COMPARABILITY

1. COMPARABILITY Monday, January 29, 2012 Webinar Session Jackie Godbout Maine Department of Education 624-6705

2. DUE DATE • Use October 2011 student enrollment and teacher data. • The report is due February 29, 2012. NCLB Clearinghouse Maine Department of Education 23 State House Station Augusta, ME 04333

3. REQUIREMENTS • Section 1120A(c) of NCLB Act • Circular A-133 Compliance Supplement for Single Audit—Auditors do ask to see the district’s Comparability Report

4. COMPARABILITY REPORT Located at: • http://www.maine.gov/education/nclb/tia/comparability/index.htm • RTF/Word format • New this year, EXCEL document which does all the calculations for Part II-IV Worksheets

5. DEFINITIONS • Group Size—Smaller, Larger, Exempt • Comparable Grade Span • Full Time Equivalent (FTE) • Instructional Staff

6. GRADE SPAN Part I Worksheet – Section A • Refers to actual Grade Span of the school Part I Worksheet – Section B • Looking to create comparable Grade Span groupings based on the district’s schools • Ex. K-3, K-5, K-2, 3-5, K-2, 6-8, 6-8, 9-12 • Grade Span Groups = K-2 (3 schs), 3-5 (1 sch), K-5 (1 sch), 6-8 (2 schs), 9-12 (1 sch)

7. SMALLER/LARGER/EXEMPT GROUP: • A school is Exempt in this process if it has less than 100 students. • A single school in a grade span is always classified as Smaller. • Look at a specific grade span with multiple schools after eliminating any exempt schools. If the highest enrollment at one of the schools is twice the amount of the lowest enrollment, then you may designate one school as a Larger school and the other school as a Smaller school. • If other schools exist, you place them in the most appropriate group size. • If the highest enrollment is not twice the lowest enrollment, then the schools are classified as Smaller.

8. PART 1 WORKSHEET SECTION B* Part IV Worksheet for K-2 GS##Part II & III Worksheets for 6-8 GS

9. Full Time Equivalent • Determine the number of full-time instructional staff paid with state/local resources for each school.Prorate each part-time staff person for each school to the nearest tenth and add to full-time staff to determine the total FTE for all instructional staff for that school. You must use the same standard and definition of instructional staff and FTE across all schools. Time for stipend activities is not included in this FTE count.

10. INSTRUCTIONAL STAFF • STAFF TO BE INCLUDED: Staff members who render direct and personal services that are in the nature of the teaching or the improvement of the teaching/learning situation in a school including staff paid with Ed Jobs. The term includes principals, librarians, guidance, teachers including art, music, physical education, etc. for a school. The term also includes educational technicians or other paraprofessional personnel including clerical personnel employed to assist instructional staff members in providing these services.

11. INSTRUCTIONAL STAFF • STAFF EXCLUDED:DO NOT INCLUDE staff positions paid from federal funds such as Title IA or Class Size Reduction. Special education and ESL staff regardless of funding are not included. In addition, any staff person paid with local funding who is providing Title IA supplemental services to Title I identified students is not included in the instructional staff count.

12. SOURCE DOCUMENTATION STUDENT ENROLLMENT DOCUMENTION: • Needed for all schools in Part I Worksheet • Student enrollment summary count from a day in October 2011 from a SIS would be sufficient or • Copy of district listings from the Oct. 30, 2011 EF-U-534 Free & Reduce Lunch Report or • Copy of other student enrollment report/data from an official website.

13. SOURCE DOCUMENTATION STAFF LISTING DOCUMENTATION • Needed only for those schools requiring calculations on a Part II-IV Worksheet • If the staff listing shows all staff, cross out those allowable EXCLUDED staff, but identify them as Title I, Special Ed, ESL, etc. • Ensure that counts and pertinent information are clearly identifiable. • Each staff should be considered 1 FTE if not coded with a different FTE count. • Don’t forget allowable Ed Tech and other instructional support staff.

14. FREQUENT ERROR • When Non-Title I schools on the Part II Worksheet are being compared to Title I schools on the Part III Worksheet, it is important to remember that the calculated result in block 6(B) on the Part II Worksheet needs to be carried forward to block 6(B) on the Part III Worksheet. Each Title I school’s staff/student ratio in column 6 on the Part III Worksheet is then compared to the number in block 6(B) to determine if comparability is met.

15. Questions???? • Opening for questions. • If you do not get a chance to ask questions, feel free to contact Jackie Godbout at 624-6712.