Miss. Code. tit. 7, pt. 24, ACCREDITATION POLICIES OF THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION, MISSISSIPPI STATEWIDE ACCOUNTABILITY SYSTEM: BUSINESS RULES

Current through October 31, 2024

MISSISSIPPI STATEWIDE ACCOUNTABILITY SYSTEM: BUSINESS RULES

1.Assignment of Performance Classifications

1.1 Standards for student, school, and school district performance will be increased when student proficiency is at a 75% and/or when 65% of schools and/or districts are earning a grade of "B" or higher, in order to raise the standard on performance after targets are met. See Miss. Code Ann. § 37-17-6.

1.1.1 When performance classification cut-points are established, the following percentiles shall apply:

		A	[GREATER THAN EQUAL TO]	90th Percentile
63rd Percentile	[LESS THAN EQUAL TO]	B	<	90th Percentile
38th Percentile	[LESS THAN EQUAL TO]	C	<	63rd Percentile
14th Percentile	[LESS THAN EQUAL TO]	D	<	38th Percentile
		F	<	14th Percentile

1.2 Grades for schools (and districts) with no 12th grade (elementary/middle schools) shall be determined based on the following cut-points effective with the 2016 - 2017 school year:

		A	[GREATER THAN EQUAL TO]	442
377	[LESS THAN EQUAL TO]	B	<	442
328	[LESS THAN EQUAL TO]	C	<	377
269	[LESS THAN EQUAL TO]	D	<	328
		F	<	269

1.3 Grades for schools with a 12th grade will be determined based on the following cut-points effective with the 2017 - 2018 school year:

		A	[GREATER THAN EQUAL TO]	754
648	[LESS THAN EQUAL TO]	B	<	754
584	[LESS THAN EQUAL TO]	C	<	648
510	[LESS THAN EQUAL TO]	D	<	584
		F	<	510

1.4 Grades for districts shall be determined based on the following cut-points effective with the 2016-2017 school year:

		A	[GREATER THAN EQUAL TO]	668
599	[LESS THAN EQUAL TO]	B	<	668
536	[LESS THAN EQUAL TO]	C	<	599
489	[LESS THAN EQUAL TO]	D	<	536
		F	<	489

1.5 Assignment of district performance classifications shall be calculated by treating the district as one (1) large school based on the same performance classifications used for schools.

1.6 Cut-points for schools/districts shall be reviewed following the implementation of a new assessment.

1.7 Schools with grade configurations that include both 12th grade and grades below 9th grade shall have a performance classification assigned consistent with Section 1.3, but the composite score shall be adjusted to account for the inclusion of performance measures for students below 9th grade. The following process shall apply:

1. Compute a composite score separately for students in grades below 9th grade and for students in 9th through 12th grades.

2. Transform the composite score for students in grades below 9th grade to the scale consistent with Section 1.3.

3. Weight each composite score by the percentage of students represented in the calculation and add the two (2) weighted scores together to obtain the adjusted composite score.

1.7.1 The adjustment provided for in this section shall not be applied in the calculation of cut-points for districts and schools.

1.7.2 The adjustment provided for in this section shall only apply in the assignment of the performance classification and shall not apply to federally required school identification measures.

2.Full Academic Year (FAY)

2.1 In order for a student to meet Full Academic Year (FAY) and be included in the proficiency and growth calculations, he/she must have been enrolled (regardless of attendance) for at least 75% (75%) of the days from September 1 (of school year) to the first day of testing. This date will be published yearly by the MDE and will be the same for all schools, students, and assessments. For schools on a traditional school calendar, the date will be in the spring.

Note: 74.5% will not be rounded up to 75%.

2.1.1 Enrollment is defined as enrollment at the school/district level except for students in 4x4 block scheduled courses.

2.2 For students in 4x4 block scheduled courses, FAY for the Fall semester will be calculated from September 1 of the school year to the first day of Fall primary test administration. The specific date will be published yearly by MDE. FAY for the Spring semester will be calculated from February 1 to the first day of Spring testing, the same day as schools using a traditional school calendar. These dates will be published yearly by MDE.

2.3 The beginning and ending dates will be included in the calculation of FAY. Calculations will be based on calendar days, not instructional days. Weekends and holidays will be included in the calculations.

2.4 If a student meets FAY at a school other than the school where he/she is enrolled at the time of testing, his/her scores will count at the school where he/she met FAY.

2.5 This definition of FAY will not be applied to students for previous years where a previous definition of FAY was applied. If no FAY was calculated for a student in a previous year, this method will be applied.

2.6 FAY will be calculated at the school level as well as at the district level. Therefore, it is possible for a student who transfers within a district to meet FAY for a district and be included in the calculations for the performance classification for the district but not be included in the calculations for a school. Scores of all students will be included in the state level calculations regardless of FAY status.

2.7 If a student enrolls and withdraws in the same or different school on the same day, the student will be considered as having been enrolled for one (1) day in the receiving school.

2.8 (Deleted) Rule 2.9 supersedes.

2.9 If FAY cannot be calculated or discerned because of incorrect MSIS coding, the student will be forced to meet FAY at the school/district if the movement of the student appears to be within the same school/district.

2.10 If a student drops out of school and re-enrolls within the same school year, the re-entry date of the student will be included as the next enrollment date for the student.

2.11 If a student has concurrent enrollment in more than one (1) school/district, the period of concurrent enrollment will be included in FAY calculations at both locations.

3.N-Count Minimums

3.1 School Totals

3.1.1 In order for a school to earn a performance classification, the school must have a minimum of ten (10) valid test scores in each of the required components. Schools that do not have the minimum of ten (10) valid test scores for each of the components will have data from prior years combined with the current year [up to three (3) years of data] in order to achieve the minimum N-count. See Sections 15, 22, and 24 for exceptions to this rule.

3.2 N-Count Minimums for the Lowest Performing Twenty-Five Percent Student Subgroup

3.2.1 This subgroup must have a minimum of ten (10) valid test scores. If there are less than ten (<10) students in the Lowest Performing Twenty-Five Percent Student subgroup, the subgroup will consist of all students except for the students scoring at the highest achievement level. If this calculation still results in a number less than ten (<10), then all students will be included in the calculation of the Lowest Performing Twenty-Five Percent Student subgroup.

3.2.2 At the grade-level, a minimum of four (4) students with valid scale scores are required to identify the Lowest Performing Twenty-Five Percent Students subgroup. If a grade has less than four (<4) students with valid scale scores for the subject, there will be no students identified as being in the subgroup for that grade level for that subject.

3.2.3 In order to ensure the inclusion of students with disabilities in the Lowest Performing Twenty-Five Percent Student subgroup, no N-Count minimum will apply in the identification of the Lowest Performing Twenty-Five Percent Student subgroup for students taking the alternate assessment.

Note: See Section 7 for more information on the Lowest Performing Twenty-Five Percent Student subgroup.

4.Participation Rates

4.1 If a school/district does not meet an overall 95% participation rate, the school/district will automatically be dropped one (1) performance classification and will have 95% of its enrollment included in proficiency calculations, as required by federal regulation. Participation rates are not rounded.

4.2 Elementary schools with no assessments (K, 1, and 2) will not be assigned a participation rate. Therefore, these schools will not be impacted by the participation rate minimum requirements.

4.3 Students may be removed from the denominator of testing participation calculations if he/she meets the criteria set forth by the Office of Student Assessment as having a Significant Medical Emergency which made participation in the state testing impossible. For details regarding the definition of Significant Medical Emergency and the process of requesting a student be removed from the calculations, please contact the Office of Student Assessment.

4.4 High School participation rates will be calculated based on the Senior Snapshot. Data from all statewide end-of-course, subject area assessments, and the ACT will be used in the participation calculations. Students enrolled in grades 3-8 with any month 8 enrollment will be included in participation calculation for each required assessment in the school/district of final enrollment in month 8.

4.5 Students with significant cognitive disabilities (SCD) with no U.S. History assessment scores will be removed from the denominator for the participation rate calculation for U.S. History.

4.6 Deleted

4.7 If a student is expelled but is still enrolled in MSIS for the school/district during the testing window, he/she will be included in the denominator. If the student does not test, the student will count as "not tested."

5.Proficiency

5.1 Proficiency will be determined by the percentage of students who achieve a performance/proficiency of Proficient and above. No additional credit will be given for students scoring in a performance/proficiency level above proficient (e.g., "Advanced"). No partial credit will be given for students scoring in any performance level below proficient.

5.1.1 For proficiency components worth 50 points, the weighted percentage of students proficient will be multiplied times 0.5 to determine the points applied to the component.

5.1.2 The science proficiency component for schools with a 12th grade will be based on all science assessments administered at that school. Therefore, for schools with a 12th grade that also have a 5th and/or 8th grade, the science component for that school will still be worth 50 points.

5.2 Assessments included in the proficiency calculations will consist of all federally required statewide assessments in Reading/Language Arts/English, Mathematics and Science, and any additional end-of-course, subject area assessments. This includes all Alternate Assessments based on Alternate Achievement Standards (AA-AAS) for SCD students. Note: This rule will need to be reviewed with the implementation of any new statewide assessments.

6.Growth

6.1 Growth is determined by whether or not a student increases in performance/proficiency levels from one (1) year to the next based on the following criteria:

* An increase of ANY performance/proficiency level

* Staying at Proficient from one (1) year to the next

* An increase within the lowest three (3) performance/proficiency levels that crosses over the mid-point of the level. Example: Bottom half of Basic to top half of Basic.

Following the implementation of new assessments, a linking/equating process will be used to establish comparable scales across the new and old assessments and to determine the criteria for meeting growth as defined above.

6.2 Additional weight in the numerator is given for the following increases:

* Staying at Advanced from one (1) year to the next will be given a weight = 1.25.

* Any increase of two (2) or more performance/proficiency levels will be given a weight = 1.25.

* Any increase to the highest performance/proficiency level will be given a weight = 1.25.

Note: Although this section allows for additional weight in the student growth calculation, no accountability component may exceed the maximum allocated points for the component.

6.3 Any decrease in performance/proficiency levels = 0.

6.4 The lowest three (3) performance/proficiency levels will be split into half at the mid-point of the range. If the range is an odd number and cannot be split into two (2) equal halves, the lower half of the performance/proficiency level will be one (1) point larger than the upper half. (Example: If the range of the performance/proficiency level is thirteen (13) scale score points, the bottom half of the range will be seven (7) scale score points and the upper half of the range will be six (6) scale score points.)

The splitting of the lowest three (3) performance/proficiency levels into half at the mid-point range is not intended to create three (3) new separate performance/proficiency levels. Therefore, students who move from the bottom half of the lowest performance/proficiency level to the bottom half of the second lowest performance/proficiency level will not be given additional weight for increasing two (2) performance/proficiency levels. That student will be considered to have increased one (1) performance/proficiency level.

Note: Rules regarding the splitting of the lowest three (3) performance/proficiency levels are subject to review and change with the implementation of any new assessments.

6.5 Assessments used for calculation of growth will include:

* Grade-level (3-8) assessments in English Language Arts;

* Grade-level (3-8) assessments in Mathematics;

* High School level assessments in English Language Arts;

* High School level assessments in Mathematics;

* Alternate Assessments (3-8 and High School) in English Language Arts; and

* Alternate Assessments (3-8 and High School) in Mathematics. Note: Growth will not be calculated for Science or U.S. History.

6.6 Students taking Algebra I, in 7th or 8th grade, are required by federal regulation to also take the grade-level assessment in mathematics. Therefore, these students will have two (2) growth calculations: grade-level to grade-level and grade-level to Algebra I. The grade-level to grade-level growth calculation will be applied to the current school. The grade-level to Algebra I growth calculation will be banked until the student's 10th grade year.

6.7 To calculate growth for the high schools for Math-All Students, Math-Lowest Performing Students, Reading-All Students and Reading-Lowest Performing Students, the 8th grade grade-level assessments will be used as the baseline. The exceptions to this are as follows:

* If a student takes Algebra I during his/her 8th grade year, his/her 7th grade grade-level assessments will be used as the baseline and banked until the student is in the 10th grade.

* If a student takes Algebra I in the 7th grade, his/her 6th grade grade-level math assessment will be used as the baseline and banked until the student is in the 10th grade.

6.8 If a student does not have the previous year's grade-level assessment, the student will be excluded from the growth calculation(s) except in the cases of the end-of-course, subject area assessments.

6.9 For students taking end-of-course, subject area assessments in grades lower than 10th grade, growth will be banked until the student's 10th grade year and then applied.

6.10 If a student does not take the end-of-course, subject area assessments until 11th or 12th grade year, growth will be calculated and applied in the first year he/she has a valid score. The exception to this will be for students taking the alternate assessment. For students taking the alternate assessment, a cap of two (2) years will be applied to the growth calculations. Therefore, if a student takes the alternate assessment in 8th grade and does not take the high school level alternate assessment until 11th or 12th grade, he/she will not be included in the growth calculations.

6.11 Students who are retained in 3rd through 8th grades will have a growth calculation based on the retained grade from the previous year. (Example: A 4th grade student who was retained will have growth calculated based on his/her previous year's 4th grade assessment scores.)

6.12 For K-3 schools, growth of 4th grade students in the district will be used for the growth calculations of the K-3 school in which they met FAY. Growth of the 3rd grade students who are retained will be included with the 4th grade student growth calculations.

6.13 The student must meet FAY for the current year in order to be included in the growth calculations but is not required to meet FAY for the previous year.

6.14 Growth will not be calculated for students who take the Alternate Assessment in the current year but took the grade-level general education assessment the previous year or vice versa.

6.15 The denominator for the growth calculation includes any FAY student with two (2) valid assessment scores (as defined above). The numerator will include any student included in the denominator who has demonstrated growth as defined above and weighted accordingly.

7.Lowest Performing Students

7.1 Calculation methodology for students whose baseline assessment score is 3rd through 7th grade:

7.1.1 The Lowest Performing Twenty-Five Percent Student subgroup in reading and the Lowest Performing Twenty-Five Percent Student subgroup in mathematics are determined using the same method but applied separately to reading data and to mathematics data. The procedure used to identify the lowest performing students in a school is applied separately by grade, and the identified students are combined across all grades to comprise the Lowest Performing Twenty-Five Percent Student subgroup and to determine learning gains.

Note: The Lowest Performing Twenty-Five Percent Student subgroup will be determined by identifying the percentage of students, as defined by Miss. Code Ann. § 37-17-6, who are the lowest performing students in a given subject area. The process:

1. Beginning with the 2014-2015 school year, the scores of all students participating in the general education and alternate assessments will be standardized by subject area, grade level, assessment type, and school year.

2. Sort the standardized scores of all FAY students in a grade from highest to lowest based on their prior year standardized scores. Students without an eligible score from the previous year are not included. See Section 6 and Rule 7.1.3 for additional clarification.

3. Divide the number of students in the list by four (4). If the result is not a whole number, then automatically round up to meet the 25% minimum.

4. Count, from the lowest score up, the number of students identified in step 3. Then identify the standardized score that corresponds to that student. This standardized score becomes the boundary score.

5. Identify all students with the boundary score determined in step 4. All students with the same boundary score or lower standardized score will be included in the Lowest Performing Twenty-Five Percent Student subgroup for that subject/grade.

6. Repeat the process for each grade for the subject then combine students to form the Lowest Performing Twenty-Five Percent Student subgroup for the school for the subject.

Note: The number of students in the Lowest Performing Twenty-Five Percent Student subgroup must meet the minimum N-count as defined in Section 3.2. If the minimum N-count is not met, the rules outlined in Section 3.2 will be applied. See Section 3.

It is possible for the Lowest Performing Twenty-Five Percent Student subgroup to be more than 25% when steps 5 and 6 are applied.

7.1.2 Deleted

7.1.3 The Lowest Performing Twenty-Five Percent Students subgroup for schools whose highest grade is lower than 4th grade will be identified based on the students who attended the school, not based on their 4th grade school's Lowest Performing Twenty-Five Percent Student subgroup. Therefore, a student may be identified in the Lowest subgroup in one (1) school, but not the other.

7.1.4 In order to ensure the inclusion of students with disabilities, the Lowest Performing Twenty-Five Percent Student subgroup for students taking the alternate assessment will be identified by subject but not by each grade level.

7.2 The Lowest Performing Twenty-Five Percent Student subgroup for a district will be identified using the same method described above [i.e., the district will be calculated as if it were one (1) school]. Therefore, it is possible that some students may be identified as members of the Lowest Performing Students subgroup for their school but not for their district, or for their district but not their school.

7.3 The Lowest Performing Twenty-Five Percent Student subgroup for the state will be identified using the same method [i.e., the state will be calculated as if it were one (1) school].

7.4 Because students may take end-of-course assessments prior to the 9th grade, any assessment scores used in the identification of the Lowest Performing Twenty-Five Percent Student subgroup for grades 10 through 12 will be standardized to the 8th grade-level assessment for the identification process.

8.Graduation Rate

8.1 The federally approved four-year graduation rate will be used. Miss. Code Ann. § 37-17-6 Definition: The number of students who graduate in four (4) years from a school and LEA with a regular high school diploma or state-defined alternate diploma divided by the number of students who entered four (4) years earlier as first-time 9th graders, with adjustments for deaths, emigration, and transfers in and out. Ninth (9th) grade students who repeat 9th grade will stay in their original cohort.

Definition: A "regular high school diploma" is the standard high school diploma that is fully aligned with the state's academic content standards.

8.2 Ungraded students will be assigned to their peer-age cohort, based on the year in which the student obtains the age of 14 prior to September 1.

8.3 The schools/district graduation rate will be multiplied by 2.0 to calculate the points applied to the graduation component for schools/districts.

8.4 In the calculation of graduation rates, students are assigned to the school and district of longest enrollment during the federally defined, four-year adjusted cohort window. In the event a student has equal enrollment in one (1) or more schools or districts, the student will be assigned to the school and district of final enrollment.

8.5 The school/district graduation rate applied in the graduation component is lagged one (1) year.

9.Acceleration

9.1 Beginning in school year 2015-2016, high schools will have an Acceleration component in their calculations.

9.2 The Acceleration component refers to the percentage of students taking and passing the assessment associated with accelerated courses which include Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), Advanced International Certificate of Education (AICE), dual credit or SBE-approved industry certification courses and associated assessments administered through the MDE. For students taking dual credit courses, passing refers to students who are passing the course with an unweighted "C" or above. For AP courses, the student must score at least three (3) on the AP exam. For IB courses, the student must score at least four (4) on the IB exam. For AICE courses, the student must obtain a passing score on the exam. (Passing scores of "A", "B", "C", "D", and "E" on the AICE exams are not based on the American "A-F" grading scale.) For industry certification courses, the student must pass the exam.

9.2.1 Dual credit courses must be credit-bearing courses at both the high school and postsecondary institution with a minimum of three (3) semester hours credit, and beginning in school year 2019 - 2020, shall be limited to the list of articulated courses found in Appendix V of the current Procedures Manual for the State of Mississippi Dual Enrollment and Accelerated Programs document. Refer to the current edition of the Approved Courses for Secondary Education for approved Career and Technical Education (CTE) courses.

9.2.2 Beginning in school year 2020 - 2021, schools must enter non-weighted course grades for dual credit courses in MSIS. These non-weighted grades will be used in the performance measure for dual credit courses.

9.3 The Acceleration component will consist of a Participation and a Performance component. Each of these components will have a score calculated by dividing the numerator by the denominator and multiplying the resulting value by 50. These two (2) components scores will then be added together and reported as one (1) score worth a maximum of fifty (50) points.

9.4 Calculation of Participation

9.4.1 The numerator for the Participation component calculation will be the number of students taking accelerated courses and/or related exams as defined in Section 9.2.

9.4.2 The denominator for the Participation component calculation shall include all students whose Mississippi Student Information System (MSIS) grade or peer-grade equivalent is 11th or 12th grade plus any 9th or 10th grade students who take and pass accelerated assessments and associated courses where applicable.

9.4.3 Students participating in multiple accelerated courses during the same school year will be given additional weighting in the numerator as follows:

* 2 courses: 1.1

* 3 courses: 1.2

* 4 courses: 1.3

* 5 courses: 1.4

9.5 Calculation of Performance

9.5.1 The numerator for the Performance component calculation will be the number of students taking and passing accelerated assessments/courses such as AP, IB, AICE, dual credit, dual enrollment, or industry certification courses based on the definition above.

9.5.2 The denominator for the Performance component calculation will consist of all students participating in the courses and/or tests identified in the participation calculations.

9.5.3 Students who are enrolled in accelerated courses but do not take the required assessment will be considered as "not proficient" in the performance calculations.

9.6 For students taking and passing multiple accelerated courses, additional weighting will be applied to the numerator consistent with Section 9.4.3 in the participation calculation.

9.7 In the calculation of participation, students who take an accelerated course during their 11th grade year but do not take an accelerated course during their 12th grade year will be counted in the denominator both years, but in the numerator during their 11th grade year only.

9.8 Students enrolled in a block schedule must meet FAY either in the fall or spring to be included in the acceleration component. Students enrolled in a traditional schedule must meet FAY for the traditional schedule to be included in the acceleration component.

9.9 Deleted

9.10 For students in 9th through 12th grade that participate in IB courses as described in Section 9.2 that are designed with a two (2) year curriculum and do not have an associated assessment in the first year, the student will be included in participation calculations but will be excluded from performance measures in the first year and will be included in both participation and performance measures in year two (2).

9.11 In the event that accelerated credential, as defined in Section 9.2, is reported for a student that is not associated with a course, the credential will be included in the calculation for the final school in which the student meets FAY.

9.12 Ungraded SCD students, as defined in 16.4 and 16.5, will not be included in participation or performance measures once the student has reached age 18 as of September 1^st of the school year.

10.Banking Scores: End-of-course, subject area assessments taken before 10th grade

10.1 Scores of students taking Algebra I, Biology, English II, or U.S. History end-of-course, subject area tests assessments in a grade below 10th grade will be "banked" for proficiency/achievement and growth calculations until the student is in the 10th grade and then applied to the student's 10th grade school (if the student met FAY requirements the year he/she was assessed and met traditional schedule FAY during his/her 10th grade year). See Section 6 for additional clarification on Growth.

10.2 If a student transfers out of the district before or during their 10th grade year, his/her scores (achievement and growth) will not be applied to the school of origin or receiving school in the new district. Note: See Section 4 (Participation) and 6 (Growth) for additional information.

10.3 If a student matriculates from the 9th grade to the 11th grade without enrolling in the 10th grade, banked scores will be included in accountability measures when the student is enrolled in the 11th grade. Note: For the 2021-2022 School year only, accountability measures in proficiency and growth will not include banked scores from prior years but will include all high school, end-of-course, subject area assessments taken during the 2021-2022 school year, regardless of grade level. For any schools with end-of-course assessments that do not contain 12th grade, scores will be assigned to the high school that the current school feeds to. Scores will also be banked in accordance with Rule 10.1 for use in future school years; therefore, some students'; scores will be included in account-ability measures twice.

For 10th grade students taking end-of-course assessments included in accountability calculations during the 2021-2022 school year that do not have a prior-year score due to the suspension of assessments during the 2019-2020 school year, growth will be measured using the 2018-2019 school year as the baseline year.

Districts with ten (10) or more 7^th grade students enrolled in Algebra I during the spring of the 2019-2020 school year, will have scores from 7^th grade Algebra I students testing during the 2022-2023 school year included in accountability measures in 2022-2023. For any schools with end-of-course assessments that do not contain 12th grade, scores will be assigned to the high school that the current school feeds to. Scores will also be banked in accordance with Rule 10.1 for use in future school years; therefore, some students'; scores will be included in accountability measures twice.

11.Comprehensive Support and Improvement Schools (CSI)

11.1 High Schools with a graduation rate less than or equal to 67 percent shall be identified as a Comprehensive Support and Improvement school. This identification will occur on a three (3) year cycle.

Note: For the 2022-2023 Academic School Year Only, the identification cycle is reduced to one (1) year.

11.2 Title IA schools with a three (3) year average composite accountability score in the bottom five (5) percent of overall accountability index will be identified as a Comprehensive Support and Improvement school. This identification will occur on a three (3) year cycle.

Note: For the 2022-2023 school year, the identification cycle is reduced to one (1) year.

11.3 Beginning with the 2023-2024 academic year, a school previously identified as an Additional Targeted Support and Improvement school that fails to exit after 3 years and has three (3) consecutive years of subgroup score in ELA or math at or below that of all students in the bottom five (5) percent of Title IA schools shall be identified as a Comprehensive Support and Improvement school. This identification will occur on a three-year cycle. Note: Performance data from the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 school years will not be used in the identification described in Section 11.3.

For the 2022-2023 school year, the identification cycle is reduced to one (1) year.

12.Targeted Support and Improvement Schools (TSI)

12.1 A school with a subgroup composite score that is in the lowest 50 percent and in the lowest quartile of the three (3) year average gap-to-goal, and in the lowest quartile of the three (3) year improvement toward gap-to-goal closure shall be eligible to be identified as a Targeted Support and Improvement school.

Note: Performance data from the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 school years will not be used in the three (3) year average.

12.2 Schools meeting the requirements in Section 12.1 will be rank-ordered, using the composite accountability score, and the bottom five (5) percent of all schools not identified for Comprehensive Support and Improvement will be identified as a Targeted Support and Improvement school. This identification will occur on an annual cycle.

13.Additional Targeted Support and Improvement Schools (ATSI)

13.1 A school with a three (3) year average subgroup performance score at or below that of all students in the lowest performing five (5) percent of Title IA schools shall be identified as an Additional Targeted Support and Improvement school.

Note: Performance data from the 2019-2022 and 2020-2021 school years will not be used in the three (3) year average. This identification will occur on a three-year cycle.

14.Deleted

15.English Learners (EL)

15.1 The scores of English learners who have attended a U.S. school for less than 12 months will only be included in participation calculations in the first (1st) year. In the second (2nd) year, growth will be included, and in the third (3rd) year, growth and proficiency will be included in accountability measures.

15.1.1 Local Education Agencies (LEA) shall identify English learner students, who have attended a U.S. school for less than 12 months, to be designated for exclusion on or before February 1, annually. Note: For more information, contact the Office of Federal Programs.

15.2 An EL performance component will be calculated for each school and district beginning with the 2017 -2018 school year and will be included in the calculation of accountability grades beginning in the 2018 - 2019 school year. The EL performance component will be equal to the average EL progress rate of students as defined in Section 15.4, multiplied by the total points assigned to the EL component for that school/district.

15.2.1 Each school or district must meet the minimum N-count for EL students in order to have an EL performance measure calculated.

15.2.2 The performance measure will be equal to 5% of total available points in the accountability system. All other components will be reduced by a total of 5% when the EL performance measure is included.

15.2.3 The component score for districts and schools will be adjusted such that an average student rate of 0.9 or higher shall receive the maximum score for this component. This adjustment will be applied uniformly to all other averages below 0.9, effectively increasing each value by 10 percent.

15.3 Progress toward proficiency will be calculated for all EL students using the state English Language Proficiency Test (ELPT). An annual progress goal will be calculated for each student based on reaching overall proficiency on the ELPT within five (5) years of entry into an EL program. The annual progress goal will be equal to the minimum overall scale score needed to achieve proficiency at year five (5), minus the prior year overall scale score, divided by the number of years the student had remaining to exit the EL program in the prior year.

15.3.1 In year five (5) and beyond, the annual progress goal is equal to the minimum scale score needed to achieve overall proficiency, minus the prior year overall scale score.

15.4 EL performance will be measured by the annual progress achieved by EL students. Each student will have a rate ranging between zero (0) and one (1) based on the student's current year ELPT overall scale score, minus the prior year overall scale score, divided by the annual progress goal as defined in 15.3. Any student who does not demonstrate progress will have a rate of zero (0). No student will receive a rate higher than one (1).

15.4.1 The student must meet FAY requirements in the current year but is not required to meet FAY requirements in the prior year.

15.4.2 The student must have a prior year score to be included in the calculation.

15.4.3 EL students who have reached overall proficiency on the ELPT shall not be included in the EL Performance component in subsequent years.

16.Students with Disabilities

16.1 United States Department of Education (USDE) regulations limit the number of scores of children taking alternate assessments for SCD students scoring proficient or above to one percent (1%) of the students at the state and district level. This rule does not apply at the school level because these regulations recognize that some schools offer specialized services or are near specialized medical facilities that attract higher numbers of students with significant special needs. Therefore, if a district has greater than one percent (1%) of their total population scoring proficient or above on an alternate assessment, the percent above one percent (1%) will count as not proficient in accountability calculations.

16.2 All eligible SCD students will be expected to participate in statewide assessments per the schedule provided by the Office of Student Assessment. Note: This rule will need to be updated and revised with the implementation of any new alternate assessment.

16.3 Non-SCD students are not allowed to participate in alternate assessments. If any such students have alternate assessment data, the test data shall be considered invalid.

16.4 Students with disabilities will be those students whose SPED indicator in MSIS is "Y" (Yes) at the end of month eight (8) (closest approximation to the test administration dates).

16.4.1 In order for a student to be counted as SCD, his/her SCD indicator and SPED indicator must be set to "Y" (Yes) in MSIS.

16.5 Students with disabilities who are coded as "ungraded" (56 or 58) in MSIS will be assigned a peer-grade calculation based on his/her age on September 1 of the current school year.

17.Duplicate Test Scores

17.1 If a student takes the general education (grade-level) assessment AND the alternate assessment, the scores from the general education assessment will be used in the school/district accountability calculations.

17.2 If MSIS records indicate two (2) valid assessment scores for the same assessment in the same year, the score from the first administration date will be used. If MSIS records indicate two (2) valid assessment scores for the same assessment on the same date, the higher of the two (2) scores will be used in the school/district accountability calculations.

18.Invalid Test Scores

18.1 Students with invalid test scores will be counted as "not tested" for participation calculations.

181.1 Following an invalidated score, when a student retests, the first valid test score will be used in the proficiency, growth, and participation calculations.

18.2 If an invalid score is validated after the accountability calculations are performed and final school/district performance classifications have been assigned, the school/district's performance classifications will not be recalculated and adjusted to reflect the validated score. If during the next year, the student tests again and has a valid test score, that test score, although it was not the student's first test score, will be used during the next year's calculations. Please refer to the Office of Student Assessment regarding deadlines for appealing invalid test scores.

18.3 For students in 3rd grade through eighth 8th grade, if a student's MSIS grade level (or peer grade level for ungraded students) does not match his/her assessment grade level, the student's scores will not be included in the numerator for participation, growth, or proficiency calculations, and the student will count as not proficient, not meeting growth, and not tested. Likewise, the student's scores will not be used the following year in growth calculations.

Note: This rule does not apply to end-of-course, subject area assessments or high school alternate assessments.

19.Rounding

19.1 In the calculation of each of the components in the statewide accountability system, the final value of each component will be rounded to one (1) decimal place (tenths place). Any weighting of components is then applied to the rounded value. After the weighted components are summed, the total value will be rounded to a whole number and reported for the final performance classification calculation. Note: Other rounding rules are embedded in the explanations of the specific components.

20.School Reconfigurations or Redrawing of District Lines

20.1 A school's accountability calculations will be based on the grade configuration of the school (and the students in that school) on the date that corresponds with the FAY at the time of testing. See Section 2 for details on FAY. The calculations are applied to the school the following year, regardless of any reconfigurations or redistricting that takes place during the summer after testing or during the school year before testing.

20.2 Consolidated districts/schools who maintain the same grade configuration and/or student population as existing in the previous school district will receive the eligible scores or statuses of students who previously attended the school in the previous school district.

21.Alternative, Career, Technical, and Child Development Centers

21.1 Effective before and with the 2017 - 2018 academic year, no performance classifications will be assigned to alternative, career and/or technical programs, or child development centers authorized in Miss Code Ann. §37-23-91. Scores of students attending these programs will be included in the accountability calculations of the student's official MSIS home school of residence.

21.2 Performance data on available indicators will be reported for students enrolled in child development centers.

22.Schools without Tested Subjects or Grades

22.1 Elementary/Middle Schools

22.1.1 For any elementary/middle school that does not have reading or math scores because the school does not have the required grade level, the scores from the students in the next higher grade in the tested subject within the same district will be applied back to the student's lower elementary school of origin. In order for the scores to be applied, the student must meet FAY at the lower grade school, the current school and if there is a gap in years, anywhere in the district for the years in between.

Example 1, Pre-K through 2nd grade School:

* Reading and Math Proficiency - The reading and math scores from students in 3^rd grade who attended the Pre-K through 2nd grade school and are still in the same district will be used to calculate the math and reading proficiency for Pre-K through 2nd grade school.

* Science Proficiency - An equating process will be used to adjust the scores for this component.

* Growth - The reading and math scores from students in 4th grade who attended the Pre-K through 2nd grade school and are still in the same district will be used to calculate the growth for Reading-All Students, Math-All Students, Reading-Lowest Performing Students, and Math-Lowest Performing Students for that Pre-K through 2nd grade school. The students would have to have met FAY in

* the Pre-K through 2nd grade school during 2nd grade,

* the 4th grade school in the same district, and

* any school within the same district during 3rd grade.

Example 2, Pre-K through 3rd Grade:

* Reading and Math Proficiency - The reading and math scores from students in the3rd grade will be used to calculate the math and reading proficiency for that school.

* Science Proficiency - An equating process will be used to adjust the scores for this component.

* Growth - The reading and math scores from students in 4th grade who attended the Pre-K through 3rd grade and are still in the same district will be used to calculate the growth for Reading-All Students, Math-All Students, Reading-Lowest Performing Students, and Math-Lowest Performing Students for Pre-K through 3rd grade.

* All applicable FAY rules will apply.

Example 3, Pre-K through 4th Grade:

* Reading and Math Proficiency - The reading and math scores from students in 3rd and 4th grades at the school will be used to calculate the math and reading proficiency for Pre-K through 4th grade.

* Science Proficiency - An equating process will be used to adjust the scores for this component.

* Growth - The reading and math scores from students in 3rd and 4th grades at the school will be used to calculate the growth for Reading-All Students, Math-All Students, Reading-Lowest Performing Students, and Math-Lowest Performing Students for Pre-K through 3rd grade.

* All applicable FAY rules will apply.

Example 4, 6th and 7th grade:

* Reading and Math Proficiency - The reading and math scores from students in 6th and 7th grade at the school will be used to calculate the math and reading proficiency for that school.

* Science Proficiency - An equating process will be used to adjust the scores for this component.

* Growth - The reading and math scores from students in 6th and 7th grade at the school will be used to calculate the growth for Reading-All Students, Math-All Students, Reading-Lowest Performing Students, and Math-Lowest Performing Students for 6th and 7th grade.

* All applicable FAY rules will apply.

22.1.2 An equating process to adjust the points required will be used for elementary/middle schools that do not have science scores because the school does not have a 5th or 8th grade.

22.1.3 Beginning with the 2014-2015 and ending with the 2017-2018 school year, the cut-points established for elementary/middle schools that do not have science scores will remain static in succeeding years. In subsequent years, the cut-points shall be reviewed following the administration of a new assessment.

22.2 High Schools

22.2.1 Schools with missing data for components specific to high schools will have available proxy data applied in the following order of availability; three (3) year historical school average, two (2) year historical school average, prior year school score, current year district score, prior year district score. If no proxy data is available, an equating process will be used to adjust for the missing components.

22.3 Schools with only Pre-Kindergarten and/or Kindergarten will be assigned the school performance classification of the next level school to which that school feeds. If the school feeds to multiple schools, the performance classification will be assigned from a weighted average of the composite scores of the schools to which it feeds.

22.4 Charter Schools

For any charter school that does not have reading or math scores because the school does not have the required grade level, the scores from the students in the next higher grade in the tested subject within the same served area (within the geographic boundaries of the traditonal local educaton agency or agencies in which the charter school operates) will be applied back to the student's school of origin. In order for the scores to be applied, the student must meet FAY at the lower grade school, the current school and if there is a gap in years, anywhere in the served area for the years in between.

23.State and Other Special Schools

23.1 Mississippi School of the Arts (MSA) and Mississippi School for Math and Science (MSMS)

23.1.1 The Mississippi School of the Arts and Mississippi School for Math and Science will not be assigned performance classifications but will have performance on available indicators reported consistent with other schools/districts.

23.1.2 If a student takes an end-of-course, subject area assessment for the first time while at MSA or MSMS, his/her scores will be sent back to their school/district of origin and rolled into the state totals.

23.1.3 Students enrolled at MSA and/or MSMS during the time of the Senior Snapshot will have their ACT scores sent to their high school of origin.

23.1.4 For students enrolled at MSMS or MSA, the school/district of origin is defined as the school/district where the student was enrolled and met FAY requirements in the school year immediately prior to enrollment at MSMS or MSA.

23.2 Mississippi School for the Blind (MSB) and the Mississippi School for the Deaf (MSD)

23.2.1 The MSB and MSD will not be assigned performance classifications but will have performance on available indicators reported consistent with other schools/districts.

23.2.2 Students enrolled in the MSB and MSD will have performance measures included in the performance classification of the school/district of residence.

23.3 Other State/Special Schools

23.3.1 State agencies (i.e., Hudspeth, Ellisville State School, etc.) will not be assigned performance classifications.

23.3.2 Students placed in non-public schools (special private schools; i.e., Millcreek, CARES, etc.) but are enrolled in regular Mississippi public schools will have their performance measures included in the calculations of the school/district in which he/she is enrolled in MSIS.

23.3.3 Students enrolled in special/non-public schools with codes 200 and 500 have no enrollment and are not used for any of the usual statistical and reporting purposes. If a student is enrolled in a public school during the testing window, he/she would have to be tested (and counted in the testing participation rates) and his/her score (if FAY) would be used for accountability purposes.

23.3.4 University-based schools will not receive performance classifications.

23.4 Students in Correctional Facilities/Juvenile Justice System

23.4.1 According to the USDE, these facilities are considered "programs" not schools and would not be assigned performance classifications.

23.4.2 If a student, who is still enrolled in MSIS, is in such a program and is not tested, the student will count as "not tested" in the participation rate calculations of the school/district. If the student is tested, his/her scores will count at his/her MSIS resident school.

23.5 Virtual Public Schools

23.5.1 Only schools classified under the USDE's Education Data Exchange Network (EDEN) reporting requirements as a separate school entity will receive a performance classification.

23.6 Early College High Schools

23.6.1 Students enrolled in an Early College High School will have their performance measures included in the performance classification of the school/district of residence.

23.6.2 Early College High Schools will not be assigned performance classifications but will have performance on available indicators reported consistent with other high schools.

24.9th Grade Only Schools

24.1 Scores of a 9th grade only school will be combined with the high school to which that school feeds and calculated as one (1) school but reported as two (2) separate schools. In other words, both schools will earn the same performance classification because it will be based on the same data calculations.

25.College-and Career-Readiness Indicator

The following rules will apply only if the state legislature mandates statewide ACT testing and appropriates funding for such testing.

25.1 The ACT or ACT WorkKeys assessment will be used in the College-and Career-Readiness Indicator.

25.2 The College-and Career-Readiness component will be comprised of a Mathematics and an English/Reading component. These two (2) components will be equally weighted and combined for one (1) score worth 50 points: (Math + English/Reading) ÷ 2

25.3 A student will be included in the numerator for Mathematics if he/she is considered College-and Career-Ready in Mathematics by having a score on the Mathematics component of the ACT at or above the ACT College Readiness Benchmark for the Mathematics component at the time of the student's assessment.

25.4 A student will be included in the numerator for English/Reading if he/she is considered College-and Career-Ready in English/Reading by having a score on the English component of the ACT at or above the ACT College Readiness Benchmark OR if his/her score on the Reading component of the ACT is at or above the ACT College-Readiness Benchmark at the time of the student's assessment.

25.5 Science ACT sub-scores will not be included in the College-and Career-Readiness component.

25.6 ACT Composite scores will not be included in the College-and Career-Readiness component. (Rationale: ACT does not designate a composite score to indicate college readiness.)

25.7 The highest available sub-score or WorkKeys Certification for each student at the end of month nine (9) in Mathematics and English/Reading, as described above, will be used in the College-and Career-Readiness Indicator accountability calculations.

25.8 Contingent upon legislative funding, the state will pay for one (1) statewide ACT administration to be held in the spring for students classified in MSIS as 11th graders. Ungraded students whose birthdates link them to the cohort of students identified as 11th graders will also be included. Students may take the ACT as many additional times as they choose, at their own expense.

25.9 If the IEP committee deems it appropriate, an SCD student may participate in the administration of the ACT.

25.10 Deleted.

25.11 A student's score will be applied to the school in which the student is enrolled in MSIS at the time of the Senior Snapshot.

25.12 In lieu of the performance requirements established in Sections 25.3, and 25.4, a student may obtain a Silver level or higher National Career Readiness Certificate administered through the ACT WorkKeys assessment and successfully complete an industry certification or career pathway recognized by the Mississippi Department of Education. A student who achieves a Gold or Platinum level National Career Readiness Certificate administered through the ACT WorkKeys does not have to meet the additional requirement of successful completion of an industry certification or career pathway.

25.13 The participation rate numerator will include the state administration or non-state administration of the ACT. The denominator will include all students in the Senior Snapshot.

25.14 The denominator for the College-and Career-Readiness component calculation will consist of all students participating in the ACT as identified in the participation calculation.

25.15 ACT WorkKeys is not included in participation calculations and does not replace the ACT participation requirement defined in 25.14.

26.Senior Snapshot

Senior Snapshot is a method of identifying high school students for the high school assessment participation rate calculation and College-and Career-measures. Senior Snapshot captures ALL students who have been enrolled in a Mississippi public school starting in month one (1) of the 10th grade and continuing without interruption until either the end of month 9 of the 12th grade or until a completion status is entered, whichever comes first. If the student does not meet the enrollment criteria, he/she will not be included in the denominator for participation rate calculations or College-and Career -Readiness measures.

27.Other

27.1 Deceased Students

27.1.1 Students indicated in MSIS as deceased will not be included in any accountability calculations.

27.2 Foreign Exchange Students

27.2.1 Beginning in school year 2013-2014, foreign exchange students will automatically be included in accountability calculations just as any other students. However, if a district wishes to have a foreign exchange student excluded from the accountability calculations, the request should be made through the Internal Review Process and documentation of the student's participation in the foreign exchange program must be provided in the request.

27.2.2 Deleted

Miss. Code. tit. 7, pt. 24, ACCREDITATION POLICIES OF THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION, MISSISSIPPI STATEWIDE ACCOUNTABILITY SYSTEM: BUSINESS RULES

Amended 12/14/2014

Amended 3/26/2015

Amended 6/20/2015

Amended 9/20/2015

Amended 2/3/2016

Amended 3/19/2016

Amended 7/27/2016

Amended 10/19/2016

Amended 12/28/2016

Amended 11/18/2017

Amended 5/26/2018

Amended 7/22/2018

Amended 10/21/2018

Amended 3/25/2019

Amended 5/12/2019

Amended 6/9/2019

Amended 7/14/2019

Amended 8/24/2019

Amended 8/17/2020

Amended 1/18/2021

Amended 5/17/2021

Amended 8/15/2021

Amended 11/22/2021

Amended 11/28/2021

Amended 6/27/2022

Amended 9/25/2022

Amended 12/5/2022

Amended 6/27/2023

Amended 8/28/2023

Amended 5/20/2024

Amended 7/22/2024

Amended 7/26/2024