Enrollment and Educator Data

Notes:
The total number of teachers is displayed as the full-time equivalency count of teachers rounded to one place after the decimal.

"Social Studies" is not a core academic subject area as defined by ESEA. However, in Massachusetts it is understood that there are teachers licensed in social studies who may be teaching other core subject areas such as "geography, civics/government, or economics" under the social studies license. For this reason, districts are advised that teachers teaching under a social studies license must be highly qualified in the ESEA-defined core subject areas they are teaching.

The waiver data included in this 2013 report card reflects only academic waivers issued during the 2012-2013 school year; it does NOT include critical shortage waivers. The schools included in the data are those in school districts and Horace Mann charter schools, all of whose teachers are required to hold an appropriate license per M.G.L. c.71, §38G. Important information about waivers:

• Waivers are valid for only one school year
• The data does not indicate whether a teacher taught under a waiver for the full year; many teachers receive the appropriate license during the school year
• The district may apply for subsequent waivers, should a teacher not obtain licensure while working under a first year waiver, but must demonstrate that the educator is making significant progress toward obtaining the required license
• The waiver percentage is based on the total number of individual for whom ESE issued academic waivers, divided by the total number of teachers in the district, as reported in the October 2010 EPIMS data collection
• A single teacher on a waiver in a smaller district would have a greater impact than on a larger district and the waiver percentages, therefore, are not comparable between districts
• Teachers in Commonwealth charter schools are required either to be licensed or to pass the teacher test, (M.G.L. c.71, §89 (ii) and 603 CMR 1.07), and are therefore not included in the data
• Horace Mann Charter School teachers are required to hold an appropriate license (M.G.L. c.71, §38G) and are therefore included in the data

Student Groups (2012-13 School Year)

African American/Black: A person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa.
Asian: A person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent.
First Language not English: A student whose first language learned or used by the parent/guardian with the child is not English.
Former ELL: A student who has transitioned out of English Language Learner (ELL) status during the current school year or within the past two school years.
Hispanic/Latino: A person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race.
English Language Learner (ELL): A student whose first language is a language other than English who is unable to perform ordinary classroom work in English.
High needs: An unduplicated count of all students in a school or district belonging to at least one of the following individual subgroups: students with disabilities, English language learners (ELL) and former ELL students, or low income students (eligible for free/reduced price school lunch).
Low income: An indication of whether a student is eligible for free or reduced price lunch; or the student receives Transitional Aid to Families benefits; or the student is eligible for food stamps.
Migrant: An indication of whether an individual or a parent/guardian accompanying an individual maintains primary employment in one or more agricultural or fishing activities on a seasonal or other temporary basis and establishes a temporary residence for the purposes of such employment.
Multi-race, Non-Hispanic/Latino: A person selecting more than one racial category and non-Hispanic.
American Indian or Alaska Native: A person having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America (including Central America), and who maintains tribal affiliation or community attachment.
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander: A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands.
Students with disabilities: A student who has an Individualized Education Program (IEP) as defined under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
White: A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa.

MCAS Data (Spring 2013 Results)

MCAS achievement levels include Advanced (A) in grades 3-8 and 10; Proficient (P) in grades 3-8 and 10; Needs Improvement (NI) in grades 3-8 and 10; Warning (W) in grades 3-8; and Failing (F) in grade 10.

Advanced: Students demonstrate a comprehensive and in-depth understanding of rigorous subject matter and provide sophisticated solutions to complex problems.
Proficient: Students demonstrate a solid understanding of challenging subject matter and solve a wide variety of problems.
Needs Improvement: Students demonstrate a partial understanding of subject matter and solve some simple problems.
Warning/Failing: Students demonstrate a minimal understanding of subject matter and do not solve simple problems.

CPI: Massachusetts uses the 100-point Composite Performance Index (CPI) to measure progress towards the goal of narrowing proficiency gaps. The CPI assigns 100, 75, 50, 25, or 0 points to each student participating in MCAS and MCAS Alternate Assessment (MCAS-Alt) tests based on how close they came to scoring Proficient or Advanced. (For example, all students scoring Proficient or Advanced are assigned 100 CPI points; students with very low MCAS scores are assigned 0 CPI points.) The CPI for a student group is calculated by dividing the total number of points by the number of students in the group. The result is a number between 0 and 100.

Accountability Data (2013)

Accountability and Assistance Levels

All Massachusetts schools and districts with sufficient data are classified into one of five accountability and assistance levels (1-5), with the highest performing in Level 1 and lowest performing in Level 5. In general, a district is classified into the level of its lowest performing school, unless the district was independently classified into Level 4 or 5 as a result of action by the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.

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 five categories: Meets Requirements (MR); Meets Requirements-At Risk (MRAR); Needs Technical Assistance (NTA); Needs Intervention (NI); and Needs Substantial Intervention (NSI). In most cases these categories correspond to the district's accountability and assistance level, 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. Upon classification of a district into Level 3, two additional focus areas for special education will be reviewed at the district level and may require action: (A) over-identification of low-income students as eligible for special education and (B) inordinate separation of students with disabilities across low income and/or racial groups.

School Percentiles

A school percentile between 1 and 99 is reported for schools with at least four years of data. This number is an indication of the school's overall performance relative to other schools that serve the same or similar grades.

Cumulative Progress and Performance Index (PPI)

The cumulative PPI combines information about narrowing proficiency gaps, growth, and graduation and dropout rates over four years into a single number between 0 and 100. For a group to be considered to be making progress toward narrowing proficiency gaps, its cumulative PPI must be 75 or higher.

For more information on the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, please visit http://www.doe.mass.edu/apa/titlei/esea/default.html.

For a detailed profile of Massachusetts, please visit http://profiles.doe.mass.edu/profiles/general.aspx?orgcode=00000000.

For detailed information about the accountability report, please visit http://www.doe.mass.edu/apa/accountability/default.html.

For more information on any of the terms used in this report card, please visit http://profiles.doe.mass.edu/help/data.aspx.