R277-497. School Accountability System, R277. Education, Administration, Utah Administrative Code

Utah Administrative Code (Current through November 1, 2019)

R277. Education, Administration

R277-497. School Accountability System

R277-497-1. Authority and Purpose

Latest version.

(1) This rule is authorized by:

(a) Utah Constitution Article X, Section 3, which vests general control and supervision of public education in the Board;

(b) Section 53E-5-202, which directs the Board to adopt rules to implement a statewide accountability system; and

(c) Subsection 53E-3-401(4), which allows the Board to make rules to execute the Board's duties and responsibilities under the Utah Constitution and State law.

(2) The purpose of this rule is to set performance thresholds for the purpose of assigning overall ratings to schools, establish provisions for the methodology of calculating points, and address exclusions from the school accountability system.

R277-497-2. Assignment of Overall Rating for a School

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(1) The Superintendent shall assign an overall school rating in accordance with the indicators described in Section 53E-5-205 for elementary and middle schools and Section 53E-5-206 for high schools.

(2) The Board establishes the following performance thresholds for the Superintendent to assign overall ratings to schools.

(3) For an elementary or middle school:

(a) an "A" rating represents an exemplary school, where the school has earned 63.25% of the total points possible;

(b) a "B" rating represents a commendable school, where the school has earned 55% of the total points possible;

(d) a "D" rating represents a developing school, where the school has earned 35.5% of the total points possible; and

(e) an "F" rating represents a critical needs school, where the school has earned less than 35.5% of the total points possible.

(4) For a high school:

(a) an "A" rating represents an exemplary school, where the school has earned 64% of the total points possible;

(b) a "B" rating represents a commendable school, where the school has earned 57% of the total points possible;

(d) a "D" rating represents a developing school, where the school has earned 38% of the total points possible; and

(e) an "F" rating represents a critical needs school, where the school has earned less than 38% of the total points possible.

(5) In accordance with Section 53E-5-204(3)(b), for the 2017-18 school year, the Superintendent may not assign an overall rating to a school.

R277-497-3. Indexing of Points for Calculating Academic Growth

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(1) For the purposes of calculating academic growth, the Superintendent shall assign each student a student growth percentile (SGP) and a student growth target (SGT).

(2) The Superintendent shall assign points to a school for student growth relative to the percentage of students who meet their SGT as follows:

(a) if a student's SGP is greater than or equal to the student's SGT, and the student meets the SGT goal for a subject area, the student is awarded a weight based on the student's SGP using the following index:

(i) if the student's SGP is greater than 65, the weight is 1.0;

(ii) if the student's SGP is between 50 and 65, the weight is 0.75;

(iii) if the student's SGP is between 40 and 49, the weight is 0.50; and

(iv) if the student's SGP is less than 40, the weight is 0.25; or

(b) if a student's SGP is less than the student's SGT and the student does not meet the SGT goal for a subject area, the student is awarded a weight based on the student's SGP using the following index:

(i) if the student's SGP is greater than 65, the weight is 0.75;

(ii) if the student's SGP is between 50 and 65, the weight is 0.50;

(iii) if the student's SGP is between 40 and 49, the weight is 0.25; and

(iv) if the student's SGP is less than 40, the weight is 0.

(3) To determine the total growth points allocated to a school, the Superintendent shall:

(a) add all the weights and divide by the total number of tests to establish a percentage; and

(b) multiply the percentage by the total growth points possible.

R277-497-4. Specific Provisions on Calculation of Points

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(1)(a) In accordance with Section 53E-5-207(4)(c)(ii), the Superintendent shall award 10% of the points allocated for high school graduation based on a school's five-year graduation rate.

(b) A school may not earn more than the total number of points possible for the graduation rate indicator.

(2)(a) In accordance with Section 53E-5-210, the Superintendent shall determine that an ELL student meets adequate progress if the ELL student has an increase in proficiency level by 0.4 on an English language proficiency assessment approved by the Board and designated in Rule R277-404.

(3)(a) For a school that chooses to include additional quality indicators on its school report card, the school may choose up to two additional self-reported indicators.

(b) The Superintendent shall approve a list of indicators that a school may use for purposes of Subsection (4)(a), and may also approve other indicators that an LEA may submit for consideration.

(c) The Superintendent shall publish the pre-approved self-reported indicators list on the Assessment and Accountability section of the USBE website.

(d) If a school elects to include the additional self-reported indicators, the school shall notify the Superintendent by established due dates, which are published on the Assessment and Accountability section of the USBE website by July 1.

(5) When calculating postsecondary readiness points for a high school student's performance on a college readiness assessment, the Superintendent shall use the student's ACT score obtained during the statewide administration of ACT.

(6) The Superintendent shall publish the Utah Accountability Technical Manual, which includes:

(a) additional technical details on the calculation of points;

(b) business rules;

(c) detailed explanations on the methodologies for the calculation of achievement, student growth, equitable education opportunity, and postsecondary readiness and;

(d) other indicators to appropriately assess the educational impact of a school that serves a special student population.

(6) A copy of the Utah Accountability Technical Manual is located at:

(a) https://schools.utah.gov/assessment/resources; and

(b) the offices of the Utah State Board of Education.

R277-497-5. Exclusions From the Accountability System and Indicators for Schools Serving a Special Student Population

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(1)(a) In determining schools to exempt from the school accountability system, in accordance with Section 53E-5-203, the Superintendent shall exempt a school in which the number of students tested on a statewide assessment is less than 10.

(b) The Superintendent may not report any school indicator for which the student group size for that indicator is less than 10.

(2) The Superintendent shall publish other indicators, in addition to indicators described in Sections 53E-5-205 and 53E-5-206, to appropriately assess the educational impact of a school that serves a special student population.

R277-497-6. Exemption from School Grading

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(1)(a) As authorized by Section 53A-1-1104, an alternative school or a special needs school may submit a request for an exemption from school grading for the next three school years to the Board by July 1.

(b) The request shall demonstrate that:

(i) the school meets the definition of an alternative school or a special needs school;

(ii) the school has the approval of:

(A) the school's LEA governing board; or

(B) if the school is the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind, the USDB advisory committee; and

(iii) if the school has received an exemption for a previous school year, the school has timely submitted to the Superintendent all information necessary for the Board to evaluate the school as required by Section 53A-1-1104.

(2)(a) The Board shall exempt a school from school grading if the school meets the requirements of Subsection (1).

(b) Except as provided by Subsection (2)(c), an exemption from school grading is valid for three school years.

(c) The Board may revoke an exemption if a school fails to timely submit to the Superintendent all information necessary for the Board to annually evaluate the school in accordance with the accountability plan.

R277-497-7. Accountability Plan -- General Provisions

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(1)(a) This rule incorporates by reference the Guide to Utah's Comprehensive Accountability System for Alternative Schools - June 6, 2014, which describes the accountability plan required by Section 53A-1-1104, with the exceptions for a special needs school described in Section R277-497-8.

(b) The Superintendent shall annually evaluate a school in accordance with the accountability plan by calculating a school's composite score, which has a maximum value of 1500, by summing the school's weighted indicator scores.

(2) The accountability plan consists of five indicators weighted as follows:

(a) growth, which measures student academic progress based on a school's median student growth percentile for all students and below proficient students, is 20% with a maximum score of 300;

(b) attendance, which is the higher of a school's attendance rate in the current year or improvement in cohort attendance rate from the previous year, is 25% with a maximum score of 375;

(c) credit earning, which measures the degree to which a student enrolled in the current year is successfully completing courses in which the student is enrolled or is making improvement in cohort credit earning rate from the previous year, is 25% with a maximum score of 375;

(d) attainment, which measures the extent to which a student successfully completes or makes substantial progress toward completion of meaningful educational goals, is 20% with a maximum score of 300; and

(e) school climate, which measures whether a school is collecting data to evaluate school climate and using results to inform efforts to improve climate, is ten percent with a maximum score of 150.

(3) The Superintendent shall assign the scores based on the rubrics established in the guide.

R277-497-8. Accountability Plan Exceptions

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(1) At the request of a special needs school, the Superintendent may exempt a student from the attendance indicator score calculation if the student has a documented medical condition that prevents the student from attending 160 days of school.

(2) In accordance with a Section 53A-1-111, a student with a disability may take an alternative assessment to determine the student's growth instead of the Student Assessment of Growth and Excellence.

(3) If required by Section R277-410-5, a special needs school shall report on the school's progress on the school's accreditation improvement plan in the School Snapshot section of the school's report card published by the Superintendent under Subsection 53A-1-1104(5)(b)(ii).