisons indicate that stu-
dents in the United States do not start out behind 
students of other nations in mathematics and 
science, but that they fall behind by the end of the 
middle grades. 
(2) Only 1⁄3 of eighth grade students in the 
United States, and only 3 percent of such students 
who are English language learners, can read with 
proficiency, according to the 2009 National Assess-
ment on Educational Progress (NAEP). The per-
centage of eighth grade students proficient at read-
ing, and the average reading score for eighth grade 
students, have remained static. In contrast, NAEP 
reading scores and achievement levels for fourth 
grade students have increased significantly. 
(3) In mathematics, just over 1⁄3 of students in 
eighth grade show skills at the NAEP proficient 
level, and nearly 30 percent score below the basic 
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level. The percentage of eighth grade students scor-
ing above the basic level was 10 points higher in 
2009 than in 2000, but for fourth grade students, 
the percentage increased 17 points, more than dou-
ble the increase for middle grades students. In 
eighth grade, the gaps between the average mathe-
matics scores of White and Black students and be-
tween White and Hispanic students were approxi-
mately as wide in 2009 as in 1990. 
(4) Fewer than 1 in 4 of the students who 
graduate from secondary school meet, as eighth 
graders, all 4 of ACT’s EXPLORE College Readi-
ness Benchmarks, the minimum level of achievement 
that ACT has shown is necessary if students are to 
be college- and career-ready upon their graduation 
from secondary school. 
(5) Lack of basic skills at the end of middle 
grades has serious implications for students. Stu-
dents who enter secondary school 2 or more years 
behind grade level in mathematics and literacy have 
only a 50 percent chance of progressing on time to 
the tenth grade; those not progressing are at signifi-
cant risk of dropping out of secondary school. 
(6) Middle grades students are hopeful about 
their future, with 93 percent believing that they will 
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complete secondary school and 86 percent antici-
pating that they will attend an institution of higher 
education. 
(7) Sixth grade students who do not attend 
school regularly, who are subjected to frequent dis-
ciplinary actions, or who fail mathematics or English 
have less than a 15 percent chance of graduating 
secondary school on time and a 20 percent chance 
of graduating 1 year late. Without effective interven-
tions and proper supports, these students are at risk 
of subsequent failure in secondary school, or of drop-
ping out. 
(8) Student transitions from elementary school 
to the middle grades and to secondary school are 
often complicated by poor curriculum alignment, in-
adequate counseling services, and unsatisfactory 
sharing of student performance and academic 
achievement data between grades. 
(9) According to ACT, the level of academic 
achievement that students attain by eighth grade 
has a larger impact on the students’ college and ca-
reer readiness upon graduation from secondary 
school than anything that happens academically in 
secondary school. 
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(10) Schools that serve children in the middle 
grades are almost twice as likely as elementary 
schools to be identified for improvement, corrective 
action, or restructuring (22 percent as compared to 
13 percent) under section 1116 of the Elementary 
and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
6316). 
(11) Middle grades improvement strategies 
should be tailored based on a variety of performance 
indicators and data, so that educators can create 
and implement successful school improvement strate-
gies to address the needs of the middle grades, and 
so that teachers can provide effective instruction and 
adequate assistance to meet the needs of at-risk stu-
dents. 
(12) To stem a dropout rate nearly twice that 
of students without disabilities, students with dis-
abilities in the critical middle grades must receive 
appropriate academic accommodations and access to 
assistive technology, high-risk behaviors such as ab-
senteeism and course failure must be monitored, and 
problem-solving skills with broad application must be 
taught. 
(13) Local educational agencies and State edu-
cational agencies often do not have the capacity to 
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provide support for school improvement strategies. 
Successful models do exist for turning around low- 
performing middle grades, and Federal support 
should be provided to increase the capacity to apply 
promising practices based on evidence from success-
ful schools. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) ESEA DEFINITIONS.—The terms ‘‘elemen-
tary school’’, ‘‘local educational agency’’, ‘‘secondary 
school’’, and ‘‘State educational agency’’ have the 
meanings given the terms in section 9101 of the Ele-
mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 
U.S.C. 7801). 
(2) DIGITAL
LITERACY
SKILLS.—The term 
‘‘digital literacy skills’’ has the meaning given the 
term in section 202 of the Museum and Library 
Services Act (20 U.S.C. 9101). 
(3) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti-
ty’’ means a partnership that includes— 
(A) not less than 1 eligible local edu-
cational agency; and 
(B)(i) an institution of higher education; 
(ii) an educational service agency (as de-
fined in section 9101 of the Elementary and 
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Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
7801)); or 
(iii) a nonprofit organization with dem-
onstrated expertise in high quality middle 
grades intervention. 
(4) ELIGIBLE LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.— 
The term ‘‘eligible local educational agency’’ means 
a local educational agency that serves not less than 
1 eligible school. 
(5) ELIGIBLE
SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘eligible 
school’’ means an elementary or secondary school 
that contains not less than 2 or more successive 
grades beginning with grade 5 and ending with 
grade 8 and for which— 
(A) a high proportion of the middle grades 
students attending such school go on to attend 
a secondary school with a graduation rate of 
less than 65 percent; 
(B) more than 25 percent of the students 
who finish grade 6 at such school, or the ear-
liest middle grade level at the school, exhibit 1 
or more of the key risk factors and early risk 
identification signs, including— 
(i) student attendance below 90 per-
cent; 
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(ii) a failing grade in a mathematics 
or reading or language arts course; 
(iii) 2 failing grades in any courses; 
and 
(iv) out-of-school suspension or other 
evidence of at-risk behavior; or 
(C) more than 50 percent of the middle 
grades students attending such school do not 
perform at a proficient level on State student 
academic assessments required under section 
1111(b)(3) of the Elementary and Secondary 
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(3)) 
in mathematics or reading or language arts. 
(6) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 
term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 
meaning given the term in section 101 of the Higher 
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001). 
(7) MIDDLE
GRADES.—The term ‘‘middle 
grades’’ means any of grades 5 through 8. 
(8) PRINCIPLES OF SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH.— 
The term ‘‘principles of scientific research’’ has the 
meaning given the term in section 200 of the Higher 
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1021). 
(9) SCIENTIFICALLY
VALID
RESEARCH.—The 
term ‘‘scientifically valid research’’ has the meaning 
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given the term in section 200 of the Higher Edu-
cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1021). 
(10) 
SECRETARY.—The 
term 
‘‘Secretary’’ 
means the Secretary of Education. 
(11) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 
the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and the 
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. 
(12) STUDENT WITH A DISABILITY.—The term 
‘‘student with a disability’’ means a student who is 
a child with a disability, as defined in section 602 
of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 
(20 U.S.C. 1401). 
TITLE I—MIDDLE GRADES 
IMPROVEMENT 
SEC. 101. PURPOSES. 
The purposes of this title are to— 
(1) improve middle grades student academic 
achievement and prepare students for rigorous sec-
ondary school course work, postsecondary education, 
independent living, and employment; 
(2) ensure that curricula and student supports 
for middle grades education align with the curricula 
and student supports provided for elementary and 
secondary school grades; 
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(3) provide resources to State educational agen-
cies and local educational agencies to collaboratively 
develop school improvement plans in order to deliver 
support and technical assistance to schools serving 
students in the middle grades; and 
(4) increase the capacity of States and local 
educational agencies to develop effective, sustainable, 
and replicable school improvement programs and 
models and evidence-based or, when available, sci-
entifically valid student interventions for implemen-
tation by schools serving students in the middle 
grades. 
SEC. 102. FORMULA GRANTS TO STATE EDUCATIONAL 
AGENCIES FOR MIDDLE GRADES IMPROVE-
MENT. 
(a) IN
GENERAL.—From amounts appropriated 
under section 107, the Secretary shall make grants under 
this title for a fiscal year to each State educational agency 
for which the Secretary has approved an application under 
subsection (f) in an amount equal to the allotment deter-
mined for such agency under subsection (c) for such fiscal 
year. 
(b) RESERVATIONS.—From the total amount made 
available to carry out this title for a fiscal year, the Sec-
retary— 
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(1) shall reserve not more than 1 percent for 
the Secretary of the Interior (on behalf of the Bu-
reau of Indian Affairs) and the outlying areas for 
activities carried out in accordance with this section; 
(2) shall reserve 1 percent to evaluate the effec-
tiveness of this title in achieving the purposes of this 
title and ensuring that results are peer-reviewed and 
widely disseminated, which may include hiring an 
outside evaluator; and 
(3) shall reserve 5 percent for technical assist-
ance and dissemination of best practices in middle 
grades education to States and local educational 
agencies. 
(c) AMOUNT OF STATE ALLOTMENTS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-
graph (2), of the total amount made available to 
carry out this title for a fiscal year and not reserved 
under subsection (b), the Secretary shall allot such 
amount among the States in proportion to the num-
ber of children, aged 5 to 17, who reside within the 
State and are from families with incomes below the 
poverty line for the most recent fiscal year for which 
satisfactory data are available, compared to the 
number of such individuals who reside in all such 
States for that fiscal year, determined in accordance 
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with section 1124(c)(1)(A) of the Elementary and 
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
6333(c)(1)(A)). 
(2) MINIMUM
ALLOTMENTS.—No State edu-
cational agency shall receive an allotment under this 
subsection for a fiscal year that is less than 1⁄2 of 
1 percent of the amount made available to carry out 
this title for such fiscal year. 
(d) SPECIAL RULE.—For any fiscal year for which 
the funds appropriated to carry out this title are less than 
$500,000,000, the Secretary is authorized to award grants 
to State educational agencies, on a competitive basis, rath-
er than as allotments described in this section, to enable 
such agencies to award subgrants under section 104 on 
a competitive basis. 
(e) REALLOTMENT.— 
(1) FAILURE TO APPLY; APPLICATION NOT AP-
PROVED.—If any State educational agency does not 
apply for an allotment under this title for a fiscal 
year, or if the application from the State educational 
agency is not approved, the Secretary shall reallot 
the amount of the State’s allotment to the remaining 
States in accordance with this section. 
(2) UNUSED
FUNDS.—The Secretary may 
reallot any amount of an allotment to a State if the 
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Secretary determines that the State will be unable to 
use such amount within 2 years of such allotment. 
Such reallotments shall be made on the same basis 
as allotments are made under subsection (c). 
(f) APPLICATION.—In order to receive a grant under 
this title, a State educational agency shall submit an appli-
cation to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and 
accompanied by such information as the Secretary may 
reasonably require, including a State middle grades im-
provement plan described in section 103(a)(4). 
(g) PEER
REVIEW
AND
SELECTION.—The Sec-
retary— 
(1) shall establish a peer-review process to as-
sist in the review and approval of proposed State ap-
plications; 
(2) shall appoint individuals to participate in 
the peer-review process who are educators and ex-
perts in identifying, evaluating, and implementing 
effective education programs and practices (includ-
ing in the areas of teaching and learning, edu-
cational standards and assessments, school improve-
ment, and academic and behavioral supports for 
middle grades students, and in addressing the needs 
of students with disabilities and English language 
learners in the middle grades), which individuals 
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may include recognized exemplary middle grades 
teachers and middle grades principals who have been 
recognized at the State or national level for exem-
plary work or contributions to the field; 
(3) shall ensure that States are given the op-
portunity to receive timely feedback, and to interact 
with peer-review panels, in person or via electronic 
communication, on issues that need clarification dur-
ing the peer-review process; 
(4) shall approve a State application submitted 
under this title not later than 120 days after the 
date of submission of the application unless the Sec-
retary determines that the application does not meet 
the requirements of this title; 
(5) may not decline to approve a State’s appli-
cation before— 
(A) offering the State an opportunity to 
revise the State’s application; 
(B) providing the State with technical as-
sistance in order to submit a successful applica-
tion; and 
(C) providing a hearing to the State; and 
(6) shall direct the Inspector General of the De-
partment of Education to— 
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(A) review final determinations reached by 
the Secretary to approve or deny State applica-
tions; 
(B) analyze the consistency of the process 
used by peer-review panels in reviewing and rec-
ommending to the Secretary approval or denial 
of such State applications; and 
(C) report the findings of this review and 
analysis to Congress. 
SEC. 103. STATE PLAN; AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES. 
(a) MANDATORY ACTIVITIES.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—A State educational agency 
that receives a grant under this title shall use the 
grant funds— 
(A) to prepare and implement the needs 
analysis and middle grades improvement plan, 
as described in paragraphs (3) and (4), of such 
agency; 
(B) to make subgrants to eligible local 
educational agencies or eligible entities under 
section 104; and 
(C) to assist eligible local educational agen-
cies and eligible entities, when determined nec-
essary by the State educational agency or at the 
request of an eligible local educational agency 
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