Growth to Excellence Act of 2012 - Amends part A of title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to allow states to measure student progress toward academic achievement standards using adaptive assessments that are computerized, aligned with grade-level academic content standards, and measure student growth above and below grade level.
Allows states, upon the Secretary of Education's approval, to adopt an alternative accountability model requiring their local educational agencies (LEAs) and public elementary and secondary schools to achieve adequate student growth toward college and career readiness standards.
Requires such states to: (1) adopt college and career ready academic content standards; (2) adopt college and career ready assessments that measure annual student growth in mathematics and reading or the language arts; (3) measure secondary school graduation rates; (4) assess at least two additional specified indicators of students' college or career readiness; and (5) require schools that do not meet adequate student growth targets to be categorized, provided with appropriate support, and subject to consequences that include intervention measures.
Requires an alternative accountability model to establish annual progress targets for each school that: (1) aim to reduce by half, in less than six years, the difference between the percentage of students (overall and in specified student subgroups) at the top performing schools who meet the college and career readiness standards or make adequate student growth, and the percentage of such students at each school that is not a top performing school; (2) ensure that each student is making adequate yearly growth to be college and career ready by the end of the 2019-2020 school year; or (3) are calculated in another manner, but result in ambitious and achievable targets for students overall and in specified student subgroups.
Requires annual progress targets for secondary schools that: (1) aim to reduce by half, in less than six years, the difference between the percentage of students (overall and in specified student subgroups) who graduate and 90%; or (2) establish another single graduation rate goal for each specified student subgroup that is ambitious and achievable.
Requires states using an alternative accountability model to establish a system of categorization and related interventions and rewards that groups LEAs based on their schools' and students' annual progress toward such targets.
Describes what shall be considered adequate student growth toward college and career readiness standards.