**ALABAMA**

**Consolidated State Application**

**Accountability Workbook**

**for State Grants under Title IX, Part C, Section 9302 of the
Elementary and**

> **Secondary Education Act (Public Law 107-110)**

**February 14, 2007**

**Final**

![](media/image1.jpeg){width="1.9895833333333333in"
height="1.9895833333333333in"}

### 

**U. S. Department of Education**

**Office of Elementary and Secondary Education**

**Washington, D.C. 20202**

**Instructions for Completing Consolidated State Application
Accountability Workbook**

By January 31, 2003, States must complete and submit to the Department
this Consolidated State Application Accountability Workbook. We
understand that some of the critical elements for the key principles may
still be under consideration and may not yet be final State policy by
the January 31 due date. States that do not have final approval for some
of these elements or that have not finalized a decision on these
elements by January 31 should, when completing the Workbook, indicate
the status of each element which is not yet official State policy and
provide the anticipated date by which the proposed policy will become
effective. In each of these cases, States must include a timeline of
steps to complete to ensure that such elements are in place by May 1,
2003, and implemented during the 2002-2003 school year. By no later than
May 1, 2003, States must submit to the Department final information for
all sections of the Consolidated State Application Accountability
Workbook.

**Transmittal Instructions**

To expedite the receipt of this Consolidated State Application
Accountability Workbook, please send your submission via the Internet as
a .doc file, pdf file, rtf or .txt file or provide the URL for the site
where your submission is posted on the Internet. Send electronic
submissions to conapp@ed.gov.

A State that submits only a paper submission should mail the submission
by express courier to:

Celia Sims

U.S. Department of Education

400 Maryland Ave., SW

Room 3W300

Washington, D.C. 20202-6400

\(202\) 401-0113

# PART I: Summary of Required Elements for State Accountability Systems 

# Instructions 

# 

# The following chart is an overview of States\' implementation of the critical elements required for approval of their State accountability systems. States must provide detailed implementation information for each of these elements in Part II of this Consolidated State Application Accountability Workbook. 

# 

# For each of the elements listed in the following chart, States should indicate the current implementation status in their State using the following legend:

# 

# F:        State has a final policy, approved by all the required entities in the State (e.g., State Board of Education, State Legislature), for implementing this element in its accountability system. 

# 

# P:        State has a proposed policy for implementing this element in its accountability system, but must still receive approval by required entities in the State (e.g., State Board of Education, State Legislature). 

# 

# W:        State is still working on formulating a policy to implement this element in its accountability system.  

**   **

# 

#  

# Summary of Implementation Status for Required Elements of

# State Accountability Systems

+---+----+--------------------------------------------------------------+
| * |    | **State Accountability System Element**                      |
| * |    |                                                              |
| S |    |                                                              |
| t |    |                                                              |
| a |    |                                                              |
| t |    |                                                              |
| u |    |                                                              |
| s |    |                                                              |
| * |    |                                                              |
| * |    |                                                              |
+---+----+--------------------------------------------------------------+
| * |    |                                                              |
| * |    |                                                              |
| [ |    |                                                              |
| P |    |                                                              |
| r |    |                                                              |
| i |    |                                                              |
| n |    |                                                              |
| c |    |                                                              |
| i |    |                                                              |
| p |    |                                                              |
| l |    |                                                              |
| e |    |                                                              |
| 1 |    |                                                              |
| : |    |                                                              |
|   |    |                                                              |
| A |    |                                                              |
| l |    |                                                              |
| l |    |                                                              |
| S |    |                                                              |
| c |    |                                                              |
| h |    |                                                              |
| o |    |                                                              |
| o |    |                                                              |
| l |    |                                                              |
| s |    |                                                              |
| ] |    |                                                              |
| { |    |                                                              |
| . |    |                                                              |
| u |    |                                                              |
| n |    |                                                              |
| d |    |                                                              |
| e |    |                                                              |
| r |    |                                                              |
| l |    |                                                              |
| i |    |                                                              |
| n |    |                                                              |
| e |    |                                                              |
| } |    |                                                              |
| * |    |                                                              |
| * |    |                                                              |
+---+----+--------------------------------------------------------------+
| F | 1  | Accountability system includes *all schools and districts in |
|   | .1 | the state*.                                                  |
+---+----+--------------------------------------------------------------+
| F | 1  | Accountability system holds *all schools to the same         |
|   | .2 | criteria*.                                                   |
+---+----+--------------------------------------------------------------+
| F | 1  | Accountability system incorporates the *academic achievement |
|   | .3 | standards*.                                                  |
+---+----+--------------------------------------------------------------+
| F | 1  | Accountability system provides *information in a timely      |
|   | .4 | manner*.                                                     |
+---+----+--------------------------------------------------------------+
| F | 1  | Accountability system includes *report cards*.               |
|   | .5 |                                                              |
+---+----+--------------------------------------------------------------+
| F | 1  | Accountability system includes *rewards and sanctions*.      |
|   | .6 |                                                              |
+---+----+--------------------------------------------------------------+
| # |    |                                                              |
|   |    |                                                              |
| [ |    |                                                              |
| P |    |                                                              |
| r |    |                                                              |
| i |    |                                                              |
| n |    |                                                              |
| c |    |                                                              |
| i |    |                                                              |
| p |    |                                                              |
| l |    |                                                              |
| e |    |                                                              |
|   |    |                                                              |
| 2 |    |                                                              |
| : |    |                                                              |
|   |    |                                                              |
|   |    |                                                              |
| A |    |                                                              |
| l |    |                                                              |
| l |    |                                                              |
|   |    |                                                              |
| S |    |                                                              |
| t |    |                                                              |
| u |    |                                                              |
| d |    |                                                              |
| e |    |                                                              |
| n |    |                                                              |
| t |    |                                                              |
| s |    |                                                              |
| ] |    |                                                              |
| { |    |                                                              |
| . |    |                                                              |
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| r |    |                                                              |
| l |    |                                                              |
| i |    |                                                              |
| n |    |                                                              |
| e |    |                                                              |
| } |    |                                                              |
+---+----+--------------------------------------------------------------+
| F | 2  | The accountability system includes *all students*            |
|   | .1 |                                                              |
+---+----+--------------------------------------------------------------+
| F | 2  | The accountability system has a consistent definition of     |
|   | .2 | *full academic year*.                                        |
+---+----+--------------------------------------------------------------+
| F | 2  | The accountability system properly includes *mobile          |
|   | .3 | students*.                                                   |
+---+----+--------------------------------------------------------------+
| # |    |                                                              |
|   |    |                                                              |
| [ |    |                                                              |
| P |    |                                                              |
| r |    |                                                              |
| i |    |                                                              |
| n |    |                                                              |
| c |    |                                                              |
| i |    |                                                              |
| p |    |                                                              |
| l |    |                                                              |
| e |    |                                                              |
|   |    |                                                              |
| 3 |    |                                                              |
| : |    |                                                              |
|   |    |                                                              |
|   |    |                                                              |
| M |    |                                                              |
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| o |    |                                                              |
| d |    |                                                              |
|   |    |                                                              |
| o |    |                                                              |
| f |    |                                                              |
|   |    |                                                              |
| A |    |                                                              |
| Y |    |                                                              |
| P |    |                                                              |
|   |    |                                                              |
| D |    |                                                              |
| e |    |                                                              |
| t |    |                                                              |
| e |    |                                                              |
| r |    |                                                              |
| m |    |                                                              |
| i |    |                                                              |
| n |    |                                                              |
| a |    |                                                              |
| t |    |                                                              |
| i |    |                                                              |
| o |    |                                                              |
| n |    |                                                              |
| s |    |                                                              |
| ] |    |                                                              |
| { |    |                                                              |
| . |    |                                                              |
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| n |    |                                                              |
| d |    |                                                              |
| e |    |                                                              |
| r |    |                                                              |
| l |    |                                                              |
| i |    |                                                              |
| n |    |                                                              |
| e |    |                                                              |
| } |    |                                                              |
+---+----+--------------------------------------------------------------+
| F | 3  | Accountability system expects *all student subgroups, public |
|   | .1 | schools, and LEAs to reach proficiency by 2013-14*.          |
+---+----+--------------------------------------------------------------+
| F | 3  | Accountability system has a method for determining whether   |
|   | .2 | *student subgroups, public schools, and LEAs made adequate   |
|   |    | yearly progress.*                                            |
+---+----+--------------------------------------------------------------+
| F | 3. | Accountability system establishes a *starting point*.        |
|   | 2a |                                                              |
+---+----+--------------------------------------------------------------+
| F | 3. | Accountability system establishes *statewide annual          |
|   | 2b | measurable objectives*.                                      |
+---+----+--------------------------------------------------------------+
| F | 3. | Accountability system establishes *intermediate goals*.      |
|   | 2c |                                                              |
+---+----+--------------------------------------------------------------+
| # |    |                                                              |
|   |    |                                                              |
| [ |    |                                                              |
| P |    |                                                              |
| r |    |                                                              |
| i |    |                                                              |
| n |    |                                                              |
| c |    |                                                              |
| i |    |                                                              |
| p |    |                                                              |
| l |    |                                                              |
| e |    |                                                              |
|   |    |                                                              |
| 4 |    |                                                              |
| : |    |                                                              |
|   |    |                                                              |
|   |    |                                                              |
| A |    |                                                              |
| n |    |                                                              |
| n |    |                                                              |
| u |    |                                                              |
| a |    |                                                              |
| l |    |                                                              |
|   |    |                                                              |
| D |    |                                                              |
| e |    |                                                              |
| c |    |                                                              |
| i |    |                                                              |
| s |    |                                                              |
| i |    |                                                              |
| o |    |                                                              |
| n |    |                                                              |
| s |    |                                                              |
| ] |    |                                                              |
| { |    |                                                              |
| . |    |                                                              |
| u |    |                                                              |
| n |    |                                                              |
| d |    |                                                              |
| e |    |                                                              |
| r |    |                                                              |
| l |    |                                                              |
| i |    |                                                              |
| n |    |                                                              |
| e |    |                                                              |
| } |    |                                                              |
+---+----+--------------------------------------------------------------+
| F | 4  | The accountability system *determines annually the progress* |
|   | .1 | of schools and districts.                                    |
+---+----+--------------------------------------------------------------+

**STATUS Legend:**

**F** -- Final state policy

**P** -- Proposed policy, awaiting State approval

**W** -- Working to formulate policy

 

+---+----+--------------------------------------------------------------+
| # |    |                                                              |
|   |    |                                                              |
| [ |    |                                                              |
| P |    |                                                              |
| r |    |                                                              |
| i |    |                                                              |
| n |    |                                                              |
| c |    |                                                              |
| i |    |                                                              |
| p |    |                                                              |
| l |    |                                                              |
| e |    |                                                              |
|   |    |                                                              |
| 5 |    |                                                              |
| : |    |                                                              |
|   |    |                                                              |
|   |    |                                                              |
| S |    |                                                              |
| u |    |                                                              |
| b |    |                                                              |
| g |    |                                                              |
| r |    |                                                              |
| o |    |                                                              |
| u |    |                                                              |
| p |    |                                                              |
|   |    |                                                              |
| A |    |                                                              |
| c |    |                                                              |
| c |    |                                                              |
| o |    |                                                              |
| u |    |                                                              |
| n |    |                                                              |
| t |    |                                                              |
| a |    |                                                              |
| b |    |                                                              |
| i |    |                                                              |
| l |    |                                                              |
| i |    |                                                              |
| t |    |                                                              |
| y |    |                                                              |
| ] |    |                                                              |
| { |    |                                                              |
| . |    |                                                              |
| u |    |                                                              |
| n |    |                                                              |
| d |    |                                                              |
| e |    |                                                              |
| r |    |                                                              |
| l |    |                                                              |
| i |    |                                                              |
| n |    |                                                              |
| e |    |                                                              |
| } |    |                                                              |
+---+----+--------------------------------------------------------------+
| F | 5  | The accountability system *includes all the required student |
|   | .1 | subgroups*.                                                  |
+---+----+--------------------------------------------------------------+
| F | 5  | The accountability system holds *schools and LEAs            |
|   | .2 | accountable for the progress of* *student subgroups*.        |
+---+----+--------------------------------------------------------------+
| F | 5  | The accountability system includes *students with            |
|   | .3 | disabilities*.                                               |
+---+----+--------------------------------------------------------------+
| F | 5  | The accountability system includes *limited English          |
|   | .4 | proficient students*.                                        |
+---+----+--------------------------------------------------------------+
| F | 5  | The State has determined the minimum number of students      |
|   | .5 | sufficient to yield statistically reliable information for   |
|   |    | each purpose for which disaggregated data are used.          |
+---+----+--------------------------------------------------------------+
| F | 5  | The State has strategies to protect the privacy of           |
|   | .6 | individual students in reporting achievement results and in  |
|   |    | determining whether schools and LEAs are making adequate     |
|   |    | yearly progress on the basis of disaggregated subgroups.     |
+---+----+--------------------------------------------------------------+
| # |    |                                                              |
|   |    |                                                              |
| [ |    |                                                              |
| P |    |                                                              |
| r |    |                                                              |
| i |    |                                                              |
| n |    |                                                              |
| c |    |                                                              |
| i |    |                                                              |
| p |    |                                                              |
| l |    |                                                              |
| e |    |                                                              |
|   |    |                                                              |
| 6 |    |                                                              |
| : |    |                                                              |
|   |    |                                                              |
|   |    |                                                              |
| B |    |                                                              |
| a |    |                                                              |
| s |    |                                                              |
| e |    |                                                              |
| d |    |                                                              |
|   |    |                                                              |
| o |    |                                                              |
| n |    |                                                              |
|   |    |                                                              |
| A |    |                                                              |
| c |    |                                                              |
| a |    |                                                              |
| d |    |                                                              |
| e |    |                                                              |
| m |    |                                                              |
| i |    |                                                              |
| c |    |                                                              |
|   |    |                                                              |
| A |    |                                                              |
| s |    |                                                              |
| s |    |                                                              |
| e |    |                                                              |
| s |    |                                                              |
| s |    |                                                              |
| m |    |                                                              |
| e |    |                                                              |
| n |    |                                                              |
| t |    |                                                              |
| s |    |                                                              |
| ] |    |                                                              |
| { |    |                                                              |
| . |    |                                                              |
| u |    |                                                              |
| n |    |                                                              |
| d |    |                                                              |
| e |    |                                                              |
| r |    |                                                              |
| l |    |                                                              |
| i |    |                                                              |
| n |    |                                                              |
| e |    |                                                              |
| } |    |                                                              |
+---+----+--------------------------------------------------------------+
| F | 6  | Accountability system is based *primarily on academic        |
|   | .1 | assessments*.                                                |
+---+----+--------------------------------------------------------------+
| # |    |                                                              |
|   |    |                                                              |
| [ |    |                                                              |
| P |    |                                                              |
| r |    |                                                              |
| i |    |                                                              |
| n |    |                                                              |
| c |    |                                                              |
| i |    |                                                              |
| p |    |                                                              |
| l |    |                                                              |
| e |    |                                                              |
|   |    |                                                              |
| 7 |    |                                                              |
| : |    |                                                              |
|   |    |                                                              |
|   |    |                                                              |
| A |    |                                                              |
| d |    |                                                              |
| d |    |                                                              |
| i |    |                                                              |
| t |    |                                                              |
| i |    |                                                              |
| o |    |                                                              |
| n |    |                                                              |
| a |    |                                                              |
| l |    |                                                              |
|   |    |                                                              |
| I |    |                                                              |
| n |    |                                                              |
| d |    |                                                              |
| i |    |                                                              |
| c |    |                                                              |
| a |    |                                                              |
| t |    |                                                              |
| o |    |                                                              |
| r |    |                                                              |
| s |    |                                                              |
| ] |    |                                                              |
| { |    |                                                              |
| . |    |                                                              |
| u |    |                                                              |
| n |    |                                                              |
| d |    |                                                              |
| e |    |                                                              |
| r |    |                                                              |
| l |    |                                                              |
| i |    |                                                              |
| n |    |                                                              |
| e |    |                                                              |
| } |    |                                                              |
+---+----+--------------------------------------------------------------+
| F | 7  | Accountability system includes *graduation rate for high     |
|   | .1 | school*s.                                                    |
+---+----+--------------------------------------------------------------+
| F | 7  | Accountability system includes an *additional academic       |
|   | .2 | indicator for elementary and middle school*s.                |
+---+----+--------------------------------------------------------------+
| F | 7  | Additional indicators are valid and reliable.                |
|   | .3 |                                                              |
+---+----+--------------------------------------------------------------+
| # |    |                                                              |
|   |    |                                                              |
| [ |    |                                                              |
| P |    |                                                              |
| r |    |                                                              |
| i |    |                                                              |
| n |    |                                                              |
| c |    |                                                              |
| i |    |                                                              |
| p |    |                                                              |
| l |    |                                                              |
| e |    |                                                              |
|   |    |                                                              |
| 8 |    |                                                              |
| : |    |                                                              |
|   |    |                                                              |
|   |    |                                                              |
| S |    |                                                              |
| e |    |                                                              |
| p |    |                                                              |
| a |    |                                                              |
| r |    |                                                              |
| a |    |                                                              |
| t |    |                                                              |
| e |    |                                                              |
|   |    |                                                              |
| D |    |                                                              |
| e |    |                                                              |
| c |    |                                                              |
| i |    |                                                              |
| s |    |                                                              |
| i |    |                                                              |
| o |    |                                                              |
| n |    |                                                              |
| s |    |                                                              |
|   |    |                                                              |
| f |    |                                                              |
| o |    |                                                              |
| r |    |                                                              |
|   |    |                                                              |
| R |    |                                                              |
| e |    |                                                              |
| a |    |                                                              |
| d |    |                                                              |
| i |    |                                                              |
| n |    |                                                              |
| g |    |                                                              |
| / |    |                                                              |
| L |    |                                                              |
| a |    |                                                              |
| n |    |                                                              |
| g |    |                                                              |
| u |    |                                                              |
| a |    |                                                              |
| g |    |                                                              |
| e |    |                                                              |
|   |    |                                                              |
| A |    |                                                              |
| r |    |                                                              |
| t |    |                                                              |
| s |    |                                                              |
|   |    |                                                              |
| a |    |                                                              |
| n |    |                                                              |
| d |    |                                                              |
|   |    |                                                              |
| M |    |                                                              |
| a |    |                                                              |
| t |    |                                                              |
| h |    |                                                              |
| e |    |                                                              |
| m |    |                                                              |
| a |    |                                                              |
| t |    |                                                              |
| i |    |                                                              |
| c |    |                                                              |
| s |    |                                                              |
| ] |    |                                                              |
| { |    |                                                              |
| . |    |                                                              |
| u |    |                                                              |
| n |    |                                                              |
| d |    |                                                              |
| e |    |                                                              |
| r |    |                                                              |
| l |    |                                                              |
| i |    |                                                              |
| n |    |                                                              |
| e |    |                                                              |
| } |    |                                                              |
+---+----+--------------------------------------------------------------+
| F | 8  | Accountability system holds students, schools and districts  |
|   | .1 | separately accountable for *reading/language arts* and       |
|   |    | *mathematics*.                                               |
+---+----+--------------------------------------------------------------+
| # |    |                                                              |
|   |    |                                                              |
| [ |    |                                                              |
| P |    |                                                              |
| r |    |                                                              |
| i |    |                                                              |
| n |    |                                                              |
| c |    |                                                              |
| i |    |                                                              |
| p |    |                                                              |
| l |    |                                                              |
| e |    |                                                              |
|   |    |                                                              |
| 9 |    |                                                              |
| : |    |                                                              |
|   |    |                                                              |
|   |    |                                                              |
| S |    |                                                              |
| y |    |                                                              |
| s |    |                                                              |
| t |    |                                                              |
| e |    |                                                              |
| m |    |                                                              |
|   |    |                                                              |
| V |    |                                                              |
| a |    |                                                              |
| l |    |                                                              |
| i |    |                                                              |
| d |    |                                                              |
| i |    |                                                              |
| t |    |                                                              |
| y |    |                                                              |
|   |    |                                                              |
| a |    |                                                              |
| n |    |                                                              |
| d |    |                                                              |
|   |    |                                                              |
| R |    |                                                              |
| e |    |                                                              |
| l |    |                                                              |
| i |    |                                                              |
| a |    |                                                              |
| b |    |                                                              |
| i |    |                                                              |
| l |    |                                                              |
| i |    |                                                              |
| t |    |                                                              |
| y |    |                                                              |
| ] |    |                                                              |
| { |    |                                                              |
| . |    |                                                              |
| u |    |                                                              |
| n |    |                                                              |
| d |    |                                                              |
| e |    |                                                              |
| r |    |                                                              |
| l |    |                                                              |
| i |    |                                                              |
| n |    |                                                              |
| e |    |                                                              |
| } |    |                                                              |
+---+----+--------------------------------------------------------------+
| F | 9  | Accountability system produces *reliable decisions*.         |
|   | .1 |                                                              |
+---+----+--------------------------------------------------------------+
| F | 9  | Accountability system produces *valid decisions*.            |
|   | .2 |                                                              |
+---+----+--------------------------------------------------------------+
| F | 9  | State has a plan for addressing *changes in assessment and   |
|   | .3 | student population*.                                         |
+---+----+--------------------------------------------------------------+
| # |    |                                                              |
|   |    |                                                              |
| [ |    |                                                              |
| P |    |                                                              |
| r |    |                                                              |
| i |    |                                                              |
| n |    |                                                              |
| c |    |                                                              |
| i |    |                                                              |
| p |    |                                                              |
| l |    |                                                              |
| e |    |                                                              |
|   |    |                                                              |
| 1 |    |                                                              |
| 0 |    |                                                              |
| : |    |                                                              |
|   |    |                                                              |
|   |    |                                                              |
| P |    |                                                              |
| a |    |                                                              |
| r |    |                                                              |
| t |    |                                                              |
| i |    |                                                              |
| c |    |                                                              |
| i |    |                                                              |
| p |    |                                                              |
| a |    |                                                              |
| t |    |                                                              |
| i |    |                                                              |
| o |    |                                                              |
| n |    |                                                              |
|   |    |                                                              |
| R |    |                                                              |
| a |    |                                                              |
| t |    |                                                              |
| e |    |                                                              |
| ] |    |                                                              |
| { |    |                                                              |
| . |    |                                                              |
| u |    |                                                              |
| n |    |                                                              |
| d |    |                                                              |
| e |    |                                                              |
| r |    |                                                              |
| l |    |                                                              |
| i |    |                                                              |
| n |    |                                                              |
| e |    |                                                              |
| } |    |                                                              |
+---+----+--------------------------------------------------------------+
| F | 10 | Accountability system has a means for calculating the *rate  |
|   | .1 | of participation* in the statewide assessment.               |
+---+----+--------------------------------------------------------------+
| F | 10 | Accountability system has a means for *applying the 95%      |
|   | .2 | assessment criteria to student subgroups* *and small         |
|   |    | schools.*                                                    |
+---+----+--------------------------------------------------------------+

**STATUS Legend:**

F -- Final policy

P -- Proposed Policy, awaiting State approval

W-- Working to formulate policy

**PART II: State Response and Activities for Meeting State
Accountability System Requirements**

Instructions

In Part II of this Workbook, States are to provide detailed information
for each of the critical elements required for State accountability
systems.  States should answer the questions asked about each of the
critical elements in the State\'s accountability system. States that do
not have final approval for any of these elements or that have not
finalized a decision on these elements by January 31, 2003, should, when
completing this section of the Workbook, indicate the status of each
element that is not yet official State policy and provide the
anticipated date by which the proposed policy will become effective. In
each of these cases, States must include a timeline of steps to complete
to ensure that such elements are in place by May 1, 2003, and
implemented during the 2002-2003 school year. By no later than May 1,
2003, States must submit to the Department final information for all
sections of the Consolidated State Application Accountability Workbook.

**PRINCIPLE 1.  A single statewide Accountability System applied to all
public schools and LEAs.**

+--------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+---+
| **CRITICAL         | **EXAMPLES FOR**      | **EXAMPLES OF**       |   |
| ELEMENT**          |                       |                       |   |
|                    | **MEETING STATUTORY   | ***NOT* MEETING       |   |
|                    | REQUIREMENTS**        | REQUIREMENTS**        |   |
+--------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+---+
| 1.  How does the   | Every public school   | A public school or    |   |
|     State          | and LOCAL EDUCATION   | LOCAL EDUCATION       |   |
|     Accountability | AGENCY is required to | AGENCY is not         |   |
|     System include | make adequate yearly  | required to make      |   |
|     every public   | progress and is       | adequate yearly       |   |
|     school and     | included in the State | progress and is not   |   |
|     LOCAL          | Accountability        | included in the State |   |
|     EDUCATION      | System.               | Accountability        |   |
|     AGENCY in the  |                       | System.               |   |
|     State?         | State has a           |                       |   |
|                    | definition of "public | State policy          |   |
|                    | school" and "LOCAL    | systematically        |   |
|                    | EDUCATION AGENCY" for | excludes certain      |   |
|                    | ANNUAL YEARLY         | public schools and/or |   |
|                    | PROGRESS              | LEAs.                 |   |
|                    | accountability        |                       |   |
|                    | purposes.             |                       |   |
|                    |                       |                       |   |
|                    | -   The State         |                       |   |
|                    |     Accountability    |                       |   |
|                    |     System produces   |                       |   |
|                    |     ANNUAL YEARLY     |                       |   |
|                    |     PROGRESS          |                       |   |
|                    |     decisions for all |                       |   |
|                    |     public schools,   |                       |   |
|                    |     including public  |                       |   |
|                    |     schools with      |                       |   |
|                    |     variant grade     |                       |   |
|                    |     configurations    |                       |   |
|                    |     (e.g., K-12),     |                       |   |
|                    |     public schools    |                       |   |
|                    |     that serve        |                       |   |
|                    |     special           |                       |   |
|                    |     populations       |                       |   |
|                    |     (e.g.,            |                       |   |
|                    |     alternative       |                       |   |
|                    |     public schools,   |                       |   |
|                    |     juvenile          |                       |   |
|                    |     institutions,     |                       |   |
|                    |     state public      |                       |   |
|                    |     schools for the   |                       |   |
|                    |     blind) and public |                       |   |
|                    |     charter schools.  |                       |   |
|                    |     It also holds     |                       |   |
|                    |     accountable       |                       |   |
|                    |     public schools    |                       |   |
|                    |     with no grades    |                       |   |
|                    |     assessed (e.g.,   |                       |   |
|                    |     K-2).             |                       |   |
|                    |                       |                       |   |
|                    |                       |                       |   |
+--------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+---+
|   ---------------- |                       |                       |   |
|   **STATE RESPONSE |                       |                       |   |
|   AND STATE        |                       |                       |   |
|   ACTIVITIES FOR   |                       |                       |   |
|   MEETING          |                       |                       |   |
|   REQUIREMENTS**   |                       |                       |   |
|                    |                       |                       |   |
|   ---------------- |                       |                       |   |
|                    |                       |                       |   |
| State law 2000-753 |                       |                       |   |
| was amended        |                       |                       |   |
| \[§16-6B-1 and     |                       |                       |   |
| §16-6B-3, Ala.     |                       |                       |   |
| Code (1975),       |                       |                       |   |
| (Attachment A)\]   |                       |                       |   |
| to give authority  |                       |                       |   |
| to the State Board |                       |                       |   |
| of Education to    |                       |                       |   |
| develop and        |                       |                       |   |
| implement a        |                       |                       |   |
| statewide          |                       |                       |   |
| assessment and     |                       |                       |   |
| accountability     |                       |                       |   |
| system.  On July   |                       |                       |   |
| 9, 2002, the State |                       |                       |   |
| Board of Education |                       |                       |   |
| adopted the        |                       |                       |   |
| "Resolution        |                       |                       |   |
| Regarding          |                       |                       |   |
| Assessment and     |                       |                       |   |
| Accountability"    |                       |                       |   |
| (Attachments B and |                       |                       |   |
| B1) outlining      |                       |                       |   |
| principles for     |                       |                       |   |
| development of     |                       |                       |   |
| assessment and     |                       |                       |   |
| accountability     |                       |                       |   |
| systems and a      |                       |                       |   |
| statewide          |                       |                       |   |
| assessment         |                       |                       |   |
| program.           |                       |                       |   |
|                    |                       |                       |   |
| The Accountability |                       |                       |   |
| Advisory           |                       |                       |   |
| Committee,         |                       |                       |   |
| consisting of a    |                       |                       |   |
| broad base of      |                       |                       |   |
| stakeholders, was  |                       |                       |   |
| appointed by the   |                       |                       |   |
| State              |                       |                       |   |
| Superintendent of  |                       |                       |   |
| Education and made |                       |                       |   |
| recommendations    |                       |                       |   |
| for a single,      |                       |                       |   |
| comprehensive      |                       |                       |   |
| state              |                       |                       |   |
| accountability     |                       |                       |   |
| system.  This      |                       |                       |   |
| state              |                       |                       |   |
| accountability     |                       |                       |   |
| system             |                       |                       |   |
| incorporates the   |                       |                       |   |
| requirements of    |                       |                       |   |
| *No Child Left     |                       |                       |   |
| Behind*, including |                       |                       |   |
| adequate yearly    |                       |                       |   |
| progress           |                       |                       |   |
| determinations,    |                       |                       |   |
| and also includes  |                       |                       |   |
| additional         |                       |                       |   |
| indicators of the  |                       |                       |   |
| educational status |                       |                       |   |
| of the schools and |                       |                       |   |
| local education    |                       |                       |   |
| agencies (LEAs).   |                       |                       |   |
| The design of the  |                       |                       |   |
| state              |                       |                       |   |
| accountability     |                       |                       |   |
| system is          |                       |                       |   |
| consistent with    |                       |                       |   |
| the *No Child Left |                       |                       |   |
| Behind* model in   |                       |                       |   |
| that the design    |                       |                       |   |
| includes starting  |                       |                       |   |
| points, annual     |                       |                       |   |
| measurable         |                       |                       |   |
| objectives, and    |                       |                       |   |
| intermediate goals |                       |                       |   |
| for the state's    |                       |                       |   |
| cr                 |                       |                       |   |
| iterion-referenced |                       |                       |   |
| assessments.  The  |                       |                       |   |
| Accountability     |                       |                       |   |
| Advisory Committee |                       |                       |   |
| made its           |                       |                       |   |
| recommendation for |                       |                       |   |
| a state            |                       |                       |   |
| accountability     |                       |                       |   |
| system to the      |                       |                       |   |
| State Board of     |                       |                       |   |
| Education in May   |                       |                       |   |
| 2003.** ** On June |                       |                       |   |
| 26, 2003, the      |                       |                       |   |
| State Board of     |                       |                       |   |
| Education adopted  |                       |                       |   |
| a resolution       |                       |                       |   |
| regarding          |                       |                       |   |
| accountability for |                       |                       |   |
| schools and LEAs   |                       |                       |   |
| (Attachment C)     |                       |                       |   |
| establishing a     |                       |                       |   |
| state              |                       |                       |   |
| accountability     |                       |                       |   |
| system to become   |                       |                       |   |
| effective with the |                       |                       |   |
| 2003-2004 school   |                       |                       |   |
| year.  This        |                       |                       |   |
| accountability     |                       |                       |   |
| system is          |                       |                       |   |
| consistent with    |                       |                       |   |
| the Compliance     |                       |                       |   |
| Agreement entered  |                       |                       |   |
| into by the        |                       |                       |   |
| Alabama State      |                       |                       |   |
| Department of      |                       |                       |   |
| Education and the  |                       |                       |   |
| United States      |                       |                       |   |
| Department of      |                       |                       |   |
| Education          |                       |                       |   |
| (Attachment D,     |                       |                       |   |
| Action Plan of     |                       |                       |   |
| Compliance         |                       |                       |   |
| Agreement;         |                       |                       |   |
| effective dates    |                       |                       |   |
| April 8, 2002,     |                       |                       |   |
| through April 8,   |                       |                       |   |
| 2005) that         |                       |                       |   |
| incorporates the   |                       |                       |   |
| requirements of    |                       |                       |   |
| *No Child Left     |                       |                       |   |
| Behind*.           |                       |                       |   |
|                    |                       |                       |   |
| The accountability |                       |                       |   |
| system requires a  |                       |                       |   |
| single statewide   |                       |                       |   |
| accountability     |                       |                       |   |
| system that        |                       |                       |   |
| includes all       |                       |                       |   |
| public schools and |                       |                       |   |
| LEAs in the State  |                       |                       |   |
| and requires every |                       |                       |   |
| public school and  |                       |                       |   |
| LEA to make        |                       |                       |   |
| adequate yearly    |                       |                       |   |
| progress.  "Public |                       |                       |   |
| school," for       |                       |                       |   |
| purposes of        |                       |                       |   |
| accountability,    |                       |                       |   |
| shall be defined   |                       |                       |   |
| as any school      |                       |                       |   |
| consisting of any  |                       |                       |   |
| grade or           |                       |                       |   |
| combination of     |                       |                       |   |
| Grades K through   |                       |                       |   |
| 12 that is either  |                       |                       |   |
| under the control  |                       |                       |   |
| and management of  |                       |                       |   |
| a county or city   |                       |                       |   |
| board of education |                       |                       |   |
| supported by       |                       |                       |   |
| public funds, any  |                       |                       |   |
| school under the   |                       |                       |   |
| control and        |                       |                       |   |
| management of the  |                       |                       |   |
| State Board of     |                       |                       |   |
| Education          |                       |                       |   |
| supported by       |                       |                       |   |
| public funds, or   |                       |                       |   |
| as otherwise       |                       |                       |   |
| recognized by the  |                       |                       |   |
| legislature.       |                       |                       |   |
| (Note:  This       |                       |                       |   |
| definition of      |                       |                       |   |
| "public school" is |                       |                       |   |
| for purposes of    |                       |                       |   |
| accountability,    |                       |                       |   |
| but has not been   |                       |                       |   |
| codified.)  Home   |                       |                       |   |
| schools in Alabama |                       |                       |   |
| are considered     |                       |                       |   |
| private schools    |                       |                       |   |
| and, therefore,    |                       |                       |   |
| are not subject to |                       |                       |   |
| the *No Child Left |                       |                       |   |
| Behind*            |                       |                       |   |
| requirements.      |                       |                       |   |
| There currently    |                       |                       |   |
| are no charter     |                       |                       |   |
| schools in         |                       |                       |   |
| Alabama.  The      |                       |                       |   |
| Alabama Institute  |                       |                       |   |
| for Deaf and Blind |                       |                       |   |
| is not under the   |                       |                       |   |
| control of the     |                       |                       |   |
| State Department   |                       |                       |   |
| of Education and,  |                       |                       |   |
| therefore, not     |                       |                       |   |
| included in the    |                       |                       |   |
| state              |                       |                       |   |
| accountability     |                       |                       |   |
| system.            |                       |                       |   |
|                    |                       |                       |   |
| The state          |                       |                       |   |
| accountability     |                       |                       |   |
| system will        |                       |                       |   |
| produce adequate   |                       |                       |   |
| yearly progress    |                       |                       |   |
| decisions for all  |                       |                       |   |
| public schools,    |                       |                       |   |
| including public   |                       |                       |   |
| schools with       |                       |                       |   |
| variant grade      |                       |                       |   |
| configurations     |                       |                       |   |
| (e.g., K-12, K-2)  |                       |                       |   |
| and public schools |                       |                       |   |
| that serve special |                       |                       |   |
| populations.** **  |                       |                       |   |
| For accountability |                       |                       |   |
| purposes, schools  |                       |                       |   |
| with no tested     |                       |                       |   |
| grades (e.g., K-2  |                       |                       |   |
| schools) will be   |                       |                       |   |
| linked with the    |                       |                       |   |
| school into which  |                       |                       |   |
| the students       |                       |                       |   |
| feed.  If students |                       |                       |   |
| from a school feed |                       |                       |   |
| into more than one |                       |                       |   |
| school, the        |                       |                       |   |
| sending school     |                       |                       |   |
| will be assigned   |                       |                       |   |
| the status of the  |                       |                       |   |
| receiving school   |                       |                       |   |
| where the highest  |                       |                       |   |
| percent of         |                       |                       |   |
| students attend.   |                       |                       |   |
| Determinations     |                       |                       |   |
| will be made ahead |                       |                       |   |
| of time as to      |                       |                       |   |
| which schools are  |                       |                       |   |
| linked.            |                       |                       |   |
|                    |                       |                       |   |
| Until              |                       |                       |   |
| implementation of  |                       |                       |   |
| the final state    |                       |                       |   |
| accountability     |                       |                       |   |
| system in 2004,    |                       |                       |   |
| the Alabama State  |                       |                       |   |
| Department of      |                       |                       |   |
| Education          |                       |                       |   |
| continued          |                       |                       |   |
| implementation of  |                       |                       |   |
| its interim        |                       |                       |   |
| accountability     |                       |                       |   |
| program            |                       |                       |   |
| (Attachment E,     |                       |                       |   |
| memorandum dated   |                       |                       |   |
| January 22, 2003)  |                       |                       |   |
| that includes all  |                       |                       |   |
| public schools and |                       |                       |   |
| LEAs in the State  |                       |                       |   |
| as agreed to in    |                       |                       |   |
| the April 8, 2002, |                       |                       |   |
| Compliance         |                       |                       |   |
| Agreement          |                       |                       |   |
| (Attachment D).    |                       |                       |   |
+--------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+---+

Under the state's previous accountability system, schools identified for
improvement under Title I were identified as "School Improvement-Year
*n*" to indicate the status and the number of years in that category. 
Schools identified for improvement by the "state" accountability system
were categorized as Alert *n*, Caution, or Clear.  At the onset of the
transition of the state's accountability system to that which is agreed
upon in our Compliance Agreement, beginning with the 2001-2002 school
year, these terms were replaced with Academic Priority and Academic
Watch.  In 2005, the state was released from its Compliance Agreement by
the U.S. Department of Education.  A single set of terms has been
applied to all schools and all local education agencies that are in the
same academic status category.  While the determinations for failure to
make adequate yearly progress will be the same for all schools and local
education agencies, there may be different consequences.  For example, a
Title I-funded school that fails to make adequate yearly progress will
be subject to the public school choice and supplemental education
services provisions of Section 1116.  A non-Title I school that fails to
make adequate yearly progress will not be required to implement those
provisions, but may choose to do so if other supplemental funds are
available.

+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| **CRITICAL ELEMENT** | **EXAMPLES FOR**      | **EXAMPLES OF**       |
|                      |                       |                       |
|                      | **MEETING STATUTORY   | ***NOT* MEETING       |
|                      | REQUIREMENTS**        | REQUIREMENTS**        |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| 1.  How are all      | All public schools    | Some public schools   |
|     public schools   | and LEAs are          | and LEAs are          |
|     and LEAs held to | systematically judged | systematically judged |
|     the same         | on the basis of the   | on the basis of       |
|     criteria when    | same criteria when    | alternate criteria    |
|     making an ANNUAL | making an ANNUAL      | when making an ANNUAL |
|     YEARLY PROGRESS  | YEARLY PROGRESS       | YEARLY PROGRESS       |
|     determination?   | determination.        | determination.        |
|                      |                       |                       |
|                      | If applicable, the    |                       |
|                      | ANNUAL YEARLY         |                       |
|                      | PROGRESS definition   |                       |
|                      | is integrated into    |                       |
|                      | the State             |                       |
|                      | Accountability        |                       |
|                      | System.               |                       |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| **STATE RESPONSE AND |                       |                       |
| STATE ACTIVITIES FOR |                       |                       |
| MEETING              |                       |                       |
| REQUIREMENTS**       |                       |                       |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| The same criteria    |                       |                       |
| will be applied to   |                       |                       |
| all public schools   |                       |                       |
| and LEAs when making |                       |                       |
| determinations for   |                       |                       |
| adequate yearly      |                       |                       |
| progress for *No     |                       |                       |
| Child Left Behind*.  |                       |                       |
| (See Principles 1.3, |                       |                       |
| 3, 4, and 5.)        |                       |                       |
|                      |                       |                       |
| The Accountability   |                       |                       |
| Advisory Committee   |                       |                       |
| made its             |                       |                       |
| recommendation for a |                       |                       |
| state accountability |                       |                       |
| system to the State  |                       |                       |
| Board of Education   |                       |                       |
| in May 2003.  On     |                       |                       |
| June 26, 2003, the   |                       |                       |
| State Board of       |                       |                       |
| Education adopted a  |                       |                       |
| resolution regarding |                       |                       |
| accountability for   |                       |                       |
| schools and LEAs     |                       |                       |
| (Attachment C)       |                       |                       |
| establishing a state |                       |                       |
| accountability       |                       |                       |
| system to become     |                       |                       |
| effective with the   |                       |                       |
| 2003-2004 school     |                       |                       |
| year.  This          |                       |                       |
| accountability       |                       |                       |
| program is           |                       |                       |
| consistent with the  |                       |                       |
| Compliance Agreement |                       |                       |
| entered into by the  |                       |                       |
| Alabama State        |                       |                       |
| Department of        |                       |                       |
| Education and the    |                       |                       |
| United States        |                       |                       |
| Department of        |                       |                       |
| Education            |                       |                       |
| (Attachment D;       |                       |                       |
| effective dates      |                       |                       |
| April 8, 2002,       |                       |                       |
| through April 8,     |                       |                       |
| 2005) that           |                       |                       |
| incorporates the     |                       |                       |
| requirements of *No  |                       |                       |
| Child Left Behind*.  |                       |                       |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+

+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| **CRITICAL ELEMENT** | **EXAMPLES FOR**      | **EXAMPLES OF**       |
|                      |                       |                       |
|                      | **MEETING STATUTORY   | ***NOT* MEETING       |
|                      | REQUIREMENTS**        | REQUIREMENTS**        |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| 2.  Does the State   | State has defined     | Standards do not meet |
|     have, at a       | three levels of       | the legislated        |
|     minimum, a       | student achievement:  | requirements.         |
|     definition of    | *basic*, *proficient* |                       |
|     *basic*,         | and                   |                       |
|     *proficient* and | *advanced*.[^1]^1\]^  |                       |
|     *advanced*       |                       |                       |
|     student          | Student achievement   |                       |
|     achievement      | levels of             |                       |
|     levels in        | *proficient* and      |                       |
|     reading/language | *advanced* determine  |                       |
|     arts and         | how well students are |                       |
|     mathematics?     | mastering the         |                       |
|                      | materials in the      |                       |
|                      | State's academic      |                       |
|                      | content standards;    |                       |
|                      | and the *basic* level |                       |
|                      | of achievement        |                       |
|                      | provides complete     |                       |
|                      | information about the |                       |
|                      | progress of           |                       |
|                      | lower-achieving       |                       |
|                      | students toward       |                       |
|                      | mastering the         |                       |
|                      | *proficient* and      |                       |
|                      | *advanced* levels.    |                       |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| **STATE RESPONSE AND STATE ACTIVITIES FOR MEETING REQUIREMENTS**      |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| The State Board of Education has adopted four levels of student       |
| achievement.  Student achievement levels define how well students are |
| mastering the State's academic content standards at grade level.      |
|  Level III is defined as "Meets Academic Content Standards" at grade  |
| level and Level IV is defined as "Exceeds Academic Content Standards" |
| at grade level.   Level II (Partially Meets Academic Content          |
| Standards) and Level I (Does Not Meet Academic Content Standards)     |
| provide descriptions about the progress of lower achieving students   |
| toward mastery of the State's academic content standards at grade     |
| level.  These academic achievement levels are used for reporting      |
| achievement results for all criterion-referenced assessments with the |
| exception of the *Alabama High School Graduation Exam* which will be  |
| reported in three levels \[Levels I-II (Does Not or Partially Meets   |
| Academic Content Standards/Fail), Level III (Meets Academic Content   |
| Standards/Pass), and Level IV (Exceeds Academic Content               |
| Standards/Advanced)\].                                                |
|                                                                       |
| The cut scores and exemplars for the academic achievement levels will |
| be developed according to the April 8, 2002, Compliance Agreement.    |
| Results for Grade 4 reading and mathematics, Grade 6 reading and      |
| mathematics, Grade 8 reading, and Grade 11 reading and mathematics    |
| will be ready for reporting beginning with the spring 2004 testing.   |
| Results for Grade 3 reading and mathematics, Grade 5 reading and      |
| mathematics, Grade 7 reading and mathematics, and Grade 8 mathematics |
| will be ready for reporting beginning with the spring 2005 testing.   |
| An advanced level for the *Alabama High School Graduation Exam* was   |
| added to the existing levels for reading and for mathematics for      |
| spring of 2004.  These academic achievement levels also will be used  |
| for reporting achievement results for all criterion-referenced        |
| assessments developed in the future (e.g., science).                  |
|                                                                       |
| The *Alabama Alternate Assessment* assesses students with the most    |
| significant cognitive disabilities by measuring their mastery of      |
| individualized academic goals based upon the state content extended   |
| standards in reading and mathematics.  Scores for students taking the |
| *Alabama Alternate Assessment* also are reported in four levels of    |
| academic achievement. Level I - Does Not Meet Standards, Level II -   |
| Partially Meets Standards, Level III - Meets Standards, and Level     |
| IV - Exceeds Standards.  (There is no out-of-level testing.)          |
|                                                                       |
| See Attachments B and B1 for a copy of State Board of Education       |
| resolution dated\                                                     |
| July 9, 2002.                                                         |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+

+---------------------------+--------------------+--------------------+
| **CRITICAL ELEMENT**      | **EXAMPLES FOR**   | **EXAMPLES OF**    |
|                           |                    |                    |
|                           | **MEETING          | ***NOT* MEETING    |
|                           | STATUTORY          | REQUIREMENTS**     |
|                           | REQUIREMENTS**     |                    |
+---------------------------+--------------------+--------------------+
| 4.  How does the State    | > State provides   | Timeline does not  |
|     provide               | > decisions about  | provide sufficient |
|     accountability and    | > adequate yearly  | time for LEAs to   |
|     adequate yearly       | > progress in time | fulfill their      |
|     progress decisions    | > for LEAs to      | responsibilities   |
|     and information in a  | > implement the    | before the         |
|     timely manner?        | > required         | beginning of the   |
|                           | > provisions       | next academic      |
|                           | > before the       | year.              |
|                           | > beginning of the |                    |
|                           | > next academic    |                    |
|                           | > year.            |                    |
|                           |                    |                    |
|                           | State allows       |                    |
|                           | enough time to     |                    |
|                           | notify parents     |                    |
|                           | about public       |                    |
|                           | school choice or   |                    |
|                           | supplemental       |                    |
|                           | educational        |                    |
|                           | service options,   |                    |
|                           | time for parents   |                    |
|                           | to make an         |                    |
|                           | informed decision, |                    |
|                           | and time to        |                    |
|                           | implement public   |                    |
|                           | school choice and  |                    |
|                           | supplemental       |                    |
|                           | educational        |                    |
|                           | services.          |                    |
+---------------------------+--------------------+--------------------+

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| **STATE RESPONSE AND STATE ACTIVITIES FOR MEETING REQUIREMENTS**      |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Starting dates for schools are determined by the LEAs.  Schools have  |
| historically started anywhere from the middle of July to the end of   |
| August.  A committee was formed to study the feasibility of a uniform |
| window for starting dates for schools that will greatly assist in     |
| timely reporting of results.  (See the resulting Board resolution,    |
| Attachment J.)                                                        |
|                                                                       |
| Attachment F is a timeline including the test administration dates,   |
| the dates for return of results to the State Department of Education, |
| the dates for LEA reviews and responses, and the dates for the State  |
| Department of Education's final determination.                        |
|                                                                       |
| The accountability system will include an appeals process that will   |
| include the following:                                                |
|                                                                       |
| 1.  Before identifying a school or LEA for improvement, the LEA,      |
|     through an appeals process, will be given an opportunity to       |
|     review the data on which the State Department of Education based  |
|     the proposed identification.  A school or LEA has ten (10)        |
|     business days after notification of its proposed identification   |
|     to submit written evidence through the local superintendent       |
|     indicating good and just cause for review.  An appeal may be      |
|     based upon circumstances such as epidemics, natural disasters, or |
|     extreme changes in demographics.  Evidence supporting the         |
|     re-classification must detail a convincing case for the           |
|     circumstance(s) beyond the school's or LEA's control.             |
|     Circumstances within the school's or LEA's control (such as       |
|     inaccurate reporting of attendance data) will not serve as        |
|     sufficient cause for review.  Appeals based on circumstances not  |
|     outlined above will be handled on a case-by-case basis by the     |
|     State Department of Education.                                    |
|                                                                       |
| ```{=html}                                                            |
| <!-- -->                                                              |
| ```                                                                   |
| 1.  Two copies of the written evidence signed by the LEA              |
|     superintendent must be presented to the State Superintendent of   |
|     Education in Montgomery.                                          |
|                                                                       |
| 2.  The State Department of Education will review the school's or     |
|     LEA's written evidence and will make a judgment about             |
|     re-classification within ten (10) business days of receipt of     |
|     evidence or as soon as possible.  The State Department of         |
|     Education will submit its finding to the local superintendent     |
|     after the review process.  Final determinations of status will be |
|     made public immediately following the final determination of      |
|     status (approximately the middle of August).                      |
|                                                                       |
| This schedule should allow LEAs time to implement the required        |
| provisions of *No Child Left Behind*.  (The State has an approved     |
| list of providers for supplemental educational services which can be  |
| found on the State Department of Education's website at               |
| [www.alsde.edu](http://www.alsde.edu/).)                              |
|                                                                       |
| Based on the requirement for making adequate yearly progress for two  |
| consecutive years, Alabama identified 19 school systems that had one  |
| or more schools identified for improvement during the 2003-2004       |
| school year.  In June 2003, these school systems were notified of     |
| such identification by the State Department of Education, so the      |
| school systems could begin implementation of school choice and        |
| supplemental services at the beginning of the 2003-2004 school year.  |
| The same procedure will be implemented in subsequent years.           |
|                                                                       |
| It should be noted that additional time will be needed in 2004 and    |
| 2005 because of the necessity of setting standards on the new         |
| assessments in Grades 3 through 8.  This is consistent with the       |
| Compliance Agreement entered into by the Alabama State Department of  |
| Education and the United States Department of Education on April 8,   |
| 2002 (Attachment D).  After the final standard-setting in spring      |
| 2005, the data will be available as described above.                  |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+

+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| **CRITICAL ELEMENT** | **EXAMPLES FOR**      | **EXAMPLES OF**       |
|                      |                       |                       |
|                      | **MEETING STATUTORY   | ***NOT* MEETING       |
|                      | REQUIREMENTS**        | REQUIREMENTS**        |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| 5.  Does the State   | The State Report Card | The State Report Card |
|     Accountability   | includes all the      | does not include all  |
|     System produce   | required data         | the required data     |
|     an annual State  | elements \[see        | elements.             |
|     Report Card?     | Appendix A for the    |                       |
|                      | list of required data | The State Report Card |
|                      | elements\].           | is not available to   |
|                      |                       | the public.           |
|                      | The State Report Card |                       |
|                      | is available to the   |                       |
|                      | public at the         |                       |
|                      | beginning of the      |                       |
|                      | academic year.        |                       |
|                      |                       |                       |
|                      | The State Report Card |                       |
|                      | is accessible in      |                       |
|                      | languages of major    |                       |
|                      | populations in the    |                       |
|                      | State, to the extent  |                       |
|                      | possible.             |                       |
|                      |                       |                       |
|                      | Assessment results    |                       |
|                      | and other academic    |                       |
|                      | indicators (including |                       |
|                      | graduation rates) are |                       |
|                      | reported by student   |                       |
|                      | subgroups             |                       |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| **STATE RESPONSE AND |                       |                       |
| STATE ACTIVITIES FOR |                       |                       |
| MEETING              |                       |                       |
| REQUIREMENTS**       |                       |                       |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| Information is       |                       |                       |
| reported to the      |                       |                       |
| public in two        |                       |                       |
| phases.  Phase I is  |                       |                       |
| in the form of a     |                       |                       |
| press release.       |                       |                       |
| Adequate yearly      |                       |                       |
| progress             |                       |                       |
| determinations       |                       |                       |
| required by *No*     |                       |                       |
| *Child Left Behind*, |                       |                       |
| including            |                       |                       |
| disaggregated data   |                       |                       |
| by subgroups, and    |                       |                       |
| instructional        |                       |                       |
| personnel            |                       |                       |
| qualifications are   |                       |                       |
| included.  (See      |                       |                       |
| Principle 1.4.)      |                       |                       |
| Concurrently,        |                       |                       |
| assessment data are  |                       |                       |
| posted on the State  |                       |                       |
| Department of        |                       |                       |
| Education's website  |                       |                       |
| at                   |                       |                       |
| [www.alsde.edu](htt  |                       |                       |
| p://www.alsde.edu/). |                       |                       |
|  A user is able to   |                       |                       |
| select the school,   |                       |                       |
| test, subtest,       |                       |                       |
| grade, and subgroup  |                       |                       |
| for which            |                       |                       |
| information is       |                       |                       |
| desired.             |                       |                       |
|                      |                       |                       |
| Phase II of the      |                       |                       |
| reporting system is  |                       |                       |
| an annual State      |                       |                       |
| report card that is  |                       |                       |
| reported to the      |                       |                       |
| public in February   |                       |                       |
| each year and        |                       |                       |
| includes assessment  |                       |                       |
| results and other    |                       |                       |
| academic indicators  |                       |                       |
| by student           |                       |                       |
| subgroups.  School   |                       |                       |
| and LEA reports      |                       |                       |
| cards also are       |                       |                       |
| disseminated and     |                       |                       |
| contain similar data |                       |                       |
| to the State report  |                       |                       |
| card.  The current   |                       |                       |
| State, LEA, and      |                       |                       |
| school report cards  |                       |                       |
| can be viewed on the |                       |                       |
| State Department of  |                       |                       |
| Education's website  |                       |                       |
| at                   |                       |                       |
| [www.alsde.edu](htt  |                       |                       |
| p://www.alsde.edu/). |                       |                       |
|                      |                       |                       |
| The State Department |                       |                       |
| of Education has     |                       |                       |
| produced report      |                       |                       |
| cards for schools,   |                       |                       |
| LEAs, and the State  |                       |                       |
| since 1996.  For the |                       |                       |
| February 2003 report |                       |                       |
| card, major changes  |                       |                       |
| were made to the     |                       |                       |
| content and release  |                       |                       |
| schedule in order to |                       |                       |
| fully comply with    |                       |                       |
| *No Child Left       |                       |                       |
| Behind*.  Report     |                       |                       |
| cards will be        |                       |                       |
| produced in the five |                       |                       |
| most prevalent       |                       |                       |
| languages in the     |                       |                       |
| state through a      |                       |                       |
| contract with        |                       |                       |
| Transact.  The SDE   |                       |                       |
| will inform the LEAs |                       |                       |
| of the five          |                       |                       |
| languages in which   |                       |                       |
| the report cards are |                       |                       |
| available.  The LEAs |                       |                       |
| will inform parents  |                       |                       |
| of the availability  |                       |                       |
| through websites,    |                       |                       |
| parent meetings, and |                       |                       |
| school bulletins.    |                       |                       |
|   (See Attachment G  |                       |                       |
| for details          |                       |                       |
| concerning the       |                       |                       |
| current State report |                       |                       |
| card and further     |                       |                       |
| changes to be        |                       |                       |
| implemented in       |                       |                       |
| 2003-2004.)          |                       |                       |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+

+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| **CRITICAL ELEMENT** | **EXAMPLES FOR**      | **EXAMPLES OF**       |
|                      |                       |                       |
|                      | **MEETING STATUTORY   | ***NOT* MEETING       |
|                      | REQUIREMENTS**        | REQUIREMENTS**        |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| 6.  How does the     | State uses one or     | State does not        |
|     State            | more types of rewards | implement rewards or  |
|     Accountability   | and sanctions, where  | sanctions for public  |
|     System include   | the criteria are:     | schools and LEAs      |
|     rewards and      |                       | based on adequate     |
|     sanctions for    | -   Set by the State; | yearly progress.      |
|     public schools   |                       |                       |
|     and              | -   Based on adequate |                       |
|     LEAs?[^2]^2\]^   |     yearly progress   |                       |
|                      |     decisions; and,   |                       |
|                      |                       |                       |
|                      | Applied uniformly     |                       |
|                      | across public schools |                       |
|                      | and LEAs.             |                       |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| **STATE RESPONSE AND |                       |                       |
| STATE ACTIVITIES FOR |                       |                       |
| MEETING              |                       |                       |
| REQUIREMENTS**       |                       |                       |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| The state            |                       |                       |
| accountability       |                       |                       |
| system incorporates  |                       |                       |
| the requirements of  |                       |                       |
| *No Child Left       |                       |                       |
| Behind*, including   |                       |                       |
| adequate yearly      |                       |                       |
| progress             |                       |                       |
| determinations, and  |                       |                       |
| also will include    |                       |                       |
| additional           |                       |                       |
| indicators of the    |                       |                       |
| educational status   |                       |                       |
| of the schools and   |                       |                       |
| LEAs.  The state     |                       |                       |
| accountability       |                       |                       |
| system includes      |                       |                       |
| descriptions of      |                       |                       |
| state support,       |                       |                       |
| rewards, and         |                       |                       |
| sanctions for public |                       |                       |
| schools and LEAs     |                       |                       |
| based on academic    |                       |                       |
| status.  (See        |                       |                       |
| Attachments K1       |                       |                       |
| \[Board resolution   |                       |                       |
| dated November 13,   |                       |                       |
| 2003\], K2 \[Report  |                       |                       |
| to the State         |                       |                       |
| Accountability       |                       |                       |
| Committee from the   |                       |                       |
| Rewards and          |                       |                       |
| Sanctions            |                       |                       |
| Subcommittee\], and  |                       |                       |
| K3 \[Alabama         |                       |                       |
| Standards for        |                       |                       |
| Effective            |                       |                       |
| Professional         |                       |                       |
| Development.)  The   |                       |                       |
| state accountability |                       |                       |
| system and the       |                       |                       |
| accompanying         |                       |                       |
| support, rewards,    |                       |                       |
| and sanctions were   |                       |                       |
| set by the State     |                       |                       |
| Board of Education;  |                       |                       |
| include adequate     |                       |                       |
| yearly progress      |                       |                       |
| determinations; and  |                       |                       |
| are applied          |                       |                       |
| uniformly across all |                       |                       |
| public schools and   |                       |                       |
| LEAs.  All schools   |                       |                       |
| and LEAs, without    |                       |                       |
| regard to Title I    |                       |                       |
| status, are subject  |                       |                       |
| to the state's       |                       |                       |
| accountability       |                       |                       |
| requirements.  All   |                       |                       |
| schools and LEAs are |                       |                       |
| identified for state |                       |                       |
| support,             |                       |                       |
| recognition, and     |                       |                       |
| sanctions on the     |                       |                       |
| same basis, without  |                       |                       |
| regard to Title I    |                       |                       |
| status.  However,    |                       |                       |
| schools and LEAs     |                       |                       |
| **not** receiving    |                       |                       |
| Title I funds will   |                       |                       |
| not be held to the   |                       |                       |
| requirements of      |                       |                       |
| section 1116 of *No  |                       |                       |
| Child Left Behind*.  |                       |                       |
|                      |                       |                       |
| The Accountability   |                       |                       |
| Advisory Committee   |                       |                       |
| made its             |                       |                       |
| recommendation for a |                       |                       |
| state accountability |                       |                       |
| system to the State  |                       |                       |
| Board of Education   |                       |                       |
| in May 2003.  On     |                       |                       |
| June 26, 2003, the   |                       |                       |
| State Board of       |                       |                       |
| Education adopted a  |                       |                       |
| resolution regarding |                       |                       |
| accountability for   |                       |                       |
| schools and LEAs     |                       |                       |
| (Attachment C)       |                       |                       |
| establishing a state |                       |                       |
| accountability       |                       |                       |
| system to become     |                       |                       |
| effective with the   |                       |                       |
| 2003-2004 school     |                       |                       |
| year.  This          |                       |                       |
| accountability       |                       |                       |
| program is           |                       |                       |
| consistent with the  |                       |                       |
| Compliance Agreement |                       |                       |
| entered into by the  |                       |                       |
| Alabama State        |                       |                       |
| Department of        |                       |                       |
| Education and the    |                       |                       |
| United States        |                       |                       |
| Department of        |                       |                       |
| Education            |                       |                       |
| (Attachment D) that  |                       |                       |
| incorporates the     |                       |                       |
| requirements of *No  |                       |                       |
| Child Left Behind*.  |                       |                       |
|                      |                       |                       |
| Until the            |                       |                       |
| implementation of    |                       |                       |
| the final state      |                       |                       |
| accountability       |                       |                       |
| system in 2004, the  |                       |                       |
| Alabama State        |                       |                       |
| Department of        |                       |                       |
| Education continued  |                       |                       |
| implementation of    |                       |                       |
| its interim          |                       |                       |
| accountability       |                       |                       |
| program that         |                       |                       |
| includes all public  |                       |                       |
| schools and LEAs in  |                       |                       |
| the State as agreed  |                       |                       |
| to in the\           |                       |                       |
| April 8, 2002,       |                       |                       |
| Compliance Agreement |                       |                       |
| (Attachment D).      |                       |                       |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+

**PRINCIPLE 2.  All students are included in the State Accountability
System.**

+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| **CRITICAL ELEMENT** | **EXAMPLES FOR**      | **EXAMPLES OF**       |
|                      |                       |                       |
|                      | **MEETING STATUTORY   | ***NOT* MEETING       |
|                      | REQUIREMENTS**        | REQUIREMENTS**        |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| 1.  How does the     | All students in the   | Public school         |
|     State            | State are included in | students exist in the |
|     Accountability   | the State             | State for whom the    |
|     System include   | Accountability        | State Accountability  |
|     all students in  | System.               | System makes no       |
|     the State?       |                       | provision.            |
|                      | The definitions of    |                       |
|                      | "public school" and   |                       |
|                      | "LEA" account for all |                       |
|                      | students enrolled in  |                       |
|                      | the public school     |                       |
|                      | district, regardless  |                       |
|                      | of program or type of |                       |
|                      | public school.        |                       |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| **STATE RESPONSE AND |                       |                       |
| STATE ACTIVITIES FOR |                       |                       |
| MEETING              |                       |                       |
| REQUIREMENTS**       |                       |                       |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| The accountability   |                       |                       |
| system includes all  |                       |                       |
| public school        |                       |                       |
| students in the      |                       |                       |
| state.  Students     |                       |                       |
| attending            |                       |                       |
| alternative schools  |                       |                       |
| at the time of       |                       |                       |
| testing will be      |                       |                       |
| counted at their     |                       |                       |
| home school for      |                       |                       |
| accountability.      |                       |                       |
| Although students    |                       |                       |
| with disabilities    |                       |                       |
| and limited English  |                       |                       |
| proficient students  |                       |                       |
| may receive certain  |                       |                       |
| testing              |                       |                       |
| accommodations, no   |                       |                       |
| students are         |                       |                       |
| exempted from the    |                       |                       |
| assessment or        |                       |                       |
| accountability       |                       |                       |
| system based on      |                       |                       |
| demographics,        |                       |                       |
| instructional        |                       |                       |
| program, or type of  |                       |                       |
| school.  Foreign     |                       |                       |
| exchange students    |                       |                       |
| pursuing an Alabama  |                       |                       |
| high school diploma  |                       |                       |
| will be included in  |                       |                       |
| the assessment       |                       |                       |
| program and the      |                       |                       |
| accountability       |                       |                       |
| system for the       |                       |                       |
| schools and LEAs     |                       |                       |
| where enrolled.      |                       |                       |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+

+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| **CRITICAL ELEMENT** | **EXAMPLES FOR**      | **EXAMPLES OF**       |
|                      |                       |                       |
|                      | **MEETING STATUTORY   | ***NOT* MEETING       |
|                      | REQUIREMENTS**        | REQUIREMENTS**        |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| 1.  How does the     | The State has a       | LEAs have varying     |
|     State define     | definition of "full   | definitions of "full  |
|     "full academic   | academic year" for    | academic year."       |
|     year" for        | determining which     |                       |
|     identifying      | students are to be    | The State's           |
|     students in AYP  | included in decisions | definition excludes   |
|     decisions?       | about AYP.            | students who must     |
|                      |                       | transfer from one     |
|                      | The definition of     | district to another   |
|                      | full academic year is | as they advance to    |
|                      | consistent and        | the next grade.       |
|                      | applied statewide.    |                       |
|                      |                       | The definition of     |
|                      |                       | full academic year is |
|                      |                       | not applied           |
|                      |                       | consistently.         |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| **STATE RESPONSE AND |                       |                       |
| STATE ACTIVITIES FOR |                       |                       |
| MEETING              |                       |                       |
| REQUIREMENTS**       |                       |                       |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| Assessment results   |                       |                       |
| are reported for all |                       |                       |
| students tested,     |                       |                       |
| regardless of the    |                       |                       |
| length of time the   |                       |                       |
| student has been in  |                       |                       |
| the school or LEA.   |                       |                       |
| However, for         |                       |                       |
| purposes of          |                       |                       |
| accountability, a    |                       |                       |
| student will be      |                       |                       |
| included only if     |                       |                       |
| he/she has been      |                       |                       |
| enrolled in the      |                       |                       |
| school or LEA for a  |                       |                       |
| full academic year.  |                       |                       |
| LEAs within the      |                       |                       |
| state do not operate |                       |                       |
| on a uniform school  |                       |                       |
| calendar; however,   |                       |                       |
| all LEAs have a      |                       |                       |
| beginning date from  |                       |                       |
| first of August      |                       |                       |
| through mid-August.  |                       |                       |
| (See Attachment L    |                       |                       |
| for school opening   |                       |                       |
| dates for all        |                       |                       |
| Alabama LEAs.)  All  |                       |                       |
| schools in the State |                       |                       |
| will be in session   |                       |                       |
| at least two (2)     |                       |                       |
| weeks prior to       |                       |                       |
| September 1.         |                       |                       |
| Therefore, a student |                       |                       |
| is considered to be  |                       |                       |
| enrolled in a school |                       |                       |
| or LEA for a full    |                       |                       |
| academic year if     |                       |                       |
| he/she is enrolled   |                       |                       |
| as of September 1 of |                       |                       |
| any school year and  |                       |                       |
| remains enrolled as  |                       |                       |
| of the first day of  |                       |                       |
| the testing.         |                       |                       |
|  (Note:  A student   |                       |                       |
| who is suspended is  |                       |                       |
| considered to remain |                       |                       |
| enrolled.)  The      |                       |                       |
| definition will be   |                       |                       |
| consistently applied |                       |                       |
| statewide for        |                       |                       |
| determining adequate |                       |                       |
| yearly progress and  |                       |                       |
| for state            |                       |                       |
| accountability       |                       |                       |
| purposes.  A student |                       |                       |
| that has not been    |                       |                       |
| enrolled in a school |                       |                       |
| or LEA for a full    |                       |                       |
| academic year will   |                       |                       |
| be included at the   |                       |                       |
| state level for      |                       |                       |
| accountability       |                       |                       |
| purposes.            |                       |                       |
|                      |                       |                       |
| An Invitation to Bid |                       |                       |
| (ITB) for collection |                       |                       |
| of student data was  |                       |                       |
| issued and awarded.  |                       |                       |
| This new data        |                       |                       |
| management system    |                       |                       |
| will greatly enhance |                       |                       |
| the collection of    |                       |                       |
| more reliable data   |                       |                       |
| for these purposes.  |                       |                       |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+

+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| **CRITICAL ELEMENT** | **EXAMPLES FOR**      | **EXAMPLES OF**       |
|                      |                       |                       |
|                      | **MEETING STATUTORY   | ***NOT* MEETING       |
|                      | REQUIREMENTS**        | REQUIREMENTS**        |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| 2.  How does the     | State holds public    | State definition      |
|     State            | schools accountable   | requires students to  |
|     Accountability   | for students who were | attend the same       |
|     System determine | enrolled at the same  | public school for     |
|     which students   | public school for a   | more than a full      |
|     have attended    | full academic year.   | academic year to be   |
|     the same public  |                       | included in public    |
|     school and/or    | State holds LEAs      | school                |
|     LEA for a full   | accountable for       | accountability.       |
|     academic year?   | students who transfer |                       |
|                      | during the full       | State definition      |
|                      | academic year from    | requires students to  |
|                      | one public school     | attend school in the  |
|                      | within the district   | same district for     |
|                      | to another public     | more than a full      |
|                      | school within the     | academic year to be   |
|                      | district.             | included in district  |
|                      |                       | accountability.       |
|                      |                       |                       |
|                      |                       | State holds public    |
|                      |                       | schools accountable   |
|                      |                       | for students who have |
|                      |                       | not attended the same |
|                      |                       | public school for a   |
|                      |                       | full academic year.   |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| **STATE RESPONSE AND |                       |                       |
| STATE ACTIVITIES FOR |                       |                       |
| MEETING              |                       |                       |
| REQUIREMENTS**       |                       |                       |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| The new student data |                       |                       |
| management system    |                       |                       |
| (STI), provides      |                       |                       |
| current and reliable |                       |                       |
| data that allows the |                       |                       |
| State to determine   |                       |                       |
| which students have  |                       |                       |
| not attended the     |                       |                       |
| school or LEA for a  |                       |                       |
| full academic year   |                       |                       |
| (see definition of   |                       |                       |
| "full academic year" |                       |                       |
| in 2.2).  A student  |                       |                       |
| attending the same   |                       |                       |
| school for a full    |                       |                       |
| academic year will   |                       |                       |
| be included in       |                       |                       |
| determinations for   |                       |                       |
| adequate yearly      |                       |                       |
| progress for the     |                       |                       |
| school.  A student   |                       |                       |
| attending the same   |                       |                       |
| LEA for a full       |                       |                       |
| academic year will   |                       |                       |
| be included in       |                       |                       |
| determinations for   |                       |                       |
| adequate yearly      |                       |                       |
| progress for the     |                       |                       |
| LEA.  A student that |                       |                       |
| has not been         |                       |                       |
| enrolled in a school |                       |                       |
| or LEA for a full    |                       |                       |
| academic year will   |                       |                       |
| be included at the   |                       |                       |
| state level for      |                       |                       |
| accountability       |                       |                       |
| purposes.            |                       |                       |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+

**PRINCIPLE 3.  State definition of AYP is based on expectations for
growth in student achievement that is continuous and substantial, such
that all students are proficient in reading/language arts and
mathematics no later than 2013-2014.**

+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| ## CRITICAL ELEMENT  | **EXAMPLES FOR\       | **EXAMPLES OF**       |
|                      | MEETING               |                       |
|                      | REQUIREMENTS**        | ***NOT* MEETING       |
|                      |                       | REQUIREMENTS**        |
+======================+=======================+=======================+
| 1.  How does the     | The State has a       | State definition does |
|     State's          | timeline for ensuring | not require all       |
|     definition of    | that all students     | students to achieve   |
|     adequate yearly  | will meet or exceed   | proficiency by        |
|     progress require | the State's           | 2013-2014.            |
|     all students to  | proficient level of   |                       |
|     be proficient in | academic achievement  | State extends the     |
|     reading/language | in reading/language   | timeline past the     |
|     arts and         | arts[^3]^3\]^ and     | 2013-2014 academic    |
|     mathematics by   | mathematics, not      | year.                 |
|     the 2013-2014    | later than 2013-2014. |                       |
|     academic year?   |                       |                       |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| **STATE RESPONSE AND STATE ACTIVITIES FOR MEETING REQUIREMENTS**      |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Separate starting points for percent proficient by subject (reading   |
| and mathematics) will be established for each grade in Grades 3-8 and |
| Grade 11.  Intermediate goals will be established that are equal in   |
| magnitude for each grade separately for reading and mathematics.  The |
| baseline will be established in 2003-2004 for Grade 4 reading and     |
| mathematics, Grade 6 reading and mathematics, Grade 8 reading, and    |
| Grade 11 reading and mathematics.  The baseline will be established   |
| in 2004-2005 for Grade 3 reading and mathematics, Grade 5 reading and |
| mathematics, Grade 7 reading and mathematics, and Grade 8             |
| mathematics.  Intermediate goals will be established requiring        |
| increases in the percent proficient in 2005-06, 2007-08, 2009-2010,   |
| 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13, and 2013-14 for assessments with baselines |
| established in 2003-04.  Intermediate goals will be established       |
| requiring increases in the percent proficient in 2006-07, 2008-09,    |
| 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13, and 2013-1014 for assessments     |
| with baselines established in 2004-05.  This will yield seven equal   |
| growth interval requirements.  According to this timeline, all        |
| students must be proficient (scoring Level III or Level IV) by        |
| 2013-2014.  This timeline is consistent with the Compliance Agreement |
| entered into by the Alabama State Department of Education and the     |
| United States Department of Education on April 8, 2002 (Attachment    |
| D).  (See Attachment H for growth trajectory model.)                  |
|                                                                       |
| For the proficiency index calculations, students scoring in Levels    |
| III (Meets Academic Content Standards) and IV (Exceeds Academic       |
| Content Standards) will count as proficient.  Students scoring in     |
| Level II (Partially Meets Academic Content Standards) will count as   |
| .5 toward proficiency.  (See Attachment M for November 21, 2005,      |
| Memorandum to Chief State School Officers from Secretary Margaret     |
| Spellings encouraging states to consider incorporating an index.)     |
|                                                                       |
| Grades 3-8 and 11 within a school will be combined for adequate       |
| yearly progress determinations using the proficiency index.  (This    |
| proficiency index provides the fairest method of establishing         |
| starting points across schools since the schools in Alabama have a    |
| wide variety of grade configurations. For example, a middle school,   |
| where scores are lowest, would be disadvantaged if required to meet   |
| the same starting point as an elementary school.)  An example of the  |
| reading proficiency index for a hypothetical school with Grades 4 and |
| 5 is shown below:                                                     |
|                                                                       |
| -   Grade 4 annual measurable objective for 2004 = 49% proficient     |
|                                                                       |
| > Actual percentage of Grade 4 Hispanic students (N=20) proficient =  |
| > 54%                                                                 |
| >                                                                     |
| >        Difference = +5%                                             |
|                                                                       |
| -   Grade 5 annual measurable objective for 2004 = 35% proficient     |
|                                                                       |
| > Actual percentage of Grade 5 Hispanic students (N=30) proficient =  |
| > 20%                                                                 |
| >                                                                     |
| > Difference = -15%                                                   |
|                                                                       |
| -   Weighting constants (Grade n/Total n): Grade 4 = (20/50)=.4;      |
|     Grade 5 = (30/50)=.6                                              |
|                                                                       |
| -   Hispanic reading proficiency index = .4(+5%) + .6(-15%) = (+2%) + |
|     (-9%) = -7%                                                       |
|                                                                       |
| A proficiency index of zero or higher indicates that the annual       |
| measurable objective has been met by the subgroup.  The proficiency   |
| index in this example shows that the Hispanic subgroup is below the   |
| annual measurable objective by 7 percentage points.  The 99%          |
| confidence interval for n=50 is then applied to determine if the      |
| subgroup meets AYP.  If a difference of 7% is not significant, then   |
| the Hispanic subgroup will be considered to have made AYP.            |
|                                                                       |
| For an LEA, a proficiency index will be determined separately for     |
| elementary (Grades 3-5), middle (Grades 6-8), and high school (Grade  |
| 11) using the procedure described above.                              |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+

**\
**

+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| ## CRITICAL ELEMENT  | **EXAMPLES FOR\       | **EXAMPLES OF**       |
|                      | MEETING               |                       |
|                      | REQUIREMENTS**        | ***NOT* MEETING       |
|                      |                       | REQUIREMENTS**        |
+======================+=======================+=======================+
| 1.  How does the     | For a public school   | State uses different  |
|     State            | and LEA to make       | method for            |
|     Accountability   | adequate yearly       | calculating how       |
|     System determine | progress, each        | public schools and    |
|     whether each     | student subgroup must | LEAs make AYP.        |
|     student          | meet or exceed the    |                       |
|     subgroup, public | State annual          |                       |
|     school and LEA   | measurable            |                       |
|     makes AYP?       | objectives, each      |                       |
|                      | student subgroup must |                       |
|                      | have at least a 95%   |                       |
|                      | participation rate in |                       |
|                      | the statewide         |                       |
|                      | assessments, and the  |                       |
|                      | school must meet the  |                       |
|                      | State's requirement   |                       |
|                      | for other academic    |                       |
|                      | indicators.           |                       |
|                      |                       |                       |
|                      | However, if in any    |                       |
|                      | particular year the   |                       |
|                      | student subgroup does |                       |
|                      | not meet those annual |                       |
|                      | measurable            |                       |
|                      | objectives, the       |                       |
|                      | public school or LEA  |                       |
|                      | may be considered to  |                       |
|                      | have made AYP, if the |                       |
|                      | percentage of         |                       |
|                      | students in that      |                       |
|                      | group who did not     |                       |
|                      | meet or exceed the    |                       |
|                      | proficient level of   |                       |
|                      | academic achievement  |                       |
|                      | on the State          |                       |
|                      | assessments for that  |                       |
|                      | year decreased by 10% |                       |
|                      | of that percentage    |                       |
|                      | from the preceding    |                       |
|                      | public school year;   |                       |
|                      | that group made       |                       |
|                      | progress on one or    |                       |
|                      | more of the State's   |                       |
|                      | academic indicators;  |                       |
|                      | and that group had at |                       |
|                      | least 95%             |                       |
|                      | participation rate on |                       |
|                      | the statewide         |                       |
|                      | assessment.           |                       |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+

+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| **STATE RESPONSE AND |                       |                       |
| STATE ACTIVITIES FOR |                       |                       |
| MEETING              |                       |                       |
| REQUIREMENTS**       |                       |                       |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| The state            |                       |                       |
| accountability       |                       |                       |
| system requires that |                       |                       |
| for a public school  |                       |                       |
| or LEA to make       |                       |                       |
| adequate yearly      |                       |                       |
| progress, students   |                       |                       |
| in the aggregate and |                       |                       |
| each student         |                       |                       |
| subgroup must meet   |                       |                       |
| or exceed the        |                       |                       |
| State's annual       |                       |                       |
| measurable           |                       |                       |
| objectives, students |                       |                       |
| in the aggregate and |                       |                       |
| each student         |                       |                       |
| subgroup must have   |                       |                       |
| at least a 95%       |                       |                       |
| participation rate   |                       |                       |
| in reading and in    |                       |                       |
| mathematics, and     |                       |                       |
| students in the      |                       |                       |
| aggregate must meet  |                       |                       |
| the State's          |                       |                       |
| requirements for     |                       |                       |
| other academic       |                       |                       |
| indicators.          |                       |                       |
| Students must have   |                       |                       |
| an Alabama reading   |                       |                       |
| test score to be     |                       |                       |
| included for         |                       |                       |
| adequate yearly      |                       |                       |
| progress in reading  |                       |                       |
| and an Alabama       |                       |                       |
| mathematics test     |                       |                       |
| score to be included |                       |                       |
| for adequate yearly  |                       |                       |
| progress in          |                       |                       |
| mathematics.  A 99%  |                       |                       |
| confidence interval  |                       |                       |
| will be applied      |                       |                       |
| around the           |                       |                       |
| proficiency index.   |                       |                       |
| A group will be      |                       |                       |
| considered to have   |                       |                       |
| met the annual       |                       |                       |
| measurable objective |                       |                       |
| if the score falls   |                       |                       |
| within the           |                       |                       |
| confidence           |                       |                       |
| interval.            |                       |                       |
|                      |                       |                       |
| The accountability   |                       |                       |
| system will          |                       |                       |
| incorporate a        |                       |                       |
| uniform averaging    |                       |                       |
| procedure.  Alabama  |                       |                       |
| will determine the   |                       |                       |
| proficiency index    |                       |                       |
| across all grades    |                       |                       |
| within a school and  |                       |                       |
| for elementary,      |                       |                       |
| middle, and high     |                       |                       |
| school grade spans   |                       |                       |
| within an LEA to     |                       |                       |
| determine adequate   |                       |                       |
| yearly progress for  |                       |                       |
| the current year.    |                       |                       |
| (The percent of      |                       |                       |
| students scoring     |                       |                       |
| proficient or higher |                       |                       |
| will be based on the |                       |                       |
| number of tested     |                       |                       |
| students that were   |                       |                       |
| enrolled for a "full |                       |                       |
| academic year.")     |                       |                       |
| This will be         |                       |                       |
| calculated           |                       |                       |
| separately for       |                       |                       |
| reading and          |                       |                       |
| mathematics. If the  |                       |                       |
| annual measurable    |                       |                       |
| objective is not     |                       |                       |
| met, the proficiency |                       |                       |
| indexes for the most |                       |                       |
| recent three years   |                       |                       |
| of test scores,      |                       |                       |
| including the        |                       |                       |
| current year's       |                       |                       |
| scores, will be      |                       |                       |
| averaged.  The       |                       |                       |
| results of this      |                       |                       |
| average across years |                       |                       |
| will be used to      |                       |                       |
| determine if the     |                       |                       |
| annual measurable    |                       |                       |
| objective is met.    |                       |                       |
| (In 2004, there will |                       |                       |
| be no previous       |                       |                       |
| year's data to       |                       |                       |
| compare to, and in   |                       |                       |
| 2005 there will be   |                       |                       |
| only one previous    |                       |                       |
| year's data to       |                       |                       |
| compare to.  In      |                       |                       |
| subsequent years,    |                       |                       |
| the uniform          |                       |                       |
| averaging procedure  |                       |                       |
| will include three   |                       |                       |
| years of data.)      |                       |                       |
| This will increase   |                       |                       |
| the reliability of   |                       |                       |
| the decisions made   |                       |                       |
| for accountability.  |                       |                       |
|                      |                       |                       |
| If in any particular |                       |                       |
| year, a student      |                       |                       |
| subgroup does not    |                       |                       |
| meet the annual      |                       |                       |
| measurable           |                       |                       |
| objectives, the      |                       |                       |
| public school or LEA |                       |                       |
| may be considered to |                       |                       |
| have made adequate   |                       |                       |
| yearly progress if   |                       |                       |
| the percentage of    |                       |                       |
| students in that     |                       |                       |
| subgroup who did not |                       |                       |
| meet or exceed the   |                       |                       |
| proficient level of  |                       |                       |
| academic achievement |                       |                       |
| on the State         |                       |                       |
| assessments          |                       |                       |
| decreases by 10% of  |                       |                       |
| that percentage from |                       |                       |
| the preceding school |                       |                       |
| year's score; that   |                       |                       |
| subgroup shows       |                       |                       |
| progress toward or   |                       |                       |
| meets one or more of |                       |                       |
| the other academic   |                       |                       |
| indicator(s); and    |                       |                       |
| that subgroup has at |                       |                       |
| least 95%            |                       |                       |
| participation rate   |                       |                       |
| on the statewide     |                       |                       |
| assessments.  (Since |                       |                       |
| 2004 will be the     |                       |                       |
| baseline year, safe  |                       |                       |
| harbor will be       |                       |                       |
| phased in as data    |                       |                       |
| are available.)      |                       |                       |
| This will increase   |                       |                       |
| the reliability of   |                       |                       |
| the decisions made   |                       |                       |
| for accountability.  |                       |                       |
|                      |                       |                       |
| Adequate yearly      |                       |                       |
| progress criteria    |                       |                       |
| will be applied to   |                       |                       |
| the same subject     |                       |                       |
| irrespective of the  |                       |                       |
| subgroup.  As stated |                       |                       |
| above, a school or   |                       |                       |
| LEA must meet all of |                       |                       |
| the following in     |                       |                       |
| order to make AYP:   |                       |                       |
| annual measurable    |                       |                       |
| objectives in        |                       |                       |
| reading and          |                       |                       |
| mathematics,         |                       |                       |
| participation rates  |                       |                       |
| in reading and       |                       |                       |
| mathematics, and     |                       |                       |
| additional academic  |                       |                       |
| indicators.          |                       |                       |
| However, to be       |                       |                       |
| identified for       |                       |                       |
| school improvement,  |                       |                       |
| a school must miss   |                       |                       |
| AYP in the same      |                       |                       |
| component for two    |                       |                       |
| consecutive years.   |                       |                       |
| (Components for AYP  |                       |                       |
| are reading \[annual |                       |                       |
| measurable           |                       |                       |
| objectives and       |                       |                       |
| participation        |                       |                       |
| rates\], mathematics |                       |                       |
| \[annual measurable  |                       |                       |
| objectives and       |                       |                       |
| participation        |                       |                       |
| rates\], and         |                       |                       |
| additional academic  |                       |                       |
| indicator.)  A       |                       |                       |
| school system will   |                       |                       |
| be identified in     |                       |                       |
| school improvement   |                       |                       |
| when it does not     |                       |                       |
| make AYP in the same |                       |                       |
| component (reading,  |                       |                       |
| mathematics, or      |                       |                       |
| additional academic  |                       |                       |
| indicators) across   |                       |                       |
| all three grade      |                       |                       |
| spans (elementary,   |                       |                       |
| middle, and high     |                       |                       |
| school) for two      |                       |                       |
| consecutive years.   |                       |                       |
|                      |                       |                       |
| This element of the  |                       |                       |
| accountability       |                       |                       |
| program will be      |                       |                       |
| implemented in       |                       |                       |
| August 2004, as      |                       |                       |
| reflected in the     |                       |                       |
| Compliance Agreement |                       |                       |
| entered into by the  |                       |                       |
| Alabama State        |                       |                       |
| Department of        |                       |                       |
| Education and the    |                       |                       |
| United States        |                       |                       |
| Department of        |                       |                       |
| Education on April   |                       |                       |
| 8, 2002 (Attachment  |                       |                       |
| D).  The             |                       |                       |
| requirements for the |                       |                       |
| state accountability |                       |                       |
| program will         |                       |                       |
| incorporate the      |                       |                       |
| requirements of *No  |                       |                       |
| Child Left Behind*.  |                       |                       |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| ## CRITICAL ELEMENT  | **EXAMPLES FOR\       | **EXAMPLES OF**       |
|                      | MEETING               |                       |
|                      | REQUIREMENTS**        | ***NOT* MEETING       |
|                      |                       | REQUIREMENTS**        |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| 3.2a  What is the    | Using data from the   | The State             |
| State's starting     | 2001-2002 school      | Accountability System |
| point for            | year, the State       | uses a different      |
| calculating Adequate | established separate  | method for            |
| Yearly Progress?     | starting points in    | calculating the       |
|                      | reading/language arts | starting point (or    |
|                      | and mathematics for   | baseline data).       |
|                      | measuring the         |                       |
|                      | percentage of         |                       |
|                      | students meeting or   |                       |
|                      | exceeding the State's |                       |
|                      | proficient level of   |                       |
|                      | academic achievement. |                       |
|                      |                       |                       |
|                      | Each starting point   |                       |
|                      | is based, at a        |                       |
|                      | minimum, on the       |                       |
|                      | higher of the         |                       |
|                      | following percentages |                       |
|                      | of students at the    |                       |
|                      | proficient level:     |                       |
|                      | (1) the percentage in |                       |
|                      | the State of          |                       |
|                      | proficient students   |                       |
|                      | in the                |                       |
|                      | lowest-achieving      |                       |
|                      | student subgroup; or, |                       |
|                      | (2) the percentage of |                       |
|                      | proficient students   |                       |
|                      | in a public school at |                       |
|                      | the 20^th^ percentile |                       |
|                      | of the State's total  |                       |
|                      | enrollment among all  |                       |
|                      | schools ranked by the |                       |
|                      | percentage of         |                       |
|                      | students at the       |                       |
|                      | proficient level.     |                       |
|                      |                       |                       |
|                      | A State may use these |                       |
|                      | procedures to         |                       |
|                      | establish separate    |                       |
|                      | starting points by    |                       |
|                      | grade span; however,  |                       |
|                      | the starting point    |                       |
|                      | must be the same for  |                       |
|                      | all like schools      |                       |
|                      | (e.g., one same       |                       |
|                      | starting point for    |                       |
|                      | all elementary        |                       |
|                      | schools, one same     |                       |
|                      | starting point for    |                       |
|                      | all middle            |                       |
|                      | schools...).          |                       |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| **STATE RESPONSE AND STATE ACTIVITIES FOR MEETING REQUIREMENTS**      |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| In accordance with the terms of the April 8, 2002, Compliance         |
| Agreement between the Alabama State Department of Education and       |
| United States Department of Education (Attachment D), the starting    |
| points will be established using data from the 2003-2004 and          |
| 2004-2005 school years.  The State will establish separate statewide  |
| starting points in reading and mathematics for each of Grades 3-8 and |
| Grade 11 for measuring the percentage of students meeting or          |
| exceeding the State's proficient level of academic achievement (Level |
| III and Level IV).  The same starting point will apply to all schools |
| and the same starting point will apply to all subgroups. Starting     |
| points for Grade 4 reading and mathematics, Grade 6 reading and       |
| mathematics, Grade 8 reading, and Grade 11 reading and mathematics    |
| will be determined using the spring 2004 testing.  Starting points    |
| for Grade 3 reading and mathematics, Grade 5 reading and mathematics, |
| Grade 7 reading and mathematics, and Grade 8 mathematics will be      |
| determined using the spring 2005 testing.                             |
|                                                                       |
| Each starting point will be based on the higher of the following      |
| percentages of students at the proficient level:  (1) the percentage  |
| in the State of proficient students in the lowest-achieving student   |
| subgroup; or, (2) the percentage of proficient students in a public   |
| school at the 20^th^ percentile of the State's total enrollment among |
| all schools ranked by the percentage of students at the proficient    |
| level.  The exact starting points will be sent to the United States   |
| Department of Education in July 2004.                                 |
|                                                                       |
| The proficiency index requires the following:  (1) separate starting  |
| points and growth trajectories for each grade and subject; (2) a      |
| comparison of percent proficient for each grade/subject to the annual |
| measurable objective and calculation of a difference score for each   |
| grade/subject; (3) a procedure to weight the difference scores based  |
| on the number of students in each grade (i.e., a weighted constant);  |
| and (4) determination of a proficiency index in each subject by       |
| summing across grades the products of the difference scores and the   |
| weighted constants.  For the proficiency index calculations, students |
| scoring in Levels III (Meets Academic Content Standards) and IV       |
| (Exceeds Academic Content Standards) will count as proficient.        |
| Students scoring in Level II (Partially Meets Academic Content        |
| Standards) will count as .5 toward proficiency.                       |
|                                                                       |
| (The State Board of Education requires that any student receiving an  |
| Alabama high school diploma pass the *Alabama High School Graduation  |
| Exam* and fulfill requirements regarding required course credits.     |
| Passing the test is a requirement to exit high school with a diploma  |
| at the end of Grade 12, and students have multiple opportunities to   |
| take the test.  A pretest is administered at Grade 10 in order to     |
| identify potential deficiencies and help students in preparing to     |
| take the assessments.  However, if a student passes in Grade 10, that |
| student's score is banked for graduation requirements.  The           |
| assessment is officially administered at the end of Grade 11.         |
| Therefore, Grade 11 will be used for making adequate yearly progress  |
| decisions for reading and mathematics at the high school level.       |
| There are multiple forms of the tests so students do not see the same |
| questions in subsequent administrations.)                             |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+

+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| ## CRITICAL ELEMENT  | **EXAMPLES FOR\       | **EXAMPLES OF**       |
|                      | MEETING               |                       |
|                      | REQUIREMENTS**        | ***NOT* MEETING       |
|                      |                       | REQUIREMENTS**        |
+======================+=======================+=======================+
| 2.   What are the    | State has annual      | The State             |
|     State's annual   | measurable objectives | Accountability System |
|     measurable       | that are consistent   | uses another method   |
|                      | with a state's        | for calculating       |
| > objectives for     | intermediate goals    | annual measurable     |
| > determining        | and that identify for | objectives.           |
| > adequate yearly    | each year a minimum   |                       |
| > progress?          | percentage of         | The State             |
|                      | students who must     | Accountability System |
|                      | meet or exceed the    | does not include      |
|                      | proficient level of   | annual measurable     |
|                      | academic achievement  | objectives.           |
|                      | on the State's        |                       |
|                      | academic assessments. |                       |
|                      |                       |                       |
|                      | The State's annual    |                       |
|                      | measurable objectives |                       |
|                      | ensure that all       |                       |
|                      | students meet or      |                       |
|                      | exceed the State's    |                       |
|                      | proficient level of   |                       |
|                      | academic achievement  |                       |
|                      | within the timeline.  |                       |
|                      |                       |                       |
|                      | The State's annual    |                       |
|                      | measurable objectives |                       |
|                      | are the same          |                       |
|                      | throughout the State  |                       |
|                      | for each public       |                       |
|                      | school, each LEA, and |                       |
|                      | each subgroup of      |                       |
|                      | students.             |                       |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| **STATE RESPONSE AND |                       |                       |
| STATE ACTIVITIES FOR |                       |                       |
| MEETING              |                       |                       |
| REQUIREMENTS**       |                       |                       |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| The State's annual   |                       |                       |
| measurable           |                       |                       |
| objectives will be   |                       |                       |
| the same percent     |                       |                       |
| proficient           |                       |                       |
| requirement as the   |                       |                       |
| most recent          |                       |                       |
| intermediate goal    |                       |                       |
| and will identify    |                       |                       |
| for each year a      |                       |                       |
| minimum percentage   |                       |                       |
| of students who must |                       |                       |
| meet (or exceed) the |                       |                       |
| proficient level of  |                       |                       |
| academic achievement |                       |                       |
| on the State's       |                       |                       |
| academic assessments |                       |                       |
| at each grade        |                       |                       |
| level.  The State's  |                       |                       |
| annual measurable    |                       |                       |
| objectives will      |                       |                       |
| ensure that all      |                       |                       |
| students meet (or    |                       |                       |
| exceed) the State's  |                       |                       |
| proficient level of  |                       |                       |
| academic achievement |                       |                       |
| within the           |                       |                       |
| timeline.  The       |                       |                       |
| State's annual       |                       |                       |
| measurable           |                       |                       |
| objectives will be   |                       |                       |
| the same throughout  |                       |                       |
| the State for each   |                       |                       |
| public school, each  |                       |                       |
| LEA, and each        |                       |                       |
| subgroup of          |                       |                       |
| students.            |                       |                       |
|                      |                       |                       |
| The exact annual     |                       |                       |
| measurable           |                       |                       |
| objectives will be   |                       |                       |
| sent to the United   |                       |                       |
| States Department of |                       |                       |
| Education in July    |                       |                       |
| 2004 and July 2005.  |                       |                       |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+

+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| ## CRITICAL ELEMENT  | **EXAMPLES FOR\       | **EXAMPLES OF**       |
|                      | MEETING               |                       |
|                      | REQUIREMENTS**        | ***NOT* MEETING       |
|                      |                       | REQUIREMENTS**        |
+======================+=======================+=======================+
| 3.2c  What are the   | State has established | The State uses        |
| State's intermediate | intermediate goals    | another method for    |
| goals for            | that increase in      | calculating           |
| determining adequate | equal increments over | intermediate goals.   |
| yearly progress?     | the period covered by |                       |
|                      | the State timeline.   | The State does not    |
|                      |                       | include intermediate  |
|                      | -   The first         | goals in its          |
|                      |     incremental       | definition of         |
|                      |     increase takes    | adequate yearly       |
|                      |     effect not later  | progress.             |
|                      |     than the          |                       |
|                      |     2004-2005         |                       |
|                      |     academic year.    |                       |
|                      |                       |                       |
|                      | -   Each following    |                       |
|                      |     incremental       |                       |
|                      |     increase occurs   |                       |
|                      |     within three      |                       |
|                      |     years.            |                       |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| **STATE RESPONSE AND |                       |                       |
| STATE ACTIVITIES FOR |                       |                       |
| MEETING              |                       |                       |
| REQUIREMENTS**       |                       |                       |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| Separate starting    |                       |                       |
| points by subject    |                       |                       |
| (reading and         |                       |                       |
| mathematics) will be |                       |                       |
| established for each |                       |                       |
| of Grade 3-8 and     |                       |                       |
| Grade 11.            |                       |                       |
| Intermediate goals   |                       |                       |
| for determining      |                       |                       |
| adequate yearly      |                       |                       |
| progress will be     |                       |                       |
| established that are |                       |                       |
| equal in magnitude.  |                       |                       |
| Starting points for  |                       |                       |
| Grade 4 reading and  |                       |                       |
| mathematics, Grade 6 |                       |                       |
| reading and          |                       |                       |
| mathematics, Grade 8 |                       |                       |
| reading, and Grade   |                       |                       |
| 11 reading and       |                       |                       |
| mathematics will be  |                       |                       |
| determined using the |                       |                       |
| spring 2004          |                       |                       |
| testing.  Starting   |                       |                       |
| points for Grade 3   |                       |                       |
| reading and          |                       |                       |
| mathematics, Grade 5 |                       |                       |
| reading and          |                       |                       |
| mathematics, Grade 7 |                       |                       |
| reading and          |                       |                       |
| mathematics, and     |                       |                       |
| Grade 8 mathematics  |                       |                       |
| will be determined   |                       |                       |
| using the spring     |                       |                       |
| 2005 testing.        |                       |                       |
| Intermediate goals   |                       |                       |
| will be established  |                       |                       |
| requiring increases  |                       |                       |
| in 2005-06, 2007-08, |                       |                       |
| 2009-2010, 2010-11,  |                       |                       |
| 2011-12, 2012-13,    |                       |                       |
| and 2013-14 for      |                       |                       |
| assessments with     |                       |                       |
| baselines            |                       |                       |
| established in       |                       |                       |
| 2003-04.             |                       |                       |
| Intermediate goals   |                       |                       |
| will be established  |                       |                       |
| requiring increases  |                       |                       |
| in the percent       |                       |                       |
| proficient in        |                       |                       |
| 2006-07, 2008-09,    |                       |                       |
| 2009-10, 2010-11,    |                       |                       |
| 2011-12, 2012-13,    |                       |                       |
| and 2013-1014 for    |                       |                       |
| assessments with     |                       |                       |
| baselines            |                       |                       |
| established in       |                       |                       |
| 2004-05.  This will  |                       |                       |
| yield seven equal    |                       |                       |
| growth interval      |                       |                       |
| requirements.        |                       |                       |
| According to this    |                       |                       |
| timeline, all        |                       |                       |
| students must be     |                       |                       |
| proficient (scoring  |                       |                       |
| Level III or Level   |                       |                       |
| IV) by 2013-2014.    |                       |                       |
| This timeline is     |                       |                       |
| consistent with the  |                       |                       |
| Compliance Agreement |                       |                       |
| entered into by the  |                       |                       |
| Alabama State        |                       |                       |
| Department of        |                       |                       |
| Education and the    |                       |                       |
| United States        |                       |                       |
| Department of        |                       |                       |
| Education on April   |                       |                       |
| 8, 2002 (Attachment  |                       |                       |
| D).                  |                       |                       |
|                      |                       |                       |
| The exact            |                       |                       |
| intermediate goals   |                       |                       |
| will be sent to the  |                       |                       |
| United States        |                       |                       |
| Department of        |                       |                       |
| Education in July    |                       |                       |
| 2004 and July 2005.  |                       |                       |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+

**PRINCIPLE 4.  State makes annual decisions about the achievement of
all public schools and LEAs.**

+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| ## CRITICAL ELEMENT | ## EXAMPLES FOR       | **EXAMPLES OF**       |
|                     |                       |                       |
|                     | **MEETING             | ***NOT* MEETING       |
|                     | REQUIREMENTS**        | REQUIREMENTS**        |
+=====================+=======================+=======================+
| 1.  How does the    | AYP decisions for     | AYP decisions for     |
|     State           | each public school    | public schools and    |
|     Accountability  | and LEA are made      | LEAs are not made     |
|     System make an  | annually.[^4]^4\]^    | annually.             |
|     annual          |                       |                       |
|     determination   |                       |                       |
|     of whether each |                       |                       |
|     public school   |                       |                       |
|     and LEA in the  |                       |                       |
|     State made AYP? |                       |                       |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| **STATE RESPONSE    |                       |                       |
| AND STATE           |                       |                       |
| ACTIVITIES FOR      |                       |                       |
| MEETING             |                       |                       |
| REQUIREMENTS**      |                       |                       |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| The State           |                       |                       |
| accountability      |                       |                       |
| system requires     |                       |                       |
| annual decisions    |                       |                       |
| for each public     |                       |                       |
| school and LEA.     |                       |                       |
| The state           |                       |                       |
| accountability      |                       |                       |
| system will include |                       |                       |
| annual adequate     |                       |                       |
| yearly progress     |                       |                       |
| determinations.     |                       |                       |
| These               |                       |                       |
| determinations      |                       |                       |
| should be made      |                       |                       |
| annually prior to   |                       |                       |
| the beginning of    |                       |                       |
| the school year.    |                       |                       |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+

**PRINCIPLE 5.  All public schools and LEAs are held accountable for the
achievement of individual subgroups.**

+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| ## CRITICAL ELEMENT | **EXAMPLES FOR**      | **EXAMPLES OF**       |
|                     |                       |                       |
|                     | **MEETING             | ***NOT* MEETING       |
|                     | REQUIREMENTS**        | REQUIREMENTS**        |
+=====================+=======================+=======================+
| 1.  How does the    | Identifies subgroups  | State does not        |
|     definition of   | for defining adequate | disaggregate data by  |
|     adequate yearly | yearly progress:      | each required student |
|     progress        | economically          | subgroup.             |
|     include all the | disadvantaged, major  |                       |
|     required        | racial and ethnic     |                       |
|     student         | groups, students with |                       |
|     subgroups?      | disabilities, and     |                       |
|                     | students with limited |                       |
|                     | English proficiency.  |                       |
|                     |                       |                       |
|                     | Provides definition   |                       |
|                     | and data source of    |                       |
|                     | subgroups for         |                       |
|                     | adequate yearly       |                       |
|                     | progress.             |                       |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| **STATE RESPONSE    |                       |                       |
| AND STATE           |                       |                       |
| ACTIVITIES FOR      |                       |                       |
| MEETING             |                       |                       |
| REQUIREMENTS**      |                       |                       |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| The state           |                       |                       |
| accountability      |                       |                       |
| system requires     |                       |                       |
| that adequate       |                       |                       |
| yearly progress be  |                       |                       |
| made by all the     |                       |                       |
| required subgroups  |                       |                       |
| provided the        |                       |                       |
| subgroup meets the  |                       |                       |
| minimum group size  |                       |                       |
| requirements.  The  |                       |                       |
| subgroups include   |                       |                       |
| the following:      |                       |                       |
|                     |                       |                       |
| 1.  Economically    |                       |                       |
|     disadvantaged.  |                       |                       |
|                     |                       |                       |
| ```{=html}          |                       |                       |
| <!-- -->            |                       |                       |
| ```                 |                       |                       |
| 1.  Major           |                       |                       |
|     racial/ethnic   |                       |                       |
|     groups (White   |                       |                       |
|     not Hispanic,   |                       |                       |
|     Black not       |                       |                       |
|     Hispanic,       |                       |                       |
|     Hispanic,       |                       |                       |
|     Asian/Pacific   |                       |                       |
|     Islander, and   |                       |                       |
|     American        |                       |                       |
|     Indian/Alaskan  |                       |                       |
|     native).        |                       |                       |
|                     |                       |                       |
| 2.  Students with   |                       |                       |
|     disabilities.   |                       |                       |
|                     |                       |                       |
| 3.  Students with   |                       |                       |
|     limited English |                       |                       |
|     proficiency.    |                       |                       |
|                     |                       |                       |
| An additional       |                       |                       |
| subgroup will be    |                       |                       |
| added for the       |                       |                       |
| 2005-2006           |                       |                       |
| accountability      |                       |                       |
| reporting system as |                       |                       |
| a result of the     |                       |                       |
| influx of displaced |                       |                       |
| students from       |                       |                       |
| Hurricanes Katrina  |                       |                       |
| and Rita.  These    |                       |                       |
| students will be    |                       |                       |
| reflected only in   |                       |                       |
| the displaced       |                       |                       |
| students'           |                       |                       |
| subgroup.  This     |                       |                       |
| subgroup will be    |                       |                       |
| reported and        |                       |                       |
| counted for         |                       |                       |
| participation at    |                       |                       |
| the school, system, |                       |                       |
| and State levels.   |                       |                       |
| The achievement for |                       |                       |
| this subgroup will  |                       |                       |
| be reported, but    |                       |                       |
| not included, in    |                       |                       |
| determining         |                       |                       |
| Adequate Yearly     |                       |                       |
| Progress (AYP).     |                       |                       |
| (See impact data,   |                       |                       |
| Attachment P).      |                       |                       |
|                     |                       |                       |
| An ITB for          |                       |                       |
| collection of       |                       |                       |
| student data was    |                       |                       |
| issued and          |                       |                       |
| awarded.  This new  |                       |                       |
| data management     |                       |                       |
| system will greatly |                       |                       |
| enhance the         |                       |                       |
| collection of more  |                       |                       |
| reliable data.  It  |                       |                       |
| is expected that    |                       |                       |
| the new system will |                       |                       |
| simplify the        |                       |                       |
| collection of the   |                       |                       |
| data elements       |                       |                       |
| needed for          |                       |                       |
| disaggregation by   |                       |                       |
| subgroups.          |                       |                       |
|                     |                       |                       |
| This element will   |                       |                       |
| be implemented in   |                       |                       |
| August 2004, as     |                       |                       |
| reflected in the    |                       |                       |
| Compliance          |                       |                       |
| Agreement entered   |                       |                       |
| into by the Alabama |                       |                       |
| State Department of |                       |                       |
| Education and the   |                       |                       |
| United States       |                       |                       |
| Department of       |                       |                       |
| Education on April  |                       |                       |
| 8, 2002 (Attachment |                       |                       |
| D).  However, the   |                       |                       |
| State Department of |                       |                       |
| Education           |                       |                       |
| disaggregated by    |                       |                       |
| the required        |                       |                       |
| subgroups and       |                       |                       |
| required subgroups  |                       |                       |
| to meet the interim |                       |                       |
| accountability      |                       |                       |
| requirements during |                       |                       |
| the prior two       |                       |                       |
| academic school     |                       |                       |
| years.              |                       |                       |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+

+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| ## CRITICAL ELEMENT | **EXAMPLES FOR**      | **EXAMPLES OF**       |
|                     |                       |                       |
|                     | **MEETING             | ***NOT* MEETING       |
|                     | REQUIREMENTS**        | REQUIREMENTS**        |
+=====================+=======================+=======================+
| 1.  How are public  | Public schools and    | State does not        |
|     schools and     | LEAs are held         | include student       |
|     LEAs held       | accountable for       | subgroups in its      |
|     accountable for | student subgroup      | State Accountability  |
|     the progress of | achievement:          | System.               |
|     student         | economically          |                       |
|     subgroups in    | disadvantaged, major  |                       |
|     the             | ethnic and racial     |                       |
|     determination   | groups, students with |                       |
|     of adequate     | disabilities, and     |                       |
|     yearly          | limited English       |                       |
|     progress?       | proficient students.  |                       |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| **STATE RESPONSE    |                       |                       |
| AND STATE           |                       |                       |
| ACTIVITIES FOR      |                       |                       |
| MEETING             |                       |                       |
| REQUIREMENTS**      |                       |                       |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| The accountability  |                       |                       |
| system will require |                       |                       |
| that all public     |                       |                       |
| schools and LEAs be |                       |                       |
| held accountable    |                       |                       |
| for the progress of |                       |                       |
| student subgroups   |                       |                       |
| in the              |                       |                       |
| determination of    |                       |                       |
| adequate yearly     |                       |                       |
| progress.  The      |                       |                       |
| State Department of |                       |                       |
| Education will      |                       |                       |
| calculate, for all  |                       |                       |
| students and for    |                       |                       |
| each subgroup, the  |                       |                       |
| following:          |                       |                       |
|                     |                       |                       |
| 1.  the percent of  |                       |                       |
|     students tested |                       |                       |
|     who achieve     |                       |                       |
|     proficient or   |                       |                       |
|     higher (Level   |                       |                       |
|     III and         |                       |                       |
|     Level IV) (See  |                       |                       |
|     Principle 3.2), |                       |                       |
|                     |                       |                       |
| ```{=html}          |                       |                       |
| <!-- -->            |                       |                       |
| ```                 |                       |                       |
| 1.  the             |                       |                       |
|     participation   |                       |                       |
|     rate (See       |                       |                       |
|     Principle 10),  |                       |                       |
|     and             |                       |                       |
|                     |                       |                       |
| 2.  the safe harbor |                       |                       |
|     provision,      |                       |                       |
|     where           |                       |                       |
|     applicable (See |                       |                       |
|     Principle 3.2). |                       |                       |
|                     |                       |                       |
| In the first two    |                       |                       |
| academic years of   |                       |                       |
| reporting AYP, the  |                       |                       |
| State Department of |                       |                       |
| Education applied   |                       |                       |
| the interim         |                       |                       |
| accountability      |                       |                       |
| criteria to the     |                       |                       |
| schools and LEAs in |                       |                       |
| the aggregate and   |                       |                       |
| for the following   |                       |                       |
| subgroups:          |                       |                       |
| economically        |                       |                       |
| disadvantaged,      |                       |                       |
| major racial/ethnic |                       |                       |
| groups, students    |                       |                       |
| with disabilities,  |                       |                       |
| and students with   |                       |                       |
| limited English     |                       |                       |
| proficiency. (See   |                       |                       |
| Attachment E for    |                       |                       |
| January 22, 2003,   |                       |                       |
| memorandum to City  |                       |                       |
| and County          |                       |                       |
| Superintendents of  |                       |                       |
| Education.)         |                       |                       |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+

+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| ## CRITICAL ELEMENT | **EXAMPLES FOR**      | **EXAMPLES OF**       |
|                     |                       |                       |
|                     | **MEETING             | ***NOT* MEETING       |
|                     | REQUIREMENTS**        | REQUIREMENTS**        |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| 1.  How are         | All students with     | The State             |
|     students with   | disabilities          | Accountability System |
|     disabilities    | participate in        | or State policy       |
|     included in the | statewide             | excludes students     |
|     State's         | assessments: general  | with disabilities     |
|     definition of   | assessments with or   | from participating in |
|     adequate yearly | without               | the statewide         |
|     progress?       | accommodations or an  | assessments.          |
|                     | alternate assessment  |                       |
|                     | based on grade level  | State cannot          |
|                     | standards for the     | demonstrate that      |
|                     | grade in which        | alternate assessments |
|                     | students are          | measure grade-level   |
|                     | enrolled.             | standards for the     |
|                     |                       | grade in which        |
|                     | State demonstrates    | students are          |
|                     | that students with    | enrolled.             |
|                     | disabilities are      |                       |
|                     | fully included in the |                       |
|                     | State Accountability  |                       |
|                     | System.               |                       |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| **STATE RESPONSE    |                       |                       |
| AND STATE           |                       |                       |
| ACTIVITIES FOR      |                       |                       |
| MEETING             |                       |                       |
| REQUIREMENTS**      |                       |                       |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| Although students   |                       |                       |
| with disabilities   |                       |                       |
| identified and      |                       |                       |
| receiving special   |                       |                       |
| education services  |                       |                       |
| may receive certain |                       |                       |
| testing             |                       |                       |
| accommodations, no  |                       |                       |
| students are        |                       |                       |
| exempted from the   |                       |                       |
| assessment or       |                       |                       |
| accountability      |                       |                       |
| system based on     |                       |                       |
| demographics,       |                       |                       |
| instructional       |                       |                       |
| program, or type of |                       |                       |
| school.  All        |                       |                       |
| special education   |                       |                       |
| students are        |                       |                       |
| required to         |                       |                       |
| participate in      |                       |                       |
| statewide           |                       |                       |
| assessments by      |                       |                       |
| taking either the   |                       |                       |
| regular assessments |                       |                       |
| (with or without    |                       |                       |
| accommodations) or  |                       |                       |
| the *Alabama        |                       |                       |
| Alternate           |                       |                       |
| Assessment.*        |                       |                       |
|  Scores for         |                       |                       |
| students taking the |                       |                       |
| *Alabama Alternate  |                       |                       |
| Assessment* are     |                       |                       |
| reported in four    |                       |                       |
| levels of academic  |                       |                       |
| achievement as are  |                       |                       |
| the scores for      |                       |                       |
| other assessments   |                       |                       |
| (three levels for   |                       |                       |
| the *Alabama High   |                       |                       |
| School Graduation   |                       |                       |
| Exam*).             |                       |                       |
|                     |                       |                       |
| The scores for      |                       |                       |
| special education   |                       |                       |
| students who take   |                       |                       |
| the *Alabama        |                       |                       |
| Alternate           |                       |                       |
| Assessment* will be |                       |                       |
| included in the     |                       |                       |
| accountability      |                       |                       |
| system.  However,   |                       |                       |
| the State has       |                       |                       |
| established a cap   |                       |                       |
| that will allow the |                       |                       |
| scores of no more   |                       |                       |
| than one percent of |                       |                       |
| all students in the |                       |                       |
| grades being        |                       |                       |
| assessed to be      |                       |                       |
| counted as          |                       |                       |
| proficient and      |                       |                       |
| advanced using the  |                       |                       |
| *Alabama Alternate  |                       |                       |
| Assessment* for     |                       |                       |
| accountability      |                       |                       |
| purposes for the    |                       |                       |
| LEA and the State.  |                       |                       |
| Level I will be     |                       |                       |
| assigned as the     |                       |                       |
| score for any       |                       |                       |
| students over the   |                       |                       |
| allowed one percent |                       |                       |
| in an LEA or the    |                       |                       |
| State.  The State   |                       |                       |
| Department of       |                       |                       |
| Education will      |                       |                       |
| implement this in   |                       |                       |
| accordance with the |                       |                       |
| final regulations   |                       |                       |
| dated December 9,   |                       |                       |
| 2003 (34 CFR Part   |                       |                       |
| 200).  The State    |                       |                       |
| Department of       |                       |                       |
| Education reserves  |                       |                       |
| the right to seek   |                       |                       |
| an exception from   |                       |                       |
| the Secretary of    |                       |                       |
| Education in order  |                       |                       |
| to exceed the 1.0   |                       |                       |
| percent cap.        |                       |                       |
|                     |                       |                       |
| The U.S. Department |                       |                       |
| of Education is     |                       |                       |
| offering interim    |                       |                       |
| flexibility options |                       |                       |
| for an additional   |                       |                       |
| 2% until the final  |                       |                       |
| regulations are     |                       |                       |
| released.  The      |                       |                       |
| State will continue |                       |                       |
| to utilize Interim  |                       |                       |
| Option I.  This     |                       |                       |
| option will allow   |                       |                       |
| the State to adjust |                       |                       |
| the proficiency     |                       |                       |
| index for this      |                       |                       |
| group.  School and  |                       |                       |
| LEA reports will    |                       |                       |
| reflect that this   |                       |                       |
| interim option was  |                       |                       |
| used in AYP         |                       |                       |
| calculations.  (See |                       |                       |
| Attachment N dated  |                       |                       |
| December 14, 2005,  |                       |                       |
| Memorandum to       |                       |                       |
| States from         |                       |                       |
| Margaret            |                       |                       |
| Spellings.)  The    |                       |                       |
| State will use the  |                       |                       |
| following steps,    |                       |                       |
| which were outlined |                       |                       |
| by Secretary        |                       |                       |
| Spellings in her    |                       |                       |
| December 14, 2005   |                       |                       |
| memo, when          |                       |                       |
| utilizing this      |                       |                       |
| option:             |                       |                       |
|                     |                       |                       |
| 1.  Calculate what  |                       |                       |
|     2.0 percent of  |                       |                       |
|     the total       |                       |                       |
|     number of       |                       |                       |
|     students        |                       |                       |
|     assessed within |                       |                       |
|     the state       |                       |                       |
|     equates to      |                       |                       |
|     solely within   |                       |                       |
|     the SWD         |                       |                       |
|     subgroup by     |                       |                       |
|     dividing 2.0 by |                       |                       |
|     the percentage  |                       |                       |
|     of students who |                       |                       |
|     have            |                       |                       |
|     disabilities.   |                       |                       |
|     This number,    |                       |                       |
|     which will be a |                       |                       |
|     constant for    |                       |                       |
|     every school,   |                       |                       |
|     will be the     |                       |                       |
|     basis for       |                       |                       |
|     flexibility in  |                       |                       |
|     school AYP      |                       |                       |
|     determinations. |                       |                       |
|                     |                       |                       |
| ```{=html}          |                       |                       |
| <!-- -->            |                       |                       |
| ```                 |                       |                       |
| 1.  Identify all    |                       |                       |
|     schools that    |                       |                       |
|     did not make    |                       |                       |
|     AYP solely on   |                       |                       |
|     the basis of    |                       |                       |
|     the SWD         |                       |                       |
|     subgroup and    |                       |                       |
|     the proficiency |                       |                       |
|     rate of those   |                       |                       |
|     students in     |                       |                       |
|     each school.    |                       |                       |
|                     |                       |                       |
| 2.  Calculate the   |                       |                       |
|     adjusted        |                       |                       |
|     percent         |                       |                       |
|     proficient for  |                       |                       |
|     each school\'s  |                       |                       |
|     SWD subgroup.   |                       |                       |
|     This adjustment |                       |                       |
|     is equal to the |                       |                       |
|     sum of the      |                       |                       |
|     actual percent  |                       |                       |
|     of proficient   |                       |                       |
|     scores of this  |                       |                       |
|     subgroup plus   |                       |                       |
|     the proxy       |                       |                       |
|     percent         |                       |                       |
|     calculated in   |                       |                       |
|     step 1 above.   |                       |                       |
|                     |                       |                       |
| 3.  Compare this    |                       |                       |
|     adjusted        |                       |                       |
|     percent         |                       |                       |
|     proficient for  |                       |                       |
|     each school     |                       |                       |
|     identified in   |                       |                       |
|     step 2 to the   |                       |                       |
|     state\'s annual |                       |                       |
|     measurable      |                       |                       |
|     objective       |                       |                       |
|     (AMO). This     |                       |                       |
|     comparison must |                       |                       |
|     be conducted    |                       |                       |
|     without the use |                       |                       |
|     of confidence   |                       |                       |
|     intervals or    |                       |                       |
|     other           |                       |                       |
|     statistical     |                       |                       |
|     treatments.     |                       |                       |
|                     |                       |                       |
|     a.  If the      |                       |                       |
|         adjusted    |                       |                       |
|         proficiency |                       |                       |
|         rate for    |                       |                       |
|         the         |                       |                       |
|         school\'s   |                       |                       |
|         SWD         |                       |                       |
|         subgroup    |                       |                       |
|         meets or    |                       |                       |
|         exceeds the |                       |                       |
|         state\'s    |                       |                       |
|         AMO, the    |                       |                       |
|         school may  |                       |                       |
|         be          |                       |                       |
|         considered  |                       |                       |
|         to have     |                       |                       |
|         made AYP    |                       |                       |
|         for the     |                       |                       |
|         2005-06     |                       |                       |
|         school      |                       |                       |
|         year.       |                       |                       |
|                     |                       |                       |
|     b.  If the      |                       |                       |
|         adjusted    |                       |                       |
|         proficiency |                       |                       |
|         rate for    |                       |                       |
|         the         |                       |                       |
|         school\'s   |                       |                       |
|         SWD         |                       |                       |
|         subgroup    |                       |                       |
|         does not    |                       |                       |
|         meet or     |                       |                       |
|         exceed the  |                       |                       |
|         state\'s    |                       |                       |
|         AMO, the    |                       |                       |
|         school did  |                       |                       |
|         not make    |                       |                       |
|         AYP for the |                       |                       |
|         2005-06     |                       |                       |
|         school      |                       |                       |
|         year.       |                       |                       |
|                     |                       |                       |
| 4.  This process    |                       |                       |
|     should be       |                       |                       |
|     followed for    |                       |                       |
|     reading and     |                       |                       |
|     mathematics     |                       |                       |
|     separately and  |                       |                       |
|     also repeated   |                       |                       |
|     at the district |                       |                       |
|     level, as       |                       |                       |
|     needed.         |                       |                       |
|                     |                       |                       |
| 5.  The actual      |                       |                       |
|     percent         |                       |                       |
|     proficient must |                       |                       |
|     be reported to  |                       |                       |
|     parents and the |                       |                       |
|     public; the     |                       |                       |
|     state may also  |                       |                       |
|     report the      |                       |                       |
|     adjusted        |                       |                       |
|     percent         |                       |                       |
|     proficient.     |                       |                       |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+

+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| ## CRITICAL ELEMENT | **EXAMPLES FOR**      | **EXAMPLES OF**       |
|                     |                       |                       |
|                     | **MEETING             | ***NOT* MEETING       |
|                     | REQUIREMENTS**        | REQUIREMENTS**        |
+=====================+=======================+=======================+
| 1.  How are         | All LEP students      | LEP students are not  |
|     students with   | participate in        | fully included in the |
|     limited English | statewide             | State Accountability  |
|     proficiency     | assessments: general  | System.               |
|     included in the | assessments with or   |                       |
|     State's         | without               |                       |
|     definition of   | accommodations or a   |                       |
|     adequate yearly | native language       |                       |
|     progress?       | version of the        |                       |
|                     | general assessment    |                       |
|                     | based on grade level  |                       |
|                     | standards.            |                       |
|                     |                       |                       |
|                     | State demonstrates    |                       |
|                     | that LEP students are |                       |
|                     | fully included in the |                       |
|                     | State Accountability  |                       |
|                     | System.               |                       |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| **STATE RESPONSE AND STATE ACTIVITIES FOR MEETING REQUIREMENTS**      |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| The accountability system includes students with limited English      |
| proficiency.  All students with limited English proficiency, with the |
| exception listed below, are required to participate in statewide      |
| assessments, with or without accommodations, regardless of their      |
| level of English language proficiency or the length of time the       |
| student has been in school. (See Attachment E for January 22, 2003,   |
| memorandum to City and County Superintendents of Education.)  Limited |
| English proficient students are included in the State's definition of |
| adequate yearly progress.                                             |
|                                                                       |
| LEP students, during their first academic year of enrollment in U. S. |
| schools will not be required to participate in the reading            |
| assessment.  However, if these students participate, their scores     |
| will not be included in accountability determinations for reading.    |
| For purposes of participation in the assessment program, LEP          |
| students, during their first academic year of enrolment in U. S.      |
| schools, will use the English language proficiency assessment if they |
| do not participate in the reading assessment.  LEP students, during   |
| their first academic year of enrollment in U. S. schools, must take   |
| the mathematics assessment, but their scores will not be included in  |
| accountability determinations for mathematics.  These students taking |
| the mathematics assessment will be counted in participation for       |
| mathematics.                                                          |
|                                                                       |
| For purposes of making AYP determinations, the scores of former LEP   |
| students will count in the LEP subgroup for two years after these     |
| students are no longer considered to be LEP under the state's         |
| definition of LEP.  However, these students will not be included when |
| determining whether the LEP subgroups satisfy the minimum number for  |
| subgroup AYP accountability.                                          |
|                                                                       |
| All students classified and receiving services as limited English     |
| proficient students will be included as such for accountability       |
| purposes.  Alabama's definition of limited-English proficient         |
| students is provided in Attachment I.                                 |
|                                                                       |
| Additionally, each LEP student must be assessed annually during April |
| or May to ascertain his/her level of English language proficiency.    |
| During 2003-2004, either the IDEA Proficiency Test (IPT) or the       |
| Language Assessment Scales (LAS) was used for determining a student's |
| level of English language proficiency.  However, beginning in         |
| 2004-2005, LEAs will use the English language proficiency test,       |
| ACCESS for ELLs, which is currently under development by the          |
| Wisconsin, Illinois, Delaware, Arkansas Consortium (WIDA) project of  |
| which Alabama is a participant.                                       |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+

+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| ## CRITICAL ELEMENT | **EXAMPLES FOR**      | **EXAMPLES OF**       |
|                     |                       |                       |
|                     | **MEETING             | ***NOT* MEETING       |
|                     | REQUIREMENTS**        | REQUIREMENTS**        |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| 2.  What is the     | State defines the     | State does not define |
|     State\'s        | number of students    | the required number   |
|     definition of   | required in a         | of students in a      |
|     the minimum     | subgroup for          | subgroup for          |
|     number of       | reporting and         | reporting and         |
|     students in a   | accountability        | accountability        |
|     subgroup        | purposes, and applies | purposes.             |
|     required for    | this definition       |                       |
|     reporting       | consistently across   | Definition is not     |
|     purposes? For   | the State.[^5]^5\]^   | applied consistently  |
|     accountability  |                       | across the State.     |
|     purposes?       | Definition of         |                       |
|                     | subgroup will result  | Definition does not   |
|                     | in data that are      | result in data that   |
|                     | statistically         | are statistically     |
|                     | reliable.             | reliable.             |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| **STATE RESPONSE    |                       |                       |
| AND STATE           |                       |                       |
| ACTIVITIES FOR      |                       |                       |
| MEETING             |                       |                       |
| REQUIREMENTS**      |                       |                       |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| The accountability  |                       |                       |
| system defines 40   |                       |                       |
| as the minimum      |                       |                       |
| number of students  |                       |                       |
| required for        |                       |                       |
| accountability      |                       |                       |
| purposes that will  |                       |                       |
| result in data that |                       |                       |
| are statistically   |                       |                       |
| reliable.  A        |                       |                       |
| minimum N of 40 is  |                       |                       |
| necessary in order  |                       |                       |
| to ensure           |                       |                       |
| reliability due to  |                       |                       |
| multiple sources of |                       |                       |
| error (test-retest  |                       |                       |
| and differences in  |                       |                       |
| students included   |                       |                       |
| each year) in       |                       |                       |
| adequate yearly     |                       |                       |
| progress            |                       |                       |
| determinations.     |                       |                       |
|                     |                       |                       |
| These required      |                       |                       |
| numbers will apply  |                       |                       |
| to all schools and  |                       |                       |
| LEAs in the         |                       |                       |
| aggregate and by    |                       |                       |
| subgroup.  If the   |                       |                       |
| number of students  |                       |                       |
| in a subgroup is    |                       |                       |
| below 40 the        |                       |                       |
| minimum N, that     |                       |                       |
| subgroup's score    |                       |                       |
| will not apply to   |                       |                       |
| the school's        |                       |                       |
| adequate yearly     |                       |                       |
| progress            |                       |                       |
| determination, but  |                       |                       |
| the LEA will be     |                       |                       |
| held accountable    |                       |                       |
| for that subgroup   |                       |                       |
| if the minimum N of |                       |                       |
| 40 is reached at    |                       |                       |
| the LEA level.  If  |                       |                       |
| each subgroup in a  |                       |                       |
| school or LEA is    |                       |                       |
| below the minimum N |                       |                       |
| of 40, the          |                       |                       |
| aggregate (all      |                       |                       |
| students**)**       |                       |                       |
| indicator for the   |                       |                       |
| school or LEA will  |                       |                       |
| be applied in       |                       |                       |
| determining AYP for |                       |                       |
| the school or LEA.  |                       |                       |
|                     |                       |                       |
| If a school is so   |                       |                       |
| small that it does  |                       |                       |
| not meet the        |                       |                       |
| minimum requirement |                       |                       |
| of 40 in the        |                       |                       |
| **aggregate** and,  |                       |                       |
| thus, would not be  |                       |                       |
| held accountable    |                       |                       |
| according to the    |                       |                       |
| established         |                       |                       |
| criteria in         |                       |                       |
| Principle 3, the    |                       |                       |
| school will be      |                       |                       |
| given the adequate  |                       |                       |
| yearly progress     |                       |                       |
| determination based |                       |                       |
| on the N-count they |                       |                       |
| do have, but the    |                       |                       |
| designated status   |                       |                       |
| will include a      |                       |                       |
| notation indicating |                       |                       |
| that the school did |                       |                       |
| not meet the        |                       |                       |
| minimum N           |                       |                       |
| requirement of 40.  |                       |                       |
| (Approximately 70   |                       |                       |
| schools currently   |                       |                       |
| do not meet the     |                       |                       |
| minimum requirement |                       |                       |
| of 40.)             |                       |                       |
|                     |                       |                       |
| As indicated in     |                       |                       |
| Principle 5.6,      |                       |                       |
| scores will not be  |                       |                       |
| reported for groups |                       |                       |
| less than 10.  In   |                       |                       |
| addition, the       |                       |                       |
| scores for groups   |                       |                       |
| less than 10 will   |                       |                       |
| not apply to        |                       |                       |
| adequate yearly     |                       |                       |
| progress            |                       |                       |
| determinations.     |                       |                       |
| Scores, however,    |                       |                       |
| will be reported    |                       |                       |
| for groups with     |                       |                       |
| N-sizes of 10       |                       |                       |
| through 40 but the  |                       |                       |
| scores will not     |                       |                       |
| apply to adequate   |                       |                       |
| yearly progress     |                       |                       |
| determinations,     |                       |                       |
| except as indicated |                       |                       |
| above for small     |                       |                       |
| schools that do not |                       |                       |
| meet the minimum    |                       |                       |
| requirement of 40   |                       |                       |
| in the aggregate.   |                       |                       |
| A footnote for the  |                       |                       |
| score will indicate |                       |                       |
| that the school or  |                       |                       |
| LEA did not meet    |                       |                       |
| the minimum         |                       |                       |
| 40-student          |                       |                       |
| requirement for     |                       |                       |
| state               |                       |                       |
| accountability      |                       |                       |
| purposes.           |                       |                       |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+

+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| ## CRITICAL ELEMENT | **EXAMPLES FOR**      | **EXAMPLES OF**       |
|                     |                       |                       |
|                     | **MEETING             | ***NOT* MEETING       |
|                     | REQUIREMENTS**        | REQUIREMENTS**        |
+=====================+=======================+=======================+
| 3.  How does the    | Definition does not   | Definition reveals    |
|     State           | reveal personally     | personally            |
|     Accountability  | identifiable          | identifiable          |
|     System protect  | information.[^6]^6\]^ | information.          |
|     the privacy of  |                       |                       |
|     students when   |                       |                       |
|     reporting       |                       |                       |
|     results and     |                       |                       |
|     when            |                       |                       |
|     determining     |                       |                       |
|     AYP?            |                       |                       |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| **STATE RESPONSE    |                       |                       |
| AND STATE           |                       |                       |
| ACTIVITIES FOR      |                       |                       |
| MEETING             |                       |                       |
| REQUIREMENTS**      |                       |                       |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| The accountability  |                       |                       |
| system defines 10   |                       |                       |
| as the minimum      |                       |                       |
| number of students  |                       |                       |
| required in a       |                       |                       |
| subgroup for        |                       |                       |
| reporting purposes  |                       |                       |
| that will not       |                       |                       |
| reveal personally   |                       |                       |
| identifiable        |                       |                       |
| information.  This  |                       |                       |
| required number     |                       |                       |
| will apply to all   |                       |                       |
| schools and LEAs in |                       |                       |
| the aggregate and   |                       |                       |
| by subgroup.  If    |                       |                       |
| the number of       |                       |                       |
| students in a       |                       |                       |
| subgroup in a       |                       |                       |
| school or LEA is    |                       |                       |
| below 10, that      |                       |                       |
| subgroup score will |                       |                       |
| not be reported.    |                       |                       |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+

**PRINCIPLE 6.  State definition of AYP is based primarily on the
State's academic assessments.**

+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| ## CRITICAL ELEMENT  | ## EXAMPLES FOR       | ## EXAMPLES OF        |
|                      |                       |                       |
|                      | **MEETING             | ***NOT* MEETING       |
|                      | REQUIREMENTS**        | REQUIREMENTS**        |
+======================+=======================+=======================+
| 1.  How is the       | Formula for AYP shows | Formula for AYP shows |
|     State's          | that decisions are    | that decisions are    |
|     definition of    | based primarily on    | based primarily on    |
|     adequate yearly  | assessments.[^7]^7\]^ | non-academic          |
|     progress based   |                       | indicators or         |
|     primarily on     | Plan clearly          | indicators other than |
|     academic         | identifies which      | the State             |
|     assessments?     | assessments are       | assessments.          |
|                      | included in           |                       |
|                      | accountability.       |                       |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| **STATE RESPONSE AND |                       |                       |
| STATE ACTIVITIES FOR |                       |                       |
| MEETING              |                       |                       |
| REQUIREMENTS**       |                       |                       |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| The accountability   |                       |                       |
| system is based      |                       |                       |
| primarily on         |                       |                       |
| academic             |                       |                       |
| assessments.         |                       |                       |
| Reading and          |                       |                       |
| mathematics, based   |                       |                       |
| on the state's       |                       |                       |
| content standards,   |                       |                       |
| will be assessed in  |                       |                       |
| Grades 3 through 8   |                       |                       |
| and  in Grade 11 as  |                       |                       |
| reflected in the     |                       |                       |
| Compliance Agreement |                       |                       |
| entered into by the  |                       |                       |
| Alabama State        |                       |                       |
| Department of        |                       |                       |
| Education and the    |                       |                       |
| United States        |                       |                       |
| Department of        |                       |                       |
| Education            |                       |                       |
| (Attachment D).  The |                       |                       |
| State Department of  |                       |                       |
| Education will       |                       |                       |
| calculate for        |                       |                       |
| subgroups, schools,  |                       |                       |
| and LEAs the percent |                       |                       |
| of tested students   |                       |                       |
| who achieve the      |                       |                       |
| proficient level or  |                       |                       |
| higher, the          |                       |                       |
| participation rates, |                       |                       |
| and invoke the safe  |                       |                       |
| harbor provision,    |                       |                       |
| where applicable,    |                       |                       |
| for determining if   |                       |                       |
| the school or LEA    |                       |                       |
| meets the annual     |                       |                       |
| measurable           |                       |                       |
| objectives.          |                       |                       |
|                      |                       |                       |
| Attendance rate will |                       |                       |
| be used in the       |                       |                       |
| elementary and       |                       |                       |
| middle schools and   |                       |                       |
| graduation rate will |                       |                       |
| be used in the high  |                       |                       |
| schools as the       |                       |                       |
| additional academic  |                       |                       |
| indicator.  Schools  |                       |                       |
| and LEAs will be     |                       |                       |
| considered to have   |                       |                       |
| made adequate yearly |                       |                       |
| progress on the      |                       |                       |
| additional           |                       |                       |
| indicators if they   |                       |                       |
| make improvement     |                       |                       |
| toward the goal or   |                       |                       |
| meet the goal.       |                       |                       |
|                      |                       |                       |
| On June 26, 2003,    |                       |                       |
| the State Board of   |                       |                       |
| Education adopted a  |                       |                       |
| resolution regarding |                       |                       |
| accountability for   |                       |                       |
| schools and school   |                       |                       |
| systems establishing |                       |                       |
| a state              |                       |                       |
| accountability       |                       |                       |
| program to become    |                       |                       |
| effective with the   |                       |                       |
| 2003-2004 school     |                       |                       |
| year.  (See          |                       |                       |
| Attachment C.)  This |                       |                       |
| accountability       |                       |                       |
| program is           |                       |                       |
| consistent with the  |                       |                       |
| Compliance Agreement |                       |                       |
| entered into by the  |                       |                       |
| Alabama State        |                       |                       |
| Department of        |                       |                       |
| Education and the    |                       |                       |
| United States        |                       |                       |
| Department of        |                       |                       |
| Education            |                       |                       |
| (Attachment D).  The |                       |                       |
| requirements for the |                       |                       |
| state accountability |                       |                       |
| program will         |                       |                       |
| incorporate the      |                       |                       |
| requirements of *No  |                       |                       |
| Child Left Behind*.  |                       |                       |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+

PRINCIPLE 7.  State definition of AYP includes graduation rates for
public High schools and an additional indicator selected by the State
for public Middle and public Elementary schools (such as attendance
rates).

+---------------------+------------------------+-----------------------+
| ## CRITICAL ELEMENT | **EXAMPLES FOR**       | **EXAMPLES OF**       |
|                     |                        |                       |
|                     | **MEETING              | ***NOT* MEETING       |
|                     | REQUIREMENTS**         | REQUIREMENTS**        |
+=====================+========================+=======================+
| 1.  What is the     | State definition of    | State definition of   |
|     State           | graduation rate:       | public high school    |
|     definition for  |                        | graduation rate does  |
|     the public high | -   Calculates the     | not meet these        |
|     school          |     percentage of      | criteria.             |
|     graduation      |     students, measured |                       |
|     rate?           |     from the beginning |                       |
|                     |     of the school      |                       |
|                     |     year, who graduate |                       |
|                     |     from public high   |                       |
|                     |     school with a      |                       |
|                     |     regular diploma    |                       |
|                     |     (not including a   |                       |
|                     |     GED or any other   |                       |
|                     |     diploma not fully  |                       |
|                     |     aligned with the   |                       |
|                     |     state's academic   |                       |
|                     |     standards) in the  |                       |
|                     |     standard number of |                       |
|                     |     years; or,         |                       |
|                     |                        |                       |
|                     | -   Uses another more  |                       |
|                     |     accurate           |                       |
|                     |     definition that    |                       |
|                     |     has been approved  |                       |
|                     |     by the Secretary;  |                       |
|                     |     and                |                       |
|                     |                        |                       |
|                     | -    Must avoid        |                       |
|                     |     counting a dropout |                       |
|                     |     as a transfer.     |                       |
|                     |                        |                       |
|                     | Graduation rate is     |                       |
|                     | included (in the       |                       |
|                     | aggregate) for AYP,    |                       |
|                     | and disaggregated (as  |                       |
|                     | necessary) for use     |                       |
|                     | when applying the      |                       |
|                     | exception              |                       |
|                     | clause[^8]^8\]^ to     |                       |
|                     | make AYP.              |                       |
+---------------------+------------------------+-----------------------+

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| **STATE RESPONSE AND STATE ACTIVITIES FOR MEETING REQUIREMENTS**      |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| The accountability system includes a definition of "graduation rate"  |
| and graduation rate is included in the adequate yearly progress       |
| definition for public high schools.  A graduate is defined as a       |
| student who completes state-developed graduation requirements for a   |
| diploma (Alabama High School Diploma, Alabama Occupational Diploma,   |
| and Alternate Adult High School Diploma).  (Note:  In order to        |
| receive an Alternate Adult High School Diploma, a student must earn   |
| the same required credits as for the Alabama High School Diploma and  |
| must pass the GED.  These students must have continued to prepare for |
| and attempt to pass the *Alabama High School Graduation Exam* that is |
| required for the Alabama High School Diploma.  The required           |
| coursework for the Alabama Occupational Diploma is aligned with the   |
| state courses of study and includes work components through           |
| Career/Technical Education.  However, some students take the regular  |
| coursework for meeting graduation requirements.  The reading content  |
| standards for this diploma are the same as for the regular diploma.   |
| The State Department of Education submitted further evidence of the   |
| alignment of the mathematics course for this diploma with the regular |
| mathematics course requirements.  Beginning in 2004, students will be |
| required to take the *Alabama High School Graduation Exam,* but       |
| passing the exam is not a requirement for the Alabama Occupational    |
| Diploma.)  Students receiving non standards-based certificates or GED |
| will not be included as graduates when calculating graduation rates.  |
| Graduation rate will be included (in the aggregate) for adequate      |
| yearly progress, and disaggregated (as necessary) for use when        |
| applying the safe harbor clause to make adequate yearly progress      |
| determinations.  (Note that the projected 4-year dropout rate will be |
| used for the additional academic indicator and safe harbor in lieu of |
| graduation rate until the data are available allowing disaggregation  |
| using the algorithm described below.)                                 |
|                                                                       |
| The goal for graduation rate is 90% as recommended by the National    |
| Education Goals Panel.  Schools and LEAs will be considered to have   |
| made adequate yearly progress on the graduation rate if they make     |
| improvement toward the goal or meet the goal.  Graduation rate will   |
| be an estimated cohort graduation rate and will be calculated         |
| according to the following algorithm:                                 |
|                                                                       |
| ![](media/image2.png){width="0.125in"                                 |
| height="0.23                                                          |
| 958333333333334in"}![](media/image3.png){width="3.6354166666666665in" |
| height="0.4479166666666667in"}                                        |
|                                                                       |
| Where:     GR~i~ is the graduation rate for a given year (*i*)        |
| between 2003 and 2014.                                                |
|                                                                       |
| > G~i~ is the number of students achieving a high school diploma for  |
| > year *i*.                                                           |
| >                                                                     |
| > G~s~ is the number of students achieving a high school diploma      |
| > during the summer of year *i.*                                      |
| >                                                                     |
| > E~i~ is the number of students receiving exit document other than   |
| > high school diploma for year *i.*                                   |
| >                                                                     |
| > D~i~ is the number of dropouts in grade 12 for year *i.*            |
| >                                                                     |
| > D~(i\ -\ 1)~ is the number of dropouts in grade 11 for the first    |
| > previous year (*i* - 1).                                            |
| >                                                                     |
| > D~(i\ -\ 2)~ is the number of dropouts in grade 10 for the second   |
| > previous year (*i* - 2).                                            |
| >                                                                     |
| > D~(i\ -\ 3)~ is the number of dropouts in grade 9 for the third     |
| > previous year (*i* - 3).                                            |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+

As an example, graduation rate will be reported in spring 2005 and
calculated as follows:

         {\[number of FY2004 graduates plus summer 2004 graduates
(reported in FY2005)\] **divided by** \[number of FY2004 graduates plus
summer 2004 graduates (reported in FY2005) plus number of Grade 12
students receiving exit document other than high school diploma in
FY2004 (e.g., graduation certificates) plus number of Grade 12 dropouts
in FY2004 plus number of Grade 11 dropouts in FY2003 plus number of
Grade 10 dropouts in FY2002 plus number of Grade 9 dropouts in FY2001\]}
**times** 100.

Alabama will report graduation rate as the additional academic indicator
for high school beginning in the 2005-2006 school year.  Since
graduation rate could not be calculated or reported previously, progress
toward the goal can not be shown.  Therefore, for this transitional year
(2005-2006), schools or LEAs which do not meet the graduation rate goal
will be considered to have met AYP for the additional academic indicator
if they meet the drop-out goal or make improvement toward it.  The
drop-out rate will also be used during this transitional year for safe
harbor.

+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| ## CRITICAL ELEMENT | **EXAMPLES FOR**      | **EXAMPLES OF**       |
|                     |                       |                       |
|                     | **MEETING             | ***NOT* MEETING       |
|                     | REQUIREMENTS**        | REQUIREMENTS**        |
+=====================+=======================+=======================+
| 1.  What is the     | State defines the     | State has not defined |
|     State's         | additional academic   | an additional         |
|     additional      | indicators, e.g.,     | academic indicator    |
|     academic        | additional State or   | for elementary and    |
|     indicator for   | locally administered  | middle schools.       |
|     public          | assessments not       |                       |
|     elementary      | included in the State |                       |
|     schools for the | assessment system,    |                       |
|     definition of   | grade-to-grade        |                       |
|     AYP?  For       | retention rates or    |                       |
|     public middle   | attendance            |                       |
|     schools for the | rates.[^9]^9\]^       |                       |
|     definition of   |                       |                       |
|     AYP?            | An additional         |                       |
|                     | academic indicator is |                       |
|                     | included (in the      |                       |
|                     | aggregate) for AYP,   |                       |
|                     | and disaggregated (as |                       |
|                     | necessary) for use    |                       |
|                     | when applying the     |                       |
|                     | exception clause to   |                       |
|                     | make AYP.             |                       |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| **STATE RESPONSE    |                       |                       |
| AND STATE           |                       |                       |
| ACTIVITIES FOR      |                       |                       |
| MEETING             |                       |                       |
| REQUIREMENTS**      |                       |                       |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| Attendance rate     |                       |                       |
| will be the         |                       |                       |
| additional academic |                       |                       |
| indicator for both  |                       |                       |
| the elementary and  |                       |                       |
| middle schools.     |                       |                       |
| Attendance rate     |                       |                       |
| will be calculated  |                       |                       |
| based on the same   |                       |                       |
| funding schedule    |                       |                       |
| and timelines       |                       |                       |
| established by the  |                       |                       |
| Alabama             |                       |                       |
| legislature.        |                       |                       |
| Attendance rate     |                       |                       |
| will be calculated  |                       |                       |
| as follows:         |                       |                       |
|                     |                       |                       |
| ( the number of     |                       |                       |
| days present /      |                       |                       |
| number of days      |                       |                       |
| enrolled ) X 100.   |                       |                       |
|                     |                       |                       |
| The goal for        |                       |                       |
| attendance is 95%   |                       |                       |
| which is consistent |                       |                       |
| with the 95%        |                       |                       |
| participation rate  |                       |                       |
| required by *No     |                       |                       |
| Child Left Behind*. |                       |                       |
|                     |                       |                       |
| Schools and LEAs    |                       |                       |
| will be considered  |                       |                       |
| to have made        |                       |                       |
| adequate yearly     |                       |                       |
| progress on the     |                       |                       |
| additional          |                       |                       |
| indicator if they   |                       |                       |
| make improvement    |                       |                       |
| toward the goal or  |                       |                       |
| meet the goal.  The |                       |                       |
| additional academic |                       |                       |
| indicator will be   |                       |                       |
| included (for the   |                       |                       |
| aggregate) for      |                       |                       |
| adequate yearly     |                       |                       |
| progress, and       |                       |                       |
| disaggregated (as   |                       |                       |
| necessary) for use  |                       |                       |
| when applying the   |                       |                       |
| safe harbor clause  |                       |                       |
| to make adequate    |                       |                       |
| yearly progress.    |                       |                       |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+

+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| **CRITICAL          | **EXAMPLES FOR\       | **EXAMPLES OF**       |
| ELEMENT**           | MEETING               |                       |
|                     | REQUIREMENTS**        | **NOT MEETING         |
|                     |                       | REQUIREMENTS**        |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| 2.  Are the State's | State has defined     | State has an academic |
|     academic        | academic indicators   | indicator that is not |
|     indicators      | that are valid and    | valid and reliable.   |
|     valid and       | reliable.             |                       |
|     reliable?       |                       | State has an academic |
|                     | State has defined     | indicator that is not |
|                     | academic indicators   | consistent with       |
|                     | that are consistent   | nationally recognized |
|                     | with nationally       | standards.            |
|                     | recognized standards, |                       |
|                     | if any.               | State has an academic |
|                     |                       | indicator that is not |
|                     |                       | consistent within     |
|                     |                       | grade levels.         |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| **STATE RESPONSE    |                       |                       |
| AND STATE           |                       |                       |
| ACTIVITIES FOR      |                       |                       |
| MEETING             |                       |                       |
| REQUIREMENTS**      |                       |                       |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| Attendance data are |                       |                       |
| currently collected |                       |                       |
| at the State level  |                       |                       |
| from the LEAs at    |                       |                       |
| the individual      |                       |                       |
| student level       |                       |                       |
| through required    |                       |                       |
| reports to the      |                       |                       |
| State Department of |                       |                       |
| Education.  These   |                       |                       |
| data are edited and |                       |                       |
| tested against      |                       |                       |
| historical trends   |                       |                       |
| where data are      |                       |                       |
| questionable in     |                       |                       |
| order to ensure     |                       |                       |
| that results are    |                       |                       |
| accurate.           |                       |                       |
|                     |                       |                       |
| An ITB for          |                       |                       |
| collection of       |                       |                       |
| student data has    |                       |                       |
| been issued and     |                       |                       |
| awarded.  This new  |                       |                       |
| data management     |                       |                       |
| system will enhance |                       |                       |
| the collection of   |                       |                       |
| more reliable data  |                       |                       |
| for calculating     |                       |                       |
| both student        |                       |                       |
| attendance rate and |                       |                       |
| graduation rate.    |                       |                       |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+

**PRINCIPLE 8.  AYP is based on reading/language arts and mathematics
achievement objectives.**

+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| ## CRITICAL ELEMENT  | **EXAMPLES FOR\       | **EXAMPLES OF**       |
|                      | MEETING               |                       |
|                      | REQUIREMENTS**        | ***NOT* MEETING       |
|                      |                       | REQUIREMENTS**        |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| 1.  Does the state   | State AYP             | State AYP             |
|     measure          | determination for     | determination for     |
|     achievement in   | student subgroups,    | student subgroups,    |
|     reading/language | public schools and    | public schools and    |
|     arts and         | LEAs separately       | LEAs averages or      |
|     mathematics      | measures              | combines achievement  |
|     separately for   | reading/language arts | across                |
|     determining AYP? | and mathematics.      | reading/language arts |
|                      | [^10]^10\]^           | and mathematics.      |
|  **  **              |                       |                       |
|                      | AYP is a separate     |                       |
|                      | calculation for       |                       |
|                      | reading/language arts |                       |
|                      | and mathematics for   |                       |
|                      | each group, public    |                       |
|                      | school, and LEA.      |                       |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| **STATE RESPONSE AND |                       |                       |
| STATE ACTIVITIES FOR |                       |                       |
| MEETING              |                       |                       |
| REQUIREMENTS**       |                       |                       |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| The accountability   |                       |                       |
| system requires      |                       |                       |
| adequate yearly      |                       |                       |
| progress             |                       |                       |
| determinations       |                       |                       |
| separately for       |                       |                       |
| reading and          |                       |                       |
| mathematics for each |                       |                       |
| school, LEA, and     |                       |                       |
| student subgroup.    |                       |                       |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+

**PRINCIPLE 9.  State Accountability System is statistically valid and
reliable.**

+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| ## CRITICAL ELEMENT  | **EXAMPLES FOR\       | **EXAMPLES OF**       |
|                      | MEETING               |                       |
|                      | REQUIREMENTS**        | ***NOT* MEETING       |
|                      |                       | REQUIREMENTS**        |
+======================+=======================+=======================+
| 1.  How do AYP       | State has defined a   | State does not have   |
|     determinations   | method for            | an acceptable method  |
|     meet the State's | determining an        | for determining       |
|     standard for     | acceptable level of   | reliability (decision |
|     acceptable       | reliability (decision | consistency) of       |
|     reliability?     | consistency) for AYP  | accountability        |
|                      | decisions.            | decisions, e.g., it   |
|                      |                       | reports only          |
|                      | State provides        | reliability           |
|                      | evidence that         | coefficients for its  |
|                      | decision consistency  | assessments.          |
|                      | is (1) within the     |                       |
|                      | range deemed          | State has parameters  |
|                      | acceptable to the     | for acceptable        |
|                      | State, and (2) meets  | reliability; however, |
|                      | professional          | the actual            |
|                      | standards and         | reliability (decision |
|                      | practice.             | consistency) falls    |
|                      |                       | outside those         |
|                      | State publicly        | parameters.           |
|                      | reports the estimate  |                       |
|                      | of decision           | State's evidence      |
|                      | consistency, and      | regarding             |
|                      | incorporates it       | accountability        |
|                      | appropriately into    | reliability (decision |
|                      | accountability        | consistency) is not   |
|                      | decisions.            | updated.              |
|                      |                       |                       |
|                      | State updates         |                       |
|                      | analysis and          |                       |
|                      | reporting of decision |                       |
|                      | consistency at        |                       |
|                      | appropriate           |                       |
|                      | intervals.            |                       |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| **STATE RESPONSE AND STATE ACTIVITIES FOR MEETING REQUIREMENTS**      |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| An accountability program must begin with valid and reliable          |
| assessments.  The State Department of Education implements quality    |
| control measures during every aspect of the assessment program.  It   |
| begins with development of the assessments (blueprints, bias and      |
| content reviews, field testing, statistical analyses, and validity    |
| and reliability studies), includes extensive training for all         |
| personnel involved in test administration, continues with the         |
| administration (random on-site monitoring of the assessment in        |
| selected schools, checks of answer keys, item analyses and rater      |
| reliability checks during scoring), and ends with reporting the       |
| results (hand scoring of individual reports, checking reports for     |
| pilot system and its schools) prior to release of results.  Because   |
| students may take the *Alabama High School Graduation Exam* at        |
| varying grade levels and adequate yearly progress determinations are  |
| based on Grade 11, a process is in place to report cumulative results |
| at the end of Grade 11.  This process includes verification by the    |
| LEAs that students' scores, regardless of when the assessment is      |
| taken, match the students' enrollment data in Grade 11.               |
|                                                                       |
| The reliability of the accountability system will be enhanced by the  |
| following:                                                            |
|                                                                       |
| 1.  use of the same criteria for all schools and LEAs,                |
|                                                                       |
| ```{=html}                                                            |
| <!-- -->                                                              |
| ```                                                                   |
| 1.  requiring 95% participation rate for students in the aggregate    |
|     and for subgroups,                                                |
|                                                                       |
| 2.  use of valid and reliable assessments and other academic          |
|     indicators,                                                       |
|                                                                       |
| 3.  use of uniform averaging across years (comparing the average to   |
|     the most recent year's test results),                             |
|                                                                       |
| 4.  use of proficiency index across grades,                           |
|                                                                       |
| 5.  use of confidence intervals,                                      |
|                                                                       |
| 6.  use of the safe harbor provision,                                 |
|                                                                       |
| 7.  use of minimum "N" requirements, and                              |
|                                                                       |
| 8.  requiring adequate yearly progress for the same subject.          |
|                                                                       |
| The State Department of Education's Technical Advisory Committee, in  |
| existence since 1983, will assist the State Department of Education   |
| in monitoring the reliability of adequate yearly progress decisions   |
| as data are available for the new system.  Specifically, the          |
| Technical Advisory Committee will assist the Department of Education  |
| to determine if the classification decisions made are consistent with |
| the state accountability system.                                      |
|                                                                       |
| The criteria for such decisions should meet professional standards    |
| and practices.  The criteria will be reviewed periodically by the     |
| Technical Advisory Committee to ensure that the criteria are still    |
| appropriate.  \[Please note that the newly developed assessments will |
| not be ready for administration until the spring of 2004 and spring   |
| of 2005 as reflected in the Compliance Agreement entered into by the  |
| Alabama State Department of Education and the United States           |
| Department of Education on April 8, 2002 (Attachment D).\]            |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+

+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| ## CRITICAL ELEMENT  | **EXAMPLES FOR\       | **EXAMPLES OF**       |
|                      | MEETING               |                       |
|                      | REQUIREMENTS**        | ***NOT* MEETING       |
|                      |                       | REQUIREMENTS**        |
+======================+=======================+=======================+
| 1.  What is the      | State has established | State does not have a |
|     State\'s process | a process for public  | system for handling   |
|     for making valid | schools and LEAs to   | appeals of            |
|     AYP              | appeal an             | accountability        |
|     determinations?  | accountability        | decisions.            |
|                      | decision.             |                       |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| **STATE RESPONSE AND |                       |                       |
| STATE ACTIVITIES FOR |                       |                       |
| MEETING              |                       |                       |
| REQUIREMENTS**       |                       |                       |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| The accountability   |                       |                       |
| system will include  |                       |                       |
| an appeals process   |                       |                       |
| for schools and LEAs |                       |                       |
| that includes the    |                       |                       |
| following:           |                       |                       |
|                      |                       |                       |
| 1.  Before           |                       |                       |
|     identifying a    |                       |                       |
|     school or LEA    |                       |                       |
|     for improvement, |                       |                       |
|     the LEA, through |                       |                       |
|     an appeals       |                       |                       |
|     process, will be |                       |                       |
|     given an         |                       |                       |
|     opportunity to   |                       |                       |
|     review the data  |                       |                       |
|     on which the     |                       |                       |
|     State Department |                       |                       |
|     of Education     |                       |                       |
|     based the        |                       |                       |
|     proposed         |                       |                       |
|     identification.  |                       |                       |
|     A school or LEA  |                       |                       |
|     has ten (10)     |                       |                       |
|     business days    |                       |                       |
|     after            |                       |                       |
|     notification of  |                       |                       |
|     its proposed     |                       |                       |
|     identification   |                       |                       |
|     to submit        |                       |                       |
|     written evidence |                       |                       |
|     through the      |                       |                       |
|     local            |                       |                       |
|     superintendent   |                       |                       |
|     indicating good  |                       |                       |
|     and just cause   |                       |                       |
|     for review.  An  |                       |                       |
|     appeal may be    |                       |                       |
|     based upon       |                       |                       |
|     circumstances    |                       |                       |
|     such as          |                       |                       |
|     epidemics or     |                       |                       |
|     natural          |                       |                       |
|     disasters.       |                       |                       |
|     Evidence         |                       |                       |
|     supporting the   |                       |                       |
|                      |                       |                       |
|    re-identification |                       |                       |
|     must detail a    |                       |                       |
|     convincing case  |                       |                       |
|     for the          |                       |                       |
|     circumstance(s)  |                       |                       |
|     beyond the       |                       |                       |
|     school's or      |                       |                       |
|     LEA's control.   |                       |                       |
|     Circumstances    |                       |                       |
|     within the       |                       |                       |
|     school's or      |                       |                       |
|     LEA's control    |                       |                       |
|     (such as         |                       |                       |
|     inaccurate       |                       |                       |
|     attendance data) |                       |                       |
|     will not serve   |                       |                       |
|     as sufficient    |                       |                       |
|     cause for        |                       |                       |
|     review.  Appeals |                       |                       |
|     based on         |                       |                       |
|     circumstances    |                       |                       |
|     not outlined     |                       |                       |
|     above will be    |                       |                       |
|     handled on a     |                       |                       |
|     case-by-case     |                       |                       |
|     basis by the     |                       |                       |
|     State Department |                       |                       |
|     of Education.    |                       |                       |
|                      |                       |                       |
| ```{=html}           |                       |                       |
| <!-- -->             |                       |                       |
| ```                  |                       |                       |
| 1.  Two copies of    |                       |                       |
|     the written      |                       |                       |
|     evidence signed  |                       |                       |
|     by the LEA       |                       |                       |
|     superintendent   |                       |                       |
|     must be          |                       |                       |
|     presented to the |                       |                       |
|     State            |                       |                       |
|     Superintendent   |                       |                       |
|     of Education in  |                       |                       |
|     Montgomery.      |                       |                       |
|                      |                       |                       |
| 2.  The State        |                       |                       |
|     Department of    |                       |                       |
|     Education will   |                       |                       |
|     review the       |                       |                       |
|     school's or      |                       |                       |
|     LEA's written    |                       |                       |
|     evidence and     |                       |                       |
|     will make a      |                       |                       |
|     judgment about   |                       |                       |
|                      |                       |                       |
|    re-classification |                       |                       |
|     within ten (10)  |                       |                       |
|     business days of |                       |                       |
|     receipt of       |                       |                       |
|     evidence or as   |                       |                       |
|     soon as          |                       |                       |
|     possible.  The   |                       |                       |
|     State Department |                       |                       |
|     of Education     |                       |                       |
|     will submit its  |                       |                       |
|     finding to the   |                       |                       |
|     local            |                       |                       |
|     superintendent   |                       |                       |
|     after the review |                       |                       |
|     process.  Final  |                       |                       |
|     determinations   |                       |                       |
|     of status will   |                       |                       |
|     be made public   |                       |                       |
|     immediately      |                       |                       |
|     following the    |                       |                       |
|     final            |                       |                       |
|     determination of |                       |                       |
|     status           |                       |                       |
|     (approximately   |                       |                       |
|     the middle of    |                       |                       |
|     August).         |                       |                       |
|                      |                       |                       |
| The State's          |                       |                       |
| Technical Advisory   |                       |                       |
| Committee will       |                       |                       |
| periodically review  |                       |                       |
| the accountability   |                       |                       |
| program in order to  |                       |                       |
| ensure its           |                       |                       |
| validity.  The       |                       |                       |
| Technical Advisory   |                       |                       |
| Committee will ask   |                       |                       |
| the following        |                       |                       |
| questions:           |                       |                       |
|                      |                       |                       |
| 1.  Are the          |                       |                       |
|     components of    |                       |                       |
|     the system still |                       |                       |
|     aligned to the   |                       |                       |
|     goals and        |                       |                       |
|     purposes of the  |                       |                       |
|     accountability   |                       |                       |
|     system?          |                       |                       |
|                      |                       |                       |
| ```{=html}           |                       |                       |
| <!-- -->             |                       |                       |
| ```                  |                       |                       |
| 1.  Are they working |                       |                       |
|     in harmony to    |                       |                       |
|     help the system  |                       |                       |
|     accomplish these |                       |                       |
|     goals and        |                       |                       |
|     purposes?        |                       |                       |
|                      |                       |                       |
| 2.  Is the system    |                       |                       |
|     accomplishing    |                       |                       |
|     what was         |                       |                       |
|     intended (and    |                       |                       |
|     not              |                       |                       |
|     accomplishing    |                       |                       |
|     what was not     |                       |                       |
|     intended)?       |                       |                       |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+

+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| ## CRITICAL ELEMENT  | **EXAMPLES FOR\       | **EXAMPLES OF**       |
|                      | MEETING               |                       |
|                      | REQUIREMENTS**        | ***NOT* MEETING       |
|                      |                       | REQUIREMENTS**        |
+======================+=======================+=======================+
| 3.  How has the      | State has a plan to   | State's transition    |
|     State planned    | maintain continuity   | plan interrupts       |
|     for              | in AYP decisions      | annual determination  |
|     incorporating    | necessary for         | of AYP.               |
|     into its         | validity through      |                       |
|     definition of    | planned assessment    | State does not have a |
|     AYP anticipated  | changes, and other    | plan for handling     |
|     changes in       | changes necessary to  | changes: e.g., to its |
|     assessments?     | comply fully with     | assessment system, or |
|                      | NCLB.[^11]^11\]^      | the addition of new   |
|                      |                       | public schools.       |
|                      | State has a plan for  |                       |
|                      | including new public  |                       |
|                      | schools in the State  |                       |
|                      | Accountability        |                       |
|                      | System.               |                       |
|                      |                       |                       |
|                      | State has a plan for  |                       |
|                      | periodically          |                       |
|                      | reviewing its State   |                       |
|                      | Accountability        |                       |
|                      | System, so that       |                       |
|                      | unforeseen changes    |                       |
|                      | can be quickly        |                       |
|                      | addressed.            |                       |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| **STATE RESPONSE AND STATE ACTIVITIES FOR MEETING REQUIREMENTS**      |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| The newly-developed assessments for reading and mathematics for       |
| Grades 4, 6, and 8 will be administered in spring 2004.  The spring   |
| 2004 data will be used to establish the baseline for reading and      |
| mathematics for Grades 4, 6, and 11 and for reading in Grade 8 as     |
| reflected in the Compliance Agreement entered into between the        |
| Alabama State Department of Education and the United States           |
| Department of Education (Attachment D).  The reading and mathematics  |
| assessments for Grades 3, 5, and 7 and mathematics for Grade 8 will   |
| be administered in the spring of 2005 and will be included in the     |
| calculations for adequate yearly progress.                            |
|                                                                       |
| The procedure for determining the proficiency index makes it easy to  |
| add assessments into the AYP model while maintaining the required     |
| reliability and validity.  The procedure is as follows:               |
|                                                                       |
| -   Calculation of separate starting points and growth trajectories   |
|     for each grade and subject;                                       |
|                                                                       |
| -   Comparison of percent proficient on each assessment to the annual |
|     measurable objective and the calculation of a difference score    |
|     for each;                                                         |
|                                                                       |
| -   A procedure to weight the difference scores based on the number   |
|     of students in each grade (i.e., a weighted constant); and,       |
|                                                                       |
| -   Computation of a proficiency index for each subject that allows   |
|     data from different assessments to be weighted, ensuring that     |
|     each student counts equally within the subgroup's proficiency     |
|     index.                                                            |
|                                                                       |
| In the future, if standards for any existing assessments are changed, |
| a new baseline and growth trajectory will be established using the    |
| new cut scores.  \[The scores required for passing the *Alabama High  |
| School Graduation Exam* will be reviewed every three years by the     |
| State Board of Education to determine if they should be raised as     |
| directed in a June 27, 2001, State Board of Education resolution.     |
| (See                                                                  |
| [www.alsde.edu/html/bo                                                |
| e_resolutions2.asp](http://www.alsde.edu/html/boe_resolutions2.asp).) |
|  Consideration should be given to the implications for *No Child Left |
| Behind* when making the determination to raise passing scores.        |
| Annual yearly progress requirements of *No Child Left Behind* will    |
| increase the rigor of the requirements.  An increase in the required  |
| passing scores would result in the requirement of 100% proficiency    |
| with the higher requirements in a shorter period of time.\]           |
|                                                                       |
| The requirements for adequate yearly progress will apply to any new   |
| public schools and LEAs.  For new schools, the first full year in     |
| existence will be their first year of accountability determination.   |
| The new school will be considered to have made adequate yearly        |
| progress if they meet the annual measurable objective for that first  |
| year of accountability.  In subsequent years, uniform averaging and   |
| safe harbor will be phased in to include data as available.           |
|                                                                       |
| The Technical Advisory Committee will be convened as needed to        |
| consider unforeseen issues and challenges regarding the state         |
| accountability system.                                                |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+

**PRINCIPLE 10.  In order for a public school or LEA to make AYP, the
State ensures that it assessed at least 95% of the students enrolled in
each subgroup.**

+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| ## CRITICAL ELEMENT  | **EXAMPLES FOR\       | **EXAMPLES OF\        |
|                      | MEETING               | *NOT* MEETING         |
|                      | REQUIREMENTS**        | REQUIREMENTS**        |
+======================+=======================+=======================+
| 1.  What is the      | State has a procedure | The state does not    |
|     State\'s method  | to determine the      | have a procedure for  |
|     for calculating  | number of absent or   | determining the rate  |
|     participation    | untested students (by | of students           |
|     rates in the     | subgroup and          | participating in      |
|     State            | aggregate).           | statewide             |
|     assessments for  |                       | assessments.          |
|     use in AYP       | State has a procedure |                       |
|     determinations?  | to determine the      | Public schools and    |
|                      | denominator (total    | LEAs are not held     |
|                      | enrollment) for the   | accountable for       |
|                      | 95% calculation (by   | testing at least 95%  |
|                      | subgroup and          | of their students.    |
|                      | aggregate).           |                       |
|                      |                       |                       |
|                      | Public schools and    |                       |
|                      | LEAs are held         |                       |
|                      | accountable for       |                       |
|                      | reaching the 95%      |                       |
|                      | assessed goal.        |                       |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| **STATE RESPONSE AND |                       |                       |
| STATE ACTIVITIES FOR |                       |                       |
| MEETING              |                       |                       |
| REQUIREMENTS**       |                       |                       |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| The accountability   |                       |                       |
| system requires that |                       |                       |
| schools and LEAs     |                       |                       |
| have at least 95     |                       |                       |
| percent              |                       |                       |
| participation in the |                       |                       |
| assessments if the   |                       |                       |
| group size is 40 or  |                       |                       |
| more.  The 95        |                       |                       |
| percent requirement  |                       |                       |
| allows very little   |                       |                       |
| consideration for    |                       |                       |
| extenuating          |                       |                       |
| circumstances when   |                       |                       |
| small groups of      |                       |                       |
| students are         |                       |                       |
| involved.  No more   |                       |                       |
| than one student can |                       |                       |
| miss the assessment  |                       |                       |
| if the group size    |                       |                       |
| requirement if less  |                       |                       |
| than 40.             |                       |                       |
|                      |                       |                       |
| Participation rates  |                       |                       |
| will be calculated   |                       |                       |
| as follows:  Number  |                       |                       |
| of students with     |                       |                       |
| test results divided |                       |                       |
| by number of         |                       |                       |
| students enrolled on |                       |                       |
| the first day of the |                       |                       |
| state testing        |                       |                       |
| window.  This        |                       |                       |
| procedure will apply |                       |                       |
| to subgroups and in  |                       |                       |
| the aggregate for    |                       |                       |
| all public schools   |                       |                       |
| and LEAs.  Students  |                       |                       |
| participating in the |                       |                       |
| *Alabama Alternate   |                       |                       |
| Assessment* will be  |                       |                       |
| included in the      |                       |                       |
| state accountability |                       |                       |
| system in accordance |                       |                       |
| with the final       |                       |                       |
| parameters defined   |                       |                       |
| by federal statute   |                       |                       |
| and regulations.     |                       |                       |
| (See Principle       |                       |                       |
| 5.3.)   Limited      |                       |                       |
| English Proficient   |                       |                       |
| students will be     |                       |                       |
| included in the      |                       |                       |
| state accountability |                       |                       |
| system in accordance |                       |                       |
| with Principle 5.4.  |                       |                       |
| Students with tests  |                       |                       |
| that have been       |                       |                       |
| invalidated will be  |                       |                       |
| considered as not    |                       |                       |
| testing for the      |                       |                       |
| purposes of          |                       |                       |
| calculating the      |                       |                       |
| participation rate.  |                       |                       |
|                      |                       |                       |
| If the participation |                       |                       |
| rates are not met,   |                       |                       |
| the accountability   |                       |                       |
| system will          |                       |                       |
| incorporate a        |                       |                       |
| uniform averaging    |                       |                       |
| procedure for        |                       |                       |
| participation        |                       |                       |
| rates.  The          |                       |                       |
| participation rates  |                       |                       |
| for the most recent  |                       |                       |
| three years of       |                       |                       |
| testing, including   |                       |                       |
| the current year's   |                       |                       |
| testing, will be     |                       |                       |
| averaged.  The       |                       |                       |
| results of this      |                       |                       |
| average across years |                       |                       |
| will be used to      |                       |                       |
| determine if the     |                       |                       |
| participation rates  |                       |                       |
| are met.  (In 2005,  |                       |                       |
| there will be only   |                       |                       |
| one previous year's  |                       |                       |
| data to compare to.  |                       |                       |
| In subsequent years, |                       |                       |
| the uniform          |                       |                       |
| averaging procedure  |                       |                       |
| will include three   |                       |                       |
| years of data.)      |                       |                       |
|                      |                       |                       |
| An ITB for           |                       |                       |
| collection of        |                       |                       |
| student data has     |                       |                       |
| been issued and      |                       |                       |
| awarded.  This new   |                       |                       |
| data management      |                       |                       |
| system will greatly  |                       |                       |
| enhance the          |                       |                       |
| collection of more   |                       |                       |
| reliable data for    |                       |                       |
| calculation of       |                       |                       |
| participation rates. |                       |                       |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+

+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| ## CRITICAL ELEMENT  | **EXAMPLES FOR\       | **EXAMPLES OF\        |
|                      | MEETING               | *NOT* MEETING         |
|                      | REQUIREMENTS**        | REQUIREMENTS**        |
+======================+=======================+=======================+
| 2.  What is the      | State has a policy    | State does not have a |
|     State's policy   | that implements the   | procedure for making  |
|     for determining  | regulation regarding  | this determination.   |
|     when the 95%     | the use of 95%        |                       |
|     assessed         | allowance when the    |                       |
|     requirement      | group is              |                       |
|     should be        | statistically         |                       |
|     applied?         | significant according |                       |
|                      | to State rules.       |                       |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| **STATE RESPONSE AND |                       |                       |
| STATE ACTIVITIES FOR |                       |                       |
| MEETING              |                       |                       |
| REQUIREMENTS**       |                       |                       |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| Schools, LEAs, and   |                       |                       |
| subgroups must have  |                       |                       |
| at least a 95        |                       |                       |
| percent              |                       |                       |
| participation rate   |                       |                       |
| in order to meet the |                       |                       |
| adequate yearly      |                       |                       |
| progress requirement |                       |                       |
| for participation.   |                       |                       |
| The minimum group    |                       |                       |
| size for such        |                       |                       |
| calculations is 40.  |                       |                       |
| A group size smaller |                       |                       |
| than 40 students     |                       |                       |
| would only allow for |                       |                       |
| one student to be    |                       |                       |
| absent and still     |                       |                       |
| meet the 95 percent  |                       |                       |
| requirement.  (This  |                       |                       |
| minimum N is         |                       |                       |
| consistent with the  |                       |                       |
| minimum requirement  |                       |                       |
| of 40 established    |                       |                       |
| for adequate yearly  |                       |                       |
| progress             |                       |                       |
| d                    |                       |                       |
| eterminations.)** ** |                       |                       |
| Schools, LEAs, and   |                       |                       |
| subgroups that do    |                       |                       |
| not meet the 95      |                       |                       |
| percent              |                       |                       |
| participation rate   |                       |                       |
| do not meet the      |                       |                       |
| adequate yearly      |                       |                       |
| progress             |                       |                       |
| requirement.         |                       |                       |
| (Students must have  |                       |                       |
| an Alabama reading   |                       |                       |
| test score to be     |                       |                       |
| included for         |                       |                       |
| participation in     |                       |                       |
| reading and an       |                       |                       |
| Alabama mathematics  |                       |                       |
| test score to be     |                       |                       |
| included for         |                       |                       |
| participation in     |                       |                       |
| mathematics.)        |                       |                       |
|                      |                       |                       |
| If a school is so    |                       |                       |
| small that it does   |                       |                       |
| not meet the minimum |                       |                       |
| requirement of 40 in |                       |                       |
| the **aggregate**    |                       |                       |
| and, thus, would not |                       |                       |
| be held accountable  |                       |                       |
| according to the     |                       |                       |
| established criteria |                       |                       |
| in Principle 10.1,   |                       |                       |
| the school will      |                       |                       |
| required to test at  |                       |                       |
| least two less than  |                       |                       |
| the enrollment (N-2) |                       |                       |
| in order to meet the |                       |                       |
| participation rate.  |                       |                       |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+

Appendix A

Required Data Elements for State Report Card

**1111(h)(1)(C)**

1.  Information, in the aggregate, on student achievement at each
proficiency level on the State academic assessments (disaggregated by
race, ethnicity, gender, disability status, migrant status, English
proficiency, and status as economically disadvantaged, except that such
disaggregation shall not be required in a case in which the number of
students in a category is insufficient to yield statistically reliable
information or the results would reveal personally identifiable
information about an individual student.

2.  Information that provides a comparison between the actual
achievement levels of each student subgroup and the State's annual
measurable objectives for each such group of students on each of the
academic assessments.

3.  The percentage of students not tested (disaggregated by the student
subgroups), except that such disaggregation shall not be required in a
case in which the number of students in a category is insufficient to
yield statistically reliable information or the results would reveal
personally identifiable information about an individual student.

4.  The most recent 2-year trend in student achievement in each subject
area, and for each grade level, for the required assessments.

5.  Aggregate information on any other indicators used by the State to
determine the adequate yearly progress of students in achieving State
academic achievement standards disaggregated by student subgroups.

6.  Graduation rates for secondary school students disaggregated by
student subgroups.

7.  Information on the performance of local educational agencies in the
State regarding making adequate yearly progress, including the number
and names of each school identified for school improvement under section
1116.

8.  The professional qualifications of teachers in the State, the
percentage of such teachers teaching with emergency or provisional
credentials, and the percentage of classes in the State not taught by
highly qualified teachers, in the aggregate and disaggregated by
high-poverty compared to low-poverty schools which (for this purpose)
means schools in the top quartile of poverty and the bottom quartile of
poverty in the State.

[^1]: ^\[1\]^ System of State achievement standards will be reviewed by
    the Standards and Assessments Peer Review. The Accountability Peer
    Review will determine that achievement levels are used in
    determining ANNUAL YEARLY PROGRESS.

[^2]: ^\[2\]^ The state must provide rewards and sanctions for all
    public schools and LEAs for making adequate yearly progress, except
    that the State is not required to hold schools and LEAs not
    receiving Title I funds to the requirements of section 1116 of NCLB
    \[§200.12(b)(40)\].

[^3]: ^\[3\]^ If the state has separate assessments to cover its
    language arts standards (e.g., reading and writing), the State must
    create a method to include scores from all the relevant assessments.

[^4]: ^\[4\]^ Decisions may be based upon several years of data and data
    may be averaged across grades within a public school
    \[§1111(b)(2)(J)\].

[^5]: ^\[5\]^ The minimum number is not required to be the same for
    reporting and accountability.

[^6]: ^\[6\]^ The Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)
    prohibits an LEA that receives Federal funds from releasing, without
    the prior written consent of a student's parents, any personally
    identifiable information contained in a student's education record.

[^7]: ^\[7\]^ State Assessment System will be reviewed by the Standards
    and Assessments Peer Review Team.

[^8]: ^\[8\]^  See USC 6311(b)(2)(I)(i), and 34 C.F.R. 200.20(b)

[^9]: ^\[9\]^ NCLB only lists these indicators as examples.

[^10]: ^\[10\]^ If the state has more than one assessment to cover its
    language arts standards, the State must create a method for
    including scores from all the relevant assessments.

[^11]: ^\[11\]^ Several events may occur which necessitate such a plan.
    For example, (1) the State may need to include additional
    assessments in grades 3-8 by 2005-2006; (2) the State may revise
    content and/or academic achievement standards; (3) the State may
    need to recalculate the starting point with the addition of new
    assessments; or (4) the State may need to incorporate the graduation
    rate or other indicators into its State Accountability System. These
    events may require new calculations of validity and reliability.