Accountability
The accountability system includes the identification of schools in need of improvement. This system serves to provide assistance to the lowest performing schools. The first step in establishing the accountability system was to define those skills needed for children to be successful in the twenty fist century economy. These skills, defined in the Core Curriculum Content Standards, were then to be measured by state assessments at three checkpoint grades. New Jersey developed the Elementary School Proficiency Assessment (ESPA) at grade four, the Grade Eight Proficiency Assessment (GEPA) at grade eight
The next phase of the accountability design was to determine school progress toward meeting established standards. Those schools that failed to meet state standards for two consecutive years, in school years 1998-1999 and 1999-2000, were expected to make incremental progress toward attaining standards by 2014. This progress measure is referred to as Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP).
To determine how to calculate adequate yearly progress please review the AYP starting points document at:
http://www.nj.gov/education/grants/nclb/policy/ayp/starting.htm
Note:
- A school that has varying levels of achievement on both the ESPA and GEPA is placed in the highest risk category.
If any school in your district is identified as a Title I school in need of improvement, the following steps need to be taken in the Title I portion of the Consolidated application/plan for funding of programs governed under the No Child Left Behind Act. The plan must include:
Improvement Plan - The school should develop an improvement plan showing what programs and strategies will be adopted to improve teaching and learning.
Professional Development - Professional development for school staff to improve their skills must be provided. Ten percent of the school's Title I allocation for two years must be spent to support these professional development activities.
Intradistrict Choice - Describe how the district will offer choice and notify parents of students enrolled in the school of the school's designation as a school in need of improvement. Parents must be offered the opportunity to transfer their child to another school within the district that is not identified for improvement.
