Press Releases

02/22/2019

CSDE: Overall State Accountability Results Improve

Increases in College/Career Readiness and Achievement of Student Groups 

(HARTFORD, CT)—Today the Connecticut State Department of Education (CSDE) released the 2017-18 results from the Next Generation Accountability System. This system takes a broad view of school and district performance based on a set of 12 indicators. The state’s overall accountability index increased from 73.1 in 2015-16 and 73.2 in 2016-17 to 74.9 in 2017-18. All results and additional support materials for districts are available on the CSDE’s data portal EdSight at http://edsight.ct.gov.

No:	Indicator	Index/ Rate	Target	Points Earned	Max Points	% Points Earned	Change from 2016-17
1a.	ELA Performance Index – All Students	67.6	75	45.1	50	90.1%	0.7%
1b.	ELA Performance Index – High Needs Students	57.5	75	38.3	50	76.7%	2.1%
1c.	Math Performance Index – All Students	62.7	75	41.8	50	83.6%	0.7%
1d.	Math Performance Index – High Needs Students	52.0	75	34.7	50	69.3%	2.0%
2a.	ELA Avg. Percentage of Growth Target Achieved – All Students	60.7%	100%	60.7	100	60.7%	5.3%
2b.	ELA Avg. Percentage of Growth Target Achieved – High Needs Students	55.6%	100%	55.6	100	55.6%	5.8%
2c.	Math Avg. Percentage of Growth Target Achieved – All Students	61.9%	100%	61.9	100	61.9%	0.2%
2d.	Math Avg. Percentage of Growth Target Achieved – High Needs Students	55.4%	100%	55.4	100	55.4%	1.7%
4a.	Chronic Absenteeism – All Students	10.7%	<=5%	38.6	50	77.2%	-3.2%
4b.	Chronic Absenteeism – High Needs Students	16.6%	<=5%	26.8	50	53.6%	-3.2%
5	Preparation for CCR – % taking courses	74.8%	75%	49.9	50	99.7%	5.5%
6	Preparation for CCR – % passing exams	44.8%	75%	29.9	50	59.7%	1.7%
7	On-track to High School Graduation	87.5%	94%	46.5	50	93.1%	-0.3%
8	4-year Graduation All Students	87.9%	94%	93.5	100	93.5%	0.5%
9	6-year Graduation - High Needs Students	81.8%	94%	87.0	100	87.0%	-0.2%
10	Postsecondary Entrance	70.9%	75%	94.5	100	94.5%	-1.5%
11	Physical Fitness	50.1%	75%	33.4	50	66.8%	-2.0%
12	Arts Access	51.2%	60%	42.7	50	85.3%	1.1%
	State Accountability Index			936.3	1250	74.9%	1.7%

 

Note: Change between ±1 percent on the “% Points earned” is indicated as 

 

Indicators 5 and 6 focus on college and career readiness. These indicators reflect students’ participation in rigorous coursework (AP/IB/Dual Enrollment, Career and Technical Education, or Workplace Experience) while in high school (Indicator 5), and meet benchmark on college readiness exams (Indicator 6). Both of those indicators improved for the second year in a row.

 

The percentage of 11th and 12th graders who participated in rigorous coursework increased from 67.6 percent in 2015-16 to 74.8 percent in 2017-18. The percentage meeting a benchmark score on a college readiness exam (i.e., SAT, ACT, Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate) increased from 40.7 percent in 2015-16 to 44.8 percent in 2017-18.

 

Contributing to this improvement in Indicator 6 is the notable increase in the number of students participating and succeeding in AP exams. In 2017-18, the number of students who took at least one AP exam rose to 30,411 – an increase of 5 percent from 2016-17. Those students took 55,738 exams, also an increase of 5 percent from the prior year. Of the exams taken, 37,804 achieved a score of three, four, or five – an increase of 3.8 percent from 2016-17. These improvements were evidenced among students from all racial/ethnic backgrounds.

 

Indicators 1b and 1d focus on the English Language Arts and Mathematics achievement of some of our most vulnerable students (i.e., English learners, students with disabilities, and/or students from low-income families). This group of students is also referred to as high need students. Both indicators 1b and 1d are showing promising improvement over the past three years.

 

Connecticut Academic Achievement Performance Index*

 

*Notes: The Performance Index is the average performance of students in a subject area (i.e., ELA, Mathematics or Science) on the state assessments. The Performance Index ranges from 0-100 and is reported for all students and for students in each individual student group. Connecticut's ultimate target for a Performance Index is 75.

 

 

Since the inception of the Next Generation Accountability System, the CSDE has included access to the arts as one of the indicators (#12). A bright spot is the increase in the percentage of students in high school participating in at least one arts course during the school year. This indicator (#12) reached its highest level of 51.2 percent in 2017-18, up from 47.5 in 2015-16.

 

The CSDE is recognizing 160 schools across the state as Schools of Distinction for high overall performance, high academic growth, and/or improvement in overall performance. It is commendable that 43 of the 160 Schools of Distinction are located in Alliance Districts.

 

Academic growth (Indicator #2) is a cornerstone of the Next Generation Accountability System. Unlike achievement (Indicator #1) which is a status measure, academic growth values the improvement in academic achievement of matched students in Grades 4 through 8. It is the best available broad measure of curriculum and instructional effectiveness. Connecticut’s academic growth results in 2017-18 were higher than in 2016-17. While there is still room for improvement statewide toward the ultimate target of 100%, the CSDE is pleased to recognize 126 schools across the state as Schools of Distinction for demonstrating high academic growth in ELA and/or Mathematics for all students and/or for high needs students. The CSDE is also pleased to release a document entitled Voices from the Field: Factors Influencing Academic Growth which is a compilation of the local policies, educator practices, strategies, and/or systems implemented by high growth schools that others may replicate.

 

The CSDE is recognizing 34 additional schools as Schools of Distinction solely for their high overall performance and/or for improvement in that performance.

 

With this release, the CSDE, in compliance with the Every Students Succeeds Act, is conducting a fresh identification of schools for state support.

 

• Turnaround Schools: The CSDE is identifying 36 schools statewide because their overall performance has been consistently among the lowest in the state. Specifically:
  • the three-year average of their accountability index is in the bottom 5 percent of all schools statewide; and/or
  • their six-year adjusted cohort graduation rate for all students is less than 70 percent in each of the three most recent cohorts.

  34 of the 36 schools are located in Alliance Districts; the remaining two are public charter schools. These schools will receive comprehensive support from the CSDE.

• Focus Schools: The CSDE is identifying 20 schools across the state where the academic growth, academic achievement, and/or six-year graduation rate for our most vulnerable students is consistently underperforming in the entire state. Of the 20 schools, 14 are located in Alliance Districts while the remaining six schools are located in four districts. These schools will receive targeted support from the CSDE.

Of the schools identified previously in 2015-16, 14 Turnaround schools and 61 Focus schools exited based on their performance.

 

“The 2017-18 accountability results show progress is being made on several performance and growth indicators and it is especially encouraging to see increases in performance and growth for our most vulnerable student groups,” said Education Commissioner Dianna R. Wentzell. “This is a sign we are moving in the right direction and delivering on our promise of equity and excellence for all Connecticut students. We will continue our push to build on this momentum and ensure districts and schools are preparing their students for success in college, career and life.”

Many districts are aligning local improvement plans with the full range of accountability indicators and are using the system for what it was designed to do—identify strengths and challenges, recognize progress, and inform improvement efforts.

 

CSDE leaders in Academics, Talent, Turnaround, and Student Supports are implementing specific, measurable, and evidence-based strategies to turn-the-curve on the accountability indicators. Some of these strategies include:

 

• Building the internal capacity of the CSDE cross-divisional review and support teams to effectively support and monitor Opportunity Districts;
• Providing greater access to data and information through public and secure portals and building the capacity of districts and schools to understand and use the information;
• Implementing tiered systems of support in areas of attendance, school discipline, restorative and trauma-informed practices that remove barriers to success and maximize student potential;
• Increasing assessment literacy among local districts/schools so practitioners are better equipped to make strategic and appropriate use of local district assessments;
• Supporting early literacy success through specialized professional development which ensures that students in Opportunity Districts receive scientifically research-based reading instruction;
• Supporting student academic achievement and school improvement through effective school, family and community partnerships; and
• Expanding the educator pipeline with specific focus on diversifying the workforce and filling vacancies in priority shortage areas with qualified educators.

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