Submitting An Appeal for Schools and Districts Adequate Yearly Progress NH Dept. of Education Technical Assistance April 9, 2009

NH Department of Education2 What’s in Your Packet?  2009 School Appeals (2 items needed) 1. Instructions & Guidance document 2. Forms & Worksheets document  Guide to Navigating AYP Reports and Files  Data Definitions and Sources: The “Blue” Sheet  Accountability for Students Placed Out of District  Copy of this PowerPoint

April 9, 2009NH Department of Education3 What’s Not in Your Packet?  2009 District Appeals Available today as a separate handout You will need two items:  1. Instructions & Guidance document  2. Forms & Worksheets document Also available on the NH DOE website

April 9, 2009NH Department of Education4 How to Use this Presentation  This presentation is designed to accompany the 2009 School Appeals Instructions and Guidance document found at  Page numbers are indicated on each slide that correspond with the same page in the Appeals Instructions and Guidance document.  District Appeals are similar in requirements (see slide 26 for details). Use the District Appeals Instructions and Guidance documents from the DOE web address above to submit a District appeal.

April 9, 2009NH Department of Education5 Introduction (pg 2)  In accordance with the No Child Left Behind Act, federal regulations, and New Hampshire school accountability law, school appeals of the preliminary AYP determination are allowable under certain circumstances. Statistical reasons (data errors) Substantive reasons (special circumstances)

April 9, 2009NH Department of Education6 Timetable and Deadlines (pg 3) Monday Public notification of school and district 2009 AYP results. Tuesday4-7-09First day for school principals to submit an appeal to district officials. (Day 1 of the 30-day appeals process begins) Thursday (PSU Concord) Understanding AYP and Growth Reports workshop. Participants should bring their reports to examine as part of the workshop. repeated PM (Room 15, DOE) Thursday (PSU Concord) Submitting an Appeal workshop. This session will provide an overview of the documents to be submitted when filing a school or district appeal. Friday (4:30 PM ) Intent to Appeal filing deadline. Last day for district officials to submit the Intent to Appeal form for a school and/or district AYP appeal. Friday (4:30 PM ) Deadline for Commissioner of Education to receive school and district appeals approved and certified by school district officials. Friday5-8-09Commissioner’s AYP Appeals decision letters sent to district officials AYP determinations and School or District in Need of Improvement designations for become official. Friday (4:30 PM) Deadline for school or district appeals to the NH State Board of Education.

April 9, 2009NH Department of Education7 Appeal Process Overview (pages 4-5)  Step #1: School-to-District School principals have 15 calendar days beginning 4/7/09 to submit an appeal with local district officials. If accepted, then… Intent to Appeal notice must be submitted to NH DOE no later than 4:30 PM on Friday 4/17/09. Form is included in Instructions & Guidance document. Original & 3 copies of appeal packet to DOE by 5/1/09.

April 9, 2009NH Department of Education8 Appeal Process Overview (con’t)  Step #2: Commissioner’s Review & Decisions Review teams comprised of district and NH DOE personnel review all appeals and present their recommendations to the Commissioner. The Commissioner, upon review of the recommendations and the appeal, will determine whether or not to grant the appeal. Notification letters of the Commissioner’s decision are forwarded to schools and districts by 5/8/09.

April 9, 2009NH Department of Education9 Appeal Process Overview (con’t)  Step #3: School-to-State Board of Education New Hampshire state statute allows a 2 nd appeal process to the State Board of Education within 30 days of the Commissioner’s denial of any appeal. Appeals to the State Board must contain additional or amended information or data not previously contained in the first appeal. The school or district presents its appeal at a regularly scheduled State Board meeting. (pg 5)

April 9, 2009NH Department of Education10 Allowable Reasons for an Appeal (pg 6)  Data Error Appeal Also known as statistical errors Inaccuracies identified since February 6, 2009 Must describe the data being disputed, the rationale as to how such errors occurred, & provide recalculated AYP using revised data  Special Circumstances Appeal Must explain unusual or extraordinary circumstances and demonstrate why the student performance and/or participation results are atypical

April 9, 2009NH Department of Education11 Clarification Regarding AYP Status (pg 6)  A successful AYP appeal will not necessarily result in a change in AYP status.  AYP status changes only when an appeal successfully addresses all subgroups that did not make AYP for performance and/or participation within a content area.

April 9, 2009NH Department of Education12 Required Components of the Completed Appeal Packet (pg 7)  Cover letter indicating the area(s) of the appeal and allowable reason(s) for appealing  AYP Appeals Cover Page  Completed “School AYP Appeals Grid”  All 3 pages of the 2009 School AYP Report  Narrative description of the appeal  Printout of the data from the 2009 AYP Student Participation and/or Performance file  Completed Worksheets  Revised/recalculated 2009 School AYP Report

April 9, 2009NH Department of Education13 Send the original and 3 copies of the completed appeal packet to: Ellie Riel Bureau of Accountability NH Department of Education 101 Pleasant Street Concord, NH DEADLINE FOR RECEIPT: May 1, 2009 Close of Business 4:30 p.m.

April 9, 2009NH Department of Education14 Online Resources and Reference Materials (pg 8) Click on “2009 AYP Results” for: PowerPoint Presentations Data definitions Policies explained Confidence Interval Look-up Tables Preliminary AYP results Preliminary AYP status lists

April 9, 2009NH Department of Education15 How to Use the April 2009 AYP Student Data Files to Check Your AYP Reports 1) Where do I find student level data that was used to determine AYP status? 2) What data are included in the file? 3) What to check: a) Are students in the correct subgroups? b) Are students counted as participating or not participating for approved or not approved reasons?

April 9, 2009NH Department of Education16 April 2009 AYP Student Level Data Files for Performance & Participation (pg 8) The following AYP student-level data files are available only through the password-protected i4see system  o Choose ESS Workbench  o Enter User Name and password  o Choose: “SASID, NECAP, and other i4see Submissions”  o Choose your district  o Select: “District Review” and then “General Reports” These are district level files that can be sorted April 2009 AYP Performance – Student Level Data File April 2009 AYP Participation – Student Level Data File

April 9, 2009NH Department of Education17 April 2009 AYP Performance – Student Level Data File Teach Dst Send Dst Teach Sch School NameSASID Last name First name MIMI Gra de Tch Cont Dis Tch Cont Sch Test Type Ethn icLEP LEP First YearIEP Rea Perf Inc Rea NT Rea Index PtRea S matP erf Inc mat NT Mat Index Pt mat S Landma rk School 1.25E+ 09DoeJane 511N Whit e001D 60533D Crystal Elem 1.13E+ 09PizzaJohn 311N Whit e April 2009 AYP Participation – Student Level Data File Test Dst Send Dst Test Sch School NameSASID Last name First name MIMI Gra de Test TypeEthnicLEP LEP First YearIEP Rea Part IncRea NT Rea Index Pt rea S Mat Part Inc mat NT Mat Index Pt mat S Tobey School 1.23E+0 9SmithAppleE5AWhite001D 40528D Crystal Elem 1.24E+0 9JonesPeachA3N Hispan ic or Latino001D/S NTOD/S 80338

April 9, 2009NH Department of Education18 The U.S. Department of Agriculture restricts access to student-level data for Socio-Economically Disadvantaged students. As the AYP student-level data for this subgroup is a district-level file, and as authorization to access this information is limited by federal law, the Superintendent of Schools must contact the i4see Help Desk by at for instructions on how AYP student-level data for this subgroup may be accessed for the purposes of preparing an AYP appeal. Restricted Access File (pg 8)

April 9, 2009NH Department of Education19 Submitting an Appeal for Participation Rate (pg 9) Remember:  Participation rate is not calculated for subgroups of fewer than 40 students.  The appeal must contain sufficient evidence that the data certified and submitted to the DOE by February 6, 2009 is now determined to be in error.

April 9, 2009NH Department of Education20  Step 1: Use the Participation-Student level Data File from i4see to identify which students were included in your report, and then any who should or should not be included in the Participation calculation.  Step 2: Identify each student with a data error (see description for “how to” on page 9 of the Appeals Guidance document & example on slide 21). Hide student names. Submit the data for the entire subgroup.  Step 3: Complete the applicable (Grade 3-8 or High School) Participation Rate Worksheet. Submitting an Appeal for Participation Rate (pg 9)

April 9, 2009NH Department of Education21 Submitting an Appeal for Student Performance (pg 10) Remember: Performance is not calculated for subgroups of fewer than 11 students.  Step 1: Use the Performance-Student level Data File from i4see to identify which students were included in your report, and then any who should or should not be included in the Performance calculation.  Step 2: Identify each student with a data error (see description for “how to” on page 9 of the Appeals Guidance document & example on slide 17). Hide student names. Submit the data for the entire subgroup.  Step 3: Recalculate the School Index Report (page 3 of the AYP Report)

April 9, 2009NH Department of Education22 Submitting an Appeal for Student Performance (pg 10)  Step 4: Complete the School Data Report (page 2 of the AYP Report).  Step 5: Compete the applicable (Grade 3-8 or High School) Performance Worksheet located in the Appeals Forms document (see details on page 10 of the Appeals Instructions and Guidance document).

April 9, 2009NH Department of Education23 Submitting an Appeal for the “Other” Indicator (page 11)  Attendance Rate Complete the Attendance Rate Worksheet located in the AYP Appeals Forms document. (See page 11 of the Guidance document for details.)  Graduation Rate Submit a copy of the and Dropout reporting form with a narrative. (See page 11 of the Guidance document for details.)

April 9, 2009NH Department of Education24 (Note: This is a two-page form. Complete and submit both pages.) Directions: School appeals may be made for student participation, student performance, and/or the “other” AYP indicator. Complete the grids below and on the following page as applicable to indicate the area(s) of your appeal. Complete the “School Information” and “Signatures” sections, and fax by the deadline as stated on the next page. School Appeal of Student Participation and/or Student Performance In the chart below, place an “X” in the appropriate non-shaded box for each content area and student subgroup the school intends to appeal. For each box marked, enter one of the following codes in the appropriate shaded box to identify the reason(s) for the appeal. DE=Data Error (statistical) SC=Special Circumstances (substantive) BOTH = Both Reasons NH DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 2009 AYP INTENT TO APPEAL (See form—final two pages of the Guidance document)

April 9, 2009NH Department of Education25 Complete both pages of this form and fax no later than 4:30 p.m. April 17, 2009 to: Ellie Riel Bureau of Accountability NH Department of Education FAX: NH DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 2009 AYP INTENT TO APPEAL (last two pages of the Guidance document)

April 9, 2009NH Department of Education26 How District AYP is Different from School AYP  District AYP is calculated for students in the aggregate for whom the district is responsible.  2009 is the first year in which out-of-district students are included in the district AYP calculation.  Districts containing one level (elem/middle OR high school) not meeting the student participation or student performance targets in a content area, or do not meeting the “other” indicator target, do not make AYP in the applicable area.  Districts containing two levels (elem/middle AND high school) only need to make AYP at one level to make AYP as a district: Example: ABC district contains two levels, elem/middle and high school. The district made AYP in Reading at the elem/middle level, but not at the high school level. As at least one level made AYP in Reading, the district’s status for is “Made AYP in Reading.”

April 9, 2009NH Department of Education27 Contact Information Inquiries regarding the appeals process may be directed to either: Deborah Wiswell, Administrator Merry Fortier, ConsultantBureau of Accountability NH Department of Education Tel Tel Inquiries regarding the AYP data files may be directed to either: Deborah Wiswell, Administrator Tim Kurtz, Assessment DirectorBureau of Accountability NH Department of Education Tel Tel