NCLB Update:
District and school report cards

By Sharon E. Fissel, PSBA director of policy services, and Cynthia l. Eckerd, PSBA legislative information director

The No Child Left Behind Act expands state and local requirements for reporting on school quality. Beginning with the 2002-03 school year, states receiving Title I funds must disseminate annual report cards. In addition, each school entity and each school in a district must develop and disseminate a report card.

The law requires school entities to issue annual report cards detailing information about student achievement on state assessments. This will include disaggregating performance data about students from major racial and ethnic groups, students with limited English proficiency, students with disabilities and economically disadvantaged students.

However, this data cannot be disaggregated, if the number of students is so small that it would reveal personally identifiable information about an individual.

Here are some key points to know:

• Both school and district report cards must be made available through public means, such as posting on the Internet and distribution through the media and public agencies.
• The required information that must be reported on district and individual school report cards is outlined in District Report Cards.
• Pennsylvania's statewide testing databases do not contain information that would identify individual students. On the basis of state regulation protecting student confidentiality, there is no reporting in either school-level or public reports of information concerning disaggregated groups of fewer than 10 students.
• Student-level results are provided to the district superintendent via a diskette, which the superintendent cannot access without a password. Currently, Pennsylvania does not have a system to track students.
• Pennsylvania has a uniform procedure for calculating participation rates in statewide assessments. When the PSSA is administered, Pennsylvania collects the demographic information (including the information required under the NCLB Act's reporting requirements) for all students enrolled in the school or other educational entity (including charter schools, career and technical schools, intermediate units and juvenile facilities). The term "all students enrolled" encompasses students who are absent on the date of the assessment, as well as students who do not participate in the assessment (because of a religious objection, truancy or refusal).

  Thus, the denominator (in the calculation of the participation rate) is the entire universe of students enrolled in public schools and other public educational entities. The numerator will be composed of all students who take the PSSA and the PASA. After the overall participation rate is calculated, the participation rate of each subgroup also is calculated. The 95% participation rate in statewide assessments is a requirement in Pennsylvania; schools that do not meet the 95% threshold will be subject to consequences consistent with the NCLB Act, regardless of their assessment scores.

• Pennsylvania regulations provide for only one exemption -- a parental request for exemption, based upon religious reasons. Pursuant to the Chapter 4 regulations, students whose parents make such requests are excused from the statewide assessment. Historically, the parents of less than 0.5% of students have requested religious exemptions. Students receiving these exemptions will not be excluded from the total population (denominator) in calculating the participation rate.

District report cards
District report cards must contain the following information:

1. Aggregate data on student achievement at each proficiency level on state academic assessments, as well as disaggregated data reflecting race, ethnicity, gender, disability, migrant status, English proficiency and status as economically disadvantaged.

2. Comparison of the above student groups regarding achievement levels on state assessments.

3. Percentage of students not tested, disaggregated by student groups.

4. Most recent two-year trend data in achievement by subject area and grade level in areas where assessments are required.

5. Aggregate data on state indicators to determine adequate yearly progress, such as attendance rates for elementary schools.

6. Graduation rates for secondary schools, disaggregated by student groups.

7. Information on the district's performance regarding adequate yearly progress, as well as the number, percentage and names of schools identified for improvement, including how long they have been so identified.

8. Professional qualifications of teachers, and the percentage of teachers with emergency or provisional credentials.

9. Percentage of classes not taught by highly qualified teachers, in the aggregate and disaggregated by schools in the top and bottom quartiles of poverty.

10. Comparison of district students' achievements on state assessments with students in the entire state.

School report cards
School report cards must contain the following information:

1. Same information contained on the district report card.
2. Whether the school has been identified for improvement.
3. Information that compares the school's students' achievement on state assessments and indicators of adequate yearly progress with students in the district and the entire state.

Administrative Actions
The superintendent or designee must ensure the following:

1. Required information is updated and posted annually.
2. District and school report cards are provided to parents in an understandable and uniform format.
3. District and school report cards are made available to the public through posting on the Internet, distribution to the media and distribution to public agencies.
4. Public access is provided to the state report card and the school profile maintained by the state.