TechnicalFactSheet:HighSchoolFocusSchoolsIdentification
Recently, the West Virginia Department of Education (WVDE) provided Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) with information about Focus Schools that were identified using School Year (SY) 2011‐2012 achievement data. Focus Schools are part of a new accountability system associated with West Virginia’s Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Flexibility Request. The ESEA Flexibility request includes guidelines and requirements around the three principles of (1) Standards and Assessments, (2) A Revised Accountability and Support System, and (3) Educator Effectiveness and Support. The WVDE submitted an ESEA Flexibility Request to the U.S. Department of Education in September of SY 2012‐2013 with a planned implementation in SY 2013‐2014. As part of Principle 2, Focus Schools are identified based on subgroup achievement gaps for elementary/middle schools and graduation rate gaps for high schools. The subsequent information details the Focus School identification process, school‐specific data, implications for Focus Schools, and exit criteria. FocusSchoolIdentificationOverview
To identify a Focus high school, the WVDE examines graduation rate1 data for all students based on SY 2010‐2011 graduation rate. This rate is calculated using the grade 9 cohort, who were students enrolled as first‐time 9th graders in SY 2007‐2008. Please visit http://wvde.state.us/esea/support to access technical documentation regarding WV’s Accountability System. Please note, the designation of elementary, middle, or high school is based on WV’s accountability classification. It is determined by the highest grade level of accountability (i.e., 4, 8, or 12) in a school, regardless of grade configuration. For example, a school with students in grades K‐8 would be designated a middle school, while a school with students in grades 7‐12 would be designated a high school. Two key characteristics of WV’s new accountability system include cell size counts and how graduation rate gaps are calculated. First, this new accountability system uses a minimum cell size of 20 students across all grades in a school to identify a valid subgroup. Second, graduation rate gaps are defined using a more transparent method. Traditionally, graduation rate gaps have been calculated by comparing individual subgroups against the All Students subgroup in the school. Under WV’s new accountability system, graduation rate gaps are calculated by comparing students in a subgroup to those students not 1
Throughout this technical fact sheet, graduation rate generically refers to the four‐year adjusted‐cohort graduation rate. For more information on graduation rates, please visit the WV’s Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rates Guide https://wveis.k12.wv.us/wveis2004/WV%20Adjusted%20Cohort%20Guidance_FINAL.pdf. 1 in the subgroup. For example, the Students with Disabilities subgroup will now be compared to the Non‐
Students with Disabilities subgroup. Racial subgroups are examined by comparing minority students with non‐minority students (i.e., the White subgroup). The graduation rate gap comparisons are provided in the table below. Table 1. Subgroup Comparisons Subgroup Non‐Subgroup for Comparison African American American Indian Non‐Minority (i.e., White) Asian/Pacific Islander Multi‐Racial Low Socioeconomic Status Non‐Low Socioeconomic Status
English Language Learners Non‐English Language Learners Students with Disabilities Non‐Students with Disabilities Latino or Hispanic Non‐Latino or Hispanic Graduation Rate data, which are provided in the district‐specific Focus School release documentation, include the following: 
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The number of subgroups with a cell size of at least 20 students (i.e., the new minimum cell size criteria) The observed graduation rates for subgroups applicable to Focus schools in West Virginia: o African American students o Multi‐Racial students o Students with Disabilities o Students of Low Socioeconomic Status The observed graduation rates for comparison subgroups applicable to Focus schools in West Virginia: o White students (i.e., non‐minority) o Non‐Students with Disabilities o Non‐Low Socioeconomic Status students Additional data provided in the district‐specific Focus School release documentation that are used to identify Focus Schools include: 
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The percent of the gap closed for each subgroup The average percent of the gap closed for all identified subgroups in a school The average graduation rate gap 2 FocusSchoolIdentificationProcess
To understand how the data are calculated and how Focus schools are identified, please read the Focus School identification process as it is described below in Steps 1‐5 for high schools. Step#1:DeterminetheNumberofSubgroupsComparedforGraduationRate
The “Number of Subgroups Compared” refers to any cell that contains at least 20 students. It reflects the total number of valid subgroups, which is used as the divisor in Step 3 to calculate the average graduation rate gap. Focus Schools in West Virginia only include the four valid subgroups highlighted below from the following list of subgroups. 1.
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African American Hispanic/Latino American Indian Asian/Pacific Islander Student with Disabilities (SWD) Low Socioeconomic Status (Low SES) English Language Learners (ELL) Multi‐Racial Step#2:DeterminetheSubgroupGapClosedforGraduationRate
The “Subgroup Gap Closed” refers to how close the subgroup’s graduation rate is to the non‐subgroup graduation rate using SY 2010‐2011 graduation rate for the grade 9 cohort. For example, if the Low SES subgroup graduate rate was 68% (i.e., .68) and the Non‐Low SES subgroup graduation rate was 85% (i.e., .85); one would divide .68 by .85 to arrive at the percent of the gap closed for Low SES value of .80, or 80% of its gap closed for graduation rate: .68 (Low SES)____ = .80 of the Graduation Rate Gap Closed for Low SES .85 (Non‐Low SES) As indicated in the example above, this school has closed 80% of the gap between its Low SES and its non‐Low SES students Graduation Rates. A school should strive to close 100% of its graduation rate gap for any valid subgroup. If the SWD subgroup graduation rate was 52.8% (i.e., .528) and the Non‐SWD subgroup graduation rate was 88% (i.e., .88); one would divide .528 by .68 to arrive at a percent of the gap closed for SWDs value of .60, or 60% of its gap closed for Graduation Rate: .528 (SWDs) ____ = .60 of the Graduation Rate Gap Closed for SWDs .88 (Non‐SWDs) Again, a school should strive to fully close the graduation rate gap so that a subgroup is reaching a graduation rate comparable to the non‐subgroup (i.e., 100% of the gap closed, which should be 1.0 of 3 the Gap Closed). Focus Schools are schools with the largest graduation gaps in the state, which are represented by schools with the smallest graduation rate gaps closed. These schools would have only .05 (5%) of the graduation gap closed, for example. Step#3:DeterminetheAverageGraduationGapClosed
The “Average Graduation Gap Closed” refers to the combined values from each of the “Gap Closed” subgroups, divided by the “Number of Subgroups Compared.” This average is important because it is used to understand how all subgroups compare to the non‐subgroups in a school in terms of Graduation Rate. Additionally, this average is used to arrive at the Graduation Gap, which is calculated in Step 4. .80 (Gap Closed for Low SES) + .60 (Gap Closed for SWD) = .70 Average Graduation Gap 2 Subgroups Closed In the example above, one would sum the available subgroup gaps, (.80 for the Low SES subgroup plus .60 for the SWD subgroup), and divide by the number of valid subgroups in the school. In this example, there are two subgroups with a cell size of at least 20. This calculation would yield a .70 Average Graduation Gap Closed. Step#4:DeterminetheOverallGraduationRateGap
The “Overall Graduation Rate Gap” refers to 1 minus the “Average Graduation Gap Closed.” This value is what is traditionally considered a graduation rate gap. As a reminder, this is a not a number that reflects a difference in graduation rates, but rather the Overall Graduation Rate Gap is how proportionally large the graduation rate gap is for all subgroups. For example: 1 – .70 of the Average Graduation Rate Gap Closed = .30 Overall Graduation Rate Gap In this example, one would reference the calculation from Step 3 (i.e., .70 Average Graduation Rate Gap Closed). One would then subtract the Average Graduation Rate Gap from 1 to arrive at a .30 Overall Graduation Gap, or a 30% Graduation Gap. Again, this number refers to the proportional size of a school’s Graduation Rate Gap. When considering school graduation rates in WV, an Overall Graduation Rate Gap of .30 (or 30%) is smaller than the state Overall Graduation Gap average of 19.62%. The “Overall Graduation Rate Gap” is used to rank order all high schools in the state and identify the 5th percentile school’s value. Any school (both Title I and non‐Title I) whose graduation rate gap is equal to or greater than the 5th percentile school’s graduation rate gap is identified as a Focus School. Please note, Priority Schools may have exhibited achievement gaps greater than the 5th percentile high school, but were not identified because of their Priority designation first. Schools can only have one designation. The chart on the subsequent page explains percentile ranks in more detail. 4 Chart 1. Understanding Percentile Ranks and Focus Schools Three important points to remember about Graduation Rate Gaps: 1. A large graduation rate gap is of concern and requires scrutiny, regardless of student performance. 2. A small graduation rate gap is considered a positive school attribute, but it is important to examine overall graduation rates as well. If the overall graduation rates of students and 5 subgroups is high, then a small graduation rate gap indicates that all students are graduating at the same rate. 3. The overall graduation rate in a school provides context for interpreting the severity of the graduation rate gap. A graduation rate gap should not be used as the only data to determine interventions. Consider the case of two schools with a 30% Graduation Rate Gap (i.e., 70% of the Graduation Rate gap closed): a. School A, as shown in the example above, exhibits a graduation rate gap of 30% b. School B, as identified in Figure 1 below, exhibits a graduation rate gap of 29% While both graduation rate gaps are very similar, School A is more successful in terms of overall graduation rates. Despite the near equal graduation rate gap with School B, School A shows approximately 10% greater graduation rate. These points to remember about Graduation Rate Gaps are further described in the following figure. Figure 1. Graduation Rate Gap by Overall Graduation Rates
All West Virginia Schools
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Average 50.00 Graduation Rates
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50.00% 45.00% 40.00% 35.00% 30.00% 25.00% 20.00% 15.00% 10.00% 5.00% 0.00%
Graduation Rate Gap
As shown in the figure above, schools near the red shaded areas should examine graduation rate trends carefully. These schools are exhibiting large graduation rate gaps and lower graduation rates, or a 6 combination of the two, indicating that they are not meeting the needs of all learners in order to graduate within four years. Schools in the yellow shaded areas are exhibiting some improvement by beginning to close their graduation rate gaps, still exhibit lower graduation rates, or a combination of both, indicating that they are meeting the needs of some, but not all learners to graduation within four years. Schools that are in the green shaded areas are demonstrating the best performance and exhibit a combination of small graduation rate gaps and high graduation rates. These schools are meeting the needs of all learners in a school, equitably and graduating students within four years. The data points indicate actual school performance in West Virginia. NextSteps
WV’s new accountability system focuses on growth and improvement. Each Local Educational Agency (LEA) will be working with identified focus schools to implement the West Virginia School Improvement Framework for Focus Schools. This framework includes the following components:  Diagnostic visit/report with a concentration on specific identified gap(s)  Improvement plan  Memorandum of Understanding articulating responsibilities of each supporting agency  Implementation of targeted subgroup interventions  Monitoring/progress reports/redirection Focus Assistance Support Teams (FAST) consisting of staff with programmatic expertise will be formed at the local, regional and state levels to support implementation of appropriate interventions to improve subgroup achievement and school completion. Specific supports/resources for implementation of Focus School improvement plans will be developed through collaborative efforts of all partners. Please contact your LEA for more information. ExitCriteria
Once identified, Focus Schools become part of a three‐year cohort. The three years are determined by the first year of interventions. The first cohort is based on SY 2011‐2012 accountability graduation rates . The planning year of SY 2012‐2013 does not count toward the three‐year cohort. The cohort cycle begins with intervention taking place in SY 2013‐2014. Schools in the first cohort will have the opportunity to compare their data against the exit criteria in SY 2015‐2016, using the prior two years of graduation rate data for accountability. The next round of cohort identification will take place in SY 2016‐2017 using SY 2015‐2016 graduation rate data for accountability. These cohorts are identified in Table 2 on the subsequent page. 7 Table 2. Focus School Cohort Calendar Cohort SY 2013‐
2014 Cohort SY 2016‐
2017 Cohort SY 2011‐
2012 Identification Data SY 2012‐
2013 Planning Year SY 2013‐
2014 Year 1 Interventions SY 2014‐
2015 Year 2 Interventions SY 2015‐ 2016 Year 3 Interventions. Review SY 13‐
14 and SY 14‐
15 data against exit criteria SY 2016‐ 2017 Identification of new cohort using 15‐16 data Focus schools will be eligible to exit Focus status when the following criteria have been met for the two most recent years of data for accountability (i.e., SY 2013‐2014 and SY 2014‐2015; or SY 2014‐2015 and SY 2015‐2016): 1. A school is no longer among the 5% of high schools with the largest subgroup graduation rate gaps as a result of sufficient subgroup improvement, and 2. A school meets its subgroup proficiency Annual Measureable Objectives (AMOs) for those subgroups that contribute to a school’s graduation rate gap. Graduation rate AMOs are graduation‐rate goals that are based on each school’s subgroup‐specific SY 2011‐2012 graduation rate accountability results, which is based on the 2010‐2011 four‐year adjusted‐
cohort graduation rate. Each subgroup has a trajectory based upon a graduation rate goal of 85% by 2020. The improvement will be subject to review by the ESEA School Review Committee. ContactInformation
For more information on West Virginia’ ESEA Flexibility Request, please visit the website: http://wvde.state.wv.us/esea/ For more information on data, assessment, or accountability, please contact the WVDE Office of Assessment and Accountability: (304) 558‐2546 http://wvde.state.wv.us/oaa/ For more information on technical assistance and school improvement, please contact the WVDE Office of School Improvement: (304) 558‐3199 http://wvde.state.wv.us/schoolimprovement/ 8