Release of 2008 APR Results - Adequate Yearly Progress (CA Dept of Education)

Letter Head: Jack O'Connell, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, California Department of Education

August 19, 2008

Dear County and District Superintendents and Charter School Administrators:

UPCOMING RELEASE OF 2008 ACCOUNTABILITY PROGRESS REPORTING SYSTEM
RESULTS AND 2007-08 TITLE III ACCOUNTABILITY REPORTS

The purpose of this letter is to alert you to the posting of 2008 Accountability Progress Reporting (APR) system results and the Title III Accountability reports.

Posting of 2008 APR Results

The pre-release of the 2008 Growth Academic Performance Index (API) Report, 2008 Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) Report, and 2008-09 Program Improvement (PI) Report to local educational agencies (LEAs) on the California Department of Education (CDE) Web site will occur by 3:00 p.m. on August 27, 2008. Information on how to access those reports will be e-mailed to Accountability Coordinators the morning of August 27. The data are embargoed until the September 4, 2008, public release. 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 2007-08 Academic Performance Index Reports Information Guide is available on the API Web page [http://www.cde.ca.gov/api/]. On August 22, 2008, the 2008 Adequate Yearly Progress Report Information Guide and the timeline of events for the release of the 2008 AYP results will be posted on the AYP Web page [http://www.cde.ca.gov/ayp/].

We will forward a summary of changes to the AYP and PI criteria once the U.S. Department of Education takes final action on the amendments to our Consolidated State Application Accountability Workbook. We submitted these amendments in February 2008, and anticipate resolution of this matter soon.

Posting of Title III Accountability Reports

Following is the posting schedule for the Title III Accountability Report on the Title III Accountability Web page [http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/ac/t3/].

August 8, 2008 - preliminary data on the annual measureable achievement objectives (AMAOs) 1 and 2
End of August 2008 - 2007-08 Title III Accountability Report Information Guide
September 4, 2008 - Final 2007-08 Title III Accountability reports

Appeals of 2008 AYP Results

Appeals of the 2008 AYP results must be submitted in writing to the CDE and postmarked no later September 18, 2008. Appeal forms including directions for submission are available on the AYP Web page [http://www.cde.ca.gov/ayp/].

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 LEA’s or school’s performance are available.

Again, as in prior years, the CDE is not accepting appeals of AYP status from LEAs or schools based on the grounds that erroneous demographic or background data were submitted to the test publishers 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 Process and Correction Process for the Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) Program and the California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE). Details regarding this process will be mailed to schools and LEAs by September 30, 2008. Schools and LEAs with data corrections will remain in the same AYP and PI status as reported on September 4, 2008, until the CDE receives all data corrections from Educational Testing Service and posts revised AYP and PI results. This will likely occur in February 2009.

Contacts

If you have further questions about specific accountability issues, please consult the enclosed CDE contact listing.

Sincerely,

Rachel L. Perry, Director
Policy and Evaluation Division

RP:rf
Enclosure

cc: Accountability Coordinators

Ref No.: PED-AAU-08-13

Enclosure
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California Department of Education Accountability Contacts

For more information about specific accountability issues, please direct your questions to the following California Department of Education units or staff:

2008 Academic Performance Index (API) or Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) reports, contact the Academic Accountability Unit (AAU) at 916-319-0863 or by e-mail at aau@cde.ca.gov

2008-09 Program Improvement identification of schools and local educational agencies (LEAs), contact the Evaluation, Research, and Analysis (ERA) Unit at 916- 319-0875 or by e-mail at evaluation@cde.ca.gov

2008 AYP appeals, contact the ERA Unit at 916-319-0875 or by e-mail at evaluation@cde.ca.gov

Other Title I issues, contact Maria Reyes, Administrator, Title I Policy and Accountability Office, at 916-319-0854 or by e-mail at pi@cde.ca.gov

Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) Program results, contact the STAR Program Office at 916-445-8765 or by e-mail at star@cde.ca.gov

California High School Exit Examination (CAHSEE) results, contact the CAHSEE Office at 916-445-9449 or by e-mail at cahsee@cde.ca.gov

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