Title I School Improvement in North Carolina

Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) determines if a Title I school goes into Title I School Improvement

Adequate Yearly Progress All schools are measured according to AYP AYP measures reading/language arts and math yearly progress by student group and school against state target goals

Adequate Yearly Progress State target goals are based on attaining 100% student proficiency by , NCLB’s requirement If just one student group does not meet state target goals in reading/language arts or math, the school does not make AYP, with some exceptions (safe harbor, confidence interval, AYP growth standard)

AYP measures the progress of 10 student groups The School as a Whole White Black Hispanic Native American Asian/Pacific Islander Multiracial Students with disabilities Students with limited English proficiency Economically disadvantaged students Each group must meet the same set percentage of students performing at grade level in each subject.

Title I School Improvement Title I schools not meeting state target goals, or AYP, for two years in a row in the same subject are designated as Title I School Improvement schools that face sanctions Non-Title I schools not making AYP in the same subject for two or more years in a row must revise their school improvement plans, but don’t have to offer transfer options

Offering public school choice is the first sanction for Title I School Improvement schools, except for those in SES Pilot Districts

SES Pilot District Schools About 1/3 of NC’s districts (listed at are in the federal SES Pilot Program Schools in pilot districts offer SES (supplemental educational services) instead of choice when entering Improvement These schools offer choice and SES in the second and subsequent years of Improvement

Public School Choice All students enrolled are eligible for choice in Title I School Improvement schools offering transfers In offering choice, priority goes to the lowest achieving, low-income students

Are there any exceptions? All schools in Title I School Improvement must offer choice unless they just entered Improvement and are in an SES Pilot District Geographic limitations or having no schools not in Improvement at the same grade levels might prohibit choice Schools with no choices must still notify parents of the school’s status

What schools can serve as transfer options? Districts determine which schools are designated as transfer options Schools in Title I School Improvement cannot be transfer options

How long is a student allowed to attend the choice school? Until he or she has completed the highest grade in the school However, the district is not obligated to provide transportation for the student after the end of the school year in which the original school is no longer in Improvement

Offering supplemental educational services (SES) while still offering public school choice is the next level of sanction for Title I School Improvement schools not in SES Pilot Districts

What is SES? Free tutoring offered outside of the instructional day Available only to children who are economically disadvantaged, unlike choice which is offered to all students Tutors are selected by parents from a state-approved list

Who is eligible for services? Can an eligible student who is not in a tested grade receive services? Yes, any economically disadvantaged student attending a school offering SES is eligible for tutoring

Who is eligible for services? If the student is in the student group that caused the school to miss AYP, but is not considered economically disadvantaged, can the student still receive SES? No, the school may offer the student another tutoring program, but not SES

Who is eligible for services? Can an eligible student who scores at a Level III or IV on end-of-grade tests receive services? Yes, any economically disadvantaged student attending a school offering SES is eligible for tutoring regardless of his/her achievement level

Who is eligible for services? Does the tutoring offered have to be in the subject that caused the school to enter Improvement? No, services to eligible students can be in reading and/or math, regardless of which target goals the school missed

Public school choice and SES, once offered, must be offered the entire time a Title I school is in Improvement

If a school… Makes AYP in any one year after entering Improvement, it doesn’t move to the next level of sanctions Doesn’t make AYP the year after it made AYP, it moves to the next level of sanctions

To exit Title I School Improvement… A school must make AYP in the subject which first identified it (reading/language arts or math) for two years in a row Some schools exit Improvement in one subject while entering Improvement for another Once a school exits Improvement, it no longer has to offer choice, SES, etc.

AYP and the ABCs A school’s AYP and ABCs results may differ AYP looks at specific student groups meeting set goals; the ABCs model follows the same students over time and looks at growth and performance In the ABCs, one grade or subject can be offset when looking at whole school growth and performance; AYP is an “all or nothing” model according to subjects and student groups

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