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All data reported in this section are based on student performance on the North Carolina ABCs End-of-Grade and End-of-Course tests. Students in grades 3-8 must take annual End-of-Grade tests in reading, mathematics and science (grades 5, 8). Students enrolled in any of the following courses must take End-of-Course tests: English I; Algebra I and II; Geometry; Biology; Chemistry; Physical Science; Physics; Civics and Economics; and US History. There are four levels of performance on the state's End-of-Grade and End-of-Course tests ranging from Levels I-IV. A general description of each achievement level follows. More detailed definitions may be found on the NC Department of Public Instruction's ABCs website.
End-of-Grade percentages are based on the number of a school's reading and mathematics tests scored at Level III or above in the 2008-09 school year. End-of-Course percentages are based on the number of a school's End-of-Course tests scored at Level III or above in the 2008-09 school year. Scores for non-high school students enrolled in courses subject to ABCs testing requirements are reported. Results for students with disabilities taking alternate assessments, including the NCCLAS, NCEXTEND1 or NCEXTEND2 are included in the reported percentages. Retests in grades 3-8 (reading, mathematics and science) were included in ABCs performance composites and AYP calculations (where appropriate) in 2008-09. Student Performance Trend Data graphs display the percentage of students at or above Level III on the End-of-Grade mathematics tests in the 2006-07, 2007-08, and 2008-09 school years. Only a two-year trend for reading is available in 2008-09 because of the implementation of new reading tests in 2007-08 based on the revised Standard Course of Study. Additional information is provided on the web-based version of the North Carolina School Report Cards. Tables display the number and percentage of students at each of the four achievement levels on the End-of-Grade reading test. This information also is displayed for students of each racial/ethnic category, gender, economic status, disability status, migrant status, and for English language learners. Detailed achievement level results for each grade level and course tested are available online in the NC Department of Public Instruction’s Reports of Supplemental Disaggregated State, School System (LEA) and School Performance Data for 2008-09. Data on the number of students taking the ABCs End-of-Grade reading and mathematics tests also are provided on the web-based Report Card. The North Carolina ABCs program and federal No Child Left Behind legislation require schools to test at least 95 percent of their students. Students with disabilities taking alternate assessments, including the NCCLAS, NCEXTEND1 or NCEXTEND2, are credited as having been tested. Where the number of students (less than five) is too small to ensure that student test results aren’t personally identifiable, a N/A (not available) will appear. In any group where the percentage of students at a grade level is greater than 95% or less than 5%, the actual values may not be displayed because of federal privacy regulations. In these cases the results will be shown as >95% or <5% for the group. Source: NCDPI, Accountability Services Division, Reporting Section, "Reports of Disaggregated State, School System (LEA), & School Performance Data for 2008-09."
Data are reported for the following six (6) student groups:
Source: NCDPI, Accountability Services Division, Reporting Section, "Reports of Disaggregated State, School System (LEA), & School Performance Data for 2008-09."
Edition Three of NC Tests of Computer Skills consists of an online assessment and an alternate assessment. Students who do not pass the NC Test of Computer skills in grade 8 are given multiple opportunities to re-take the test each year until graduation. Only figures for the grade 8 passing rates are provided for this indicator. The N.C. General Assembly passed legislation (Session Law 2009-451) to eliminate the North Carolina Test of Computer Skills effective with the 2009-10 school year. Source: NCDPI, Accountability Services Division, Test Development Section.
Average SAT scores and participation rates are provided. Participation rates represent the percentage of high school graduates in the class of 2009 who took the SAT exam. Source: NCDPI, Accountability Services Division, Reporting Section, The North Carolina SAT Report, Fall 2009.
The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) uses a combination of multiple-choice and constructed-response items (questions) in its assessment instruments. For multiple-choice items, students are required to select an answer from a list of options; responses are electronically scanned and scored. For constructed-response items, students are required to provide their own answers; responses are scanned and then scored by qualified and trained scorers using a scoring guide and an electronic image-processing and scoring system. Scoring all NAEP items in an objective, consistent, and valid fashion is a key program goal. There are a number of steps in the NAEP scoring process that occur during three general phases: scoring guide development and pilot, first operational scoring (or pre-calibration), and subsequent operational scoring. NAEP data are collected using a closely monitored and standardized process. The tight controls that guide the data collection process help ensure the comparability of the results generated for the national and the state assessments.
Results Subject-matter achievement is reported in two ways—scale scores and achievement levels. NAEP scales are developed independently for each subject. Achievement levels categorize student achievement as Basic, Proficient, and Advanced. A fourth category, below Basic, is also reported for this scale. NAEP scales are developed independently for each subject, scale score and achievement level results cannot be compared across subjects. See more information about NAEP in North Carolina at http://www.dpi.state.nc.us/accountability/policies/naep/naep.
AYP Attendance Rate Attendance in elementary and middle schools and the Four-Year Cohort Graduation Rate in high schools are Other Academic Indicators in North Carolina. Progress is considered to be at least a .1 percentage point increase up to the 90% threshold for attendance or 80% for graduation rate. Any fluctuations above the threshold for the attendance or the Four-Year Cohort Graduation Rate will meet the requirement for progress. For schools that have both elementary/middle grades and high school grades, the Other Academic Indicator is the Four-Year Cohort Graduation Rate if the school graduates seniors and attendance rate if the school does not. (There are special conditions that may apply when either of the grade spans has fewer than 40 students.) In the table that displays a breakdown by student group where the number of students is too small (less than five), a N/A (not available) is displayed. This ensures that student information remains anonymous. In any group where the percentage of students is greater than 95% or less than 5%, the actual values are not displayed because of federal privacy regulations. In these cases, the results are shown as >95% or <5%. More detailed information is available on the NC Department of Public Instruction’s No Child Left Behind website. Source: NCDPI, Accountability Services Division, Demographics Data Collection, 2009.
Since July 2005, all 50 states have signed the National Governors Association’s Graduation Counts Compact on State High School Graduation Data. In the compact, governors agreed to take steps to implement a standard, four-year adjusted cohort graduation rate. States agree to calculate the graduation rate by dividing the number of on-time graduates in a given year by the number of first-time entering ninth graders four years earlier. Graduates are defined as those receiving a high school diploma. The denominator can be adjusted for transfers in and out of the system, and data systems track individual students with a longitudinal student unit record data system. In the breakdown by student group where the number of students is too small (less than five), a N/A (not available) is displayed. This ensures that student information remains anonymous. In any group where the percentage of students is greater than 95% or less than 5%, the actual values are not displayed because of federal privacy regulations. In these cases, the results are shown as >95% or <5%.
For more information visit National Governors Association Compact: Source: NCDPI, Accountability Services Division, Demographics Data Collection, 2009.
Special Schools, including Vocational and Career Centers, Special Education Schools, and Hospital Schools, are eligible for participation in the ABCs and may receive prorated incentive awards based on the status (high or expected growth) attained by the schools whose students they serve. Special Schools cannot be recognized as a Most Improved School, Honor School of Excellence, School of Excellence, School of Distinction, School of Progress, Priority School, or be identified as a Low-Performing School. Each Report Card provides the designations given to each school
and the percentage of schools with the same grade span in the district and
state
receiving each
designation.
Most schools will not have all groups represented at their school. A student can be in as few as one group (School as a Whole) if he/she is part of a group represented by less than 40 students across the tested grades in a school, or a student could be in as many as five groups. LEAs are held to the same participation and Other Academic Indicators target goals for students in reading/language arts and mathematics that are established for schools. AYP is determined for a school district by compiling the data for each student group and for the students as a whole in the district. For elementary and middle schools (grades 3-8) to make AYP, each student group in the tested grades must meet the following target goals:
For high schools (grades 9-12) to make AYP, each student group must meet the following target goals:
Each student group at a school, district or the state level must meet or exceed the proficiency target goals outlined in the chart below on the designated assessments in order for the school, district or state to make AYP. For instance, in 2008-09, at least 77.2 percent of economically disadvantaged students at an elementary school must score at Level III or IV on the end-of-grade mathematics assessment or its alternate in order to make AYP. Through the use of safe harbor, the confidence interval or the AYP growth standard, a school still might be able to make AYP even if it misses its proficiency target goals.
Note: Calculations carry full precision until final rounding. Other Academic Indicator (OAI) – Attendance & Four-year Cohort Graduation Rate Districts are held accountable for meeting all targets measured in the district, including the attendance rate and cohort graduation rate. It is possible for a district to enter district improvement under NCLB even if all schools make AYP. A group must have at least 40 students, with the exception of the School as a Whole; where up to as few as 5 students’ data will be calculated to determine the OAI and 3 students’ data to determine if proficiency targets have been met. For proficiency and attendance targets, only students in membership a Full Academic Year (FAY) are calculated at the school level. FAY is defined as 140 days in membership as of the first day of spring testing. Source: NCDPI, Accountability Services Division, “2008-09 ABCs/AYP Report.”
Source: NCDPI, Accountability Services Division, “2008-09 ABCs/AYP Report.” |
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