Technical Fact Sheet: Priority Schools Identification
Recently, the West Virginia Department of Education (WVDE) provided Local Educational Agencies
(LEAs) with information about Priority Schools that were identified using School Year (SY) 2011-2012
achievement data.
Priority 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, Priority Schools are identified based only using
achievement data. The subsequent information details the Priority School identification process, schoolspecific data, implications for Priority Schools, and exit criteria.
Priority School Identification Overview
In order to identify a Priority school, the WVDE examines achievement data from WESTEST 2 and APTA
for all tested students in grades 3 through 8 and 11 using the SY 2011-2012 data. 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. To access technical
documentation regarding WV’s Accountability System, please visit
http://wvde.state.wv.us/esea/support/.
A key characteristic of WV’s new accountability system include cell size counts. This new accountability
system uses a minimum cell size of 20 students across all grades in a school to identify a valid subgroup.
This is taken into account when a school’s Annual Measureable Objectives are calculated. AMOs are
proficiency-based goals that are based on each school’s subgroup-specific SY 2011-2012 accountability
results. Each subgroup has a trajectory based upon a goal of 75% by 2020.
Priority School Identification Process
Step 1: Combine Mathematics and English/Language Arts Proficiency Rates
Each school’s proficiency rate in Mathematics and English/Language Arts for the All Students subgroup is
averaged. This results in a combined Mathematics and English/Language Arts proficiency rate. This
combined proficiency rate is used to rank schools in Step 2.
Step 2: Rank Schools
Schools are ranked from top to bottom using the combined proficiency rate.
Step 3: Identify Title I School at the 5th Percentile
The WVDE identifies the Title I school at the 5th percentile within this ranking. This school is the
threshold for determining the remaining Priority Schools.
Step 4: Identify remaining Priority Schools
All schools (i.e., Title I and non-Title I schools) that exhibit proficiency rates lower than the identified 5th
percentile Title I schools are identified as Priority schools.
Historical trend data are used to validate Priority school selections:
o Using achievement (i.e., proficiency rates), all schools are ranked from top to bottom.
o Once schools are ranked, they are coded from lowest to highest using quartiles (i.e., red,
orange, yellow, green).
o Schools are also coded by quartile using the three most recent years of achievement
data to establish a trend of performance (e.g., 2012, 2011 and 2010).
o Schools must demonstrate persistent low performance to be identified a Priority school.
Using the process outlined above, the WVDE identified several schools that exceeded the required
number of Title I schools (i.e., 5% or 18 of the Title I schools). Because West Virginia has implemented a
statewide model and believes that low-performing schools, irrespective of Title I eligibility, should
receive support, the same criteria is applied to all schools in the state. By expanding the scope to
include non-Title I schools, additional schools were identified as having an Achievement Index score less
than the highest ranked Title I Priority School.
Next Steps
WV’s new accountability system focuses on current performance and improvement. Based on the WVAI
scores and AMOs, schools should strive to make progress on both. To help Priority schools meet their
established WVAI targets and AMOs, the following Turnaround Principles will be implemented:
Provide strong leadership
Ensure that teachers are effective and able to improve instruction
Redesign the school day, week, or year
Strengthen the school’s instructional program
Use data to inform instruction
Establish a school environment that improves safety and discipline and address other nonacademic factors
Engage families and community
A school improvement coordinator is assigned to each Priority school. This coordinator will facilitate
implementation of the West Virginia School Improvement Framework for Priority Schools. This
framework includes the following components:
Diagnostic visit/report
Improvement plan
Memorandum of Understanding articulating responsibilities of each supporting agency
Implementation of Turnaround Principles.
Monitoring/progress reports/redirection
Funding to support professional development, technical assistance and interventions to implement the
School Improvement Framework will come from a variety of existing sources and vary depending on
school eligibility for certain funding types. Specific supports and resources for implementation of
Priority school improvement plans will be developed through collaborative efforts of all partners.
Additionally, WVDE-approved external partners may be contracted to provide targeted support.
Specifically, a Priority school must extend its strategic plan to include a deep analysis to determine root
causes and a targeted plan for meeting applicable accountability criteria.
Exit Criteria
Once identified, Priority 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 statewide assessment data. The
planning year of SY 2012-2013 does not count towards 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 data. The next
round of cohort identification will take place in SY 2016-2017 using SY 2015-2016 statewide assessment
data. These cohorts are identified in Table 2.
Table 2. Priority School Cohort Calendar
Cohort
SY
20132014
Cohort
SY
20162017
Cohort
SY 20112012
Identification
Data
SY 20122013
Planning
Year
SY 20132014
Year 1
Interventions
SY 20142015
Year 2
Interventions
SY 20152016
Year 3
Interventions.
Review SY 13-14
and SY 14-15
data against exit
criteria
SY 20162017
Identification
of new cohort
using 15/16
data
Priority schools are subject to an annual progress review by local Boards of Education and the State
Board of Education. However, due to their significant need, schools will only be eligible to exit Priority
status at the conclusion of the third year of their cohort. In order to exit Priority status and be eligible
for alternative designation, a school must meet the following criteria:
1. The school’s combined Mathematics and English/Language Arts proficiency rates are no longer
below the 5th percentile Title I School;
2. The school demonstrates successful implementation of school turnaround strategies (as
measured by High Quality Standards on-line monitoring tool); and
3. The school must demonstrate for the two most recent years, that
a. students in the all subgroup are meeting the AMO, or
b. students in the all subgroup are demonstrating adequate growth (i.e., a median gap of
zero in the distance between observed growth and target growth).
Contact Information
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/