**State of West Virginia**

**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)**

**REVISED**

**June 30, 2008**

![](media/image1.png){width="4.013194444444444in"
height="2.7729166666666667in"}

**Steven L. Paine**

**State Superintendent of Schools**

# 

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

# Summary of Implementation Status for Required Elements of

# State Accountability Systems

+---+----+-----------------------------------------------------+--------+
| * |    | **State Accountability System Element**             | **     |
| * |    |                                                     | Page** |
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+---+----+-----------------------------------------------------+--------+
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+---+----+-----------------------------------------------------+--------+
| F | 1  | Accountability system includes *all schools and     | 4      |
|   | .1 | districts in the state*.                            |        |
+---+----+-----------------------------------------------------+--------+
| F | 1  | Accountability system holds *all schools to the     | 5      |
|   | .2 | same criteria*.                                     |        |
+---+----+-----------------------------------------------------+--------+
| F | 1  | Accountability system incorporates the *academic    | 7      |
|   | .3 | achievement standards*.                             |        |
+---+----+-----------------------------------------------------+--------+
| F | 1  | Accountability system provides *information in a    | 8      |
|   | .4 | timely manner*.                                     |        |
+---+----+-----------------------------------------------------+--------+
| F | 1  | Accountability system includes *report cards*.      | 9      |
|   | .5 |                                                     |        |
+---+----+-----------------------------------------------------+--------+
| F | 1  | Accountability system includes *rewards and         | 11     |
|   | .6 | sanctions*.                                         |        |
+---+----+-----------------------------------------------------+--------+
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+---+----+-----------------------------------------------------+--------+
| F | 2  | The accountability system includes *all students.*  | 14     |
|   | .1 |                                                     |        |
+---+----+-----------------------------------------------------+--------+
| F | 2  | The accountability system has a consistent          | 16     |
|   | .2 | *definition of full academic year*.                 |        |
+---+----+-----------------------------------------------------+--------+
| F | 2  | The accountability system properly includes *mobile | 17     |
|   | .3 | students*.                                          |        |
+---+----+-----------------------------------------------------+--------+
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+---+----+-----------------------------------------------------+--------+
| F | 3  | Accountability system expects *all student          | 18     |
|   | .1 | subgroups, public schools, and LEAs to reach        |        |
|   |    | proficiency by 2013-14*.                            |        |
+---+----+-----------------------------------------------------+--------+
| F | 3  | Accountability system has a method for determining  | 25     |
|   | .2 | whether *student subgroups, public schools, and     |        |
|   |    | LEAs made adequate yearly progress.*                |        |
+---+----+-----------------------------------------------------+--------+
| F | 3. | Accountability system establishes a *starting       | 27     |
|   | 2a | point*.                                             |        |
+---+----+-----------------------------------------------------+--------+
| F | 3. | Accountability system establishes *statewide annual | 29     |
|   | 2b | measurable objectives*.                             |        |
+---+----+-----------------------------------------------------+--------+
| F | 3. | Accountability system establishes *intermediate     | 30     |
|   | 2c | goals*.                                             |        |
+---+----+-----------------------------------------------------+--------+
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+---+----+-----------------------------------------------------+--------+
| F | 4  | The accountability system *determines annually the  | 32     |
|   | .1 | progress* of schools and districts.                 |        |
+---+----+-----------------------------------------------------+--------+

**STATUS Legend:**

**F** -- Final state policy

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

**W** -- Working to formulate policy

+---+----+-----------------------------------------------------+--------+
| * |    | **State Accountability System Element**             | **     |
| * |    |                                                     | Page** |
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+---+----+-----------------------------------------------------+--------+
| F | 5  | The accountability system *includes all the         | 34     |
|   | .1 | required student subgroups*.                        |        |
+---+----+-----------------------------------------------------+--------+
| F | 5  | The accountability system holds *schools and LEAs   | 35     |
|   | .2 | accountable for the progress of* *student           |        |
|   |    | subgroups*.                                         |        |
+---+----+-----------------------------------------------------+--------+
| F | 5  | The accountability system includes *students with   | 36     |
|   | .3 | disabilities*.                                      |        |
+---+----+-----------------------------------------------------+--------+
| F | 5  | The accountability system includes *limited English | 39     |
|   | .4 | proficient students*.                               |        |
+---+----+-----------------------------------------------------+--------+
| F | 5  | The State has determined the minimum number of      | 40     |
|   | .5 | students 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  | 42     |
|   | .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.                            |        |
+---+----+-----------------------------------------------------+--------+
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+---+----+-----------------------------------------------------+--------+
| F | 6  | Accountability system is based *primarily on        | 43     |
|   | .1 | academic assessments*.                              |        |
+---+----+-----------------------------------------------------+--------+
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+---+----+-----------------------------------------------------+--------+
| F | 7  | Accountability system includes *graduation rate for | 45     |
|   | .1 | high school*s.                                      |        |
+---+----+-----------------------------------------------------+--------+
| F | 7  | Accountability system includes an *additional       | 46     |
|   | .2 | academic indicator for elementary and middle        |        |
|   |    | school*s.                                           |        |
+---+----+-----------------------------------------------------+--------+
| F | 7  | Additional indicators are valid and reliable.       | 47     |
|   | .3 |                                                     |        |
+---+----+-----------------------------------------------------+--------+
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| } |    |                                                     |        |
+---+----+-----------------------------------------------------+--------+
| F | 8  | Accountability system holds students, schools and   | 48     |
|   | .1 | districts separately accountable for                |        |
|   |    | *reading/language arts* and *mathematics*.          |        |
+---+----+-----------------------------------------------------+--------+
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| i |    |                                                     |        |
| a |    |                                                     |        |
| b |    |                                                     |        |
| i |    |                                                     |        |
| l |    |                                                     |        |
| i |    |                                                     |        |
| t |    |                                                     |        |
| y |    |                                                     |        |
| ] |    |                                                     |        |
| { |    |                                                     |        |
| . |    |                                                     |        |
| u |    |                                                     |        |
| n |    |                                                     |        |
| d |    |                                                     |        |
| e |    |                                                     |        |
| r |    |                                                     |        |
| l |    |                                                     |        |
| i |    |                                                     |        |
| n |    |                                                     |        |
| e |    |                                                     |        |
| } |    |                                                     |        |
+---+----+-----------------------------------------------------+--------+
| F | 9  | Accountability system produces *reliable            | 50     |
|   | .1 | decisions*.                                         |        |
+---+----+-----------------------------------------------------+--------+
| F | 9  | Accountability system produces *valid decisions*.   | 51     |
|   | .2 |                                                     |        |
+---+----+-----------------------------------------------------+--------+
| F | 9  | State has a plan for addressing *changes in         | 53     |
|   | .3 | assessment and student population*.                 |        |
+---+----+-----------------------------------------------------+--------+
| # |    |                                                     |        |
|   |    |                                                     |        |
| [ |    |                                                     |        |
| P |    |                                                     |        |
| r |    |                                                     |        |
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| 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   | 54     |
|   | .1 | the *rate of participation* in the statewide        |        |
|   |    | assessment.                                         |        |
+---+----+-----------------------------------------------------+--------+
| F | 10 | Accountability system has a means for *applying the | 55     |
|   | .2 | 95% assessment criteria to student subgroups* *and  |        |
|   |    | small schools.*                                     |        |
+---+----+-----------------------------------------------------+--------+

**STATUS Legend: F** -- Final State policy **P** -- Proposed policy,
awaiting State approval

**W** -- Working to formulate policy

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

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

**1.1 How does the State Accountability System include every public
school and LEA in the State?**

Every West Virginia public school and Local Education Agency (LEA) is
required to make adequate yearly progress (AYP) and is included in the
State Accountability System, as specified in West Virginia Board of
Education Policy 2320.

For the purpose of determining AYP, West Virginia public schools are
defined as those elementary and secondary schools established and
maintained at public expense through the total basic foundation
program/state aid formula outlined in W.Va. Code §18-9A-3 and W.Va. Code
§18-9A-12. For the purposes of AYP determination, an elementary school
is one that has a grade configuration that may include grades K-4, but
does not contain grade 8 or higher. A middle school is a school that
does not meet the definition of an elementary school and contains grade
8, but does not contain grade 12. A high school is any school that
contains grade 12. The LEA is defined as the county school district.

Students who attend alternative education programs as defined in West
Virginia Board of Education Policy 2418 are included in the state
accountability system by having individual test scores aggregated in the
results of the home county school district/school of referral.

The West Virginia Office of Education Performance Audits, through
periodic on-site reviews completed at least once every three years,
determines AYP for public schools without grades assessed (i.e., K-2
schools). The performance audit includes a review of informal reading
and mathematics student assessment results and verifies compliance with
legislation and policies required by the State of West Virginia.

There are approximately 41 small schools in West Virginia that do not
have a total of 50 in the tested class levels. For those small schools,
the Office of Education Performance Audits determines AYP using the
total subgroup only and averaging the scores for the current year tested
plus the previous two years in order to make the AYP decision more
reliable.

**Evidence\*:**

W.Va. Code §§18-1-2, 18-9A-3 and 18-9A-12

West Virginia Board of Education Policy 2418,
<http://wvde.state.wv.us/policies/p2418.html>

West Virginia Board of Education Policy 2320

\*Note: A policy citation that does not include a website address is an
indication that the policy is under revision.

1.2 How are all public schools and LEAs held to the same criteria when
making an AYP determination?

The current systems of assessment and accountability are defined in West
Virginia Board of Education Policy 2340: *Statewide Assessment System*
and proposed Policy 2320: *A Process for Improving
Education\--Performance Based Accreditation System*.

-   The Accreditation System Policy 2320, Section 5 includes the state
    assessment, participation, graduation or attendance accountability
    standards revised to meet the *No Child Left Behind* (NCLB) federal
    language.

All West Virginia public schools and LEAs are systematically judged on
the basis of the same criteria when making an AYP determination.

For the purpose of determining AYP, West Virginia public schools are
defined as those elementary and secondary schools established and
maintained at public expense through the total basic foundation
program/state aid formula outlined in W.Va. Code §18-9A-3 and W.Va. Code
§18-9A-12. For the purposes of AYP determination, an elementary school
is one that has a grade configuration that may include grades K-4, but
does not contain grade 8 or higher. A middle school is a school that
does not meet the definition of an elementary school and contains grade
8, but does not contain grade 12. A high school is any school that
contains grade 12. The LEA is defined as the county school district.

Students who attend alternative education programs as defined in West
Virginia Board of Education Policy 2418 are included in the state
accountability system by having individual test scores aggregated in the
results of the home county school district/school of referral.

The West Virginia Office of Education Performance Audits, through
periodic on-site reviews completed at least once every three years,
determines AYP for public schools without grades assessed (i.e., K-2
schools). The performance audit includes a review of informal reading
and mathematics student assessment results and verifies compliance with
legislation and policies required by the State of West Virginia.

All students with disabilities in West Virginia public schools as
defined under Section 602(3) of the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act (IDEA) amendments of 1997 and West Virginia Board of
Education Policy 2419: *Regulations for the Education of Exceptional
Students*, participates in the West Virginia Assessment Program. The
Individualized Education Program (IEP) Team determines how students with
disabilities will participate in the statewide assessment program (i.e.,
West Virginia Educational Standards Test (WESTEST) or West Virginia
Alternate Performance Task Assessment (WV APTA)) as defined in West
Virginia Board of Education Policies 2340 and 2419. The WV APTA yields
reading/language arts and mathematics assessment results for inclusion
in AYP determination.

West Virginia has identified five performance levels for the new
assessments (WESTEST). WESTEST is comprised of custom-developed
assessments that include multiple measures in the areas of
reading/language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies. The
assessments are administered in grades 3 through 8 and grade 10, and
beginning in 2008-2009, these assessments will be administered in grades
3 through 8 and 11.

Students' scores from the WV APTAare aggregated with those from the
WESTEST for all students and each subgroup. The following process was
developed to aggregate the scores from the WV APTA with those from the
WESTEST for the school, district and state results. (See Section 5.3.)

Not more than 1% of the student scores on the APTA may be counted as
Proficient in the county and state accountability calculations. The
local school districts will identify the students whose scores will be
excluded as proficient in the annual accountability calculation as per
the language in Principle 5: 5.3 (page 39). .

All of the required subgroups, including students with disabilities, who
are enrolled in a public school for a full academic year are included in
the performance measures that determine AYP, accreditation status of
schools and the approval status of LEAs. (West Virginia Board Policy
2320: *A Process for Improving Education---Performance Based
Accreditation System*, 2003)

**Evidence:**

W. Va. Code §18-1-2

WV Board of Education Policy 2418,
<http://wvde.state.wv.us/policies/p2418.html>

WV Board of Education Policy 2340

WV Board of Education Policy 2320

WV Board of Education Policy 2419,
[http://wvde.state.wv.us/policies/p2419.html](http://wvde.state.wv.us/policies/p2320.html)

**1.3 Does the State have, at a minimum, a definition of *basic,
proficient, and advanced* student achievement levels in reading/language
arts and mathematics?**

###### West Virginia has defined five levels of student achievement for the WESTEST: distinguished, above mastery, mastery, partial mastery and novice. A general description of each of these levels is listed below:

> **■ Distinguished**: Student demonstrates knowledge, comprehension,
> application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation of skills, which
> exceed the standard.
>
> **■ Above Mastery:** Student demonstrates knowledge, comprehension,
> application, and analysis of skills, which exceed the standard.
>
> **■ Mastery\*\*:** Student demonstrates knowledge, comprehension, and
> application of skills, which meet the standard.
>
> **■ Partial Mastery:** Student demonstrates knowledge and recall of
> skills toward meeting the standard.
>
> **■ Novice:** Student does not demonstrate knowledge and recall of
> skills needed to meet the standard.

For each of the content standards in reading and English language arts
and mathematics, five levels of performance descriptors have been
developed. Mastery Level is the Proficient Level of performance for West
Virginia.

All of the WESTEST assessments are aligned to the content standards and
descriptors. There are two cuts below proficient and two cuts above
proficient as per the above-mentioned performance levels. In order to
determine achievement levels, the four cut scores have been set on a
composite scale using Bookmark methodology.

\*\*West Virginia has identified the mastery level as meeting the
proficient level specified in *No Child Left Behind.*

**Evidence:**

WV Board of Education Policy 2510

WV Board of Education Policy 2520.1

WV Board of Education Policy 2520.2

West Virginia Standard Setting Procedure

Request for Proposal for Alignment Study

**1.4 How does the State provide accountability and adequate yearly
decisions and information in a timely manner?**

West Virginia provides decisions about adequate yearly progress (AYP) in
time for LEAs to implement the required provisions of *No Child Left
Behind* before the beginning of the next academic year.

Current West Virginia Board of Education Policy 2340 and W.Va. Code
§18-2E-4 requires data input, scoring and the reporting of results to
schools and parents. For the purpose of determining AYP, the West
Virginia Department of Education ensures that results of the State
academic assessment are available to the LEAs in a timely manner. (See
Chart 1.)

Chart 1. Timeline

+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| Timeline                          | Activity                          |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| May Test Administration Week      | Statewide Assessment              |
| (annually)                        | Administration                    |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| The week following Test           | Statewide Assessment Make-Up      |
| Administration will become the    | window                            |
| Make-Up Week (annually)           |                                   |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| At the end of the testing window  | Collection of information on      |
| (annually)                        | students enrolled for full        |
|                                   | academic year                     |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| Six to Eight Weeks from           | Assessment vendor required to     |
| Assessment Administration         | provide assessment results to the |
|                                   | WVDE                              |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| Early August (annually)           | Schools receive assessment        |
|                                   | results                           |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| Early August (annually)           | Schools are notified of           |
|                                   | preliminary AYP status            |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| No later than the first day of    | LEA notification to parents       |
| school                            | regarding school choice and       |
|                                   | supplemental services             |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| No later than thirty days after   | District/LEA Appeals Process      |
| preliminary identification of     | Begins                            |
| Schools/LEAs not meeting AYP      |                                   |
| (annually)                        | Challenged agency renders final   |
|                                   | determination in response to      |
|                                   | appeal                            |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+

**Evidence:**

W.Va. Code §18-2E-4

WV Board of Education Policy 2340

WV Board of Education Policy 2320

Right Response Summaries: Student, School, County and State

5.  **Does the State Accountability System produce an annual State
    Report Card?**

West Virginia has published a State Report Card as required by W. Va.
Code §18-2E-4 since 1989. Using the existing management information
system, a *No Child Left Behind* (NCLB) Report Card for schools and LEAs
are published annually according to NCLB requirements for state
reporting.

The West Virginia Department of Education operates a management
information system for all schools and all county boards of education.
The system is on-line, is interactive and operates over a privately
addressed Intranet. Standard data element definitions and codes are used
statewide.

The West Virginia Department of Education collects from school files the
information needed for state and federal reporting and decision-making.
The enrollment collection contains information about the enrollment of
the student attributes such as active special education, limited English
proficient (LEP), migrant, grade level, gender, race, free/reduced lunch
status, etc. This file is collected three times during the school year
for NCLB purposes: mid-October, early February, and May (end of the
testing window). Schools are required to verify the data submitted in
these files to assure accuracy.

The NCLB Report Card includes information, in the aggregate, on student
achievement at each proficiency level on the state academic assessment
(WESTEST) including the West Virginia Alternate Performance Task
Assessment (WV APTA), disaggregated by (1) all students, (2) race, (3)
gender, (4) disability, (5) migrant status, (6) limited English
proficiency status and (7) economically disadvantaged status. The report
card includes the most recent two-year results in student achievement in
reading/language arts and mathematics performance levels. The percent of
students not tested, graduation rates for secondary schools and
attendance rates for elementary/middle schools are reported in
aggregate.

The professional qualifications of teachers in the State and the number
of such teachers teaching with emergency or provisional credentials are
provided on the State report card. The percent of classes not taught by
highly qualified teachers are disaggregated by high poverty compared to
low poverty schools.

The NCLB Report Card contains information on schools not making AYP
according to NCLB, Section 1116. A listing of all schools that failed to
make AYP for the year is reported.

The NCLB Report Card is published for libraries and schools in printed
form and is made available to the public on the West Virginia Department
of Education website.

Statewide assessment results are provided to the West Virginia
Department of Education in August and the NCLB Report Card is made
available to schools prior to the first day of October.

**Evidence:**

West Virginia State Code § 18-2E-4

**1.6 How does the State Accountability System include rewards and
sanctions for public schools and LEAs?**

The system of assessment is defined in West Virginia Board of Education
Policy 2340: *Statewide Assessment System.* The current accountability
standards are described in proposed Policy 2320: *A Process for
Improving Education: Performance Based Accreditation System.*

West Virginia's state accountability system includes rewards and
sanctions for public schools and LEAs. The State's accreditation policy,
West Virginia Board of Education Policy 2320, prescribes consequences
for schools/LEAs that do not meet accreditation standards. These
consequences range from revision of the Unified School Improvement Plan
or Unified County Improvement Plan to possible State takeover of the
school or LEA. In addition, all Title I public schools are subject to
the requirements of Section 1116 of NCLB. (See Chart 2: West Virginia
School Sanctions; and Chart 3: West Virginia LEA Sanctions.)

Chart 2. West Virginia School Sanctions

+-----------+---------------------------+------------------------------+
| West      |                           |                              |
| Virginia  |                           |                              |
| School    |                           |                              |
| Sanctions |                           |                              |
+-----------+---------------------------+------------------------------+
| Not       | State School              | Title I School               |
| Meeting   |                           |                              |
| AYP After | Policy 2320               | Section 1116                 |
+-----------+---------------------------+------------------------------+
| Year 1    | Recommend Unified School  | Recommend Unified School     |
|           | Improvement Plan revision | Improvement Plan and Title I |
|           | to address identified     | Plan revision to address     |
|           | deficiencies              | identified deficiencies      |
+-----------+---------------------------+------------------------------+
| Year 2    | Temporary Accreditation   | School Improvement           |
|           | Status                    |                              |
|           |                           | -   Improvement Plan         |
|           | -   Revise USIP with      |                              |
|           |     improvement date      | -   10% of Title I allotment |
|           |     certain (1-5 yrs)     |     identified for staff     |
|           |                           |     development              |
|           | -   Upgraded to           |                              |
|           |     Conditional Status    | -   Technical Assistance     |
|           |     when approved         |     (SEA & LEA)              |
|           |                           |                              |
|           | -   State will provide    | -   LEA must offer School    |
|           |     assistance            |     Choice                   |
+-----------+---------------------------+------------------------------+
| Year 3    | Continue Conditional      | School Improvement           |
|           | Status or be designated   |                              |
|           | as Seriously Impaired if  | -   Previous year sanctions  |
|           | date certain not met      |     plus                     |
|           |                           |                              |
|           | -   State assigns         | -   Supplemental Services    |
|           |     Improvement           |     for eligible students    |
|           |     Consultant Team       |                              |
|           |                           |                              |
|           | -   State may designate a |                              |
|           |     Distinguished         |                              |
|           |     Educator to provide   |                              |
|           |     assistance            |                              |
+-----------+---------------------------+------------------------------+
| Year 4    | Continue Conditional      | School Improvement           |
|           | Status or be designated   |                              |
|           | as Seriously Impaired     | -   Previous year sanctions  |
|           |                           |     plus                     |
|           | -   Schools revise USIP   |                              |
|           |     with a date certain   | -   Corrective Action        |
|           |                           |                              |
|           | -   School Choice after 1 |                              |
|           |     year as Seriously     |                              |
|           |     Impaired              |                              |
+-----------+---------------------------+------------------------------+

> **Chart 2. West Virginia School Sanctions (continued)**

+-----------+---------------------------+------------------------------+
| Year 5    | Seriously Impaired Status | School Improvement           |
|           |                           |                              |
|           | -   Required State        | -   Previous year sanctions  |
|           |     intervention with a   |     plus                     |
|           |     monitor               |                              |
|           |                           | -   Develop a plan for       |
|           |                           |     Alternative Governance   |
+-----------+---------------------------+------------------------------+
| Year 6    | Seriously Impaired Status | School Improvement           |
|           |                           |                              |
|           | -   State intervention    | -   Previous year sanctions  |
|           |     and control which may |     plus                     |
|           |     include replacing the |                              |
|           |     principal             | -   Implement Alternative    |
|           |                           |     Governance Plan          |
+-----------+---------------------------+------------------------------+

**Chart 3. West Virginia LEA Sanctions**

+-----------+---------------------------+------------------------------+
| West      |                           |                              |
| Virginia  |                           |                              |
| LEA       |                           |                              |
| Sanctions |                           |                              |
+-----------+---------------------------+------------------------------+
| Not       | State LEA                 | Title I LEA                  |
| meeting   |                           |                              |
| AYP after | Policy 2320               | Section 1116                 |
+-----------+---------------------------+------------------------------+
| Year 1    | Recommend Unified County  | Recommend Unified County     |
|           | Improvement Plan revision | Plan and Title I County Plan |
|           | to assist with school     | revision to assist with      |
|           | improvement               | school improvement           |
+-----------+---------------------------+------------------------------+
| Year 2    | Recommend Unified County  | LEA Improvement              |
|           | Improvement Plan revision |                              |
|           | to assist with school     | -   LEA Two-Year Improvement |
|           | improvement               |     Plan                     |
|           |                           |                              |
|           |                           | -   10% 0f Title I allotment |
|           |                           |     for Staff Development    |
|           |                           |                              |
|           |                           | -   Technical SEA Assistance |
+-----------+---------------------------+------------------------------+
| Year 3    | County placed on          | LEA Improvement              |
|           | Temporary Approval        |                              |
|           |                           | -   Previous Sanctions       |
|           | -   Revise UCIP with date |                              |
|           |     certain set for       |                              |
|           |     improvement deadline  |                              |
+-----------+---------------------------+------------------------------+
| Year 4    | LEA continues Conditional | LEA Improvement              |
|           | Approval or is placed on  |                              |
|           | Nonapproval Status if the | -   Corrective Action        |
|           | date certain is not met   |                              |
|           |                           |                              |
|           | -   State of Emergency    |                              |
|           |     declared (WV Code §   |                              |
|           |     18-2E-5)              |                              |
|           |                           |                              |
|           | -   LEA must pay for      |                              |
|           |     monitor of Seriously  |                              |
|           |     Impaired schools not  |                              |
|           |     meeting date certain  |                              |
+-----------+---------------------------+------------------------------+
| Year 5    | LEA continues Conditional |                              |
|           | Approval or placed on     |                              |
|           | Nonapproval               |                              |
|           |                           |                              |
|           | -   State intervention at |                              |
|           |     the LEA level         |                              |
|           |     possible              |                              |
+-----------+---------------------------+------------------------------+
| Year 6    | LEA continues Conditional |                              |
|           | Approval or placed on     |                              |
|           | Nonapproval               |                              |
|           |                           |                              |
|           | -   State intervention at |                              |
|           |     the LEA level         |                              |
|           |     possible              |                              |
+-----------+---------------------------+------------------------------+

**Rewards**

*Exemplary status* is issued to a public school when the measure of the
school's student and school performance and progress substantially
exceeds the minimal level performance on the standards adopted by the
West Virginia Board of Education. The West Virginia Department of
Education also recognizes *exemplary programs* in individual schools or
LEAs that contribute to outstanding student performance. Title I schools
that exceed the West Virginia performance standards are recognized as
West Virginia Distinguished Schools.

**Evidence:**

WV Board of Education Policy 2320

West Virginia RFP for Supplemental Services Providers

Approved List of Supplemental Services Providers

West Virginia Office of Education Performance Audits Book of Ratings
(Accountability Ratings)

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

**2.1 How does the State Accountability System include all students in
the State?**

All West Virginia public schools and LEA school systems (LEAs) are
systematically judged on the basis of the same criteria when making an
AYP determination using data collected through the West Virginia
Education Information System (WVEIS). This system is the statewide
management system for all public schools and LEAs. The system provides
an on-line interactive Management Information System (MIS) for student
management (student information, scheduling, grades and attendance) and
financial applications (financial accounting, payroll, personnel, fixed
assets and warehousing). All public schools and school systems use
standard codes and definitions for data entry. The WVDE extracts data
for state and federal reporting from these active files. Every student
enrolled in the state has a record in WVEIS. Every student in the state
has assessment results, which are imported, into the WVEIS data files.
This allows student records to be matched for the determination of AYP.

For the purpose of determining AYP, West Virginia public schools are
defined as those elementary and secondary schools established and
maintained at public expense through the total basic foundation
program/state aid formula outlined in W.Va. Code §19-9A-3 and W.Va. Code
§18-9A-12. For the purposes of AYP determination, an elementary school
is one that has a grade configuration that may include grades K-4, but
does not contain grade 8 or higher. A middle school is a school that
does not meet the definition of an elementary school and contains grade
8, but does not contain grade 12. A high school is any school that
contains grade 12. LEA is defined as the county school district. (W. Va.
Code § 18-1-2)

For all students in every public school and LEA, all data regarding
assessment and attendance and/or graduation is collected for each
student through the WVEIS and this data is used for reporting school,
district and state accountability results.

Students in alternative education programs as defined in West Virginia
Board of Education Policy 2418 are included in the state accountability
system by having individual test scores aggregated in the results of the
home county school district/school of referral.

The West Virginia Office of Education Performance Audits, through
periodic on-site reviews completed at least once every three years,
determines AYP for public schools without grades assessed (i.e., K-2
schools). The performance audit includes a review of informal reading
and mathematics student assessment results and verifies compliance with
legislation and policies required by the State of West Virginia.

All students with disabilities in West Virginia public schools as
defined under Section 602(3) of the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act (IDEA) amendments of 1997 and West Virginia Board of
Education Policy 2419: *Regulations for the Education of Exceptional
Students*, participates in the West Virginia Assessment Program. The
Individualized Education Program (IEP) Team determines how students with
disabilities will participate in the statewide assessment program (i.e.,
WESTEST or WVAPTA) as defined in West Virginia Board of Education
Policies 2340 and 2419. The WVAPTA yields reading/language arts and
mathematics assessment results for inclusion in AYP determination.

All students with limited English proficiency in West Virginia public
schools are required to participate in the West Virginia Statewide
Assessment Program (West Virginia Board of Education Policy 2340: *The
Statewide Assessment Program*). Limited English Proficiency (LEP), when
used with reference to individuals, means (a) individuals who were not
born in the United States or whose native language is a language other
than English; (b) individuals who come from environments where a
language other than English is dominant; and (c) individuals who are
American Indian and Alaskan natives and who come from environments where
a language other than English has had a significant impact on their
level of English language proficiency, and who, by reason thereof, have
sufficient difficulty speaking, reading, writing, or understanding the
English language to deny such individuals the opportunity to learn
successfully in classrooms, where the language of instruction is
English. For purposes of making AYP determinations, West Virginia counts
the scores of former LEP students in the LEP subgroup for two years
after those students are no longer considered to be LEP. For
accountability purposes, West Virginia State Board Policy 2320: *A
Process for Improving Education: Performance Based Accreditation System*
outlines the inclusion of all students with limited English proficiency
(LEP) who have attended a school for a full academic year.

All of the required subgroups, including students with limited English
proficiency, who are enrolled in a school for a full academic year are
included in the performance level measures that determine AYP,
accreditation status of schools and the approval status of LEAs.

West Virginia grants participation rate exemptions for students with a
significant medical emergency.

**Evidence:**

W. Va. Code § 18-1-2

West Virginia Board of Education Policy 2320

West Virginia Board of Education Policy 2340

West Virginia Board of Education Policy 2419,
[**http://wvde.state.wv.us/policies/p2419.html**](http://wvde.state.wv.us/policies/p2419.html)

2.2 How does the State define "full academic year" for identifying
students in AYP decisions?

The following definition of students to be included in the
accountability system through the completion of a full academic year has
been developed by a statewide committee appointed by the West Virginia
Board of Education and is being inserted in Policy 2320.

#### [For inclusion in AYP determination]{.underline}

A student who is enrolled continuously in that school from the fifth
instructional day of school to the spring testing window is included
when determining if the school has made adequate yearly progress. A
student is continuously enrolled if s/he has not transferred or dropped
out of that school. A student who is enrolled continuously in the LEA
from the fifth instructional day of school to the spring testing window
is included when determining if the LEA has made adequate yearly
progress. A student who is enrolled continuously in the state from the
fifth instructional day of school to the spring testing window is
included when determining if the state has made adequate yearly
progress.

For the state and each LEA, and school to make AYP, 95% of the students
enrolled at the time of testing in each subgroup must be assessed, as
specified in Policy 2320.

**Evidence:**

W.Va. Code §§18-2E-1, 18-2E-1a, 18-2E-8 (c)(1)

WV Board of Education Policy 2340

WV Board of Education Policy 2320

WV Board of Education Policy 2510

2.3 How does the State Accountability System determine which students
have attended the same public school and/or LEA for a full academic
year?

The following definition of students to be included in the
accountability system through the completion of a full academic year has
been developed by a statewide committee appointed by the West Virginia
Board of Education and is being inserted in Policy 2320.

#### [For inclusion in AYP determination]{.underline}

All schools, LEAs and the State are held accountable for the AYP
indicators:

> A student who is enrolled continuously in that [school]{.underline}
> from the fifth instructional day of school to the spring testing
> window is included when determining if the school has made adequate
> yearly progress.
>
> A student who is enrolled continuously in the [LEA
> district]{.underline} from the fifth instructional day of school to
> the spring testing window is included when determining if the LEA has
> made adequate yearly progress.
>
> A student who is enrolled continuously in the [state]{.underline} from
> the fifth instructional day of school to the spring testing window is
> included when determining if the state has made adequate yearly
> progress.

Additionally, a student is continuously enrolled if s/he has not
transferred or dropped out of that school. Students who are serving
suspensions/expulsions are still considered to be enrolled students.

Every student enrolled in West Virginia public schools is given a unique
identification number that does not change as long as the student is
enrolled in West Virginia public schools. The West Virginia Education
Information System (WVEIS) uses these unique student identification
numbers to track student enrollment and student achievement over time.
Students not continuously enrolled for a full academic year at the
school level are included in the determination for AYP at the local and
state accountability levels. All students not enrolled for the full
academic year at the school level are tracked by the unique
identification number assigned to them by WVEIS.

**Evidence:**

WV Board of Education Policy 2320

**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.**

**3.1 How does the state's definition of adequate yearly progress
require all students to be proficient in reading/language arts and
mathematics by the 2013-2014 school year?**

West Virginia's definition of adequate yearly progress (AYP) requires
all students to be proficient in reading/language arts and mathematics
by the end of the 2013-14 school year and requires all students and each
subgroup to be held accountable to meet all of the academic indicators
used to measure AYP (percent proficient in reading/language arts and
mathematics; percent of participation in the assessments; graduation
rate for secondary schools; and attendance rate for elementary and
middle schools). (See Chart 4.)

The West Virginia definition of AYP was submitted to the West Virginia
State Board of Education in January 2003, and was submitted and approved
by the United States Department of Education.

**Chart 4.** Accountability Subgroups and Academic Indicators

+--------------+-------+---------+---------+----------+--------------+
|              | Aca   |         | Partic  |          | Graduatio    |
|              | demic |         | ipation |          | n/Attendance |
|              | Indic |         | Rate    |          | Rate \*      |
|              | ators |         |         |          |              |
+--------------+-------+---------+---------+----------+--------------+
|              | Readi | Math    | Rea     | Mat      |              |
|              | ng/LA | ematics | ding/LA | hematics |              |
|              |       |         |         |          |              |
|              | \%    | \%      |         |          |              |
|              | Me    | Meeting |         |          |              |
|              | eting | S       |         |          |              |
|              | Sta   | tandard |         |          |              |
|              | ndard |         |         |          |              |
+--------------+-------+---------+---------+----------+--------------+
| All Students |       |         |         |          |              |
+--------------+-------+---------+---------+----------+--------------+
| Economically |       |         |         |          |              |
|              |       |         |         |          |              |
| D            |       |         |         |          |              |
| isadvantaged |       |         |         |          |              |
+--------------+-------+---------+---------+----------+--------------+
| R/E White    |       |         |         |          |              |
+--------------+-------+---------+---------+----------+--------------+
| R/E Black    |       |         |         |          |              |
+--------------+-------+---------+---------+----------+--------------+
| R/E Hispanic |       |         |         |          |              |
+--------------+-------+---------+---------+----------+--------------+
| R/E Asian    |       |         |         |          |              |
+--------------+-------+---------+---------+----------+--------------+
| R/E American |       |         |         |          |              |
| In           |       |         |         |          |              |
| dian/Alaskan |       |         |         |          |              |
+--------------+-------+---------+---------+----------+--------------+
| Students     |       |         |         |          |              |
| with         |       |         |         |          |              |
| Disabilities |       |         |         |          |              |
+--------------+-------+---------+---------+----------+--------------+
| LEP Students |       |         |         |          |              |
+--------------+-------+---------+---------+----------+--------------+

\* The school/LEA is not required to disaggregate graduation rate and
attendance rate data into the subgroups [for accountability]{.underline}
unless the school/LEA is using the "Safe Harbor" provision to meet AYP.

All subgroups identified in Chart 4 are held accountable to the academic
indicators of reading/language arts and mathematics. West Virginia has
outlined a ten-year timeline for public schools to reach the goal of
100% of students proficient in reading/language arts and mathematics by
the end of the 2013-14 school year. Annual intermediate goals have been
established, beginning in the school year 2005--06, to ensure? increases
in the percent of students proficient in reading/language arts and
mathematics over the next eight years.

As West Virginia defines annual intermediate goals, the first increase
has been established for the spring of 2007. The trajectories provide
annual incremental increases to assure that West Virginia public schools
and districts meet the goal of 100% proficiency in 2013-14.

The development of intermediate goals included the following assumptions
for West Virginia:

1)  Calculate the starting point for determining AYP based on 2003-04
    assessment data that followed the recommendations of the United
    States Department of Education. (See Chart 6 in this document.) This
    percent served as the standard for AYP for the 2003-04 school year.

2)  Recalculate the starting point, using the average of two years of
    assessment data (2003-04 and 2004-05) for reading/language arts and
    mathematics. This served as the AYP standard for the 2004-05 school
    year. These averages were used to determine intermediate goals and
    annual measurable objectives by grade configuration for the next
    eight years.

In the summer of 2005, elementary, middle and high school grade span
starting points were established from two years of baseline data to
determine the state-level projections for intermediate goals and annual
measurable goals for reading/language arts and mathematics through 2014.
The goals and objectives were set separately for reading/language arts
and mathematics. Additionally, the goals and objectives may be different
for each grade configuration. The annual measurable objectives are
defined in Section 3.2b and the intermediate goals are defined in 3.2c.
These objectives and goals will ensure? that all students will reach the
proficient level of performance by 2013-2014.

> .

[GROWTH OBJECTIVE ("Safe Harbor" Provision)]{.underline}

If any student sub-groups do not meet or exceed the state annual
measurable objectives, the public school or LEA is considered to have
met AYP if the percent of students in the non-proficient subgroup:

> 1\) Decreased by 10% on the reading/language arts and mathematics
> indicators from the preceding school year, and

2)  Made progress on one or more of the other indicators, or is at/above
    the target goal for that indicator.

95% participation rate?????

West Virginia's assessment window includes ten school calendar days. The
first week of the testing window is considered the test administration
window and the second week is considered the make-up window.

The following six (6) West Virginia trajectories were calculated using
the process outlined in Chart 6 (page 27) in this document.

-   The first three (3) trajectories provide the percentage of progress
    required in [reading]{.underline} for elementary, middle and
    secondary schools by intermediate goals and annual measurable
    objectives.

-   The next three (3) trajectories provide the percentage of progress
    required in [mathematics]{.underline} for elementary, middle and
    secondary schools by intermediate goals and annual measurable
    objectives

![](media/image2.png){width="6.127083333333333in"
height="4.346527777777778in"}

![](media/image3.png){width="5.677083333333333in"
height="4.010416666666667in"}

![](media/image4.png){width="5.670138888888889in"
height="4.0784722222222225in"}![](media/image5.png){width="5.5569444444444445in"
height="4.057638888888889in"}![](media/image6.png){width="5.550694444444445in"
height="3.811111111111111in"}

![](media/image7.png){width="5.677777777777778in"
height="4.064583333333333in"}

**Evidence:**

West Virginia Board of Education Policy 2340

West Virginia's Request For Proposal for the Statewide Assessment
Program (Executive Summary)

West Virginia's State Consolidated Plan

West Virginia's Statewide Assessment Schedule

**3.2 How does the State Accountability System determine whether each
student subgroup, public school and LEA makes AYP?**

West Virginia's State Accountability System bases its annual
determination of whether each subgroup, public school and LEA makes AYP
on the achievement of all students, including these subgroups:
economically disadvantaged, racial/ethnic, students with disabilities
and limited English proficient. West Virginia's AYP calculation also
incorporates the other academic indicators of graduation rate (for
secondary schools) and attendance rate (for elementary and middle
schools). (See Chart 4.)

> (NOTE: For accountability purposes, the school or LEA is not required
> to disaggregate graduation rate and attendance rate data into the
> subgroups unless the school or LEA is using the "Safe Harbor"
> provision to meet AYP.)

West Virginia uses a decreasing trend calculation under the "Safe
Harbor" provision to identify schools that failed to meet AYP by the
method outlined in Chart 5. A West Virginia public school or LEA is
considered to have made AYP if the percent of students in the
non-proficient subgroup:

1)  Decreased by 10% from the preceding school year, and

2)  Made progress on the other academic indicators, or is at/above the
    target for that academic indicator, and

```{=html}
<!-- -->
```
3)  Attained a 95% participation rate.

**Chart 5. "Safe Harbor" Provision for AYP Determination with
Accountability Subgroups and Indicators**

+--------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------------+
|              | **A     |         | *       |         | **Graduati    |
|              | cademic |         | *Partic |         | on/Attendance |
|              | Indic   |         | ipation |         | Rate\***      |
|              | ators** |         | Rate**  |         |               |
+--------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------------+
|              | **Readi | *       | **Readi | *       |               |
|              | ng/LA** | *Mathem | ng/LA** | *Mathem |               |
|              |         | atics** |         | atics** |               |
|              | **%     |         |         |         |               |
|              | Meeting | **%     |         |         |               |
|              | Sta     | Meeting |         |         |               |
|              | ndard** | Sta     |         |         |               |
|              |         | ndard** |         |         |               |
+--------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------------+
|              | **D     | **D     | **A     | **A     | **Meets or    |
|              | ecrease | ecrease | ttained | ttained | shows         |
|              | by 10%  | by 10%  | a 95%   | a 95%   | progress      |
|              | that    | that    | Partic  | Partic  | toward this   |
|              | percent | percent | ipation | ipation | indicator by  |
|              | of      | of      | Rate**  | Rate**  | that          |
|              | s       | s       |         |         | sub-group**   |
|              | tudents | tudents |         |         |               |
|              | from    | from    |         |         |               |
|              | the     | the     |         |         |               |
|              | pr      | pr      |         |         |               |
|              | eceding | eceding |         |         |               |
|              | year in | year in |         |         |               |
|              | the     | the     |         |         |               |
|              | s       | s       |         |         |               |
|              | chool** | chool** |         |         |               |
+--------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------------+
| **All        |         |         |         |         | []{.mark}     |
| Students**   |         |         |         |         |               |
+--------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------------+
| **Ec         |         |         |         |         | []{.mark}     |
| onomically** |         |         |         |         |               |
|              |         |         |         |         |               |
| **Dis        |         |         |         |         |               |
| advantaged** |         |         |         |         |               |
+--------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------------+
| **R/E        |         |         |         |         | []{.mark}     |
| White**      |         |         |         |         |               |
+--------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------------+
| **R/E        |         |         |         |         | []{.mark}     |
| Black**      |         |         |         |         |               |
+--------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------------+
| **R/E        |         |         |         |         | []{.mark}     |
| Hispanic**   |         |         |         |         |               |
+--------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------------+
| **R/E        |         |         |         |         | []{.mark}     |
| Asian**      |         |         |         |         |               |
+--------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------------+
| **R/E        |         |         |         |         | []{.mark}     |
| American     |         |         |         |         |               |
| Indi         |         |         |         |         |               |
| an/Alaskan** |         |         |         |         |               |
+--------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------------+
| **Students   |         |         |         |         | []{.mark}     |
| with         |         |         |         |         |               |
| Di           |         |         |         |         |               |
| sabilities** |         |         |         |         |               |
+--------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------------+
| **LEP        |         |         |         |         | []{.mark}     |
| Students**   |         |         |         |         |               |
+--------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------------+

**\*The school/LEA is not required to disaggregate graduation rate and
attendance rate data into the subgroups for accountability unless the
school/LEA is using the "Safe Harbor" provision to meet AYP.**

# Uniform averaging procedure

> West Virginia uses a uniform averaging procedure for both grades and
> years. West Virginia averages the percent proficient across grades
> within a school and district to determine AYP. The percent proficient
> is calculated based on the number of tested students that were
> enrolled for a full academic year. The mean percent is calculated
> separately for reading and mathematics. In 2005, West Virginia began
> averaging the most recent two years of test scores (including the most
> recent year's scores) and comparing the results to the current year's
> test scores. The higher score is used to determine the district/school
> AYP status. Beginning in 2006, West Virginia averages the most recent
> three years of test scores (including the most recent year's scores)
> and compares the results to the current year's test scores. The higher
> score is used to determine the district/school AYP status.

# Safe harbor provision 

> In 2005, West Virginia averaged the most recent two years of test
> scores (including the most recent year's scores) and compares the
> results to the current year's test scores. The higher score is used to
> determine whether the school or district achieved the ten percent
> reduction in the number of non-proficient students from the previous
> year. Beginning in 2006, West Virginia began averaging the most recent
> three years of test scores (including the most recent year's scores)
> and comparing those results to the current year's test scores. The
> higher score is used to determine whether the school or district
> achieved the ten percent reduction in the number of non-proficient
> students from the previous year.

**Confidence interval**

> WVDE applies a confidence interval of 99% to reading/English language
> arts and mathematics assessment results for all subgroups to make
> final decisions for AYP determinations beginning in 2003-2004 and
> extending through 2013-2014. The use of confidence intervals is not
> applied to safe harbor calculations.

West Virginia's data collection system, the West Virginia Education
Information System (WVEIS), collects student, school and LEA data by
unique identifiers and generates aggregate school, LEA and state report
cards by the different subgroups for assessment scores, participation
rates, graduation rate or attendance rate, gender and migrant status.

**Evidence:**

W.Va. Code §18-2E-4

West Virginia Board of Education Policy 2340

West Virginia Board of Education Policy 2320

**3.2a What is the State's starting point for calculating Adequate
Yearly Progress?**

Beginning in the 2003--04 school year, West Virginia set separate
starting points for reading/language arts and mathematics for public
schools by elementary, middle and high school grade spans, with the goal
of having a common starting point statewide for all public schools with
similar grade configurations based on WESTEST and WV APTA results. The
starting points calculated based on 2004 assessment data served as the
AYP standard for 2003-2004. West Virginia then recalculated the starting
point, using the average of two years of assessment data (2003-04 and
2004-05) for reading/language arts and mathematics. This served as the
AYP standard for the 2004-05 school year. These averages were used to
determine intermediate goals and annual measurable objectives by grade
configuration for the eight year span.

##### Chart 6. Calculating the Starting Point for AYP

> Rank all West Virginia public schools in order according to the
> percent of students who scored at the proficient level or above in
> reading/language arts in spring, 2004. West Virginia calculated
> different starting points for public elementary, middle and high
> schools. The same process is used to calculate the starting point for
> mathematics. (In Steps 1 through 5, references are made to Chart 6a,
> Example A, found on the following page.)
>
> 1\. In a chart similar to Example A, record the total students in the
> enrollment records for each school after they are ordered based on the
> percent of students who scored at the proficient level or above.
>
> 2\. Beginning with the school with the smallest percent of proficient
> students in reading/language arts, calculate the cumulative
> enrollment. Referring to Example A, the cumulative enrollment for
> School X is 397 {200 (School Z) + 65 (School Y) + 132 (School X)}.
>
> 3\. Multiply the total student enrollment for West Virginia public
> schools (top cumulative enrollment number) by 20 percent (.20) to find
> 20 percent of the total student enrollment. In the example, 20 percent
> of 1619 is 323.8. Rounding yields 324.

4.  Count up from the school with the smallest percent of students
    proficient in reading/language arts to identify the public schools
    whose combined school populations represent 20 percent of the total
    student enrollment (cumulative enrollment). From Example A, 20
    percent of the total student enrollment is 324. To reach this
    number, the student populations from School X, School Y and School Z
    are combined.

> 5\. Use the largest percent of students who scored at the proficient
> level in reading/language arts and mathematics from the public schools
> identified in Step 4. This percent is the minimum starting point for
> reading/language arts and mathematics. In Chart 6a, Example A, the
> minimum starting point is 30 percent (the percent of proficient
> students at School X).
>
> Chart 6a. Example A

  --------------- ------------------ ---------------- ----------------------
  School Name     Percent of         Total students   Cumulative enrollment
                  Students           in enrollment    
                  Proficient in      records          
                  Reading/Language                    
                  Arts                                

  School A        54 %               235              1619 (1384 + 235)

  School B        40 %               400              1384 (984 + 400)

  School W        38 %               587              984 (397 + 587)

  School X        30 %               132              397 (265 + 132)

  School Y        29 %               65               265 (200 + 65)

  School Z        20 %               200              200
  --------------- ------------------ ---------------- ----------------------

West Virginia's definition of Adequate Yearly Progress:

1)  Percent of students meeting or exceeding the State's proficient
    level

2)  Separate starting points for reading/language arts and mathematics
    by elementary, middle and high school grade spans

3)  Intermediate goals

4)  Annual objectives

Each intermediate goal reflects annual measurable objectives based on
state performance as defined in the federal legislation. Additionally,
the school growth ("Safe Harbor" provision described in Section 3.1)
calculation is applied if the school or LEA did not meet AYP state
annual objectives. The intermediate goals and annual objectives
established by West Virginia guides public schools in reaching the
target goal of 100% proficiency by the end of the 2013-14 school year.

**Evidence:**

West Virginia Board of Education Policy 2340

West Virginia Board of Education Policy 2320

West Virginia's Calculations of Starting Points (when Spring 2004
assessment data is available)

**3.2b What are the State's annual measurable objectives for determining
adequate yearly progress?**

West Virginia has established annual intermediate goals/objectives for
reading/language arts and mathematics for elementary, middle and high
school grade configurations. These goals/objectives identify a single
percent of students who must annually meet or exceed the proficient
level of performance on the West Virginia Educational Standards Test
(WESTEST) or the West Virginia Alternate Performance Task Assessment (WV
APTA).

Beginning in 2004-05, West Virginia determined annual intermediate
goals/objectives separately for reading/language arts and mathematics.
The annual intermediate goals/objectives are used to determine AYP and
serve as a guide to public schools in reaching the target goal by the
end of the 2013-14 school year. These goals/objectives are the same for
all public schools and LEAs for each grade configuration. The
goals/objectives may be the same for more than one year. West Virginia
determined these goals/objectives in 2004-05, and uses them to determine
AYP for each public school and LEA by each student subgroup through
2013-14. (Refer to Section 3.1.)

West Virginia has identified annual measurable objectives that 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. 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 annual measurable objectives are
the same throughout the State for each public school, each LEA and each
subgroup of students. West Virginia WESTEST Annual Measurable Objectives
for 2006-2014 are as follows:

+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| > Year  | > Ele   | >       | > High  | > Ele   | >       | > High  |
|         | mentary |  Middle | >       | mentary |  Middle | >       |
|         | >       | >       |  School | >       | >       |  School |
|         | >       |  School | >       | > Math  |  School | > Math  |
|         | Reading | >       | Reading | ematics | > Math  | ematics |
|         |         | >       |         |         | ematics |         |
|         |         | Reading |         |         |         |         |
+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| 2006    | 72.00   | 75.00   | 71.00   | 67.00   | 64.00   | 59.00   |
+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| 2007    | 76.67   | 79.17   | 75.83   | 72.50   | 70.00   | 65.83   |
+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| 2008    | 76.67   | 79.17   | 75.83   | 72.50   | 70.00   | 65.83   |
+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| 2009    | 76.67   | 79.17   | 75.83   | 72.50   | 70.00   | 65.83   |
+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| 2010    | 81.33   | 83.33   | 80.66   | 78.00   | 76.00   | 72.67   |
+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| 2011    | 86.00   | 87.50   | 85.50   | 83.50   | 82.00   | 79.50   |
+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| 2012    | 90.67   | 91.67   | 90.33   | 89.00   | 88.00   | 86.33   |
+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| 2013    | 95.34   | 95.84   | 95.16   | 94.50   | 94.00   | 93.17   |
+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| 2014    | 100.00  | 100.00  | 100.00  | 100.00  | 100.00  | 100.00  |
+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+

**Evidence:**

West Virginia Board of Education Policy 2320

West Virginia Board of Education Policy 2340

**3.2c What are the State's intermediate goals for determining adequate
yearly progress?**

West Virginia has set annual objectives and intermediate goals for three
grade configurations (elementary, middle and high school). The
intermediate goals increase in equal increments toward the goal of
having 100% of students proficient in 2013-14.

# West Virginia's intermediate goals assist schools and LEAs in determining the annual measurable growth objectives. These objectives define the percent of students necessary for 100% of the students to meet or exceed the proficient performance level by 2013-14. West Virginia determined the goals in 2004-05, and applies these goals to each school and LEA by subgroups to determine AYP status. Additionally, the "Safe Harbor" provision is applied to meet AYP in West Virginia. 

West Virginia has identified intermediate goals consistent with the
identified annual measurable objectives and the State's definition of
adequate yearly progress. West Virginia WESTEST Intermediate Goals for
2006-2014 are as follows:

+---------+------------------+---------------+------------------------+
| Subject | Grade Span       | Starting      | Intermediate Goals for |
|         |                  | Point         | six Incremental        |
|         |                  |               | Increases in years     |
|         |                  |               | 2007, 2010, 2011,      |
|         |                  |               | 2012, 2013, 2014       |
+---------+------------------+---------------+------------------------+
| >       | Elementary       | 72            | 4.667                  |
| Reading |                  |               |                        |
+---------+------------------+---------------+------------------------+
|         | Middle School    | 75            | 4.167                  |
+---------+------------------+---------------+------------------------+
|         | High School      | 71            | 4.833                  |
+---------+------------------+---------------+------------------------+
| > Math  | Elementary       | 67            | 5.500                  |
| ematics |                  |               |                        |
+---------+------------------+---------------+------------------------+
|         | Middle School    | 64            | 6.000                  |
+---------+------------------+---------------+------------------------+
|         | High School      | 59            | 6.833                  |
+---------+------------------+---------------+------------------------+

West Virginia has identified intermediate goals consistent with the
identified annual measurable objectives and the State's definition of
adequate yearly progress.

["Safe Harbor" Provision:]{.underline} If any student subgroups do not
meet the state annual measurable objectives, the public school or LEA
may be considered to have met AYP if the percent of students in the
non-proficient subgroup:

1)  Decreased by 10% on the reading/language arts and mathematics
    indicators from the preceding school year, and

2)  Made progress on one or more of the other indicators, or is at/above
    the target goal for that indicator, and

3)  Attained a 95% participation rate.

Example of Safe Harbor provision: If 70% of the students in a subgroup
are not proficient in the first year, then the non-proficient subgroup
must decrease the percent of non-proficient students by 7% (10 % of 70
%) when compared to the preceding year.

**Evidence:**

West Virginia Board of Education Policy 2320

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

**4.1 How does the State Accountability System make an annual
determination of whether each public school and LEA in the State makes
AYP?**

West Virginia currently makes annual determinations of AYP for all
public schools and began to include the LEA in the AYP accountability
system in 2004. West Virginia Code requires that the West Virginia
Department of Education publish a report of school, LEA and state
performance annually. West Virginia State Code §18-2E-5 and West
Virginia Board of Education Policy 2320 require annual decisions
regarding school performance before the beginning of each school year.
All required AYP decisions for each public school and LEA are made
annually.

Information used for AYP determination includes:

-   the proficiency status of each student tested in the state based on
    the assessment results for the student. (Each student has a total
    mathematics and a total reading/language arts score and students'
    proficiency is determined for each test as provided by the testing
    company contracted to score and report test results.)

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-   whether each student has completed a full academic year at the
    school, LEA, or state level as determined by a comparison of the
    roster of students enrolled by the fifth instructional day of school
    and who were continuously enrolled through the testing window in May
    (West Virginia students are continuously enrolled if they have not
    transferred or dropped out of school. All other situations
    constitute enrollment.)

-   the number of students enrolled for a full academic year determined
    by comparing the number of continuously enrolled students with the
    number of tested students

-   the percent of students enrolled for a full academic year

-   the graduation rate for public high schools as determined by the
    formula indicated in Section 7.1 with information coming from the
    current Tenth Month Enrollment Report (June) and prior year dropout
    reports (by student)

-   the attendance rate for public elementary and middle schools as
    determined by the Tenth Month Attendance register collection

-   disaggregated test results, percent tested, graduation rate and
    attendance rate across the required subgroups

All required subgroups are identified based on subgroup membership
indicated in the May enrollment collection. West Virginia notifies
schools/LEAs of any subgroup that initially does not meet AYP in one
year on any indicator (i.e., reading/language arts, mathematics,
participation rate, attendance rate, or graduation rate); however, if
that school/LEA successfully meets AYP for that same indicator the
following year, that school/LEA is considered to have met the AYP
standard and will not be identified for school improvement. This
approach will reduce the error of falsely identifying schools in need of
improvement.

Each school, LEA and sub-group is required to meet the annual objectives
and intermediate goals. Each school and LEA, including all subgroups, is
required to meet the 95% assessment participation rate indicator.

West Virginia has established a statewide starting point for the
graduation rate indicator (for secondary schools) and the attendance
rate indicator (for elementary and middle schools). West Virginia has
applied a growth standard to public schools that did not meet or exceed
the starting points for graduation or attendance. (See Principle 7.)

Public schools are accountable for all students who have been enrolled
in the school for a full academic year. The LEA is accountable for all
students who have been enrolled for a full academic year in that LEA.
The SEA is accountable for all students who have been enrolled for a
full academic year in that state. (See Section 2.2.)

The decision about whether a school has made AYP is currently the
responsibility of the Office of Education Performance Audits (OEPA),
under the direction of the West Virginia Board of Education. All
accountability decisions are based on the information collected by the
West Virginia Department of Education through its education information
system and database, WVEIS, and from using the following electronic
collections:

May Enrollment of Students

Tenth Month Enrollment Report (June)

> Total Year Student Registration Record
>
> Assessment Results by Student

**Evidence:**

West Virginia State Code §18-2E-5

West Virginia Board of Education Policy 2320

West Virginia Office of Education Performance Audits Book of Ratings
(Accountability Ratings)

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

**5.1 How does the definition of adequate yearly progress include all
the required student subgroups?**

West Virginia's definition of AYP includes measuring and reporting the
achievement of subgroups of students by the indicators and subgroups
that appear in Chart 7 (Accountability Subgroups and Academic
Indicators). Currently, West Virginia reports school, LEA and state
performance by the required student subgroups. This NCLB Report Card can
be viewed at the West Virginia Department of Education website at
<http://wveis.k12.wv.us/nclb/>.

Chart 7. Accountability Subgroups and Academic Indicators

+-----------+--------+---------+--------+---------+-----------------+
|           | Ac     |         | P      |         | Gradua          |
|           | ademic |         | artici |         | tion/Attendance |
|           | Indi   |         | pation |         | Rate\*          |
|           | cators |         | Rate   |         |                 |
+-----------+--------+---------+--------+---------+-----------------+
|           | Read   | Math    | Read   | Math    |                 |
|           | ing/LA | ematics | ing/LA | ematics |                 |
|           |        |         |        |         |                 |
|           | \%     | \%      |        |         |                 |
|           | M      | Meeting |        |         |                 |
|           | eeting | S       |        |         |                 |
|           | St     | tandard |        |         |                 |
|           | andard |         |        |         |                 |
+-----------+--------+---------+--------+---------+-----------------+
| All       |        |         |        |         |                 |
| Students  |        |         |        |         |                 |
+-----------+--------+---------+--------+---------+-----------------+
| Eco       |        |         |        |         |                 |
| nomically |        |         |        |         |                 |
|           |        |         |        |         |                 |
| Disa      |        |         |        |         |                 |
| dvantaged |        |         |        |         |                 |
+-----------+--------+---------+--------+---------+-----------------+
| R/E White |        |         |        |         |                 |
+-----------+--------+---------+--------+---------+-----------------+
| R/E Black |        |         |        |         |                 |
+-----------+--------+---------+--------+---------+-----------------+
| R/E       |        |         |        |         |                 |
| Hispanic  |        |         |        |         |                 |
+-----------+--------+---------+--------+---------+-----------------+
| R/E Asian |        |         |        |         |                 |
+-----------+--------+---------+--------+---------+-----------------+
| R/E       |        |         |        |         |                 |
| American  |        |         |        |         |                 |
| India     |        |         |        |         |                 |
| n/Alaskan |        |         |        |         |                 |
+-----------+--------+---------+--------+---------+-----------------+
| Students  |        |         |        |         |                 |
| with      |        |         |        |         |                 |
| Dis       |        |         |        |         |                 |
| abilities |        |         |        |         |                 |
+-----------+--------+---------+--------+---------+-----------------+
| LEP       |        |         |        |         |                 |
| Students  |        |         |        |         |                 |
+-----------+--------+---------+--------+---------+-----------------+

\* The school/LEA is not required to disaggregate graduation rate and
attendance rate data into the subgroups [for accountability]{.underline}
unless the school/LEA is using the "Safe Harbor" provision to meet AYP.

West Virginia's definition of adequate yearly progress (AYP) requires
all student subgroups to be proficient in reading/language arts and
mathematics by the end of the 2013-14 school year. West Virginia has a
10-year timeline (according to the West Virginia Title I Compliance
Agreement) by which all students reach proficient levels of performance.
(See Section 3.1.)

West Virginia has a data collection system (WVEIS) that maintains all
student, school, LEA and state data. This data is disaggregated and
reported for all schools, LEAs and the state.

**Evidence:**

<http://wveis.k12.wv.us/nclb/>

**5.2 How are public schools and LEAs held accountable** **for the
progress of student subgroups in the determination of adequate yearly
progress?**

Using the West Virginia Education Information System, West Virginia can
match student enrollment data with test results and with the other
indicators to determine AYP for all required subgroups. Both school and
LEA determinations of AYP are computed in this system. Each subgroup
within the school or LEA must meet the objective for each indicator in
order to make AYP.

West Virginia uses a uniform averaging procedure across grade levels in
a school or LEA or the State to produce a single assessment score for
reading/language arts and a single assessment score for mathematics.
Using this data, the West Virginia Department of Education has
determined the starting points by three grade configurations:
elementary, middle and high school. Beginning in 2005, starting points
determine intermediate goals and annual measurable objectives for
schools at those grade configurations. (See Section 3.1.) Additionally,
West Virginia applies the 95% participation rate, graduation rate and
attendance rate to student subgroups to complete the determination of
AYP.

West Virginia notifies schools/LEAs of any subgroup that initially does
not meet AYP in one year on any indicator (i.e., reading/language arts,
mathematics, participation rate, attendance rate, or graduation rate);
however, if that school/LEA successfully meets AYP for that same
indicator the following year, that school/LEA is considered to have met
the AYP standard and is not identified for school improvement. This
approach reduces the error of false identification of schools in need of
improvement based on that standard.

The NCLB Report Card charts the progress of all groups of students and
the status of each group in relation to annual measurable objectives
based on the percent of students at the proficient level for
reading/language arts and mathematics, the participation rate and the
other academic indicators. The West Virginia Department of Education
provides an accountability report card by the end of September of each
year for state, LEA and school results that reflects this assumption.

**Evidence:**

West Virginia Board of Education Policy 2320

**5.3 How are students with disabilities included in the State's
definition of adequate yearly progress?**

All students with disabilities in West Virginia public schools are
required to participate in the West Virginia Statewide Assessment
Program as defined under section 602(3) of IDEA and West Virginia Board
of Education Policies 2419 and 2340. West Virginia State Board Policy
2320: *A Process for Improving Education Performance Based Accreditation
System* also outlines the inclusion of all students with disabilities
who have been enrolled in a school for a full academic year in the
accountability formula. Students with disabilities participate either in
the WESTEST or in the WV APTAThe results of the students with
disabilities are included in all AYP determinations.

West Virginia notifies schools/LEAs of the student with disabilities
subgroup that initially does not meet AYP in one year on any indicator
(i.e., reading/language arts, mathematics, participation rate,
attendance rate, or graduation rate); however, if that school/LEA
successfully meets AYP for that same indicator the following year, that
school/LEA is considered to have met the AYP standard and is not
identified for school improvement based on that standard.

West Virginia has identified five performance levels for the new
assessments (WESTEST). WESTEST is comprised of custom-developed
assessments that include multiple measures aligned to the content areas
of reading/language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies. The
WV APTA to the WESTEST is aligned with the state-adopted academic
content standards and results are reported using alternate academic
achievement (or performance) standards for grades 3 through 8 and 10.
The assessments are administered in grades 3 through 8 and grade 10. All
students are assessed at the grade at which they are enrolled and
results are provided for all students at the grade at which they are
enrolled. The percent of student scores in the WV APTA to the WESTEST,
counted as proficient or above in determining AYP, will not exceed 1% of
all students in the grades assessed at the district and the State
levels.

Students' scores from the WV APTAare aggregated with those from the
WESTEST for all students and each subgroup. The following process is
used to aggregate the scores from the WVAPTA with those from the WESTEST
for the school, district, and state results. Two performance levels for
the WV APTA are at **Mastery** and Above.

-   The number of students scoring at the **Awareness** performance
    level on the WV APTA is added to the number of students scoring
    within the **Novice** performance level of the WESTEST.

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-   The number of students scoring at the **Progressing** performance
    level on the WV APTA is added to the number of students scoring
    within the **Partial Mastery** performance level of the WESTEST.

-   The number of students scoring at the **Competent** performance
    level on the WV APTA is added to the number of students scoring
    within the **Mastery** performance level of the WESTEST.

-   The number of students scoring at the **Generalized** performance
    level on the WV APTA is added to the number of students scoring
    within the **Above Mastery** performance level of the WESTEST.

All of the required subgroups, including students with disabilities, who
are enrolled in a school for a full academic year are included in the
performance measures that determine AYP, accreditation status of
schools, and the approval status of LEAs. (West Virginia Board Policy
2320: *A Process for Improving Education: Performance Based
Accreditation System*, 2003.) West Virginia has calculated a proxy to
determine the percentage of special education students (as defined in
the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) that is equivalent to
2.0 percent of all students assessed. For the 2006-2007 school year,
this proxy will be added to the percent of students with disabilities
who are proficient. This adjusted percent proficient is what West
Virginia will use to reexamine if the school made AYP for the 2005-06
school year. What follows is a step-by-step explanation.

1.  Calculate what 2.0 percent of the total number of students assessed
    within the State equates to solely within the Students with
    Disabilities (SWD) subgroup by dividing 2.0 by [17.024 %,]{.mark}
    the percentage of identified students with disabilities. This number
    [(11.75)]{.mark}, which is a constant for every school, is the basis
    for flexibility in school AYP determinations.

2.  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.

3.  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.

4.  Compare this adjusted percent proficient for each school identified
    in Step 2 to the State\'s annual measurable objective (AMO). This
    comparison is 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.

5.  This process is followed for reading and mathematics separately and
    also repeated at the district level, as needed.

The actual percent proficient is reported to parents and the public and
West Virginia may also report the adjusted percent proficient.WVDE
Procedure when Exceeding 1% of APTA Students in County for AYP
calculations.

1.  In accordance with 34 C.F.R §200.13(c), the scores of all students
    with disabilities, including students taking the Alternate
    Performance Task Assessment (APTA), which is the state's test on
    alternate academic achievement standards for students with
    significant cognitive disabilities, will be included in calculating
    adequate yearly progress (AYP).  When calculating AYP for LEAs and
    the state, the number of students scoring proficient and above on
    the APTA included in the calculations will not exceed 1% of
    enrollment in the grades assessed in reading/language arts and
    mathematics.

2.  When the percentage proficient and above exceeds 1% at the LEA
    level, the state will notify the district of the number in excess. 
    The LEA will determine which proficient scores to count as
    non-proficient and will notify the state.  If the LEA fails to
    notify the state of its selection within the time specified, the
    state will randomly select students to be reported non-proficient
    for AYP calculations.  Once the selection is made, the
    non-proficient scores will be counted in each applicable subgroup at
    the school, LEA and state level.  Parents will be informed of the
    actual scores of students.

An Appeal Process Application will be posted on the Office of Education
Performance Audits (OEPA) for those counties that wish to file an appeal
to the 1% cap of proficient students for the purpose of the
accountability calculation. This local appeal may be made upon receipt
of the subgroup performance annually.

**Evidence:**

W. Va. Code §18-1-2

WV Board of Education Policy 2340

WV Board of Education Policy 2320

WV Board of Education Policy 2419,
[http://wvde.state.wv.us/policies/p2419.html](http://wvde.state.wv.us/policies/p2320.html)

Alternate Assessment Contract with Measured Progress

Statewide Assessment Repor

**5.4 How are students with limited English proficiency included in the
State's definition of adequate yearly progress?**

All students with limited English proficiency in West Virginia public
schools are required to participate in the West Virginia statewide
assessment using appropriate accommodations and modifications (West
Virginia Board Statewide Assessment Policy 2340). Limited English
Proficiency (LEP), when used with reference to individuals, means (a)
individuals who were not born in the United States or whose native
language is a language other than English; (b) individuals who come from
environments where a language other than English is dominant; and (c)
individuals who are American Indian and Alaskan natives and who come
from environments where a language other than English has had a
significant impact on their level of English language proficiency, and
who, by reason thereof, have sufficient difficulty speaking, reading,
writing, or understanding the English language to deny such individuals
the opportunity to learn successfully in classrooms, where the language
of instruction is English.

Additionally, the West Virginia Board Policy 2320: *A Process for
Improving Education Performance Based Accreditation System* outlines the
inclusion of all students with limited English proficiency (LEP) who
have been in a school for a full academic year in the accountability
formula**.** [The English Language Proficiency (ELP),   the criteria for
ELP (exit LEP status) are]{.underline}

a)  [a student no longer meets the definition of LEP and no longer
    participates in alternative language programs nor receives
    monitoring services; and]{.underline}

> b\) [a student scores above level five on the West Virginia Test of
> English Language Learning (WESTELL) for two consecutive years or tests
> proficient for two consecutive years on the Alternate Assessment,
> and]{.underline}
>
> c\) [a student scores at mastery level or above on the West Virginia
> Educational Standards Test (WESTEST), Reading Language Arts Assessment
> (grades 3-8 and10) or Reading Language Arts end of course exams
> (grades 9 and 11) or student scores at mastery level or above on the
> Alternate Assessment.]{.underline}

For purposes of making AYP determinations, West Virginia counts the
scores of former LEP students in the LEP subgroup for two years after
those students are no longer considered to be LEP. The policies and
documents have been revised to reflect the changes in the assessment
program and the accountability and accreditation system.

All of the required subgroups, including students with LEP, who are
enrolled in a school for a full academic year are included in the
performance level measures that determine the AYP, accreditation status
of schools and the approval status of county boards.

West Virginia notifies schools/LEAs of the LEP subgroup that initially
does not meet AYP in one year on any indicator (i.e., reading/language
arts, mathematics, participation rate, attendance rate, or graduation
rate); however, if that school/LEA successfully meets AYP for that same
indicator the following year, that school/LEA will have met the AYP
standard and will not be identified for school improvement based on that
standard.

The West Virginia Department of Education document, *LEP Inclusion
Documentation Form,* addresses the participation of LEP students in the
statewide assessment. This document outlines the criteria that a
school-based team must evaluate for each individual LEP student to
determine the appropriate participation in the WESTEST. LEAs may approve
assessment with accommodations and modifications on a case-by-case basis
for individual students.

For a LEP student who is also identified as a student with disabilities
under IDEA, the IEP team determines whether the student participates in
the WESTEST or meets the criteria for the WV APTA.

**Evidence:**

WV Board of Education Policy 2340

WV Board of Education Policy 2320

WV Board of Education Policy 2417

*LEP Inclusion Documentation Form*

**5.5 What is the State's definition of the minimum number of students
in a subgroup required for reporting purposes? For accountability
purposes?**

[Reporting Purposes]{.underline}:

The West Virginia Department of Education's minimum "n" for reporting is
ten (10) students. The NCLB Report Card does not report student data for
less than ten (10) students. In addition, when the cell being reported
is greater than 95% or less than 5%, only the symbols \>95% or \<5% are
reported. This further reduces the possibility of inadvertently
identifying information about individual students.

West Virginia Board Policy 2320: *A Process for Improving Education:
Performance Based Accreditation System* outlines the achievement
performance measures for reporting the "school's total students and each
subgroup (Migrant Students, Gender of Students, Students with
Disabilities, Limited English Proficient Students, Economically
Disadvantaged Students, Race/Ethnicity to include White, Black,
Hispanic, Asian/Pacific Islander, and Alaskan/Native American) which
contains 10 or more students."

[Accountability Purposes]{.underline}:

> The West Virginia Department of Education's minimum "n" for
> accountability is fifty (50) students. WVDE applies a confidence
> interval of 99% to reading/English language arts and mathematics
> assessment results for all subgroups to make final decisions for AYP
> determinations in the year 2003-2004 and extending through 2013-2014.
> The use of confidence intervals is not applied to "Safe Harbor"
> calculations.

West Virginia Board Policy 2320: *A Process for Improving Education
Performance Based Accreditation System* outlines the achievement
performance level measures for accountability as the "school's total
students and each subgroup (Students with Disabilities, Limited English
Proficient, Economically Disadvantaged, and Race/Ethnicity to include
White, Black, Hispanic, Asian/Pacific Islander, and Alaskan/Native
American) that contains fifty or more students."

**Evidence:**

WV Board of Education Policy 2340

WV Board of Education Policy 2320

WV Board of Education Policy 2419,
[http://wvde.state.wv.us/policies/p2419.html](http://wvde.state.wv.us/policies/p2320.html)

WV Board of Education Policy 4350,
<http://wvde.state.wv.us/policies/p4350.html>

6.  **How does the State Accountability System protect the privacy of
    students when reporting results and when determining AYP?**

West Virginia uses a minimum "n" of 10 for reporting of school and LEA
results. This minimum is acceptable for Family Educational Rights and
Privacy Act (FERPA) requirements. Additionally, the State Board of
Education Policy 4350: *The Collection, Maintenance and Disclosure of
Student Data* assures the privacy rights of all students.

Individual student results are never reported to the public. In order to
assure that individual students cannot be identified, school results are
not publicly reported or displayed when the number of students in a
subgroup is less than 10. Asterisks will be used on the NCLB Report Card
when data has been suppressed.

Results greater than 95% are reported as "\>95%" and results less than
5% are reported as "\<5" in order to prevent the reporting of
information that would violate the privacy of individual students.

**Evidence:**

W.Va. Code §§18-2E-1, 18-2E-1a, 18-2E-8 (c)(1)

West Virginia Board of Education Policy 4350,
<http://wvde.state.wv.us/policies/p4350.html>

West Virginia Board of Education Policy 2419,
<http://wvde.state.wv.us/policies/p2419.html>

WV Board of Education Policy 2320

WV Board of Education Policy 2510

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

**6.1 How is the State's definition of adequate yearly progress based
primarily on academic assessments?**

West Virginia's definition for AYP is based primarily on
reading/language arts and mathematics assessments for all student
subgroups. The 2003-2004 and 2004-2005 were the baseline data years for
the assessment indicators. In 2005, annual measurable objectives and
intermediate goals were set separately for reading/language arts and for
mathematics by the three grade configurations (elementary, middle and
high school).

To meet or exceed AYP, all student subgroups are required to 1) meet the
state's definition of proficient for reading/language arts and
mathematics, or 2) beginning in school year 2005-06, increase the
percent of students who are at the proficient level in that school or
LEA based on 2003-2004 and 2004-2005 baseline data.

**[The assessments that are used to determine AYP calculations for
schools and LEAs in West Virginia are designated by "X" within the
following chart:]{.underline}**

**Chart 8. West Virginia's Accountability Assessments**

  ----------- --------------- --------------- --------------- ---------------
              **WESTEST**                     **WV APTA**     

  **Grade**   **R/LA**        **M**           **R/LA**        **M**

  **K**                                                       

  **1**                                                       

  **2**                                                       

  **3**       **X**           **X**           **X**           **X**

  **4**       **X**           **X**           **X**           **X**

  **5**       **X**           **X**           **X**           **X**

  **6**       **X**           **X**           **X**           **X**

  **7**       **X**           **X**           **X**           **X**

  **8**       **X**           **X**           **X**           **X**

  **9**                                                       

  **10**      **X**           **X**           **X**           **X**

  **11**                                                      

  **12**                                                      
  ----------- --------------- --------------- --------------- ---------------

The same performance level standards are applied to public schools and
LEAs, disaggregating the data into the federally-defined subgroups to
determine the minimum percent of students [at or above the state
performance level of proficient (Mastery)]{.underline} for the
respective grade spans using the starting point calculations outlined in
Chart 6. These calculations identified the percent of students making
AYP for 2003-04 and 2004--05; were used to determine AYP intermediate
goals/annual objectives based on state performance through 2013--14; and
are used to determine annual growth objectives based on school
performance up to 2013--14.

In addition to meeting the 95% assessment participation rate, a
graduation rate is used as an indicator for public high schools and an
attendance rate is used for elementary and middle public schools as
indicators for determining AYP. Public schools and LEAs must 1) meet the
graduation and attendance standards to meet the AYP requirements or 2)
demonstrate growth toward the standards to meet the AYP requirements for
the graduation and attendance indicators.

**Evidence:**

W.Va. Code §§18-2E-1, 18-2E-1a, 18-2E-8 (c)(1)

WV Board of Education Policy 2340

WV Board of Education Policy 2320

WV Board of Education Policy 2510

WVEIS website: <http://wveis.k12.wv.us/nclb/>

WV Key Activities Chart

WV Assessment Timeline

Quality Controls Documentation

WV Assessment Development Teacher Participation Lists

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).

**7.1 What is the State definition for public school graduation rate?**

For West Virginia, the graduation rate is measured using the number of
students who graduate from a 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. As per
final Regulation 200.19 (B), West Virginia includes a provision for
students with disabilities that allows the IEP team to determine the
standard number of years for graduation. For students with limited
English proficiency (LEP), the LEP committee will determine the standard
number of years for graduation. The number of high school graduates and
dropouts by grade has been reported to the West Virginia Department of
Education for the last five years.

The calculation for West Virginia's graduation rate is the method
recommended by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES): the
total number of 4-year graduates divided by the sum of the total number
of 4-year graduates plus the dropouts for the four years of high school
for this class of graduates as represented in the following formula:

***g~t~ /(g~t~+ d^12^~t~ + d^11^~(t-1)~ + d^10^~(t-2)~ + d^9^~(t-3)~)***

Where:

*g* = graduates

*t* = year of graduation

*d* = dropouts

*12, 11, 10, 9* = class level

The West Virginia Board of Education has established a graduation rate
standard of 80%. Schools are considered to have met AYP if they meet or
exceed the standard or if they have made improvement toward the
standard.

For the AYP determination, the graduation rate calculation is used for
accountability at the school/LEA levels, but is not calculated for each
subgroup. However, for schools/LEAs that must use the "safe harbor"
provision to meet AYP for the achievement indicator, the graduation rate
standard must then be met by the subgroup(s) that failed to meet AYP on
the assessment standards.

**Evidence:**

W.Va. Code §18-2E-4

WV Board of Education Policy 2320

WVEIS website: <http://wveis.k12.wv.us/nclb/>

**7.2 What is the State's additional academic indicator for public
elementary schools for the definition of AYP? For public middle schools
for the definition of AYP?**

West Virginia schools have reported attendance rate annually for the
last twelve years. The West Virginia Department of Education has
selected attendance rate as the additional academic indicator for
calculating AYP for elementary and middle schools. The calculation for
the student attendance rate is:

**\[total days present / (total days present + total days absent)\] X
100**

State policy related to the attendance rate is under revision.

The West Virginia Board of Education has established an attendance rate
standard of 90%. Schools are considered to have met AYP if they meet or
exceed the standard or if they have made improvement toward the
standard.

For the AYP determination, the attendance rate calculation is used for
accountability at the school/LEA levels, but is not calculated for each
subgroup. However, for schools/LEAs that must use the "safe harbor"
provision to meet AYP for the achievement indicator, the attendance rate
standard must then be met by the subgroup(s) that failed to meet AYP on
the assessment standards.

**Evidence:**

W.Va. Code §§18-8-1, 18-8-1a, 18-8-2, 18-8-3, 18-8-4

WV Board of Education Policy 2340

WV Board of Education Policy 2320

WV Board of Education Policy 4110,
<http://wvde.state.wv.us/policies/p4110.html>

WV Board of Education Policy 2510

WVEIS website: <http://wveis.k12.wv.us/nclb/>

**7.3 Are the State's academic indicators valid and reliable?**

West Virginia has defined academic indicators that are valid and
reliable as demonstrated by the use of clear definitions (e.g., United
States Department of Education-recommended calculation formulas) for
data elements and the use of a statewide system, West Virginia Education
Information System (WVEIS) for data collection. The West Virginia
Department of Education reviews data submitted by LEAs, including
school/LEA graduation and attendance rates, and publishes this
information in school/LEA/state report cards. The WVEIS database is
monitored to verify the accuracy of these data.

West Virginia's graduation rate calculation is consistent with the
National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) completer formula with
modifications that only 4-year graduates with standard diplomas are
included. West Virginia includes a provision for students with
disabilities IEP team to determine the standard number of years for
graduation. Both the graduation rate and the attendance rate are subject
to an auditing process conducted by the West Virginia Office of
Education Performance Audits (OEPA) and are subject to monitoring at the
LEA and state levels.

**Evidence:**

WV Board of Education Policy 2340

WV Board of Education Policy 2320

WV Board of Education Policy 2510

WVEIS website: <http://wveis.k12.wv.us/nclb/>

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

1.  **Does the state measure achievement in reading/language arts and
    mathematics separately for determining AYP?**

For accountability purposes, using the WESTEST, achievement in
reading/language arts and mathematics are measured separately for
determining AYP.

District AYP is determined annually for districts. A district is
identified for improvement status only if all grade spans, elementary,
middle and high school fail to make AYP for the current year in one or
more of the student groups. However, if at least one of the grade spans
makes AYP, the district isnot identified for improvement. AYP for each
grade span is calculated by considering the percent of students
proficient for the grade span compared to the established AMO for that
grade span. Confidence interval, minimum "n" size, "Safe Harbor"
provision and uniform averaging provisions apply to this calculation.

A district identified for improvement status is removed from that status
if the district makes AYP for two consecutive years or if at least one
of the district's grade spans make AYP for two consecutive years.

**Evidence:**

W.Va. Code §§18-2E-1, 18-2E-1a, 18-2E-8 (c)(1)

WV Board of Education Policy 2340

WV Board of Education Policy 2320

WV Board of Education Policy 2510

WVEIS website: <http://wveis.k12.wv.us/nclb/>

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

**9.1 How do AYP determinations meet the State's standard for acceptable
reliability?**

The reliability of accountability system determinations are ensured?
through:

-   uniform averaging of scale scores across grade levels within the
    school and LEA to produce a single school or LEA score.

-   multiple year averages to determine reading/language arts and
    mathematics proficient levels of performance for rating public
    schools. Two years of data (2003-04 and 2004-05 WESTEST and WV APTA)
    was used as the baseline for determining a starting point. West
    Virginia established the trajectory of intermediate goals and all
    annual objectives beginning in 2005-2006 and extending through
    2013-14.

-   statistical tests to support the minimum "n" decision.

> A minimum subgroup size of 50 is used for accountability. WVDE applies
> a confidence interval of 99% to reading/English language arts and
> mathematics assessment results for all subgroups to make final
> decisions for AYP determinations beginning in the year 2003-2004 and
> extending through 2013-2014. The use of confidence intervals is not
> applied to "safe harbor" calculations.
>
> Needs a statement before the bullets

-   methods for determining an acceptable level of reliability for
    consistent decisions about cells for two years.

-   "Safe Harbor" provision and evidence that this rule increases
    reliability of decisions about schools.

**Evidence:**

##### Assessment Data analysis from WESTEST and WV APTA (Spring, 2004) 

2.  **What is the State's process for making valid AYP determinations?**

West Virginia's accountability process is designed for construct
validity and consequential validity.

##### Construct validity:

Components of the accountability system include content standards,
assessment, data collection and reporting, the identification of schools
for improvement, providing rewards and sanctions, and technical
assistance to the purpose of improving West Virginia schools. The
following components work in harmony to accomplish school improvement:

> [Assessment]{.underline}
>
> The WESTEST and WV APTA results are the primary indicators on which
> AYP determinations are made for public schools and LEAs. Students with
> disabilities and LEP students may receive accommodations and
> modifications on the WESTEST or students with disabilities may be
> assessed through WV APTA, if they meet the criteria as determined by
> the IEP Team. Our assessment system provides technical data to
> include:
>
> -Evidence of reliability and validity (See WESTEST website)
>
> -Internal and external alignment studies (See WESTEST website)
>
> -Internal and external bias studies (See WESTEST website)
>
> -Systemic procedures for quality checks (See WESTEST website)

[Data Collection]{.underline}

Enrollment information about students and their membership in specific
subgroups is determined at the school level through programs provided by
WVDE. Each school and LEA verifies the accuracy of the information
contained in the files submitted to WVDE for enrollment and group
identification purposes.

[Accountability Policy 2320]{.underline}

> The West Virginia Board of Education Policy 2320 requires that all
> students enrolled for a full academic year be included in the
> accountability formula. This policy also outlines the procedures for
> instituting and maintaining a valid system.

**Consequential validity:**

Reliable assessments aligned with content standards result in accurate
identification of schools and LEAs in need of improvement. Accurate data
collection and reporting supports the inferences drawn from the
accountability system. Schools and LEAs have access to an appeals
procedure following preliminary identification.

In order to increase the validity of accountability decisions, Policy
2320 includes the following Appeals Process:

1)  The West Virginia Board of Education determines preliminary
    identification of all schools and LEAs that have not met AYP
    according to the state criteria. The LEA will notify Title I schools
    who are identified for school improvement.

2)  Within 30 days of preliminary identification, the agency
    (LEA/school) reviews its data and may challenge its identification.
    The agency (LEA/school) not meeting AYP may appeal its status and
    provide evidence to support the challenge to the agency making the
    identification (West Virginia Board of Education or LEA).

3)  No later than thirty days after preliminary identification, the
    identifying agency reviews the appeal and makes a final
    determination of identification for school improvement. {Section
    1116 (b) (2) (A) (B) (C)}

A valid and reliable accountability system has been designed that
includes the requirements of NCLB. The new accountability system has
been designed to create the most advantageous balance of 1) reliable
results, 2) public confidence in the results, 3) including all public
schools in the accountability formula, and 4) capacity building and
development of resources to better serve West Virginia students and
schools.

As the new West Virginia Accountability System is implemented, West
Virginia regularly examines the validity and reliability of the data
related to the determination of AYP and the decision consistency for
holding public schools and LEAs accountable within this system. Updated
analysis and reporting of decision consistency is shared with the public
at appropriate intervals.

Additionally, the West Virginia Department of Education has created
another system of monitoring students and schools to determine decision
consistency of schools and districts not making AYP as compared to AYP
accountability system and indexing system. West Virginia will provide
evidence of validity for the accountability system.

**Evidence:**

W.Va. Code §§18-2E-1, 18-2E-1a, 18-2E-8 (c)(1)

WV Board of Education Policy 2340

WV Board of Education Policy 2320

WV Board of Education Policy 2510

WVEIS website: <http://wveis.k12.wv.us/nclb/>

WESTEST website: http://WESTEST.state.wv.us

West Virginia Office of Education Performance Audits Book of Ratings
(Accountability Ratings)

Statistical analyses (Spring, 2004)

**How has the State planned for incorporating into its definition of AYP
anticipated changes in assessment**The approved system of assessment and
accountability is defined in West Virginia Board of Education Policies
2340: *Statewide Assessment System* and 2320: *Performance Based
Accreditation System*.West Virginia has a cycle of review/revision of
content standards, textbooks adoptions, and assessments. The West
Virginia Department of Education is in the process of revising content
standards and assessments for school year 2008-2009. The assessments
will be developed and aligned to those grade level standards (grades 3-8
and 11) for the NCLB peer review and accountability requirements.

The new content standards have been written and are approved by the
State Board of Education to be effective beginning in the 2008-2009
school year. West Virginia will submit the new content standards to the
United States Department of Education in May of 2008 and will expect a
letter of receipt to be returned to the State Superintendent of Schools.

The West Virginia Department of Education released a national Request
for Proposal (RFP) in December of 2006. CTB McGraw-Hill was accepted as
the vendor after a RFP review by 80-90 diverse state educators. WESTEST
2 will be 1) aligned to the new content standards and 2) redesigned to
include 21^st^ century content, rigor, context and relevance.

For reading/language arts, West Virginia will have performance based
assessment items to address higher level thinking skills; specifically,
writing prompts with accompanying reading passages in grades 3 -8 and
grade 11. Mathematics (grades 3-8 and 11) and science assessments (one
grade per programmatic level) will employ multiple choice type items and
gridded like response to address the higher Depth of Knowledge (DOK)
levels in the new CSOs.

The newly developed WESTEST2 assessments and the Writing Assessment will
be field tested respectively in September of 2008 and spring of 2008.
Additionally, West Virginia is in the process of releasing a Call for
Proposal for the pre and post Alignment Studies for the new assessments
to the new content standards.

Standard setting will be completed using impact data from the 2008 field
tests. The first operational WESTEST 2 will be administered in May of
2009: a second standard setting, based on the 2009 operational test
data, will take place in the summer of 2009. A third standard setting
may need to be conducted that will be based on the 2010 operational
tests. Adjustments to the cut scores/trajectory will be made
accordingly. Upon completion of the new assessment program's federal
requirements, the new program of standards and assessments will be
submitted for a federal peer review in January of 2010.

A school will be considered a new school under any one of the following
conditions: 1) Two or more existing schools close and/or consolidate to
form a new school. 2) A change in grade configuration that involved at
least 50 percent of the former grade levels tested, either by
elimination or addition. 3) A change of at least 50% of the student
population from the previous year. The local board of education must
request local the designation of being a new school. Based on the above
criteria, the reconfigured or consolidated schools must have been
submitted through the county long range Comprehensive Educational
Facilities Plan and approved by the West Virginia Board of Education and
the West Virginia School Building Authority. **If [two schools are
combined, WVDE will use the \"highest\" AYP designation of the combined
schools]{.underline}. ** The performance of new schools is tracked with
student identification numbers on the data collection system, WVEIS and
student results are available immediately. Students attending new public
schools for the first year are included in the LEA and state levels for
AYP determinations. In the second year of operation, students attending
the new school are included in school, LEA, and state AYP
determinations.

**Evidence:**

W.Va. Code §§18-2E-1, 18-2E-1a, 18-2E-8 (c)(1)

WV Board of Education Policy 2340

WV Board of Education Policy 2320

WV Board of Education Policy 2510

WVEIS website: <http://wveis.k12.wv.us/nclb/>

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

**10.1 What is the State's method for calculating participation rates in
the State assessments for use in AYP determinations?**

The West Virginia Department of Education manages a statewide management
information system (WVEIS) for schools and school systems. The schools
are required by W.Va. Code §18-2-26(e) to use the system for student and
financial applications. The student applications are the source of
enrollment, student registration, and student biographic and demographic
information.

To determine **participation rates** of students tested, a final Testing
Pre-slug file (enrollment file for tested grades) is created and
submitted to WVDE at the end of the testing window in May. The students
identified as enrolled in the tested grades on the date of the final
Testing pre-slug are those students who are expected to have taken the
statewide assessment or WV APTA. Once the tests are scanned and scored,
the file of students tested is matched against the Pre-slug enrollment
file to determine who did and who did not take the test for each
academic subject. The number of tested students divided by the number of
enrolled students is the percent tested. The number enrolled but not
tested divided by the number of students enrolled is the percent not
tested.

The calculation for participation rate is:

(students not tested/students enrolled) x 100 = % not tested

(students tested/students enrolled) x 100 = % tested

Participation rate is determined for each subject and for each subgroup.
West Virginia averages data over two and/or three years (including the
most recent year) for calculating the participation rate of all students
and all required subgroups and compare the results to the current year.
The highest score is used to determine whether a school or LEA met the
required 95% participation rate.

West Virginia grants participation rate exemptions for students with a
significant medical emergency.

**Evidence:**

W.Va. Code §18-2-26(e)

W.Va. Code §§18-2E-1, 18-2E-1a, 18-2E-8 (c)(1)

WV Board of Education Policy 2340

WV Board of Education Policy 2320

WV Board of Education Policy 2510

WVEIS website: [http://wveis.k12.wv.us](http://wveis.k12.wv.us/)

2.  **What is the State's policy for determining when the 95% assessed
    requirement should be applied?**

For determining AYP, West Virginia applies the 95% of total enrollment
for grades tested for all schools and subgroups unless the subgroup has
less than the minimum "n." For subgroups less than the minimum "n," the
95% assessed requirement is applied at the LEA and state levels.
Students whose scores have been invalidated are included in the
denominator, but not the numerator for participation rate calculations.

**Evidence:**

[http://wveis.k12.wv.us](http://wveis.k12.wv.us/)