Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/575770
Back To School 2015 | WEAnews 18 The development and implemen- tation of the accountability system for Wyoming schools and personnel seem to be in constant states of flux. While that can be very frustrating to educators, in reality it also means that Wyoming has been able to ben- efit from the knowledge gained by other states who have taken a more aggressive approach and shorter timeline to accountability. We want to get this right! 2015 Changes to Wyoming Education Accountability Law: In 2015, the Legislature enacted several changes to the Wyoming Accountability in Education Act (WAEA). The Select Committee on Accountability will exist through December 2016, in order to continue its study of Phase II (teacher and leader accountability). Phase II implementation has been delayed so as to allow time for development of a quality system. Under the new timeline, districts must conduct performance evaluations based in part on student achievement by 2018-19 for leaders and by 2019-20 for teachers. Annually beginning 6/1/19 for leaders and 6/1/20 for teachers, each district superintendent must report to the local school board the names of all who are rated "In Need of Improvement" or "Ineffective" for that school year, including a summary of mentoring or assistance provided. Beginning SY 2019-20, gaining or retaining continuing contract status is dependent on satisfactory performance on evaluations under WAEA; a school board may dismiss, terminate, or suspend any teacher (including continuing contract teachers) for inadequate performance on evaluations tied to student academic growth for at least two consecutive years. The statutory changes required the Advisory Committee to the Select Committee to consider existing evaluation systems used by Wyoming districts and, to the extent possible, incorporate them into the teacher and leader evaluation systems required by Phase II. Student achievement and growth cannot be weighted over 20%. An advisory committee was required to begin work immediately to develop a valid and reliable accountability model for alternative schools. (See more details below.) In the meantime, for SYs 2014-15 & 2015-16, alternative schools will receive accountability reports for informational purposes only; they will be exempt from any statutory repercussions for low ratings. Additionally, a taskforce was established to conduct a review and evaluation of the statewide assessment system, both for accountability and accreditation purposes. The taskforce will submit its recommendations for future state assessments and for a transition plan from existing assessments to any new ones. Obviously, any changes made to the state assessment system could impact the accountability system. Changes to the 2015 Phase I (school accountability) system determinations: Ø For Schools with Grades 3 through 8: • Achievement and Growth indicators were unchanged. • Changes to the Equity indicator included a different definition of the consolidated subgroup; different cut-points; and a different means of computing school equity. Ø For High Schools: • Alternative schools didn't receive indicator target levels or a school performance level. They received confidentially-reported scores on the indicators for information only. • Academic Performance included achievement, growth, and equity: • Growth was reported in reading and math based upon subject area test scores from Explore to Plan to ACT. • ACT provided Wyoming with student scores for a new Wyoming scale on the Explore and Plan reading and math tests. A score of 150 on the Wyoming Scales is predictive of later ACT proficient performance (also 150 on the Wyoming scale). • The school equity score was the MGP of the consolidated subgroup. • There was just one change to Overall Readiness: • The Hathaway Scholarship Level additional readiness sub- indicator included the Success Curriculum level from the student's transcript The complete school accountability model can be found in the Implementation Manual on the WDE Website: http://edu.wyoming.gov/ downloads/accountability/2015/ implementation-handbook.pdf 2014-15 Accountability Results Released September 2015: The newest Wyoming Accountability in Education Act results show: Ø 13.7% of Wyoming schools are Exceeding Expectations; Ø 32.2% are Meeting; Ø 28.2% are Partially Meeting; Ø 14.8% are Not Meeting; and Ø 11.1% are under review. Under federal (NCLB/ESEA) accountability determinations, only 17% of Wyoming schools made Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) during the 2014-15 school year. Until and unless ESEA is reauthorized and the AYP system is changed, we can anticipate this number to only get worse. C H A N G E Though Difficult, Isn't All Bad