How were performance targets established?
NCLB allows states to set different performance targets depending on content area and grade span, but requires proficiency targets to be the same for the State, all school districts, all schools, and all disaggregated groups within a given grade span and content area. The following steps were taken to set performance targets: • 1. In 2002, performance targets equaled the starting points. Performance targets were held steady for 2003 and 2004. • 2. Targets were raised in 2005, and every three years thereafter in equal increments, for a total of four raises over the 12-year period. The distance from the starting point to the 100 percent goal for 2014 was divided by four to establish the increments that performance targets needed to increase every three years (2008, 2011, 2014). Performance targets for interim years (e.g., 2009 and 2010) were held steady.
