1. Accountability & Assistance Advisory Council Meeting
June 1, 2017
Best Western Royal Plaza Hotel
Marlborough, MA

2. Agenda Welcome Review of discussion norms
Changes to 2017 accountability reporting
Massachusetts’ ESSA state plan update
Schools identified for comprehensive support & improvement (CSI) or targeted support & improvement (TSI)
Role of AAAC in
Next steps & closing
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

3. Norms & protocols
Promote risk-taking by not assigning specific comments to individual members in meeting summaries & minutes
Maintain confidentiality before, during, & after meetings
Seek clarification & check understanding to avoid mistakenly attributing ideas to an individual or organization represented on the council
Keep improvements in student learning at the core of the discussions. Students should drive the conversation
Stay engaged in the issues
Actively address implicit biases & instill cultural proficiency in discussions
Encourage discussion from all voices of members. Be additive, not repetitive
Let members know if pre-reading or other pre-meeting assignments require more than 30 minutes of preparation time
Make it fun!
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

4. Changes to 2017 accountability reporting

5. 603 CMR 2.00: Accountability & Assistance for School Districts & Schools
Governs the review of the educational programs & services provided by MA public schools & the assistance to be provided by districts & ESE to improve them
Describes the process for placing schools into Levels 1-5
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

6. Amendment
The amendment allows ESE to refrain from placing certain schools into Levels 1-3 at the beginning of the school year
Applies to one year only
Impacts schools serving grades 3-8 that administer Next-Generation MCAS tests in spring 2017
Does not impact high schools serving grades 9-12 that do not administer Next-Generation MCAS
Requires regulatory change – approved by the Board on April 18, 2017
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

7. Rationale
Transition to new statewide assessment (Next-Generation MCAS)
Opportunity to set a common assessment baseline for new accountability system
Transition to a revised system of district & school accountability under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

8. Details
Schools & districts administering Next-Generation MCAS in grades 3-8 that have participation rates below 90% will be placed into Level 3
Applies to any subgroup, & in any subject
Schools serving a combination of grades 3-8 & 9-12 that have persistently low graduation rates for any group will be placed into Level 3
Persistently low: year rate less than 67% & 2015, 2014, & year rates less than 70%
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

9. Details
Current Level 4 or 5 schools or districts that are not exiting will maintain their level designation
2017 exit criteria not yet determined, but will be consistent with regulatory requirements
All other schools meeting participation & graduation rate requirements will not receive an accountability level, school percentile, or Progress & Performance Index (PPI)
2017 assessment results will serve as the new baseline for target-setting in 2018 & beyond
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

10. What will be reported in 2017?
High school (grades 9-12, not administering Next-Generation MCAS)
Performance on all accountability indicators
MCAS achievement, MCAS growth, ACCESS growth, graduation rates, dropout rates, dropout reengagement
Progress & Performance Index (PPI) data
School percentiles
Accountability & assistance levels (1-5)
Schools identified for low or very low assessment participation
Schools identified for persistently low graduation rates
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

11. What will be reported in 2017?
Elementary, middle, middle/high, & K-12 schools
Next-Generation MCAS achievement results reported with relative indicator
Student growth percentiles
Accountability & assistance levels (No level, Insufficient data, Levels 4-5)
Schools identified for very low assessment participation (Level 3)
Schools identified for persistently low graduation rates (Level 3)
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

12. Example 1: Elementary school
ELA participation
Math participation
Science participation
2017 Level
School A
97%
96%
No Level
School B
92%
95%
School C
93%
89%
Level 3
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

13. Example 2: Middle/high school
ELA participation
Math participation
Science participation
Persistently low graduation rate
2017 Level
School A
97%
96% No
No Level
School B
94%
95%
School C
89%
93%
Level 3
School D
99%
98%
Yes
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

14. Reporting in 2018 & beyond
2017 results will serve as the baseline for target setting for 2018 & beyond
2018 determinations will reflect participation from 2017 & 2018
Additional details are still being developed & are subject to further deliberation by the Board of Elementary & Secondary Education
Consistent with the Board’s November 2015 vote, test scores from the spring 2017 Next-Generation MCAS administration in grades 3-8 will not negatively impact accountability results in 2018, & going forward
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

15. Massachusetts’ ESSA state plan update

16. MA’s ESSA state plan Submitted to USED on April 3, 2017
USED staff determined the plan did not pass the “completeness check”, requested additional information from ESE (submitted May 10th)
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

17. State plan required revisions
Long-term goals for improved academic achievement & measures of interim progress
Long-term goals for English learners & measures of interim progress
Weighting of accountability indicators
Exit criteria for schools identified for comprehensive support & intervention
Exit criteria for schools identified for targeted support & intervention
Program objectives & outcomes for activities under Title V Part B Subpart 2 (rural education)
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

18. State plan required revisions
ESE addressed each of these issues using available data, with the caveat that updates would likely be necessary once Next-Generation MCAS & ACCESS for ELLs results are available
ESE will use 2017 results for modeling & simulations, & will update the state plan as needed
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

19. Schools identified for comprehensive support & improvement (CSI) or targeted support & improvement (TSI)

20. Requirements
ESSA requires that states classify low-performing schools in one of two categories
Comprehensive support & improvement (CSI)
Targeted support & improvement (TSI)
Next iteration of priority school & focus school designations required under ESEA Flexibility
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

21. CSI schools ESSA ESEA Flexibility / MA state law Classification
Comprehensive support & improvement
Priority school (Level 4 & Level 5)
Criteria
Among at least the lowest-performing 5% of schools in the state,
A high school with a graduation rate of less than 67%, or
A TSI school with a low-performing subgroup that does not meet exit criteria within a state-determined number of years
Lowest performing, least improving schools
Identification
At least once every 3 years
Annually
Planning requirements
Required to develop an improvement plan, in partnership with stakeholders, that is approved & monitored by the district & ESE
Exit criteria
Must meet state-defined exit criteria in order to remove designation
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

22. CSI schools – questions
How often should ESE identify CSI schools?
What should be required of CSI schools identified only for low graduation rates?
Should the CSI plan be a turnaround plan?
How should ESE review/approve this plan, if it is not a turnaround plan?
What should CSI exit criteria be?
How should ESE align CSI school criteria with MA state law/regulation? …?
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

23. TSI schools ESSA ESEA Flexibility / MA state law Classification
Targeted support & improvement
Level 3 focus schools
Criteria
A school with one or more consistently underperforming subgroups, or
A school with one or more subgroups performing below the lowest-performing 5% of schools
A school with one or more low underperforming subgroups, or
A school with persistently low graduation rates for one or more groups
Identification
TBD
Annually
Planning requirements
Required to develop an improvement plan, in partnership with stakeholders, that is approved & monitored by the district
School improvement plan informed by needs assessment
Exit criteria
Must meet state-defined exit criteria in order to remove TSI designation, or may be designated a CSI school
Must meet state-defined exit criteria in order to remove focus designation

24. TSI schools – questions
Should ESE identify groups by schools type, like the current focus school methodology does?
How should ESE review/approve the TSI plan?
What should TSI exit criteria be?
How long should a TSI school be identified as such before be designated a CSI school?
How should ESE align TSI school criteria with MA state law/regulation? …?
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

25. Role of AAAC in
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

26. Questions Meeting agendas Council leadership New accountability system
Assistance models
…what else?
Council leadership
Chair vs. Co-Chairs
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education