No Child Left Behind Act

No Child Left Behind Act	NCLB Statement	Living with Science
Title I - Improving The Academic Achievement Of The Disadvantaged www.ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/esea02/pg1.html	The purpose of this title is to ensure that all children have a fair, equal, and significant opportunity to obtain a high-quality education and reach, at a minimum, proficiency on challenging State academic achievement standards and state academic assessments. This purpose can be accomplished by:	If students enter an incorrect response to any of questions embedded in the learning material they are provided with explanation designed to help them understand why they have got the question wrong.
	(2) meeting the educational needs of low-achieving children in our Nation's highest-poverty schools, limited English proficient children, migratory children, children with disabilities, Indian children, neglected or delinquent children, and young children in need of reading assistance;	A worksheet reader is provided for all worksheets enabling those students with low reading ability to progress in science and develop their literacy and language skills.
	(8) providing children an enriched and accelerated educational program, including the use of school wide programs or additional services that increase the amount and quality of instructional time;	Computer-delivered, student centric learning increases the time spent learning science. For those students who complete their assignments earlier additional 'Activity Worksheets' are provided.
Title II - Preparing, Training, And Recruiting High Quality Teachers And Principals Part B — Mathematics and Science Partnerships www.ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/esea02/pg26.html	(4) develop more rigorous mathematics and science curricula that are aligned with challenging State and local academic content standards and with the standards expected for postsecondary study in engineering, mathematics, and science.	Assignments are written to address the National Science Education Standards and reports can be correlated to local and state standards.
Title II - Preparing, Training, And Recruiting High Quality Teachers And Principals Part D - Enhancing Education Through Technology www.ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/esea02/pg34.html	(4) To promote initiatives that provide school teachers, principals, and administrators with the capacity to integrate technology effectively into curricula and instruction that are aligned with challenging State academic content and student academic achievement standards, through such means as high-quality professional development programs.	Teachers are provided with a phased training program that includes: · Product familiarization (Introduction to the use of a computer-based teaching resource, overview of Science concepts covered, use of science equipment) · ClassAct Management system training (including student reporting)

Title III - Language Instruction For Limited English Proficient And Immigrant Students. Part A - English Language Acquisition, Language Enhancement, and Academic Achievement Act www.ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/esea02/pg40.html	(1) to help ensure that children who are limited English proficient, including immigrant children and youth, attain English proficiency, develop high levels of academic attainment in English, and meet the same challenging State academic content and student academic achievement standards as all children are expected to meet;	Program includes audio support for those students with low reading ability. Includes voice-overs, animated tutorials, worksheet readers, test readers.
Title V — Promoting Informed Parental Choice And Innovative Programs Part A – Innovative Programs www.ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/esea02/pg57.html	(5) To develop and implement education programs to improve school, student, and teacher performance, including professional development activities and class size reduction programs.	Students are continually assessed during Living with Science with detailed attainment/progression record being kept for each child. Management system provides qualitative data for program evaluation.
www.ed.gov/nclb/accountability/results/gettingresults.html	For years the school system has measured success by the number of dollars spent, computers and textbooks purchased and programs created. The measures of success have not focused on academic achievement. The Solution: Measure school success by what really matters - whether or not children are learning.	Living with Science is divided into a 4 level program covering grades 1-4. At the beginning of each level students take a pre-test to determine their level against the National Science Education Standards. As a student works through the learning material assessment questions are used to measure their performance. At the end of each level of material a post-test is used measure how well the students have learned.
www.ed.gov/nclb/accountability/achieve/achievement_hisp.html	On the 2000 National Assessment of Educational Progress reading assessment, 40 percent of white fourth-graders scored at or above proficient, compared to only 16 percent of their Hispanic peers.	Spanish support packs provide Spanish audio support to Hispanic students. English language skills are developed during the assignments by providing students with English text with equivalent Spanish audio support. Voice-overs matching on-screen text help student literacy.
www.ed.gov/nclb/accountability/standards/standards.html	Under No Child Left Behind states are required to establish their own annual tests aligned with state standards for grades three through eight to measure how successfully students are learning what is expected by the standards. Science tests start in 2007.	The on-line science question bank can be used to generate tailored tests to measure how well individual students perform against national or state science standards. Start now and build your students skills in science test taking.

National Assessment of Educational Progress Science Assessment:

Through a process of research and consultation, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), recommends that Science Assessment and the associated curriculum, should have the following characteristics:

NAEP Science Assessment Framework:

Living with Science Curriculum Design Framework:

· Encompass knowledge and use of organized factual information, relationships among concepts, major ideas unifying the sciences, and thinking and laboratory skills.

· Be based on current understandings from research on teaching, learning, and student performance in science.

· Address the nature and practices of knowing in science, as different from other ways of knowing.

· Reflect the quantitative aspects of science as well as the concepts of the life, Earth, and physical sciences.

· Deal with issues raised by the role of science and technology in society.

· Include practical problem solving that involves design, use of materials, and weighing risks in relation to benefits.

· Take into account the developmental levels of students.

· Ensure that students with diverse backgrounds are assessed in ways that provide them with equal and fair opportunities to reflect their knowledge and performance.

· Computer-based learning materials that encompass knowledge and promote the use of organized factual information, help students identify the relationships among concepts, major ideas unifying the sciences, and thinking and laboratory skills.

· Is based on current understandings from research on teaching, learning, and student performance in science.

· Student activities must address the nature and practices of knowing in science, as different from other ways of knowing.

· Materials must reflect the quantitative aspects of science as well as cover the concepts of the life, Earth, and physical sciences grades 1-4 in line with the NSES standards.

· Expose students to age relevant issues raised by the role of science and technology in society.

· Assignments must include practical problem solving that involves design, use of materials, and weighing risks in relation to benefits.

· Create a spiralled curriculum that takes into account the developmental levels of students.

· Ensure that curriculum materials are suitable for use with students with diverse backgrounds.

· Use ESL support to provide equal and fair opportunities that allow limited English proficiency students to reflect their knowledge and performance.

NAEP Science Assessment:

Living with Science Assessment:

· Performance tasks that allow students to manipulate physical objects and draw scientific understandings from the materials before them.

· Open-ended items that provide insights into students’ levels of understanding and ability to communicate in the sciences, as well as their ability to generate, rather than simply recognize, information related to scientific concepts and their interconnections.

· Collections of student work over time (such as portfolios), that demonstrate what students can achieve outside the time constraints of a standardized assessment situation.

· Multiple-choice items that probe students’ conceptual understanding and ability to connect ideas in a scientifically sound way.

· The assessment should contain a broad enough range of items at different levels of proficiency for identifying three achievement levels for each grade.

· Information on students’ demographic and other background characteristics should be collected.

· Additional information should be collected from students, teachers, and administrators about instructional programs and delivery systems so that their relationships with student achievement can be ascertained and used to inform program and policy decisions.

· Performance tasks allow students to manipulate physical objects and computer-based assessments automatically grade the level scientific understandings gained from the materials before them.

· Teacher graded open-ended items provide insights into students’ levels of understanding and ability to communicate in the sciences, as well as their ability to generate, rather than simply recognize, information related to scientific concepts and their interconnections.

· Collections of student work over time (such as completed lab enquiry sheets, project portfolios) demonstrate what students can achieve outside the time constraints of a standardized assessment situation.

· Computer delivered multiple-choice pre and post tests measure students’ conceptual understanding and ability to connect ideas in a scientifically sound way and provide evidence of attainment and progression.

· Each module contains assessment, providing a broad range of items at different levels of proficiency for identifying three achievement levels for each grade (1-4).

· The computer-managed learning system collects evidence for each child as they complete the activities. This provides teachers, and administrators with definitive data on the instructional programs and delivery systems in direct relationship with student achievement. This data can be used to inform program and policy decisions.

NAEP Science Curriculum:

Living with Science Curriculum:

· Students should acquire a core of scientific understanding, including organized factual information.

· Students should acquire the ability to relate scientific concepts to one another and to problems the students encounter in and out of school.

· Students should be able to apply science knowledge in practical ways.

· Students should be familiar with experimental design and have the ability to carry out scientific experiments that are developmentally appropriate.

· Students should acquire the science knowledge and understanding that will allow them the opportunity to pursue further study in scientific fields or enter science or technology-related careers.

· Emphasis on development of such thinking processes as organizing factual knowledge around major concepts, defining and solving problems, accessing information and reasoning with it, and communicating with others about one’s science results and understandings.

· Multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary approaches to science teaching.

· Approaches that encourage active student involvement and participation, such as participating in hands-on science activities; learning in small, cooperative groups; reflecting orally and in writing upon experiences; and completing sustained projects.

· Provides students with a core of scientific understanding, including organized factual information.

· Students relate scientific concepts to one another and to problems the students encounter in and out of school.

· Students apply science knowledge in practical ways through directed hands-on experiments.

· Through repeated exposure to practical experiments, students become familiar experimental design and gain the ability to carry out scientific experiments appropriate to their grade level.

· Students acquire a foundation of science knowledge and understanding that will allow them to perform better in future science classes.

· Activities place an emphasis on; organizing factual knowledge around major concepts, defining and solving problems, accessing information and reasoning with it, and communicating with others about one’s science results and understandings.

· Project activities and teacher support resources promote multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary approaches to science teaching.

· The modular program structure and the practical tasks and activities encourage active student involvement and participation: learning in small, cooperative groups; reflecting orally and in writing upon experiences; and completing sustained projects.