School Accountability in Florida:
Grading Schools and
Measuring Adequate Yearly Progress
Prepared by:
Student Assessment & School Performance
1
School Grades
Schools are graded based on the percentage of
students who reach specific criteria in 8 measures.
Achieving High Standards
• Level 3 and above in reading (grades 3-10)
• Level 3 and above in math (grades 3-10)
• Essay Score 4.0 and above in writing (grades 4, 8, and 10)
• Level 3 and above in science (grades 5, 8, and 11)
Learning Gains
• Learning gains in reading (grades 3-10)
• Learning gains in math (grades 3-10)
• Learning gains of lowest 25% in reading (grades 3-10)
• Learning gains of lowest 25% in math (grades 3-10)
2
How Are Learning Gains Defined?
1.
Improving from one FCAT Achievement
Level to the next (example: Level 3 to
Level 4)
2.
Maintaining FCAT Achievement Level 3,
4, or 5
3.
Students remaining FCAT Levels 1 or 2
and achieving more than one year’s
growth on the FCAT developmental scale
3
Developmental Scale Score
Learning Gains Cut Points
Grade Level
3 to 4
4 to 5
5 to 6
6 to 7
7 to 8
8 to 9
9 to 10
Reading
230
166
133
110
92
77
77
Math
162
119
95
78
64
54
48
Students must register a gain of one point more than
the numbers listed above.
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Learning Gains
•
•
Students who drop a level (Level 4 to
3 or Level 5 to 4) are not counted as a
learning gain
Retained students who are Level 1 or
Level 2 must improve at least one
level in order to be counted as a
learning gain
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Learning Gains (FAA)



Learning gains for students who take the Florida
Alternate Assessment (FAA) are included in
School Grade beginning in 2009-10.
The FAA has nine separate performance levels,
ranging from 1 to 9, with 4 or higher equaling
proficient.
A learning gain is defined as an improvement in
performance level or the maintenance of a
proficient level.
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Science and Writing

Schools with less than 10 students will still receive the
district average.
– In the past schools with less than 30 students received the
district average.


FCAT writing essays will be scored by one reader.
Schools will be accountable for the percentage of
students scoring a 4 and above. AYP will remain 3.0
and above
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FCAT Grade Scale
Grade
Points
A
525-800
B
495-524
C
435-494
D
395-434
F
0-394
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Adequate Progress
At least 50% of students in the bottom 25% must demonstrate
learning gains in reading and math
“A” Schools
•
Must register adequate progress in the current school year
“B” and “C” Schools
•
Must register adequate progress in the current or prior school year
Failure to make Adequate Progress for two consecutive years results
in reduction of letter grade, regardless of number of points earned.
9
Adequate Progress Exception
A, B, and C schools that do not meet the 50%
learning gains requirement will not be penalized
one letter grade if:
•40% or more of lowest quartile students make gains in
Reading and Mathematics and this percentage is at
least a 1 percentage point increase from the prior year
•Less than 40% of lowest quartile students make gains
in Reading and Mathematics and this percentage is at
least a 5 percentage point increase from the prior year
10
New High School Grading

Beginning in 2009-10 schools serving a
9-12 population will be graded based:
– 50% on the 8 FCAT components and
– 50% on the school’s:
graduation rate,
 performance and participation in accelerated
courses,
 graduation rate of at-risk students,
 postsecondary readiness,
 and growth and decline in the data components
from year to year.


Performance on state end-of-course
assessments when they become available.
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Graduation Rate
Students Not
Included in the
Calculation
Graduates
(4 year)
Non-Graduates
Students who transfer to:
Other schools (public,
private, or DJJ facilities)
Standard
Dropouts
Diploma
Special
Home-education
Adult
education
Deceased
Diploma
Certificate
GED
of Completion
recipients
Continuing
enrollees who
are not on-time graduates
students
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Participation in Accelerated Coursework
Numerator
Denominator
11th-12th graders who took an
accelerated exam or dual
enrollment course AND 9th-10th
graders who passed an
accelerated exam or dual
enrollment course (weighted)
All 11th-12th graders

For a school to receive credit for participation in an accelerated course that
ends in an exam (e.g., AP, IB, AICE), the student must take the exam.

For dual enrollment, a student must earn a grade in the course for a school to
receive credit for participation.

For industry certification, a student must have taken an industry certification
exam on the SBE approved “Industry Certification Funding List” for the year.
13
Performance in Accelerated Coursework
Numerator
Denominator
Number of successful outcomes All 11th-12th graders who took an
in accelerated coursework by a accelerated exam or dual
student (9th through 12th grade) enrollment course AND 9th-10th
graders who passed an
accelerated exam or dual
enrollment course

Students will receive weight based on the number of postsecondary courses
for which the student earns credit:
– Dual Enrollment- a C or better equals credit in one course.
– Industry Certification- 1 or multiple successful outcomes based on
statewide articulation agreements
(http://www.fldoe.org/workforce/dwdframe/artic_frame.asp)
– AP, IB, and AICE- determined by the Credit-by-Exam Equivalencies List.
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(http://www.fldoe.org/articulation/pdf/ACC-CBE.pdf)
Weighting for Participation and Performance
Schools will earn weighted credit for participation and performance
based on this weighting system to accommodate multiple
enrollments or successful completions:
Weight
Outcome
1.00
1 Exam/Course
1.10
2 Exams/Courses
1.20
3 Exams/Courses
No cap is proposed for participation or performance. That is,
schools will earn an increasing amount of credit for those students
who take/pass increasing numbers of accelerated courses/exams.
One tenth of a point will be added for each course/ successful
outcome for a student.
15
Postsecondary Readiness
Numerator
Denominator
Number of students scoring
“ready” on SAT, ACT, and/or
CPT any time during their
high school careers
On-time high school
graduates who scored a
Level 3 or higher on the
10th Grade FCAT

Separate Measures for Reading and Math.

If a student takes multiple tests (ACT, SAT, or CPT), the student’s
highest score by subtest is used.

The scores used to define “ready” are:
ACT
SAT
CPT
Reading
18
440
83
Mathematics
19
440
72
16
Graduation Rate for At-Risk Students



Use same method of calculation used for overall
graduation rate calculation.
Subset of overall cohort – include only those
students that earned a Level 2 or lower on both
FCAT Reading and Math in 8th Grade.
If a school does not have at least 10 students in
that subgroup, the school’s overall graduation
rate will be substituted for this measure.
17
Growth or Decline in components






Schools earn an escalating number of points based on the
magnitude of their improvement.
Additional points would be awarded based on the number of
points the school improved (growth from prior year); up to 20
additional points.
Schools will lose 5 points if a component declines by 10
percentage points or more.
EXAMPLES
GROWTH: A school’s acceleration performance improves
from 25% to 32%; the school earns an additional 7 points
resulting in a total of 39 points (32 + 7).
DECLINE: A school’s acceleration performance declines from
30% to 20%; the school would lose an additional 5 points
resulting in a total of 15 points (20 – 5).
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Additional Requirement


Law stipulates that in order for a school that earns
enough points for an “A” to be awarded an “A”, the
school’s at-risk graduation rate must meet a certain
threshold to ensure “adequate progress.”
Threshold:
– 75%; or
 1 percentage point improvement over the prior year if
percentage is within 10 points of the target
 5 percentage point improvement over the prior year if
percentage is beyond 10 points of the target

This requirement is akin to the current learning gains
requirement for the Low 25%.
– If a school fails to make adequate progress for the low quartile
and the at-risk graduation rate the school’s grade will only be
reduced once.
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High School Grading Matrix
GRADUATION
ACCELERATION
READINESS
Overall Rate
200
Participation
175 (in 2010-11)
Performance on Reading
100
At-Risk Rate
100
Performance
125 (in 2010-11)
Performance on Math
100
Total Graduation Points
300
Total Acceleration Points
300
Total Readiness Points
200
Total Points Possible
800
Things to Note
 All components are percentages. Those components weighted twice as much as others
reflect a calculated percentage that is doubled (e.g., School X has a 75 points for
graduation rate – School X earns 150 points (75*2) for that component).

Over a 3 year period, the weighting of acceleration will be adjusted so that eventually
both participation and performance will be weighted equally (150 points each).

If a school earns points in excess of the total for a particular component – through the
growth adjustment or the escalating weights in the acceleration components – the
school will receive the maximum points for that component.
20
Bonus Points (High Schools)
High Schools are eligible for 10 bonus
points added to their total school grade
points, if at least half the 11th and 12th
grade students in the school retaking the
FCAT meet the graduation requirement
(score of 300). Student who meet the
graduation requirement with an ACT or
SAT concordant score are not included.
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HIGH SCHOOL GRADING SCALE
A
Current 800point scale
525-800
New 1600-point
scale
1050-1600
B
495-524
990-1049
C
435-494
870-989
D
395-434
790-869
F
Less Than 395
Less Than 790
22
Participation Rates
“A” Schools
•
Must test at least 95% of students
“B”, “C”, and “D” Schools
•
Must test at least 90% of students
Failure to test at least 90% of students results in an “I”
pending investigation and may result in a lowering of
the letter grade.
23
Who Counts for School Grades?
•
•
Students enrolled during the October and February FTE
surveys
Included for all components:
– Standard Curriculum Students
– ESE: Gifted, Hospital/Homebound, Speech
Impaired
– LEP: Enrolled in a ESOL program for more
than 2 years prior to testing
•
Other ESE and LEP (less than two years) categories
included in percent tested and learning gains.
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No Child Left Behind
Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP)



Includes all students who took the FCAT and were
enrolled during the October and February FTE surveys
Participation is computed based on students enrolled
during the February FTE survey who are still enrolled
during testing
Performance by Subgroup
– Total
– White, Black, Hispanic, Asian, American
Indian
– Economically Disadvantaged
– Limited English Proficiency
– Students With Disabilities
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Subgroups


Must test at least 95% of each subgroup with 30 or
more students.
Subgroups count for proficiency if:
– 30 students and more than 15% of the
school’s tested population (valid scores)
OR
– 100 students (valid scores)


Students can be in more than one subgroup
All students included in Total
26
ELL Subgroup


FDOE has recently received approval for ELL
students enrolled for less than one year to be
exempted from the proficiency calculation for AYP.
These students will still be included in
participation for AYP.
– To count towards participation in Mathematics a student
must take the FCAT
– To count towards participation in Reading a student must
take the FCAT and/or CELLA

The first year ELL students will be included in
Writing and Graduation rate.
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Annual Raising of the Bar
100
60
50
44
50
31
38
38
38
31
51
56
58
62
65
2010-11
70
72 74
79 80
2009-10
86 86
90
80
40
100 100
93 93
68
44
37
31
30
20
10
Reading
2013-14
2012-13
2011-12
2008-09
2007-08
2006-07
2005-06
2004-05
2003-04
2002-03
2001-02
0
Mathematics
28
Three Ways to Make AYP
2%
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1. Meeting Standard
Criteria

Each Subgroup:
– 95% of students tested in Reading and Math
– 79% at level 3 or above in Reading
– 80% at level 3 or above in Math

Total Group:
– 1% increase OR 90% in Writing scores at 3.0+
– 2% increase OR 85% in graduation rate

School Grade “A”, “B”, or “C”
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2. Safe Harbor



Total and all subgroup participation
rates and School Grade requirements
must be met.
Subgroup Participation rates, Writing,
and Graduation requirements met.
Decrease of at least 10% in the
percent of non-proficient students.
– A school had 55% of a subgroup level 1
or 2 in 2008-09. That school needs 49%
or less in levels 1 and 2 during 2009-10
that school would make Safe Harbor for
that subgroup and subject.
31
3. Growth Model




School-wide Participation rates and
School Grade requirements met.
Subgroup Participation rates, Writing,
and Graduation requirements met.
Percent of students on track to be
proficient in 3 years or less
Students without at least two years of
data are not included in the Growth
Model
32
3. Growth ModelOn Track to Proficiency



A trajectory is developed for each
student.
Developmental Scale Scores
Student must reduce the gap between
their prior year score and proficiency
by at least 33% per year.
33
3. Growth ModelOn Track to Proficiency
2000
1715
DSS
1500
1245
973
1000
775
601
500
305
0
4
5
6
7
Grade
On Track Trajectory
Student 1
Student 2
Intermediate on track trajectory scores represent one third of the
difference between the baseline and proficient score.
34
3. Growth ModelOn Track to Proficiency
Grade Of Test Used As
Enrollment
The Basis
For
Trajectory
Test Used As
Target For
Proficiency
Years In
Trajectory
Percent Of
Difference
Closed Per
Year
3
3
6
3
33%
4
3
6
3
33%
5
4
7
3
33%
6
5
8
3
33%
7
6
9
3
33%
8
7
10
3
33%
9
8
10
3
33%
10
9
10
2
50%
35
Correlation Between School
Grades and AYP



School Grades and AYP are based on
separate computational methods.
D or F schools cannot make AYP
Differentiated Accountability
– A, B, & C schools with
80% or more of AYP criteria and 2 to 4 years w/o
AYP are Prevent 1
 less than 80% of AYP criteria and 2 to 4 years w/o
AYP are Prevent 2
 80% or more of AYP criteria and 5 or more years
w/o AYP are Correct 1
36
 less than 80% of AYP criteria and 5 or more years
w/o AYP are Correct 2

For Additional Information
Florida Department of Education
http://schoolgrades.fldoe.org/
Student Assessment & School Performance
http://www.broward.k12.fl.us/studentassessment/
Research Services
http://www.broward.k12.fl.us/research_evaluation/ResearchServices.htm
School Improvement
http://www.broward.k12.fl.us/schoolimprove/
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