499 Schools And 35 Districts Statewide Identified For Improvement;

A total of 499 elementary, middle and high schools and 35 districts statewide have been identified for improvement under the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act. Of these, 49 schools and three districts were newly identified this year.  Of the identified schools, 430 will receive Title I funds in 2009-10 and are required to offer extra help to eligible students; 339 of these Title I schools must also offer public school choice (as appropriate) to all enrolled students.

In addition, 197 schools and 26 districts have been removed from the improvement list because they made Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) for two consecutive years in all areas for which they were identified.  AYP is the minimum level of performance schools and districts must achieve each year and is based on student participation and performance on state assessments.

Last year 665 schools and 61 districts were identified. The decline in identified schools and districts follows gains made in student performance on the grade 3-8 English Language Arts (ELA) and math examinations.

"These school and district results are consistent with recent student performance on the state assessments.  The Regents are committed to raising the bar for student achievement through higher standards and increased rigor in the assessments," said Chancellor Merryl Tisch.

DIFFERENTIATED ACCOUNTABILITY

This is the first year that New York State is using a federally approved Differentiated Accountability (DA) program to make NCLB required determinations. DA uses the same criteria for making accountability determinations as in prior years but offers flexibility in improvement strategies for schools and districts. The DA determinations this year for schools and districts are consistent with and readily comparable to those made in prior years.  DA will allow schools to focus specifically on designated areas to accelerate improvements necessary to enable schools to make AYP.

Under the Differentiated Accountability system, schools and districts remain responsible for the performance of every accountability group in which at least 30 students participate in the elementary/middle-level math, English Language Arts, and science tests and, at the high school level, the Regents English and math examinations as well as graduation rates. Disaggregated groups include low-income students, students with disabilities, limited English proficient students, and racial/ethnic groups. 

Differentiated Accountability streamlines 19 accountability designations in the prior federal and state accountability systems to three phases and three categories of identification.  Under DA, each New York State public and charter school that is not in Good Standing in 2009-10 has been designated to an accountability phase – Improvement, Corrective Action, or Restructuring – based on its history of making AYP and its 2008–09 AYP status for each accountability measure. These schools have also been assigned an accountability "category" – Basic, Focused, or Comprehensive – based on the student accountability group(s) whose failure to make AYP caused the school to be identified.

Schools in the Comprehensive category are generally demonstrating a systemic inability to make Adequate Yearly Progress.  Schools in the Basic and Focused categories generally need to make progress with specific subgroups of students, such as students with disabilities or limited English proficient students.

DA merges Title I and non-Title I improvement categories. In previous years discrete counts of Title I Schools In Need of Improvement (SINI) and Non-Title I Schools Requiring Academic Progress (SRAP) were reported. Title I schools receive federal funds targeted toward children living in poverty.  Under DA, both Title I and non-Title I schools are generally required to undertake the same improvement efforts.  However, only Title I schools must offer Supplemental Educational Services (SES) and may also be required to offer public school choice. Beginning in 2009-10, eligible students in Title I schools must receive SES in the first year of designation rather than in the second.  School choice must be offered in the second year rather than in the first year of designation.

DA also provides districts and schools with greater flexibility to develop and implement school improvement plans. Improvement plans must be based on a School Quality Review report; corrective action plans must be based on a curriculum audit; and the restructuring plans must incorporate an educational assessment made by a Joint Intervention Team.

More information on New York’s Differentiated Accountability system can be found at http://www.p12.nysed.gov/nyc/APA/Differentiated_Accountability/DA_home.html.

ANALYSIS OF SCHOOL DATA

Despite the fact that schools and districts were required to show increased levels of student performance in order to make AYP, the number of schools and districts identified for accountability status declined this year compared to 2008–09.  This year 49 schools and 3 districts were newly identified compared to 78 schools and 5 districts for 2008-09. Twenty-six of the newly identified schools and 128 of the newly removed schools were in New York City.   Two of the newly identified districts were in New York City, while 12 New York City districts were removed from improvement status (Note: for accountability purposes New York City consists of 32 community school districts).

ANALYSIS OF DISTRICT DATA

Of the 35 districts identified, 12 are in New York City and 23 are in the rest of the state. Districts in Need of Improvement (DINI) must develop a Local Educational Agency (LEA) Plan within three months of being identified.  The LEA plans must be submitted to the SED for approval.

DATA COLLECTION/SOURCES

Accountability determinations were made using data submitted by the schools in the Student Information Repository System as of the reporting deadline: July 31, 2009. Superintendents and charter school principals could review their data prior to this deadline, beginning June 1. For 123 schools with small student bodies or grade configurations outside of the state testing system (e.g., K-2 schools) that participate in the self-assessment process, final AYP decisions will be made in November following submission of additional data to SED.

Complete lists of schools and districts with their accountability status are available by clicking on http://www.p12.nysed.gov/irs/pressRelease/20090827/. The lists are grouped by district. Lists also show newly identified schools, schools removed from School in Need of Improvement and School Requiring Academic Progress status, and schools in Good Standing.