School Monitoring and OEPA
Greg Miller
MEL – 540 School Resource Management
Spring 2015
OEPA
The Office of Education
Performance Audits (OEPA) is
charged with assisting the WV
Board of Education and the
state government in
establishing and maintaining a
system of performance audits
to measure the quality of
education and preparation of
students based on standards,
school and school system
performance, and progress in
providing a thorough system of
education in West Virginia.
Policy 2320
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The OEPA is guided by State Board of Education Policy
2320. The current version of the policy came into effect
on 1 July 2014.
The current version of the policy establishes an
accountability system for West Virginia public schools and
an approval process for school systems based on (1)
measures of student performance and (2) a system of
reviews through which school and school system quality
is examined and publicly reported.
Goals of the OEPA
1. Determine school accreditation and school system approval status for each school
and each school district in the state.
2. Assure that each school and each school system is accountable for the efficient use
of existing resources to meet or exceed standards.
3. Require each school and each school system to annually target resources to
improve student, school, and school system performance.
4. Provide accreditation information to the Legislature, Governor, the general public,
and any individual who requests such information.
5. Establish early detection and intervention programs to assist underachieving
schools and systems in improving performance.
6. Assure that all statewide assessments of student performance are secure.
7. Establish as part of the process for improving education the development of the
capacity of schools and school systems to meet or exceed standards.
8. Train/retrain a cadre of people for on-site reviews.
9. Identify exemplary schools and school systems.
10. Monitor and evaluate the components of the Office of Education Performance
Audits.
Source: Mission. (2015, May 1). Retrieved from OEPA: http://oepa.state.wv.us/mission.htm
OEPA and AYP
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The main responsibility of OEPA is to determine if a
school or school district meets adequate yearly progress
(AYP) based on West Virginia’s No Child Left Behind
statutes.
The measures include:
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Measurable objectives that identify a minimum percentage of
students who must meet or exceed the proficient level of
academic achievement on the state standardized test.
The participation rate of the students taking the standardized
test. This is set at 95% of current students or an average of all
students.
Attendance rates of 90% or higher in elementary and middle
schools and a graduation rate of 80% for high schools.
OEPA and School Accreditation
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A point system is in place to determine school
accreditation.
The point system is based on the following criteria
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Student proficiency in Reading/Language Arts, Math, Social
Studies, and Science on the state standardized test.
Writing assessment proficiency.
Attendance Rates
Technology Proficiency
Percentage of classes taught by highly qualified teachers.
Percentage of students scoring at benchmarks on the ACT
EXPLORE and ACT PLAN assessments
(cont.)
OEPA and School Accreditation (cont.)
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Graduation rates
Job placement rates for vocational programs
Percent of students passing end-of-course career/technical
tests.
ACT/SAT scores
Percentage of students nor requiring college remediation
classes.
Bonus points for subgroup improvement, AP percentages, dual
credit completers, and international baccalaureate completers.
School Monitoring Report
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The School Monitoring Report(SMR) is the instrument
developed by OEPA to measure High Quality Standards
outlined in Section 126-13-7 of Policy 2320.
The SMR is a reflective document to be used by the schools to
help define and correct areas for improvement.
Each school rates its performance on a set of standards.
The rating system has five levels, and the schools are required
to show evidence for each rating.
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Not rated
Unsatisfactory
Emerging
Accomplished
Distinguished
Areas Addressed in the SMR
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Curriculum and instruction
High expectations
Library and educational
technology access
Guidance and advisement
Multicultural activities
Instructional Day
Alignment with the job
market
Student and school
performance
Strategic improvement plans
Counseling services
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Lesson Plans
Data Analysis
Alternative Education
Codes of Conduct
Statewide Assessment
Physical Assessment
Hiring/Licensure/Evaluation
Teacher/Principal Internship
Safe and drug free schools
School rules
Policy implementation
Leadership
SMR Reporting in WVEIS
Process for Rating
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The SMR is a reflective document for the entire school,
the OEPA expects input from all of the stakeholders in
the school. When preparing for our OEPA visit we began
the rating process by having each teacher and each
administrator rate each category. Upon completion of
the rating process, each teacher met with their
department and completed a joint rating. Once each
department completed their ratings the school leadership
team (which includes the head of each department) met
with the administrators to compile a final ratings report.
Process for Rating
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Since the SMR is a living reflective document, it was
revisited at regular intervals throughout the year to
determine any potential changes based upon
administrator or teacher input. Changes were made
accordingly.
OEPA and the SMR
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The focus of the OEPA visit at the school is to determine
if the school is accurately portraying itself through the
SMR, and to look for evidence of the accuracy and efforts
to improve areas considered unsatisfactory or emerging.
Interviews of administrators, teachers, service personnel,
and students focused on parts of the SMR and the
resulting report gives the OEPA’s impression of the
accuracy of the report.
The OEPA will report any corrections it feels need to be
made on the SMR
OEPA Report on SMR
OEPA Report
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The OEPA report also provides feedback on the SMR and
explains why it feels ratings need to be changed.
OEPA Reporting
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The OEPA also reports on compliance with state policy.
OEPA Reporting
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OEPA also provides findings directly impacting school
performance.
Summary
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For schools the newest version of the OEPA audit is a
greatly improved, more inclusive look at a school’s
performance. In the past the audit was a quick snapshot
of a school and little effort was made to look at a larger
picture and period of time. It gives the school community
an opportunity to reflect on its own performance and
address needs prior to the visit. This creates less of an
adversarial visit and provides more support for the
schools.