forming schools in the State 
who meet the college and ca-
reer ready academic content 
standards described in para-
graph (13)(B) or make ade-
quate student growth, as de-
scribed in subparagraph (C), 
and the percentage of such 
students at each school that 
is not a top performing 
school; and 
‘‘(BB) for each cat-
egory of students described 
in paragraph (2)(C)(v)(II), 
the difference between the 
percentage of students who 
meet the college and career 
ready 
academic 
content 
standards described in para-
graph (13)(B) or make ade-
quate student growth, as de-
scribed in subparagraph (C), 
at 
the 
top 
performing 
schools in the State, and the 
percentage of such students 
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at each school that is not a 
top performing school; 
‘‘(bb) are required to ensure 
that students are making ade-
quate yearly growth to be on 
track to college and career readi-
ness not later than the end of the 
2019–2020 school year; or 
‘‘(cc) include another meth-
od that is educationally sound, 
rigorous, and will result in ambi-
tious, but achievable, targets for 
all students and the subgroups of 
students described in paragraph 
(2)(C)(v)(II); 
‘‘(VI) establish annual progress 
targets for each secondary school that 
awards diplomas that— 
‘‘(aa) aim to reduce by half, 
in less than 6 years, the dif-
ference between the percentage of 
all students and for each sub-
group of students described in 
paragraph 
(2)(C)(v)(II) 
who 
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graduate from such secondary 
school and 90 percent; or 
‘‘(bb) 
establishes 
another 
single graduation rate goal for 
each subgroup of students de-
scribed 
in 
paragraph 
(2)(C)(v)(II) that is educationally 
sound, rigorous, ambitious and 
achievable; and 
‘‘(VII) establish a system of cat-
egorization and related interventions 
and rewards that groups local edu-
cational agencies based on their 
schools’ and students’ performance as 
measured by the annual progress tar-
gets established in subclauses (V) and 
(VI) of subparagraph (B)(i). States 
may also include additional indicators 
such as those established in para-
graph 12(C)(ii) in their accountability 
system for local educational agencies. 
‘‘(ii) 
DEFINITION
OF
TOP
PER-
FORMING SCHOOL.—In this paragraph, the 
term ‘top performing school’ means a 
school that is ranked at the 90th percentile 
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when all schools in a State are ranked 
(with separate rankings for elementary 
schools and for secondary schools) from 
lowest to highest, based on the percentage 
of students at each school who meet chal-
lenging college and career ready academic 
content standards. 
‘‘(iii) TOP PERFORMING SCHOOLS.—A 
top performing school shall be considered a 
school that is meeting annual progress tar-
gets under subclauses (V) and (VI) of 
clause (i), for such time as the school re-
mains a top performing school. 
‘‘(C) ADEQUATE STUDENT GROWTH.— 
‘‘(i) IN
GENERAL.—The term ‘ade-
quate student growth’ shall be defined by 
a State— 
‘‘(I) to mean— 
‘‘(aa) for each student at a 
school who is not on track to 
being college and career ready in 
a subject, a rate of growth indi-
cating that the student will be on 
track to being college and career 
ready within 3 years, or by the 
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last year of student testing, 
whichever is earlier; and 
‘‘(bb) for a student who is 
on track to being college and ca-
reer ready in a subject, but is not 
yet college and career ready, a 
rate of growth equal to not less 
than 1 year of academic growth; 
and 
‘‘(II) in a manner that— 
‘‘(aa) applies the same high 
standards of academic achieve-
ment to all public elementary 
school and secondary school stu-
dents in the State; 
‘‘(bb) is statistically rig-
orous, valid, and reliable; 
‘‘(cc) results in continuous 
and substantial student academic 
improvement; and 
‘‘(dd) measures the progress 
of public elementary schools, sec-
ondary schools, local educational 
agencies, and the State based on 
the academic assessments de-
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scribed in paragraphs (3) and 
(11). 
‘‘(ii) 
MEASURES
OF
ADEQUATE 
SCHOOL PERFORMANCE.— 
‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—A State may 
develop a composite measure of a 
school’s adequate student growth, as 
described under this paragraph, to be 
used for public reporting, that may in-
corporate 1 or more of the following 
indicators: 
‘‘(aa) Overall student cohort 
proficiency or growth to pro-
ficiency 
on 
the 
assessments 
adopted under paragraphs (3) 
and (11) over a period of 2 or 
more years. 
‘‘(bb) The percentage of stu-
dents who are making sufficient 
growth to meet the college and 
career ready academic content 
standards, as described in para-
graph (13)(B), before the last 
year that the student is in the 
student’s current school, or in 
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‘‘(hh) The percentage of 
high school graduates who attend 
an institution of higher edu-
cation. 
‘‘(ii) The percentage of high 
school graduates who do not re-
quire remediation at an institu-
tion of higher education. 
‘‘(II) 
VALIDITY
AND
RELI-
ABILITY.—The State shall ensure that 
each indicator described in this clause 
is rigorous, valid for the indicator’s 
assigned use, reliable, and consistent 
with any relevant nationally recog-
nized 
professional 
and 
technical 
standards. 
‘‘(III) REPORTING
OF
INDICA-
TORS.—A State shall publicly report 
each of the selected indicators that 
are included within the composite 
measure of adequate school perform-
ance, as described in this clause, in 
the aggregate and disaggregated by 
each group of students described in 
paragraph (2)(C)(v)(II). 
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‘‘(D) 
ANNUAL
IMPROVEMENT
FOR 
SCHOOLS.—Each year, for a school to meet the 
standard for adequate student growth under 
this paragraph, not less than 95 percent of each 
group of students described in paragraph 
(2)(C)(v)(II) who are enrolled in the school are 
required to take the assessments, consistent 
with paragraph (3), including subparagraph 
(C)(xi) of such paragraph, and with— 
‘‘(i) accommodations provided in the 
same manner as those provided under sec-
tion 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 
(29 U.S.C. 794); and 
‘‘(ii) accommodations and alternative 
assessments provided in the same manner 
as 
those 
provided 
under 
section 
612(a)(16)(A) of the Individuals with Dis-
abilities Education Act. 
‘‘(E) EVALUATION.— 
‘‘(i) SECRETARIAL DUTIES.—The Sec-
retary shall— 
‘‘(I) establish a rigorous peer-re-
view process, which shall include a di-
verse board of experts and community 
stakeholders, to assist in the review of 
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State 
accountability 
model 
plans, 
based on the criteria described in sub-
paragraphs (B) and (C)(i); 
‘‘(II) appoint individuals to the 
peer-review process who are represent-
ative of parents, teachers, State edu-
cational agencies, and local edu-
cational agencies, and who are famil-
iar with educational standards, assess-
ments, accountability, the needs of 
low-performing schools, and other 
educational needs of students; 
‘‘(III) if the Secretary determines 
that the State plan does not meet the 
requirements of this paragraph, im-
mediately notify the State of such de-
termination and the reasons for such 
determination; 
‘‘(IV) not decline to approve a 
State’s accountability model plan be-
fore— 
‘‘(aa) offering the State an 
opportunity to revise its account-
ability model plan; 
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‘‘(bb) providing technical as-
sistance in order to assist the 
State to meet the requirements of 
this paragraph; 
‘‘(cc) providing a hearing; 
and 
‘‘(dd) allowing the State to 
communicate with peer reviewers 
in order to further explain or jus-
tify the merits of the State’s ac-
countability model plan; and 
‘‘(V) have the authority to dis-
approve a State accountability model 
plan for not meeting the requirements 
of this paragraph, but shall not have 
the authority to require a State, as a 
condition of approval of the State ac-
countability model plan, to include in, 
or delete from, such plan 1 or more 
specific elements of the State’s aca-
demic content standards or to use 
specific academic assessment instru-
ments or items. 
‘‘(ii) STATE REVISIONS.—A State ac-
countability model plan shall be revised by 
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the State educational agency if it is nec-
essary to satisfy the requirements of this 
paragraph. 
‘‘(F) APPROVED SCHOOLS.—If, as of the 
date of enactment of the Growth to Excellence 
Act of 2013, a State has already received ap-
proval from the Secretary to use an account-
ability model, the Secretary may allow such 
State a period of not more than 2 years from 
the date of enactment of such Act to transition 
to the use of the accountability model described 
in this paragraph. 
‘‘(13) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 
‘‘(A) COLLEGE AND CAREER READY.—The 
term ‘college and career ready’, when used with 
respect to a student, means that the student 
meets the requirements necessary to be admit-
ted into credit-bearing, nonremedial, entry-level 
coursework at a State public institution of high-
er education. 
‘‘(B) COLLEGE AND CAREER READY ACA-
DEMIC CONTENT STANDARDS.—The term ‘col-
lege and career ready academic content stand-
ards’ means challenging academic content 
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standards (as required under paragraph (1)) 
that are— 
‘‘(i) developed based on evidence that 
mastery of such standards corresponds to 
being college and career ready without the 
need for remediation; and 
‘‘(ii)(I) common to a significant num-
ber of States; or 
‘‘(II) approved by a system of public 
4-year institutions of higher education in 
the State, such that mastery of such 
standards leads to placement into credit- 
bearing, nonremedial, first-year coursework 
for a student admitted to an institution of 
higher education that is part of such sys-
tem. 
‘‘(C) COLLEGE
AND
CAREER
READY
AS-
SESSMENTS.—The term ‘college and career 
ready assessments’ means an assessment for 
mathematics and an assessment for reading or 
language arts that— 
‘‘(i) measures the annual academic 
growth of individual students; 
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‘‘(ii) is aligned with the college and 
career ready academic content standards 
described in this paragraph; and 
‘‘(iii) meets the requirements under 
paragraph (3). 
‘‘(D) ON TRACK TO BEING COLLEGE AND 
CAREER READY.—The term ‘on track to being 
college and career ready’ in a subject means 
that a student is performing at or above grade 
level, such that the student will be college and 
career ready in the subject before graduation 
from secondary school, as measured by the 
State assessment system.’’. 
Æ 
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