SES Participation Has Increased as Districts Have Taken Actions to Ease Access, but Challenges Remain

Nationally, the SES participation rate increased substantially from 12  percent of eligible students receiving SES in 2003-2004 to 19 percent in  2004-2005. 1). Providers Have Taken Steps to Deliver Quality Services, but Local Implementation Challenges Include Contracting and Coordination

To promote improved student academic achievement and service delivery,  providers took steps to gather information on district curriculum and  student needs. Specifically, providers aligned their curriculum with district  instruction primarily by hiring district teachers and communicating with  the teachers of participating students. However, when providers did not  hire district teachers, the frequency of contact between tutors and  teachers varied, and we estimate that some providers did not contact  teachers in almost 40 percent of districts in 2004-2005. In part because SES is often delivered in school facilities, providers and  officials in the districts and schools we visited reported that involvement  of school administrators and teachers can improve SES delivery and  coordination. State and District SES Monitoring Is Increasing Though It Remains a Challenge, and Many States Continue to Struggle with Developing Evaluations

While monitoring of SES had been limited, more states reported taking  steps to monitor both district and provider efforts to implement SES in  2005-2006. In addition to state efforts to monitor providers, districts have  also taken a direct oversight role, and their monitoring activities similarly  increased during this time. However, because of the limitations of these two evaluations, neither  provided a conclusive assessment of SES providers’ effect on student  academic achievement. Education conducts SES monitoring in part through reviews of policy  issues brought to the department’s attention and structured compliance  reviews of states and districts, and provides SES support through  guidance, grants, research, and technical assistance. While Education’s policy letter and monitoring actions reflect the  department’s concern that SES implementation has been uneven  throughout the country, many states and districts reported needing clearer  guidance or additional assistance with certain SES provisions to improve  implementation. For example, several  state and district SES coordinators expressed interest in Education’s pilot  program that allowed two districts in needs improvement status to act as  SES providers. The other SES pilot allowed four districts in  Virginia to offer SES instead of school choice in schools that have missed  state performance goals for 2 years and are in their first year of needs  improvement. Prior Recommendations

Our August report recommended that Education clarify guidance and  provide additional assistance to states and districts to help them comply  with the federal requirements for parental notification letters and ensure  that letters are easy for parents to understand, collect and disseminate  information on promising practices used by districts to attract providers  for certain areas and groups, and collaborate with school officials to  coordinate local SES implementation. Finally,  we also recommended that Education require states to collect and submit  information on the amount spent by districts to provide SES and the  percentage of districts’ Title I funds that this amount represents and  provide states with technical assistance and additional guidance on how to  evaluate the effect of SES on student academic achievement. No Child Left Behind Act: Education Actions Needed to Improve Local  Implementation and State Evaluation of Supplemental Educational  Services. GAO-06-758.
Why GAO Did This Study

The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLBA) requires districts with schools that receive Title I funds and that have not met state performance goals for 3 consecutive years to offer low-income students supplemental educational services (SES), such as tutoring. This testimony discusses early implementation of SES, including how (1) SES participation changed in recent years; (2) providers work with districts to deliver services; (3) states monitor and evaluate SES; and (4) the U.S. Department of Education (Education) monitors and supports SES implementation. This testimony is based on an August 2006 report (GAO-06-758) and also provides information on actions Education has taken that respond to our recommendations. For the report, GAO surveyed all states and a nationally representative sample of districts with schools required to offer SES, visited four school districts, and interviewed SES providers.

What GAO Found

SES participation increased from 12 to 19 percent between school years 2003-2004 and 2004-2005. District actions to increase participation have included greater efforts to notify parents. However, timely and effective notification of parents remains a challenge, as does attracting providers to serve certain areas and students, such as rural districts and students with disabilities. To promote improved student academic achievement and service delivery, SES providers took steps to align their curriculum with district instruction and communicate with teachers and parents. However, the extent of these efforts varied, as some providers did not have any contact with teachers in almost 40 percent of districts or with parents in about 30 percent of districts. Both providers and district officials experienced challenges related to contracting and coordination of service delivery. In part because SES is often delivered in school facilities, providers and district and school officials reported that greater involvement of schools can improve SES delivery. While states' monitoring of district and provider efforts to implement SES had been limited in past years, more states reported conducting on-site reviews and other monitoring activities during 2005-2006. Districts also increased their oversight role. However, many states continue to struggle with how to evaluate whether SES providers are improving student achievement. While a few states have completed evaluations, none provides a conclusive assessment of SES providers' effect on student academic achievement. Education conducts SES monitoring in part through policy oversight and compliance reviews of states and districts, and provides SES support through written guidance, grants, and technical assistance. Education monitoring found uneven implementation and compliance with SES provisions, and states and districts reported needing SES policy clarification and assistance in certain areas, such as evaluating SES. Many states also voiced interest in Education's pilot programs that increase SES flexibility, including the recently expanded pilot allowing certain districts identified as in need of improvement to act as providers. Since GAO's report was published, Education has taken several actions to help improve SES implementation and monitoring, such as disseminating promising practices and guidance, and meeting with states, districts, and providers.