NCLB Waiver Materials

Additional materials regarding the Massachusetts NCLB flexibility request (as discussed in a recent blog post) are now available on the ESE Web site.

http://www.doe.mass.edu/apa/titlei/default.html?section=GI

Farewell, AYP....hello, PPI!

I had the opportunity to take part in both a webinar and a face-to-face session in the past week to learn more about the changes to the state's accountability system given the the flexibility that has been granted to Massachusetts under the NCLB waiver.

The waiver has given Massachusetts the flexibility to implement a system that unifies both federal and state accountability requirements, rather than separate systems for each. The major changes, as outlined in the presentations, are as follows:

• The NCLB goal of 100% proficiency has been replaced by a new goal: reducing proficiency gaps by half by 2017. This goal is the same for all districts, schools, and groups...but the targets are different since the starting points will be different.
• The NCLB accountability status labels (Corrective Action, Restructuring, etc.) have been eliminated. The "Level" designation will now be used to identify both federal and state accountability status (and corresponding assistance levels) for schools and districts.
• AYP will be replaced with a new performance measure, known as PPI (see below) that incorporates student growth and other indicators.
• There is an enhanced focus on subgroups, including a new "high needs" group (students who fall into one or more of the following categories: special education, low income, or English language learner/former English language learner.) While all subgroups (minimum 30 students) will be reported, only the "All Students" and "High Needs" groups will be used for classification for the majority of districts.
• SES and school choice requirements for federal funds are replaced with options for flexibility to address identified needs.

So what is PPI? It stands for Progress and Performance Index. Each district, school, and measurable subgroup will  have two different types of PPI; an annual PPI as well as a four-year PPI. For elementary and middle schools, the PPI incorporates five elements:

• Progress on CPI gap-closing in ELA
• Progress on CPI gap-closing in math
• Progress on CPI gap-closing in science
• Student Growth in ELA
• Student Growth in Math

PPI measures for high schools will include these five elements, plus graduation rates and annual drop-out rates. In addition, it is possible to improve a PPI rating through decreases in %W/F and increases in %Adv.

This is just the tip of the iceberg! The ESE presenters have indicated materials from the workshops will be available online in the near future. I will post the link here when I have it.

Update 5/9/2012: Materials now available, see blog post here.

Re-release of Grade 10 MCAS Math Results

On Friday, September 30, the Commissioner’s office at DESE posted a press release regarding the re-release of 2011 grade 10 MCAS math scores. Nearly 3,300 students statewide who took the Spring 2011 grade 10 MCAS Math test and passed have earned higher performance levels than initially indicated.

School and district results in grade 10 Math have been updated in the Profiles section of the ESE Web site. The new data is scheduled to be available in the Education Data Warehouse no later than Thursday, October 6, 2011.  
 
Press Release: http://www.doe.mass.edu/news/news.aspx?id=6421

Public 2011 MCAS Data Available

The 2011 MCAS data for all Massachusetts public schools/districts is now available in several places:

The Education Data Warehouse (in the Security Portal; https://www4.doemass.org/)

School and District Profiles (http://profiles.doe.mass.edu/)

• From the right hand side of the main Profiles page, you can access a variety of statewide reports which can be exported into Excel for further analysis and investigation.
• The easiest way to find school/district information in Profiles: use the Search box to locate a school or district's profile. The "Assessment" tab in a school or district's Profile will allow you to access a variety of reports, including annual comparisons, growth, and subgroup information.

Adequate Yearly Progress Information (http://www.doe.mass.edu/sda/ayp/2011/default.html)

• Under "Lists and Analyses" there is a document entitled, "2011 Lists of Massachusetts Schools and Districts by NCLB Accountability Status and Accountability and Assistance Level." This document provides a summary of 2011 accountability data, including lists of districts and schools by Accountability and Assistance Level and schools commended for narrowing proficiency gaps, high growth, and/or exiting NCLB Accountability Status from 2010.

I'm always interested in knowing different ways in which people are using - or would like to use - this data! If you have ideas for data displays or different ways this data could be analyzed, please don't hesitate to contact me with your ideas. I may be able to help you out with an Excel tool that could be used by others as well.

Correction on "High Needs" Subgroup Post

Yesterday's post summarized the definition of the new "high needs" subgroup and how it is being used. One small correction needs to be made to the content of the post as follows.

The information is correct except for the last sentence which describes two ways the subgroup information is being used.  The second item, "measuring progress for districts who are working to exit Level 4 status” should read “measuring progress for schools who are working to exit Level 4 status."

Apologies for any confusion!

"High Needs" Subgroup - What Is It?

The 2011 MCAS reports include a new subgroup designation called "High Needs." The Data Warehouse FAQ describes this group as "a new subgroup category that includes all students in one or more of the subgroups: English language learner (ELL)/former English language learner students, low income students, or students with disabilities."

A number of people have asked for more information about this subgroup - in particular, if/how it is being used for accountability/assistance determination.

The simple answer from the accountability group at ESE is that this "new" subgroup is NOT being used to determine AYP or state accountability/assistance. (The individual subgroups that make up High Needs, of course, are a continuing piece of this calculation.) The High Needs subgroup is currently being used in two ways: (1) determining schools commended for narrowing proficiency gaps, and (2) measuring progress for schools who are working to exit Level 4 status.

post edited 9/8/2011

A Question from the Field...and a Little Excel Lesson

A district administrator recently asked me, "How can I find out how many middle schools in Massachusetts didn't make AYP for Mathematics?"

One source for this information is an Excel document on the ESE AYP page entitled, 2010 Lists of Massachusetts Schools and Districts by NCLB Accountability Status and Accountability and Assistance Level. You can use the filter feature of Excel to answer this (and other) questions.

What is filtering in Excel, you ask? Well, it's a way of displaying ONLY data in a list that fit certain criteria. I encourage you to follow along and try this out, if you're not familiar with the filter feature in Excel, and you'll see just how handy it is!

After you've opened the Excel document above, click the tab at the bottom for Table 5, which will give you a list of all the schools in the state. You can use the filter feature of Excel to narrow down the data to answer this question - just click on the little arrow on the top of the column to use the filter. First, filter in the "Grade Level" column (Column F) to display only the Middle Schools. A number will appear in the lower left corner, telling you how many schools meet that criteria (289 of 1737 schools).

Then, scroll over to Column O (2010 Math AYP Aggregate) and use the filter feature to display only the schools that did not make AYP. Again, look in the lower left corner for the number (136 schools.) You can repeat this process for other criteria, such as subgroups and/or ELA (just make sure you remove the filter in the other column before choosing another column.)

Note that the filter feature works a little differently depending on what version of Excel you have. Here's a simple overview of the filter feature in Excel for those using Excel 2007 or earlier. I find the filter feature to be one of the most useful aspects of exploring and analyzing data with Excel!

School and District Profiles Updated with 2010 MCAS and AYP Data

The School and District Profiles area of the ESE Web site has now been updated with 2010 MCAS and AYP Data. We expect the Data Warehouse reports to be updated with 2010 data later this week. However, keep in mind that much of the data contained in the School and District level reports in the Data Warehouse can be explored through the Profiles area - no login required!

For example, the information from the R-401 School Item Analysis report can also be found in the Profiles area. Here's how to get to it:

• From Profiles, choose 'Organization Type > Public School' and then the desired city or town and click 'Search.'


• Click on the name of the desired school from the list on the bottom of the page that appears.


• Click the 'Assessment' tab.


• Click 'Item by Item Results' in the left hand column and then choose the desired grade/subject combination.

The previously published Data Warehouse Report Summary contains additional information which correlates data from Profiles with various Data Warehouse reports. Since no login is required for Profiles, links can be easily shared with staff who may not have Data Warehouse access. No report running required!

Data-Related Updates from ESE

MCAS Release Schedule Update:
The MCAS and AYP Data Review and Release schedule has recently changed, with public release of data (in the School and District Profiles area on the ESE Web site) scheduled for next Tuesday, September 14. Updated reports in the Data Warehouse are scheduled to be available on September 16. The statewide MCAS summary report (overview) for 2010 is now available online.

New Growth Model Tutorial:
As you know, this year's MCAS parent reports will now include growth and performance information for students, schools, and districts. Since the growth model is a new concept, the state has provided a tutorial specifically geared towards parents. Additional resources to help learn more about the growth model are available on the Growth page on the ESE Web site.

2010 MCAS and AYP Data Review/Release Schedule

A detailed review/release schedule of 2010 MCAS and AYP data is now available from the ESE. For additional information, please see the recent press release from Commissioner Chester.