1. Huntsville City Schools School Accountability Including Report Cards
January 9, 2018

2. Three Mandates On Reporting To The Public Regarding Accountability Status of Public Schools
1. Federal Law adopted by Congress on December 10, 2015, the EVERY STUDENT SUCCEEDS ACT (ESSA).
2. State Law adopted by the Alabama Legislature in 2012 (ACT No ), the LEGISLATIVE SCHOOL PERFORMANCE RECOGNITION PROGRAM ACT (commonly referred to as the State Report Card Act).
3. Not embedded in law but rather professionalism to report to the public at least annually on the status of public schools in Alabama.

3. To Improve The Alabama ESSA Plan
The following groups met September 18 – October 12, 2017 to improve the Alabama ESSA PLAN:
Alabama Education Association (AEA)
A Plus Education Foundation (A+)
Alabama Association of School Boards (AASB)
Business Education Alliance (BEA)
Council for Leaders in Alabama Schools (CLAS)
School Superintendents of Alabama (SSA)
Governor’s Office
Alabama State Department of Education (ALSDE)

4. All school and school system reports will be released publicly.
PROTOTYPE Report Card
ALSDE will have ONE report that addresses both laws and is easy to read, understand, and utilize.
February 1, 2018
All school and school system reports will be released publicly.
All Report Cards will be marked PROTOTYPE.

5. PROTOTYPE Report Card February 1 – February 23, 2018
LEAs and the PUBLIC will have an opportunity to provide input on the PROTOTYPE Report Cards.
February 23 – March 2, 2018
All input will be reviewed.
ALSDE March State Board Work Session
Any and all ESSA Amendments will be reviewed.
ALSDE April State Board Meeting
State Board of Education will vote on ESSA Amendment(s).

9. PROTOTYPE Report Card Is Not A Final Product
Thomas Fordham Institute evaluated ESSA Plans for all 50 states. The ESSA Plan for ALABAMA received one STRONG and two MEDIUM ratings.
Clear Labels
Focus on ALL Students
Fair to ALL Schools

10. Calculating Alabama’s December 2017 Report Card

11. Calculating Alabama’s December 2017 Report Card Depends Heavily on Performance from ONE TEST – ACT Aspire SP 17
Grades are based heavily on results from students who took the ACT Aspire in Spring 2017.
(Gr 3-8 and Gr 10)
The ALSDE State Board of Education voted to DROP the ACT Aspire assessment in June, 2017.
THE ALSDE SBOE stated that the ACT Aspire did not align to what Alabama’s teacher are required to teach in the classroom.
% of SYSTEM Score from ACT Aspire SP 17
% of Score for Schools with a
Gr 12 from ACT Aspire SP 17
% of Score for Schools without a Gr 12 from ACT Aspire SP 17
50%
90%

12. What Is The Purpose of Grading Schools and Systems?
Single Letter Grades can be MISLEADING when the measure of student performance is simply ONE STANDARDIZED TEST on one day of the school year.
A single standardized test does not represent the programs and breadth of opportunities that a school or school system provides.

13. Huntsville City Schools Aspire Performance for Grades 3-8 & 10 – Scores Used for ALSDE Report Card Grade
Percent of Students Attaining A Benchmark Score
Content Area

14. Huntsville City Schools Aspire Performance for Grades 3-8 & 10 – Scores Used for ALSDE Report Card Grade
Percent of Students Attaining A Benchmark Score
Content Area