NCLB Recommendation #13
SUBJECT
AYP Determinations: Assessment Participation Rates
P.L. 107-110 PROVISIONS
TITLE I PART A SUBPART 1 SEC. 1111(b)(2)
NSBA RECOMMENDATIONS
#13: To meet the 95 percent participation requirement, students who do not participate in the assessment and are determined not to be eligible for exemptions may be assigned a “below basic” score by the school. In such cases, the school may not be identified as failing to meet the participation rate for AYP on the basis that those same students did not take the assessment.
RATIONALE
Currently a school could be identified as not making AYP on the basis of performance and participation. When calculating AYP, this recommended option would permit a school to make AYP as long as the AYP targets were met since the absent students are given a “below basic” score as part of the final AYP determination. The purpose of the 95 percent participation rate requirement is to keep the determination of academic achievement honest so low-achieving students are not excluded from taking tests. It is not an independent indicator of academic achievement.
PROPOSED BILL LANGUAGE
Section 1111 (20 U.S.C. 6311) is further amended in subsection (b)(2) by adding at the end the following:
“(O)* Student Assigned “Below Basic” Score By Default – For the purpose of determining adequate yearly progress, and for the purpose of determining compliance with the percentage required by subparagraph (I)(ii), a student who does not take an assessment and who is not excluded under subparagraph (N) may, if the State plan so provides, be treated as having taken the assessment and having achieved a score below the level described in paragraph (1)(D)(ii)(III) (below basic).”.
*Note: (O) is a newly proposed subparagraph, its letter may vary in the final bill.
IMPACT OF CURRENT LAW
If a subgroup of a school has more than enough students scoring proficient or above to make AYP, it can still fail AYP on the basis of students not taking the test. Further, the current policy subjects schools and school districts to a “double jeopardy” situation when a student misses an assessment because the absence counts against the participation rate and the student is considered as scoring “below basic” in performance.
NSBA CONTACT
Reggie Felton, director of federal relations, 703-838-6782 or rfelton@nsba.org.