Just 11 percent of students in Colorado and six neighboring states eligible under federal law for extra tutoring and after-school help are receiving those services, says a new report from Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL).
Nationally, 19 percent of students are receiving such services. Under the No Child Left Behind Law, 100 percent of eligible students are supposed to be served.
Under NCLB, low-income schools that fall under the federal Title I program and that fail to demonstrate student proficiency on statewide tests for three consecutive years must provide low-income students with free supplemental educational services (SES), such as tutoring and after-school help, that are designed to improve achievement.
The study found three possible reasons so few students in the Central Region (including Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming) are taking advantage of these services.
1. State officials complain that federal funds have not been made available to cover administrative management costs associated with the implementation of the law. Also, they reported there were restrictions against using Title I funds to support administrative tasks.
2. Not enough organizations or companies are providing the services. Four of the seven states (Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, and Wyoming) reported that they had difficulty recruiting providers, particularly in rural areas. In fact, all seven state agencies indicated that rural areas had less choice or, in some cases, no choice, among SES programs.
3. Many parents are reluctant to enroll their children in the programs. Parents are not choosing to enroll their children in SES because of confusion about the program, lack of trust in the program, and logistics such as transportation and lack of technology.
"This report comes early in the initiation of the SES program. It is a program with great promise if these early issues can be solved," said Zoe Barley, a senior research fellow at McREL. "We will be following the progress in our states and especially in rural schools and hope to see the participation numbers grow."
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