The 1994 reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act required states to adopt standards, align assessments, and develop accountability systems tied to those assessments. The possible penalty: loss of federal education money. With the deadlines now past, many states have not finished those tasks. None has lost federal aid.
This map shows the status of states’ efforts to comply with the 1994 ESEA’s requirements on standards and assessments:
NOTE: The Education Department has informed Arizona, California, Minnesota, and New Mexico that it would be willing to grant them timeline waivers, but those waivers have not yet been formally approved. Appeals are still under review for compliance agreements the department called for in West Virginia and Puerto Rico.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education