In May 2012, New York State’s NCLB ESEA
Waiver was approved. Although implied by
the word “waiver,” the terms are by no means a free pass on meeting NCLB
Accountability targets. High schools may
have a more difficult time in meeting the new NCLB targets as college readiness
has been introduced as a requirement.
Schools who do not meet NCLB targets for multiple years will still be
subject to consequences. The information
below explains a few of the rules included in the ESEA waiver and the
implications for schools meeting their accountability targets.
Calculating a Subgroup’s Performance Index Under the Waiver
Pre-waiver, schools earned partial credit
when students earned scores of 55 – 64 on the English and Math Regents or
passed an RCT. Schools earned full
credit when students passed the Regents with a score of 65 or higher. The bar has been raised under the ESEA waiver. Under the waiver, schools no longer earn the
credit for scores of 55-64 or RCT’s.
Schools will only earn partial credit for passing Regents with scores
between 65 and the college ready score (75 for English and 80 for Math). Full credit will only be granted for Regents
scores above the college readiness score.
The table below provides a summary of these new rules:
Level
|
Old Rules
|
New Rules
|
Level 4 (Full
credit towards NCLB)
|
Highest Regents
score between 85-100
|
Highest Regents
score between 90-100
|
Level 3 (Full
credit towards NCLB)
|
Highest Regents
score between 65 - 84
|
English - Highest Regents Score
between 75-89
Math – Highest Regents Score
between 80-89
|
Level 2 (Partial
credit towards NCLB)
|
Highest Regents
score between 55-64 or RCT Pass for IEP students
|
English - Highest Regents Score
between 65-74
Math – Highest Regents Score
between 65-79
|
Level 1 (No credit
towards NCLB)
|
Highest Regents
score between 0-54 or RCT Fail
|
Highest Regents score 0-64, RCT
Pass or Fail
|
The implication for schools based on
these new definitions is that the Performance Index, used to determine if the
subgroup has met NCLB targets, will be much lower for most schools. Students With Disabilities who meet the safety
net scores on exams will no longer contribute to the school’s performance index
to meet NCLB targets. Similarly,
students who pass the Regents for graduation purposes, but do not meet college
readiness, will now only minimally contribute to the school's NCLB score. Although promoting college readiness is valuable
and important, the impact on schools may be severe. The ability to track
NCLB targets will provide schools the information needed to promote college
readiness as well as track their own progress towards the NYS targets.
AYP Targets Under the ESEA Waiver
The waiver does provide relief from the
2014 deadline of perfect exam scores for all students to meet the AMO target
for AYP. Schools now have 6 years to
close half the gap between a perfect score and their 2010-2011 Performance
Index. This will lower the AMO target
for many subgroups from the target before the waiver, however the 2010-2011
Performance Index was based on the higher point values awarded to schools for
the lower test scores, so the targets will remain hard to meet with the new definitions
of levels 1, 2, 3 and 4. Effective AMO
and Safe Harbor rules remain as additional targets that can be met.
The combination of these new rules may
result in more difficulties for a subgroup to meet its NCLB targets. Following is a slide of a NYC high school pre
and post waiver. This subgroup easily
made AYP before the waiver but will struggle to meet its targets for this 2013 subgroup
under the waiver.
Consequences of the Failure to Meet AYP
The waiver
has removed the designation of SINI and Reconstruction schools. Priority and Focus schools have already been
named for this waiver. The waiver has
created a new category for schools who fail to meet AYP targets over time – the
Local Assistance Plan School. Following
is the definition of a Local Assistance School:
“Local
Assistance Plan Schools: School that is not a Priority of Focus School that: a)
Has large gaps in student achievement among subgroups of students or b) Has
failed to make AYP for three consecutive years with same subgroup on same
measure or c) Is located in a non-Focus district but is among the lowest in the
state for the performance of one or more subgroups and for which the school is
not showing progress.” (NYS Field Memo,
May 2012)
The three
year look back is a break under the waiver.
For the pre-waiver SINI definition, the look back was only two
years. However, schools will need to track
their NCLB status in each subgroup to ensure that they do not fail to meet
these targets for three consecutive years.
New York State has not yet announced the consequences of a school
becoming a Local Assistance Plan, but tracking your NCLB status will provide
you with the information needed to remain off of this New York State list and
facing the consequences once determined.
Clearly, New York State did not remove
the NCLB rules under the ESEA waiver. We
continue to firmly believe that schools must track their progress under
NCLB. This tracking allows schools to be
proactive for their students' as well as their own benefit. Complete data on NCLB status will allow
schools to make data informed decisions for their students. Please click here (ESEA Waiver) for a power point about
the new NCLB rules.