May 12, 2015
TO
LEA Superintendents
Charter School Directors
FROM
Rebecca B. Garland, Deputy State Superintendent
Office of the Deputy State Superintendent
Tammy L. Howard, Director
Accountability Services
KEY DATES FOR THE 2014–15 READY ACCOUNTABILITY REPORT, ANNUAL
MEASUREABLE OBJECTIVES REPORT, AND SCHOOL PERFORMANCE GRADES
This memo provides key dates for the 2014–15 accountability report, annual measureable objectives (AMO)
report, and School Performance Grades (SPG) A–F. In September, summary data on all of the accountability
indicators will be presented to the State Board of Education (SBE) for their approval. Once approved by the
SBE, the data will be available in spreadsheet format on the North Carolina Department of Public
Instruction’s (NCDPI) Accountability web site. The specific dates are provided in the chart below:
Month
Activity(ies)
June
1. June 30—Final data due to the NCDPI
July
1. July 10—NCDPI submits end-of-grade (EOG) and end-of-course (EOC) data to
EVAAS
2. July 21—NCDPI notifies selected local education agencies (LEAs) regarding
the alternate assessment proficiency one percent cap
3. July 21— NCDPI completes test data analysis, applies quality control, and
prepares READY accountability and annual measureable objectives (AMO)
reports
4. July 30—NCDPI provides accountability audit files and internal reports to
districts
1. August 3—NCDPI submits North Carolina Final Exam (NCFE) data to EVAAS
2. August 14—Option D Alternative Schools submit report to the NCDPI
3. NCDPI provides preliminary audit files embargoed until the September SBE
meeting to districts (high school additional accountability indicators including
SPG)
4. NCDPI provides the list of participation targets missed for any subgroup in
Year 1, Year 2, and Year 3 (pending SBE approval, beginning with the 2014–15
school year, The ACT is included only for the All Students subgroup for
participation consequences; however, all subgroups’ participation will be
reported)
August
DIVISION OF ACCOUNTABILITY SERVICES
6314 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, North Carolina 27699-6314 | (919) 807-3769 | Fax (919) 807-3772
AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY/AFFIRMATIVE ACTION EMPLOYER
LEA Superintendents/Charter School Directors
May 12, 2015
Page 2
Month
Activity(ies)
August Cont. 5. Pending SBE approval, schools that earn an “A” designation and do not have
significant achievement and/or graduation gaps will be designated as an “A+”
school. Significant achievement and graduation gaps are defined as in-school
gaps that are above the three-year state average when averaging gaps in the
previous year and at least one of the two prior years between the highestachieving subgroup and lowest-achieving subgroup.
September
October
1. September 3—SBE approves the release of the READY Accountability, AMO,
and SPG Results
2. September 3—SBE approves the release of the four-year and five-year Cohort
Graduation Rates
3. September 4 through September 10—Data Correction Window. LEAs/charters
submit final data corrections
4. NCDPI requires schools within 30 days after accountability results are approved
by the SBE to send a letter to parents informing them of the inadequate
participation rate for Year 1 and Year 3. Copies of each letter must be submitted
to the Regional Accountability Coordinator (RAC) by October 2, 2015.
1. October 1—SBE approves final changes to READY accountability, AMO and
SPG reports
2. October 15—NC School Report Card released
OTHER ACCOUNTABILITY INFORMATION
The accountability reports will provide data on the performance of North Carolina schools with EOG and
EOC test scores in English language arts/reading, mathematics, and science. In addition, high schools will
have the following data reported: four- and five-year cohort graduation rates, math course rigor, The ACT,
ACT WorkKeys, and the graduation project.
The reports include:
1. Status: Percent of students meeting proficiency on the EOG/EOC tests or meeting the identified
benchmark for the high school indicators;
2. Growth: EVAAS generated school accountability growth which is reported as (1) Did Not
Meet Expected Growth, (2) Met Expected Growth, or (3) Exceeded Expected Growth; and
3. Progress: AMOs for English language arts/reading, mathematics, science, math course rigor, The ACT,
ACT WorkKeys, cohort graduation rates, and attendance for schools without a graduating class
(disaggregated by subgroups).
LEA Superintendents/Charter School Directors
May 12, 2015
Page 3
PARTICIPATION
As required by the initial ESEA Flexibility Waiver and as modified by the March 31, 2015, approved ESEA
Flexibility Waiver, the consequences for not meeting participation rate requirements are delineated below.
Please note the year 3 consequence is modified pending SBE approval.
Year 1 consequence for not meeting participation rate requirements for any subgroup:
Within 30 days after accountability results are approved by the SBE, the school must send a letter (text
provided by the NCDPI) to all parents informing them of the inadequate participation rate. Each letter must
also provide a plan of action for ensuring full participation for all subgroups, specifically targeting those that
did not have adequate participation.
Year 2 consequence for not meeting participation rate requirements for any subgroup:
The school will be labeled as a "consistently low-participating school" and will be required to create and
implement an intensive intervention plan aligned with ensuring participation rates for all sub-groups to reach
95%. At the state level, within the Statewide System of Support, these schools will receive the most intensive
support with the issue of participation rates.
Year 3 consequence (pending SBE approval) of not meeting participation rate requirements for any
subgroup:
Any school that does not meet the 95% participation requirement for any subgroup for three consecutive
years for EOG tests, EOC tests, The ACT (only for the “all students subgroup”), and ACT WorkKeys will be
identified as a Focus school. An additional letter (text provided by the NCDPI) must be sent home by the
school indicating a third year of inadequate participation and providing a plan to ensure full participation for
all subgroups.
As part of the ESEA Flexibility Waiver, the NCDPI will work with the SBE to update current policies
governing intensive intervention plans to ensure that they reflect participation rate performance as a factor,
and that the rigor increases after multiple years of missing targets.
Also, the NCDPI will continue to report the actual participation rates for all subgroups for The ACT but will
apply the consequences to the All Students subgroup only. However, it will require the inclusion of The ACT
participation for all subgroups in School Improvement Plans when participation is not being met.
We appreciate your attention to all reporting and accountability activities. If you have questions regarding
information within this memo, please contact your RAC.
RBG:TLH:kbh
c: June Atkinson, State Superintendent
Regional Accountability Coordinators
LEA Test Coordinators