AYP and Beyond: Improvement Planning for Successful Implementation

1. AYP and Beyond: Improvement Planning for Successful Implementation DIRECTORS’ CONFERENCE AUGUST 2009

2. What we’ll cover… Calculations and trends Improvement Plan tips: Featuring ELL and Students with Disabilities Implementation Tips: Voice from the field

3. How to reach us… Carol Diedrichsen, Grants and Programs, cdiedric@isbe.net Shuwan Chiu, Assessment, schiu@isbe.net Naomi Velasquez-Greene, English Language Learners, ngreene@isbe.net Julie Evans, Special Education, jevans@isbe.net Rick Prestley, Area 2 RESPRO, r.prestley@comcast.net

4. Moving On from AYP/AMAO AYP-Adequate Yearly Progress and AMAO-Annual Measurable Achievement Objectives These are annual measures of progress—important but not sufficient guides for continuous improvement.

5. Consequences of AYP and AMAO (Among other things) improvement plans Including strategies and activities with the greatest likelihood of ensuring that all subgroups make AYP/AMAO

6. AYP/AMAO calculations and trends • To make AYP, a district or school must meet all of the following three requirements… • Participation Rate on State Assessment • Performance • Attendance/Graduation Rate

7. 1. PARTICIPATION RATE • At least 95% of the students must be tested in reading and mathematics for the ALL group and for each subgroup. If the current year’s participation rate is less than 95%, the participation rate for AYP will be considered sufficient if the average of the current year and the preceding year is at least 95% or if the average of the current year and the two preceding years is at least 95%.

8. 2. PERFORMANCE Students in the ALL group and each subgroup must have performance levels of at least 70.0% for 2009 Meeting/Exceeding standards for reading and mathematics. For any group (including the ALL group) with less than 70.0% for 2009 Meeting/Exceeding standards, a 95% confidence interval will be applied , which may enable the group to meet AYP. Subgroups may also meet this condition through Safe Harbor provisions

9. IEP SUBGROUP: For schools not making AYP solely because the IEP subgroup does not have the minimum percentage Meeting/Exceeding standards, 14% will be added to the percent Meeting/Exceeding in accordance with the federal 2% flexibility provision

10. Safe Harbor • Decreasing by 10% the percentage of students who do not meet/exceed standards from the previous year. For subgroups that do not meet their Safe Harbor targets, a 75% confidence interval will be applied, which may enable the subgroup to meet AYP, and • Meet the state threshold for graduation rate (for high schools) or • Meet state threshold for attendance rates (for elementary/middle schools)

11. 3. ATTENDANCE/GRADUATION RATES • For 2009, non-high schools must achieve an attendance rate of at least 90%. • For 2009, high schools must achieve a graduation rate of at least 78%.

12. Assessments Included in the AYP Calculations • Illinois Standards Achievement Test (ISAT) - Reading & Mathematics for grades 3-8 • Prairie State Achievement Examination (PSAE)-Reading & Mathematics for grade 11 • Illinois Alternate Assessment (IAA)-Reading and Mathematics for grades 3-8, and 11

13. AYP Analysis - School

14. AYP Analysis - District

15. Consequences of Not MakingAYP Schools that fail to meet AYP in the same subject area for two consecutive years must be identified as needing improvement. Eligibility for district improvement status for both the Federal and State status depends on the grade spans in the schools as well as the # of schools in the district.

16. AYP/AMAO calculations and trends General • Make sure you look at, and address, subgroup deficiencies first • Look at each grade level trend • Look at each cohort trend • Look at demographics

17. AYP/AMAO calculations and trends AMAOs • LEP deficiencies –what were the factors? • Plan to address these using/citing research

18. Overview The requirement to submit an improvement plan is a consequence for AYP/AMAO deficiencies, what’s the purpose of the plan?

19. Tips for Improvement Plans Write for the Right Audience Look Beyond AYP Take Care to Consider the Factors Contributing to Achievement Be Specific and Thorough Focus and Coordinate Strategies and Activities Focus on Student Learning

20. They foster littledoubt that the plan will be implemented. Strong relationship between the data, strategies/activities, and monitoring process Detailed roles, responsibilities, expectations Critical changes in classroom practice Lessons Learned from the Best Plans

21. Overview Who’s the key audience for a district improvement plan? Plan implementers and plan monitors? Those supporting the above? Community stakeholders? ISBE? Other?

22. What’s What’s preventing students from learning? How do you know? school culture doesn’t foster shared responsibility for all kids’ learning Supplemental support is weak or not rigorous Teachers need ELL training Failure to use the intended curriculum by all staff for all kids School culture doesn’t reflect “rigor, relevance, relationship” Coarse and fine grain internal factors Insufficient teacher learning/team time Teachers do not have adequate coaching or support to implement strategies Instruction doesn’t span cognitive levels “mile wide and inch deep curriculum” Teachers aren’t clear about what’s expected in classrooms Kids don’t have equitable access to the curriculum Kids aren’t in the least restrictive educational environment

23. While the current achievement in reading for the LEP subgroup is 24.5% meeting/exceeding for ISAT, this subgroup will make AYP of at least 70% in 2009 or Safe Harbor. Strategies: 1 PD for ELL/Reading teachers on language acquisition 2 After school tutoring and peer tutoring and or translators; 3 Use reading blocks to incorporate pull-out ESL strategies 4 student and staff review of student work 5 beef up test taking skills 6 progress monitoring to drive instruction 7 work with Comm College for student/parent literacy classes; or fund through district 8 Add native language software and books to supplement reading curriculum in class and library 9 Add age appropriate ESL reading materials for each grade in library

24. Tips for ELL Lessons/tips learned from other plans: • Engage other community folks who have a non-education perspective, but who may be able to look at data/numbers with a fresh perspective • Community folks may also provide a perspective on community factors affecting demographics and students

25. Tips for ELL Parent Outreach • Don’t use 2000 strategies to reach 2008 parents. • School instruction is M – W 9 -3, today’s parents are likely to be on a different schedule • Engage current students AND parents from various student demographics

26. Tips for ELL • Go where the parents are (churches, employers, etc.) • Ensure teaching teams have representatives for different subgroups even if you don’t have numbers for a subgroup (e.g., Spec Ed, bilingual, low-income, migrant)

27. Elements of Implementation Plan with implementation in mind… IIRC E-plan Template Clear Actions Purposeful Process Focus on Outcome/Impact

28. Defining/Focusing/Communicating “All teachers will receive professional development on Standards Aligned Classroom and will continue ongoing training and follow-up throughout 2010. The project strategies and components will be consistently implemented in all math classrooms. These components include, but are not limited to: Standards Aligned curriculum, clear targets, assessments for learning, student self-assessment, and student goal setting.” “All students will receive weekly targeted instruction aligned to the Illinois Learning Standards, practice and review on reading skills including literary elements, figurative language, character analysis, author's purpose, comprehension, and vocabulary strategies”

29. Elements of Implementation “Initiate an after-school math tutoring program” Understanding process – How is it to be accomplished?… • Who will do it? Who else must be involved? • When will it be initiated? ...accomplished? • What will be the indicators of implementation? • How can/will they be measured? • What and when are the waypoints to determine progress? • Who will monitor process and progress, and how will they do so?

30. Elements of Implementation Understanding process – How is it to be accomplished?… • What barriers might exist? Which can be controlled? How will they be accommodated? • What supports are needed? How will they be put in place? • What resources will be needed…(really)? human?....financial?...time? • How will those resources be provided? • How can progress be sustained over time? ...with diminished resources?

31. Elements of Implementation Determining outcome - How will we know if it makes a difference?… • How will change be determined?...success be defined? • primary/secondary effects • intended/unintended effects • Starting from where? • Measured by what? ...When? ...By whom? • What if it doesn’t work? • What if it does?

32. How will we know? “The Assessment for Learning targets in reading and math will be monitored for improvement through monthly Benchmark assessments and weekly Short-cycle Assessments. This will be accomplished through monthly data analysis and charting monthly skills and student progress by both teachers and students, lesson plans and administrative observations” “The target of student engagement will be monitored by monthly walk-throughs and analysis of the data among staff, lesson plans, and administrative observations including the use of smartboards, Senteo clickers, and computers in each classroom.”