August 27, 2009
Dear County and District Superintendents and Charter School Administrators:
UPCOMING RELEASE OF 2009 ACCOUNTABILITY PROGRESS REPORTING SYSTEM RESULTS AND 2008–09 TITLE III ACCOUNTABILITY REPORTS
This letter is to alert you to the posting of 2009 Accountability Progress Reporting (APR) system results and the 2008–09 Title III Accountability reports. The dates below represent a revision of the timeline that was previously posted on the California Department of Education (CDE) Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) Web page
Posting of 2009 APR Results
The APR system includes of the 2009 Growth Academic Performance Index (API) Report, 2009 AYP Report, and 2009–10 Program Improvement (PI) Report. The pre-release of the reports to local educational agencies (LEAs) will be available on the CDE Web site by 3 p.m. on September 10, 2009. Information on how to access these reports will be e-mailed to Accountability Coordinators the morning of September 10. The data are embargoed until the public release on September 15, 2009. It is critical that LEAs review these data carefully and contact the CDE immediately about any calculation errors so the reports can be corrected before the public release. Demographic data errors cannot be corrected until after the September release.
The CDE is currently engaged in discussions with the U.S. Department of Education on how and when to include results from the 2009 California Modified Assessment for grades six through eight in AYP and PI determinations. We will notify you of the outcome as soon as these questions are resolved.
The 2008–09 Academic Performance Index Reports Information Guide is available on the CDE API Web page [http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/ac/ap/]. The 2009 Adequate Yearly Progress Report Information Guide will be posted by September 3 on the CDE AYP Web page [http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/ac/ay/].
Posting of 2008–09 Title III Accountability Reports
The 2008–09 Title III Accountability Reports will be posted on September 15, 2009, on the CDE Title III Accountability Web page [http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/ac/t3/]. The 2008–09 Title III Accountability Report Information Guide is available on the CDE Title III Accountability Web page.
Appeals of 2009 AYP Results
Appeals of the 2009 AYP results must be submitted in writing to the CDE postmarked no later than September 29, 2009. The 2009 AYP Results School and LEA Appeal Form, including directions for submission, is available on the CDE AYP Web page [http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/ac/ay/]. As in prior years, the CDE will accept appeals based on the following criteria only:
- A substantive reason exists for the LEA or school not making AYP.
- A significant medical emergency prevented the student(s) from taking the statewide assessment used for establishing AYP.
- The AYP determination was based on test results or graduation rates from other schools or LEAs, and more valid measures of the LEAs or school’s performance are available.
Again, as in prior years, the CDE is not accepting appeals of AYP status from schools or LEAs based on the grounds that erroneous demographic or background data were submitted to the test contractors as part of the testing process. The CDE expects these issues to be resolved through the Data Review and Correction Process.
Data Review and Correction Process
Schools or LEAs that discover errors in data fields should follow the procedures specified as part of the Data Review and Correction Process for the Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) Program and the California High School Exit Examination (CAHSEE). Details regarding this process will be sent to schools and LEAs by September 30, 2009. Schools and LEAs with data corrections will remain in the same AYP and PI status as reported on September 15, 2009, until the CDE receives all data corrections from the testing contractor and posts revised AYP and PI results. This will likely occur in February 2010.
Contacts
If you have any questions regarding specific assessment or accountability issues, please see the attached CDE Contacts List.
Sincerely,
JACK O’CONNELL
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cc: Accountability Coordinators Attachment
1430 N Street
Sacramento, CA 95814