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Accountability & Virginia Public Schools – 2011-2012

Accountability Terminology

PDF version of this page including terminology and questions.

2011-2012 School Year

Virginia’s accountability system supports teaching and learning by setting rigorous academic standards, known as the Standards of Learning (SOL), and through annual assessments of student achievement. Schools receive two annual accountability ratings based on the performance of students on SOL tests and other statewide assessments.

• A school’s state accreditation rating reflects overall achievement in English, history/ social science, mathematics and science. Schools in which students meet or exceed achievement objectives established by the Virginia Board of Education in these four major content areas are rated as "fully accredited."
• A school’s federal Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) rating indicates the progress being made toward the goals of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), also known as the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. This federal law requires states to set annual achievement benchmarks in reading and mathematics leading to 100 percent proficiency by 2014. The law also requires testing in science at least once in elementary, middle and high school. Schools and school divisions that meet or exceed all annual benchmarks are rated as having made AYP. States also receive AYP ratings.

While state accreditation ratings are based on overall student achievement in all major content areas, AYP ratings are based on overall achievement and achievement by student subgroups, primarily in reading and mathematics.

Accreditation: High Standards for Learning & Achievement

School accreditation ratings reflect student achievement on SOL tests and other approved assessments in English, history/social science, mathematics and science. Ratings are based on the achievement of students on tests taken during the previous academic year or may reflect a three-year average of achievement. Schools receive one of the following ratings:

Fully Accredited

Elementary schools are “fully accredited” if students achieve all of the following pass rates:

• English – 75 percent or higher, grades 3-5
• Mathematics – 70 percent or higher, grades 3-5
• Science – 70 percent or higher in grade 5 and 50 percent or higher in grade 3
• History – 70 percent or higher in Virginia Studies (grade 4 or 5) and 50 percent or higher in grade 3
• Middle schools are fully accredited if students achieve pass rates of 70 percent or higher in all four content areas.

High schools are fully accredited if students achieve pass rates of 70 percent or more in all four content areas and attain a point value of 85 or greater based on the Graduation and Completion Index (GCI).

Flexibility for High-Performing Schools
Virginia’s accountability system allows schools that maintain pass rates of 95 percent or greater in all four core academic areas for two consecutive years to apply for a waiver from annual accreditation. Schools awarded waivers are rated as fully accredited for a three-year period.

Provisionally Accredited-Graduation Rate

A high school or combined school with a graduating class receives a “provisionally accredited-graduation rate” rating if students achieve adjusted pass rates of 70 percent or more in all four content areas and a GCI of 80-84 points. Elementary and middle schools are not eligible for provisional accreditation.

Accredited with Warning

A school receives an “accredited with warning” rating if its adjusted pass rates for the four core subjects are below the achievement levels required for full accreditation. Schools that receive this rating undergo academic reviews and are required to adopt and implement school improvement plans. Schools that are warned in English and/or mathematics are also required to adopt instructional programs proven by research to be effective in raising achievement in these subjects. A school may hold this rating for no more than three consecutive years.

In addition, high schools earning a GCI less than the provisional benchmark for the year are rated as accredited with warning.

Accreditation Denied

A school is rated “accreditation denied” if it fails to meet the requirements for full accreditation for four consecutive years.

Any school denied accreditation must provide parents and other interested parties the following:

• Written notice of the school’s accreditation rating within 30 calendar days of the announcement of the rating by the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE);
• A copy of the school division’s proposed corrective action plan describing the steps to be taken to raise achievement to state standards — including a timeline for implementation – to improve the school’s accreditation rating; and
• An opportunity to comment on the division’s proposed corrective action plan prior to its adoption and the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the local school board and the Board of Education.

The local school board – within 45 days of receiving notice of the status – must submit to the Board of Education the proposed corrective action plan. The Board of Education will consider the proposal and develop a memorandum of understanding with the local school board, which must be implemented by November 1. The local school board must submit status reports detailing the implementation of actions prescribed in the memorandum of understanding; and the principal, division superintendent and local school board chairman may be required to appear before the Board of Education to present status reports.

Additionally, in any school division where one-third or more of the schools have been denied accreditation, the local school board is required to evaluate the division superintendent and submit a copy of the evaluation to the Board of Education by December 1. The Board of Education may take action – as permitted by the Standards of Quality – against the local school board due to the failure of the local board to maintain accredited schools.

Conditionally Accredited

There are two types of “conditionally accredited” schools:

• “Conditionally accredited-new” is awarded for a one-year period to a new school – comprising students who previously attended one or more existing schools – to provide the opportunity to evaluate the performance of students on SOL tests and other statewide assessments.
• “Conditionally accredited-reconstituted” is awarded to a school that fails to meet full accreditation requirements for four consecutive years and receives permission from the Board of Education to reconstitute as an alternative to a memorandum of understanding. A reconstituted school reverts to accreditation-denied status if it fails to meet full accreditation requirements within the agreed-upon term, or if it fails to have its annual application for conditional accreditation renewed.

2010-2011 Accreditation Benchmarks (Adjusted Pass Rates)

SUBJECT	Grade 3	Grade 4-5	Grades 6-12
English	75%	75%	70%
Mathematics	70%	70%	70%
Science	50%	70%	70%
History	50%	70%	70%

Note: Ratings for the 2011-2012 school year are based on achievement during 2010-2011 or on average achievement during the three most recent school years. Beginning with tests administered in 2012-2013, the minimum pass rate for English will rise to 75 percent for all grades and the pass rates.

 

Accreditation Adjustments

A school’s accreditation rating may reflect adjustments to pass rates resulting from successful remediation efforts and for the allowable exclusion of some Limited-English Proficient (LEP) students and transfer students.

• Remediation & Retesting – Virginia’s accountability system recognizes successful remediation programs that help students achieve minimum proficiency standards in reading and mathematics in all tested grades. A school is credited for successful remedial instruction when a student – who failed a particular content area assessment during the previous year – subsequently passes the content-area test. If a student fails a test required for graduation and successfully retests during the same school year, the result of the first test is not included in the accreditation calculation.
• Limited-English Proficient Students – The scores of LEP students enrolled in Virginia public schools fewer than 11 semesters may be excluded from the accreditation rating calculations. While all LEP students are expected to participate in the state assessment program, a school-based committee determines the level of participation of each LEP student. In kindergarten through grade 8, the school-based committee may grant the student a one-time exemption from testing in writing (in grade 5 or 8), science (in grade 3 only) and history/social science (once during grades 3-8).
• Transfer Students – The scores of students transferring within a Virginia school division are included in the calculation of accreditation ratings. Students transferring into a school from another Virginia school division, another state, from a private school or students who have been home schooled are expected to take the assessments for the content areas in which they received instruction. Under limited circumstances as described in Board of Education regulations, the failing scores of some transfer students may be excluded from the accreditation calculation.

Adequate Yearly Progress: Virginia & the Elementary & Secondary Education Act

The federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) requires states to set annual objectives for increasing student achievement to ensure that all children have an opportunity to obtain a high-quality education. Schools, school divisions and states that meet these objectives make what federal law refers to as “Adequate Yearly Progress” (AYP).

ESEA in Brief

ESEA requires:

• Annual testing in grades 3-8 and at least once in high school to measure student progress in reading and mathematics. The law also requires states to test all students in science at least once in elementary school, once in middle school and once in high school.
• Schools, school divisions and states to meet annual AYP objectives for student performance on statewide tests in reading and mathematics.
• The identification of states, schools and school divisions making and not making AYP.
• All students to be proficient in reading and mathematics by 2013-2014.

For a school, a school division or the commonwealth to make AYP, it must meet or exceed 29 benchmarks for student achievement and participation in statewide testing. Missing a single benchmark may result in a school, a school division or the state not making AYP.

AYP – Annual measurable objectives

The reading and mathematics achievement benchmarks, established by the Board of Education as part of Virginia’s implementation of ESEA, are known as Annual Measurable Objectives (AMO).

For a school, school division or the state to have made AYP, at least 86 percent of students overall and students in all AYP subgroups — white, black, Hispanic, limited English proficient (LEP), students with disabilities and economically disadvantaged — must have demonstrated proficiency on SOL and other assessments in reading, and 85 percent must have passed state tests in mathematics. AYP ratings for the 2011-2012 school year are based on achievement on tests administered during 2010-2011 or on average achievement during the three most recent school years.

Safe Harbor

Another way for a school, a school division or the state to make AYP is through “safe harbor.” Safe harbor recognizes improvements in teaching and learning that reduce the failure rate of students in a subgroup by at least 10 percent — even if the AMO was not met.

Other Academic Indicators Required Under ESEA

In addition to the annual benchmarks in reading and mathematics, elementary and middle schools, school divisions and the state must meet annual objectives for attendance, science, writing and history social science.

Prior to the start of the school year, elementary schools, middle schools and school divisions select one of the following as an “other academic indicator:”

• Attendance – the objective for attendance is 94 percent.
• Science – the objective for science achievement is 70 percent.
• Writing – the objective for writing achievement is 70 percent.
• History/Social Science – the objective for history/social science achievement is 70 percent.

The state must meet annual benchmarks for all of the academic indicators: attendance, science, writing and history/social science.

 

AYP: Annual Measurable Objectives for Reading and Language Arts

2001-02	2002-03	2003-04	2004-05	2005-06	2006-07	2007-08	2008-09	2009-10	2010-11	2011-12	2012-13	2013-14
60.7	61.0	61.0	65.0	69.0	73.0	77.0	81.0	81.0	86	91	96	100

AYP: Annual Measurable Objectives for Mathematics

2001-02	2002-03	2003-04	2004-05	2005-06	2006-07	2007-08	2008-09	2009-10	2010-11	2011-12	2012-13	2013-14
58.4	59.0	59.0	63.0	67.0	71.0	75.0	79.0	79.0	85	90	95	100

Note: AYP ratings for the 2011-2012 school year are based on student performance on tests administered during 2010-2011 or on average achievement during the three most recent school years. Achievement must equal or exceed the Annual Measurable objective shaded above.

Federal Graduation Indicator

High schools, school divisions and the state also must meet annual objectives for the percentage of students who graduate with a Standard or Advanced Studies Diploma. This AYP objective is known as the Federal Graduation Indicator to distinguish it from the Graduation and Completion Index (GCI), which includes all Board of Education-approved diplomas. The Federal Graduation Indicator excludes Modified Standard, Special and General Achievement diplomas because USED only recognizes Standard and Advanced Studies diplomas for accountability purposes.

A high school, school division and/or the state meets the federal graduation benchmark for AYP if one of the following is met:

• At least 80 percent of students graduate with Standard or Advanced Studies diplomas within four years, five years or six years of entering ninth grade for the first time; or
• The percentage of students not graduating within four years of entering the ninth grade is reduced by at least 10 percent.

To minimize annual variations in data impacting AYP determinations, Virginia will average graduation data over three years as permitted by ESEA. When more than one year of graduation data is available, averaging will be applied to the four-year, five-year and six-year Federal Graduation Indicator rates.

AYP – Participation in State Assessments

ESEA requires a minimum of 95 percent participation of all students and of students in all AYP subgroups in the statewide assessment program at the school, division and state levels. AYP applies to all students and to these subgroups:

• Students with disabilities
• LEP students
• Economically disadvantaged students
• White students
• Black students
• Hispanic students

NOTE: Asian students will be added as a subgroup for 2012-2013 AYP ratings (based on achievement during 2011-2012).

If participation overall or in one or more subgroups is below 95 percent, a school or school division is not considered to have made AYP — regardless of the percentage of students demonstrating proficiency.

Students with Disabilities

Virginia’s special education regulations require students with disabilities to participate in all state assessments.

Students with disabilities may take SOL tests (with or without special accommodations), or may be assessed through alternative grade-level tests.

Students with significant cognitive disabilities are assessed through an alternate test. ESEA, however, places a one-percent cap on the percentage of test takers in the state who may be counted as proficient based on the results of alternate assessments.

LEP Students

School-based LEP committees determine how LEP students participate in the state assessment program. ESEA allows a one-time exemption from testing in reading in grades 3-8 for LEP students who have attended school in the United States for less than 12 months. All LEP students must participate in mathematics assessments regardless of when they arrived in the country.

If a LEP student in his or her first year of enrollment is tested, the student is counted as participating in the state assessment program for AYP purposes. However, failing scores of tested LEP students in the first year of enrollment are not included in AYP calculations.

LEP students at the lowest levels of English proficiency may take an alternative grade-level assessment for reading and a plain-English version of the mathematics SOL test for up to three years.

Retakes of end-of-course tests

The achievement of students on all retakes of end-of-course assessments in reading and mathematics is included in the calculation of AYP ratings. If a student fails a test required for graduation and successfully retests during the same school year, the first test does not count in calculating AYP.

Title I Schools

Title I schools receive federal funds under Title I of ESEA to help children in high-poverty areas who are behind academically or at risk of falling behind. Title I funding is based on the number of low-income children in a school, generally those eligible for free or reduced-fee lunch programs. Some Title I schools provide supplemental federally funded instructional programs for qualifying students. These schools are known as targeted-assistance schools. Title I schools in which 40 percent or more students qualify for free or reduced-fee lunch may provide schoolwide programs. The following actions apply to Title I schools that do not make AYP for two or more consecutive years in the same subject area(s):

Public School Choice – A Title I school that does not make AYP for two consecutive years in the same subject area is identified for improvement and must notify parents of its status prior to the beginning of the school year. The school must offer all students the opportunity to transfer to a school within the division that is not identified for improvement. Lowest-achieving students receive priority in the awarding of transfers. The school must also develop and implement a school improvement plan.

Supplemental Educational Services & Public School Choice – A Title I school identified for improvement that does not make AYP the next year in the same subject area must notify parents of its status and continue to offer public school choice. In addition, the school must offer supplemental educational services to low-income students. If funds are insufficient to provide supplemental services to all students whose parents request tutoring, school divisions must give priority to the lowest-achieving eligible students.

NOTE: If granted a waiver by VDOE, a school may offer supplemental educational services during the first year of improvement instead of — or in addition to — public school choice.

Corrective Action – A school division must take corrective action to raise achievement in Title I schools in the third year of school improvement status. The school must continue to offer public school choice and supplemental services, and the school division must take at least one of the following corrective actions:

• Replace school staff deemed relevant to the failure to make AYP
• Implement a new curriculum shown by research as effective in raising achievement
• Decrease the authority of school-level management
• Appoint an outside expert to advise the school on the implementation plan developed during the first year of school improvement
• Extend the school year or school day
• Restructure the internal organization of the school

Restructuring (Planning) – A school division must develop a restructuring/ alternative governance plan for a Title I school that enters year four of school improvement status. A school in year four must also:

• Continue to provide public school choice
• Continue to offer supplemental educational services
• Continue to take the corrective action selected in year three
• Prepare a plan and make necessary arrangements for restructuring/alternative governance of the school in the event that the school does not make AYP the following year

Restructuring (Implementation) – A restructuring/alternative governance plan developed during year four is implemented if the school again does not make AYP in the same subject area and moves into year five of improvement status. The implemented plan must include one of the following actions:

• Reopen the school as a charter school
• Replace all or most of the school staff relevant to the school’s failure to make AYP
• Turn the management of the school over to a private educational management company or other entity with a demonstrated record of effectiveness
• Any other major restructuring of school governance

Note: If a title I school in restructuring fails to make AYP, the school continues to implement its restructuring/alternative governance plan while receiving technical assistance from the school division and state.

Non-title I Schools

Non-Title I schools in Virginia are not subject to school improvement sanctions under ESEA. However, non-Title I schools that do not make AYP for three or more consecutive years must analyze data and implement corrective actions as specified by the school division.

School Divisions in Improvement

School divisions that do not make AYP in the same subject area across all grade spans for two consecutive years must develop and implement improvement plans within three months of identification. ESEA requires that school division improvement plans include:

• Scientifically based strategies and best practices for raising student achievement
• Professional development for faculty and instructional staff
• Specific achievement goals for subgroups not making AYP
• Identification of impediments to higher achievement by low-performing students
• Strategies to promote parental involvement
• Relevant student-learning activities, before school, after school or during the summer
• Fiscal responsibilities of the school division and the technical assistance needed

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