SEC. 8042.
EVALUATIONS
Section Summary
ESSA
SEC. 8042. EVALUATIONS.
Section 8601, <<NOTE: 20 USC 7981.>> as redesignated by section 8001
of this Act, is amended to read as follows:
``SEC. 8601. EVALUATIONS.
``(a) Reservation of Funds.--Except as provided in subsection (b)
and (e), the Secretary, in consultation with the Director of the
Institute of Education Sciences, may reserve not more than 0.5 percent
of the amount appropriated for each program authorized under this Act to
carry out activities under this section. If the Secretary elects to make
a reservation under this subsection, the reserved amounts--
``(1) shall first be used by the Secretary, acting through
the Director of the Institute of Education Sciences, to--
``(A) conduct comprehensive, high-quality
evaluations of the programs that--
``(i) are consistent with the evaluation plan
under subsection (d); and
``(ii) primarily include impact evaluations
that use experimental or quasi-experimental
designs, where
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practicable and appropriate, and other rigorous
methodologies that permit the strongest possible
causal inferences;
``(B) conduct studies of the effectiveness of the
programs and the administrative impact of the programs
on schools and local educational agencies; and
``(C) widely disseminate evaluation findings under
this section related to programs authorized under this
Act--
``(i) in a timely fashion;
``(ii) in forms that are understandable,
easily accessible, usable, and adaptable for use
in the improvement of educational practice;
``(iii) through electronic transfer and other
means, such as posting, as available, to the
websites of State educational agencies, local
educational agencies, the Institute of Education
Sciences, or the Department, or in another
relevant place; and
``(iv) in a manner that promotes the
utilization of such findings; and
``(2) may be used by the Secretary, acting through the
Director of the Institute of Education Sciences--
``(A) to evaluate the aggregate short- and long-term
effects and cost efficiencies across--
``(i) Federal programs assisted or authorized
under this Act; and
``(ii) related Federal early childhood
education programs, preschool programs, elementary
school programs, and secondary school programs,
under any other Federal law;
``(B) to increase the usefulness of the evaluations
conducted under this section by improving the quality,
timeliness, efficiency, and use of information relating
to performance to promote continuous improvement of
programs assisted or authorized under this Act; and
``(C) to assist recipients of grants under such
programs in collecting and analyzing data and other
activities related to conducting high-quality
evaluations under paragraph (1).
``(b) Title I.--The Secretary, acting through the Director of the
Institute of Education Sciences, shall use funds authorized under
section 1002(e) to carry out evaluation activities under this section
related to title I, and shall not reserve any other money from such
title for evaluation.
``(c) Consolidation.--Notwithstanding any other provision of this
section or section 1002(e), the Secretary, in consultation with the
Director of the Institute of Education Sciences--
``(1) may consolidate the funds reserved under subsections
(a) and (b) for purposes of carrying out the activities under
subsection (a)(1); and
``(2) shall not be required to evaluate under subsection
(a)(1) each program authorized under this Act each year.
``(d) Evaluation Plan.--The Director of the Institute of Education
Sciences, shall, on a biennial basis, develop, submit to Congress, and
make publicly available an evaluation plan, that--
``(1) describes the specific activities that will be carried
out under subsection (a) for the 2-year period applicable to the
plan, and the timelines of such activities;
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``(2) contains the results of the activities carried out
under subsection (a) for the most recent 2-year period; and
``(3) describes how programs authorized under this Act will
be regularly evaluated.
``(e) Evaluation Activities Authorized Elsewhere.--If, under any
other provision of this Act, funds are authorized to be reserved or used
for evaluation activities with respect to a program, the Secretary may
not reserve additional funds under this section for the evaluation of
that program.''.
NCLB Text
``SEC. <<NOTE: 20 USC 6471.>> 1431. PROGRAM EVALUATIONS.
``(a) Scope of Evaluation.--Each State agency or local educational
agency that conducts a program under subpart 1 or 2 shall evaluate the
program, disaggregating data on participation by gender, race,
ethnicity, and age, not less than once every 3 years, to determine the
program's impact on the ability of participants--
``(1) to maintain and improve educational achievement;
``(2) to accrue school credits that meet State requirements
for grade promotion and secondary school graduation;
``(3) to make the transition to a regular program or other
education program operated by a local educational agency;
``(4) to complete secondary school (or secondary school
equivalency requirements) and obtain employment after leaving
the correctional facility or institution for neglected or
delinquent children and youth; and
``(5) as appropriate, to participate in postsecondary
education and job training programs.
``(b) Exception.--The disaggregation required under subsection (a)
shall not be required in a case in which the number of students in a
category is insufficient to yield statistically reliable information or
the results would reveal personally identifiable information about an
individual student.
``(c) Evaluation Measures.--In conducting each evaluation under
subsection (a), a State agency or local educational agency shall use
multiple and appropriate measures of student progress.
``(d) Evaluation Results.--Each State agency and local educational
agency shall--
``(1) submit evaluation results to the State educational
agency and the Secretary; and
``(2) use the results of evaluations under this section to
plan and improve subsequent programs for participating children
and youth.
