Note

Explanation

1

K-2 Feeder Schools. The annual performance goals for each school are based on student pre-test scores and post-test scores for reading and mathematics (grades 3-8), and writing (grades 4 and 7 only). Since schools that serve only students in kindergarten, first grade, or second grade do not have student scores on which to base their performance, K-2 school performance is based on the performance of receiving schools with a third grade to which the K-2 school sends its students. For a K-2 school to be eligible for incentive awards, more than half of the students in the school must feed into a single school that receives an incentive award. The K-2 schools meet expected growth or exemplary growth if their receiving school meets expected or exemplary growth; otherwise, they are assigned Adequate Performance status. K-2 schools cannot be in the Top 25/10, Schools of Excellence, or Schools of Distinction in 1997-98. These K-2 schools are denoted with a (1).

Junior High, Union Schools, and other schools. These schools have grades in both the K-8 and 9-12 grade ranges. For the 1997-98 year only, they could choose to be evaluated by either of the two models described below.

2

Comprehensive Model: These schools chose to have K-8 grades combined with high school grades for a comprehensive evaluation. These schools appear in Part I and Part II of the report, and are denoted by a (2).

3

Separate Model: These schools chose to have K-8 grades evaluated separately from high school grades. For these schools, the results of the K-8 evaluation appear in Part I; and the results of the high school evaluation appear in Part II of the report. Such schools are denoted by a (3).

4

Alternative/Special Schools. Alternative and special schools participate in the ABCs of Public Education like all other schools if they have sufficient data. Alternative and special schools, however, serve a wide variety of student populations and the duration of services may range from a few days to several years. An alternative or special school may not have sufficient data for participation in the ABCs of Public Education because a) there are too few students to provide reliable results (i.e., less than 15 students in the K-8 growth composite, or less than 30 students in any end-of-course test); or b) students are in membership less than the required 106 of 180 days for the K-8 model. In these cases, performance of alternative and special schools with insufficient data is based on the performance of the schools served by that school. Testing requirements, such as the 98% (K-8) or 95% (High Schools) rule and Excessive Exemption rules do not apply to alternative schools for this accountability year only, irrespective of data. Alternative schools cannot be in the Top 25/10, Schools of Excellence, or Schools of Distinction in 1997-98.

Alternative and special schools without sufficient data receive the higher status (expected or exemplary) attained by any of the schools they serve. Incentive awards for such schools are computed as a percentage of the schools they serve. If none of the schools served by the alternative/special school receives an incentive award, the alternative/special school’s status is Adequate Performance and it receives no incentive award. For 1997-98, the State Board of Education requires that no alternative/special school be identified as low-performing. Alternative/special schools with insufficient data are denoted with a (4) and appear in Appendix C.

5

Confidence Band. A confidence band was applied to the performance composite for schools that do not meet expected growth/gain and have a performance composite less than 50%. In 1996-97 such schools were designated Low-Performing. In 1997-98, such schools are low-performing only if the performance composite is significantly less than 50%. When the performance composite is not significantly less than 50% the performance composite is reported as 50 and the school is given the status Adequate Performance. These schools are identified with a (5) in the report.

Senior High Schools. Senior high schools are high schools with only grades 10-12. They have the following two options for participation in the ABCs of Public Education.

6

Grades 10-12 Model: These senior high schools chose to be evaluated using only the data from students in grades 10-12. Under this option, a) English I and Economic, Legal, and Political Systems (ELPS) are not included unless more than 10% of students in the tenth grade take English I or ELPS respectively; and b) Algebra I scores of tenth graders who took the course while in grades 7, 8, or 9 are included when computing the performance composite. These schools are denoted with a (6).

7

Grades 9-12 Model: These senior high schools chose to be evaluated by combining their data with data from the ninth grades of their feeder junior high schools. Under this option, a) all courses and components are part of the model; b) Algebra I scores of ninth graders who took the course while in grades 7 or 8 are included when computing the performance composite; and c) incentive awards (if any) are prorated at the junior highs or senior highs to reflect the special arrangement of combining the ninth grade with grades 10-12. In the report these schools are denoted with a (7).

8

High Schools In Their Second Year of Operation. The high school model for the ABCs of Public Education requires three years of data—two years to determine the baseline plus the current year’s data. High schools that have only been operating for two years participate in the ABCs of Public Education with only one year of baseline data. These schools are denoted with an (8).

9

High Schools Where a Mandated End-of-Course Test Has Been Moved to a Different Grade Level. High schools were given the opportunity to request an adjustment to the high school accountability model if a mandated end-of-course test was moved from one grade level to another in the past two years. This adjustment was made available because the EOC gain composite requires two years of data for the baseline plus the current year’s data. If moving the end-of-course test to a different grade level created non-comparable groups, then this end-of-course test was not included in the gain composite or in the performance composite. These schools in the report are denoted with a (9).

10

High Schools with Insufficient Data. A high school with less than 30 students tested in an end-of-course subject in any of the three years required for the high school accountability model has insufficient data for that subject. High schools (not alternative schools) with insufficient data will receive expected or exemplary status and incentive awards if merited on the basis of the data they do have, but they will not receive any recognition status (i.e., School of Excellence, School of Distinction, Top 10). If a school has insufficient data for an end-of-course subject and has not received an incentive award under the above provision, then the subject is not included in the calculation of the gain composite or performance composite, and ABCs status is based on the subjects for which there are sufficient data. Schools for which a subject was not included in the gain composite or performance composite calculation because of insufficient data are denoted in the report with a (10). High schools that have insufficient data for all six end-of-course subjects (and did not attain "Expected" or "Exemplary" on the basis of the data they have) will not be included in the ABCs, but will appear in Appendix C.