A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

Oregon Goals 2000 State Plan - January 1995

Introduction

In November 1994, the Oregon Department of Education submitted a Goals 2000 State Plan to the U.S. Secretary of Education's Office. Building upon a decade of school improvement effort, this submission qualified as a pre-existing plan as defined in Section 306 (q) of the Goals 2000: Educate America Act. A peer review panel was convened in December 1994 to review the Oregon State Plan and conduct a site visit to the state in January 1995. On January 30, 1995, following this review process, Oregon became the first state to have a Goals 2000 State Plan accepted by the U.S. Secretary of Education, Richard Riley.

Oregon Goals 2000, an Annotated State Plan is intended to serve as a resource to other states engaged in the preparation of Goals 2000 State Plans. It is not intended to limit other possible responses, or restrict various approaches to statewide systemic school improvement. The components of the original Oregon State Plan have been reorganized into three sections to address the criteria for comprehensive state plans identified in the Goals 2000 Act, which requires that:

1. the plan reflects a widespread commitment in the state;

2. the plan holds reasonable promise of helping all students to achieve at the high levels called for in the Act; and

3. the plan allows local schools, local educational agencies and communities the flexibility to implement local improvement plans.

The reader will find that the parts of a comprehensive state plan identified in Section 306 of the Act are addressed in these three sections. For each criterion, note that there are specific questions that should be considered as the state plan is prepared. The Goals 2000 Draft Guidance for Reviewers served as a resource for these questions.

Following the Annotated State Plan, a table of contents and the list of appendices from Oregon's original State Plan are included. This is followed by the questions submitted by the members of the peer review panel in December 1994 prior to their on-site visit in January 1995. Their subsequent evaluation and recommendations and the congratulatory notification letter from the Secretary of Education conclude this document.

Systemic school improvement is a journey that requires clear and deliberate planning in order to respond to the needs of all students throughout each state and throughout the nation to reach high standards. The Oregon Goals 2000, Annotated State Plan is one state's response to this challenge.

[Executive Summary]