RI Schools: The Basic Facts
Profile of Schools, Student Characteristics,
   and Kids Count

Learning and Achievement
Assessments
Disaggregations
Accountability
How Rhode Island Classifies Schools
2004 School-Performance Classification:
Elementary  |Middle  |High

Using Information
State Indicators
Value Added:
Elementary  |Middle  |High
Attendance and Graduation Rates,
Learning Support Indicators:
Elementary  |Middle  |High

Safe and Supportive Environments
Students' Point of View:Middle  |High
Suspensions

Equity and Adequacy of Resources
Property Value/Student Compared to
   Tax Rate
Tax Capacity and Effort
In$ite: Including Other Commitments
In$ite: Excluding Other Commitments
Out-of-District Obligations
In$ite: Instruction
In$ite: General Education
Middle  |High

Curriculum and Instruction
Advanced Placement Exams
Teaching Practices:
Elementary  |Middle  |High
Inclusion
Students with Disabilities
Students with Disabilities: Participation
Elementary  |Middle  |High
Students with Disabilities: Participation by District
Elementary  |Middle  |High

Engaging Families
Elementary  |Middle  |High

Essentially, RIDE is using two distinct sets of data. One is the 2004 Assessment data. The second set is the “Accountability data,” which differs in several ways from the Assessment data.

For accountability, RIDE uses three years of data rather than a single year. Also, the pool of students for Accountability differs in some respects from the pool of students for Assessment. For example, the Assessment data includes all students enrolled in the school at the time the tests are administered. For Accountability, the scores are counted only for students enrolled for the full school year.

The Accountability data is compiled in accordance with provisions of the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB). RIDE has adopted an Accountability Plan, bringing the state into full compliance with NCLB.

For more information on RIDE and NCLB, please see the RIDE website for the following resources:

• 2004 School and District Report Cards and Classifications
• Brief Explainer of the Accountability System (also available through the Information Works! State Report Card)
• User’s Brochure about the Accountability system

School Classification Indicators and Targets

What you are looking at

The bar graph on the left – Index Scores and Targets – is based on RIDE’s “index proficiency score.” This index score, which can range from 0 to 100, is computed from New Standards Reference Exams (NSREs), which are part of the state assessments.

For each student test, every scoring level on the NSREs is given a point value:

Achieved the Standard with Honors = 100
Achieved the Standard = 100
Nearly Achieved the Standard = 75
Below the Standard = 50
Little Evidence of Achievement = 25
No Score = 0

By combining all student tests and all subtests, over a three-year period (2002-2004), RIDE computes for every school two sets of index scores, one in English language arts (ELA) and the other in mathematics.

As the bar graph shows, scores are calculated for the school as a whole (All Students) and for eight groups of students within each school.

As required by the No Child Left Behind Act, RIDE establishes an annual target in each subject area for each school level (elementary, middle, and high school). The ELA and mathematics targets are shown by the horizontal lines on the graph.

When the bars rise above their respective lines, the school as a whole or the group of students within the school has met the annual target.

The bar graphs to the right show the school’s participation rate on each NSRE tests. The NCLB sets a participation-rate target of 95 percent.

The bar to the extreme right shows either the school’s attendance rate (for elementary and middle schools) or the graduation rate (high schools). RIDE has set the 2004 target at 90 percent for attendance; RIDE set the 2004 target for graduation rate at 71.4 percent. (Data for attendance are for the 2003-04 school year only; data for the graduation rate are for the class of 2004, but the data are drawn from the past four years, from the time that class entered high school. )

What you are looking for

The bars show you that each school is measured 21 times: The school as a whole (All Students) must meet both the ELA and mathematics targets; each of the eight groups of students must meet both targets; the school as a whole must meet both participation targets; the school as a whole must meet its attendance or graduation target. (Note that if a school has fewer that 45 students, over the three-year span, in any group, that group is given credit for meeting its targets.)

Under provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act, if a school misses any of its targets it is classified has not made “adequate yearly progress” (AYP). If it misses targets for two years in a row, it has been “identified for school improvement,” and it may be subject to sanctions imposed by the NCLB, such as allowing parents to transfer their children to another school (School Choice). After three years, the school may have to provide free supplemental educational services such as tutoring. After four years, the school may face restructuring or other sanctions.

You are hoping to see that the school has met all of its targets – that each of the bars rises above the horizontal target lines on each of the graphs.

For a more detailed look at each school and its targets, see the 2004 School Report Cards – Accountability, at www.ridoe.net.