Arizona State Board of EducationPublic Hearing on the Arizona

Working Draft of Components for the A-F School Accountability

• Pursuant to A.R.S. 15-241, the State Board of Education (Board) is charged with final approval of the criteria used to determine A through F letter grades for public schools and local education agencies (LEAs).

• In December 2015, the Every Student Succeeds Act was signed into federal law, reauthorizing the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and replacing No Child Left Behind (NCLB).

Background

Background

• In 2014, the state suspended A-F school letter grading for two years to allow for a transition to higher standards and new assessments, as well as new legislation that provided the State Board with clear authority to update its school letter grading calculation.

• The A-F School Accountability Plan, adopted by the Board, will seek to comply with the requirements of ARS §15-241 and the accountability provisions of ESSA, while recognizing the opportunity to measure the quality of a school and its effectiveness across a broader range of measures than in the past.

Background

• The A-F school letter grade accountability system measures:

• school performance based on academic performances indicators including multiple measures

• student mastery of grade-level ELA and Math standards as measured by the statewide assessments (AzMERIT)

• results from the ELL proficiency assessments (AZELLA)

• progress toward college and career readiness for grades nine through twelve

• In 2016, the Board developed the A-F School Accountability Ad Hoc Advisory Committee to provide advice and policy recommendations to the Board for implementation of the state's A-F accountability system. The Ad Hoc Committee members were appointed by the Executive Committee of the Board.

• 3- SBE Members• 1- Charter School Representatives• 2- Educational Policy representatives• 1- Member from the Governor’s Office• 2- Teachers (K-8 and 9-12)• 2- Parent Representatives (K-8 and 9-12)• 2- Superintendents

Background

Background

• The duty of the A-F Ad Hoc is to:• Ensure transparency in policy development by providing

a public forum for discussion on accountability policy recommendations to the Board

• Discuss and propose multiple measures of academic performance or other academically relevant indicators of school quality

• Discuss and propose policy recommendations related to criteria for school and LEA classification labels used to determine A-F letter grades

ESSA Law Requirements: Light Blue

Prior A-F Plan: K-82013-2014

Letter grades were not issued in 14/15 or 15/16

Bonus points were available for English Language Learners Proficiency and reduction in students scoring in the falls far below category

Proposed 2016-2017 A-F Accountability: K-8

Bonus Points may be available for schools with SPED enrollment of 80% or more above the State average and/or for academic performance in other areas than ELA, Math or Science

K-8 Acceleration Measures

• The State Board of Education is considering the following measures:

• Decreasing the percentage of Grade 3 students who are minimally proficient from prior year to current year on the AzMERIT ELA assessment

• Increasing the percentage of 5th – 8th grade students accelerating in high school math courses and passing the AzMERIT high school math tests

• Decreasing the number of students who are chronically absent (more than 18 days a year)

K-8 Bonus Points

• The State Board of Education is considering a policy of awarding bonus points to schools related to performance on academic areas, other than ELA, Math and Science, such as PE/Health, the Arts, and Social Studies.

• The specific measures are still to be determined.• The State Board of Education is also considering

awarding bonus points to schools with special education enrollment that is at or above 80% of the state average.

Prior A-F Plan: 9-122013-2014

Letter grades were not issued in 14/15 or 15/16

Bonus Points were available for ELL Proficiency and/or dropout rate

Proposed 2016-2017 A-F Accountability: 9-12

Bonus points are available when students complete a combination of college and career readiness indicators; and/or the school increases post-secondary enrollment and military enrollment; and/or the school’s special education enrollment is at or above 80% of state

average

Graduation Rates

• The indicator for graduation rates awards points based on the total graduation rate of a cohort of students within a given timeframe as follows:

• 4 years: 10 points

• 5 years: 3 points

• 6 years: 1 point

• 7 years: 1 point

College and Career Readiness Indicator 9-12Indicator Points Indicators

1.25 Earns a Grand Canyon Diploma – Blue

TBD Completes a CTE sequence and passes the Arizona Technical Skills Assessment for that sequence - Red

.5 per exam Passing score on AzMerit Algebra 2 or ELA 11 - Blue

.35 per exam Meets cut score on ACT, English, reading, writing, math, social studies, science, or foreign language exam -Blue

.5 per exam Meets cut score on SAT English or math exam Blue

.5 per exam Meets cut-score on AP, English, math, social studies, science, or foreign language exam - Blue

.3 Completes the FAFSA - Red or Blue

.5 per course Passes a college level career pathway (CTE) course for which college credit can be earned with an A, B, or C (i.e. dual enrollment and concurrent enrollment) - Red

.5 per course Passes a college level English, math, science, social studies, or foreign language course for which college credit can be earned with an A, B, or C (i.e. dual enrollment and concurrent enrollment) - Blue

.25 per course Completes a CTE course with an A, B, or C (outside of completed sequence) - Red

.5 Meets benchmarks for ASVAB - Red

.5 Meets benchmarks for ACT WorkKeys – Red

.35 per exam Meets cut score on ACCUPLACER, ALEKS, COMPASS (or any nationally recognized college placement exam currently used by an Arizona institution), or Cambridge IGCSE English, reading, writing, math, social studies, science, or foreign language exam - Blue

.5 per exam Meets cut-score on CLEP, Cambridge A or AS, or IB English, math, social studies, science, or foreign language exam - Blue

TBD Earns an Industry-Recognized Credential, Certificate, or License - Red

1 Completes well-defined Work-Based Learning (i.e. internship) of at least 120 hours - Red

1 Meet all 16 Arizona Board of Regents program of study requirements - Blue

College and Career Readiness Indicator9-12

Student Level Completion

(Discussed by the Board) • A school’s College and Career Readiness A-F

Point total will be determined by averaging the total number of College and Career Readiness A-F points earned by that year’s graduates.

• A student who accumulates 1 Indicator Point will generate 7.5 College and Career Readiness A-F Points; a student who accumulates 2 Indicator Points will generate 15 College and Career Readiness A-F Points.

• A student who accumulates 1 point of RedIndicators AND 1 point of Blue Indicators will generate a total of 17 College and Career Readiness A-F points.

School Wide Improvement

(Suggested as an alternative)• Year-to-Year Measurement

• The school’s total percentage on each indicator will be compared to the percentage on each indicator from the prior year

• A school would earn points based on the total number of indicators with increased percentages from the prior year

9-12 Bonus Points

• Bonus Points: • Increasing post secondary and military enrollment

• Enrollment of SPED students above 80% of the state average.

K-8 and 9-12English Language Learners

• The indicator for English language proficiency has two components, addressing proficiency and growth of English language learners on the Arizona English Language Learner Assessment (AZELLA).

• Proficiency on AZELLA is calculated based on the school’s performance on AZELLA compared to the state proficiency rates on AZELLA.

• Growth on AZELLA is calculated based on the school’s performance on AZELLA compared to the state growth rates on AZELLA.

K-8 and 9-12 Proficiency

• Proficiency points will be awarded to students showing partial proficiency.

• A weighted model is proposed with points awarded based on AzMERIT Math, ELA and AIMS Science test scores as follows:

• Minimal proficiency: 0 points• Partial proficiency: .6 points• Proficient: 1 point• High Proficiency: 1.3 points

• The weighted model and the points awarded above are under consideration

K-8 and 9-12 Growth

• The State Board of Education is looking at three different ways to measure growth:

• Student Growth Percentages (SGP)

• Student Growth the Target (SGT)

• “Florida Model”: Scaled Model

K-8 and 9-12 GrowthStudent Growth Percentiles (SGP)

• Estimates “growth percentiles” among students who started at a similar level in order to evaluate individual student growth from year to year

• Performance is judged entirely relative to that of other students, not against a set expectation

• Growth targets are determined based on the performance of other students in the state

• Growth expectations are set annually and shift annually based on statewide performance

• Used in prior accountability plans for measuring growth

K-8 and 9-12 GrowthStudent Growth Percentiles (SGP)

Student 4th Grade Score 5th Grade Score Growth Growth Percentile

Steve 2300 2350 50 70th

Ann 2250 2255 5 10th

John 2285 2305 20 50th

Roger 2200 2250 50 30th

Lyn 2325 2340 15 90th

In the examples in the table above, though Steve and Roger both improved their test scores by 50 points, their improvement is classified differently based on how their academic peers

scored.

Steve’s 50 point improvement in 5th grade was better than 70% of all students who scored a 300 in 4th grade, while Roger’s 50 point improvement in 5th grade was better than 30% of all

students who scored a 200 in 4th grade.

K-8 and 9-12 GrowthStudent Growth to Target (SGT)

• Measures the change in an individual student’s test scores from year to year such as the growth of the student score on the third grade test to the fourth grade test

• Growth targets are determined based on the actual growth compared to the growth needed to be proficient or highly proficient in a specified amount of time to determine if the student met growth in the current year

K-8 and 9-12 GrowthStudent Growth to Target (SGT)

K-8 and 9-12 GrowthStudent Growth to Target (SGT)

SGT GrowthHighly proficient Prior Year

(Stay Up)0 1

Proficient Prior Year (Keep Up)

0 2

Partially proficient Prior Year (Catch Up)

0 3

Minimally proficient Prior Year (Catch Up)

0 4

Current Year Did

Not Meet Target

Current Year Met

or Exceeded

Target

• The growth to target may require more than one year of growth in an academic year if a student is behind one or more years behind grade level to “catch up”

• Students who have learning gains but do not reach the target are not awarded points• More weight is placed on lower performing students

K-8 and 9-12 Growth“Florida Model” (Scaled Scores)

• Measures the change in an individual student’s test scores from year to year such as the growth of the student score on the third grade test to the fourth grade test

• Growth is determined based on the actual growth in movement across a sub scale within a band of scores

• Students who are proficient or highly proficient and remain in those categories are considered to have a learning gain

K-8 and 9-12 Growth“Florida Model” (Scaled Scores)

Assessment Grade

Band 1 =Minimally Proficient

Band 2 = Partially

ProficientBand 3 =

Proficient

Band 4 = Highly

Proficient

Band 1 Low Middle High Band 2 Low High

Grade 3 2395---2496

2395---2428Mary’s score

2329---2462

2363---2496

2497---2508

2497--2502 2493--2508

2509--2540 2541---2605

Grade 4 2400---2509

2400---2436

2437---2473Mary’s score

2474---2509

2510---2522

2510--2516 2517--2522

2523--2558 2559---2610

As a 3rd grader, Mary scored a 2400 (low subscale, minimally proficient band).

In 4th grade, Mary scores a 2440 (middle subscale, minimally proficient band).

Mary has made a learning gain because she moved from a low to a middle subscale within the minimally proficient band.

Defining Schools

• State Law defines an “A” school as excelling

• State Law defines an “F” school as failing

• The A-F School Accountability Survey asks the public for their input on the definitions of B, C and D schools.

Thank you for your input!

• The A-F Survey and presentation materials can be found at www.azsbe.az.gov.

• If you would like to submit written comment that is too large for the text box in the survey, you may submit comments to inbox@azsbe.az.gov.