Public Accountability
Both Oregon’s Educational Act for the 21st Century and
NCLB require the state and school districts to be more accountable for student achievement. Under Oregon’s law being accountable includes:
Under NCLB being accountable includes requirements for:
- Alignment of course content and assessment
- Annual student testing in grades 3-8 and 10
- Adequate yearly progress
- School and district report cards
NCLB also includes sanctions for schools that perform poorly and recognition and rewards for high performing schools and teachers.
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Adequate Yearly Progress
Under NCLB
states must adopt a single statewide accountability system for defining “adequate yearly progress” (AYP) for all students, including those in
charter
schools. In 2002 the Oregon Department of Education organized a work group of educators, board members, parents and the public to define what “adequate yearly progress” means in Oregon. The definition includes goals and guidelines for data collection and tracking progress for students who are:
- Economically disadvantaged
- Members of major racial or ethnic groups
- Disabled
- English language learners
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National Comparison of Student Achievement
The National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP), also known as “the Nation’s Report Card,” is a general indicator of what students in Oregon and across the nation know and can do. In addition, it is the only assessment that allows states to compare the performance of their students with students in other states and regions.
NAEP has conducted nationwide representative assessments since 1969 in a number of subjects, including reading, mathematics, science, writing, U.S. history, civics, geography and the arts. In 1990 NAEP implemented State NAEP. Participating states, including Oregon, receive assessment results reported by student performance in that state. Beginning in 2003, the NCLB Act requires states and school districts that receive federal funding to aid educationally disadvantaged students to administer NAEP assessments in reading and mathematics at grades 4 and 8 every two years.
In keeping with Oregon’s inclusion policies, NAEP endeavors to assess all students who are selected as part of its sampling process, including students who are classified by their schools as students with disabilities (SD) and/or as English-language learners (ELL) or limited English proficient (LEP). NAEP does make accommodations for students who have Individual Educational Plans (IEP) that list specific needs such as large print booklets, bilingual mathematics booklets, one-on-one administration or extended time.
Unlike the results of Oregon’s
statewide testing
program, NAEP does not provide individual scores for students, schools or districts because:
- Each student only takes a portion of the overall assessment (about 25%), so only when the scores are aggregated across the state, region or nation are the data considered valid and reliable estimates of what students know and can do in the subject area;
- Typically, only a small number of students in a school participate, which is not a valid representation of the participating school’s population; and
- Federal law requires confidentiality for NAEP data, so all personally identifiable information about students and individual schools is removed at the school on the data of the assessment before the text booklets and demographic information are sent to
NAEP.
NAEP reports average scale scores and achievement levels. Average scale scores for reading and mathematics are 0-500 and writing and science are 0-300. NAEP’s achievement levels are defined as:
- Basic, which denotes partial mastery of prerequisite knowledge and skills that are fundamental for proficient work at each grade.
- Proficient, which represents solid academic performance for each grade assessed. Students reaching this level have demonstrated competency over challenging subject matter, including subject-matter knowledge, application of such knowledge to real world situations and analytical skills appropriate to the subject matter.
- Advanced signifies superior performance.
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School Curriculum
