Assigned to ED K-12 FOR
CAUCUS & FLOOR ACTION
ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Forty-eighth Legislature, First Regular Session
AMENDED
FACT SHEET FOR H.B. 2039
school accountability; school achievement profiles
Purpose
Requires the Arizona Department of Education (ADE) to compile a single achievement profile for every school that offers instruction in all K-12 grades or a combination of those grades.
Background
Laws 2000, Fifth Special Session, Chapter 1 (Proposition 301), created the state’s public school accountability or AZLEARNS. The AZLEARNS program uses Arizona Instrument to Measure Standards (AIMS) assessment data, measures of academic progress and results from the English Language Learner proficiency tests, as well as dropout and graduation rates for high schools, to create achievement profiles for school districts and charter schools. The AZLEARNS academic labels are assigned based on the achievement profiles of each school and include excelling, high performing, performing, underperforming or failing to meet standards. The ADE also includes highly performing; however, this label is not listed in statute.
Section 15-241, Arizona Revised Statutes, requires each school to annually submit to the ADE all data required to compile the school’s achievement profile. If a school fails to submit the required data, it is ineligible to receive money from the Classroom Site Fund (Proposition 301 revenues). The ADE releases the preliminary labels in September of each year allowing for an appeals period, with final classifications released in October of each year. In October 2006, the ADE released the labels of 1,965 schools:
|
Label |
# of Schools |
% of Total |
|
Excelling |
320 |
16.3% |
|
Highly Performing |
235 |
12.0% |
|
Performing Plus |
670 |
34.1% |
|
Performing |
609 |
31.0% |
|
Underperforming |
123 |
6.3% |
|
Failing |
8 |
0.4% |
|
Total: |
1,965 |
100.0% |
For FY 2005-2006, the ADE reports 93 schools currently provide instruction in all K-12 grades or a combination of K-8 and 9-12 grades (i.e., a school that serves grades 6-12). Statute requires that an achievement profile be calculated for K-8 and 9-12 grades separately, which may result in a school receiving two different labels. Based on FY 2005-2006 data, 33 of the 93 schools had different labels for K-8 and 9-12 grades:
|
Label Combinations |
# of Schools |
|
Performing - Performing Plus |
20 |
|
Performing - Underperforming |
5 |
|
Performing Plus - Underperforming |
4 |
|
Highly Performing - Performing Plus |
3 |
|
Performing Plus - Failing |
1 |
|
Total: |
33 |
According to the ADE, the two labels have been confusing to parents and difficult when determining how to allocate school improvement resources. The ADE will use a blended point system to calculate one achievement profile for each school.
There is no anticipated fiscal impact to the state General Fund.
Provisions
1. Requires the ADE to compute a single achievement profile for every school that offers instruction in all K-12 grades or a combination of those grades, using the same academic performance indicators used to calculate K-8 and 9-12 achievement profiles.
2. Requires the ADE to compile parallel achievement profiles for extremely small schools as defined by the State Board of Education and removes the definition of a small school as a school with fewer than 100 pupils.
3. Makes conforming changes.
4. Becomes effective on the general effective date.
Amendments Adopted by Committee
1. Specifies that a single achievement profile be compiled for K-12 schools or schools with any combination of those grades.
2. Replaces the existing definition of small school with a new definition for extremely small school.
House Action Senate Action
ED 1/17/07 DP 10-0-0-0 ED K-12 2/28/06 DPA 6-3-0-0
3rd Read 2/19/07 55-0-5-0
Prepared by Senate Research
March 1, 2007
DN/jas