Adequate Yearly Progress is a thing of the past in Pennsylvania schools after the U.S. Department of Education on Tuesday approved the state’s No Child Left Behind waiver request.
Instead, a school performance profile will measure how schools are performing by looking at students’ achievement and growth through various indicators, according to information from the state Department of Education and Gov. Tom Corbett’s office.
In the state, they will be used in the new educator evaluation system rolling out this year for teachers. Principals, specialists and administrators come under the evaluation system in the 2014-15 school year.
The school performance profile will factor into 15 percent of school staff’s evaluations under the new system.
Under the new accountability system, annual measurable targets will be reported to the federal government instead of AYP, Eller said.
AYP scores have been based on students’ performance and participation in the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment in reading and math and their attendance or graduation rates. Keystone Exams replaced the PSSAs this school year for 11th-grade students.
Four annual measurable objectives will determine whether Title I schools, which are those with a high percentage of low-income students, get a federal designation of “priority,” “focus” or “reward.”
The state Department of Education will recognize “reward” schools, while “focus” and “priority” schools will get intervention and support services.
Find the full article, here: State education associations applaud Pa.’s No Child Left Behind waiver Julianne Mattera, The Patriot-News, 8/20/13
