Accountability and Graduation

1. Accountability and Graduation How Does Special Education Affect School Results? Terry Wyatt Executive Director, Tri-County Co-Op

2. Today’s Plan • Texas’ Process for measuring dropout & completion rates in accountability, federal and state. • How does a special education student and his/her ARD committee navigate the high school process toward graduation? • What do we watch out for from an accountability perspective?

3. Presentation Updates • Updates to this presentation, including access to color handouts may be located at the following website: • http://cs1.mcm.edu/~tri-county/presentations.htm

4. Completion Rate • This is the primary accountability measure applied to schools in Texas. • It is a study of a group of students over time. • COHORT, • CLASS, • SCHOOL START WINDOW, • LEAVER RECORDS

5. 2008 Students Start 9th Grade COHORT-08 9TH GRADE YEAR 1ST DAY OF SCHOOL 100 STUDENTS ENROLL

6. Time Frames – Completion Rate • 2008-09 Freshman Year • 2009-10 Sophomore Year • 2010-11 Junior Year • 2011-12 Senior Year • August 2012 – Last Friday September (SSW) • Last Friday in October 2012 PEIMS – Leaver Records Submitted, Enrollment data • Spring / Summer 2013, TEA processes Completion rate data. • August 2014 – District/Campus report cards

7. How do changes happen to the cohort? W/D TO TEXAS PUBLIC SCHOOL (MOVERS) Graduate Early, Enter earlier Cohort STUDENTS ENROLL FROM OUT OF STATE 9th Grade COHORT - 08 NEW ENROLLEES FROM IN STATE ENROLL FROM ANOTHER TEXAS PUBLIC SCHOOL (MOVERS)

8. When a student leaves, what is the impact on the cohort? • Many students fit into the category TEA calls “Movers”. • School Year Movers – students found by TEA to have enrolled in another district during the course of a single school year. • Summertime Movers - Students found to have enrolled in another district during the school-start window, that is, between the first day of school and the last Friday in September. • A Mover comes out of your cohort and joins the cohort of the other Texas Public School.

9. Fall of 5th year – Cohort Matures COHORT-08

10. MIGRATION ROUTES C O H O R T MIGRATE INTO CLASS DO NOT MIGRATE INTO CLASS

11. Migrating from Cohort to Class COHORT – 08 GRADUATE GED RECIPIENT CONTINUER DROPOUT

12. STAYING IN COHORT, not class COHORT – 08 Graduated outside of Texas Completed GED outside of Texas Entered college early to pursue a degree Withdrew for home schooling Removed from district by CPS Withdrew to enroll in Texas private school Withdrew to enroll in school outside of Texas Withdrew to university HS diploma program – SBEC Expelled for criminal behavior Administrative withdrawal Deceased Returned to home country

13. MIGRATION ROUTES C O H O R T MIGRATE INTO CLASS DO NOT MIGRATE INTO CLASS

14. How is Completion Rate Measured? • COHORT is formed over 4 years. • COHORT migrates into CLASS • CLASS is used to measure Completion Rate • AEIS • AYP • PBMAS • SPP

15. AYP Calculation: Completion Rate Graduates _______________________________________ Graduates + “Continued in school” + GED + Dropouts 70%

16. AEIS Calculation: Completion Rate I (Graduates + Continuers = Completers) _______________________________________ Graduates + Continuers + GED + Dropouts 75% - AA

17. AEIS Calculation: Completion Rate II (Used for AEA Procedures for Campuses) Graduates + Continuers + GED Recipients _______________________________________ Graduates + Continuers + GED + Dropouts 60% = AA

18. AEIS Calculation: Dropout Rate Dropouts _______________________________________ Number of students in attendance any time during the school year Grade Ranges 7-8 AEIS, 7-12 AEA

19. SPP Calculation: Graduation Rate for SPED Students Number of SE students from the COHORT who Received a Diploma _______________________________________ Total number of students in the COHORT (Graduation+GED+Continuing+Dropout) Grade Range 9-12 (74% moving up annually)

20. SPP calculation of Dropout Rate for SPED Students Dropouts – Number of SE students from the COHORT who dropped out _______________________________________ Total number of students in the COHORT (Graduation+GED+Continuing+Dropout) Grade Range 9-12 (12.0% moving down annually)

21. Consider this! SE & Graduation • What choices specifically affect post graduation options? • From the perspective of the student, what differences are there in planning for graduation? • In what ways is the state regulating/measuring how our students graduate? • Are there any graduation routes that help both the student and the school?

22. Focus: Student First What choices affect our students? A series of questions on graduation.

23. First Considerations • In what ways does the selection of an exit level assessment affect graduation for a student?

24. Can the exit level assessment I take/pass affect my graduation plan? • Yes and No! • For students who entered the 9th grade before the 2008-09 school year, the new rules on this issue do not apply. • For students who enter the 9th grade during the 2008-09 school year and later, yes it does affect your plan.

25. First Student Set: • Students who entered the ninth grade before the 2008-2009 school year. • This year’s: • Juniors • Seniors • Students who were retained. • These students have a special grandfather rule.

26. For students who entered the 9th grade before 2008-09: • TAKS-M means minimum plan. • TAKS and TAKS-Accommodated lead to recommended or distinguished plans. • **ARD committee may accept participation on TAKS or TAKS-Acc and still allow graduation on R or D plan.**

27. Second Student Set: • Students who enter the ninth grade in the 2008-2009 school year and ever after. • This year’s: • Freshmen • Sophomores • These students are fully subject to the new commissioner’s rules.

28. For students who entered the 9th grade in 2008-09 or later: • Take and pass TAKS or TAKS-Accommodated on all exit level subjects and you may graduate under the recommended or distinguished plan, if you meet the other plan requirements. • Failure to pass the TAKS or TAKS-Accommodated means that a student cannot graduate under the recommended or distinguished plan

29. For students who entered the 9th grade in 2008-09 or later: • Students who take or pass the TAKS-M and TAKS-Alt assessments can only graduate under the Minimum plan. • A student who takes the TAKS-M in any subject for their exit level requirements has decided to graduate under the minimum plan.

30. What other things affect graduation? • Curriculum • Credits • State Assessment throughout high school.

31. What is a graduation path? • Commissioner’s Rules indicate that there are several ways that a special education student may graduate from high school. Think of these ways as paths to graduation. • Orange 89.1070(b)(1) • Red 89.1070(b)(2) • Green 89.1070(c) • Blue 89.1070(d)

32. Path Colors • ORANGE: Curriculum & credit requirements met, passed the exit level assessment: Minimum, Recommended, or Distinguished plan possible. • RED: Curriculum & credit requirements met, participated in the exit level assessment: Minimum plan possible. *Note previous discussion.

33. Path Colors • GREEN: Credit requirements met, curriculum requirements met to the extent possible as determined by ARD, participated in the exit level assessment, and completing the IEP including one of the following: • Full time employment and sufficient self help skills to maintain employment without direct support from the school district. • Demonstration of full time employability skills • Access to employment or educational options not within the legal responsibility of public education.

34. Path Colors • BLUE: The student no longer meets age eligibility requirements AND has completed the requirements of the IEP. The student must participate in the exit level assessment and the student must have the necessary credits to graduate under the minimum plan.

35. Related Graduation Issues • Summary of academic achievement and functional performance • An evaluation / re-evaluation • These may be combined in a single document.

38. Color Change Critical Differences • Orange to Red: • Did not pass TAKS or TAKS Accommodated • Red to Green: • Curriculum in a required course was modified. • Green to Blue: • Aged Out with credits and completed IEP.

39. Orange Differences • Under the orange graduation path a student can graduate under the Distinguished, Recommended, or Minimum plans. • All of those graduates must have passed the TAKS or TAKS-Accommodated. • The difference is in the coursework they completed.

40. Statewide Assessments Gr. 9 & 10 • What if a student takes the TAKS-M in one subject during grades 9 or 10? • According to TEA rules, to take the TAKS-M the student must have been receiving a modified curriculum. • A modified curriculum in a class means that a student cannot graduate under the R or D plan. • Thus, TAKS-M anytime in HS means Minimum Plan.

41. Let’s discuss a series of related questions. • Can state-wide assessment choice affect my college plans? • Yes, students must pass TAKS or TAKS-Accommodated in all subjects to directly enter a Texas public 4 year university. • How do class substitutions affect a graduation plan? • Any time an ARD committee substitutes a class for one of the required classes on the R/D plan, the student moves to minimum plan.

42. Questions Continued • What happens if the ARD committee modifies the curriculum of a course? • Minimum plan • Does my performance on my exit assessment affect my graduation plan? • R/D must pass the TAKS or TAKS Acc.(Note discussion above related to when student entered 9th grade.) • How does my selection of courses affect my graduation plan? • Courses are the basic ingredient in building a plan.

43. Questions Continued • How does my graduation plan affect my college choices? • Colleges look at coursework for entrance requirements. • How do curriculum modifications in a required course affect my graduation plan? • A curriculum modification which affects the course content will move a student to the minimum plan. • How do modifications to instruction affect a graduation plan? • Not at all.

44. Questions Continued • Does the choice of exit test affect my ability to pass the test, and thus my ability to graduate? • While all three TAKS tests (TAKS, TAKS-Acc., TAKS-M) cover the core curriculum content, the TAKS-M test is written to be less challenging. • Choosing the TAKS-M puts limits on your graduation plan and post secondary options. • Still, taking TAKS-M may be the right choice for a specific student.

45. Questions Continued • If I take even one TAKS-M test, does that affect my graduation plan? • Yes, you must take all subjects in TAKS or TAKS-Accommodated to graduate under the recommended or distinguished plans.

46. Questions Continued • Three of the things Texas’ public 4 year universities will require to enroll: • Pass TAKS or TAKS-Accommodated in all 4 subjects as an exit test. • Complete the Recommended or Distinguished Program. • Course requirements specific to their university.

47. Focus: School Second What graduation choices affect our accountability?

48. What systems measure graduation issues? • AEIS • AYP • PBMAS • SPP

49. AEIS & AYP • AEIS and AYP measure graduates irrespective of graduation plan. • Timely graduation affects both of these systems. • Continuer helps AEIS • AYP graduation failure may be affected by special education “continuers”. You may appeal an AYP failure if this factor would change your AYP status.

50. PBMAS • Test participation issues. • TAKS/TAKS Acc Only • TAKS-M Only • SPED Annual Dropout Rate • SPED RHSP/DAP Diploma Rate 16.5% or higher = PL 0 • SPED Graduation Rate – timely graduation