The Comprehensive Education Strategy (CES) is Rhode Island's action plan for preparing all the state's children to be lifelong learners, productive workers, and responsible citizens. Governor Lincoln C. Almond charged the Rhode Island Goals 2000 Panel, with the active collaboration of the Board of Regents, to develop this critical policy document. Completed in 1996, its clear agenda of high educational standards, meaningful student assessments, and accountability for school improvement serves as a guide for all of the state's education efforts.

In 1997, the General Assembly and the governor assured major implementation support for the CES by enacting the Rhode Island Student Investment Initiative, popularly known as Article 31. This law focuses on the need to improve student performance and provides key resource support in the form of targeted investments. Each year since 1997 has seen this support continued.

In January 2002, the federal No Child Left Behind Act was signed into law. This law has had a profound impact on education policy in Rhode Island. Among the most significant provisions of the law are:

• The requirement that all students attain proficiency in English language arts, mathematics, and science by the year 2014

• The requirement that every class be taught by a “highly qualified teacher”

• The mandate that parents be allowed to transfer their children out of schools deemed to be “persistently unsafe”

• The establishment of a series of sanctions that apply to high-poverty schools, requiring that parents be allowed to transfer their children from schools that miss annual targets for two years in a row and that students in schools that miss targets for three years in a row receive free “supplemental educational services.”

To comply with the law, RIDE completely revised the state’s accountability system for public schools:

• In conjunction with three other New England states, RIDE is in the process of developing “grade-level expectations” (GLEs) in the three core subjects for all grades

• RIDE is expanding the state assessment system to test students in all grades 3 through 8, plus one high-school grade

• RIDE will add a science assessment to the state assessment system

• Through its Accountability Plan, RIDE has changed the way by which schools are classified – establishing annual statewide targets for each school level and requiring that schools (and districts) meet these targets for all students and for eight groups of students, plus targets for participation, attendance, and graduation rates.

• RIDE has implemented procedures for intra-district school choice and has approved a list of providers of supplemental educational services

• RIDE had revised the procedure for teacher certification and is developing criteria for determining that a teacher is “highly qualified” under federal law.

• RIDE has developed a definition of persistently unsafe schools and has implemented procedures to allow parents to transfer their children from these schools.

• RIDE has expanded its school, district, and state report cards to include all information required by federal law.