Current through Register 1531, September 27, 2024
(1)
Framework for District and
School Accountability and Assistance. The Department shall
implement a system for district and school accountability and assistance,
approved by the Board and known as the framework for district and school
accountability and assistance, for the purpose of improving student
performance. Both the priority for assistance and the degree of intervention
shall increase as the severity and duration of low performance increase. Under
the framework, districts shall hold their schools accountable for educating
their students well and assist them in doing so; the Department shall hold
districts accountable for both of these functions and assist them in fulfilling
them.
(2)
Reported
Measures. Each year, the Department will report:
(a) An accountability percentile,
representing each school's overall relative standing compared to other schools
in the state;
(b) A
criterion-referenced measure of performance against targets, set by the
Department, for each accountability indicator, for:
1. Each district or school as a whole, by
using data from all students in the district or school and data from the lowest
performing students in each district or school; and
2. Each subgroup for which there is
sufficient data;
(c) A
subgroup percentile, representing each subgroup's relative standing compared to
like subgroups in other schools statewide;
(d) For each district, school, and subgroup
that meets the minimum group size requirement for reporting:
1. Assessment participation rates;
and
2. Whether the district,
school, or subgroup met the participation rate requirements established by the
Department;
(e)
Information related to each school's need for required assistance or
intervention; and
(f) Information
related to schools that demonstrate exemplary performance, as determined by the
commissioner.
(3)
Annual Performance Determinations. Each year, the
Department will issue annual performance determinations for all public
districts and schools, using the framework developed by the Department and
approved by the Board.
(a) Annual performance
determinations for districts include:
1.
Districts in need of required assistance or intervention, for districts that:
a. Are in need of broad or comprehensive
support, if designated under performing according to
603
CMR 2.05(1) or designated
chronically under performing according to
603
CMR 2.06(1);
b. Are in need of focused or targeted support
due to:
i. Low graduation rates, as defined by
the federal Every Student Succeeds Act; or
ii. Low assessment participation rates, as
defined by framework for district and school accountability and
assistance.
2.
Districts not requiring assistance or intervention, for districts that do not
meet any of the criteria in 603 CMR 2.03(3)(a)1. Annual performance
determinations for districts not requiring assistance or intervention will be
reported as the degree to which each district has met targets, based on the
criterion-referenced measure in 603 CMR 2.03(2)(b)1.
(b) Annual performance determinations for
schools include:
1. Schools in need of
required assistance or intervention, for schools that:
a. Are in need of broad or comprehensive
support, if designated underperforming according to
603
CMR 2.05(2) or designated
chronically underperforming according to
603
CMR 2.06(2);
b. Are in need of focused or targeted support
due to:
i. Their placement among the lowest
performing 10% of schools statewide, based on the accountability percentile
described in 603 CMR 2.03(2)(a);
ii. The presence of one or more low
performing subgroups, using the relative measure described in 603 CMR
2.03(2)(c);
iii. Low graduation
rates, as defined by the federal Every Student Succeeds Act; or
iv. Low assessment participation rates, as
defined by the framework for district and school accountability and
assistance.
2.
Schools not requiring assistance or intervention, for schools that do not meet
any of the criteria in 603 CMR 2.03(3)(b)1. Annual performance determinations
for schools not requiring assistance or intervention will be reported as the
degree to which each school has met targets, based on the criterion-referenced
measure in 603 CMR 2.03(2)(b)1.
(4)
District
Reviews. The Department may conduct a district review,
encompassing the district and its schools, of any district.
(5)
District Analysis and Review
Tool. The Department shall provide the District Analysis and
Review Tool to every district, including multiple data elements, giving schools
the capability of comparing themselves with similar schools or other schools of
their choice, and giving districts the capability of comparing themselves with
similar districts or other districts of their choice.
(6)
District Standards and
Indicators.
(a) District reviews,
improvement planning, and other forms of accountability and assistance shall be
based on standards of effective policy and practice in:
1. Leadership and governance;
2. Curriculum and instruction;
3. Assessment;
4. Human resources and professional
development;
5. Student support;
and
6. Financial and asset
management.
(b) The
Department shall publish a detailed version of the standards and associated
indicators, which shall be informed by research-based practices identified as
characteristic of schools that have experienced rapid improvements in student
outcomes.
(7)
District Improvement Planning. Every district shall
develop and implement an annual self-evaluation and district improvement
planning process.
(a) The district's
self-evaluation and planning process shall result, every three years, in a
comprehensive written three-year District Improvement Plan to improve the
performance of the district and its schools.
(b) Each year, every school shall adopt
school performance goals and develop and implement a written School Improvement
Plan to advance those goals and improve student performance. The School
Improvement Plan shall be aligned with the District Improvement Plan.
(c) A district's District Improvement Plan
and School Improvement Plans shall be based on an analysis of data including,
but not limited to, data on student performance and the District Analysis and
Review Tool provided by the Department under 603 CMR 2.03(5), and an assessment
of actions the district and its schools must take to improve that
performance.
(d) District
Improvement Plans and School Improvement Plans shall, in form and content,
conform to requirements set forth in M.G.L. c. 69, § 1I.
(8)
Assistance from
the Department.
(a) The
Department shall make available a variety of forms of assistance, such as
examples, tools, templates, protocols, and surveys to assist districts and
schools in assessing themselves and improving student performance.
(b) The Department shall also make available
to districts, to the extent funding allows, professional development
opportunities and assistance from Department staff members, Department
contractors, or third party partners. Priority for receiving professional
development or assistance, as well as the degree of intervention by the
Department, shall be based on the annual performance determination by the
Department of the district or one or more of its schools.
(9)
Annual Report to
Board. The Department shall report annually to the Board on
district and school accountability results.
(10)
Notice and
Consultation. The Department shall solicit public comment on
proposed changes to the framework for district and school accountability and
assistance, including changes to the indicators or the weighting of indicators
in the framework. After considering the public comment, the commissioner will
forward a recommendation for any proposed changes to the Board for
approval.
(11)
Commissioner's Authority to Suspend the Reporting of Measures and
Annual Performance Determinations for Districts and Schools. The
Commissioner may, for good cause arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, direct the
Department to suspend the reporting of any or all of the reported measures and
annual performance determinations, as described in 603 CMR 2.03(2) and (3), for
school year 2021-2022.
