School Report Cards: Considerations and State Examples

Va Board of EducationCommittee on School and Division Accountability Feb. 25 2015

Laurie McCulloughExecutive Director, VaASCD

Chair, Accountability Subcommittee of the SOL Innovation Committee

Sources:• Rating States, Grading Schools, Aug. 2014 Report of the Education Commission of the States• Key Elements for Accountability, 2010 Report from CCSSO• ASCD Policy Positions• Innovation Committee discussions• And MANY THANKS to Melany Stowe!

1. Report card considerations:PurposeContentDesign

2. Features and examples of report cards

Purpose

Student measures: To assess progress toward important learning goals.

Educator measures: To target professional development needs.

School measures: To support improvement and inform the public.

Content:

HB 1672 / SB 727No later than July 1, 2016, the Board of Education, in consultation with the Standards of Learning Innovation Committee, shall redesign the School Performance Report Card so that it is more effective in communicating to parents and the public the status and achievements of the public schools and local school divisions in the Commonwealth. The Board, in redesigning the School Performance Report Card, may consider (i) the standards of accreditation, (ii) state and federal accountability requirements, (iii) state-mandated assessments, (iv) any alternative assessments developed or approved for use by the relevant local school board, (v) student growth indicators, (vi) student mobility, (vii) the experience and qualifications of school staff, (viii) total cost and funding per pupil, (ix) school safety, and (x) any other factors that the Board deems necessary to produce a full and accurate statement of performance for each public elementary and secondary school and local school division in the Commonwealth.

Content: Two questions1. What should we measure and how?– Ex: College and Career Readiness • state test scores? • nationally-normed test scores? • % of students who are test takers?• 9th graders on track for graduation? • graduation rate?

– Ex: School Climate• student surveys?• staff surveys?• discipline incidents?

Choose valid

measures and

ensure reliable

results

Report Card

Data Collection

Teacher LicensurePupil-Teacher RatioSalary Information

“Counts” for accreditation:Test dataGrad RatesEtc.

Test data in “off”yearsStrengths and OFIsFamily Engagement

Content: Two questions2. What gets measured vs. what gets reported?

9

Socioeconomic & demographicdata

Growth of highest achievers

Class size

Attendance rate

What Could Be Reported

?

9th Graderson track to graduate

Studentsurvey results

Parent & community involvement

% taking higher level coursework

RevenuesExpenditures

School climate

Counseling, support services

Health and wellness programs

Design: Interpreting and Communicating

Things like• A rating or estimate of school quality.• Comparisons to……..state averages or

composites?...... peer groups?• Format for ease of use.• Annual static snapshot or dynamic interface?

Design: Interpreting and Communicating

Online Accessibility

Ability to Print

Emphasis of Ranking (if any)

Peer Rankings within State

Graphics

Explanations

Ability to Drill Down

Tabs (Dashboard)

Design: Interpreting and Communicating

Stars (3)

ECS Database & Online Research

Currently 30 Different Rating Systems

#

A-F

?Number Variations(9)

Colors (1)

None (5)

Letters (13)

Descriptors (18)

Sample Descriptors

• Excelling, Progressing, Transitioning, Review, Focus, and Turnaround (Connecticut)

• Recognition, Continuous Improvement, Focus, Priority, Superintendent’s Zone

(Hawaii)

• Exemplary, Exceeds Standard, Meets Standard, Approaches Standard, Academic

Warning (Kansas)

• Distinguished, Proficient, Needs Improvement, Progressing School (Kentucky)

• Reward, Celebration Eligible, Continuous Improvement, Focus, Priority

(Minnesota)

• Accredited with Distinction, Accredited Provisionally, Accredited, Unaccredited

(Missouri)

• Fully Accredited, Provisionally Accredited-Graduation Rate, Accredited with

Warning, Accreditation Denied, Conditionally Accredited (Virginia)

• Exemplary, Very Good, Good, Fair, Struggling (Washington)

• Exceeding Expectations, Meeting Expectations, Partially Meeting Expectations,

Not Meeting Expectations (Wyoming)

• Accredited with Distinction, Accredited Provisionally, Accredited,

Unaccredited (Missouri)

• Exceeds Standards, Meets Standards, Below Standards (Nebraska)

• Reward School, Good Standing, Local Assistance Plan, Focus, Priority

(New York)

Sample Descriptors

Recommend that the Board of Education and the General Assembly

revise the Standards of Accreditation to add accreditation ratings

which

1) recognize the progress of schools that do not meet the

accreditation benchmarks but have significantly improved their

pass rates, and

2) recognize schools that did not meet accreditation benchmarks but

have demonstrated significant growth for the majority of students.

Innovation Committee, Interim Recommendation

August 2014 Report: Rating States, Grading Schools

Education Commission of the States (ECS)

RESEARCHERS

Are the report cards easy to find?

PARENTS

Are they easy to understand?

EXPERTS

What indicators are essential for measuring performance?

Top Three According to Researchers

• Easy to understand• Did not like printable (pdf) version

Arizona• Good use of graphics• Data points are explained well• Use of tabs• Noted “data coming”

Ohio• Good use of graphics• Links to data drill down• Inclusion of survey results

Illinois

According to ECS researchers, based upon the following criteria: findable, readable, understandable, and graphics.

8 Report Cards Ranked Above Average in all 4 Categories:Arizona, Delaware, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maine, and Ohio

• Ability to explore data

District of Columbia• Fast facts• Clear graphics

Illinois

Parents also ranked the following report cards above average:Delaware, Arkansas, Ohio, and Wisconsin.

Note: There were inconsistencies: one parent ranked a report card excellent (5) and another ranked the same

report card unacceptable (1).

According to ECS selected parents, based upon the following criteria: easy to read, useful, provides sufficient data.

Top Two According to Parents

2

1. Student Achievement

5 Essential Indicators from ExpertsAccording to ECS Report

2. Student Academic Growth

3. Achievement Gap Closure

4. Graduation Rates

5. Postsecondary and Career Readiness

23 states currently include

these 5 indicators,

including Virginia.

Louisiana: Interesting Features

https://www.louisianabelieves.com/data/reportcards/2014/

• A snapshot, but shows improvement

• One static page, with access to backup data

• Jena High School in LaSalle Parish

Ohio: Interesting Features

Madison South Elementary

• A-F system (2015)

• Achievement vs. Progress

• Early Literacy

• Madison South Elementary

Illinois: Interesting Features

ILLINOIS REPORT CARD

• No rating system, yet highly ranked by parents in ECS study.

• User survey

• 1 ½ minute video

• Mather High School

http://www.ecs.org/html/educationissues/accountability/stacc_intro.asp