Wyoming Alternative School Accountability System Chris Domaleski Center for Assessment Presentation to the Select Committee on Statewide Education Accountability May 9-10, 2016
Legislative Charge (1) The department of education shall commence development of an alternative school level accountability model to be piloted in school year 2016-2017. The model shall adhere, as closely as possible, to the recommendations contained in the "Wyoming Alternative School Accountability Framework: Recommendations from the Alternative Accountability Advisory Committee" report dated October 15, 2015, submitted by the technical advisory group 2
Legislative Charge (2) Not later than July 1, 2016, the department of education shall submit a report to the technical advisory group, the select committee on statewide education accountability and the joint education interim committee containing proposed business rules, data collection requirements and a proposal for the student success plan required under paragraph (b)(iii) of this section. 3
Timeline Task Date Technical advisory group meetings April 7, 2016 May 2-3, 2016 June 16-17, 2016 Recommendations for business rules, student success plan, data collection, and other modifications Pilot selected components of model; Information only reporting (i.e. hold harmless ) July 1, 2016 2016-2017 Evaluate and refine Spring/ Summer 2017 Full pilot of model; information only reporting 2017-2018 Evaluate and refine Spring/ Summer 2018 Establish performance expectations (PJP), Determine support system October 15, 2018 4
System Overview 5
Goals Goals of the Accountability System Incentivize and support attainment of broad skills and appropriate credentials to promote success in a variety of post-secondary pursuits such as college and careers. Establish a valid measure of school performance that accounts for contextual factors unique to alternative schools. Mechanism by which Goals will be Attained Encourage the development and provision of a school climate characterized by flexibility, an engaged community and personalized support Establish a set of indicators that help schools evaluate and improve the effectiveness of their programs. Encourage the development of programs, initiatives, and collaborations that serve to increase student opportunities for success. Provide for a reasonable degree of flexibility with respect to the manner in which indicators are selected, operationalized and calculated for a given alternative school (i.e., enough to allow for valid inferences, but not too much to restrict the ability to make any comparisons among alternative schools). Increase credibility and support for WY s alternative schools Transparency around the procedures used to evaluate student and school performance for purposes of accountability and their rationale. 6
Intended Uses Inform local decisions related to the quality of new programs or initiatives Allow for comparisons between and among alternative schools within and across years (with respect to some indicators of school performance) with the goal of identifying areas of weakness or variability. Report changes/improvements in alternative school performance over years. 7
System Components Academic Performance: the extent to which students meet identified performance standards and demonstrate appropriate annual academic growth Readiness: the extent to which students earn course credit and attain outcomes that position the student for success in college or career Engagement: the extent to which students attend school regularly and participate in a range of activities that promote holistic development of life skills associated with post-secondary success School Climate: the extent to which parents, teachers, and students report that the school achieves and improves with respect to creating a safe, positive environment that promotes collaboration and is conducive to learning and growth 8
System Overview Overall Performance Academic Performance Readiness Climate Engagement Student Achievement Growth Credit Earning Attainment Climate Survey Student Success Plan (includes attendance) Hathaway Graduation Other Indicators 9
Technical Advisory Group 10
The Technical Advisory Group Name Organization Michael Maloney Sweetwater #1 Shawna Trujillo Natrona #1 Darlene Hartman-Hallam Crook #1 Beth Auge Teton #1 Teresa Chaulk Lincoln #1 Mike Helenbolt Laramie #1 Kathleen Milligan-Hitt Fremont #1 Kathy Scheurman WEA Deb Lindsey WDE Mike Flicek Contractor - WDE Dianne Frazer WDE Chris Domaleski Center for Assessment Erika Hall Center for Assessment Julie Magee WDE The committee includes: - School principals - District superintendents - WDE leadership - Technical consultants 11
Technical Advisory Group Meetings Two meetings to date April 7, 2016 May 2-3, 2016 One additional meeting planned this spring: June 16-17, 2016 Focal areas: Development of school climate measure and administration guidance Development of student success plan template and guidance Development of recommendation to incorporate attendance Identification of approach and data elements for credit earning and attainment index Review/ refine plans for achievement and growth 12
Progress To Date 13
School Climate Decided to include only student climate measure in the model Developing custom survey to be piloted in fall 2016. The survey includes 20 items that address the following dimensions: Support/ Trust High Expectations Respect Developing administration guidance and procedures for standardized fall administration of survey Will review results after pilot year to inform participation and performance targets 14
Engagement This category represents an attempt to gather evidence to support the claim that students are fully participating in experiences that support the acquisition of skills that positively influence holistic development and success. The TAG acknowledged that it takes more than just academic skills to help students succeed and that one on one mentoring and planning is critical to help students in alternative schools achieve their goals. 15
Student Success Plan TAG recommends engagement be addressed by the student success plan (SSP) Volunteer pilot of SSP in 2016-17 Schools will be responsible for meeting with the student regularly (no less than twice per year) to maintain the SSP and associated evidence. Schools should be provided flexibility to develop their own plan that adheres to guidance. However a model template is provided. 16
Student Success Plan Areas addressed in the SSP Educational history and accomplishments Attendance* Learning styles Goals and interests Schools and community activities Work/ volunteer experience Post secondary preparation and artifacts (e.g. developed a resume, applied to a college, obtained letters of reference). * Previously attendance was a separate component in the framework, but TAG recommends including it in the SSP 17
Student Success Plan The overall purpose and use is to encourage appropriate practice and provide relevant, actionable feedback to educators to promote effective mentoring and guidance. For this reason, the TAG recommends an approach that permits flexibility and has a relatively modest connection to accountability determinations Schools should be able to innovate with regards to the template and procedures as long as the requirements are met The model will reward certification that SSP requirements were met 18
School Success Plan One question the TAG raised pertains to language in the statute regarding the school or student success plan. Student engagement shall be measured by attendance and a school or a student success plan, consisting of a school or a student specific plan or set of objectives to accumulate evidence of positive engagement within and across school years Are the TAG s recommendations, which require individual student plans, consistent with this language? 19
Credit Earning TAG recommendations: Produce for grades 9, 10, and 11 Operationalize as the proportion of total credits required for graduation earned by a student in each year. Will be evaluated following pilot to inform performance expectations 20
Attainment The alternative school accountability framework calls for an attainment index to measure the extent to which students earn valued outcomes when they exit the school. TAG recommends the following outcomes be included: Graduation (includes extended time graduation) Hathaway scholarship eligibility High School Equivalency Certification (HSEC) Post-secondary credit while in high-school (e.g. dual enrollment, AP/IB) Career industry certification Will evaluate following pilot to determine proposal for aggregation and performance 21
Student Achievement and Growth It is expected that the same measures used in the general model will apply to the alternative model The alternative model also incorporates the Student Growth Percentile (SGP) as used in the general model The main decision point is the performance expectation for student achievement. This should be evaluated following the pilot to determine appropriate expectations for alternative schools. 22
Next Steps Complete work on student climate survey and SSP Determine volunteer pilot schools for SSP Finalize data collection requirements Finalize business rules, implementation guidance for 2016-2017 pilot Report provided to select committee no later than July 1, 2016 23