pr basics - framing adequate yearly progress reports for the media

A D E Q U A T E Y E A R L Y P R O G R E S S

Communicating

to the Media / Public

MEASURES INCLUDED IN AYP

Annual measurable objectives

Percent of students scoring proficient (goal varies by grade and subject)

Participation rates

Percent of students participating in assessments (goal = 95%)

Additional academic indicators

Attendance rate (goal = 90% or make improvement)

Graduation rate (goal = 90% or meet target)

AYP 2010

COMPONENTS OF AYP

ReadingAnnual measurable objectives

Participation rates

MathematicsAnnual measurable objectives

Participation rates

Additional Academic IndicatorsAttendance rate

Graduation rate

A school that meets its goals for all three components is considered to have made AYP.

AYP 2010

Even though the media has been reporting about AYP for almost a decade now, keep in mind a couple of very important things.

NCLB and AYP are relatively complicated subjects for even the most seasoned education reporters.

The AYP landscape is changing as we get closer to the 2013-14.

CHANGE THE CONVERSATION. REAUTHORIZATION is OVER DUE: We’re ALL heading for the same BRICK WALL

Communicating AYP to the Media / Public

As we rapidly approach 2013-14, without changes in the law, without a shift or pivot of focus, eventually all schools will NOT MAKE AYP.

If your school is listed as missing AYP, or as is often reported “FAILED” to make AYP, it obviously generates negative attention.


Avoid making comparisons with other systems or schools IF your school does make AYP.

DON’T BRAG if you made AYP. Things change quickly.

Avoid complaining about or dismissing NCLB in any way that implies the school is making excuses for NOT making AYP. BUT… although schools should be positive, forthcoming, and factual about their AYP status, it is not COMPLAINING or MAKING EXCUSES to highlight the positive growth being made within a school, even if the school did not make AYP.



One of the most important responsibilities of a communicator is to take the STING out of the status of not making AYP.

First, we need to do all we can to influence the education reporters in all mediums to STOP using the word FAIL in response to AYP reporting.

Don’t let not making AYP distract reporters away from the main point – that schools in AL are consistently making huge strides in GROWTH in student achievement. GROWTH is what’s important not status.

Where there’s positive to tell, tell it.



Because of the ALL OR NOTHING guidelines that NCLB currently works under, it is a lot easier for reporters to throw the “baby out with the bathwater” and (unintentionally at times) miss out on all of the positive stories of academic achievement that lie beneath the surface.

Expand on all your school’s or system’s achievement: Programs that help to graduate students, etc…


Take Control

IF YOUR SCHOOL STAYS QUIET AND LET’S THE MEDIA TELL THE STORY you run the probable risk that a negative slant will get out front. DON’T WAIT UNTIL THE AYP ANNOUNCEMENT to start talking about the progress your school is making.

Begin framing the schools strengths and be forthcoming about the school’s weaknesses.

Explain what programs sustain the schools strength and what initiatives are being utilized to help the school’s weaknesses.


KEEP YOUR STAFF ENCOURAGED. The impact of word-of-mouth has as much if not more impact than the MEDIA.

Remind your TEACHERS and STAFF they are ambassadors for your school. Through word of mouth in social settings, church, school and social events, etc., make sure they are aware of the progress your school is making, even if your school did not make AYP, celebrate the growth, particularly within the subgroups, and consistently address the areas where academic growth is slow or doesn’t exist.

Use your basic communication vehicles to push your message: Newsletters, Memos and Notes, Lunch Menus, Parent-Teacher Conferences, Open Houses, Websites, Social media venues, Staff Meetings, etc.


Parents

Parents want to know what impact not making AYP will have on their children’s education.

Be prepared to share with parents the plans the school has implemented and are considering to improve student performance in assessed areas.

SHOW PARENTS THE GROWTH MODEL OF ACHIEVMENT, particularly if data show improvement, but not enough improvement to make AYP. We’ll discuss in further detail later.

MEDIA

The best thing a Communications professional can do is make sure the reporter’s in their area have a clear understanding as to what the AYP data means and, what it does not mean, preferably ahead of time.

If you are able to, have a AYP PRE-BRIEFING


AYP PRE-BRIEFING:

A week or two before official announcement

Allows reporters to ask all of the questions concerning AYP data ahead of time to help gain a clear understanding.

It also serves as a forum for all of the subject matter experts on AYP at your school to meet face-to-face with reporters and answer questions that a reporter might not have time to ask on the hectic “day of” .


AYP PRE-BRIEFING:

The presentation of information at the AYP Pre-Brief can be similar to what it will be once the ‘actual’ information is released.

This helps the reporter gain a better understanding, but it also serves as practice for the Communications staff make sure materials are thorough.


AYP PRE-BRIEFING:

Keep in mind there’s a lot of TURN OVER in the media business. New education reporters can be an ASSET.

New reporters are more likely to write what you give them if they do not have a firm grasp of the subject matter.

What’s OLD to you is NEW to a new reporter.



We’re all heading toward an inevitable brick wall of negative media attention unless we collectively

CHANGE THE CONVERSATION from STATUS to GROWTH and PROGRESS

In April, the State Department of Education hosted a Congressional Roundtable with Alabama’s congressional delegation to push for the REAUTHORIZATION of NCLB.

Part of that REAUTHORIZATION is the idea to begin looking at academic progress through a GROWTH MODEL instead of the existing, PASS OR NO PASS AYP MODEL.

That has not happened, but individual school CAN prepare a growth model for a more accurate explanation of where their school is heading.


Schools can go ahead and look 3 years back and have a growth model set, based on the same group of students, and drop in the new numbers once they have them. Growth of the same groups of students, not growth of the same grade over again. This will NOT always yield positive results, but it does identify more accurate trends/

(example: 2007 3rd graders, 2008 4th graders, 2009 5th

graders, etc.)


Another example of how reporting surface Accountability data does a disservice to subgroups of students is SPECIAL EDUCATION.

Many of you are aware that the primary reason most schools DID NOT make AYP last year was because of the assessment of the school’s SPECIAL EDUCATION population.


READING

SCHOOL YEAR 2007-2008

2008-2009

2009-2010

2007-2008

2008-2009

2009-2010

2007-2008

2008-2009

2009-2010

All Students 99 99 99 YES YES YES YES YES YES

Special Education 99 99 99 YES YES YES YES YES NO

Amer. Indian/Alaskan Native 99 100 99 YES YES YES YES YES YES

Asian/Pacific Islander 99 100 99 YES YES YES YES YES YES

Black 99 99 99 YES YES YES YES YES YES

Hispanic 99 99 99 YES YES YES YES YES YES

White 99 100 99 YES YES YES YES YES YES

Limited-English Proficient 99 99 100 YES YES YES YES YES YES

Free/Reduced Meals 99 99 99 YES YES YES YES YES YES

Participation Goal = 95% Met Participation Goal Met Proficiency Goal

STATE AYP STATUS REPORT

AYP 2010

SCHOOL YEAR 2007-2008

2008-2009

2009-2010

2007-2008

2008-2009

2009-2010

2007-2008

2008-2009

2009-2010

All Students 99 99 99 YES YES YES YES YES YES

Special Education 99 99 99 YES YES YES YES YES NO

Amer. Indian/Alaskan Native 99 100 99 YES YES YES YES YES YES

Asian/Pacific Islander 99 100 100 YES YES YES YES YES YES

Black 99 99 99 YES YES YES YES YES YES

Hispanic 99 99 100 YES YES YES YES YES YES

White 99 100 99 YES YES YES YES YES YES

Limited-English Proficient 99 99 100 YES YES YES YES YES YES

Free/Reduced Meals 99 99 99 YES YES YES YES YES YES

Participation Goal = 95% Met Participation Goal Met Proficiency Goal

MATHEMATICS

STATE AYP STATUS REPORT

AYP 2010

This group made significant improvements, outpaced their counterparts, and was STILL the reason why the school didn’t make AYP.

That alone is evidence of how broken the AYP system is.

Although it is broken, we can’t fix it. But we can present student assessment data, as in the previous slides, to show audiences the progress that occurs under the

headlines of MADE or DID NOT MAKE AYP.


NAEP Scores for Special Education

Alabama Sp Ed

Nation Sp Ed

Alabama Gen Ed

Nation Gen Ed

4th Grade - 2003 158 184 212 220

4th Grade - 2009 172 189 221 223

8th Grade – 2007 203 226 257 265

8th Grade - 2009 208 229 259 266

READING

Alabama

Sp Ed

Nation

Sp Ed

Alabama

Gen Ed

Nation

Gen Ed

4th Grade - 2003 192 214 227 236

4th Grade - 2009 194 220 231 242

8th Grade - 2007 213 242 268 280

8th Grade - 2009 221 249 273 285

MATHEMATICS

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AYP 2010

Another way individual school can frame their progress despite AYP results is to look at chronological assessment data and compare APPLES to APPLES.

Currently, we compare 3rd graders in 2007, 08,09, 10, 11 – those are 5 different groups of kids. If we look at 3rd

graders last year, we SHOULD look at 4th graders this year. Why compare different sets of kids. It makes no sense. A DIAGONAL line (in successive grade levels) gives a more accurate picture of how students are performing as the progress.


pr basics - framing adequate yearly progress reports for the media

Documents

ayp status

ayp reporting

ayp announcement

etccommunicating ayp

ayp landscape

missing ayp

media publiccommunicating

brick wallcommunicating