Title III Evaluation Briefs
These three evaluation briefs were written during the early stages of the National Evaluation of Title III Implementation, the first in-depth U.S. Department of Education-funded study of Title III since the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) was reauthorized in 2001. Title III of ESEA provides formula grants to states to help support the education needs of students identified as English Learners (ELs). These three briefs are precursors to the main study’s collection and analysis of comprehensive interviews with states, nationally-representative survey data, and in-depth case study data that will allow more in-depth explorations of some of the issues presented in these briefs.
Title III Policy: State of the States (2010) This brief focuses on state implementation of Title III, describing the title’s main provisions, summarizing state actions to date to implement those provisions, and outlining key benefits and challenges that have emerged. The brief draws on data collected as part of the Study of State Implementation of No Child Left Behind from 2004 through 2007 and on phone interviews with six state Title III directors and six university-based researchers conducted as part of the current study in the spring of 2009.
Title III Accountability: Behind the Numbers (2010) Complexities in the way Title III performance information is calculated—and in the EL population itself—demand a careful look into the meaning behind the numbers. This brief explores some of those complexities while presenting the most recent data available on the nation’s school-age EL population and on states’ and districts’ Title III accountability performance. The brief summarizes state-reported data for all states from Consolidated State Performance Reports and other sources from 2002-03 through 2007-08.
Title III Accountability and District Improvement Efforts: A Closer Look (2010) The purpose of this brief is to build a deeper understanding of the supports states provide to districts and the strategies districts are undertaking to improve educational outcomes for ELs and to suggest emerging issues for further investigation and policy response. The brief summarizes findings from spring 2009 interviews with six state Title III directors and nine district-level Title III directors whose districts did not meet their Annual Measurable Achievement Objectives for two to four consecutive years.
