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Requirements for Focus Schools

Focus Schools ConferencePresenter: Yvonne A. Holloman, Ph.D.

September 17-18, 2012

Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965

(ESEA) Flexibility Waiver

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Purpose of ESEA FlexibilityESEA

scheduled for reauthorization

in 2007

Congress failed to

reauthorize

Disproportionate percentage of

schools misidentified as underperforming

Flexibility offered to promote reform

and respond to state concerns

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Flexibility Principles

College- and career-ready standards and assessments

Differentiated supports and interventions for underperforming schools

Teacher and principal evaluation systems

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Under the provisions of the two-year flexibility waiver granted by USED on June 29, ambitious but achievable annual measurable objectives (AMOs) have been set for student subgroups, including new “proficiency gap groups” comprising students who historically have had difficulty meeting the commonwealth’s achievement standards.

Hispanic students, of one or more races*

Black students, not of Hispanic origin*

System of Differentiated Recognition, Accountability,

and Support

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Students with DisabilitiesEnglish Language Learners

Economically Disadvantaged

Gap Group 1(unduplicated)

Gap Group 2

Gap Group 3

*to include students with disabilities, English language learners, and economically disadvantaged students

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Reading benchmarks will be reset based on the performance of students during 2012-2013 on new reading SOL tests reflecting the increased rigor of the 2010 English standards.

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Mathematics benchmarks are based on student achievement on the rigorous new Standards of Learning (SOL) tests introduced last year and are designed for the specific purpose of cutting in half the gap between Virginia’s lowest- and highest-performing schools. These new annual objectives should not be compared with last year’s AYP benchmarks.

The mathematics AMOs will be revised and

recommended for approval by the Board of Education

on October 25, 2012

What other individual subgroups must meet AMOs?

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Gap Group 1Students with Disabilities

English Language LearnersEconomically Disadvantaged

Gap Group 2Black Students

Gap Group 3Hispanic Students

All Students

Other Subgroups under Safeguard

Students with Disabilities

English Language Learners

White

Economically Disadvantaged

Asian

Focus Schools

Focus Schools

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Focus Schools

States must identify ten percent of the state’s Title I schools as focus schools based on:

• Low performance in one or more proficiency gap groups

• Total: 72 schools

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Methodology for ProficiencyGap Group Calculation

Virginia will rank order schools by proficiency gap points:• Calculate difference between the AMO target and

each gap group’s performance in reading and mathematics to determine proficiency gap points

• Sum the proficiency gap points in reading and mathematics (exclude any group that exceed or meet target)

• Rank schools in order of the total number of average proficiency gap point

• Identify 10 percent of Title I schools with the most gap points

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Establishing Proficiency Gap Group Points

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Gap Group ReadingTarget

ReadingPerformance

Reading Performance Gap Points

Gap Group 173 74 NI*

Gap Group 2 76 66 10Gap Group 3 75 64 11

*NI – Not Included because the gap group met or exceeded the subject area target

Establishing Proficiency Gap Group Points

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Gap Group 1: NIGap Group 2: 10Gap Group 3: 11

Sum Groups: 21Divide by number of gaps: 21 / 2 Gap Points for Reading: 10.5

Schools with Highest Proficiency Gap Group Points

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21GP

22GP

23GP

34GP

35GP

35GP

35GP

35GP

35GP

35GP

35GP

35GP

35GP

35GP

35GP

Identify from the list of schools ranked by proficiency gap points a number equal to 10 percent of the state’s total Title I schools = 72 Schools

Division Requirements• Collaborate with an external VDOE

contractor and participate in a needs sensing interview

• Convene a division leadership team including representatives of: Title I Instruction Special education English language learners Principals of each focus school

• Meet as a division leadership team on a monthly basis

• Develop, implement, and monitor a division improvement plan that is aligned with the needs of each focus school

• Participate in quarterly meetings with focus schools to review data and make decisions about needed technical assistance

• Modify division improvement plan on a quarterly basis based on data analysis

School Requirements• Convene a school leadership team

including a member of the division leadership team

• Utilize a VDOE-approved adaptive reading assessment program to determine student growth at least quarterly

• Utilize the Algebra Readiness Diagnostic Test (ARDT) provided by the VDOE (required only for focus schools with grade 5 or higher)

• Develop, implement, and monitor a school improvement plan

• Develop an intervention strategy for all students who have failed an SOL assessment or failed to meet the fall PALS benchmark

• Regularly analyze a variety of data points to make strategic, data-driven decisions, and implement the needed interventions for identified students

• Modify school improvement plan on a quarterly basis based on data analysis

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Focus SchoolsGuide

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Focus Schools Guide

Section Topic1 ESEA Flexibility Waiver Information

2 School- and Division-level Teams

3 Indistar® Web-based Planning Tool

4 Improvement Planning and Quarterly Data

5 Differentiated Technical Assistance

6 Miscellaneous Resources

Each focus school principal and the division contact person will receive a focus schools guide outlining the ESEA flexibility waiver requirements for the school and the local educational agency.

The guide is divided into the following sections:

19http://www.doe.virginia.gov/instruction/english/elementary/index.shtml

VDOE English and Reading Instructional Resources

http://www.doe.virginia.gov/instruction/english/elementary/index.shtml

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VDOE Mathematics Instructional Resources

http://www.doe.virginia.gov/instruction/mathematics/index.shtml

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VDOE Science Instructional Resources

http://www.doe.virginia.gov/instruction/science/index.shtml