I 
112TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 3845 
To establish an alternative accountability model. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 31, 2012 
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. 
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 ‘‘Growth to Excellence 
Act of 2012’’. 
SEC. 2. ACCOUNTABILITY MODEL. 
Section 1111(b) of the Elementary and Secondary 
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(b)) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (3), by adding at the end the 
following: 
‘‘(E) ASSESSMENTS
ABOVE
AND
BELOW 
GRADE LEVEL.— 
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‘‘(i) IN
GENERAL.—Notwithstanding 
any other requirement of this paragraph, a 
State may carry out this paragraph 
through the use of adaptive assessments 
that— 
‘‘(I) are administered through a 
computerized means; 
‘‘(II) are aligned with grade-level 
academic content standards; and 
‘‘(III) measure academic growth 
above and below grade level. 
‘‘(ii) REQUIREMENTS
FOR
ADAPTIVE 
ASSESSMENTS.—For the results of any 
adaptive assessment to be included in the 
accountability model described under para-
graph (12), such results must provide the 
information necessary to determine ade-
quate student growth in accordance with 
paragraph (12)(C)(i).’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(11) CRITERIA AND IMPLEMENTATION OF AC-
COUNTABILITY MODEL.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.— 
‘‘(i) TRANSITIONAL PARTICIPATION.— 
Prior to a State’s adoption of college and 
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career ready academic content standards 
and college and career ready assessments, 
as defined in subparagraphs (B) and (C) 
of paragraph (13), a State may apply to 
the Secretary to replace the State plan re-
quirements under paragraph (2) with the 
accountability requirements under para-
graph (12). 
‘‘(ii) 
REQUIRED
PARTICIPATION.— 
After the adoption of college and career 
ready academic content standards and col-
lege and career ready assessments, as de-
fined in subparagraphs (B) and (C) of 
paragraph (13) and required under this 
subsection— 
‘‘(I) a State shall comply with 
this paragraph and paragraph (12) in 
lieu of paragraph (2); and 
‘‘(II) references in this Act to 
section 1111(b)(2) shall be deemed to 
be references to this paragraph and 
paragraph (12). 
‘‘(B) CRITERIA.—A State that participates 
in the accountability model described in para-
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graph (12) shall carry out the following activi-
ties: 
‘‘(i) Implement challenging college 
and career ready academic content stand-
ards, as defined in paragraph (13)(B). 
‘‘(ii) Implement college and career 
ready assessments, as defined in paragraph 
13(C). 
‘‘(iii) For a secondary school that 
awards diplomas, measure graduation rates 
as defined in section 200.19(b)(1) of title 
34, Code of Federal Regulations. 
‘‘(iv) Assess not less than 2 of the fol-
lowing additional indicators of whether stu-
dents are college and career ready: 
‘‘(I) Student scores on the ACT. 
‘‘(II) Student scores on the SAT. 
‘‘(III) The percentage of students 
who attend an institution of higher 
education. 
‘‘(IV) College remediation rates. 
‘‘(V) 
Results 
from 
Advanced 
Placement or International Bacca-
laureate exams. 
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‘‘(VI) Student grade point aver-
ages at an institution of higher edu-
cation. 
‘‘(VII) Rates of completion of the 
first year at an institution of higher 
education. 
‘‘(v) Provide a comprehensive State 
system of accountability for schools that do 
not meet the standard for adequate stu-
dent growth, as described in paragraph 
(12), which aims to ensure that each stu-
dent is college and career ready before 
such student graduates from a secondary 
school that awards diplomas and which 
shall include, at a minimum— 
‘‘(I) the evaluation of each school 
and each group of students described 
in paragraph (2)(C)(v)(II) against an-
nual progress targets described in 
subclauses (V) and (VI) of paragraph 
(12)(B)(i) that are aligned with the 
goal of ensuring that each student is 
college and career ready before such 
student graduates from secondary 
school; 
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‘‘(II) a system of categorization 
that will group schools based on— 
‘‘(aa) how the overall per-
formance of students, and the 
performance of each subgroup of 
students described in paragraph 
(2)(C)(v)(II), at such school com-
pares to each annual progress 
target described in subclauses 
(V) 
and 
(VI) 
of 
paragraph 
(12)(B)(i); and 
‘‘(bb) if the school is a sec-
ondary school, how students at 
such school perform when meas-
ured against key indicators of 
college and career readiness, as 
described in clauses (iii) and (iv); 
‘‘(III) supports and consequences 
for each school in the State, as appro-
priate for each school based on the 
categorization described in subclause 
(II); and 
‘‘(IV) incentives for schools that 
consistently 
exceed 
the 
annual 
progress targets described in sub-
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clauses (V) and (VI) of paragraph 
(12)(B)(i). 
‘‘(vi) Adopt intervention mechanisms 
for schools, as described in section 1116. 
‘‘(vii) Ensure that adequate student 
growth reports are delivered, in a timely 
manner, to parents and teachers (as appro-
priate) to enable parents and teachers to 
examine student progress toward becoming 
college and career ready. 
‘‘(C) ASSESSMENTS
ABOVE
AND
BELOW 
GRADE LEVEL.— 
‘‘(i) IN
GENERAL.—In carrying out 
the assessment requirements described in 
subparagraph (B)(ii), a State may use 
adaptive assessments described in para-
graph (3)(E). 
‘‘(ii) REQUIREMENTS
FOR
ADAPTIVE 
ASSESSMENTS.—For the results of any 
adaptive assessment to be included in the 
accountability model described under para-
graph (12), such results must provide the 
information necessary to determine ade-
quate student growth in accordance with 
paragraph (12)(C)(i). 
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‘‘(12) ACCOUNTABILITY MODEL.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each State that will 
use an accountability model under this para-
graph shall submit a plan to the Secretary, 
which shall demonstrate that the State has de-
veloped and will implement a single, statewide 
State accountability system that will be effective 
in ensuring that all local educational agencies, 
public elementary schools, and public secondary 
schools meet the standard of adequate student 
growth as defined under this paragraph. 
‘‘(B) COMPONENTS
OF
THE
ACCOUNT-
ABILITY MODEL.— 
‘‘(i) IN
GENERAL.—Each State ac-
countability model shall— 
‘‘(I) be based on the academic 
standards and academic assessments 
adopted under paragraphs (1), (3), 
and (11), and other academic indica-
tors consistent with subparagraph 
(C)(ii); 
‘‘(II) take into account the 
achievement of all public elementary 
school and secondary school students; 
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‘‘(III) be the same accountability 
model that the State uses for all pub-
lic elementary schools and secondary 
schools and all local educational agen-
cies in the State; 
‘‘(IV) include components that 
recognize successful schools and that 
require 
intervention 
measures 
in 
struggling schools, which the State 
will use to hold local educational agen-
cies and public elementary schools and 
secondary schools accountable for stu-
dent achievement and for ensuring 
that such agencies and schools meet 
the standard of adequate student 
growth as described in subparagraph 
(C), in accordance with this para-
graph; 
‘‘(V) establish annual progress 
targets for each school that— 
‘‘(aa) aim to reduce by half, 
in less than six years— 
‘‘(AA) 
the 
difference 
between the percentage of 
students at the top per-
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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; or 
‘‘(bb) are required to ensure 
that 100 percent of students are 
making adequate yearly growth 
to be on track to college and ca-
reer readiness 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); and 
‘‘(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 (B)(i) (V) and 
(VI). States may also include addi-
tional indicators such as those estab-
lished in 12(C)(ii) in their account-
ability 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; 
‘‘(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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less than 3 years, whichever oc-
curs earlier. 
‘‘(cc) Progress in closing 
achievement gaps between each 
group of students listed in para-
graph (2)(C)(v)(II) and the over-
all student population of the 
school over a period of 2 or more 
years. 
‘‘(dd) For secondary schools 
that award diplomas, a contin-
uous and substantial increase in 
the graduation rate (as defined 
in section 200.19(b)(1) of title 
34, Code of Federal Regula-
tions). 
‘‘(ee) Year-to-year growth 
and growth to proficiency on the 
assessments adopted under para-
graphs (3) and (11). 
‘‘(ff) Attendance for all pub-
lic elementary school students. 
‘‘(gg) The percentage of stu-
dents who earn sufficient credits 
to be promoted to the next grade. 
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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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