Learning and Achievement: Accountability

RIDE uses two distinct sets of data: 2005-06 Assessment data, and Accountability data, which differs in several ways from the Assessment data:

• For Accountability, RIDE uses up to three years of data rather than a single year.
• The pool of students for Accountability differs from the pool of students for Assessment. 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.

School Classification Indicators and Targets

The first graph – 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 NECAP tests and New Standards Reference Exams (NSREs), which are part of the state assessments. High-school students take the NSREs; others take the NECAP tests.

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. 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 test. The NCLB sets a participation-rate target of 95%.

The bar to the far right shows either the graduation rate of the high school or the attendance rate for elementary and middle schools. RIDE has set the 2006 target for graduation rate at 75.3%. (Data for the graduation rate are for the class of 2006, but the data are drawn from the past four years, from the time that class entered high school.)

RIDE has set the 2006 target for the attendance rate for elementary and middle schools at 90%.

The bars show you that each school is measured on its assessment results, participation on state assessments, and either graduation rate or attendance rate. The school as a whole (All Students) must meet all of these targets; each of the eight groups of students must meet the assessment and participation targets; the school as a whole must meet its graduation or attendance 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 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 more information on the RIDE and NCLB, go to:

• 2006 or 2007 RIDE Report Cards
• RIDE's brochure on Accountability
• The RIDE Accountability technical bulletin
• Information Works! 2007: How Rhode Island Classifies Schools