Using NCLB as an Organizing Tool for Educational Excellence Prepared by The Education Trust August 2

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Using NCLB as an Organizing Tool for Educational
ExcellencePrepared by The Education
TrustAugust 2005
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Under NCLB, parents and communities are entitled
to unprecedented amounts of information about the
performance of their schools and students.
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Some states and districts report this information
in a clear, comprehensible way.
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Online report card for BaltimoreAchievement by
race/ethnicity
Source Maryland Online Report Card,
http//www.mdreportcard.org
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Online report card for BaltimoreTrends over time
by race/ethnicity
Source Maryland Online Report Card,
http//www.mdreportcard.org
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Others make this information difficult to
understand.
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Online district report card for East Baton Rouge
Source Louisiana Department of Education,
http//www.doe.state.la.us
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Online school report card for East Baton Rouge
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Public Reporting

• States and districts must issue state, district
  and school level annual report cards to the
  public.
• NCLB does not require new report cards PROVIDED
  existing reports are modified as necessary to
  include required information.

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Student Achievement

• The following information must be reported by
  race/ethnicity, disability status, LEP, low
  income and gender and migrant status
• Student achievement at each proficiency level
• Graduation rates (and additional, state-selected
  indicator for non-high schools)
• How students performed on AYP indicators compared
  with students in the district and the state as a
  whole

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Qualified Teacher Information

• The percentage of
• teachers with emergency or provisional
  credentials,
• of classes taught by teachers teaching out of
  field
• Comparison of classes taught by HQT in
  high-poverty vs. low-poverty schools.

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Teacher Distribution

• Every state must measure and report on whether
  low-income and minority students are
  disproportionately taught by inexperienced,
  unqualified, out-of-field teachers.
• Each state and local district must develop an
  action plan to address disproportionate teacher
  assignments.
• Section 1111(b)(8)(C) of NCLB.

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Students Who Start 3rd Grade at About the Same
Level of Math Achievement
Source Heather Jordan, Robert Mendro, and Dash
Weerasinghe, The Effects of Teachers on
Longitudinal Student Achievement, 1997.
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Finish 5th Grade at Dramatically Different
Levels Depending on the Quality of Their Teachers
Source Heather Jordan, Robert Mendro, and Dash
Weerasinghe, The Effects of Teachers on
Longitudinal Student Achievement, 1997.
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Parent Right-To-Know Provision

• Title I schools must
• - notify in writing the parents of any students
  not being taught by highly qualified teacher
• inform all parents they have the right to request
  information about qualifications of their
  childrens teachers
• Section 1111(h)(6) of NCLB. Additional parent
  involvement policies in Section 1118.

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Percentage of Illinois Classes Taught by
Highly-Qualified Teachers
Source Illinois Department of Education
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Source Education Watch Online,
http//www.edtrust.org
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Percentage of Chicago-Area Classes Taught by
Highly-Qualified Teachers
Source Illinois Department of Education
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Distribution of School TQI by Region

• CPS schools mostly consist of lowest-quartile TQI
  schools, and half are lowest 10.
• The Southwest has the second highest proportion
  of lowest-quartile TQI schools about one
  quarter.

Source Illinois Education Research Council,
http//ierc.siue.edu/documents/NASH_Ed_Trust_July_
26_2005_final2.pdf
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Distribution of School TQI by School Percent
Free or Reduced Lunch

• TQI distribution is strongly related to school
  poverty levels.
• The differences continue across all four poverty
  quartiles.

Source Illinois Education Research Council,
http//ierc.siue.edu/documents/NASH_Ed_Trust_July_
26_2005_final2.pdf.
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Distribution of School TQI by School Achievement
High School
Elementary/Middle School

• TQI is strongly related to school performance

Source Illinois Education Research Council,
http//ierc.siue.edu/documents/NASH_Ed_Trust_July_
26_2005_final2.pdf
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State decisions about how to structure
accountability systems have a big impact on
schools and students.
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States can decide how many students must be in a
group in order for that group to count for AYP
purposes.
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Florida n size

• In 2004,schools were accountable for every group
  that had at least 30 students.
• In 2005, that changed. Schools are now
  accountable only for groups that make up at least
  15 of all students, or have at least 100 members.

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Gulfview Middle SchoolNaples, Florida

• 72 White (504 tested students)
• 15 Latino (104 tested students)
• 11 African American (81 tested students)
• An A school under the Florida accountability
  system
• Did not make AYP for 2003-04

Source Florida Department of Education,
http//www.fldoe.org
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Achievement Gaps at Gulfview2004 Reading
Composite
2004 AYP Target31
Source Florida Department of Education,
http//www.fldoe.org
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Achievement Gaps at Gulfview2004 Math Composite
2004 AYP Target38
Source Florida Department of Education,
http//www.fldoe.org
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States can decide to add a confidence interval
around their achievement scores.
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Source Maryland Department of Education,
http//www.mdreportcard.org
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Illinois Confidence Interval

• From 3 margin of error to
• 95 confidence interval
• IMPACT?
• If you have 75 students in a group, 38
  proficient is now counted as 47.5
• Even with 500 students, confidence interval is 5
• http//www.isbe.state.il.us/pdf/2005_ayp_95_CI.pdf
  

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States can also decide on how to calculate high
school graduation rates, and what graduation-rate
goals to set.
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SCHOOLIMPROVEMENTPROCESS

• Cant be seen as punishing schools
• For this process to work right, states and
  districts have to do more to help struggling
  schools.

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There are dramatic differences in achievement
between the nations urban districts, even for
the same groups of students.
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There is an 18 point gap between Latino 4th
graders in the District of Columbia and New York
(roughly equivalent to almost 2 years worth of
learning)
Significantly lower than the nation
Significantly higher than
the nation
SOURCE U.S. Department of Education, Institute
of Education Sciences, National Center for
Education Statistics, National Assessment of
Educational Progress (NAEP), 2003 Trial Urban
District Reading Assessment.
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There is a 14 point gap between African
American 8th graders in Charlotte and Los Angeles
(roughly equivalent to 1 1/2 years worth of
learning)
Significantly lower than the nation
Significantly higher than the
nation
SOURCE U.S. Department of Education, Institute
of Education Sciences, National Center for
Education Statistics, National Assessment of
Educational Progress (NAEP), 2003 Trial Urban
District Reading Assessment.
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After 2 Years of Not Making AYP Needs
Improvement.

• School must inform parents and explain reasons
  for schools identification before the beginning
  of the next school year
• Develop improvement plan, including parents in
  the planning process
• Students can transfer to higher performing public
  schools in district. (Title I funds pay for
  transfers.)

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School Improvement Plan

• The plan must
• Strengthen curriculum in specific subjects and
  areas that caused school not to make AYP
• Use at least 10 of Title 1 on teacher training,
  including teacher mentoring
• Specify how parents will be provided with written
  notice of plan and progress
• include strategies to promote parent
  involvement.
• Section 1116(b)(3) of NCLB

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Either District or State MUST

• Analyze test data to identify problems in
  instruction
• Examine parent involvement policy and make sure
  it is being implemented
• Help identify effective curriculum and teacher
  training strategies that have worked in similar
  circumstances
• Analyzing school budget to make sure school is
  using money effectively.
• Section 1116(b)(4) of NCLB

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School districts have a specific legal
responsibility to

• Inform parents about what the school is doing to
  improve
• Inform parents WHAT THE STATE AND/OR DISTRICT is
  doing to help the school improve
• Whats parents can do to help the school improve.
• Section 1116(b)(6) of NCLB

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After 3 Years of Not Making AYP

• District must provide supplemental services to
  low income students. (Title I funds pay for
  supplemental services.)
• State must license and evaluate providers of
  supplemental services.

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After 4 Years (In Year Five) Corrective Action

• Continue with choice and suppl services
  continues.
• District and school must implement at least one,
  but not all of the following
• Institute a new curriculum, including appropriate
  professional development
• Appoint an outside expert to advise the school
• Extend the school year or the school day for the
  school
• Restructure the schools internal organizational
  structure
• Significantly decrease management authority at
  the school level OR
• Replace the school staff who are relevant to the
  failure to make AYP.
• Section 1116(b)(7)(C) of NCLB

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After 5 Years (In Year 6)Plan for Restructuring

• Develop an alternate governance plan, in case you
  dont make AYP again during Year 6.
• The alternate governance plan must include one
  of the following, CONSISTENT WITH STATE LAW
• Reopen the school as a public charter school.
• Replace all or most of the staff responsible for
  the lack of progress.
• Enter into a contract with a private company to
  operate the school.
• Turn over operation and management of the school
  to the state.
• Other fundamental reforms approved by the state.

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In Year Seven Restructuring

• Implement alternate governance plan if you didnt
  make AYP the previous year.
• Teachers and parents must be asked to comment on
  this plan and must be allowed to participate in
  developing this plan.
• Section 1116(b)(8)(C) of NCLB

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The only non-negotiables for schools in need of
improvement are choice and supplemental services
for low-income students.

• Local officials retain tremendous discretion to
  implement aggressive or mild interventions,
  depending on facts and professional judgment.

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• The Education Trust
• www.edtrust.org
• 202-293-1217