Bill No.: SF0070                     Drafter:  DRN

LSO No.:   11LSO-0180                 Effective Date:

Enrolled Act No.:    SEA0090

Chapter No.:

Prime Sponsor:       Select Committee on School Finance

Catch Title:         Education accountability.

Subject:   Public school accountability and student achievement.

Key Elements:

• Creates “Wyoming Accountability in Education Act”

• Two-phase approach
• Phase 1 – Established by Legislature and implemented by Department of Education (explained below)
• Phase 2 – Select Committee on Accountability established, assisted by advisory committee of education stakeholders, to develop a long-term accountability system, including full review of Phase 1

• Requires State Board of Education to implement and enforce the new accountability system

• Phase 1 – Established by Act as follows:
• Establishes “core indicators of student performance” at the school-level:
• Reading as measured by PAWS – grades 3-8, and 11
• 8^th grade standardized, curriculum based college readiness test (ACT Explore)
• Measured by percentage of students meeting or exceeding college benchmark readiness score for each subject area (English, reading, math, science)
• 11^th grade standardized, curriculum based college readiness test (ACT)
• Measured by percentage of students meeting or exceeding college benchmark readiness score for each subject area (English, reading, math, science)
• Uses school year 2010-11 statewide summative assessment data as baseline – Proficiency Assessment of Wyoming Students (PAWS), to be compared to 2011-2012 results
• Department of Education to compute "combined school score" for each core indicator and measure improvement from year to year, beginning with school year 2011-2012
• Improvement target for each core indicator is “positive progress” at the school-level:
• “Positive progress”  equals a better score than year before (positive score)
• “Performance level unchanged” equals no change occurred (zero score)
• “Negative progress” equals score is worse than year before (negative score)
• Department of Education to adopt rules and regulations establishing a matrix for reporting
• Commencing school year 2013-2014:
• Schools must show “positive progress”, upon failure to do so, a school is subject to the following:
• For first year of failure to meet target improvement level, districts required to report to Department of Education a performance acceleration plan by not later than August 1 of applicable school year
• For second and subsequent years of failure to meet target improvement level, Department of Education technical assistance team assists the district to develop turn-around strategy and may impose criteria on district allocation of resources
• State Board of Education shall also consider failure to meet target levels in accreditation process
• Department of Education to report school progress information to JAC and JEC no later than December 1

• Phase 2 – Assigned to newly created Select Committee on Accountability and its established advisory committee during the 2011 interim
• Select Committee required to review Phase 1, specifically including:
• Appropriateness and rigor of core indicators
• Review of necessary modifications to the statewide assessment and the statewide growth assessment and use of assessments administered locally, including consideration of end-of-course student assessments
• Review and improve reporting scale for measured achievement for core indicators
• Prescribe procedures for computing scores for students for which an achievement gap may occur
• Review of methodology for measuring student growth
• Select Committee shall also:
• Establish components of effective teaching and administration
• Structure a statewide system for measuring teacher and administrator effectiveness, as measured in part by student achievement
• Apply measured performance to evaluation consequences and incentives
• Provide recommendations on student and parental accountability
• Develop procedures for:
• Identifying and assisting underperforming schools
• Time schedules within which underperforming schools should reasonably be expected to achieve improvement targets
• Consequences to districts which fail to meet school improvement targets
• Review merit pay methodologies related to teacher performance measures, including merit-based salary schedules, bonuses, incentive pay and differential staffing practices
• Review school district board of trustees training needs
• Review of current laws impacting student performance
• Report recommendations back to Legislature in sufficient time for consideration during 2012 budget session

• Department of Education required to:
• Establish a longitudinal data system to provide reporting on all aspects of the statewide education accountability system
• Link reported statewide assessment and benchmark assessment results for students to teachers-of-record and school administrators

• State Board of Education required to:
• Pilot statewide benchmark adaptive assessment for school year 2011-2012
• Results of pilot program will be used to establish student achievement level alignment with the statewide summative assessment and performance target levels for school year 2012-2013
• Report development and implementation of pilot program to Select Committee with a final report by December 1, 2011
• State Board of Education to develop and implement statewide benchmark adaptive assessment for school year 2012-2013, including:
• Benchmark adaptive reading and mathematic assessments administered at district level
• Statewide standards for assessing student growth in math and reading for students in grades K-8
• Promulgate the assessment standards separate from but correlated with the statewide assessment system
• Assessment standards are required to include:
• Uniform, statewide benchmark testing system
• Prescribed growth by subject area and grade level
• Procedures for aligning benchmark assessment results with 2011-12 as baseline year
• Use of assessment results to design educational strategies for improvement and enhancement of student performance
• State Board is required to align statewide assessment components  with accountability system
• State Board is required to review an alternative to the current body of evidence system, as follows:
• Provide district level of assessment enabling consistent, comparable and aligned measures
• Provide multiple opportunities for students to demonstrate proficiency at the student, teacher, school and district levels
• Consider end-of-course examinations as an alternative to body of evidence system
• Goal is to replace current body of evidence system by school year 2012-2013
• Must report findings and recommendations to Select Committee on Accountability
• Changes to current statewide assessment system:
• State board also tasked with developing a statewide multiple-choice, standardized summative assessment meeting the minimum requirements of NCLB
• Statewide assessment will no longer require the comprehensive and in-depth measurement of state content and performance standards (Stoplight Report)
• Board also required to develop an authentic statewide assessment of student writing skills which is:
• Limited to one writing prompt in school year 2011-2012, the initial year of implementation statewide as a pilot assessment
• Based upon research and encourages rigor in the classroom
• Developed outside of and not as a part of the requirements under NCLB
• Administered separately and at different times from the statewide summative assessment in other subject areas
• Fully implemented in the 2012-2013 school year and each year thereafter
• At least 30 days prior to issuing a request for proposal (RFP) to commence development and implementation of a statewide summative assessment, the state superintendent is required to submit the proposed RFP to the Select Committee on Accountability for review

• Local school district boards of trustees are required to:
• Continue to use “body of evidence” system until school year 2012-2013 to extent not inconsistent with growth assessment features
• Implement the statewide benchmark assessment system established by the State Board of Education which requires administration of benchmark testing not less than two times per year, with appropriate linkages to teachers and schools within districts
• Requires evaluation of school principal performance by district superintendent as a component of the statewide education accountability system
• Report in writing to State Board of Education verification of principal performance including verification that principals have scored sufficiently to continue employment

• Miscellaneous provisions:

• Unexpended, unobligated funds left over from School Finance Recalibration shall be available to LSO for professional consulting expertise and other necessary support upon approval of Management Council (to be combined with House Bill 127 benchmarking study)
• $265,000 appropriated from School Foundation Program Account to the Department of Education to carry out Phase 1
• $75,000 appropriated from School Finance Recalibration funds for expenses of Select Committee on Accountability
• Act is effective immediately except for changes to statewide assessment which are effective July 1, 2012