ADMINISTRATIVE

  On January 8, 1998, the State Board of Education approved a
  sample version of the annual School Performance Report Card.
  This action means that the Outcome Accountability Project
  (OAP) report will no longer be published.  The purpose of
  the enclosed School Performance Report Card (SPRC) Data
  Collection forms is to collect information included in the
  SPRC that is not collected through another data collection
  process. In many cases, the information requested is the
  same as that which was collected in the OAP. The data
  collection forms have been customized for each school in
  your division.

  Detailed instructions are included for the completion of the
  forms.  A reference sheet,  Avoiding Errors When Completing
  the School Performance Report Card Data Collection Form,
  1997-98 School Year" has been included.  It is for your use
  in checking your data for potential errors prior to
  submission.  It outlines areas where errors have often
  occurred and how to prevent them.  We hope this will be
  helpful to you.  You need not submit the reference sheet
  with your data collection forms. 

  A key factor during the SPRC data collection process is the
  designation of a central office staff person as the SPRC
  contact.  This person will be responsible for distributing
  and collecting the forms from your schools, forwarding them
  to the Department, and serving as liaison between your
  schools and the Department.  The contact person should keep
  a copy of the data collection forms submitted.  All
  inquiries by Department staff regarding the data will be
  directed to the SPRC contact person.

  The SPRC Data Collection Transmittal Form should accompany
  the school data collection forms when they are submitted to
  the Department by the SPRC contact person.  All school data
  collection forms should be submitted in one mailing.  The
  deadline for submission is September 18, 1998.  The SPRC
  Data Collection Transmittal Form contains the name, address,
  and telephone and fax numbers for the OAP contact person
  named in 1996-97.  Please make corrections to this
  information on the lines provided.  If there are no changes,
  the lines should remain blank.  A list of schools from which
  we anticipate data has been included on this form.


  The data collection forms should be completed and returned
  by September 18, 1998, and should be addressed as follows:

                  SPRC Data Collection Team
               Virginia Department of Education
                   Assessment and Reporting
                        P. O. Box 2120
                Richmond, Virginia 23218-2120

  To allow divisions ample opportunity to verify their data, the
  timely receipt of these data collection forms is necessary. 
  The Department will compile and return the data to divisions
  so that the verification process can be completed in a timely
  manner. 

  Your cooperation in completing these data collection forms and
  your commitment to accuracy is greatly appreciated.  Should
  you have any questions regarding this data collection process,
  please direct them to Judy Singh at (804) 786-1390 or Dan
  Keeling at (804) 371-2769. Questions regarding the SPRC in
  general should be directed to Cameron Harris at (804) 225-2102.


  PDS/js

  Attachments: A hard copy of this memo and its attachments
               will be sent to the superintendent's office.