School Monitoring and OEPA Greg Miller MEL – 540 School Resource Management Spring 2015

OEPA The Office of Education Performance Audits (OEPA) is charged with assisting the WV Board of Education and the state government in establishing and maintaining a system of performance audits to measure the quality of education and preparation of students based on standards, school and school system performance, and progress in providing a thorough system of education in West Virginia.

Policy 2320  The OEPA is guided by State Board of Education Policy The current version of the policy came into effect on 1 July  The current version of the policy establishes an accountability system for West Virginia public schools and an approval process for school systems based on (1) measures of student performance and (2) a system of reviews through which school and school system quality is examined and publicly reported.

Goals of the OEPA 1. Determine school accreditation and school system approval status for each school and each school district in the state. 2. Assure that each school and each school system is accountable for the efficient use of existing resources to meet or exceed standards. 3. Require each school and each school system to annually target resources to improve student, school, and school system performance. 4. Provide accreditation information to the Legislature, Governor, the general public, and any individual who requests such information. 5. Establish early detection and intervention programs to assist underachieving schools and systems in improving performance. 6. Assure that all statewide assessments of student performance are secure. 7. Establish as part of the process for improving education the development of the capacity of schools and school systems to meet or exceed standards. 8. Train/retrain a cadre of people for on-site reviews. 9. Identify exemplary schools and school systems. 10. Monitor and evaluate the components of the Office of Education Performance Audits. Source: Mission. (2015, May 1). Retrieved from OEPA:

OEPA and AYP  The main responsibility of OEPA is to determine if a school or school district meets adequate yearly progress (AYP) based on West Virginia’s No Child Left Behind statutes.  The measures include:  Measurable objectives that identify a minimum percentage of students who must meet or exceed the proficient level of academic achievement on the state standardized test.  The participation rate of the students taking the standardized test. This is set at 95% of current students or an average of all students.  Attendance rates of 90% or higher in elementary and middle schools and a graduation rate of 80% for high schools.

OEPA and School Accreditation  A point system is in place to determine school accreditation.  The point system is based on the following criteria  Student proficiency in Reading/Language Arts, Math, Social Studies, and Science on the state standardized test.  Writing assessment proficiency.  Attendance Rates  Technology Proficiency  Percentage of classes taught by highly qualified teachers.  Percentage of students scoring at benchmarks on the ACT EXPLORE and ACT PLAN assessments  (cont.)

OEPA and School Accreditation ( cont. )  Graduation rates  Job placement rates for vocational programs  Percent of students passing end-of-course career/technical tests.  ACT/SAT scores  Percentage of students nor requiring college remediation classes.  Bonus points for subgroup improvement, AP percentages, dual credit completers, and international baccalaureate completers.

School Monitoring Report  The School Monitoring Report(SMR) is the instrument developed by OEPA to measure High Quality Standards outlined in Section of Policy  The SMR is a reflective document to be used by the schools to help define and correct areas for improvement.  Each school rates its performance on a set of standards.  The rating system has five levels, and the schools are required to show evidence for each rating.  Not rated  Unsatisfactory  Emerging  Accomplished  Distinguished

Areas Addressed in the SMR  Curriculum and instruction  High expectations  Library and educational technology access  Guidance and advisement  Multicultural activities  Instructional Day  Alignment with the job market  Student and school performance  Strategic improvement plans  Counseling services  Lesson Plans  Data Analysis  Alternative Education  Codes of Conduct  Statewide Assessment  Physical Assessment  Hiring/Licensure/Evaluation  Teacher/Principal Internship  Safe and drug free schools  School rules  Policy implementation  Leadership

SMR Reporting in WVEIS

Process for Rating  The SMR is a reflective document for the entire school, the OEPA expects input from all of the stakeholders in the school. When preparing for our OEPA visit we began the rating process by having each teacher and each administrator rate each category. Upon completion of the rating process, each teacher met with their department and completed a joint rating. Once each department completed their ratings the school leadership team (which includes the head of each department) met with the administrators to compile a final ratings report.

Process for Rating  Since the SMR is a living reflective document, it was revisited at regular intervals throughout the year to determine any potential changes based upon administrator or teacher input. Changes were made accordingly.

OEPA and the SMR  The focus of the OEPA visit at the school is to determine if the school is accurately portraying itself through the SMR, and to look for evidence of the accuracy and efforts to improve areas considered unsatisfactory or emerging.  Interviews of administrators, teachers, service personnel, and students focused on parts of the SMR and the resulting report gives the OEPA’s impression of the accuracy of the report.  The OEPA will report any corrections it feels need to be made on the SMR

OEPA Report on SMR

OEPA Report  The OEPA report also provides feedback on the SMR and explains why it feels ratings need to be changed.

OEPA Reporting  The OEPA also reports on compliance with state policy.

OEPA Reporting  OEPA also provides findings directly impacting school performance.

Summary  For schools the newest version of the OEPA audit is a greatly improved, more inclusive look at a school’s performance. In the past the audit was a quick snapshot of a school and little effort was made to look at a larger picture and period of time. It gives the school community an opportunity to reflect on its own performance and address needs prior to the visit. This creates less of an adversarial visit and provides more support for the schools.