FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, AUGUST 29, 2003
For More Information, Contact:
Jonathan Burman, Tom Dunn or Alan Ray at 518/474-1201
Internet: http://www.nysed.gov
SCHOOLS ARE NOTIFIED ABOUT STATUS
"IN NEED OF IMPROVEMENT" UNDER NCLB
The State Education Department has compiled a preliminary list of schools that meet the criteria for identification as Schools in Need of Improvement this year based on available data, and contacted school districts and charter schools so they can verify the data.
School districts and charter schools are being given the opportunity to correct any errors in the data they had previously submitted and provide additional information to the Education Department. The Department will make public the statewide list of schools on Friday, September 5.
Under the No Child Left Behind Act, school districts and charter schools must use this information to ensure that identified schools develop improvement plans, provide public school choice and supplemental educational services to students as required, and notify parents and the public about the actions that will be taken to improve student performance in selected schools.
All school districts are required to provide the State Education Department with electronic records reporting the performance of each student who was required to participate in a State assessment. The Department provided districts with computer software to allow them to review the performance of their schools and make preliminary determinations about school status. Using the information submitted by the districts and charter schools, the Department created reports that provided districts and each charter school with the accountability status of each school in the district and a summary of their performance on State assessments.
New York’s approved plan for NCLB accountability requires that schools receiving Title I funds that fail to make Adequate Yearly Progress for two consecutive years in the same subject and grade be designated as Schools In Need of Improvement. For the first time, the performance of disaggregated groups of students (racial/ethnic groups, students with disabilities, limited English proficient students, and low-income students) during the 2002-2003 school year was a factor in determining whether schools made Adequate Yearly Progress.
Schools designated as In Need of Improvement are required to offer public school choice. Once identified, schools that fail in a subsequent year to make Adequate Yearly Progress are required to continue to provide public school choice and offer eligible students supplemental educational services. Such services are provided outside of regular school hours by an organization selected by the parent from a list of qualified providers approved by the State Education Department.
For the 2003-2004 school year, schools could be identified as In Need of Improvement based on Grade 4 and 8 English and mathematics results and the performance of the 1999 high school cohort in English and mathematics. Schools identified as In Need of Improvement receive additional funding and technical assistance from the Department to help them improve student performance.
Information on New York’s accountability system is available at http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/deputy/nclb/accountability.htm.
-30-