Underperforming schools and districts need policy and programmatic coherence to effectively address their students’ diverse needs. The state has developed several tools to help create this coherence.
Academic Program Survey (APS)
Measures the presence of the nine Essential Program Components (EPCs) for Instructional Success at the school level. There are three grade-span-appropriate versions of the APS: elementary, middle, and high school. A representative school team, including the principal, teachers, parents, and stakeholders, should complete the survey.
English Learner Subgroup Self Assessment (ELSSA)
Designed to help districts analyze and address English learners’ needs and recommended for any district in which English learners failed to make AYP or meet Title III Annual Measurable Achievement Objectives (AMAOs). This assessment must be conducted by any district identified for Program Improvement, regardless of why it failed to make AYP.
Least Restrictive Environment Self Assessment (LRE) (PDF; Outside Source)
Designed to help districts examine their practices in supporting the educational options for students with disabilities and recommended for use by all districts whose special education students failed to make AYP. This assessment must be conducted by any district identified for Program Improvement, regardless of why it failed to make AYP.
District Assistance Survey (DAS)
Designed to help a district analyze the nature and coherence of its operations in support of a coherent, school-level instructional program that improves student achievement. Because student achievement in reading/language arts and mathematics is central to student success in other areas, this survey analyzes district support for schools in these primary areas of student literacy. The survey is designed to reveal how a district supports schools in seven categories that directly impact student achievement:
- Standards-based Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment
- Professional Development
- Human Resources
- Data Systems/Data Analysis/Ongoing Monitoring
- Parent and Community Involvement
- Fiscal Operations
- Governance and Leadership
Blueprint for District Assistance and Intervention (DOC; 605KB; 66pp.)
The Blueprint for District Assistance and Intervention, anchored in the adopted DAIT standards, is designed to guide the work of a district leadership team and the DAIT provider organization with which it contracts. It can also be a useful tool for any district wishing to implement systemic district reform.
