Huntsville City Schools School Accountability Including Report Cards

Huntsville City Schools School Accountability Including Report Cards January 9, 2018 1

Three Mandates On Reporting To The Public Regarding Accountability Status of Public Schools • 1. Federal Law adopted by Congress on December 10, 2015, the EVERY STUDENT SUCCEEDS ACT (ESSA). • 2. State Law adopted by the Alabama Legislature in 2012 (ACT No. 2012 -402), the LEGISLATIVE SCHOOL PERFORMANCE RECOGNITION PROGRAM ACT (commonly referred to as the State Report Card Act). • 3. Not embedded in law but rather professionalism to report to the public at least annually on the status of public schools in Alabama. 2

To Improve The Alabama ESSA Plan The following groups met September 18 – October 12, 2017 to improve the Alabama ESSA PLAN: • Alabama Education Association (AEA) • A Plus Education Foundation (A+) • Alabama Association of School Boards (AASB) • Business Education Alliance (BEA) • Council for Leaders in Alabama Schools (CLAS) • School Superintendents of Alabama (SSA) • Governor’s Office • Alabama State Department of Education (ALSDE) 3

PROTOTYPE Report Card • ALSDE will have ONE report that addresses both laws and is easy to read, understand, and utilize. • February 1, 2018 • All school and school system reports will be released publicly. • All Report Cards will be marked PROTOTYPE. 4

PROTOTYPE Report Card • February 1 – February 23, 2018 • LEAs and the PUBLIC will have an opportunity to provide input on the PROTOTYPE Report Cards. • February 23 – March 2, 2018 • All input will be reviewed. • ALSDE March State Board Work Session • Any and all ESSA Amendments will be reviewed. • ALSDE April State Board Meeting • State Board of Education will vote on ESSA Amendment(s). 5

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PROTOTYPE Report Card Is Not A Final Product • Thomas Fordham Institute evaluated ESSA Plans for all 50 states. The ESSA Plan for ALABAMA received one STRONG and two MEDIUM ratings. Clear Labels Focus on ALL Students Fair to ALL Schools 9

Calculating Alabama’s December 2017 Report Card 10

Calculating Alabama’s December 2017 Report Card Depends Heavily on Performance from ONE TEST – ACT Aspire SP 17 • Grades are based heavily on results from students who took the ACT Aspire in Spring 2017. – (Gr 3 -8 and Gr 10) % of SYSTEM Score from % of Score for Schools with a % of Score for Schools without ACT Aspire SP 17 Gr 12 from ACT Aspire SP 17 a Gr 12 from ACT Aspire SP 17 50% 90% • The ALSDE State Board of Education voted to DROP the ACT Aspire assessment in June, 2017. • THE ALSDE SBOE stated that the ACT Aspire did not align to what Alabama’s teacher are required to teach in the classroom. 11

What Is The Purpose of Grading Schools and Systems? • Single Letter Grades can be MISLEADING when the measure of student performance is simply ONE STANDARDIZED TEST on one day of the school year. • A single standardized test does not represent the programs and breadth of opportunities that a school or school system provides. 12

Huntsville City Schools 2016 -17 Aspire Performance for Grades 3 -8 & 10 – Scores Used for ALSDE Report Card Grade Percent of Students Attaining A Benchmark Score 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 41% 35% 34% Reading Science 30% Math Content Area 13

Huntsville City Schools 2016 -17 Aspire Performance for Grades 3 -8 & 10 – Scores Used for ALSDE Report Card Grade Percent of Students Attaining A Benchmark Score 100% Needs Support 90% Close Ready Exceeds 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 44% 39% 29% 30% 23% 20% 25% 18% 22% 13% 17% 10% 0% Math Reading Content Area Science 14

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