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Accountability

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No Child Left Behind, Title I
School Improvement Information Sheet
School Year 2005-2006

The federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) requires states to implement a single accountability system. The accountability requirements under NCLB were built on the foundation of the former Improving America’s Schools Act (IASA). Specific information about the NCLB Accountability System is provided in the following documents:

The 2004 adequate yearly progress (AYP) final status and 2005 AYP preliminary status for New Jersey schools have been calculated under the provisions of NCLB. Schools that do not meet AYP as defined under NCLB are placed into one of the following categories. Title I schools must implement the sanctions for each category.

Year 1 - Early Warning: A school that does not make AYP for one year is placed into "early warning" status. If a school does not make AYP for two consecutive years in the same content area, it will be identified as a school in need of improvement.

Year 2 - In Need of Improvement/School Choice: A school that does not make AYP for two consecutive years in the same content area is designated as a "school in need of improvement." Certain sanctions apply, including intradistrict school choice, parental notification, and development of a school improvement plan. The district must offer the school technical assistance to address the areas that caused the school to be in improvement.

Year 3 - In Need of Improvement/Supplemental Educational Services (SES): A school that does not make AYP for three consecutive years in the same content area continues to be identified as a "school in need of improvement." The school must continue to offer intradistrict school choice and must also offer supplemental educational services (SES) to eligible students. Technical assistance must continue to be offered by the district, parents must receive notification of the school’s status, and the school improvement plan must be revised.

Year 4 - Corrective Action: A school that does not make AYP for four consecutive years in the same content area is identified as a school in corrective action. The school must continue to offer intradistrict school choice and SES, notify parents of the school’s status, revises its school improvement plan, and receive technical assistance from the district and the state.

The district must take at least one of the following corrective actions:

  1. Provide, for all relevant staff, appropriate, scientifically research-based professional development that is likely to improve academic achievement of low-performing students.
  2. Institute a new curriculum grounded in scientifically based research and provide appropriate professional development to support its implementation.
  3. Extend the length of the school year or school day.
  4. Replace the school staff who are deemed relevant to the school not making adequate progress.
  5. Significantly decrease management authority at the school.
  6. Restructure the internal organization of the school.
  7. Appoint one or more outside experts to advise the school (1) how to revise and strengthen the improvement plan it created while in school improvement status; and (2) how to address the specific issues underlying the school’s continued inability to make AYP.

The state offers school support by engaging a team of experienced professionals to conduct an extensive school review called Collaborative Assessment and Planning for Achievement (CAPA). The CAPA team interviews stakeholders and staff, reviews school and district documents, and conducts on-site observations to develop a report that contains recommendations for school improvement.

Year 5 - Planning for Restructuring: A school that does not make AYP for five consecutive years in the same content area must plan to restructure. The restructuring plan is implemented at the beginning of the following school year if the school continues to miss AYP targets. During the planning year, the school must continue to offer intradistrict school choice and SES, notify parents of the school’s status and invite their input during the restructuring process, and receive technical assistance from the district and the state. The technical assistance design for a school being restructured emphasizes the following:

  1. The importance of improving instruction by using strategies grounded in scientifically based research so that all children in the school achieve proficiency in the core academic subjects of reading and mathematics.

  2. The importance of analyzing and applying data in decision-making.

The restructuring plan must include one of the following alternative governance systems for the school as outlined by NCLB regulations and consistent with New Jersey practice and statutes:

  1. Replace all or most of the school staff, which may include the principal, who are relevant to the school’s inability to make adequate progress.
  2. Enter into a contract with an entity, such as a private management company, with a demonstrated record of effectiveness, to operate the school as a public school.
  3. Intervene in the operation of the school consistent with the New Jersey Quality School Accountability Continuum.
  4. Re-open the school as a public charter school as defined by state statute and regulation.
  5. Implement any other major restructuring of the school’s governance that is consistent with the principles of restructuring.

Removal from Early Warning/Improvement Status: To be removed from early warning or improvement status, the school must make AYP for two consecutive years in the content area that caused the school to go into status, providing the school makes AYP in the other content area. The first year of making AYP is a "hold year" and the school does not progress to the next sanction level, but must continue to implement current sanctions. If the school does not make AYP the year following "hold," it goes back into improvement status at the level prior to the hold year.