A Primer on U.S. and Texas Accountability Systems

We often get questions about accountability, student testing and what it all means to Mansfield ISD.

The following is based on the Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) Presentation given to the MISD School Board on Tuesday, August 28, 2012 by Dr. Jim Vaszauskas, Associate Superintendent for Curriculum, Instruction and Accountability:

Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) refers to the federally mandated accountability system required by the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB)...

No Child Left Behind

• No Child Left Behind (NCLB) was passed by Congress in 2001.
• In 2002, President George W. Bush signed the bill into law.
• Measures reading and math in grades 3-8 and grade 10.
• Ultimate goal is to have all (100%) children proficient in reading and math by 2014.
• NCLB as originally passed expired in 2007.
• The reauthorization and rewrite of NCLB have stalled in Congress. The House committee and Senate committee that oversee education have completed their respective rewrites but no additional action has been taken.
• The secretary of education is allowing states to apply for waivers, IF they agree to certain stipulations: common core curriculum, college readiness standards, etc.
• Schools are measured in reading and math in grades 3-8 and 10.
• 7 student groups are measured: all students, African American, Hispanic, white, Special Education (SPED), English language learners (ELL), and economically disadvantaged.
• SPED has a 3% cap on modified testing. Students over this cap are counted as failures even if they pass the test.
• Schools typically must meet more than 30 standards. Schools that miss one or more standards are deemed to have missed AYP.

AYP Sanctions

• Schools that fail in one or more categories miss AYP and IF they accept *Title 1 funding are subject to sanctions.
• Sanctions become more punitive for campuses that miss AYP in the same student group and subject over time.
• Sanctions escalate: school choice, tutoring, new curriculum, fire principal and staff, reconstitute school.
• Schools that do not accept Title 1 funding are NOT subject to any sanctions.

The Politics of NCLB

• The Federal Secretary of Education has granted waivers from AYP requirements to 38 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico (as of May 11, 2012).
• Texas is not applying for a waiver.
• Texas' accountability system differs from NCLB in the subjects tested, the student groups counted, passing standards, and sanctions. STAAR passing standards 3-8 will not be set until next year, but the state had to develop a bridge ranking to determine passing standards this year.
• It is possible to be highly ranked on the state accountability system and miss AYP.
• All MISD schools are held to the standards of the state accountability system.
• The federal accountability system (AYP) must be calculated for all MISD schools; however, only 19 of our schools (Title 1) are held to the sanctions.
• AYP has been removed in both House and Senate committee drafts. (However, the law's reauthorization has stalled in Congress until presumably after the Presidential election.)

State-wide Issues

• Approximately 71% of Texas districts missed AYP.
• Alvarado, Arlington, Birdville, Crowley, Dallas, Duncanville, Eagle-Mountain Saginaw, Everman, Fort Worth, Grapevine Colleyville, Grand Prairie, Hurst-Euless-Bedford, Irving, Keller, Kennedale, Lake Worth, Mansfield, Midlothian, Northwest, Plano, Weatherford, and White Settlement school districts missed AYP.
• No make up tests were counted this year.
• Passing standards for STAAR have not been set.
• Texas implemented a completely new criterion referenced test in 2011-12 – State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness (STAAR) – to replace the TAKS test that had been in existence for eight years.

Mansfield ISD's Response to NCLB

• Campuses (administration and teachers) are aware of their students' performance, both strengths and opportunities for improvement.
• Campus Improvement Plans will address targeted areas.
• Principals of schools that missed AYP will analyze performance data in January for necessary mid-course corrections and interventions.
• Elementary campuses are moving to a more consistent intervention and inclusion (co-teach) model.
• We are continuing to follow our curriculum management plan: three years ago, we trained our employees; two years ago, we wrote our curriculum; last year, we implemented our curriculum; this year, we revised our curriculum based on teacher feedback and we are developing common assessments for k-6.

Additional Staff Development

• Additional intensive professional development for intermediate and middle school math teachers on teaching the hard to reach student.
• Additional intensive professional development for SPED department on SPED Cap requirements.
• Additional intensive professional development for our ELL department on closing the gap.
• We continue to work with our teachers on teaching a guaranteed, viable curriculum.

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*Title 1: To qualify as a Title 1 school, at least 40% of the students enrolled must qualify for the free and reduced meal plan. Mansfield ISD has economically disadvantaged students at all 41 schools, but unless they attend a school where at least 40%  of the student enrollment is on the free and reduced meal plan, they do not receive any federal Title 1 support.
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Related Links:

• No Child Left Behind is showing its age, and AYP has lost its meaning (Fort Worth Star-Telegram editorial)
• Texplainer: What if Schools Don’t Meet Benchmarks? (Texas Tribune)

Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2012/08/09/4169632/no-child-left-behind-is-showing.html#storylink=misearch#storylink=cpy

Photo credit: atomicity via Flickr Creative Commons

Mansfield ISD among top-rated districts in new FAST report

Earlier this week the Texas Comptroller's Office released the Financial Allocation Study for Texas (FAST) report. The report grades districts on how well they spend money compared to student performance.

"The 2009 Legislature required the comptroller’s office to develop a way to determine how well districts were spending money compared to how well their students performed.

"Each campus and district were rated based on how well students performed on math and reading tests from year to year, whether it was a 'very low' to 'very high' spending district and compared to peer districts of similar size and student makeup." [SOURCE: Extra Credit]

The Mansfield ISD was among the top-rated districts, with 4.5 stars and a "very low" (which is good) spending index according to the report.

When asked by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram how MISD has such a good balance between spending and academic success, Dr. Jim Vaszauskas, Associate Superintendent for Curriculum, Instruction, and Accountabilitysay said it was because of two things:

"First, we give our principals a great deal of latitude on how they spend their professional development campus funds, and they do a very good job of spending those monies on trainings that focus on instructional improvement.

"Second, we try to closely align our professional development with our district curriculum. Some of the best and least expensive professional development we have is simply giving our teachers time to talk with each other and time to collaboratively produce quality lessons for our students. It’s a really exciting time to be a part of Mansfield ISD."

Since the study is still so new, we will need more time to closely analyze it. However, we are encouraged by seeing these types of results.

Read more about the Financial Allocation Study for Texas (FAST) report or read the study.

MISD Research, Assessment, and Accountability Web site Launched

The Mansfield ISD has recently launched a comprehensive Web site dedicated to research, assessment, and accountability data. The primary purpose of this site is to provide the community a “one stop shop” for all data related to student performance.

What do we hope to achieve by providing access to this type of data/research?
Providing performance data will support the district’s efforts of identifying strengths, weaknesses, and any achievement gaps that may exist between groups. With this insight, we will be able to set goals, develop strategies, and plan more effectively, taking into account the unique needs of each student.

Site visitors will have access to all accountability summaries at the district and campus level so progress on state and national standards can be assessed.

Information on this site includes the following:

• Evaluation and research reports
• Relevant links to external Web sites
• Manuals and guides for administering the different assessments
• School and district level reports (and ratings) – both state and federal
• Information for parents
• State mandated test dates
• Three to six years of test results for each school
• State and National Accountability Reports
• College Board results and links on how to register for College Board and ACT exams

Why are we providing this Web site?
While it is great to praise progress, it is counter-productive to avoid accepting and dealing with academic short-comings. Therefore, all data are made available publicly so we can see where the district’s been, where it is currently, and can plan for where it wants to go in the future. The goal is to be pro-active and not ignore those areas where improvement is needed.

Staff Benefits
The old phrase knowledge is power is relevant when one considers the fact that with knowledge comes an increase in one’s ability to utilize resources including time, personnel, and funding in a way that positively affects our students. By having access to current and trend level data, district educators are empowered. Our capacity to more effectively plan begins with being able to identify what’s working and what’s not. By having access to up-to-date data, action plans that are meaningful, measurable, and on target can be developed and implemented. Lastly, and more importantly, providing teachers with easy access to student level data will hopefully prevent any student from falling between the cracks and will enable teachers to identify areas that need attention before a pattern of failure develops.

Benefits for Parents
Parents will have easy access to how their child’s campus is performing on state and national tests and will be able to determine where their support can be most beneficial and effective to the campus. Additionally, in a later phase of the site’s development we will provide parents with access to their child’s test performance. This will enhance their ability to make informed decisions and to monitor their child’s academic progress.

What’s next for the site?
The MISD Research, Assessment and Accountability Department has several online projects currently in development.

• Phase I, just completed, provides readers with campus and district level summary reports, research studies and other articles, and links to external sites. Most of the reports presented at this time are in PDF and easily downloaded.
  
• Phase II of the Web site’s development focuses on a “query-based” system that extracts data from a centrally-maintained database. This phase will be available to the user via the “Report Builder” tab. Access to this function will be available on a limited basis to campus level teachers and administrators. With the implementation of this interactive feature, campus personnel will be able to access student level test data including TAKS and norm-referenced results so instructional strategies can be planned based on the unique needs of each student.
  
• Phase III will expand the “Report Builder” functionality to include campus summary reports based on a series of selection criteria designated by the user.
  
• Phase IV of this project is focused on the development of a portal that will provide parents with the means to access their child’s test performance via a login and password. The goal for providing this access is to empower parents in a way that helps them more fully understand their child’s academic needs so they can be better informed advocates.

Please visit the Mansfield ISD Research, Assessment, and Accountability site and let us know what you think.