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Code: IAB

160-7-1-.01 SINGLE STATEWIDE ACCOUNTABILITY SYSTEM.

(1) DEFINITIONS.

(a) Accountability Profile - a publicly published report that provides a summary of

a school’s and local educational agency’s (LEA’s) performance.

(b) Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) - a federally mandated component of the

Accountability Profile based on a series of performance goals and second indicators

that every school, LEA, and state must achieve within specified timeframes.

(c) AYP Workbook - the document that is officially known as the Consolidated

State Application Accountability Workbook. Each state annually submits to the

United States Department of Education (US ED) its workbook describing how AYP

determinations will be calculated and how the state will comply with ESEA as

amended.

(d) Comprehensive LEA Improvement Plan (CLIP) - a document developed by

an LEA, and approved by the Georgia Department of Education, to serve as a

blueprint for guiding the LEA’s continuous improvement and progress toward

identified LEA, school, and student achievement objectives and targets.

(e) Elementary and Secondary Education Act as amended (ESEA as amended)

- the federal education statute, originally passed by the U. S. Congress in 1965, that

defines the role of the federal government in public education and authorizes many of

the major federal education programs, including Title I. This Act was reauthorized

by Congress in 2001 as the No Child Left Behind Act.

(f) Georgia Department of Education (GaDOE) - the state agency charged with

the fiscal and administrative management of certain aspects of K-12 public education,

including the implementation of federal and state mandates. Such management is

subject to supervision and oversight by the State Board of Education.

(g) Local Educational Agency (LEA) - local school system pursuant to local board

of education control and management.

(h) LEA Corrective Action Addendum - an addendum of a Comprehensive LEA

Improvement Plan (CLIP) required of all LEAs that reach Needs Improvement Year

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(i) Needs Improvement - the identification for a school or LEA that has not made

AYP for two or more consecutive years in the same subject or second indicator for

schools and in the same subject or second indicator for elementary, middle and high

school grade spans for LEAs.

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(j)Office of Student Achievement (OSA) - the Georgia state agency mandated by

state law to create a uniform performance-based accountability system for K-12

public schools that incorporates both state and federal mandates, including student

and school performance standards.

(k) Performance Highlights - the component of the Accountability Profile that

utilizes data from the State Report Card to recognize each school and LEA for top

indicators based on key variables related to student achievement.

(l) Performance Index - the measure of a school’s or LEA’s current year academic

achievement or its gain over the previous year’s performance.

(m) School Improvement Fieldbook - a guide, published by the GaDOE, to assist

with school improvement planning and implementation of focused, research-based

strategies to increase the opportunity for schools to make AYP.

(n) Scientifically-based research - research that involves the application of

rigorous, systematic, and objective procedures to obtain reliable and valid knowledge

relevant to education activities and programs. Such research must (1) employ

systematic, empirical methods that draw on observations or experiments; (2) involve

rigorous data analysis to support hypothesis testing and to justify conclusions drawn;

(3) rely on reliable and valid measurement or observation methods; (4) be evaluated

using experimental and quasi-experimental designs; (5) ensure completeness, clarity,

and level of detail to allow for replication and generalization; and (6) have been

accepted by a peer-reviewed journal or approved by an independent panel of experts

through a comparable rigorous, objective, and scientific review.

(o) Single Statewide Accountability System (SSAS) - the statewide accountability

system adopted by the State Board of Education that includes indicators reflecting

both absolute and relative progress determinations. The SSAS merges both federal

and state education laws that relate to K-12 school accountability for student

academic performance.

(p) State Board of Education (SBOE) - the constitutional authority which defines

education policy for the public K-12 education agencies in Georgia.

(q) State Report Card - the official report card for Georgia’s K-12 public schools

that includes an annual report prepared by GaDOE and published by OSA for each

school, system, and the state, which is published for use by education stakeholders.

(2) IDENTIFICATION OF THE SINGLE STATEWIDE

ACCOUNTABILITY SYSTEM.

(a) The Single Statewide Accountability System shall include an annual

Accountability Profile for each Local Educational Agency (LEA) and public school

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in the state. The Accountability Profile shall include multiple components, which

may include, but not be limited to, Adequate Yearly Progress, Performance Index,

and Performance Highlights. The components of the Accountability Profile will be

included in the State Report Card prepared by GaDOE and published annually by the

Office of Student Achievement (OSA).

(b) The Single Statewide Accountability System will include, but is not limited to,

valid and reliable accountability determinations at the school, LEA, and state levels to

promote continuous improvement for raising student achievement and closing

achievement gaps.

(3) CALCULATING ADEQUATE YEARLY PROGRESS (AYP).

(a) The State Board of Education (SBOE) and GaDOE, in consultation with OSA

and other stakeholders, shall annually develop the Consolidated State Application

Accountability Workbook (AYP Workbook). The SBOE shall annually review any

proposed revisions to the AYP Workbook prior to submission to the United States

Department of Education (US ED). The SBOE shall adopt the AYP Workbook once

approved by the US ED.

(b) The AYP Workbook shall contain Georgia’s plan for determining AYP for the

given school year, including the specific methodology that will be used to ensure the

most valid and reliable AYP determinations are made, in a manner consistent with

state and federal law. AYP determinations shall be based on state assessments that

have been developed consistent with nationally recognized professional and technical

standards and are supported by evidence regarding validity and reliability.

(c) The AYP determination process shall provide the opportunity for the LEA to

verify the data used to determine AYP and for the LEA to appeal preliminary AYP

determinations that are in error for statistical or other substantive reasons.

(4) REQUIREMENTS FOR PUBLIC NOTIFICATION OF A SCHOOL’S

AYP DETERMINATION.

(a) An LEA must promptly notify parents of each student enrolled in each school

regarding the school’s AYP determination. The notice must be in an understandable

and uniform format and, to the extent practicable, in a language that parents

understand. Additionally, it must honor the privacy of all students and their families.

The notice must include:

1. An explanation of each school’s status under this rule and the school’s

performance relative to other schools in the LEA and the state.

2. Reasons the school(s) are identified as a Needs Improvement (NI) school(s).

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3. An explanation of the actions taken by the school to improve student

achievement at the school.

4. An explanation of what the LEA and the GaDOE are doing at the schools to

improve student achievement.

5. An explanation regarding the means for parent involvement in issues which

contributed to the failure to make AYP.

(5) ACCOUNTABILITY SYSTEM AWARDS AND CONSEQUENCES.

(a) Awards. A school shall be eligible for annual awards based on the

Accountability Profile.

(b) Consequences. In accordance with state and federal law, each school in Needs

Improvement (NI) shall be subject to interventions and consequences designed to

help improve student achievement based on the most recent AYP determinations.

Needs Improvement (NI) schools must implement the consequences in accordance

with its Needs Improvement (NI) status.

1. Identification. A school shall be identified as Needs Improvement (NI) if the

school has not made AYP in the same subject for two consecutive years or fails to

meet its second indicator for two consecutive years.

2. Escalation in status. Escalation in the level of Needs Improvement (NI) status

shall be based on a school’s failure to make AYP in the same subject, or fails to make

its second indicator, for two or more consecutive years.

3. Removal from Needs Improvement (NI) Status. A school shall be removed from

Needs Improvement if the school has made AYP for two consecutive years.

4. Technical Assistance. Each LEA shall provide technical assistance to its schools

in Needs Improvement (NI).

(6) SCHOOL-LEVEL NEEDS IMPROVEMENT CONSEQUENCES.

(a) Schools designated as in Needs Improvement (NI) status shall be subject to

consequences identified in GaDOE’s School Improvement Fieldbook. Consequences

may include:

1. Fully implementing the Georgia Performance Standards and provide appropriate

professional learning opportunities that are grounded in scientifically-based or

evidence-based research and offer substantial promise of improving educational

achievement for low-achieving students,

2. Offering public school choice,

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3. Offering supplemental education services (tutoring) to eligible students,

4. Developing a data-driven school improvement plan with measurable goals that

meets the requirements of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act as amended

(ESEA as amended) in consultation with parents, school staff, and outside experts for

approval by the LEA,

5. Replacing school staff who are relevant to the school not making AYP,

6. Intensive school-level support and guidance from GaDOE,

7. Appointing an outside expert to advise the school on its progress toward meeting

required achievement targets,

8. Extending the school year and/or school day for the school,

9. Restructuring the internal organizational arrangement of the school,

10. Reopening the school as a public charter school,

11. Executing a state-directed contract with the SBOE that contains specific nonnegotiables,

as well as specific improvement strategies based on the most current

AYP data for the school.

12. Any additional corrective actions approved by the GaDOE.

(7) LEA-LEVEL ADEQUATE YEARLY PROGRESS DETERMINATIONS

AND CONSEQUENCES.

(a) Identification. The LEA shall be identified as Needs Improvement (NI) if the

LEA has not made AYP in the same subject or fails to meet its second indicator for

two consecutive years at the elementary, middle, and the high school levels.

(b) Removal. The LEA shall be removed from Needs Improvement (NI) if the LEA

has made AYP for two consecutive years.

(c) Consequences. The LEA identified as Needs Improvement (NI) shall be subject

to the consequences identified in GaDOE’s System Improvement Fieldbook. Those

consequences may include:

1. Development of a Comprehensive LEA Improvement Plan (CLIP) approved by

GaDOE. The CLIP shall comply with content and procedures developed and

disseminated by the GaDOE. The LEA shall implement the plan expeditiously, but

not later than the beginning of the next school year after the school year in which the

LEA was identified as Needs Improvement (NI).

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2. Development of the LEA Corrective Action Addendum to the CLIP to be

approved by GaDOE. The LEA Corrective Action Addendum shall comply with

content, format, and procedures developed and disseminated by the GaDOE. The

LEA shall implement the Corrective Action Addendum no later than the beginning of

the school year following the school year in which the LEA was identified for

corrective action. The LEA Corrective Action Addendum shall include at least one

corrective action as defined in federal law, which may include major restructuring of

the system’s governance arrangement that makes fundamental reforms, consistent

with the corrective action options, and has substantial promise of enabling the LEA to

meet AYP.

(8) REQUIREMENTS FOR STATE INTERVENTIONS AND SUPPORT.

(a) The GaDOE shall provide, in accordance with the ESEA as amended, a system

of intensive and sustained support and improvement for LEAs and schools identified

as Needs Improvement.

(9) RECORD RETENTION REQUIREMENTS AND AUDITS BY OSA.

(a) Record Retention Requirements. LEAs and schools shall abide by all applicable

record retention schedules required by federal and state laws, regulations, and rules.

(b) Right to Audit. The Office of Student Achievement (OSA) may investigate

evidence of school or LEA noncompliance with the requirements of this rule at any

time. Such investigation may include review of the school or LEA’s academic

records or performing an on-site audit of any school or LEA at any time. The on-site

OSA Audit may include, but is not limited to, a review of the school or LEA’s

records or procedures, including a review of school or LEA performance and

accounting information and records. Auditors may gather school performance

information from school administrators, teachers, and parents of students enrolled in

the LEA.

(c) Upon conclusion of its investigation, OSA, where applicable, will prepare a

draft audit report detailing the findings of its investigation. OSA will provide the

affected LEA or school with a copy of the draft report and allow the school or LEA

with thirty days to review and comment on the findings contained in the draft report.

The affected school or LEA must submit its comments on the findings contained in

the draft report to the attention of OSA’s Executive Director. OSA may include, but is

not required to include, the comments provided by the affected school or LEA in its

final report. OSA will transmit its final report to the GaDOE for submission to the

SBOE.

(d) When applicable, OSA’s final report may include a recommendation to the

SBOE as to how to address the school or LEA’s noncompliance with this rule. OSA

may recommend sanctions including, but not limited to, withholding of federal and/or

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state funds pursuant to the procedures provided in State Board of Education Rule

160-5-2.02.

Authority O.C.G.A. § 20-14-26; 20-14-37; 20-14-38; 20-14-41.

Adopted: July 21, 2011 Effective: August 11, 2011