W. Va. Code R. § 126-12-4

Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 45, November 8, 2024

Section 126-12-4 - West Virginia Accountability System (WVAS)

4.1. WVAS Indicators.

4.1.a. The WVAS is a comprehensive system of measurements that defines school-specific expectations for continuous improvement using academic achievement, academic progress, cohort graduation rates, progress toward English language proficiency (ELP), and student success (attendance, behavior, and college/career credit earning) indicators to guide and focus improvement and technical assistance. The WVAS, as outlined below, meets all of the accountability requirements of Public Law 89-10, Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965, as amended by Public Law 114-95, Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) of 2015.

4.1.a.1. Academic Achievement. The academic achievement component of the WVAS is based on summative assessment scores for all students in grades 3-8 and grade 11. Using student scores, performance points are assigned in a progressive manner corresponding to the four achievement levels reported on the West Virginia General Summative Assessment (WVGSA) and West Virginia Alternate Summative Assessment (WVASA) in English language arts (ELA) and mathematics as defined in W. Va. 126CSR14, Policy 2340, West Virginia Measures of Academic Progress.

4.1.a.2. Academic Progress Indicator. The Academic Progress Indicator for all public elementary and middle schools is based on a comparison of results on the WVGSA for student cohorts from one year to the next. The Does Not Meet Standard, Partially Meets Standard, and Meets Standard WVGSA performance levels will be subdivided into three increments. Progress is determined as the percentage of students who improve by one or more performance level increments between years, and the percentage of students demonstrating the highest level of performance (i.e., Exceeds Standard) in the previous year who remain at that level.

4.1.a.3. Graduation Rates. For high schools, the graduation rate component of the WVAS is the four-year cohort graduation rate and the five-year cohort graduation rate identified as two separate indicators.

4.1.a.4. Progress on ELP. The progress on ELP indicator is based on results of the ELP Assessment (ELPA21) for English learner (EL) students in grades K-12. The indicator examines the progress of EL students in reaching an annual target across each of the four ELPA21 domains of listening, reading, speaking, and writing.

4.1.a.5. Student Success. The student success indicators focus on attendance, behavior, and college- and career-readiness within programmatic levels.

4.1.a.5.A. Elementary and middle school student success indicators include:

4.1.a.5.A.1. Attendance. The attendance indicator measures the percentage of students attending 90 percent of the enrolled instructional days; and

4.1.a.5.A.2. Behavior. The behavior indicator measures the percentage of students who received zero out-of-school suspensions during the school year (excluding suspensions for Level 3 and Level 4 violations of W. Va. 126CSR99, Policy 4373, Expected Behaviors in Safe and Supportive Schools).

4.1.a.5.B. High school student success indicators include:

4.1.a.5.B.1. Attendance. The attendance indicator measures the percentage of students attending 90 percent of the enrolled instructional days;

4.1.a.5.B.2. On-track to Graduation. The on-track to graduation indicator measures the percentage of grade 10 students on-track to complete requirements for high school graduation by earning at least 12 credits cumulatively across their respective grade 9 and grade 10 years and earning at least two credits in each of the four primary content areas of ELA, mathematics, science, and social studies within their grade 9 and grade 10 years; and

4.1.a.5.B.3. Post-secondary Achievement. The Post-secondary Achievement indicator measures the percentage of grade 12 students successfully completing one or more college-readiness benchmarks via the Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) program exams; earning one or more college-credits by completing dual credit coursework; or completing the four required courses in a state-approved Career Technical Education (CTE) program of study as defined in W. Va. 126CSR44M, Policy 2520.13, West Virginia College- and Career-Readiness Programs of Study/Standards for Career Technical Education.

4.2. Inclusion Requirements. To ensure that the WVAS makes a fair, reliable, and valid assessment of all public schools, various system requirements determine which students are used in calculations for school accountability.

4.2.a. Full Academic Year. Students who are enrolled in a school for at least 135 days are considered to be present for a full academic year (FAY). Only FAY students are included in accountability calculations for academic achievement, academic progress, progress toward ELP, and student success indicators. FAY does not apply to the four- and five-year graduation measures as they are determined by using the verified cohort for schools meeting minimum cell size.

4.2.b. Minimum Cell Size. In the WVAS, if there are at least 20 FAY students in a particular subgroup enrolled in the school, their results are accountable.

4.3. School Programmatic Levels. Elementary, middle, or high school classification is determined by the highest grade level of accountability in a school, regardless of grade configuration.

4.4. Participation Rate. Participation rates ensure that all students are well represented when making school performance determinations. Each school will be required to meet a 95 percent participation rate for all FAY students and for each subgroup of students on the academic achievement, academic progress, and ELP accountability indicators. To reinforce this participation rate requirement, WVAS calculations for these indicators will utilize a denominator that represents 95 percent of enrolled FAY students, or the number of enrolled FAY students assessed, whichever is greater.

4.5. School Performance Levels. Through the WVAS, all public schools earn performance level designations for each individual indicator measure identified in section 5.1. The WVBE shall establish cut scores for the school performance level designations for each indicator and shall review and revise as necessary. School performance level designations will be presented in a balanced scorecard representing performance on each individual indicator. The performance levels are:

4.5.a. Exceeds Standards. Schools with distinctive student performance on a specific WVAS indicator measure.

4.5.b. Meets Standards. Schools with acceptable student performance on a specific WVAS indicator measure.

4.5.c. Partially Meets Standards. Schools with student performance approaching the acceptable standard on a specific WVAS indicator measure.

4.5.d. Does Not Meet Standards. Schools with unacceptable student performance on a specific WVAS indicator measure.

W. Va. Code R. § 126-12-4