June 2007

TO: Principals of Nonpublic Schools with Enrollment in Grades 7–12

Superintendents of Nonpublic School Affiliation Groups

FROM: Martha P. Musser

SUBJECT: Reporting Secondary Examination Results, High School Graduation Counts, and Dropouts for the 2006–07 School Year

The enclosed forms for the 2006–07 school year should be completed and returned to the Department using first-class mail no later than July 16, 2007. If you have August graduates, you must print the Summer Graduation Report for Nonpublic Schools from our website at http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/irts/nonpublic/home.shtml or request a copy by calling the number below. Completed summer graduation forms should be returned to this office via first-class mail no later than September 10, 2007. Questions about the completion of the forms referred to in this memorandum should be directed to Information and Reporting Services by phone at (518) 474-7965, by fax at (518) 474-4351, or by e-mail at rptcard@mail.nysed.gov. Please remember to retain a copy of each completed report form in the school files. If the enclosed forms are not applicable to your school please return the forms with a note that indicates the reason the forms do not apply (e.g. school does not administer Regents examinations, competency tests or second language proficiency examinations).

General Information

This memorandum provides information about reporting data for the 2006–07 school year. All persons responsible for completing these report forms should be provided with a copy of this memorandum.

Specific instructions for completing each form are included with the forms. Please consult these instructions before completing the forms. General directions for completing the Nonpublic Secondary Examination Report are included in this memorandum. Additional copies of the report forms (except the Nonpublic Secondary Examination Report) can be found on the IRS Web site: www.emsc.nysed.gov/irts. Failure to submit graduation and assessment reports by the deadlines above may affect requests for reimbursement of mandated services.

The information reported on these forms will be included in the Nonpublic School Comprehensive Information Report (CIR). To ensure that your school’s CIR is accurate, carefully review each report form being submitted for completeness and accuracy and be sure that all appropriate circles on the machine-readable booklet are filled in correctly. In spring 2008, you will receive a summary report for verification and data correction. No data will be released to the public until after this verification process is complete. No further data changes will be accepted after the verification deadline.

Data reported on these forms is used to verify accuracy of information submitted to the Grants Finance office on the Nonpublic School Mandated Services Aid form (MSA-1). To be eligible for reimbursement for a mandate, all reports required in connection with that mandate must have been submitted. Reimbursement for mandated services will be delayed for nonpublic schools that have not submitted secondary examination reports. Questions about mandated services claims should be directed to the Grants Management office at (518) 474-3936.

Public schools are required to report secondary-level enrollment, examination results, and graduate and dropout information electronically using the data repository. Nonpublic schools may also report this information using the data repository instead of submitting the paper reports referred to in this memorandum. If you wish to report your data electronically, contact this office at (518) 474-7965 for further details.

Reporting Responsibilities of Principals of Nonpublic Schools

Principals of nonpublic schools are responsible for submitting reports on enrollment, assessment results, credentials awarded, and dropouts for all students who were on the school’s attendance register at any time during the school year. Students who were on the attendance register on BEDS day (the first Wednesday in October) should be reported as enrolled on the BEDS Report of Nonpublic Schools form. Nonpublic school principals are not responsible for reporting data for students who were placed in the school by a public school district committee on special education (CSE) or by administrators in the student’s district of residence. Nonpublic schools should not report examination results for students enrolled in other schools, even if the students attended class and/or were tested in the nonpublic school. The table below identifies the data nonpublic school principals must report on each enclosed report form.

Nonpublic Secondary

Examination

Report

Principals of nonpublic schools must report enrollment for all students for whom they have reporting responsibility (as defined above). They must report scores of secondary-level State assessments administered to each student during the reporting period while the student was enrolled, even if the student subsequently transferred to another school. They must also report results for assessments administered to enrolled students by another education provider. (For example, if a student took a Regents examination at another public or nonpublic school, the principal of the school where the student is enrolled is responsible for reporting the examination score.)

Graduation and

Dropout Report for Nonpublic Schools

and

Summer Graduation Report for Nonpublic Schools

Principals of nonpublic schools must report all students awarded a credential by their school during the reporting period. They must also report all students in grades 7–12 who were on their attendance register at any time during the reporting period who meet the definition of dropout. (See definition below.) January graduates should be included in the Graduation and Dropout Report for the regular school year (September 1, 2006–June 30, 2007); August graduates should be included in the Summer Graduation Report for the summer session (July 1, 2007–August 31, 2007).

Definition of Dropout

A dropout is defined as any student (regardless of age) who left school prior to graduation for any reason except death and did not leave the United States or transfer to another school or program leading to a high school diploma or high school equivalency diploma. A student who completed a school year and did not re-enroll (appear on the attendance register) the following school year is also considered a dropout, unless the student could be documented to have graduated, transferred to another educational program leading to a high school diploma or high school equivalency diploma, left the United States, or died. These students are counted as dropouts in the year in which they did not re-enroll. Any student who has been absent for twenty (20) consecutive, unexcused days and has not resumed attendance by the end of the school year should also be counted as a dropout.

List of Report Forms

Principals of nonpublic schools with enrollment in grades 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and/or 12 are responsible for completing and submitting the Nonpublic Secondary Examination Report. These principals are also responsible for completing the Graduation and Dropout Report if the school had graduates or dropouts during the 2006–07 school year. The remaining reports must be submitted if enrolled students took the relevant secondary-level examinations or earned diplomas in August.

The first list below includes all reports enclosed with this memorandum. The second list includes report forms to be used by principals of nonpublic schools who ordered alternative language editions of Regents examinations, Regents competency tests, or component retests, or issued diplomas in August 2007. The alternative language edition report forms, component retest report form and summer graduation report are available only on the IRS Web site, www.emsc.nysed.gov/irts, and will not be mailed to schools.

Enclosed Report Forms:

· Nonpublic Secondary Examination Report for the August 2006, January 2007, and June 2007 Regents examination periods (This form is a scannable booklet that cannot be posted to the Web site. Contact IRS at (518) 474-7965 if you need a copy of this form.); and

· Graduation and Dropout Report for Nonpublic Schools for the 2006–07 school year.

Other Report Forms:

(available on IRS Web site: www.emsc.nysed.gov/irts or by contacting this office by telephone or email)

· Regents Examination Report for Nonpublic Schools — Alternative Language Editions (for schools that administered alternative-language editions of one or more Regents examinations);

· Alternative Language Regents Competency Test Report for Nonpublic Schools (for schools that administered alternative-language editions of one or more Regents competency tests);

· Regents Component Retest Report Form for Nonpublic Schools (for schools that administered the component retests in mathematics or English); and

· Summer Graduation Report for Nonpublic Schools for summer school graduates (July 1–August 31, 2007).

General Directions for Completing the Nonpublic Secondary Examination Report

Specific directions for completing the Nonpublic Secondary Examination Report are included in the report. Remember when completing the report that the highest score earned on each Regents examination written between August 2006 and June 2007 must be reported, even if a student took a component retest and earned a higher score. Do not report results for component retests administered May 2007 on the Nonpublic Secondary Examination Report. Use the Regents Component Retest Report Form for Nonpublic Schools to record results for these examinations. When recording enrollment on page 1 of the Nonpublic Secondary Examination Report, be sure to report the count of students enrolled in each grade in the school, not the count of students who took Regents examinations. For each Regents examination, do not report results for approved alternatives or locally developed examinations taken for Regents credit.

Questions about these report forms should be addressed to the following persons at (518) 474-7965:

Michele Shahen

Clara Browne

Nonpublic Secondary Examination Report

Regents Examination Report for Nonpublic Schools — Alternative Language Editions