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The state plans to file an application today for a waiver from key provisions of the federal No Child Left Behind law in a bid to overhaul its accountability system for schools and focus more on academic growth and less on the results of a single annual test.
Under the proposed system, schools would be evaluated based on multiple measures, including student proficiency and growth, chronic absenteeism rates and, for high schools, graduation rates.
For the first time, student proficiency in science would be considered.
High-performing "recognition" schools would be given greater autonomy and be subject to fewer reporting requirements, while low-performing "priority" schools would receive intensive interventions and be expected to make key changes.
"The goal is … to implement a much-improved accountability system for our students and schools," said Ronn Nozoe, Department of Education deputy superintendent. "This is about making sure all kids graduate from our schools ready for careers or college."
Thirty-four states have received waivers to NCLB provisions in exchange for putting in place rigorous standards for students, demanding greater accountability of teachers and principals and improving transparency at school districts.
NCLB mandates that schools meet annual rising goals for student proficiency in reading and math or face sanctions. By 2014, the law requires that all children perform on grade level in both subjects.
In addition to Hawaii, six other states are expected to request waivers to NCLB provisions today, the deadline for a third round of applications. The U.S. Department of Education could take several months to make determinations on the waivers.
Advocacy groups have supported the state’s move to a new accountability system, saying the current system labels too many good schools as "failing" based on Hawaii State Assessment results.
Schools have missed adequate yearly progress benchmarks because one student fell short in reading or math. Under that system, critics say, schools are encouraged to "teach to the test."
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NEW ACCOUNTABILITY SYSTEM
The state is proposing to overhaul how public schools are evaluated, moving from a system that uses a single annual test to one that incorporates multiple measures and considers academic growth.
Under the system, schools would be in five classifications:
“Recognition” Level 1: The top 5 percent of schools would receive greater autonomy, have fewer reporting requirements and be publicly lauded by the governor and schools superintendent.
“Continuous Improvement” Level 2: About 65 percent to 75 percent of schools are expected to fall short of one or more goals and be placed in this category. Schools will be required to develop academic plans that identify strategies for helping underperforming groups.
“Focus” Level 3: About 10 percent of schools will be well below goals in one or more areas, but not in the bottom 5 percent. These schools will be required to choose from a “menu of supports” to address problem areas and come up with a detailed school improvement plan.
“Priority” Level 4: The bottom 5 percent of schools will receive the most intensive interventions and be require to implement specific changes, including strategies to use data to inform instruction, improve safety on school grounds and maximize use of instructional time.
Level 5: “Priority” schools that fail to make meaningful progress within one to two years will be placed in this classification. The yet-to-be created DOE Office of School Transformation will oversee the schools, and the department warns Level 5 schools could be closed if improvements are not made.
Source: State Department of Education
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"Right now, schools are either passing or failing and nobody enjoys that," said Cheri Nakamura, executive director of the Hui for Excellence in Education, a coalition of education advocacy groups.
She said coalition members strongly support using multiple measures to evaluate how schools are doing. "It’s moving in the right direction," she said. "It’s very important to the community."
The new system would have five classifications for schools: recognition (the top 5 percent), continuous improvement, focus and two categories of priority schools (the bottom 5 percent).
Priority schools that are not making "meaningful gains" within one to two years would be classified "level five" and be overseen by a newly created Office of School Transformation in the DOE. Those lowest-performing schools could also be closed, the department warns, if progress isn’t made.
"If after all of those interventions, we’re not getting results, we will have to enact the full range of consequences," Nozoe said.
Because multiple measures would be used to rate schools, the department is proposing the creation of an "academic performance index." The index would incorporate different indicators into a formula to generate a score for each school, from 0 to 360.
At elementary, middle and high school levels, indicators would be weighted differently, depending on major goals identified by the DOE. Graduation and college-going rates would be weighted more heavily at high schools, for example, than reading proficiency scores.
Also, rather than have a single statewide goal for student proficiency targets, the state is seeking to have different annual goals for each complex.
Under the proposal, goals would be geared toward reducing by half the percentage of students deemed not proficient in math, reading or science within six years.
If approved, the new system would take effect in the coming school year.
The proposal comes as the DOE also plans to implement other big changes for schools.
In the 2013-14 school year, the department will roll out tougher nationally standardized learning benchmarks for reading and math for all grades. It will also take a new teacher evaluation system linked to student growth statewide.
Alexander Harris, portfolio manager in the DOE’s Office of Strategic Reform, said Hawaii’s NCLB waiver application is aligned with the DOE’s new strategic plan and with efforts to improve schools under the state’s $75 million Race to the Top grant.
He said for schools doing "what they ought to be doing — focusing on rigor in the curriculum, focusing on getting all kids to meet expectations — this new accountability system is going to identify the work they’re doing" and laud academic growth.
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