High Stakes for High Achievers: State Accountability in the Age of ESSA
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| Title: | High Stakes for High Achievers: State Accountability in the Age of ESSA |
|---|---|
| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Petrilli, Michael J., Griffith, David, Wright, Brandon L., Kim, Audrey, Thomas B. Fordham Institute |
| Source: | Thomas B. Fordham Institute. 2016. |
| Availability: | Thomas B. Fordham Institute. 1701 K Street NW Suite 1000, Washington, DC 20006. Tel: 202-223-5452; Fax: 202-223-9226; e-mail: backtalk@edexcellence.net; Web site: http://www.edexcellence.net |
| Peer Reviewed: | N |
| Page Count: | 24 |
| Publication Date: | 2016 |
| Sponsoring Agency: | Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation Bloomberg Philanthropies Thomas B. Fordham Foundation |
| Document Type: | Reports - Research |
| Education Level: | Elementary Education Middle Schools |
| Descriptors: | Accountability, High Achievement, Student Needs, Needs Assessment, State Policy, Scoring Rubrics, Academic Achievement, Achievement Rating, Web Sites, Position Papers, Content Analysis, Summative Evaluation, Educational Indicators, Educational Change, Change Strategies |
| Geographic Terms: | United States |
| Abstract: | In this report, the authors examine the extent to which states' current (or planned) accountability systems for elementary and middle schools attend to the needs of high-achieving students, and how these systems might be redesigned under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) to better serve all students. In their view, states can and should take four steps to ensure that the needs of high achievers are prioritized under ESSA: (1) For the first academic indicator required by ESSA ("academic achievement"), reward schools for getting more students to an "advanced" level; (2) For the second academic indicator expected by ESSA ("student growth"), rate schools using a "true growth model," i.e., one that looks at the progress of individual students at all achievement levels and not just those who are low-performing or below the "proficient" line; (3) Include "gifted students" (or "high-achieving students") as a subgroup, and report their results separately and (4) When determining summative school ratings, make "growth for all students" count for at least half of the rating. Based on these four design features, the authors rate states' current (or planned) accountability systems using a rubric and the most recent publicly available information. This rubric is the basis for two sets of ratings: one for the thirty-nine states (plus the District of Columbia) that calculate summative school ratings (or intend to) and one for the eleven states that don't take this step (or don't plan to). The ratings suggest that the overwhelming majority of current (and planned) state accountability systems provide schools with few incentives to focus on their high-achieving students. In fact, the analysis presented herein indicates that just four states--Arkansas, Ohio, Oregon, and South Carolina--have truly praiseworthy systems when it comes to focusing attention on these students. The results also highlight the specific areas where states need to improve. Only four states (Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, and Oregon) base at least half of a school's rating on "growth for all students," and seven states and the District of Columbia assign no weight to this measure. (Eleven states don't calculate summative school ratings.) Given that student growth is the best way to evaluate schools' impact on student achievement--and the best way to signal that all kids matter--this finding is extremely alarming. Just five states (Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, and Wyoming) include high-achieving or gifted students as a subgroup and separately report their results. Fourteen states and the District of Columbia rate (or plan to rate) schools' achievement using a model that gives extra credit for students who achieve at an "advanced" level, such as a performance index. Unfortunately, draft regulations published by the Department of Education appear to disallow such indices, and those fourteen states may be required to resume measuring academic achievement via proficiency rates alone. For this reason, the authors have one major recommendation for the Department of Education: All states to rate academic achievement using a performance index. Such an allowance is both consistent with ESSA and in the best interests of students. The Department's final regulations should encourage performance metrics that account for the achievement of all students. [Foreword by Chester E. Finn, Jr.] |
| Abstractor: | ERIC |
| Entry Date: | 2016 |
| Accession Number: | ED570126 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| FullText | Text: Availability: 0 CustomLinks: – Url: https://eric.ed.gov/contentdelivery/servlet/ERICServlet?accno=ED570126 Name: ERIC Full Text Category: fullText Text: Full Text from ERIC |
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| Header | DbId: eric DbLabel: ERIC An: ED570126 AccessLevel: 3 PubType: Report PubTypeId: report PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: High Stakes for High Achievers: State Accountability in the Age of ESSA – Name: Language Label: Language Group: Lang Data: English – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Petrilli%2C+Michael+J%2E%22">Petrilli, Michael J.</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Griffith%2C+David%22">Griffith, David</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Wright%2C+Brandon+L%2E%22">Wright, Brandon L.</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Kim%2C+Audrey%22">Kim, Audrey</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Thomas+B%2E+Fordham+Institute%22">Thomas B. Fordham Institute</searchLink> – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="SO" term="%22Thomas+B%2E+Fordham+Institute%22"><i>Thomas B. Fordham Institute</i></searchLink>. 2016. – Name: Avail Label: Availability Group: Avail Data: Thomas B. Fordham Institute. 1701 K Street NW Suite 1000, Washington, DC 20006. Tel: 202-223-5452; Fax: 202-223-9226; e-mail: backtalk@edexcellence.net; Web site: http://www.edexcellence.net – Name: PeerReviewed Label: Peer Reviewed Group: SrcInfo Data: N – Name: Pages Label: Page Count Group: Src Data: 24 – Name: DatePubCY Label: Publication Date Group: Date Data: 2016 – Name: SourceSuprt Label: Sponsoring Agency Group: SrcSuprt Data: Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation<br />Bloomberg Philanthropies<br />Thomas B. Fordham Foundation – Name: TypeDocument Label: Document Type Group: TypDoc Data: Reports - Research – Name: Audience Label: Education Level Group: Audnce Data: <searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Elementary+Education%22">Elementary Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Middle+Schools%22">Middle Schools</searchLink> – Name: Subject Label: Descriptors Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Accountability%22">Accountability</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22High+Achievement%22">High Achievement</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Student+Needs%22">Student Needs</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Needs+Assessment%22">Needs Assessment</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22State+Policy%22">State Policy</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Scoring+Rubrics%22">Scoring Rubrics</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Academic+Achievement%22">Academic Achievement</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Achievement+Rating%22">Achievement Rating</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Web+Sites%22">Web Sites</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Position+Papers%22">Position Papers</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Content+Analysis%22">Content Analysis</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Summative+Evaluation%22">Summative Evaluation</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Educational+Indicators%22">Educational Indicators</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Educational+Change%22">Educational Change</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Change+Strategies%22">Change Strategies</searchLink> – Name: Subject Label: Geographic Terms Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22United+States%22">United States</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: In this report, the authors examine the extent to which states' current (or planned) accountability systems for elementary and middle schools attend to the needs of high-achieving students, and how these systems might be redesigned under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) to better serve all students. In their view, states can and should take four steps to ensure that the needs of high achievers are prioritized under ESSA: (1) For the first academic indicator required by ESSA ("academic achievement"), reward schools for getting more students to an "advanced" level; (2) For the second academic indicator expected by ESSA ("student growth"), rate schools using a "true growth model," i.e., one that looks at the progress of individual students at all achievement levels and not just those who are low-performing or below the "proficient" line; (3) Include "gifted students" (or "high-achieving students") as a subgroup, and report their results separately and (4) When determining summative school ratings, make "growth for all students" count for at least half of the rating. Based on these four design features, the authors rate states' current (or planned) accountability systems using a rubric and the most recent publicly available information. This rubric is the basis for two sets of ratings: one for the thirty-nine states (plus the District of Columbia) that calculate summative school ratings (or intend to) and one for the eleven states that don't take this step (or don't plan to). The ratings suggest that the overwhelming majority of current (and planned) state accountability systems provide schools with few incentives to focus on their high-achieving students. In fact, the analysis presented herein indicates that just four states--Arkansas, Ohio, Oregon, and South Carolina--have truly praiseworthy systems when it comes to focusing attention on these students. The results also highlight the specific areas where states need to improve. Only four states (Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, and Oregon) base at least half of a school's rating on "growth for all students," and seven states and the District of Columbia assign no weight to this measure. (Eleven states don't calculate summative school ratings.) Given that student growth is the best way to evaluate schools' impact on student achievement--and the best way to signal that all kids matter--this finding is extremely alarming. Just five states (Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, and Wyoming) include high-achieving or gifted students as a subgroup and separately report their results. Fourteen states and the District of Columbia rate (or plan to rate) schools' achievement using a model that gives extra credit for students who achieve at an "advanced" level, such as a performance index. Unfortunately, draft regulations published by the Department of Education appear to disallow such indices, and those fourteen states may be required to resume measuring academic achievement via proficiency rates alone. For this reason, the authors have one major recommendation for the Department of Education: All states to rate academic achievement using a performance index. Such an allowance is both consistent with ESSA and in the best interests of students. The Department's final regulations should encourage performance metrics that account for the achievement of all students. [Foreword by Chester E. Finn, Jr.] – Name: AbstractInfo Label: Abstractor Group: Ab Data: ERIC – Name: DateEntry Label: Entry Date Group: Date Data: 2016 – Name: AN Label: Accession Number Group: ID Data: ED570126 |
| PLink | https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=eric&AN=ED570126 |
| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Languages: – Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 24 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Accountability Type: general – SubjectFull: High Achievement Type: general – SubjectFull: Student Needs Type: general – SubjectFull: Needs Assessment Type: general – SubjectFull: State Policy Type: general – SubjectFull: Scoring Rubrics Type: general – SubjectFull: Academic Achievement Type: general – SubjectFull: Achievement Rating Type: general – SubjectFull: Web Sites Type: general – SubjectFull: Position Papers Type: general – SubjectFull: Content Analysis Type: general – SubjectFull: Summative Evaluation Type: general – SubjectFull: Educational Indicators Type: general – SubjectFull: Educational Change Type: general – SubjectFull: Change Strategies Type: general – SubjectFull: United States Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: High Stakes for High Achievers: State Accountability in the Age of ESSA Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Thomas B. Fordham Institute – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Petrilli, Michael J. – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Griffith, David – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Wright, Brandon L. – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Kim, Audrey IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 01 M: 08 Type: published Y: 2016 Titles: – TitleFull: Thomas B. Fordham Institute Type: main |
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