| 2009 CPI (Baseline) |
Represents the performance, as measured in terms of the Composite Performance Index, of students in a given group tested in grades 3-8 and 10 in 2009, the baseline against which the 2010 CPI is measured. Baselines are different for each school, district, and student group based on their performance in 2009. |
| 2010 CPI |
Represents the performance, as measured in terms of the Composite Performance Index, of students in a given group tested in grades 3-8 and 10 in 2010. CPIs are displayed separately for ELA and for mathematics. |
| Accountability and Assistance Level |
This designation, from Level 1 to Level 5, indicates a school's or district's placement on the Framework for Accountability and Assistance, the five-level system for district and school accountability and assistance approved by the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education and implemented by ESE pursuant to state regulations (603 CMR 2.03(1)). For more information on the framework and the accountability and assistance activities connected with each level, see: http://www.doe.mass.edu/sda/framework/default.html. |
| Accountability Report |
Due to the inclusion of certain state-level accountability information for some schools and districts (i.e., Accountability and Assistance Levels and Commendation Designations), in 2010 ESE has changed the overall name of the report from the school or district's Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) report to its Accountability report. AYP remains a fundamental component of the report. |
| Adequate Yearly Progress History |
As shown on district and school accountability reports, a snapshot of the years between 2003 and 2010. A finding of "Yes" or "No" in a given year tells if the school or district made AYP that year. Schools and districts that do not make AYP for two or more consecutive years in the aggregate or for a student group in ELA or mathematics must follow a course of action to improve school performance. A school or district's "Accountability Status" defines that course of action. (See NCLB Accountability Status) |
| Aggregate |
AYP determinations are issued annually based on the performance of all students in the school or district (the "aggregate") and for individual student groups ("subgroups"). Students are included in the aggregate and in each student group to which they belong. |
| Attendance |
As shown on district and school accountability reports, the additional AYP indicator for elementary and middle schools. Attendance rates are calculated by dividing the total number of days all students in a particular group attended school by the total number of days all students were enrolled. The attendance rate required to make AYP in 2010 is 92%, or improvement of at least 1 percentage point from 2009. |
| AYP (Adequate Yearly Progress) |
The federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) requires all schools and districts to meet or exceed specific student performance standards in English language arts (ELA) and mathematics by the year 2014. AYP determinations are issued annually based on the performance of all students (the "aggregate") and for individual student groups ("subgroups") to gauge the interim progress toward the attainment of those goals. To make AYP in 2010, districts and schools must meet a student participation requirement, an additional attendance or graduation requirement, and either the State's 2010 performance target for that subject or the district, school or group's own 2010 improvement target. A group may also make AYP by reducing the percentage of non-proficient students by 10% from 2009 to 2010 under NCLB's Safe Harbor provision. (See SH (Safe Harbor)) |
| Commended For |
Accountability reports for some schools display a "Commended For" label followed by a note indicating the reason(s) why the school is being commended: narrowing proficiency gaps; high growth; and/or exiting NCLB Accountability Status from the previous year. |
| CPI (Composite Performance Index) |
A 100-point index that assigns 100, 75, 50, 25, or 0 points to each student participating in MCAS and MCAS-Alt tests based on their performance. The total points assigned to each student are added together and the sum is divided by the total number of students assessed. The result is a number between 0 and 100, which constitutes a district, school or group's CPI for that subject and student group. The CPI is a measure of the extent to which students are progressing toward proficiency (a CPI of 100) in ELA and mathematics. CPIs are generated separately for ELA and mathematics, and at all levels - state, district, school, and student group. |
| Data Under Review |
Message displayed when a district's or school's accountability data are under review by ESE. |
| Detailed Data |
To enhance the user-friendliness of accountability reports, AYP data are published in two layers- summary and detail. The summary layer displays overall findings. The detail layer displays more discrete data, including information about the number of students included in AYP determinations for each group and baseline and gain target data. |
| EB (Error Band) |
As shown on data reports created by the Department, the improvement that a district, school, or group has to make from one year to another, is expressed as a target range. (See On Target Range) This range includes an "error band" that surrounds the target number. Schools, districts, and groups have the opportunity to meet their improvement targets even if their CPI falls below the target number. Error bands vary between plus or minus 1.0 CPI points and plus or minus 4.5 CPI points, depending on the size of the group measured and whether that group is at the school or district level. Error bands are applied to a group's gain target, not its CPI. |
| Gain Target |
As shown on data reports created by the Department, the amount of improvement - as measured in Composite Performance Index (CPI) points - a school, district, or student subgroup is expected to make from 2009 to 2010. Gain targets are calculated by subtracting the baseline CPI from 100 (the year 2014 performance target for all Massachusetts schools and districts), and dividing the difference by the number of remaining years, including the current year, until the year 2014. For 2010, that number is 5. Gain targets are different for each school, district, and student group, based on their performance in 2009 and the amount of gain needed between 2009 and 2010 to stay on track to 100% proficiency by the 2013-2014 school year. |
| Grade Spans |
District-level AYP determinations are issued separately for three grade spans - grades 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12 - for students in the aggregate and for individual student groups in ELA and mathematics. District accountability status determinations are driven by these grade-span AYP determinations. (See NCLB Accountability Status) |
| Graduation Rate |
In 2010, Massachusetts public high schools and districts at the grade 9-12 grade span have to meet at least one of the following criteria: (1) A four-year graduation rate of 70 percent applied to the 2009 graduation cohort, or (2) A two percentage point increase in the four-year graduation rate from the 2008 cohort to 2009 cohort; or (3) A five-year graduation rate of 75 percent applied to the 2008 graduation cohort. |
| Improvement Rating |
Descriptive term corresponding to the amount of aggregate Composite Performance Index (CPI) gain a school or district achieved in 2010 as compared to 2009. The improvement that a school or district is expected to make from one year to the next is expressed not as a single numeric target, but as a target range, also called the "on target range." The size of the target range varies depending on the size and score distribution of the particular group being measured. (The standard target range is plus or minus 2.5 CPI points, but may be as large as plus or minus 4.5 CPI points for groups smaller than 100.) The five improvement rating categories are: Above Target (improved above target range), On Target (improved within target range), Improved Below Target (improved above the baseline but below the target range), No Change (gain was equivalent to baseline plus or minus the target range), and Declined (gain was below baseline and below the target range). (See EB (Error Band) and Performance Rating) |
| Met Target (Improvement) |
An indication of whether a district, school, or student group made AYP in 2010 by improving its Composite Performance Index (CPI) from 2009 to 2010 within or above its On Target Range. A district, school or group's improvement target is calculated by adding its gain target to its 2009 CPI (Baseline). (See Gain Target) |
| Met Target (Performance) |
An indication of whether a district, school, or student group made AYP in 2010 by meeting or exceeding the 2010 state performance target. The 2010 state performance target for ELA is a Composite Performance Index (CPI) of 90.2 points; for mathematics, 84.3. |
| N (Performance) |
As shown on district and school accountability reports, the number of students tested in 2010 whose assessment results are included in the 2010 Composite Performance Index (CPI) calculation. At the school level, this number includes only those students enrolled in the school on or before October 1, 2009 who participated in testing. The results of first-year limited English proficient (LEP) students are also excluded. AYP determinations are made for student populations in the aggregate whenever the number of students assessed is 20 or greater in each year for which performance data is being analyzed. AYP determinations are made for student groups if they include (1) 40 students or greater assessed in each year for which performance data is being analyzed, AND (2) the number of group members was at least 5% of students whose assessment results are included in the school's or district's aggregate AYP calculation, OR (3) the number of group members was 200 or more. Districts, schools, and student groups that do not meet the Department's minimum group size requirements for 2010 do not receive an AYP determination. |
| NCLB Accountability Status |
The category to which a school is assigned, based on AYP determinations over multiple years, to define the required course of school, district and/or state action that must be taken to improve student performance. Accountability status categories include No Status, Improvement, Corrective Action, and Restructuring. A district or school is placed in an accountability status on the basis of the performance and improvement profile of students in the aggregate or of one or more student groups over two or more years in ELA and/or mathematics. Schools that make AYP in a subject for all student groups for two or more consecutive years are assigned to the positive No Status category. (See   2010-2011 School and District Accountability Status and Required Actions ) |
| NCLB School Choice Required |
Under NCLB, when a school receiving federal Title I funds is identified for improvement, corrective action or restructuring, the district is required to offer all students enrolled in the school the option to transfer to another public school served by the district that has not been identified for school improvement, if such an option is available. As shown on school accountability reports, the label "Yes" is displayed for Title I schools that must provide NCLB School Choice. (See more information about NCLB School Choice) |
| No AYP Data Available |
Districts or schools that do not meet the Department's minimum group size in 2010 do not receive an AYP determination. In this case, a message will be displayed that no AYP data are available for the school or district. (See N (Performance)) |
| On Target Range |
As shown on data reports provided to schools and districts, the range of Composite Performance Index (CPI) values required for a group to be assigned an improvement rating of On Target, taking into consideration the error band surrounding each group's gain target. The smaller number represents the gain target minus the error band, while the larger number represents the gain target plus the error band. If the CPI of a district, school, or student group falls within the On Target Range, the group is considered to be On Target. |
| Participation |
Indicates the number of students who participated in MCAS/MCAS-Alt tests (# assessed) divided by the number of students enrolled (# enrolled) on the date MCAS tests are administered, including students with limited English proficiency enrolled in U.S. schools for the first time. As a matter of federal law, the minimum participation rate required to make AYP is 95%. |
| Performance Rating |
Issued annually, a descriptive representation of aggregate student performance on MCAS tests. Schools and districts are assigned one of six performance rating categories based on their 2010 Composite Performance Index (CPI): Very High (90 - 100); High (80 - 89.9); Moderate (70 - 79.9); Low (60 - 69.9); Very Low (40 - 59.9); and Critically Low (0 - 39.9) (See Improvement Rating). |
| SH (Safe Harbor) |
A group can make AYP by reducing the percentage of non-proficient students by 10% from 2009 to 2010 (NCLB's safe harbor provision).When students in the aggregate or any student group meet the participation requirement, but fail to meet the state performance target and its own gain target but the percentage not scoring in the proficient range decreased by 10% or more from one year to the next, the group is considered to have met its improvement target on the basis of safe harbor. As shown on school and district accountability reports, the abbreviation "SH" is appended to a group's AYP finding for improvement (i.e., "Yes/SH").
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| Subgroup |
AYP determinations are issued yearly based on the performance of all students in the school or district (the "aggregate") and for individual student groups ("subgroups"). Students are included in the aggregate and in each student group to which they belong. In accordance with NCLB, the Department issues AYP determinations for the following student groups: students with disabilities, students with limited English proficiency, economically disadvantaged students, and students belonging to racial and ethnic minority groups.
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| Summary Data |
To enhance the user-friendliness of accountability reports, AYP data are published in two layers- summary and detail. The summary layer displays overall findings. The detail layer displays more discrete data, including information about the number of students included in AYP determinations for each group and baseline and gain target data. |
| Supplemental Educational Services Required |
Students from low-income families attending Title I schools in their second year of school improvement (i.e., have not made AYP for three or more years), in corrective action, or in restructuring status are eligible to receive additional, free, academic instruction - or tutoring - called supplemental educational services (SES). As shown on school accountability reports, the label "Yes" is displayed for Title I schools that must offer SES. (See more information about SES) |
| Title I Status |
indication of whether a school or district receives federal Title I funds in 2010-2011, based on the most recent data collected by the Department. Title I schools and districts that do not make AYP for two or more consecutive years have certain responsibilities under NCLB. (See 2010-2011 School and District Accountability Status and Required Actions.) |