Summary
SASA eliminates the 2% modified achievement standards and ensures that only students for whom the alternate assessment based on alternate academic standards (AA-AAS) is appropriate may have their progress measured by this standard. It also affirms performance targets for all students, clarifies the size of subgroups as being 15 students, requires data collection to improve school climate and measure academic growth, and ensures that schools implement multi-tier assessments and universal design for learning.
Status
Referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. Ordered to be reported with amendments favorably.
Our Position: Support
DREDF believes the introduction of SASA is a move in the right direction toward ensuring that ESEA maintains a balance between student learning and achieving state standards while providing some flexibility so that states, districts, and schools have an opportunity to determine the effective evidence-based approaches to making this happen.