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The U.S. Department of
Education (USDOE) recently released a new policy regarding student
participation in statewide assessments. The South Dakota Department of
Education (SDDOE) intends to take full advantage of the expanded provisions.
Background:
No Child Left Behind
requires all students to participate in the state’s assessment system,
although a school can make “adequate yearly progress” if at least 95% of
students, measured by total population and by student subgroup, participate in
the state’s annual assessment of student achievement. This provision ensures
that every child is counted so students who are struggling get the help they
need. Full participation in assessments makes schools more inclusive,
responsive, and fair.
New provisions:
USDOE continues to work
with education leaders nationwide to understand the practicable challenges in
implementing No Child Left Behind. To take a broader look at a school’s
participation rate, and to allow for rare serious medical emergencies, states
have been offered flexibility in two ways:
1.
Average Participation Rate
Under the new policy, a state may use data from the previous one or two years
to average the participation rate data for a school and/or student
subgroup. If the resulting two-or three-year average meets or exceeds 95%, the
school will meet the “adequate yearly progress” requirement. Schools that are
performing well in this category may not be unduly identified as “in need of
improvement” because of a one-or two-year dip in their participation rates.
For example, a school might find that its participation rate dropped to 94%
for one year. If in the previous two years, the rates were 95% and 96% then
the three participation rates may be averaged to meet the 95% rate
requirement.
2.
Medical Emergencies
There are rare circumstances when a student cannot take the state assessment
during the entire testing window, including make-up dates, due to a
significant medical emergency--for example, a serious accident. The new policy
allows the state to omit the student when calculating participation rates.
This assures that schools whose averages might be affected by the absence of a
student due to a significant medical emergency can report the information to
the department so that the school will not be unduly identified for
improvement due to the student’s absence during the testing window and make-up
dates.
The department will work
with school districts on a case-by-case basis when considering omission of a
student due to a documented medical emergency. |
