Overall classification: All Massachusetts districts and schools with sufficient data are classified into one of two accountability categories: districts and schools requiring assistance or intervention, and districts and schools without required assistance or intervention. The reason(s) for the district or school's classification are noted on this report.

Progress toward improvement targets: The criterion-referenced target percentage combines information about achievement, growth, high school completion, English learner progress, advanced coursework completion, and chronic absenteeism into a single number between 0 and 100. For a group to be considered to be meeting targets it must have a criterion-referenced target percentage of 75% or higher.

The criterion-referenced target percentage is calculated by dividing the weighted total points earned by the weighted total possible points. The calculation for each is displayed below.

Weighted total of points earned = (Total achievement points earned x Achievement weight) + (Total growth points earned x Growth weight) + (Total high school completion points earned x high school completion weight) + (EL progress points earned x EL progress weight) + (Total additional indicator points earned x Additional indicator weight)

Weighted total of possible points = (Total achievement possible points x Achievement weight) + (Total growth possible points x Growth weight) + (Total high school completion possible points x high school completion weight) + (EL progress possible points x EL progress weight) + (Total additional indicator possible points x Additional indicator weight)

Accountability percentile: An accountability percentile between 1 and 99 is reported for most schools. This number is an indication of the school's overall performance relative to other schools that serve similar grades, and is calculated using data for all accountability indicators. School percentiles are not calculated for districts.

Determination of need for special education technical assistance or intervention: The U.S. Department of Education requires Massachusetts to determine which districts (including single school districts) have specific needs for technical assistance or intervention in the area of special education. A district's determination is based on four categories: Meets Requirements (MR); Needs Assistance (NA); Needs Intervention (NI); and Needs Substantial Intervention (NSI). In most cases these categories correspond to the district's results, except when the district has specific compliance needs. This designation helps signal whether outcomes for all students in the district indicate progress, including that of students with disabilities, or whether technical assistance and/or intervention is needed to improve outcomes for all children, especially students with disabilities.