FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
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STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION
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Jeanine Blomberg
Commissioner of Education
T. WILLARD FAIR,
Chairman
Members
DONNA G. CALLAWAY
DR. AKSHAY DESAI
ROBERTO MARTÍNEZ
PHOEBE RAULERSON
KATHLEEN SHANAHAN
LINDA K. TAYLOR
June 29, 2007
MEMORANDUM
TO:
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District School Superintendents
FROM:
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Jay J. Pfeiffer, Deputy Commissioner
Accountability,
Research,
and
Measurement
SUBJECT:
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School Grade and Adequate Yearly Progress Appeals Process
State Board Rule 6A-1.09981 and the No Child Left Behind Act permit a thirty-day period for districts to
review the School Grade and Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) status assigned to each school. This
memorandum provides information on the appeals process for both School Grades and AYP status. The
thirty-day appeals process begins today, June 29, 2007, and ends July 30, 2007.
The School Grade and AYP accountability calculations rely on the accuracy of the data the districts
submit to the Florida Department of Education. During the regular student survey periods, the student
data submitted to the Department is certified as correct by the district superintendent. Even after the
certification, districts are given several months to amend any district-reported student survey data. In
addition, districts have several opportunities to ensure data used for School Grades and AYP are accurate.
These opportunities include the following:
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The Department provided reports on Survey 2 and Survey 3 matching to district personnel and
allowed four weeks to correct and update the data in these surveys. This included correcting student
ID numbers in both Survey 2 and Survey 3, school of enrollment, free and reduced lunch status, SWD
status, LEP status, race, gender, and grade level.
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The Department provided each district a copy of all district-reported data used for the School Grade
and AYP calculations. Districts had six weeks to update student membership data which may have
changed between February 6 and the time of testing and any grade level changes which occurred after
Survey 3 and before testing.
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The Department provided districts all assessment records that did not match a student. Districts had
two weeks to update and correct the data.
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The Department provided districts a school type report for School Grade and AYP calculations.
Districts were given an opportunity to review and appeal school type assignments.
JAY PFEIFFER
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DEPUTY COMMISSIONER
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ACCOUNTABILITY, RESEARCH, AND MEASUREMENT
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325 W. GAINES STREET • SUITE 814 • TALLAHASSEE, FL 32399-0400 • (850) 245-0437 • www.fldoe.org
District School Superintendents
Page 2
June 29, 2007
•
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The Department provided each district a copy of all Survey 2 students who could not be matched to a
2006 FCAT record for purposes of calculating learning gains. Districts had two months to locate
FCAT records for these students and report this data to the Department separate from the corrections
process which also gathers this data.
•
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The Department provided each district a copy of all Survey 3 11
th
and 12
th
grade students in math and
reading that potentially could be included in the denominator for the Retake Bonus points calculation
and with whom a passing score for the FCAT Summer 2006 or Fall 2006 could not be matched.
Districts had 4 weeks to match the students to passing scores on these tests or to indicate that the
student was going to use a passing concordant score to satisfy the FCAT graduation requirements.
This was processed with the student membership updates because of the relationship the updates had
on the retakes population.
Because of the many opportunities for districts to review, update, and correct all of the data used for the
School Grade and AYP calculations, the following district-reported data cannot be appealed:
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Incorrect student identification numbers, district numbers, or school numbers on any student or
assessment records.
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Changes in student demographic information – race, gender, limited English proficiency,
exceptionality, lunch status, grade level.
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Student withdrawals from a school or district.
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2006 Reading and Math FCAT (prior year) assessment information.
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School type assignment.
•
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Any request for a change in a School Grade or AYP status that requires a change in statute or rule.
The process for submitting appeal requests is as follows:
Any request for a recalculation of data that will not result in a change in letter grade or AYP status should
not be submitted. If the district determines that a different performance grade should be assigned because
of the Department's omission of student data, a data miscalculation, or special circumstances that might
have affected the grade assigned, an appeal request for a Department review of the data can be submitted
in the following manner:
1.
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On or before July 30, 2007, submit a written request for review, including all backup documentation,
to the address below. Each request must be submitted by the district accountability coordinator and
must be signed by the superintendent; individual schools may not submit appeals. All schools must
work through the district accountability coordinator. A separate letter of explanation and separate
documentation must be submitted for each school. The information should be submitted to:
Juan C. Copa, Director
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Evaluation and Reporting Office
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Florida Department of Education
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325 West Gaines Street, Suite 445
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Tallahassee, FL 32399-0400
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2.
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The request for review must be in the form of a letter, explaining the reasons for the appeal, specific
information on the situations being appealed, and descriptions of the circumstances that caused the
need for the appeal. The documentation must identify the individual student records in question. The
Department will not review an appeal alleging omission or miscalculation of data that does not
identify the individual student records in question. All letters must be signed by the district
superintendent.
3.
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The documentation should accompany the appeal letter and be labeled, highlighted, or marked for the
individual school being appealed.
District School Superintendents
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June 29, 2007
4.
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A text data file with all of the relevant appeal information must be uploaded to the following secure
website: https://www.fldoe.org/arm_applications/arm_login. The text file format is located at the site.
The Department process for reviewing appeal requests will be as follows:
1.
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After July 30, 2007, Department staff will conduct a review of the appeals and documentation and
make initial recommendations.
2.
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Department staff recommendations will be presented to an appeals committee for review and
recommendations.
3.
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Committee recommendations will be presented to the Commissioner of Education for her
determination of the final School Grade and/or AYP designation.
The Department will notify each district superintendent and district accountability coordinator of the final
School Grade and AYP status after the Commissioner's final determination. Local district officials, as
designated by the district superintendent, are responsible for notifying individual schools.
Thank you for your cooperation and help in ensuring that all School Grades and AYP calculations are
accurate.
