South Kingstown Categorization and the New Federal System
October 9, 2003
Under the new, more rigorous system of school accountability required of Rhode Island by the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), most schools in South Kingstown maintained their High Performing categorization from the prior system. Schools that were identified as needing improvement were categorized based on the performance of one or more of their subgroups. Overall, the results of the Rhode Island state assessment in English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics showed improving test scores and diminishing numbers of low performing students.
The
New System: Under the new Rhode
Island Accountability system, twenty-one (21) indicators, all of which must be
met in order to be high or moderately performing, measure schools. There are nine (9) indicators each in
English Language Arts and Mathematics, one for overall performance and eight
(8) for student subgroups. The
subgroups include Limited English Speaking, Special Needs, Free/Reduced Lunch,
and Five Racial Groups (White, Black, Native American, Asian, and
Hispanic). In order to be measured
according to a subgroupÕs performance, schools must have tested 45 students in
the subgroup over the past three years.
Students can be counted in multiple subgroups (for example: Special
Needs, Limited English Speaking, and Asian). The other three indicators are:
maintaining a 95% participation rate in each of the tested areas (two
indicators), and the attendance rate for middle and elementary schools and
graduation rate for high schools (one indicator). Districts are also categorized according to their overall
performance according to the same system.
The
new accountability system moves the performance criteria up to 100% (each and
every student meeting state standards) in 2014. Between now and 2014, the requirements are gradually
increased.
Each school and districtÕs performance is also categorized according to improvement.
Schools
identified as needing improvement, and are significantly improving, are
considered in Safe Harbor. To qualify for Safe Harbor, a school or
district must meet the requirement for Improving explained above. This is a
short overview of the Rhode Island Accountability System, one that has many
more components. If interested,
additional information is available at either the district office at Hazard
School or the Rhode Island Department of Education.
South Kingstown Under The New System: The chart below indicates the categorization of each school and the district and details follow the chart.
|
Grade |
School/District
|
Indicators Met |
Categorization |
|
4 |
District |
21 of 21 |
High Performing/Sustaining |
|
4 |
Matunuck |
21 of 21 |
High Performing/Sustaining |
|
4 |
Peace
Dale
|
21 of 21 |
High Performing/Sustaining |
|
4 |
South Road |
21 of 21 |
Moderately Performing/Improving |
|
4 |
Wakefield |
21 of 21 |
High Performing/Sustaining |
|
4 |
West Kingston |
21 of 21 |
High Performing/Improving |
|
8 |
District |
20 of 21 |
In Need of Improvement/Making Progress |
|
8 |
Curtis Corner |
21 of 21* |
In Need of Improvement/Making Progress |
|
8 |
Broad Rock |
21 of 21 |
High Performing/Improving |
|
10 |
District |
17 of 21# |
In Need of Improvement/Insufficient Progress |
|
10 |
Farm School |
+ |
In Need of
Improvement/Insufficient Progress |
|
10 |
High School |
18 of 21* |
In Need of
Improvement/Insufficient Progress |
|
* |
Indicators where
significant progress is made are counted as being met under state system; see
below for complete description for schools. |
||
|
# |
The state did not list
indicators made for districts, and this number was locally determined. |
||
|
+ |
The Farm School had
insufficient number of students for test accountability and the number of
indicators met was not listed by the state. |
||
In fourth grade, all schools and subgroups met state performance standards. None of the individual schools had enough students in any of the subgroups to be accountable, however, the district as a whole did, and each of those groups, and students as a whole, met the current and the 2011 standard, which classifies the district as High Performing. South Road and West Kingstown were categorized as Improving because their ELA and mathematics scores increased by 2 percentage points. South Road missed being High Performing, even though its overall scores exceeded the state requirement and met the 2010 standard, because they fell just short of the 2011 benchmark.
In eighth grade, Broad Rock was High Performing and Improving. For the district overall, and at Curtis Corner, students with special needs, one of the subgroups, did not meet the ELA standard. All other subgroups and the overall scores met state standards. The district and Curtis Corner are Improving because the gap between the achievement of special needs students and 100% was reduced by 10%, thereby qualifying for Safe Harbor.
In tenth grade, the district and the High School as a whole met the 2011 standard in ELA and the 2010 standard in Mathematics, but students with special needs and students on free/reduced lunch did not meet the ELA and Mathematics standards. All other subgroups met the ELA and Mathematics standards. In Mathematics, the gap for special needs students was reduced by the 10% required for improving status, but not in the other areas.
South Kingstown Test Performance: The school categorization system is not the only reason tests are given. The district tracks its performance on state assessments, looking for signs of need and progress. The results of the most recent state assessments indicate the following:
Scores at the High School went up. The percentage of students in grade 10 meeting standards increased in every tested area and pulled away from statewide scores by an average of 10%. The percentage of students who were low performing (either Below the Standard or Little Evidence of Achievement) in Reading was cut in half, while the statewide percentage remained stable.
Scores at the middle level have improved too. The percentage of South Kingstown students who meet standards in mathematics and ELA increased and surpassed the state percentage by 10%. The percentage of students who are low performing has declined while the state percentage increased.
Scores in grade 4 show the greatest increase, especially in reading. Our student progress grows at a rate faster than the state as a whole and we reduced the percentage of students not meeting standards in mathematics and ELA each year for the past three years.
Important Work To Do: The new accountability system and our own analysis of the results yield a consistent overall picture. South Kingstown is a school system where the great majority of students are doing very well, but there are pockets of students not doing well. This is not a surprise. Students with special needs and economically disadvantaged students, those not doing as well as necessary, begin to surface in the middle grades and are evident in the secondary grades. This is a school system issue, however, one that must be addressed not just within individual schools, but also by the entire school system. Following are key elements of the work to be done.
á Curriculum Ð Reaching the goal of 100% student attainment requires a consistent, rigorous curriculum that all students access. In 02-03, a new English Language Arts curriculum was developed and a mathematics curriculum is now under development. Key to implementation of any curriculum is a consistent instructional framework that exists from school to school, grade to grade, and subject to subject. The Principles of Learning begins implementation this year and will provide the necessary consistent instructional framework.
á Specific Subgroups Ð The only subgroups in the district that did not meet state standards were students with special needs (grades 8 and 10) and economically disadvantaged students (grade 10). It is important to note that while there were select places where these subgroups did not meet state standards, they under performed the student population as a whole across the district.
o For special needs students, a system intervention is to increase studentsÕ participation in the regular education curriculum. The institution of a collaborative service model in the middle and secondary schools is central to this effort.
o For economically disadvantaged students and special needs students, our strategy is to identify and intervene with students at risk of failure.
¤ Literacy interventions are being developed in three levels.
á In all grades and schools, a common effort is to ensure that our curriculum and instruction supports literacy development. Specific strategies can, and will, be incorporated into our classrooms so that reading and writing skills development are used to both promote the learning of content and as skills themselves. Guided Reading in the early grades and Balanced Literacy in the middle grades are examples.
á Support to classroom instruction is being focused early, in kindergarten and first grade, through the kindergarten extended day, which provides additional literacy instruction for identified kindergarteners, and Reading Recovery, an intensive intervention for at risk first graders. Additional intervention, both in support of regular classroom teaching and separate instruction is provided through special education to identified students.
á In the middle schools, literacy intervention that is additional to regular instruction is provided to students with need. Reading teachers provide this service. Additional intervention, both in support of regular classroom teaching and separate instruction is provided through special education to identified students.
á At the high school, the only interventions outside of regular classroom instruction are those through special education. This is a priority need for the district.
¤ School personalization is another key element to improving the achievement of students who are not doing well.
á In the middle schools the team structure provides for a level of personalization. Students are with the same teachers for most of the day, every day, and the team of teachers serve as monitors, advocates, and supports for assigned students.
á In the high school, additional steps to make the school more personalized for disaffected students are critical. Our high school has become large, and, while most students do exceptionally well, the number who struggles in the large school environment prevents us from achieving the highest categorization. This is a necessary focus of the school and district, and is reflected in our self-evaluation presented in response to the Board Of Regents High School Regulations. The self-evaluation indicates that the establishment of career academies and a homeroom structure that can be a framework for advisories are initial steps. This not a simple question of layering on services, it is an examination of how we are organized from the ground up.
o Professional Development Ð Achieving the goals of the curricular, instructional, and subgroup interventions mentioned above will require an extensive effort in professional development. Efforts are underway in the reading and writing initiatives, mathematics instruction, and curricular coordination, but they are inadequate. Extensive work will be necessary:
¤ To ensure a coordinated, articulated implementation of our new curricula;
¤ To implement classroom strategies that allow special needs students increased participation in the complete curriculum; and
¤ To create a more personalized environment in our secondary grades, especially for students who require such attention to meet the demanding requirement now placed on schools.
The Future: Between now and 2014, the requirements for student achievement will continue to increase. In 2014, schools will be accountable for 100% of their students meeting the rigorous state standards. High performing schools will be required to meet the 100% standard in 2011. Between now and 2014 the following changes are expected.
á Resources and attention will be increasingly devoted to assuring that students meet state standards. Those students now struggling to do so will become an ever more important focus of schools and districts.
á It will be more difficult to become or remain a high performing school as the standard to be so categorized increases.
á Increasing sanctions and supports will be applied to schools that fail to meet improvement goals. Right now there are only sanctions, no real supports, and those with any consequence apply only to schools that receive Title I funds. (The South Kingstown school receiving Title I money is High Performing, so not subject to sanctions.)
For questions contact Assistant Superintendent Mary Kelley at 792-9681