Highlights of the Proposed Accountability Report

Mar 13, 2008 12:08 PM

• Each school’s accountability report begins with a school portrait that provides detailed demographic information, multiple measures of staff experience and an evaluation of the school’s instructional resources.  
• Accountability is 360 degrees. The Department of Education (DOE) has obligations to the schools, just as the schools are accountable to students, parents and staff.
• There are four pillars of success: academic achievement; a safe and orderly learning environment; teamwork for achievement; and DOE resources and oversight. 
• Grades are based on multiple measures: academic achievement has 3 components—standardized test performance, progress or advancement, and curriculum--which are combined for the overall academic achievement grade. There are separate grades for the three other pillars. Where possible, academics include science and social studies.
• Grades K-2 academics are evaluated on performance, an appropriate curriculum and essential social and school-readiness skills. The three academic areas—performance, progress and curriculum—receive equal weight in the elementary and middle schools. In the high schools, weighting for performance is increased. 
• The report is standards-based. Grades are awarded based on standards rather than on a curve.
• The report looks at three years of results to control for testing anomalies. 
• Schools are compared to similar schools, based on the proportions of students in poverty, English Language Learners, and special education students. This gives a fair representation of the school’s challenges without exempting any schools from meeting performance and progress standards.
• Performance and progress are disaggregated for Title I students, English Language Learners, and special education students. This levels the playing field among schools and helps schools identify students in need of interventions. The high school reports credit schools for graduating students in four, five and six years, and award progress credit for graduates who entered the school below standards.
• An independent quality review team evaluates the schools on measures of safety, order, teamwork, curriculum, resources and oversight.