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Explanatory Notes for the 2003 AYP Phase I Report

Explanatory notes to assist in interpreting the 2003 Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) Phase I Report.

These Explanatory Notes are designed to assist educators and other interested parties in interpreting the 2003 Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) Phase I Report. The Explanatory Notes provide details with respect to the AYP calculations beyond the explanations and footnotes that appear on the report.

The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act

The NCLB Act of 2001 requires all districts and schools to demonstrate Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP), with an eventual goal that 100 percent of all students are proficient or above in reading/language arts and mathematics by 2013–2014.

While the law requires the state to determine AYP for all districts and schools, only those that receive Title I aid are subject to the provisions of NCLB on program improvement, school choice, supplemental services, and corrective action. To determine their status, California Title I districts and schools should consult the 2003 Title I Adequate Yearly Progress Report: Phase I.

Adequate Yearly Progress

Under AYP criteria adopted by the State Board of Education, California districts, schools, and numerically significant student subgroups within districts and schools must:

Annual Measurable Objectives

All states must establish AMOs, against which states will measure the progress of their local educational agencies (LEAs), schools, and student subgroups. These AMOs must be common to LEAs, schools, and student subgroups, although they can vary by a school's grade span. In California, for example, the AMOs for high schools are slightly different than those for elementary and middle schools.

For California elementary/middle schools, the 2003 AMOs are:

The AMOs for California high schools are:

In July, LEAs and schools were advised of their 2002 starting points relative to the 2003 AMOs.

The 2003 AYP Phase I Report

The purpose of the 2003 AYP Phase I Report is to inform LEAs and schools whether or not they met their 2003 annual measurable objectives in ELA and mathematics as well as the assessment participation rate criteria. The Phase II Report will summarize LEA and school results on the 2003 growth API as well as graduation rates for high schools.

LEAs and schools that do not meet Phase I requirements do not make AYP, regardless of Phase II results (2003 growth API and graduation rates). Likewise, districts and schools that do not meet Phase II criteria do not make AYP, regardless of Phase I results.

California Standards Tests (CSTs)

For grades 2-8, the CDE has used results from the 2003 administration of the CSTs in ELA and mathematics to derive the percentages of pupils at or above the proficient level. These percentages simply summarize the results of the tests as reported by the Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) program, after the application of mobility exclusions (see "Mobile Pupils," page 3).

California High School Exit Examination (CAHSEE)

For the secondary grades, the CDE has used the results of the CAHSEE to establish the percentage of pupils proficient or above in ELA and mathematics. In order to use the CAHSEE for this purpose, separate cut scores have been established for both the ELA and mathematics portions of the tests. These cut scores do not correspond to the passing scores on the CAHSEE; instead, they reflect the more rigorous CST performance levels. The cut score for proficient or above in ELA is 387; the comparable cut score in mathematics is 373. These more rigorous cut scores are for NCLB purposes only; they will not be used to determine passing scores on the CAHSEE.

California Alternate Performance Assessment (CAPA)

The CAPA is designed to establish levels of performance for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities. For a school, results in the CAPA are treated in the same manner as results from the CSTs or CAHSEE. For the state or a district, the percentage of students held to alternate achievement standards through CAPA may not exceed 1.0 percent of all students in the grades assessed. For the purposes of NCLB reporting, at the district and state level, results from students who take the CAPA in excess of the 1.0 percent limitation will be considered "not proficient."

Mobile Pupils

Under the provisions of NCLB, a school is accountable for a student's test results only if the student has been continuously enrolled in the school since the beginning of the school year. Likewise, a district is accountable for a student's test results only if the student has been continuously enrolled in the district since the beginning of the school year. California has defined the beginning of the school year to correspond to the California Basic Educational Data System (CBEDS) census date.

The NCLB mobility formula for schools is different from current state law on mobility for API calculations. Currently, the law provides for the inclusion of a student's test results in a school's API if the student has been enrolled in the district from the CBEDS date, even if the student has since changed schools within the district. It is anticipated that state law on the API will be amended to reflect the NCLB criteria.

In California, information on student mobility is gathered through the STAR, CAHSEE, or CAPA Student Answer Document (SAD). In 2003, the CAHSEE SAD did not include items that would enable the precise application of the current school mobility exclusions.

For the 2003 STAR and CAPA, test results from a student are included in the district total if the student has been continuously enrolled in the district since the preceding CBEDS date; likewise, test results from a student are included in the school total if the student has been continuously enrolled in the school since the preceding CBEDS date.

For the 2003 CAHSEE, test results from a student are included in the district or school totals if the student was enrolled in the district or school, as appropriate, in the previous school year. This will be later updated for both districts and schools, as the information becomes available, to reflect only those students who have been continuously enrolled in the district since the CBEDS date.

Accommodations/Modifications on the CSTs or the CAHSEE

Results from pupils taking the California Standards Tests with accommodations are included in the 2003 AYP Phase I Report. However, the AYP Report treats CST results from any student who is administered a test below the student's grade level as not proficient. Other modifications are also treated in the same fashion.

Results from pupils taking the CAHSEE with accommodations are included in the 2003 Phase I Report, but results from pupils taking the CAHSEE with modifications are treated as not proficient.

Core Elements of the Report

Certain core elements appear throughout the 2003 AYP Phase I Report. They are presented separately by ELA and mathematics. The core elements include:

Enrollment First Day of Testing

This number is calculated by summing all 2003 STAR Student Answer Documents (SADs) for grades 2-8 and grade 10.

Number of Students Tested

For grades 2-8 (CSTs and CAPA), this number includes all students taking the tests, except:

The number tested includes students who were categorized as not having attempted the test because they did not complete sufficient items to generate a score.
For grade 10 in 2003, the number of students tested is calculated by summing all 10th grade CAHSEE SADs as well as all 10th grade CAPA SADs, except for students with a blank test.

Participation: Rate

Participation rate by content area (ELA and mathematics) is calculated by dividing the number of students tested by enrollment on the first day of testing and truncating it to the tenth place.

Participation: Met 2003 AYP Criteria

The column is marked "Yes" if the district, school, or numerically significant student subgroup demonstrated a 95 percent participation rate in the applicable assessment. The column is marked "No" if the rate was less than 95 percent. Finally, the column is marked "N/A" (not applicable) for student subgroups that were not numerically significant.

Valid Scores

The number of valid scores is the number of students tested adjusted for student mobility. This refers to the exclusion of certain student test results because the student has not been enrolled in the district or school for a sufficient period of time.

Proficient or Above: Number

This is the number of students with a valid score and a performance level of proficient or advanced by subject area (ELA and mathematics) on either the CST or the CAPA for grades 2-8 and for the CAHSEE or CAPA for grade 10.

As noted earlier, for purposes of NCLB, "proficient or above" on the CAHSEE for mathematics will be a scale score of at least 373 and for ELA a scale score of at least 387.

Students who sat for the tests but did not respond to enough items to generate a performance level ("did not attempts") will be considered "below proficient" for accountability purposes.

"N/A" means that less then 11 students scored proficient or above and the number is not reported for reasons of confidentiality.

Proficient or Above: Percent

This rate is calculated by dividing the number of students scoring proficient or above by the number of valid scores and truncating the result to the tenth place.

"N/A" means that the percentage is not available because less than 11 students score proficient or above.

Proficient or Above: Met the 2003 AYP Criteria

Districts, schools, or numerically significant subgroups that meet the appropriate AMO will receive a "Yes." Those that do not will receive a "No." Student subgroups that are not numerically significant will receive an "N/A" or not applicable.

A "Yes" or "No" for a district or a school with less than 100 valid scores includes an asterisk to note the possibility of the fluctuation of test results due to a small number of test takers; therefore, the AYP criteria differs from that for larger districts and schools. A statistical test was used to establish whether or not the district or school should be considered as having met their AMOs.

The look-up table used to evaluate the results for districts or schools with less than 100 valid scores is available at Annual Measurable Objectives: Districts and Schools with Less than 100 Valid Scores 95% Confidence Interval Table (Adjusted) [http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/ac/ay/documents/amo100valid.pdf] (PDF; 118KB; 3pp.)

The 2003 AMOs for schools and districts with at least 100 valid scores are summarized in the following tables:

Annual Measurable Objectives
Schools ELA Math Math
Elementary/Middle
13.6%
16.0%
High
11.2%
9.6%

Districts ELA Math Math
Elementary
13.6%
16.0%
High (9-12)
11.2%
9.6%
Unified and High (7-12)
11.2%
9.6%

School-level AMOs are assigned to schools on the basis of their type, not on the basis of district type. Therefore, an elementary school within a unified district has a 2003 AMO in ELA of 13.6 percent, not 12.0 percent. All numerically significant student subgroups within a school or district are assigned the corresponding school or district AMOs.

Student Subgroups

Under the NCLB, not only districts and schools as a whole must demonstrate AYP but also numerically significant subgroups within those districts and schools. These subgroups include:

Ethnic/Racial Subgroups

These subgroups include:

Socioeconomically Disadvantaged Students

According to the definition adopted by the State Board of Education (SBE), the "socioeconomically disadvantaged subgroup" consists of pupils who meet either one of two criteria:

  1. Neither of the pupil's parents has received a high school diploma

    - OR -

  2. The pupil participates in the free- or reduced-price lunch program.

Information from the STAR or CAHSEE student answer document determines whether a student meets either criterion.

English Learners

English learners in this context are students who meet the federally approved definition of limited-English-proficient (LEP) students for California: this includes not only state-designated English learners but also state-re-designated fluent-English-proficient (RFEP) students who have not scored proficient or above for three years on the California Standards Test in ELA. For the 2003 Report, this would include students with "3" or "4" marked under language fluency on their SAD.

Students With Disabilities

Students with disabilities are those students with SADs coded in the following manner:

Numerically Significant Subgroups

To make AYP, a district or school with at least 100 valid scores must not only meet district and school-level criteria but also demonstrate that:

A numerically significant subgroup is defined as a student subgroup that constitutes at least 15 percent of a school's total pupil population and consists of at least 50 pupils. Also, if a pupil subgroup constitutes at least 100 pupils, that subgroup is "numerically significant" even if it does not constitute 15 percent of the school population.

An evaluation of whether or not a pupil subgroup is numerically significant occurs in two contexts:

  1. Is the subgroup numerically significant for the purposes of calculating participation rates?
  2. Is the subgroup numerically significant for the purpose of calculating the percent of students proficient or above?

Regarding participation, it is necessary to compute a rate for the student subgroup if:

  1. The subgroup constitutes 15 percent of the total number of students enrolled in the grades assessed (2-8 and 10) and consists of at least 50 students, or
  2. The subgroup consists of at least 100 students in the grades assessed (2-8 and 10).

Regarding the percent proficient or above, it is necessary to compute this percentage for a student subgroup if:

  1. The number of valid scores from the student subgroup constitutes 15 percent of the total number of valid scores and is at least 50 valid scores, or
  2. The number of valid scores from the student subgroup is at least 100.
A student who is a member of one pupil subgroup is very likely also a member of another student subgroup. Therefore, it is possible that the total percentage of students in all numerically significant subgroups at a school may exceed 100.
Questions: Academic Accountability Team | aau@cde.ca.gov | 916-319-0863 
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