Interpreting School Improvement Reports

By Sue Givens, Superintendent of Schools
    Recently, the State Department of Education released results of last year’s spring testing with two headlines: “More Kansas Schools Meet AYP Than in Previous Year” and “Number of Kansas Schools and Districts on Improvement Increases.” We have heard much confusion among our patrons regarding these headlines, which seem to contradict one another. The following information regarding AYP and “On Improvement” will help provide clarity.

•  AYP is Adequate Yearly Progress, the federal requirement that schools meet a set target in both math and reading that raises incrementally until the year 2014, when every district and school is expected to be at 100% proficiency.

•  USD 490 met the AYP target for reading for all students, with 9 out of 10 scoring at or above standards.

•  USD 490 did not meet AYP in reading for the special education subgroup, even though 3 out of 4 special education students met or exceeded the standards and these scores have increased by almost 30% since 2004.  

•  USD 490 met the AYP target for math for all students, with 8 out of 10 meeting or exceeding the targets.

•  USD 490 did not meet the AYP target for math for low-income and special education students, even though those meeting and exceeding standards were at 75.8% and 63%, respectively. These subgroups also had nearly a 30% gain since 2004.

•  Districts and schools that receive Title I funds (federal assistance to serve high poverty schools, received by every district in Butler County) are placed “On Improvement” after failing to meet AYP targets for two or more years.

•  USD 490 district and buildings are not on the Title I “On Improvement” list.   

•  Districts and schools must also meet Quality Performance Accreditation (QPA) regulations. These are state requirements in addition to federal AYP mandates. This determines their state accreditation status.

•  There are four levels of state accreditation: Accredited; Accredited on Improvement; Conditionally Accredited, and; Not Accredited. The district holds Accredited status, the highest level of accreditation.

•  Only one district building, El Dorado Middle School, is designated as Accredited On Improvement, the second level of accreditation, for not meeting math targets this year and last. This requires them to have an active school improvement plan on file – they do.  All other buildings hold the highest level of state accreditation.

•  Two other criteria, often overlooked in the accreditation picture, are attendance and graduation rates. They also must show adequate gains or minimal levels. USD 490 met these quality criteria with a 95% attendance rate and 83% four-year graduation rate (that will be equated to new five-year rates of 79%).

    Within the next few weeks, the State Department of Education will release Kansas School Building Report Cards. These will be available on their website (www.ksde.org) and allow patrons to see historical progress as well as compare school performance of schools that have similar demographics. Additionally, the district Annual Report for 2010-11 will be released on the district website (www.eldoradoschools.org) and in print form through The Shopper’s Guide.