**NEVADA (revised)**

**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)**

**Submitted May 22, 2007**

**Requested change pertains to section 5.3 and 5.4**

**(pages 34 and 36)**

![](media/image1.png)

### 

**U. S. Department of Education**

**Office of Elementary and Secondary Education**

**Washington, D.C. 20202**

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

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

**Transmittal Instructions**

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

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

Celia Sims

U.S. Department of Education

400 Maryland Ave., SW

Room 3W300

Washington, D.C. 20202-6400

\(202\) 401-0113

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

# Instructions 

# 

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

# 

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

# 

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

# 

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

# 

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

# 

#  

# Summary of Implementation Status for Required Elements of

# State Accountability Systems

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

**STATUS Legend:**

**F** -- Final state policy

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

**W** -- Working to formulate policy

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

**STATUS Legend:**

F -- Final policy

P -- Proposed Policy, awaiting State approval

W-- Working to formulate policy

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

Instructions

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

**IMPORTANT STATE NOTE**

The Nevada Department of Education, acting on behalf of the State of
Nevada, is making every effort to revise its current accountability
system to bring it into compliance with the No Child Left Behind Act. To
accomplish this, the state must modify current statute, current
regulation and current policy with respect to accountability and other
aspects of education in Nevada. The Nevada Legislature entered into a
special session on June 3^rd^ which is expected to last through Sunday
June 8^th^. During that session, Senate Bill 1 (formally Senate Bill
191) was heard and passed and will be introduced into law. The passage
of that groundbreaking legislation enables the Department of Education
and the State Board of Education to fully implement the NCLB Act

The Nevada Department of Education received a peer review of its
tentative consolidated state accountability plan on March 18^th^, 2003.
At the peer review meeting, the state submitted a binder including a
comprehensive set of evidence to support its planned system. In the
tentative and final workbook plan the state refers throughout to
evidence that supports its current and planned efforts. The evidence
binder provides an organizational structure classifying evidence by
principle and key element. That binder is not being re-submitted at this
time. However, peer reviewers commented on the possible inclusion of
several pieces of ancillary material. Based on the outcome of the peer
review, the Department of Education attached ancillary materials
augmenting the evidence submission on April 30, 2003. The Department of
Education anticipates that this submission (electronic submission on
June 9^th^, 2003 with follow-up mail submission) it is final plan
submission.

Finally, the Nevada Department of Education entered into a waiver
agreement with the United States Department of Education following the
federal review of its final assessment system to comply with IASA.
Nevada has and will continue to fully comply with the requirements of
the agreement as it transitions to the new assessment and accountability
systems required by NCLB.

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

+-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| **CRITICAL ELEMENT**  | **EXAMPLES FOR**      | **EXAMPLES OF**       |
|                       |                       |                       |
|                       | **MEETING STATUTORY   | ***NOT* MEETING       |
|                       | REQUIREMENTS**        | REQUIREMENTS**        |
+-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| 1.  How does the      | Every public school   | A public school or    |
|     State             | and LEA is required   | LEA is not required   |
|     Accountability    | to make adequate      | to make adequate      |
|     System include    | yearly progress and   | yearly progress and   |
|     every public      | is included in the    | is not included in    |
|     school and LEA in | State Accountability  | the State             |
|     the State?        | System.               | Accountability        |
|                       |                       | System.               |
|                       | State has a           |                       |
|                       | definition of "public | State policy          |
|                       | school" and "LEA" for | systematically        |
|                       | AYP accountability    | excludes certain      |
|                       | purposes.             | public schools and/or |
|                       |                       | LEAs.                 |
|                       | -   The State         |                       |
|                       |     Accountability    |                       |
|                       |     System produces   |                       |
|                       |     AYP decisions for |                       |
|                       |     all public        |                       |
|                       |     schools,          |                       |
|                       |     including public  |                       |
|                       |     schools with      |                       |
|                       |     variant grade     |                       |
|                       |     configurations    |                       |
|                       |     (e.g., K-12),     |                       |
|                       |     public schools    |                       |
|                       |     that serve        |                       |
|                       |     special           |                       |
|                       |     populations       |                       |
|                       |     (e.g.,            |                       |
|                       |     alternative       |                       |
|                       |     public schools,   |                       |
|                       |     juvenile          |                       |
|                       |     institutions,     |                       |
|                       |     state public      |                       |
|                       |     schools for the   |                       |
|                       |     blind) and public |                       |
|                       |     charter schools.  |                       |
|                       |     It also holds     |                       |
|                       |     accountable       |                       |
|                       |     public schools    |                       |
|                       |     with no grades    |                       |
|                       |     assessed (e.g.,   |                       |
|                       |     K-2).             |                       |
+-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| **STATE RESPONSE AND  |                       |                       |
| STATE ACTIVITIES FOR  |                       |                       |
| MEETING               |                       |                       |
| REQUIREMENTS**        |                       |                       |
+-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| The state             |                       |                       |
| accountability system |                       |                       |
| and AYP designation   |                       |                       |
| process will be       |                       |                       |
| applied to every      |                       |                       |
| public school and     |                       |                       |
| school district in    |                       |                       |
| the state without     |                       |                       |
| exception. There are  |                       |                       |
| approximately **608** |                       |                       |
| schools including     |                       |                       |
| programs within       |                       |                       |
| schools and there are |                       |                       |
| 17 school districts   |                       |                       |
| in the state. The AYP |                       |                       |
| determination process |                       |                       |
| must be modified in   |                       |                       |
| order to apply it to  |                       |                       |
| non-traditional       |                       |                       |
| schools.              |                       |                       |
|                       |                       |                       |
| A handful of Nevada   |                       |                       |
| public schools **(6   |                       |                       |
| schools)** only serve |                       |                       |
| students in           |                       |                       |
| kindergarten through  |                       |                       |
| 2^nd^ grade. There    |                       |                       |
| are no state mandated |                       |                       |
| large scale           |                       |                       |
| assessments covering  |                       |                       |
| this grade range.     |                       |                       |
| These schools are     |                       |                       |
| located within very   |                       |                       |
| close proximity to a  |                       |                       |
| sister elementary     |                       |                       |
| school serving grades |                       |                       |
| 3 through 6. Students |                       |                       |
| attending the K-2     |                       |                       |
| schools matriculate   |                       |                       |
| to the sister         |                       |                       |
| schools. As a         |                       |                       |
| consequence, AYP test |                       |                       |
| performance of the    |                       |                       |
| sister schools will   |                       |                       |
| be used, along with   |                       |                       |
| K-2 other indicator   |                       |                       |
| performance (i.e.     |                       |                       |
| attendance rate), to  |                       |                       |
| determine AYP for the |                       |                       |
| K-2 schools.          |                       |                       |
|                       |                       |                       |
| **Because state law   |                       |                       |
| was originally in     |                       |                       |
| conflict with federal |                       |                       |
| statute in terms of   |                       |                       |
| how performance was   |                       |                       |
| reported for          |                       |                       |
| alternative and       |                       |                       |
| charter schools, the  |                       |                       |
| Nevada Department of  |                       |                       |
| Education, by virtue  |                       |                       |
| of Nevada law, could  |                       |                       |
| not hold the          |                       |                       |
| districts accountable |                       |                       |
| for the results of    |                       |                       |
| alternative schools   |                       |                       |
| located within their  |                       |                       |
| boundaries. Since the |                       |                       |
| accountability        |                       |                       |
| workbook was first    |                       |                       |
| submitted, there has  |                       |                       |
| been a change in      |                       |                       |
| state law which now   |                       |                       |
| requires results for  |                       |                       |
| alternative schools   |                       |                       |
| to be included in the |                       |                       |
| district AYP results  |                       |                       |
| for the district      |                       |                       |
| where those schools   |                       |                       |
| are located. This     |                       |                       |
| applies to juvenile   |                       |                       |
| detention facilities, |                       |                       |
| schools for           |                       |                       |
| abused/neglected      |                       |                       |
| children, and special |                       |                       |
| education magnet      |                       |                       |
| schools who educate   |                       |                       |
| those students with   |                       |                       |
| the most severe       |                       |                       |
| cognitive             |                       |                       |
| disabilities. Results |                       |                       |
| for all these         |                       |                       |
| students are now      |                       |                       |
| included in the       |                       |                       |
| calculation of        |                       |                       |
| district AYP, as long |                       |                       |
| as those students     |                       |                       |
| meet the criteria of  |                       |                       |
| having attended those |                       |                       |
| districts for the     |                       |                       |
| full academic year.** |                       |                       |
|                       |                       |                       |
| **Additionally, NDE   |                       |                       |
| sought clarification  |                       |                       |
| during the 2005       |                       |                       |
| legislative session   |                       |                       |
| on how results for    |                       |                       |
| charter schools       |                       |                       |
| should be reported.   |                       |                       |
| Because of a new law  |                       |                       |
| that was passed       |                       |                       |
| during the 2005       |                       |                       |
| session, results for  |                       |                       |
| district-sponsored    |                       |                       |
| charter schools are   |                       |                       |
| now included in AYP   |                       |                       |
| calculations for the  |                       |                       |
| sponsoring districts, |                       |                       |
| as long as those      |                       |                       |
| students meet the     |                       |                       |
| criteria of having    |                       |                       |
| attended those        |                       |                       |
| schools for the full  |                       |                       |
| academic year.**      |                       |                       |
|                       |                       |                       |
| **The only exceptions |                       |                       |
| for special schools   |                       |                       |
| that are now made are |                       |                       |
| for state-sponsored   |                       |                       |
| charter schools and   |                       |                       |
| for state-sponsored   |                       |                       |
| youth detention       |                       |                       |
| facilities. These     |                       |                       |
| schools are not LEAs, |                       |                       |
| nor are they part of  |                       |                       |
| another district.     |                       |                       |
| Therefore, the        |                       |                       |
| school's AYP results, |                       |                       |
| which are reported    |                       |                       |
| publicly as would be  |                       |                       |
| the case for any      |                       |                       |
| public school, are    |                       |                       |
| included only in      |                       |                       |
| state AYP             |                       |                       |
| calculations.**       |                       |                       |
|                       |                       |                       |
| Evidence: LCE Concept |                       |                       |
| paper, BDR, Existing  |                       |                       |
| statute, SMART        |                       |                       |
| documentation         |                       |                       |
+-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+

+-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| **CRITICAL ELEMENT**  | **EXAMPLES FOR**      | **EXAMPLES OF**       |
|                       |                       |                       |
|                       | **MEETING STATUTORY   | ***NOT* MEETING       |
|                       | REQUIREMENTS**        | REQUIREMENTS**        |
+-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| 1.  How are all       | All public schools    | Some public schools   |
|     public schools    | and LEAs are          | and LEAs are          |
|     and LEAs held to  | systematically judged | systematically judged |
|     the same criteria | on the basis of the   | on the basis of       |
|     when making an    | same criteria when    | alternate criteria    |
|     AYP               | making an AYP         | when making an AYP    |
|     determination?    | determination.        | determination.        |
|                       |                       |                       |
|                       | If applicable, the    |                       |
|                       | AYP definition is     |                       |
|                       | integrated into the   |                       |
|                       | State Accountability  |                       |
|                       | System.               |                       |
+-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| **STATE RESPONSE AND  |                       |                       |
| STATE ACTIVITIES FOR  |                       |                       |
| MEETING               |                       |                       |
| REQUIREMENTS**        |                       |                       |
+-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| Indicators to be used |                       |                       |
| in judging AYP        |                       |                       |
| include state large   |                       |                       |
| scale English         |                       |                       |
| language arts         |                       |                       |
| assessments and math  |                       |                       |
| assessments, an       |                       |                       |
| alternative           |                       |                       |
| assessment for        |                       |                       |
| qualifying IEP        |                       |                       |
| students in language  |                       |                       |
| arts and math, the    |                       |                       |
| possibility of        |                       |                       |
| district modified     |                       |                       |
| assessments for LEP   |                       |                       |
| students in English   |                       |                       |
| language arts and     |                       |                       |
| math, graduation      |                       |                       |
| rates and attendance  |                       |                       |
| rates.                |                       |                       |
|                       |                       |                       |
| For all schools and   |                       |                       |
| districts, those AYP  |                       |                       |
| indicators that are   |                       |                       |
| applicable for the    |                       |                       |
| grade levels served   |                       |                       |
| are included and      |                       |                       |
| combined in the AYP   |                       |                       |
| determination. For    |                       |                       |
| example, for K-5      |                       |                       |
| schools all AYP       |                       |                       |
| relevant large-scale  |                       |                       |
| assessments (grade 3, |                       |                       |
| 4, and 5              |                       |                       |
| assessments), any use |                       |                       |
| of alternative        |                       |                       |
| assessments, the      |                       |                       |
| other academic        |                       |                       |
| indicators, and       |                       |                       |
| participation rates   |                       |                       |
| will be combined in   |                       |                       |
| making judgments.     |                       |                       |
|                       |                       |                       |
| Evidence:             |                       |                       |
| Pre-technical         |                       |                       |
| bulletin for          |                       |                       |
| accountability, AYP   |                       |                       |
| Steps PPT             |                       |                       |
+-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+

+-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| **CRITICAL ELEMENT**  | **EXAMPLES FOR**      | **EXAMPLES OF**       |
|                       |                       |                       |
|                       | **MEETING STATUTORY   | ***NOT* MEETING       |
|                       | REQUIREMENTS**        | REQUIREMENTS**        |
+-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| 2.  Does the State    | State has defined     | Standards do not meet |
|     have, at a        | three levels of       | the legislated        |
|     minimum, a        | student achievement:  | requirements.         |
|     definition of     | *basic*, *proficient* |                       |
|     *basic*,          | and *advanced*.[^1]   |                       |
|     *proficient* and  |                       |                       |
|     *advanced*        | Student achievement   |                       |
|     student           | levels of             |                       |
|     achievement       | *proficient* and      |                       |
|     levels in         | *advanced* determine  |                       |
|     reading/language  | how well students are |                       |
|     arts and          | mastering the         |                       |
|     mathematics?      | materials in the      |                       |
|                       | State's academic      |                       |
|                       | content standards;    |                       |
|                       | and the *basic* level |                       |
|                       | of achievement        |                       |
|                       | provides complete     |                       |
|                       | information about the |                       |
|                       | progress of           |                       |
|                       | lower-achieving       |                       |
|                       | students toward       |                       |
|                       | mastering the         |                       |
|                       | *proficient* and      |                       |
|                       | *advanced* levels.    |                       |
+-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| **STATE RESPONSE AND  |                       |                       |
| STATE ACTIVITIES FOR  |                       |                       |
| MEETING               |                       |                       |
| REQUIREMENTS**        |                       |                       |
+-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| During the 1999-2000  |                       |                       |
| school year, the      |                       |                       |
| Nevada State Board of |                       |                       |
| Education adopted     |                       |                       |
| academic standards in |                       |                       |
| English Language      |                       |                       |
| Arts, Mathematics,    |                       |                       |
| and Science. The      |                       |                       |
| adoption included     |                       |                       |
| both content          |                       |                       |
| standards and         |                       |                       |
| achievement standards |                       |                       |
| (previously termed    |                       |                       |
| performance           |                       |                       |
| standards). The state |                       |                       |
| adopted four          |                       |                       |
| achievement levels    |                       |                       |
| including "Exceeds    |                       |                       |
| Standard", "Meets     |                       |                       |
| Standard",            |                       |                       |
| "Approaches           |                       |                       |
| Standard", and "Below |                       |                       |
| Standard". Content    |                       |                       |
| and Performance       |                       |                       |
| standards can be      |                       |                       |
| obtained at the       |                       |                       |
| Nevada Department of  |                       |                       |
| Education website     |                       |                       |
| (                     |                       |                       |
| www.nde.state.nv.us). |                       |                       |
|                       |                       |                       |
| The state tests being |                       |                       |
| used for AYP, and     |                       |                       |
| those planned for AYP |                       |                       |
| use, have been        |                       |                       |
| designed to produce   |                       |                       |
| achievement level     |                       |                       |
| scores that are       |                       |                       |
| aligned to the        |                       |                       |
| state's achievement   |                       |                       |
| standards. In its     |                       |                       |
| transitional          |                       |                       |
| assessment system     |                       |                       |
| under IASA,           |                       |                       |
| department Title I    |                       |                       |
| staff determined NRT  |                       |                       |
| scores that were      |                       |                       |
| indicative of         |                       |                       |
| proficiency,          |                       |                       |
| advanced, and basic   |                       |                       |
| relative to the state |                       |                       |
| standards. Until the  |                       |                       |
| NRT tests are phased  |                       |                       |
| out as AYP measures   |                       |                       |
| (2003-04 school       |                       |                       |
| year), the previously |                       |                       |
| defined achievement   |                       |                       |
| levels used during    |                       |                       |
| the transition period |                       |                       |
| will continue.        |                       |                       |
|                       |                       |                       |
| In the summer of      |                       |                       |
| 2002, the department  |                       |                       |
| conducted a standard  |                       |                       |
| setting using a       |                       |                       |
| bookmarking procedure |                       |                       |
| in which performance  |                       |                       |
| on the grade 3 and 5  |                       |                       |
| CRTs was aligned to   |                       |                       |
| the state's           |                       |                       |
| achievement standards |                       |                       |
| (i.e. approaching,    |                       |                       |
| meets, & exceeds) by  |                       |                       |
| determining 3         |                       |                       |
| separate cut scores.  |                       |                       |
| The State Board of    |                       |                       |
| Education adopted     |                       |                       |
| these scores with     |                       |                       |
| some adjustment and   |                       |                       |
| in so doing replaced  |                       |                       |
| the "Below Standard"  |                       |                       |
| label with            |                       |                       |
| "                     |                       |                       |
| Developing/Emergent". |                       |                       |
|                       |                       |                       |
| In the summer of      |                       |                       |
| 2002, the department  |                       |                       |
| conducted a standard  |                       |                       |
| setting on the 8^th^  |                       |                       |
| grade writing test    |                       |                       |
| using a modified      |                       |                       |
| bookmarking           |                       |                       |
| procedure. The        |                       |                       |
| exercise culminated   |                       |                       |
| in a slight           |                       |                       |
| adjustment to the     |                       |                       |
| then current          |                       |                       |
| definition of "meets" |                       |                       |
| standard and added to |                       |                       |
| it definitions of     |                       |                       |
| "approaches" and      |                       |                       |
| "exceeds" standard.   |                       |                       |
| There is strong       |                       |                       |
| consideration to use  |                       |                       |
| the 4^th^ grade       |                       |                       |
| writing test as part  |                       |                       |
| of AYP, but not       |                       |                       |
| before the 2003-04    |                       |                       |
| school year. If an    |                       |                       |
| affirmative decision  |                       |                       |
| is made, a standard   |                       |                       |
| setting procedure     |                       |                       |
| will be used to       |                       |                       |
| review the current    |                       |                       |
| definition of         |                       |                       |
| proficiency for that  |                       |                       |
| test and to set other |                       |                       |
| achievement level     |                       |                       |
| scores in the fall of |                       |                       |
| 2003.                 |                       |                       |
|                       |                       |                       |
| In fall of 2002, the  |                       |                       |
| department, using a   |                       |                       |
| bookmarking           |                       |                       |
| procedure, conducted  |                       |                       |
| a standard setting on |                       |                       |
| its high school       |                       |                       |
| proficiency           |                       |                       |
| examinations. This    |                       |                       |
| exercise resulted in  |                       |                       |
| definitions of        |                       |                       |
| proficiency or        |                       |                       |
| "meets" standard.     |                       |                       |
| Using a statistical   |                       |                       |
| smoothing procedure,  |                       |                       |
| the department will   |                       |                       |
| define achievement    |                       |                       |
| scores for the high   |                       |                       |
| school proficiency    |                       |                       |
| examinations that are |                       |                       |
| indicative of         |                       |                       |
| advanced and          |                       |                       |
| approaching           |                       |                       |
| performance. This     |                       |                       |
| will be completed     |                       |                       |
| during the summer of  |                       |                       |
| 2003.                 |                       |                       |
|                       |                       |                       |
| The department        |                       |                       |
| anticipates           |                       |                       |
| conducting a standard |                       |                       |
| setting on the 8^th^  |                       |                       |
| grade CRT test during |                       |                       |
| the fall of 2003.     |                       |                       |
| Using census pilot    |                       |                       |
| data gathered in      |                       |                       |
| spring 2003, the      |                       |                       |
| judgmental procedure  |                       |                       |
| will be augmented     |                       |                       |
| with approximated     |                       |                       |
| impact data. Because  |                       |                       |
| this test will be a   |                       |                       |
| critical              |                       |                       |
| accountability        |                       |                       |
| measure beginning in  |                       |                       |
| the 2003-04 school    |                       |                       |
| year and because of   |                       |                       |
| the reporting/AYP     |                       |                       |
| cycles, it is not     |                       |                       |
| practical to wait     |                       |                       |
| until after the first |                       |                       |
| "live" administration |                       |                       |
| to set standards.     |                       |                       |
|                       |                       |                       |
| The achievement       |                       |                       |
| levels used in Nevada |                       |                       |
| are designed to align |                       |                       |
| to and connote the    |                       |                       |
| same meaning implied  |                       |                       |
| by the achievement    |                       |                       |
| levels described in   |                       |                       |
| NCLB. A crosswalk is  |                       |                       |
| provided below.       |                       |                       |
|                       |                       |                       |
|                       |                       |                       |
|  -------- ----------- |                       |                       |
| -------------- ------ |                       |                       |
| ---------- ---------- |                       |                       |
| ------ -------------- |                       |                       |
|   NCLB     **Below B  |                       |                       |
| asic**           **Ba |                       |                       |
| sic**        **Profic |                       |                       |
| ient**   **Advanced** |                       |                       |
|                       |                       |                       |
|   Nevada   **Develo   |                       |                       |
| ping/Emergent**   **A |                       |                       |
| pproaches**   **Meets |                       |                       |
| **        **Exceeds** |                       |                       |
|                       |                       |                       |
|  -------- ----------- |                       |                       |
| -------------- ------ |                       |                       |
| ---------- ---------- |                       |                       |
| ------ -------------- |                       |                       |
|                       |                       |                       |
| Evidence: Board       |                       |                       |
| document and Board    |                       |                       |
| action report,        |                       |                       |
| Standard setting      |                       |                       |
| technical manuals     |                       |                       |
+-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| **CRITICAL ELEMENT**  | **EXAMPLES FOR**      | **EXAMPLES OF**       |
|                       |                       |                       |
|                       | **MEETING STATUTORY   | ***NOT* MEETING       |
|                       | REQUIREMENTS**        | REQUIREMENTS**        |
+-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| 4.  How does the      | > State provides      | Timeline does not     |
|     State provide     | > decisions about     | provide sufficient    |
|     accountability    | > adequate yearly     | time for LEAs to      |
|     and adequate      | > progress in time    | fulfill their         |
|     yearly progress   | > for LEAs to         | responsibilities      |
|     decisions and     | > implement the       | before the beginning  |
|     information in a  | > required provisions | of the next academic  |
|     timely manner?    | > before the          | year.                 |
|                       | > beginning of the    |                       |
|                       | > next academic year. |                       |
|                       |                       |                       |
|                       | State allows enough   |                       |
|                       | time to notify        |                       |
|                       | parents about public  |                       |
|                       | school choice or      |                       |
|                       | supplemental          |                       |
|                       | educational service   |                       |
|                       | options, time for     |                       |
|                       | parents to make an    |                       |
|                       | informed decision,    |                       |
|                       | and time to implement |                       |
|                       | public school choice  |                       |
|                       | and supplemental      |                       |
|                       | educational services. |                       |
+-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
|                       |                       |                       |
+-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| **STATE RESPONSE AND  |                       |                       |
| STATE ACTIVITIES FOR  |                       |                       |
| MEETING               |                       |                       |
| REQUIREMENTS**        |                       |                       |
+-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| The requirement for   |                       |                       |
| reporting assessment  |                       |                       |
| results and           |                       |                       |
| accountability        |                       |                       |
| information prior to  |                       |                       |
| the beginning of the  |                       |                       |
| following school year |                       |                       |
| prompts change in     |                       |                       |
| Nevada. In addition   |                       |                       |
| to current state      |                       |                       |
| statute that requires |                       |                       |
| accountability        |                       |                       |
| reporting in the      |                       |                       |
| spring of each school |                       |                       |
| year, the state has   |                       |                       |
| many schools that     |                       |                       |
| have multi-track and  |                       |                       |
| year-round schedules. |                       |                       |
| The current           |                       |                       |
| administration        |                       |                       |
| schedule for the 3,   |                       |                       |
| 5, and 8 CRT program  |                       |                       |
| is based on           |                       |                       |
| instructional days    |                       |                       |
| and, hence, allows    |                       |                       |
| some schools to take  |                       |                       |
| the "spring" tests    |                       |                       |
| after the beginning   |                       |                       |
| of the subsequent     |                       |                       |
| school year for       |                       |                       |
| others (2^nd^ week in |                       |                       |
| July).                |                       |                       |
|                       |                       |                       |
| The state's plan is   |                       |                       |
| to move the testing   |                       |                       |
| window back in the    |                       |                       |
| "spring" semester and |                       |                       |
| to narrow the current |                       |                       |
| testing window.       |                       |                       |
| Currently the window  |                       |                       |
| is two weeks either   |                       |                       |
| side of the 165^th^   |                       |                       |
| day of instruction.   |                       |                       |
| The administration    |                       |                       |
| schedule will be      |                       |                       |
| narrowed and targeted |                       |                       |
| to the 130^th^ to     |                       |                       |
| 140^th^ day of        |                       |                       |
| instruction. (Because |                       |                       |
| of contractual        |                       |                       |
| obligations, the      |                       |                       |
| change in             |                       |                       |
| administration        |                       |                       |
| schedule could not    |                       |                       |
| occur before the      |                       |                       |
| 2003-2004 school      |                       |                       |
| year.)                |                       |                       |
|                       |                       |                       |
| The inability to make |                       |                       |
| the contractual       |                       |                       |
| change prior to the   |                       |                       |
| 2003-04 school year   |                       |                       |
| means that            |                       |                       |
| designations for the  |                       |                       |
| 2002-03 school year   |                       |                       |
| will come later in    |                       |                       |
| the summer and into   |                       |                       |
| the fall than planned |                       |                       |
| for the 2003-04       |                       |                       |
| designations. There   |                       |                       |
| are 35 schools in     |                       |                       |
| Nevada that           |                       |                       |
| potentially could be  |                       |                       |
| identified as in need |                       |                       |
| of improvement based  |                       |                       |
| on 2002-03            |                       |                       |
| performance. For      |                       |                       |
| approximately 10 of   |                       |                       |
| these schools, the    |                       |                       |
| CRT administration    |                       |                       |
| will not be completed |                       |                       |
| until the first week  |                       |                       |
| of August             |                       |                       |
| (multi-track 165^th^  |                       |                       |
| day of instruction).  |                       |                       |
| The timing of the     |                       |                       |
| designations for      |                       |                       |
| these schools can not |                       |                       |
| occur until late      |                       |                       |
| September. If any of  |                       |                       |
| these schools are     |                       |                       |
| identified as in need |                       |                       |
| of improvement,       |                       |                       |
| choice and, if        |                       |                       |
| appropriate,          |                       |                       |
| supplemental service  |                       |                       |
| provisions will occur |                       |                       |
| at the semester       |                       |                       |
| break. For the        |                       |                       |
| remaining             |                       |                       |
| approximated 25       |                       |                       |
| schools the timing of |                       |                       |
| the AYP designations  |                       |                       |
| should occur allowing |                       |                       |
| time for choice to be |                       |                       |
| implemented prior to  |                       |                       |
| the beginning of the  |                       |                       |
| school year.          |                       |                       |
|                       |                       |                       |
| The state intends to  |                       |                       |
| make final AYP        |                       |                       |
| decisions,            |                       |                       |
| disseminate "choice"  |                       |                       |
| letters, and          |                       |                       |
| disseminate the state |                       |                       |
| report card prior to  |                       |                       |
| the beginning of each |                       |                       |
| school year. The      |                       |                       |
| target for final AYP  |                       |                       |
| decisions and the     |                       |                       |
| dissemination of      |                       |                       |
| "choice" letters is   |                       |                       |
| no later than two     |                       |                       |
| weeks prior to the    |                       |                       |
| beginning of the      |                       |                       |
| school year, on a     |                       |                       |
| school-by-school      |                       |                       |
| basis. The target for |                       |                       |
| dissemination of the  |                       |                       |
| state report card is  |                       |                       |
| August 15^th^. Local  |                       |                       |
| report cards are      |                       |                       |
| expected to have the  |                       |                       |
| same dissemination    |                       |                       |
| date.                 |                       |                       |
|                       |                       |                       |
| Outlined below is a   |                       |                       |
| general estimate of   |                       |                       |
| the time sequence     |                       |                       |
| involved from test    |                       |                       |
| administration        |                       |                       |
| through the           |                       |                       |
| school/school         |                       |                       |
| district improvement  |                       |                       |
| process.              |                       |                       |
|                       |                       |                       |
| +---+-------------+   |                       |                       |
| | M | Test window |   |                       |                       |
| | a | and answer  |   |                       |                       |
| | r | documents   |   |                       |                       |
| | c | to test     |   |                       |                       |
| | h | vendor      |   |                       |                       |
| | 1 |             |   |                       |                       |
| | 5 |             |   |                       |                       |
| | - |             |   |                       |                       |
| | - |             |   |                       |                       |
| | A |             |   |                       |                       |
| | p |             |   |                       |                       |
| | r |             |   |                       |                       |
| | i |             |   |                       |                       |
| | l |             |   |                       |                       |
| | 2 |             |   |                       |                       |
| | 8 |             |   |                       |                       |
| +---+-------------+   |                       |                       |
| | M | Vendor      |   |                       |                       |
| | a | completes   |   |                       |                       |
| | y | all         |   |                       |                       |
| | 3 | assessment  |   |                       |                       |
| | 1 | reporting   |   |                       |                       |
| +---+-------------+   |                       |                       |
| | J | Depa        |   |                       |                       |
| | u | rtment/LEAS |   |                       |                       |
| | n | make        |   |                       |                       |
| | e | preliminary |   |                       |                       |
| | 1 | d           |   |                       |                       |
| | 5 | esignations |   |                       |                       |
| +---+-------------+   |                       |                       |
| | J | Appeal      |   |                       |                       |
| | u | window is   |   |                       |                       |
| | l | completed   |   |                       |                       |
| | y |             |   |                       |                       |
| | 2 |             |   |                       |                       |
| | 1 |             |   |                       |                       |
| +---+-------------+   |                       |                       |
| | A | Districts   |   |                       |                       |
| | u | issue       |   |                       |                       |
| | g | "choice"    |   |                       |                       |
| | u | letters     |   |                       |                       |
| | s |             |   |                       |                       |
| | t |             |   |                       |                       |
| | 1 |             |   |                       |                       |
| +---+-------------+   |                       |                       |
| | A | Department  |   |                       |                       |
| | u | formally    |   |                       |                       |
| | g | d           |   |                       |                       |
| | u | isseminates |   |                       |                       |
| | s | final       |   |                       |                       |
| | t | det         |   |                       |                       |
| | 1 | erminations |   |                       |                       |
| | 5 | and         |   |                       |                       |
| |   | releases    |   |                       |                       |
| |   | report      |   |                       |                       |
| |   | cards       |   |                       |                       |
| +---+-------------+   |                       |                       |
| | O | End date    |   |                       |                       |
| | c | for         |   |                       |                       |
| | t | sch         |   |                       |                       |
| | o | ools/school |   |                       |                       |
| | b | districts   |   |                       |                       |
| | e | to submit   |   |                       |                       |
| | r | improvement |   |                       |                       |
| | 3 | plans       |   |                       |                       |
| | 1 |             |   |                       |                       |
| +---+-------------+   |                       |                       |
| | D | Review of   |   |                       |                       |
| | e | improvement |   |                       |                       |
| | c | plans is    |   |                       |                       |
| | e | completed   |   |                       |                       |
| | m |             |   |                       |                       |
| | b | Sc          |   |                       |                       |
| | e | hool/school |   |                       |                       |
| | r | district    |   |                       |                       |
| | 1 | improvement |   |                       |                       |
| | 5 | plans       |   |                       |                       |
| |   | implemented |   |                       |                       |
| +---+-------------+   |                       |                       |
|                       |                       |                       |
| Given the general     |                       |                       |
| timeline, the         |                       |                       |
| greatest concern is   |                       |                       |
| the issuance of       |                       |                       |
| choice letters to     |                       |                       |
| parents of students   |                       |                       |
| enrolled in schools   |                       |                       |
| beginning instruction |                       |                       |
| prior to the August   |                       |                       |
| 1^st^ "choice" letter |                       |                       |
| dissemination date.   |                       |                       |
| For these 16 schools, |                       |                       |
| 7 of which are Title  |                       |                       |
| I served, an attempt  |                       |                       |
| will be made to       |                       |                       |
| conduct AYP analyses  |                       |                       |
| early in the process  |                       |                       |
| to enable issuance of |                       |                       |
| choice letters at     |                       |                       |
| least two full weeks  |                       |                       |
| prior to the          |                       |                       |
| beginning of school.  |                       |                       |
|                       |                       |                       |
| Evidence: BDR,        |                       |                       |
| Current regulation,   |                       |                       |
| M                     |                       |                       |
| ulti-Track/Year-round |                       |                       |
| schedules             |                       |                       |
+-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| **CRITICAL ELEMENT**  | **EXAMPLES FOR**      | **EXAMPLES OF**       |
|                       |                       |                       |
|                       | **MEETING STATUTORY   | ***NOT* MEETING       |
|                       | REQUIREMENTS**        | REQUIREMENTS**        |
+-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| 5.  Does the State    | The State Report Card | The State Report Card |
|     Accountability    | includes all the      | does not include all  |
|     System produce an | required data         | the required data     |
|     annual State      | elements \[see        | elements.             |
|     Report Card?      | Appendix A for the    |                       |
|                       | list of required data | The State Report Card |
|                       | elements\].           | is not available to   |
|                       |                       | the public.           |
|                       | The State Report Card |                       |
|                       | is available to the   |                       |
|                       | public at the         |                       |
|                       | beginning of the      |                       |
|                       | academic year.        |                       |
|                       |                       |                       |
|                       | The State Report Card |                       |
|                       | is accessible in      |                       |
|                       | languages of major    |                       |
|                       | populations in the    |                       |
|                       | State, to the extent  |                       |
|                       | possible.             |                       |
|                       |                       |                       |
|                       | Assessment results    |                       |
|                       | and other academic    |                       |
|                       | indicators (including |                       |
|                       | graduation rates) are |                       |
|                       | reported by student   |                       |
|                       | subgroups             |                       |
+-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| **STATE RESPONSE AND  |                       |                       |
| STATE ACTIVITIES FOR  |                       |                       |
| MEETING               |                       |                       |
| REQUIREMENTS**        |                       |                       |
+-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| The state produces a  |                       |                       |
| State Report Card.    |                       |                       |
| The State Report Card |                       |                       |
| issued in the         |                       |                       |
| 2002-2003 school year |                       |                       |
| (12/14/02) contains   |                       |                       |
| all NCLB required     |                       |                       |
| elements available on |                       |                       |
| that date. The report |                       |                       |
| card will be revised  |                       |                       |
| to include the        |                       |                       |
| remaining NCLB        |                       |                       |
| required elements for |                       |                       |
| the 2002-2003         |                       |                       |
| dissemination         |                       |                       |
| expected to occur in  |                       |                       |
| August of 2003.       |                       |                       |
|                       |                       |                       |
| The Department of     |                       |                       |
| Education is in       |                       |                       |
| receipt of a          |                       |                       |
| legislative letter of |                       |                       |
| intent directing the  |                       |                       |
| development of        |                       |                       |
| uniform reporting at  |                       |                       |
| the state, school     |                       |                       |
| district, and school  |                       |                       |
| levels. The           |                       |                       |
| Department will be    |                       |                       |
| meeting with its      |                       |                       |
| accountability        |                       |                       |
| technical advisory    |                       |                       |
| committee, comprised  |                       |                       |
| of state and local    |                       |                       |
| accountability staff  |                       |                       |
| as well as national   |                       |                       |
| experts, in spring of |                       |                       |
| 2003 to begin the     |                       |                       |
| process of designing  |                       |                       |
| uniform report        |                       |                       |
| formats and report    |                       |                       |
| contents for all      |                       |                       |
| report cards. Uniform |                       |                       |
| reports may not be    |                       |                       |
| possible until the    |                       |                       |
| 2003-04 dissemination |                       |                       |
| (August 2004).        |                       |                       |
|                       |                       |                       |
| State Report Cards    |                       |                       |
| are produced in the   |                       |                       |
| Spanish language in   |                       |                       |
| addition to the       |                       |                       |
| English language.     |                       |                       |
| Report cards are      |                       |                       |
| disseminated in       |                       |                       |
| multiple ways         |                       |                       |
| including ground      |                       |                       |
| mail, newspaper       |                       |                       |
| excerpts, and         |                       |                       |
| web-delivery. State,  |                       |                       |
| school district, and  |                       |                       |
| school report cards   |                       |                       |
| should also be        |                       |                       |
| available in school   |                       |                       |
| buildings and school  |                       |                       |
| district and state    |                       |                       |
| administrative        |                       |                       |
| offices. The initial  |                       |                       |
| dissemination of      |                       |                       |
| these reports is      |                       |                       |
| expected to occur on  |                       |                       |
| August 15 of each     |                       |                       |
| year.                 |                       |                       |
|                       |                       |                       |
| Evidence: State       |                       |                       |
| Report Card, template |                       |                       |
| for following year,   |                       |                       |
| letter of intent      |                       |                       |
+-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+

+-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| **CRITICAL ELEMENT**  | **EXAMPLES FOR**      | **EXAMPLES OF**       |
|                       |                       |                       |
|                       | **MEETING STATUTORY   | ***NOT* MEETING       |
|                       | REQUIREMENTS**        | REQUIREMENTS**        |
+-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| 6.  How does the      | State uses one or     | State does not        |
|     State             | more types of rewards | implement rewards or  |
|     Accountability    | and sanctions, where  | sanctions for public  |
|     System include    | the criteria are:     | schools and LEAs      |
|     rewards and       |                       | based on adequate     |
|     sanctions for     | -   Set by the State; | yearly progress.      |
|     public schools    |                       |                       |
|     and LEAs?[^2]     | -   Based on adequate |                       |
|                       |     yearly progress   |                       |
|                       |     decisions; and,   |                       |
|                       |                       |                       |
|                       | -   Applied uniformly |                       |
|                       |     across public     |                       |
|                       |     schools and LEAs. |                       |
+-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| As allowed by federal |                       |                       |
| statute, certain      |                       |                       |
| sanctions required by |                       |                       |
| NCLB will apply only  |                       |                       |
| to Title I served     |                       |                       |
| schools and Title I   |                       |                       |
| served LEAs. Nevada   |                       |                       |
| includes 17 school    |                       |                       |
| districts, all of     |                       |                       |
| whom receive Title I  |                       |                       |
| assistance, so all    |                       |                       |
| school districts      |                       |                       |
| (LEAs) are subject to |                       |                       |
| the                   |                       |                       |
| sanction/corrective   |                       |                       |
| action schedule       |                       |                       |
| outlined in the NCLB  |                       |                       |
| Act. Within the       |                       |                       |
| school districts,     |                       |                       |
| only those schools    |                       |                       |
| receiving Title I     |                       |                       |
| assistance must have  |                       |                       |
| sanctions applied     |                       |                       |
| following continued   |                       |                       |
| AYP failure.          |                       |                       |
|                       |                       |                       |
| Continued AYP failure |                       |                       |
| is predicated on      |                       |                       |
| continuous failure    |                       |                       |
| relative to a         |                       |                       |
| specific subject      |                       |                       |
| area. For example, a  |                       |                       |
| school that fails to  |                       |                       |
| meet the status and   |                       |                       |
| relative growth       |                       |                       |
| thresholds in         |                       |                       |
| language arts in year |                       |                       |
| 1 and repeats this    |                       |                       |
| failure in language   |                       |                       |
| arts in year 2 would  |                       |                       |
| be classified as      |                       |                       |
| needing improvement.  |                       |                       |
| If in year 1 a school |                       |                       |
| fails relative to     |                       |                       |
| language arts but     |                       |                       |
| meets the math        |                       |                       |
| requirements and in   |                       |                       |
| year 2 meets the      |                       |                       |
| language arts         |                       |                       |
| requirements, the     |                       |                       |
| school would          |                       |                       |
| [not]{.underline} be  |                       |                       |
| classified as needing |                       |                       |
| improvement           |                       |                       |
| irrespective of math  |                       |                       |
| performance in year   |                       |                       |
| 2. Likewise, for a    |                       |                       |
| school to be          |                       |                       |
| identified as needing |                       |                       |
| improvement based on  |                       |                       |
| "other indicator"     |                       |                       |
| performance, failure  |                       |                       |
| with respect to the   |                       |                       |
| other indicator must  |                       |                       |
| occur in two          |                       |                       |
| consecutive years. If |                       |                       |
| the deciding factor   |                       |                       |
| in moving a school    |                       |                       |
| into improvement is   |                       |                       |
| the other indicator,  |                       |                       |
| the classification    |                       |                       |
| for improvement is    |                       |                       |
| not tied to a         |                       |                       |
| specific subject area |                       |                       |
| but is considered as  |                       |                       |
| a more general        |                       |                       |
| failure.              |                       |                       |
|                       |                       |                       |
| All schools and       |                       |                       |
| school districts,     |                       |                       |
| regardless of receipt |                       |                       |
| of Title I funding,   |                       |                       |
| that fail to make AYP |                       |                       |
| for two consecutive   |                       |                       |
| years will be         |                       |                       |
| identified as         |                       |                       |
| "needing improvement" |                       |                       |
| and will be required  |                       |                       |
| to develop a school   |                       |                       |
| (district)            |                       |                       |
| improvement plan.[^3] |                       |                       |
| The critical elements |                       |                       |
| to be included in the |                       |                       |
| plan will be          |                       |                       |
| determined through    |                       |                       |
| statute and by the    |                       |                       |
| SEA and will comply   |                       |                       |
| with NCLB             |                       |                       |
| requirements. All     |                       |                       |
| schools and school    |                       |                       |
| districts that fail   |                       |                       |
| to make AYP for two   |                       |                       |
| consecutive years     |                       |                       |
| will also be provided |                       |                       |
| technical assistance. |                       |                       |
| Technical assistance  |                       |                       |
| providers include     |                       |                       |
| school districts, the |                       |                       |
| SEA, and other        |                       |                       |
| statutorily           |                       |                       |
| authorized entities.  |                       |                       |
|                       |                       |                       |
| Schools receiving     |                       |                       |
| Title I assistance,   |                       |                       |
| identified as         |                       |                       |
| "needing              |                       |                       |
| improvement", will be |                       |                       |
| required to offer     |                       |                       |
| school choice. After  |                       |                       |
| a third consecutive   |                       |                       |
| year of school        |                       |                       |
| failure to make AYP,  |                       |                       |
| school districts, on  |                       |                       |
| behalf of Title I     |                       |                       |
| served schools, will  |                       |                       |
| have to provide       |                       |                       |
| supplemental services |                       |                       |
| in addition to school |                       |                       |
| choice. For           |                       |                       |
| subsequent years of   |                       |                       |
| school failure among  |                       |                       |
| Title I served        |                       |                       |
| schools, the          |                       |                       |
| corrective action     |                       |                       |
| schedule outlined in  |                       |                       |
| NCLB will be          |                       |                       |
| followed. The         |                       |                       |
| corrective action     |                       |                       |
| schedule outlined in  |                       |                       |
| NCLB will also be     |                       |                       |
| followed for          |                       |                       |
| identified school     |                       |                       |
| districts.            |                       |                       |
|                       |                       |                       |
| Although not required |                       |                       |
| by state statute,     |                       |                       |
| state statute will    |                       |                       |
| permit the SEA to     |                       |                       |
| take progressive      |                       |                       |
| corrective actions,   |                       |                       |
| similar to those      |                       |                       |
| outlined within NCLB, |                       |                       |
| for non-Title I       |                       |                       |
| served schools.       |                       |                       |
|                       |                       |                       |
| State statute will    |                       |                       |
| outline a reward      |                       |                       |
| schedule to be        |                       |                       |
| followed based on AYP |                       |                       |
| performance and       |                       |                       |
| performance on other  |                       |                       |
| accountability        |                       |                       |
| indicators. All       |                       |                       |
| schools and school    |                       |                       |
| districts will be     |                       |                       |
| eligible for          |                       |                       |
| recognition as        |                       |                       |
| exemplary or high     |                       |                       |
| achieving             |                       |                       |
| schools/school        |                       |                       |
| districts. Consistent |                       |                       |
| with current state    |                       |                       |
| statute and the       |                       |                       |
| state's current       |                       |                       |
| process of            |                       |                       |
| recognizing high      |                       |                       |
| achieving schools,    |                       |                       |
| schools and school    |                       |                       |
| districts receiving   |                       |                       |
| such honors will be   |                       |                       |
| publicly recognized   |                       |                       |
| through formal        |                       |                       |
| ceremony. A similar   |                       |                       |
| recognition process   |                       |                       |
| will be established   |                       |                       |
| to recognize high     |                       |                       |
| achieving school      |                       |                       |
| districts.            |                       |                       |
|                       |                       |                       |
| Evidence: Current     |                       |                       |
| statute (NERA) and    |                       |                       |
| the BDR, Board        |                       |                       |
| recommendation and    |                       |                       |
| action report, AYP    |                       |                       |
| Steps PPT             |                       |                       |
+-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+

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

+-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| **CRITICAL ELEMENT**  | **EXAMPLES FOR**      | **EXAMPLES OF**       |
|                       |                       |                       |
|                       | **MEETING STATUTORY   | ***NOT* MEETING       |
|                       | REQUIREMENTS**        | REQUIREMENTS**        |
+-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| 1.  How does the      | All students in the   | Public school         |
|     State             | State are included in | students exist in the |
|     Accountability    | the State             | State for whom the    |
|     System include    | Accountability        | State Accountability  |
|     all students in   | System.               | System makes no       |
|     the State?        |                       | provision.            |
|                       | The definitions of    |                       |
|                       | "public school" and   |                       |
|                       | "LEA" account for all |                       |
|                       | students enrolled in  |                       |
|                       | the public school     |                       |
|                       | district, regardless  |                       |
|                       | of program or type of |                       |
|                       | public school.        |                       |
+-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| **STATE RESPONSE AND  |                       |                       |
| STATE ACTIVITIES FOR  |                       |                       |
| MEETING               |                       |                       |
| REQUIREMENTS**        |                       |                       |
+-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| As specified in state |                       |                       |
| statute, all students |                       |                       |
| in the state enrolled |                       |                       |
| in public schools are |                       |                       |
| included in the       |                       |                       |
| accountability        |                       |                       |
| system. This includes |                       |                       |
| all students served   |                       |                       |
| in special programs   |                       |                       |
| such as court-ordered |                       |                       |
| detention programs,   |                       |                       |
| special education     |                       |                       |
| magnet programs and   |                       |                       |
| alternative school    |                       |                       |
| sites.                |                       |                       |
|                       |                       |                       |
| All students in the   |                       |                       |
| state must be         |                       |                       |
| included in the state |                       |                       |
| assessment process.   |                       |                       |
| No exemptions from    |                       |                       |
| participation are     |                       |                       |
| allowed. Students     |                       |                       |
| will participate in   |                       |                       |
| the state large-scale |                       |                       |
| assessments and/or    |                       |                       |
| state sponsored       |                       |                       |
| alternate testing     |                       |                       |
| programs (i.e. SCAANS |                       |                       |
| assessment for the    |                       |                       |
| severely cognitively  |                       |                       |
| impaired). Note that  |                       |                       |
| this is a shift from  |                       |                       |
| past Nevada policy.   |                       |                       |
| Nevada in past years  |                       |                       |
| allowed exemptions    |                       |                       |
| for special education |                       |                       |
| students based on IEP |                       |                       |
| requirements and for  |                       |                       |
| some LEP students.    |                       |                       |
| Bills being           |                       |                       |
| considered by the     |                       |                       |
| 2003 Legislature will |                       |                       |
| disallow any          |                       |                       |
| exemptions. Changes   |                       |                       |
| to state regulation   |                       |                       |
| to support the new    |                       |                       |
| statute will follow   |                       |                       |
| suit in the summer of |                       |                       |
| 2003.                 |                       |                       |
|                       |                       |                       |
| Although AYP          |                       |                       |
| calculations for      |                       |                       |
| schools will be based |                       |                       |
| on those students     |                       |                       |
| having been enrolled  |                       |                       |
| for a full academic   |                       |                       |
| year (this would also |                       |                       |
| apply to the district |                       |                       |
| for district level    |                       |                       |
| AYP decisions), the   |                       |                       |
| scores for all        |                       |                       |
| students tested will  |                       |                       |
| be reported in        |                       |                       |
| accountability tables |                       |                       |
| along with            |                       |                       |
| documentation of      |                       |                       |
| participation rates.  |                       |                       |
|                       |                       |                       |
| Evidence: Current     |                       |                       |
| statute and           |                       |                       |
| regulation, BDR       |                       |                       |
+-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+

+-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| **CRITICAL ELEMENT**  | **EXAMPLES FOR**      | **EXAMPLES OF**       |
|                       |                       |                       |
|                       | **MEETING STATUTORY   | ***NOT* MEETING       |
|                       | REQUIREMENTS**        | REQUIREMENTS**        |
+-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| 2.  How does the      | The State has a       | LEAs have varying     |
|     State define      | definition of "full   | definitions of "full  |
|     "full academic    | academic year" for    | academic year."       |
|     year" for         | determining which     |                       |
|     identifying       | students are to be    | The State's           |
|     students in AYP   | included in decisions | definition excludes   |
|     decisions?        | about AYP.            | students who must     |
|                       |                       | transfer from one     |
|                       | The definition of     | district to another   |
|                       | full academic year is | as they advance to    |
|                       | consistent and        | the next grade.       |
|                       | applied statewide.    |                       |
|                       |                       | The definition of     |
|                       |                       | full academic year is |
|                       |                       | not applied           |
|                       |                       | consistently.         |
+-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| **STATE RESPONSE AND  |                       |                       |
| STATE ACTIVITIES FOR  |                       |                       |
| MEETING               |                       |                       |
| REQUIREMENTS**        |                       |                       |
+-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| Assuming a spring     |                       |                       |
| test window, students |                       |                       |
| enrolled in a school  |                       |                       |
| on the state's        |                       |                       |
| official enrollment   |                       |                       |
| count day             |                       |                       |
| (approximately        |                       |                       |
| October 1^st^) and    |                       |                       |
| who remain            |                       |                       |
| continuously enrolled |                       |                       |
| in the same school up |                       |                       |
| to and during the     |                       |                       |
| spring testing window |                       |                       |
| are considered to     |                       |                       |
| have been in school   |                       |                       |
| for a full academic   |                       |                       |
| year. The same rule   |                       |                       |
| applies to enrollment |                       |                       |
| within the school     |                       |                       |
| district. Therefore,  |                       |                       |
| a student that is     |                       |                       |
| continuously enrolled |                       |                       |
| in a school district  |                       |                       |
| from count day        |                       |                       |
| through the test      |                       |                       |
| window, regardless of |                       |                       |
| movement between      |                       |                       |
| multiple schools      |                       |                       |
| within the district,  |                       |                       |
| is considered to have |                       |                       |
| been in the district  |                       |                       |
| for a full academic   |                       |                       |
| year.                 |                       |                       |
|                       |                       |                       |
| Evidence: Statute     |                       |                       |
+-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+

+-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| **CRITICAL ELEMENT**  | **EXAMPLES FOR**      | **EXAMPLES OF**       |
|                       |                       |                       |
|                       | **MEETING STATUTORY   | ***NOT* MEETING       |
|                       | REQUIREMENTS**        | REQUIREMENTS**        |
+-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| 3.  How does the      | State holds public    | State definition      |
|     State             | schools accountable   | requires students to  |
|     Accountability    | for students who were | attend the same       |
|     System determine  | enrolled at the same  | public school for     |
|     which students    | public school for a   | more than a full      |
|     have attended the | full academic year.   | academic year to be   |
|     same public       |                       | included in public    |
|     school and/or LEA | State holds LEAs      | school                |
|     for a full        | accountable for       | accountability.       |
|     academic year?    | students who transfer |                       |
|                       | during the full       | State definition      |
|                       | academic year from    | requires students to  |
|                       | one public school     | attend school in the  |
|                       | within the district   | same district for     |
|                       | to another public     | more than a full      |
|                       | school within the     | academic year to be   |
|                       | district.             | included in district  |
|                       |                       | accountability.       |
|                       |                       |                       |
|                       |                       | State holds public    |
|                       |                       | schools accountable   |
|                       |                       | for students who have |
|                       |                       | not attended the same |
|                       |                       | public school for a   |
|                       |                       | full academic year.   |
+-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| **STATE RESPONSE AND  |                       |                       |
| STATE ACTIVITIES FOR  |                       |                       |
| MEETING               |                       |                       |
| REQUIREMENTS**        |                       |                       |
+-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| State policy requires |                       |                       |
| that test answer      |                       |                       |
| documents be          |                       |                       |
| completed for every   |                       |                       |
| student enrolled in a |                       |                       |
| school/program during |                       |                       |
| the testing window.   |                       |                       |
| Included on the score |                       |                       |
| sheet are two         |                       |                       |
| elements to be        |                       |                       |
| completed by          |                       |                       |
| authorized            |                       |                       |
| school/school         |                       |                       |
| district personnel.   |                       |                       |
| School/school         |                       |                       |
| district personnel    |                       |                       |
| must code the extent  |                       |                       |
| of time a student has |                       |                       |
| been enrolled in the  |                       |                       |
| school and school     |                       |                       |
| district (see example |                       |                       |
| score sheet and       |                       |                       |
| administration        |                       |                       |
| manual).              |                       |                       |
|                       |                       |                       |
| Coding of these       |                       |                       |
| elements should be    |                       |                       |
| based on information  |                       |                       |
| contained in the      |                       |                       |
| SIS/SMART system. The |                       |                       |
| SEA will compare      |                       |                       |
| enrollment numbers    |                       |                       |
| based on score sheets |                       |                       |
| to enrollment numbers |                       |                       |
| from count day. In    |                       |                       |
| those instances in    |                       |                       |
| which a discrepancy   |                       |                       |
| between counts exists |                       |                       |
| of 4% or greater,     |                       |                       |
| schools and school    |                       |                       |
| districts will be     |                       |                       |
| asked to formally     |                       |                       |
| explain the           |                       |                       |
| difference. The SEA   |                       |                       |
| may conduct formal    |                       |                       |
| audits if significant |                       |                       |
| discrepancies between |                       |                       |
| coded responses and   |                       |                       |
| count day figures     |                       |                       |
| cannot be accounted   |                       |                       |
| for by schools/school |                       |                       |
| districts.            |                       |                       |
|                       |                       |                       |
| Evidence: Example     |                       |                       |
| answer documents,     |                       |                       |
| SMART dictionary.     |                       |                       |
+-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+

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

+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| ## CRITICAL ELEMENT  | **EXAMPLES FOR\       | **EXAMPLES OF**       |
|                      | MEETING               |                       |
|                      | REQUIREMENTS**        | ***NOT* MEETING       |
|                      |                       | REQUIREMENTS**        |
+======================+=======================+=======================+
| 1.  How does the     | The State has a       | State definition does |
|     State's          | timeline for ensuring | not require all       |
|     definition of    | that all students     | students to achieve   |
|     adequate yearly  | will meet or exceed   | proficiency by        |
|     progress require | the State's           | 2013-2014.            |
|     all students to  | proficient level of   |                       |
|     be proficient in | academic achievement  | State extends the     |
|     reading/language | in reading/language   | timeline past the     |
|     arts and         | arts[^4] and          | 2013-2014 academic    |
|     mathematics by   | mathematics, not      | year.                 |
|     the 2013-2014    | later than 2013-2014. |                       |
|     academic year?   |                       |                       |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| **STATE RESPONSE AND |                       |                       |
| STATE ACTIVITIES FOR |                       |                       |
| MEETING              |                       |                       |
| REQUIREMENTS**       |                       |                       |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| Based on reading,    |                       |                       |
| language, and math   |                       |                       |
| performance among    |                       |                       |
| 3^rd^, 4^th^, 5^th^, |                       |                       |
| 8^th^, and high      |                       |                       |
| school students in   |                       |                       |
| the 2001-2002 school |                       |                       |
| year, baseline       |                       |                       |
| proficiency levels   |                       |                       |
| were determined      |                       |                       |
| separately for       |                       |                       |
| elementary, middle,  |                       |                       |
| and high schools.    |                       |                       |
| For each school      |                       |                       |
| level, baseline      |                       |                       |
| performance was      |                       |                       |
| established          |                       |                       |
| separately for       |                       |                       |
| English language     |                       |                       |
| arts and math using  |                       |                       |
| the school           |                       |                       |
| percentile method    |                       |                       |
| outlined as one of   |                       |                       |
| two options in the   |                       |                       |
| NCLB Act. The school |                       |                       |
| percentile method    |                       |                       |
| resulted in greater  |                       |                       |
| percentages of       |                       |                       |
| proficiency than did |                       |                       |
| the subpopulation    |                       |                       |
| method.              |                       |                       |
|                      |                       |                       |
| The baseline levels  |                       |                       |
| of percent           |                       |                       |
| proficient were      |                       |                       |
| subtracted from 100% |                       |                       |
| and then divided by  |                       |                       |
| 12 to determine the  |                       |                       |
| necessary annual     |                       |                       |
| increases in percent |                       |                       |
| proficient in order  |                       |                       |
| to move all students |                       |                       |
| to proficiency in    |                       |                       |
| the twelve year time |                       |                       |
| period.              |                       |                       |
|                      |                       |                       |
| Evidence: Board PPT, |                       |                       |
| Excel spreadsheets   |                       |                       |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| 2.  How does the     | For a public school   | State uses different  |
|     State            | and LEA to make       | method for            |
|     Accountability   | adequate yearly       | calculating how       |
|     System determine | progress, each        | public schools and    |
|     whether each     | student subgroup must | LEAs make AYP.        |
|     student          | meet or exceed the    |                       |
|     subgroup, public | State annual          |                       |
|     school and LEA   | measurable            |                       |
|     makes AYP?       | objectives, each      |                       |
|                      | student subgroup must |                       |
|                      | have at least a 95%   |                       |
|                      | participation rate in |                       |
|                      | the statewide         |                       |
|                      | assessments, and the  |                       |
|                      | school must meet the  |                       |
|                      | State's requirement   |                       |
|                      | for other academic    |                       |
|                      | indicators.           |                       |
|                      |                       |                       |
|                      | However, if in any    |                       |
|                      | particular year the   |                       |
|                      | student subgroup does |                       |
|                      | not meet those annual |                       |
|                      | measurable            |                       |
|                      | objectives, the       |                       |
|                      | public school or LEA  |                       |
|                      | may be considered to  |                       |
|                      | have made AYP, if the |                       |
|                      | percentage of         |                       |
|                      | students in that      |                       |
|                      | group who did not     |                       |
|                      | meet or exceed the    |                       |
|                      | proficient level of   |                       |
|                      | academic achievement  |                       |
|                      | on the State          |                       |
|                      | assessments for that  |                       |
|                      | year decreased by 10% |                       |
|                      | of that percentage    |                       |
|                      | from the preceding    |                       |
|                      | public school year;   |                       |
|                      | that group made       |                       |
|                      | progress on one or    |                       |
|                      | more of the State's   |                       |
|                      | academic indicators;  |                       |
|                      | and that group had at |                       |
|                      | least 95%             |                       |
|                      | participation rate on |                       |
|                      | the statewide         |                       |
|                      | assessment.           |                       |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| A four step sequence |                       |                       |
| is followed in       |                       |                       |
| determining AYP for  |                       |                       |
| the school or school |                       |                       |
| district, with the   |                       |                       |
| four step sequence   |                       |                       |
| being repeated by    |                       |                       |
| subject area and by  |                       |                       |
| each identifiable    |                       |                       |
| subgroup within the  |                       |                       |
| school or school     |                       |                       |
| district.            |                       |                       |
|                      |                       |                       |
| The general four     |                       |                       |
| step sequence is     |                       |                       |
| described below. To  |                       |                       |
| illustrate, we       |                       |                       |
| consider [English    |                       |                       |
| Language             |                       |                       |
| Arts]{.underline}    |                       |                       |
| performance among    |                       |                       |
| economically         |                       |                       |
| disadvantaged (Low   |                       |                       |
| SES) 4^th^ grade     |                       |                       |
| students within an   |                       |                       |
| elementary school:   |                       |                       |
|                      |                       |                       |
| Step 1 Compare Low   |                       |                       |
| SES test             |                       |                       |
| participation rate   |                       |                       |
| to the 95%           |                       |                       |
| participation rate   |                       |                       |
| criterion. If        |                       |                       |
| subpopulation rate   |                       |                       |
| is less than 95%,    |                       |                       |
| school is identified |                       |                       |
| as having failed AYP |                       |                       |
| in English Language  |                       |                       |
| Arts. If             |                       |                       |
| subpopulation rate   |                       |                       |
| is 95% or more, move |                       |                       |
| to step 2.           |                       |                       |
|                      |                       |                       |
| Step 2 Compare Low   |                       |                       |
| SES percentage of    |                       |                       |
| proficient students  |                       |                       |
| against the annual   |                       |                       |
| threshold target. If |                       |                       |
| subpopulation scores |                       |                       |
| at or above this     |                       |                       |
| level, begin         |                       |                       |
| application of AYP   |                       |                       |
| sequence to the next |                       |                       |
| subpopulation. If    |                       |                       |
| subpopulation scores |                       |                       |
| below the standard,  |                       |                       |
| move to step 3.      |                       |                       |
|                      |                       |                       |
| Step 3 Compare Low   |                       |                       |
| SES current          |                       |                       |
| percentage of        |                       |                       |
| proficient students  |                       |                       |
| to the Low SES       |                       |                       |
| percentage of        |                       |                       |
| proficient students  |                       |                       |
| from the previous    |                       |                       |
| school year. If the  |                       |                       |
| change is equivalent |                       |                       |
| to or greater than a |                       |                       |
| 10% reduction in the |                       |                       |
| percentage of        |                       |                       |
| non-proficient       |                       |                       |
| students for the     |                       |                       |
| subpopulation, move  |                       |                       |
| to step 4. If        |                       |                       |
| subpopulation's      |                       |                       |
| percentage is        |                       |                       |
| reduced by less than |                       |                       |
| 10%, the school is   |                       |                       |
| categorized as       |                       |                       |
| failing AYP in       |                       |                       |
| English Language     |                       |                       |
| Arts.                |                       |                       |
|                      |                       |                       |
| Step 4 Compare Low   |                       |                       |
| SES average daily    |                       |                       |
| attendance rate to   |                       |                       |
| the annual threshold |                       |                       |
| target. If the       |                       |                       |
| subpopulation's rate |                       |                       |
| is at or above the   |                       |                       |
| target or below the  |                       |                       |
| target but has       |                       |                       |
| increased in         |                       |                       |
| comparison to the    |                       |                       |
| previous school      |                       |                       |
| year, begin          |                       |                       |
| application of the 4 |                       |                       |
| step sequence to the |                       |                       |
| next subpopulation.  |                       |                       |
| If subpopulation     |                       |                       |
| rate is below target |                       |                       |
| with no improvement, |                       |                       |
| the school can be    |                       |                       |
| categorized as       |                       |                       |
| having failed AYP.   |                       |                       |
| (Special Note: Step  |                       |                       |
| four must be taken   |                       |                       |
| for the school as a  |                       |                       |
| whole regardless of  |                       |                       |
| step 2 and/or step 3 |                       |                       |
| performance).        |                       |                       |
|                      |                       |                       |
| Note: The same       |                       |                       |
| sequence is followed |                       |                       |
| for each subject     |                       |                       |
| area and for each    |                       |                       |
| subpopulation. This  |                       |                       |
| means that a         |                       |                       |
| successful school    |                       |                       |
| with 8 identifiable  |                       |                       |
| subpopulations must  |                       |                       |
| successfully make it |                       |                       |
| through a minimum of |                       |                       |
| 37 comparisons but   |                       |                       |
| may require as many  |                       |                       |
| as 63. By contrast,  |                       |                       |
| a school can fail as |                       |                       |
| a result of a single |                       |                       |
| comparison.          |                       |                       |
|                      |                       |                       |
| Although a school    |                       |                       |
| can fail with any    |                       |                       |
| negative comparison, |                       |                       |
| all 63 comparisons   |                       |                       |
| will have to be made |                       |                       |
| on an annual basis   |                       |                       |
| to provide complete  |                       |                       |
| profile information  |                       |                       |
| for schools and      |                       |                       |
| school districts.    |                       |                       |
| This must be done in |                       |                       |
| part to meet the     |                       |                       |
| state's obligation   |                       |                       |
| to provide technical |                       |                       |
| assistance relative  |                       |                       |
| to the school/school |                       |                       |
| district improvement |                       |                       |
| process.             |                       |                       |
|                      |                       |                       |
| **Language added     |                       |                       |
| about LEA AYP in     |                       |                       |
| March, 2005: The     |                       |                       |
| same analysis        |                       |                       |
| sequence is carried  |                       |                       |
| out for each Nevada  |                       |                       |
| school district with |                       |                       |
| AYP classifications  |                       |                       |
| being made           |                       |                       |
| separately for       |                       |                       |
| English/language     |                       |                       |
| arts and             |                       |                       |
| mathematics. There   |                       |                       |
| is one other         |                       |                       |
| difference between   |                       |                       |
| school and school    |                       |                       |
| district             |                       |                       |
| classifications. A   |                       |                       |
| district will be     |                       |                       |
| identified for       |                       |                       |
| improvement status   |                       |                       |
| only if it fails to  |                       |                       |
| make AYP for two     |                       |                       |
| consecutive years in |                       |                       |
| the same subject     |                       |                       |
| area or the other    |                       |                       |
| indicator and in all |                       |                       |
| grade spans which it |                       |                       |
| serves---elementary  |                       |                       |
| (grades 3-5);        |                       |                       |
| middle)grades 6-8);  |                       |                       |
| and high school      |                       |                       |
| (grades 9-12). If    |                       |                       |
| the district makes   |                       |                       |
| AYP in at least one  |                       |                       |
| of the grade spans,  |                       |                       |
| the district will    |                       |                       |
| not be identified    |                       |                       |
| for improvement.**   |                       |                       |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+

+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| ## CRITICAL ELEMENT  | **EXAMPLES FOR\       | **EXAMPLES OF**       |
|                      | MEETING               |                       |
|                      | REQUIREMENTS**        | ***NOT* MEETING       |
|                      |                       | REQUIREMENTS**        |
+======================+=======================+=======================+
| 3.2a What is the     | Using data from the   | The State             |
| State's starting     | 2001-2002 school      | Accountability System |
| point for            | year, the State       | uses a different      |
| calculating Adequate | established separate  | method for            |
| Yearly Progress?     | starting points in    | calculating the       |
|                      | reading/language arts | starting point (or    |
|                      | and mathematics for   | baseline data).       |
|                      | measuring the         |                       |
|                      | percentage of         |                       |
|                      | students meeting or   |                       |
|                      | exceeding the State's |                       |
|                      | proficient level of   |                       |
|                      | academic achievement. |                       |
|                      |                       |                       |
|                      | Each starting point   |                       |
|                      | is based, at a        |                       |
|                      | minimum, on the       |                       |
|                      | higher of the         |                       |
|                      | following percentages |                       |
|                      | of students at the    |                       |
|                      | proficient level: (1) |                       |
|                      | the percentage in the |                       |
|                      | State of proficient   |                       |
|                      | students in the       |                       |
|                      | lowest-achieving      |                       |
|                      | student subgroup; or, |                       |
|                      | (2) the percentage of |                       |
|                      | proficient students   |                       |
|                      | in a public school at |                       |
|                      | the 20^th^ percentile |                       |
|                      | of the State's total  |                       |
|                      | enrollment among all  |                       |
|                      | schools ranked by the |                       |
|                      | percentage of         |                       |
|                      | students at the       |                       |
|                      | proficient level.     |                       |
|                      |                       |                       |
|                      | A State may use these |                       |
|                      | procedures to         |                       |
|                      | establish separate    |                       |
|                      | starting points by    |                       |
|                      | grade span; however,  |                       |
|                      | the starting point    |                       |
|                      | must be the same for  |                       |
|                      | all like schools      |                       |
|                      | (e.g., one same       |                       |
|                      | starting point for    |                       |
|                      | all elementary        |                       |
|                      | schools, one same     |                       |
|                      | starting point for    |                       |
|                      | all middle            |                       |
|                      | schools...).          |                       |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| **STATE RESPONSE AND |                       |                       |
| STATE ACTIVITIES FOR |                       |                       |
| MEETING              |                       |                       |
| REQUIREMENTS**       |                       |                       |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| Performance data     |                       |                       |
| from the 2001-02     |                       |                       |
| school year were     |                       |                       |
| used to establish    |                       |                       |
| the baseline for all |                       |                       |
| schools. As stated   |                       |                       |
| previously, both     |                       |                       |
| methods for          |                       |                       |
| establishing         |                       |                       |
| baselines were       |                       |                       |
| explored but the     |                       |                       |
| school percentile    |                       |                       |
| method resulted in   |                       |                       |
| the higher           |                       |                       |
| proficiency levels.  |                       |                       |
| (See critical        |                       |                       |
| element 9.3 for how  |                       |                       |
| state handles        |                       |                       |
| baseline and changes |                       |                       |
| to state assessment  |                       |                       |
| system.)             |                       |                       |
|                      |                       |                       |
| Test scores for      |                       |                       |
| tests administered   |                       |                       |
| in grades 3, 4, 5,   |                       |                       |
| 8, and at the high   |                       |                       |
| school level were    |                       |                       |
| used to establish    |                       |                       |
| baseline. The        |                       |                       |
| information gained   |                       |                       |
| from tests           |                       |                       |
| administered in      |                       |                       |
| grades 3, 4, and 5   |                       |                       |
| was combined to      |                       |                       |
| establish the        |                       |                       |
| elementary state     |                       |                       |
| baseline. When       |                       |                       |
| multiple tests       |                       |                       |
| within a single      |                       |                       |
| domain were          |                       |                       |
| administered in the  |                       |                       |
| same grade (i.e.     |                       |                       |
| 8^th^ grade reading, |                       |                       |
| language, and        |                       |                       |
| writing),            |                       |                       |
| information was      |                       |                       |
| combined across      |                       |                       |
| tests to set the     |                       |                       |
| state baseline. For  |                       |                       |
| high school,         |                       |                       |
| cumulative           |                       |                       |
| performance up to    |                       |                       |
| and including spring |                       |                       |
| assessments were     |                       |                       |
| considered.          |                       |                       |
|                      |                       |                       |
| The following is a   |                       |                       |
| breakdown of the     |                       |                       |
| baseline proficiency |                       |                       |
| rates by grade       |                       |                       |
| levels and subject   |                       |                       |
| area.                |                       |                       |
|                      |                       |                       |
| Elementary Middle    |                       |                       |
| High School          |                       |                       |
|                      |                       |                       |
| English Language     |                       |                       |
| Arts 32.4% 37.0%     |                       |                       |
| 91.0%                |                       |                       |
|                      |                       |                       |
| Mathematics 37.3%    |                       |                       |
| 38.0% 58.0%          |                       |                       |
|                      |                       |                       |
| The state baselines  |                       |                       |
| are used to set the  |                       |                       |
| trajectory for the   |                       |                       |
| 12 year timeline and |                       |                       |
| to establish the     |                       |                       |
| annual "status"      |                       |                       |
| targets.             |                       |                       |
|                      |                       |                       |
| Evidence: State      |                       |                       |
| Board PPT            |                       |                       |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+

+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| ## CRITICAL ELEMENT  | **EXAMPLES FOR\       | **EXAMPLES OF**       |
|                      | MEETING               |                       |
|                      | REQUIREMENTS**        | ***NOT* MEETING       |
|                      |                       | REQUIREMENTS**        |
+======================+=======================+=======================+
| 2.  What are the     | State has annual      | The State             |
|     State's annual   | measurable objectives | Accountability System |
|     measurable       | that are consistent   | uses another method   |
|     objectives for   | with a state's        | for calculating       |
|     determining      | intermediate goals    | annual measurable     |
|     adequate yearly  | and that identify for | objectives.           |
|     progress?        | each year a minimum   |                       |
|                      | percentage of         | The State             |
|                      | students who must     | Accountability System |
|                      | meet or exceed the    | does not include      |
|                      | proficient level of   | annual measurable     |
|                      | academic achievement  | objectives.           |
|                      | on the State's        |                       |
|                      | academic assessments. |                       |
|                      |                       |                       |
|                      | The State's annual    |                       |
|                      | measurable objectives |                       |
|                      | ensure that all       |                       |
|                      | students meet or      |                       |
|                      | exceed the State's    |                       |
|                      | proficient level of   |                       |
|                      | academic achievement  |                       |
|                      | within the timeline.  |                       |
|                      |                       |                       |
|                      | The State's annual    |                       |
|                      | measurable objectives |                       |
|                      | are the same          |                       |
|                      | throughout the State  |                       |
|                      | for each public       |                       |
|                      | school, each LEA, and |                       |
|                      | each subgroup of      |                       |
|                      | students.             |                       |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| **STATE RESPONSE AND |                       |                       |
| STATE ACTIVITIES FOR |                       |                       |
| MEETING              |                       |                       |
| REQUIREMENTS**       |                       |                       |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| As indicated above,  |                       |                       |
| using the baseline   |                       |                       |
| proficiency levels   |                       |                       |
| and the 12 year time |                       |                       |
| limit, measurable    |                       |                       |
| annual objectives    |                       |                       |
| have been            |                       |                       |
| established          |                       |                       |
| statewide at the     |                       |                       |
| elementary, middle,  |                       |                       |
| and high school      |                       |                       |
| levels. Proficiency  |                       |                       |
| levels are           |                       |                       |
| established          |                       |                       |
| separately for       |                       |                       |
| English Language     |                       |                       |
| Arts and             |                       |                       |
| Mathematics. See     |                       |                       |
| intermediate goals   |                       |                       |
| for a fuller         |                       |                       |
| explanation.         |                       |                       |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+

+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| ## CRITICAL ELEMENT  | **EXAMPLES FOR\       | **EXAMPLES OF**       |
|                      | MEETING               |                       |
|                      | REQUIREMENTS**        | ***NOT* MEETING       |
|                      |                       | REQUIREMENTS**        |
+======================+=======================+=======================+
| 3.2c What are the    | State has established | The State uses        |
| State's intermediate | intermediate goals    | another method for    |
| goals for            | that increase in      | calculating           |
| determining adequate | equal increments over | intermediate goals.   |
| yearly progress?     | the period covered by |                       |
|                      | the State timeline.   | The State does not    |
|                      |                       | include intermediate  |
|                      | -   The first         | goals in its          |
|                      |     incremental       | definition of         |
|                      |     increase takes    | adequate yearly       |
|                      |     effect not later  | progress.             |
|                      |     than the          |                       |
|                      |     2004-2005         |                       |
|                      |     academic year.    |                       |
|                      |                       |                       |
|                      | -   Each following    |                       |
|                      |     incremental       |                       |
|                      |     increase occurs   |                       |
|                      |     within three      |                       |
|                      |     years.            |                       |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| **STATE RESPONSE AND |                       |                       |
| STATE ACTIVITIES FOR |                       |                       |
| MEETING              |                       |                       |
| REQUIREMENTS**       |                       |                       |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| The state has chosen |                       |                       |
| to use intermediate  |                       |                       |
| proficiency goals    |                       |                       |
| with 6 equal distant |                       |                       |
| increases. The       |                       |                       |
| baseline estimates   |                       |                       |
| will be used as      |                       |                       |
| annual targets for   |                       |                       |
| two years with the   |                       |                       |
| first increase       |                       |                       |
| occurring in the     |                       |                       |
| 2004-2005 school     |                       |                       |
| year. The subsequent |                       |                       |
| increases will occur |                       |                       |
| in the 2007-2008,    |                       |                       |
| 2009-2010,           |                       |                       |
| 2011-2012,           |                       |                       |
| 2012-2013, and       |                       |                       |
| 2013-2014 school     |                       |                       |
| years. Using         |                       |                       |
| baseline figures as  |                       |                       |
| the starting point,  |                       |                       |
| a schedule of        |                       |                       |
| increases by school  |                       |                       |
| type and subject     |                       |                       |
| area was developed.  |                       |                       |
|                      |                       |                       |
| It should be noted   |                       |                       |
| that NCLB does not   |                       |                       |
| require the final    |                       |                       |
| assessment system to |                       |                       |
| be fully implemented |                       |                       |
| until the 2005-06    |                       |                       |
| school year. The     |                       |                       |
| state anticipates    |                       |                       |
| including one or two |                       |                       |
| new assessments in   |                       |                       |
| 2003-04 with the     |                       |                       |
| full implementation  |                       |                       |
| occurring in 2005-06 |                       |                       |
| in compliance with   |                       |                       |
| NCLB. Although the   |                       |                       |
| state expects that   |                       |                       |
| all students will be |                       |                       |
| proficient by the    |                       |                       |
| 2013-2014 school     |                       |                       |
| year irrespective of |                       |                       |
| when the final       |                       |                       |
| assessment system is |                       |                       |
| implemented, it      |                       |                       |
| intends to adjust    |                       |                       |
| the annual           |                       |                       |
| performance targets  |                       |                       |
| after any            |                       |                       |
| substantive changes  |                       |                       |
| to the set of        |                       |                       |
| assessments being    |                       |                       |
| used to determine    |                       |                       |
| AYP. Therefore,      |                       |                       |
| adjustments to the   |                       |                       |
| trajectory are       |                       |                       |
| expected to occur    |                       |                       |
| during the 2003-04   |                       |                       |
| school year and      |                       |                       |
| after the 2005-06    |                       |                       |
| school year. The     |                       |                       |
| table of annual      |                       |                       |
| targets reflects     |                       |                       |
| changes prompted in  |                       |                       |
| the 2003-04 school   |                       |                       |
| year. Only changes   |                       |                       |
| at the elementary    |                       |                       |
| level were required. |                       |                       |
| This was a function  |                       |                       |
| of exclusion of the  |                       |                       |
| NRT instruments and  |                       |                       |
| inclusion of the     |                       |                       |
| 4^th^ grade writing  |                       |                       |
| test.                |                       |                       |
|                      |                       |                       |
| <table>              |                       |                       |
| <colgroup>           |                       |                       |
| <col                 |                       |                       |
| s                    |                       |                       |
| tyle="width: 25%" /> |                       |                       |
| <col                 |                       |                       |
| s                    |                       |                       |
| tyle="width: 14%" /> |                       |                       |
| <col                 |                       |                       |
| s                    |                       |                       |
| tyle="width: 11%" /> |                       |                       |
| <col                 |                       |                       |
| s                    |                       |                       |
| tyle="width: 12%" /> |                       |                       |
| <col                 |                       |                       |
| s                    |                       |                       |
| tyle="width: 13%" /> |                       |                       |
| <col                 |                       |                       |
| s                    |                       |                       |
| tyle="width: 12%" /> |                       |                       |
| <col                 |                       |                       |
| s                    |                       |                       |
| tyle="width: 11%" /> |                       |                       |
| </colgroup>          |                       |                       |
| <tbody>              |                       |                       |
| <tr class="odd">     |                       |                       |
| <td>School           |                       |                       |
| year</td>            |                       |                       |
| <td                  |                       |                       |
| co                   |                       |                       |
| lspan="2">Elementary |                       |                       |
| School</td>          |                       |                       |
| <td                  |                       |                       |
| colspan="2">Middle   |                       |                       |
| School</td>          |                       |                       |
| <td                  |                       |                       |
| colspan="2">High     |                       |                       |
| School</td>          |                       |                       |
| </tr>                |                       |                       |
| <tr class="even">    |                       |                       |
| <td></td>            |                       |                       |
| <td>ELA</td>         |                       |                       |
| <td>Math</td>        |                       |                       |
| <td>ELA</td>         |                       |                       |
| <td>Math</td>        |                       |                       |
| <td>ELA</td>         |                       |                       |
| <td>Math</td>        |                       |                       |
| </tr>                |                       |                       |
| <tr class="odd">     |                       |                       |
| <td>2003-04</td>     |                       |                       |
| <td>27.5%</td>       |                       |                       |
| <td>34.5%</td>       |                       |                       |
| <td>37%</td>         |                       |                       |
| <td>32%</td>         |                       |                       |
| <td>73.5</td>        |                       |                       |
| <td>42.8</td>        |                       |                       |
| </tr>                |                       |                       |
| <tr class="even">    |                       |                       |
| <td><p>2004-05,      |                       |                       |
| 2005-06,</p>         |                       |                       |
| <p>2006-07</p></td>  |                       |                       |
| <td>39.6%</td>       |                       |                       |
| <td>45.4%</td>       |                       |                       |
| <td>47.5%</td>       |                       |                       |
| <td>43.3%</td>       |                       |                       |
| <td>77.9%</td>       |                       |                       |
| <td>52.3%</td>       |                       |                       |
| </tr>                |                       |                       |
| <tr class="odd">     |                       |                       |
| <td>2007-08,         |                       |                       |
| 2008-09</td>         |                       |                       |
| <td>51.7%</td>       |                       |                       |
| <td>56.3%</td>       |                       |                       |
| <td>58%</td>         |                       |                       |
| <td>54.6%</td>       |                       |                       |
| <td>82.3%</td>       |                       |                       |
| <td>61.8%</td>       |                       |                       |
| </tr>                |                       |                       |
| <tr class="even">    |                       |                       |
| <td>2009-10,         |                       |                       |
| 2010-11</td>         |                       |                       |
| <td>63.8%</td>       |                       |                       |
| <td>67.2%</td>       |                       |                       |
| <td>68.5%</td>       |                       |                       |
| <td>65.9%</td>       |                       |                       |
| <td>86.7%</td>       |                       |                       |
| <td>71.3%</td>       |                       |                       |
| </tr>                |                       |                       |
| <tr class="odd">     |                       |                       |
| <td>2011-12</td>     |                       |                       |
| <td>75.9%</td>       |                       |                       |
| <td>78.1%</td>       |                       |                       |
| <td>79%</td>         |                       |                       |
| <td>77.2%</td>       |                       |                       |
| <td>91.1%</td>       |                       |                       |
| <td>80.8%</td>       |                       |                       |
| </tr>                |                       |                       |
| <tr class="even">    |                       |                       |
| <td>2012-13</td>     |                       |                       |
| <td>88%</td>         |                       |                       |
| <td>89%</td>         |                       |                       |
| <td>89.5%</td>       |                       |                       |
| <td>88.5%</td>       |                       |                       |
| <td>95.5%</td>       |                       |                       |
| <td>90.3%</td>       |                       |                       |
| </tr>                |                       |                       |
| <tr class="odd">     |                       |                       |
| <td>2013-14</td>     |                       |                       |
| <td>100%</td>        |                       |                       |
| <td>100%</td>        |                       |                       |
| <td>100%</td>        |                       |                       |
| <td>100%</td>        |                       |                       |
| <td>100%</td>        |                       |                       |
| <td>100%</td>        |                       |                       |
| </tr>                |                       |                       |
| </tbody>             |                       |                       |
| </table>             |                       |                       |
|                      |                       |                       |
| Nevada State Board   |                       |                       |
| of Education         |                       |                       |
| adoption of cut      |                       |                       |
| scores for the grade |                       |                       |
| 4, 6, and 7 reading  |                       |                       |
| and math tests is    |                       |                       |
| slated to occur on   |                       |                       |
| August 5^th^, 2006.  |                       |                       |
| Discussions with     |                       |                       |
| USED in May and June |                       |                       |
| of 2006 resulted in  |                       |                       |
| the requirement for  |                       |                       |
| NDE to use data from |                       |                       |
| grades 4, 6, and 7,  |                       |                       |
| prior to the formal  |                       |                       |
| Board adoption of    |                       |                       |
| cut scores, in       |                       |                       |
| making 2005-06 AYP   |                       |                       |
| classifications and  |                       |                       |
| school and district  |                       |                       |
| achievement          |                       |                       |
| designations. After  |                       |                       |
| the formal Board     |                       |                       |
| adoption of cut      |                       |                       |
| scores, adjustments  |                       |                       |
| to AMOs, including   |                       |                       |
| the 2005-06 AMOs,    |                       |                       |
| may occur. This may  |                       |                       |
| result in the        |                       |                       |
| re-analysis of       |                       |                       |
| 2005-06 assessment   |                       |                       |
| results and          |                       |                       |
| re-issuing of AYP    |                       |                       |
| classifications and  |                       |                       |
| school/district      |                       |                       |
| designations.        |                       |                       |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+

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

+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| ## CRITICAL ELEMENT  | ## EXAMPLES FOR       | **EXAMPLES OF**       |
|                      |                       |                       |
|                      | **MEETING             | ***NOT* MEETING       |
|                      | REQUIREMENTS**        | REQUIREMENTS**        |
+======================+=======================+=======================+
| 1.  How does the     | AYP decisions for     | AYP decisions for     |
|     State            | each public school    | public schools and    |
|     Accountability   | and LEA are made      | LEAs are not made     |
|     System make an   | annually.[^5]         | annually.             |
|     annual           |                       |                       |
|     determination of |                       |                       |
|     whether each     |                       |                       |
|     public school    |                       |                       |
|     and LEA in the   |                       |                       |
|     State made AYP?  |                       |                       |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| **STATE RESPONSE AND |                       |                       |
| STATE ACTIVITIES FOR |                       |                       |
| MEETING              |                       |                       |
| REQUIREMENTS**       |                       |                       |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| Currently, annual    |                       |                       |
| school               |                       |                       |
| accountability       |                       |                       |
| designations are     |                       |                       |
| made for every       |                       |                       |
| public school in the |                       |                       |
| state. Although      |                       |                       |
| designations will    |                       |                       |
| continue to be made  |                       |                       |
| on an annual basis,  |                       |                       |
| the timing of        |                       |                       |
| designations from    |                       |                       |
| the state's current  |                       |                       |
| structure will       |                       |                       |
| change, and the      |                       |                       |
| designations will be |                       |                       |
| applied to all       |                       |                       |
| schools within the   |                       |                       |
| state as well as     |                       |                       |
| local school         |                       |                       |
| districts and the    |                       |                       |
| state as a whole.    |                       |                       |
|                      |                       |                       |
| State statute will   |                       |                       |
| define in broad      |                       |                       |
| terms the timeframe  |                       |                       |
| within which         |                       |                       |
| designations must    |                       |                       |
| occur including the  |                       |                       |
| release of the State |                       |                       |
| Report Card. The     |                       |                       |
| Department and       |                       |                       |
| school districts     |                       |                       |
| intend to make       |                       |                       |
| designations prior   |                       |                       |
| to the beginning of  |                       |                       |
| each school year,    |                       |                       |
| based upon           |                       |                       |
| performance in the   |                       |                       |
| previous school      |                       |                       |
| year.                |                       |                       |
|                      |                       |                       |
| Evidence: See        |                       |                       |
| current statute and  |                       |                       |
| BDR.                 |                       |                       |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+

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

+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| ## CRITICAL ELEMENT | **EXAMPLES FOR**      | **EXAMPLES OF**       |
|                     |                       |                       |
|                     | **MEETING             | ***NOT* MEETING       |
|                     | REQUIREMENTS**        | REQUIREMENTS**        |
+=====================+=======================+=======================+
| 1.  How does the    | Identifies subgroups  | State does not        |
|     definition of   | for defining adequate | disaggregate data by  |
|     adequate yearly | yearly progress:      | each required student |
|     progress        | economically          | subgroup.             |
|     include all the | disadvantaged, major  |                       |
|     required        | racial and ethnic     |                       |
|     student         | groups, students with |                       |
|     subgroups?      | disabilities, and     |                       |
|                     | students with limited |                       |
|                     | English proficiency.  |                       |
|                     |                       |                       |
|                     | Provides definition   |                       |
|                     | and data source of    |                       |
|                     | subgroups for         |                       |
|                     | adequate yearly       |                       |
|                     | progress.             |                       |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| **STATE RESPONSE    |                       |                       |
| AND STATE           |                       |                       |
| ACTIVITIES FOR      |                       |                       |
| MEETING             |                       |                       |
| REQUIREMENTS**      |                       |                       |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| The sequence of     |                       |                       |
| comparisons to      |                       |                       |
| determine AYP       |                       |                       |
| status is applied   |                       |                       |
| at the total school |                       |                       |
| or school district  |                       |                       |
| level and at the    |                       |                       |
| subpopulation       |                       |                       |
| level.              |                       |                       |
| Subpopulation       |                       |                       |
| comparisons will be |                       |                       |
| made for five       |                       |                       |
| ethnicities         |                       |                       |
| (American Indian,   |                       |                       |
| Asian/Pacific       |                       |                       |
| Islander, Hispanic, |                       |                       |
| African American,   |                       |                       |
| and White),         |                       |                       |
| economically        |                       |                       |
| disadvantaged       |                       |                       |
| students, students  |                       |                       |
| with limited        |                       |                       |
| English             |                       |                       |
| proficiency, and    |                       |                       |
| students with       |                       |                       |
| disabilities.       |                       |                       |
|                     |                       |                       |
| For any school or   |                       |                       |
| school district,    |                       |                       |
| too few students in |                       |                       |
| any of the above    |                       |                       |
| identified          |                       |                       |
| categories would    |                       |                       |
| eliminate that      |                       |                       |
| subgroup from       |                       |                       |
| comparisons.        |                       |                       |
|                     |                       |                       |
| Evidence: Board     |                       |                       |
| PPT, AYP Steps PPT  |                       |                       |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+

+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| ## CRITICAL ELEMENT | **EXAMPLES FOR**      | **EXAMPLES OF**       |
|                     |                       |                       |
|                     | **MEETING             | ***NOT* MEETING       |
|                     | REQUIREMENTS**        | REQUIREMENTS**        |
+=====================+=======================+=======================+
| 2.  How are public  | Public schools and    | State does not        |
|     schools and     | LEAs are held         | include student       |
|     LEAs held       | accountable for       | subgroups in its      |
|     accountable for | student subgroup      | State Accountability  |
|     the progress of | achievement:          | System.               |
|     student         | economically          |                       |
|     subgroups in    | disadvantaged, major  |                       |
|     the             | ethnic and racial     |                       |
|     determination   | groups, students with |                       |
|     of adequate     | disabilities, and     |                       |
|     yearly          | limited English       |                       |
|     progress?       | proficient students.  |                       |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| **STATE RESPONSE    |                       |                       |
| AND STATE           |                       |                       |
| ACTIVITIES FOR      |                       |                       |
| MEETING             |                       |                       |
| REQUIREMENTS**      |                       |                       |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| Student subgroups,  |                       |                       |
| including the       |                       |                       |
| school/school       |                       |                       |
| district as a       |                       |                       |
| whole, are held to  |                       |                       |
| status and relative |                       |                       |
| growth requirements |                       |                       |
| as outlined in      |                       |                       |
| NCLB. For those     |                       |                       |
| subpopulations not  |                       |                       |
| making the status   |                       |                       |
| threshold, a        |                       |                       |
| comparison will be  |                       |                       |
| made of the         |                       |                       |
| percentage of       |                       |                       |
| proficient students |                       |                       |
| in the current year |                       |                       |
| to the percentage   |                       |                       |
| of proficient       |                       |                       |
| students in the     |                       |                       |
| prior year. If the  |                       |                       |
| change reflects a   |                       |                       |
| 10% or greater      |                       |                       |
| reduction in the    |                       |                       |
| percentage of       |                       |                       |
| non-proficient      |                       |                       |
| students, the       |                       |                       |
| s                   |                       |                       |
| chool/subpopulation |                       |                       |
| will have made the  |                       |                       |
| relative growth     |                       |                       |
| requirement (safe   |                       |                       |
| harbor).            |                       |                       |
|                     |                       |                       |
| In addition to      |                       |                       |
| considering         |                       |                       |
| participation rates |                       |                       |
| and the language    |                       |                       |
| arts and math       |                       |                       |
| performance, the    |                       |                       |
| school or school    |                       |                       |
| district as a       |                       |                       |
| whole, and each     |                       |                       |
| subpopulation for   |                       |                       |
| which relative      |                       |                       |
| growth comparisons  |                       |                       |
| are required,       |                       |                       |
| performance         |                       |                       |
| relative to the     |                       |                       |
| other indicator     |                       |                       |
| will be considered. |                       |                       |
|                     |                       |                       |
| For a fuller        |                       |                       |
| explanation of the  |                       |                       |
| AYP determination   |                       |                       |
| process, the reader |                       |                       |
| is referred to the  |                       |                       |
| accountability      |                       |                       |
| pre-technical       |                       |                       |
| bulletin.           |                       |                       |
|                     |                       |                       |
| Evidence: Board PPT |                       |                       |
| and other           |                       |                       |
| documents, AYP      |                       |                       |
| Steps PPT,          |                       |                       |
| Accountability plan |                       |                       |
| pre-technical       |                       |                       |
| bulletin            |                       |                       |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+

+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| ## CRITICAL ELEMENT | **EXAMPLES FOR**      | **EXAMPLES OF**       |
|                     |                       |                       |
|                     | **MEETING             | ***NOT* MEETING       |
|                     | REQUIREMENTS**        | REQUIREMENTS**        |
+=====================+=======================+=======================+
| 3.  How are         | All students with     | The State             |
|     students with   | disabilities          | Accountability System |
|     disabilities    | participate in        | or State policy       |
|     included in the | statewide             | excludes students     |
|     State's         | assessments: general  | with disabilities     |
|     definition of   | assessments with or   | from participating in |
|     adequate yearly | without               | the statewide         |
|     progress?       | accommodations or an  | assessments.          |
|                     | alternate assessment  |                       |
|                     | based on grade level  | State cannot          |
|                     | standards for the     | demonstrate that      |
|                     | grade in which        | alternate assessments |
|                     | students are          | measure grade-level   |
|                     | enrolled.             | standards for the     |
|                     |                       | grade in which        |
|                     | State demonstrates    | students are          |
|                     | that students with    | enrolled.             |
|                     | disabilities are      |                       |
|                     | fully included in the |                       |
|                     | State Accountability  |                       |
|                     | System.               |                       |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| **STATE RESPONSE    |                       |                       |
| AND STATE           |                       |                       |
| ACTIVITIES FOR      |                       |                       |
| MEETING             |                       |                       |
| REQUIREMENTS**      |                       |                       |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| All students        |                       |                       |
| enrolled in public  |                       |                       |
| schools are         |                       |                       |
| included in the     |                       |                       |
| state               |                       |                       |
| accountability and  |                       |                       |
| assessment system.  |                       |                       |
| Students with       |                       |                       |
| disabilities can be |                       |                       |
| included in various |                       |                       |
| ways. First,        |                       |                       |
| students with       |                       |                       |
| disabilities can be |                       |                       |
| included in the     |                       |                       |
| same manner as      |                       |                       |
| non-disabled        |                       |                       |
| students. Second,   |                       |                       |
| students with       |                       |                       |
| disabilities can be |                       |                       |
| included in the     |                       |                       |
| assessment system   |                       |                       |
| using               |                       |                       |
| accommodations.     |                       |                       |
| Testing             |                       |                       |
| accommodations used |                       |                       |
| on the state tests  |                       |                       |
| must be consistent  |                       |                       |
| with accommodations |                       |                       |
| typically used by   |                       |                       |
| the student in      |                       |                       |
| regular classroom   |                       |                       |
| activities and can  |                       |                       |
| only be considered  |                       |                       |
| permissible if they |                       |                       |
| do not invalidate   |                       |                       |
| the interpretation  |                       |                       |
| of test             |                       |                       |
| performance. Third, |                       |                       |
| students with       |                       |                       |
| severe cognitive    |                       |                       |
| disabilities are    |                       |                       |
| eligible to         |                       |                       |
| participate in the  |                       |                       |
| state's alternate   |                       |                       |
| assessment (SCAAN). |                       |                       |
| The SCAAN           |                       |                       |
| assessment is       |                       |                       |
| linked to the       |                       |                       |
| state's content     |                       |                       |
| standards but also  |                       |                       |
| includes functional |                       |                       |
| standards. The      |                       |                       |
| assessment does     |                       |                       |
| allow for           |                       |                       |
| achievement         |                       |                       |
| designations        |                       |                       |
| paralleling those   |                       |                       |
| used on traditional |                       |                       |
| state large-scale   |                       |                       |
| assessments.        |                       |                       |
|                     |                       |                       |
| Nevada              |                       |                       |
| est                 |                       |                       |
| imates/approximates |                       |                       |
| that 2% of its      |                       |                       |
| special education   |                       |                       |
| population is       |                       |                       |
| eligible to         |                       |                       |
| participate on the  |                       |                       |
| SCAAN assessment.   |                       |                       |
| This is well below  |                       |                       |
| the federal         |                       |                       |
| *interim regulatory |                       |                       |
| process*            |                       |                       |
| requirement of 1%   |                       |                       |
| of the total        |                       |                       |
| student population. |                       |                       |
| If it is determined |                       |                       |
| that a student is   |                       |                       |
| not eligible to     |                       |                       |
| take SCAAN and that |                       |                       |
| the accommodations  |                       |                       |
| needed to           |                       |                       |
| participate on the  |                       |                       |
| large-scale         |                       |                       |
| assessments         |                       |                       |
| invalidate score    |                       |                       |
| interpretation,     |                       |                       |
| students testing    |                       |                       |
| using               |                       |                       |
| non-permissible     |                       |                       |
| accommodations will |                       |                       |
| receive a           |                       |                       |
| developing/emergent |                       |                       |
| achievement level   |                       |                       |
| score. Due to       |                       |                       |
| changes to federal  |                       |                       |
| regulations, these  |                       |                       |
| students cannot be  |                       |                       |
| counted as having   |                       |                       |
| participated.       |                       |                       |
|                     |                       |                       |
| Determining the     |                       |                       |
| route through which |                       |                       |
| students with       |                       |                       |
| disabilities        |                       |                       |
| participate in the  |                       |                       |
| state assessment    |                       |                       |
| system is handled   |                       |                       |
| in large part by    |                       |                       |
| the student's IEP   |                       |                       |
| committee. The      |                       |                       |
| process is          |                       |                       |
| facilitated by use  |                       |                       |
| of an IEP           |                       |                       |
| "decision-maker"    |                       |                       |
| that forces the     |                       |                       |
| committee to        |                       |                       |
| address critical    |                       |                       |
| questions that must |                       |                       |
| be answered before  |                       |                       |
| testing decisions   |                       |                       |
| can be made.        |                       |                       |
|                     |                       |                       |
| Students with       |                       |                       |
| disabilities        |                       |                       |
| participating in    |                       |                       |
| SCAAN or on the     |                       |                       |
| traditional         |                       |                       |
| programs with       |                       |                       |
| standard or         |                       |                       |
| accommodated        |                       |                       |
| conditions that do  |                       |                       |
| not violate the     |                       |                       |
| validity of score   |                       |                       |
| interpretations are |                       |                       |
| counted as having   |                       |                       |
| participated in the |                       |                       |
| state testing       |                       |                       |
| system. As          |                       |                       |
| illustrated below,  |                       |                       |
| for AYP, student    |                       |                       |
| achievement levels  |                       |                       |
| (i.e. exceeds       |                       |                       |
| standard, meets     |                       |                       |
| standard,           |                       |                       |
| approaches          |                       |                       |
| standard, etc...)   |                       |                       |
| earned on SCAAN are |                       |                       |
| counted just as are |                       |                       |
| achievement levels  |                       |                       |
| for student results |                       |                       |
| on the state        |                       |                       |
| large-scale         |                       |                       |
| assessments.        |                       |                       |
|                     |                       |                       |
| Evidence: SCAAN     |                       |                       |
| documentation and   |                       |                       |
| participation       |                       |                       |
| rates, statute and  |                       |                       |
| regulation, IEP     |                       |                       |
| decision maker,     |                       |                       |
| lists of testing    |                       |                       |
| accommodations      |                       |                       |
| (test manual:       |                       |                       |
| appendix).          |                       |                       |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+

+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| **For the           |                       |                       |
| calculation of AYP  |                       |                       |
| for the 2004-2005   |                       |                       |
| school year, NDE    |                       |                       |
| took advantage of   |                       |                       |
| the flexibility     |                       |                       |
| that the U.S.       |                       |                       |
| Department of       |                       |                       |
| Education           |                       |                       |
| established in this |                       |                       |
| area by             |                       |                       |
| establishing a      |                       |                       |
| "proxy" number for  |                       |                       |
| the performance of  |                       |                       |
| special education   |                       |                       |
| students. In        |                       |                       |
| Nevada, that proxy  |                       |                       |
| number was 16.67%   |                       |                       |
| which NDE rounded   |                       |                       |
| to 17%. That number |                       |                       |
| was added to the    |                       |                       |
| actual percent of   |                       |                       |
| students with       |                       |                       |
| disabilities who    |                       |                       |
| were proficient or  |                       |                       |
| better on the       |                       |                       |
| statewide tests     |                       |                       |
| used to calculate   |                       |                       |
| AYP. This proxy     |                       |                       |
| number was applied  |                       |                       |
| only to those       |                       |                       |
| schools that missed |                       |                       |
| AYP only in the     |                       |                       |
| Students with       |                       |                       |
| Disabilities        |                       |                       |
| subgroup, and the   |                       |                       |
| number was not used |                       |                       |
| in conjunction with |                       |                       |
| the confidence      |                       |                       |
| interval. NDE       |                       |                       |
| requested to        |                       |                       |
| continue with this  |                       |                       |
| option for the      |                       |                       |
| 2005-06 school      |                       |                       |
| level               |                       |                       |
| classifications and |                       |                       |
| has received        |                       |                       |
| federal approval to |                       |                       |
| do so. Because of   |                       |                       |
| changing            |                       |                       |
| demographics, the   |                       |                       |
| proxy number was    |                       |                       |
| over 17.5% and so   |                       |                       |
| it has been rounded |                       |                       |
| to a value of 18%.  |                       |                       |
| The Department      |                       |                       |
| plans to continue   |                       |                       |
| use of the "2%      |                       |                       |
| Flexibility"        |                       |                       |
| provision for the   |                       |                       |
| 2006-07 school      |                       |                       |
| year. As was true   |                       |                       |
| in 2005-06, the     |                       |                       |
| rounded value       |                       |                       |
| equals 18% based on |                       |                       |
| the percentage of   |                       |                       |
| students with       |                       |                       |
| disabilities.**     |                       |                       |
+=====================+=======================+=======================+
| ## CRITICAL ELEMENT | **EXAMPLES FOR**      | **EXAMPLES OF**       |
|                     |                       |                       |
|                     | **MEETING             | ***NOT* MEETING       |
|                     | REQUIREMENTS**        | REQUIREMENTS**        |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| 4.  How are         | All LEP student       | LEP students are not  |
|     students with   | participate in        | fully included in the |
|     limited English | statewide             | State Accountability  |
|     proficiency     | assessments: general  | System.               |
|     included in the | assessments with or   |                       |
|     State's         | without               |                       |
|     definition of   | accommodations or a   |                       |
|     adequate yearly | native language       |                       |
|     progress?       | version of the        |                       |
|                     | general assessment    |                       |
|                     | based on grade level  |                       |
|                     | standards.            |                       |
|                     |                       |                       |
|                     | State demonstrates    |                       |
|                     | that LEP students are |                       |
|                     | fully included in the |                       |
|                     | State Accountability  |                       |
|                     | System.               |                       |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| **STATE RESPONSE    |                       |                       |
| AND STATE           |                       |                       |
| ACTIVITIES FOR      |                       |                       |
| MEETING             |                       |                       |
| REQUIREMENTS**      |                       |                       |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Students are classified as having limited English proficiency (LEP)   |
| based on a home language survey and the results of annual assessment  |
| in English proficiency. The home language test used for this purpose  |
| is designed to meet the Title III testing requirements and is         |
| distinct from the content area assessments being used in the AYP      |
| determination process.                                                |
|                                                                       |
| With the exception of students eligible for the SCAAN assessment, all |
| students are expected to participate on the state large-scale         |
| assessments regardless of LEP status. *However, based on recently     |
| granted flexibility from the United States Government, the test       |
| performance of LEP students that are in their first year of           |
| enrollment in a U.S. school (newly arrived immigrants) at the time of |
| content area testing will be excluded from the analysis of test data  |
| that is used in the AYP classification process.*                      |
|                                                                       |
| *The Department has eliminated the option for school districts to use |
| alternate content based assessments. This option, which existed until |
| the 2006-07 school year was never used by local school districts and  |
| no school districts indicated an intent to use the option this school |
| year or into the future.*                                             |
|                                                                       |
| For students participating in the traditional state assessments, a    |
| series of accommodations, including those linguistic in nature, are   |
| provided. The use of accommodations should make access to the state   |
| testing program more available and the testing experience more        |
| meaningful. As is the case with special education students, the       |
| choice of accommodations is predicated on typical classroom           |
| experience and the interaction between the accommodation and the      |
| validity of the test score interpretations.                           |
|                                                                       |
| Evidence: Test manuals: accommodation appendices                      |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+

+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| ## CRITICAL ELEMENT | **EXAMPLES FOR**      | **EXAMPLES OF**       |
|                     |                       |                       |
|                     | **MEETING             | ***NOT* MEETING       |
|                     | REQUIREMENTS**        | REQUIREMENTS**        |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| 5.  What is the     | State defines the     | State does not define |
|     State\'s        | number of students    | the required number   |
|     definition of   | required in a         | of students in a      |
|     the minimum     | subgroup for          | subgroup for          |
|     number of       | reporting and         | reporting and         |
|     students in a   | accountability        | accountability        |
|     subgroup        | purposes, and applies | purposes.             |
|     required for    | this definition       |                       |
|     reporting       | consistently across   | Definition is not     |
|     purposes? For   | the State.[^6]        | applied consistently  |
|     accountability  |                       | across the State.     |
|     purposes?       | Definition of         |                       |
|                     | subgroup will result  | Definition does not   |
|                     | in data that are      | result in data that   |
|                     | statistically         | are statistically     |
|                     | reliable.             | reliable.             |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| **STATE RESPONSE    |                       |                       |
| AND STATE           |                       |                       |
| ACTIVITIES FOR      |                       |                       |
| MEETING             |                       |                       |
| REQUIREMENTS**      |                       |                       |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| For                 |                       |                       |
| [rep                |                       |                       |
| orting]{.underline} |                       |                       |
| purposes, the state |                       |                       |
| will continue to    |                       |                       |
| use existing policy |                       |                       |
| which sets the      |                       |                       |
| minimum at 10       |                       |                       |
| students. State     |                       |                       |
| regulation sets a   |                       |                       |
| lower limit of 5    |                       |                       |
| students but test   |                       |                       |
| reporting and       |                       |                       |
| accountability      |                       |                       |
| reporting policy    |                       |                       |
| has been 10         |                       |                       |
| students.           |                       |                       |
| Regulations will be |                       |                       |
| revised to reflect  |                       |                       |
| the reporting N (n  |                       |                       |
| = 10) during the    |                       |                       |
| summer of 2003.     |                       |                       |
|                     |                       |                       |
| In making AYP       |                       |                       |
| calculations, for   |                       |                       |
| any group of 25 or  |                       |                       |
| more students, a    |                       |                       |
| statistical test    |                       |                       |
| will be conducted   |                       |                       |
| to determine if a   |                       |                       |
| threshold level of  |                       |                       |
| performance         |                       |                       |
| (Status) has been   |                       |                       |
| met. The            |                       |                       |
| statistical test    |                       |                       |
| will be a           |                       |                       |
| one-tailed          |                       |                       |
| comparison to       |                       |                       |
| determine if the    |                       |                       |
| upper-boundary of   |                       |                       |
| observed            |                       |                       |
| performance meets   |                       |                       |
| or exceeds the      |                       |                       |
| predetermined       |                       |                       |
| status threshold.   |                       |                       |
| The level of        |                       |                       |
| confidence for      |                       |                       |
| these comparisons   |                       |                       |
| will be controlled  |                       |                       |
| at .95. The         |                       |                       |
| production and use  |                       |                       |
| of "look-up" tables |                       |                       |
| will aid in the     |                       |                       |
| transparency of     |                       |                       |
| these comparisons.  |                       |                       |
| For annual "status" |                       |                       |
| comparisons (step 2 |                       |                       |
| in the AYP          |                       |                       |
| comparison          |                       |                       |
| sequence), the      |                       |                       |
| standard error of   |                       |                       |
| the proportion with |                       |                       |
| a z-score           |                       |                       |
| transformation will |                       |                       |
| be used in defining |                       |                       |
| the controlled      |                       |                       |
| one-tailed 95%      |                       |                       |
| confidence limit    |                       |                       |
| rate. For relative  |                       |                       |
| growth comparisons  |                       |                       |
| (step 3 in the      |                       |                       |
| sequence), the      |                       |                       |
| standard error of   |                       |                       |
| the difference      |                       |                       |
| between proportions |                       |                       |
| will be used. In    |                       |                       |
| making these        |                       |                       |
| comparisons, a      |                       |                       |
| z-score             |                       |                       |
| transformation      |                       |                       |
| controlling the     |                       |                       |
| one-tailed 75%      |                       |                       |
| confidence limit    |                       |                       |
| will be used. (a    |                       |                       |
| Note that           |                       |                       |
| accounting for      |                       |                       |
| sampling error for  |                       |                       |
| safe harbor is      |                       |                       |
| critical. "Gain"    |                       |                       |
| scores or           |                       |                       |
| "difference" scores |                       |                       |
| are known to be     |                       |                       |
| less reliable than  |                       |                       |
| static              |                       |                       |
| observations.       |                       |                       |
| Reliable            |                       |                       |
| interpretation of   |                       |                       |
| gain must take into |                       |                       |
| account error). It  |                       |                       |
| is understood that  |                       |                       |
| the impact on       |                       |                       |
| 2002-03             |                       |                       |
| classifications of  |                       |                       |
| using the           |                       |                       |
| confidence interval |                       |                       |
| for the relative    |                       |                       |
| growth comparisons  |                       |                       |
| will be studied     |                       |                       |
| jointly by USED and |                       |                       |
| the Nevada          |                       |                       |
| Department of       |                       |                       |
| Education.          |                       |                       |
|                     |                       |                       |
| For schools/school  |                       |                       |
| districts falling   |                       |                       |
| below the n = 25    |                       |                       |
| threshold in a      |                       |                       |
| given school year,  |                       |                       |
| performance data    |                       |                       |
| will be collapsed   |                       |                       |
| across adjacent     |                       |                       |
| school years until  |                       |                       |
| the n = 25          |                       |                       |
| threshold is met,   |                       |                       |
| but for no more     |                       |                       |
| than three          |                       |                       |
| consecutive years.  |                       |                       |
| Once the threshold  |                       |                       |
| is met, the same    |                       |                       |
| series of           |                       |                       |
| statistical tests   |                       |                       |
| applied to larger   |                       |                       |
| schools will be     |                       |                       |
| conducted to        |                       |                       |
| evaluate AYP        |                       |                       |
| performance. For    |                       |                       |
| the school year in  |                       |                       |
| which the school    |                       |                       |
| n-size does not     |                       |                       |
| meet the n = 25     |                       |                       |
| threshold,          |                       |                       |
| additional criteria |                       |                       |
| will be considered  |                       |                       |
| in the AYP review.  |                       |                       |
| Additional criteria |                       |                       |
| include ancillary   |                       |                       |
| standards based     |                       |                       |
| performance data.   |                       |                       |
| Performance data    |                       |                       |
| directly aligned    |                       |                       |
| with the state's    |                       |                       |
| content and         |                       |                       |
| achievement         |                       |                       |
| standards and that  |                       |                       |
| yields reliable     |                       |                       |
| achievement level   |                       |                       |
| information will be |                       |                       |
| considered.         |                       |                       |
|                     |                       |                       |
| Small schools will  |                       |                       |
| be allowed to       |                       |                       |
| submit aggregate    |                       |                       |
| performance data    |                       |                       |
| from local          |                       |                       |
| asses               |                       |                       |
| sments/observations |                       |                       |
| that are            |                       |                       |
| established to be   |                       |                       |
| tied directly to    |                       |                       |
| the state content   |                       |                       |
| and achievement     |                       |                       |
| standards that      |                       |                       |
| produce reliable    |                       |                       |
| scores. Guidance    |                       |                       |
| for this process    |                       |                       |
| cannot be developed |                       |                       |
| and issued to       |                       |                       |
| schools until the   |                       |                       |
| beginning of the    |                       |                       |
| 2003-04 school      |                       |                       |
| year. Because of    |                       |                       |
| this, for 2002-03   |                       |                       |
| AYP judgments, the  |                       |                       |
| review of ancillary |                       |                       |
| materials will not  |                       |                       |
| occur. Small        |                       |                       |
| schools will be     |                       |                       |
| judged based on     |                       |                       |
| large-scale         |                       |                       |
| performance         |                       |                       |
| (including          |                       |                       |
| participation rate  |                       |                       |
| and other indicator |                       |                       |
| performance) only.  |                       |                       |
| If schools receive  |                       |                       |
| a negative          |                       |                       |
| classification, the |                       |                       |
| classification will |                       |                       |
| be asterisked in    |                       |                       |
| formal reports      |                       |                       |
| indicating that the |                       |                       |
| judgment was based  |                       |                       |
| on "unstable"       |                       |                       |
| performance data.   |                       |                       |
| For schools         |                       |                       |
| subsequently        |                       |                       |
| identified as in    |                       |                       |
| need of             |                       |                       |
| improvement, they   |                       |                       |
| will have an        |                       |                       |
| opportunity to      |                       |                       |
| refute the first    |                       |                       |
| year analysis by    |                       |                       |
| presenting          |                       |                       |
| ancillary           |                       |                       |
| performance         |                       |                       |
| information.        |                       |                       |
|                     |                       |                       |
| For 2003-04 and     |                       |                       |
| years after, the    |                       |                       |
| small school review |                       |                       |
| will occur during   |                       |                       |
| the Spring of the   |                       |                       |
| school year just    |                       |                       |
| previous to or      |                       |                       |
| during the review   |                       |                       |
| period for other    |                       |                       |
| schools.            |                       |                       |
|                     |                       |                       |
| The n = 25          |                       |                       |
| threshold will      |                       |                       |
| create an impact on |                       |                       |
| the state. The      |                       |                       |
| table below         |                       |                       |
| illustrates the     |                       |                       |
| impact at the total |                       |                       |
| school level based  |                       |                       |
| on school size.     |                       |                       |
|                     |                       |                       |
|   --------------    |                       |                       |
|  --------- -------- |                       |                       |
|                     |                       |                       |
|   **Less    **25 or |                       |                       |
|                     |                       |                       |
|    than 25** more** |                       |                       |
|                     |                       |                       |
|   **Element         |                       |                       |
| ary   26 (8.3%) 287 |                       |                       |
|   School            |                       |                       |
| **                  |                       |                       |
|                     |                       |                       |
|   **Middle          |                       |                       |
|        32        88 |                       |                       |
|   School            |                       |                       |
| **       (26.7%)    |                       |                       |
|                     |                       |                       |
|   **High            |                       |                       |
|        36        70 |                       |                       |
|   School            |                       |                       |
| **       (34.0%)    |                       |                       |
|   --------------    |                       |                       |
|  --------- -------- |                       |                       |
|                     |                       |                       |
| NCLB sanctions are  |                       |                       |
| only being applied  |                       |                       |
| to Title I schools. |                       |                       |
| Therefore, impact   |                       |                       |
| is mitigated. No    |                       |                       |
| stand alone high    |                       |                       |
| schools are Title I |                       |                       |
| served and 12 stand |                       |                       |
| alone middle        |                       |                       |
| schools are served. |                       |                       |
| Of the 12 middle    |                       |                       |
| schools, all have   |                       |                       |
| more than 25        |                       |                       |
| students per grade  |                       |                       |
| level. There are a  |                       |                       |
| handful of combined |                       |                       |
| schools that are    |                       |                       |
| served and several  |                       |                       |
| of these schools    |                       |                       |
| have fewer than 25  |                       |                       |
| students when we    |                       |                       |
| collapse the        |                       |                       |
| enrollment by grade |                       |                       |
| levels (i.e.        |                       |                       |
| elementary, middle, |                       |                       |
| high school). It    |                       |                       |
| appears that less   |                       |                       |
| than 2% of schools  |                       |                       |
| statewide are both  |                       |                       |
| Title I served and  |                       |                       |
| have fewer than 25  |                       |                       |
| students.           |                       |                       |
|                     |                       |                       |
| Evidence:           |                       |                       |
| Regulation, test    |                       |                       |
| contract            |                       |                       |
| (reporting), Board  |                       |                       |
| recommendation/     |                       |                       |
| action, AYP Steps   |                       |                       |
| PPT                 |                       |                       |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| ## CRITICAL ELEMENT | **EXAMPLES FOR**      | **EXAMPLES OF**       |
|                     |                       |                       |
|                     | **MEETING             | ***NOT* MEETING       |
|                     | REQUIREMENTS**        | REQUIREMENTS**        |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| 6.  How does the    | Definition does not   | Definition reveals    |
|     State           | reveal personally     | personally            |
|     Accountability  | identifiable          | identifiable          |
|     System protect  | information.[^7]      | information.          |
|     the privacy of  |                       |                       |
|     students when   |                       |                       |
|     reporting       |                       |                       |
|     results and     |                       |                       |
|     when            |                       |                       |
|     determining     |                       |                       |
|     AYP?            |                       |                       |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| **STATE RESPONSE    |                       |                       |
| AND STATE           |                       |                       |
| ACTIVITIES FOR      |                       |                       |
| MEETING             |                       |                       |
| REQUIREMENTS**      |                       |                       |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| The minimum         |                       |                       |
| reporting N (n =    |                       |                       |
| 10) should, in      |                       |                       |
| almost all          |                       |                       |
| instances, protect  |                       |                       |
| the privacy of      |                       |                       |
| individual          |                       |                       |
| students. However,  |                       |                       |
| regulation will be  |                       |                       |
| established that    |                       |                       |
| will allow the      |                       |                       |
| masking of released |                       |                       |
| scores for any size |                       |                       |
| subpopulation if    |                       |                       |
| all students score  |                       |                       |
| within the same     |                       |                       |
| achievement level.  |                       |                       |
| For example, if all |                       |                       |
| students in a       |                       |                       |
| school were to      |                       |                       |
| score in the        |                       |                       |
| proficient range,   |                       |                       |
| released results    |                       |                       |
| may be masked by    |                       |                       |
| indicating that all |                       |                       |
| students scored at  |                       |                       |
| or above the        |                       |                       |
| proficient          |                       |                       |
| achievement level.  |                       |                       |
| Regulation          |                       |                       |
| supporting this     |                       |                       |
| reporting           |                       |                       |
| contingency is      |                       |                       |
| expected to be      |                       |                       |
| adopted in summer   |                       |                       |
| of 2003.            |                       |                       |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+

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

+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| ## CRITICAL ELEMENT  | ## EXAMPLES FOR       | ## EXAMPLES OF        |
|                      |                       |                       |
|                      | **MEETING             | ***NOT* MEETING       |
|                      | REQUIREMENTS**        | REQUIREMENTS**        |
+======================+=======================+=======================+
| 1.  How is the       | Formula for AYP shows | Formula for AYP shows |
|     State's          | that decisions are    | that decisions are    |
|     definition of    | based primarily on    | based primarily on    |
|     adequate yearly  | assessments.[^8]      | non-academic          |
|     progress based   |                       | indicators or         |
|     primarily on     | Plan clearly          | indicators other than |
|     academic         | identifies which      | the State             |
|     assessments?     | assessments are       | assessments.          |
|                      | included in           |                       |
|                      | accountability.       |                       |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| **STATE RESPONSE AND |                       |                       |
| STATE ACTIVITIES FOR |                       |                       |
| MEETING              |                       |                       |
| REQUIREMENTS**       |                       |                       |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| Nevada's final       |                       |                       |
| assessment system    |                       |                       |
| will not be          |                       |                       |
| implemented until    |                       |                       |
| the 2005-2006.       |                       |                       |
| General              |                       |                       |
| specifications for   |                       |                       |
| the final assessment |                       |                       |
| system are expected  |                       |                       |
| to emerge from the   |                       |                       |
| 2003 Legislative     |                       |                       |
| session ending June  |                       |                       |
| 2^nd^, 2003.         |                       |                       |
| Currently and after  |                       |                       |
| full implementation, |                       |                       |
| assessment in        |                       |                       |
| English language     |                       |                       |
| arts and math will   |                       |                       |
| be the primary AYP   |                       |                       |
| indicators. The      |                       |                       |
| following is a       |                       |                       |
| breakdown of the     |                       |                       |
| assessments to be    |                       |                       |
| used for AYP         |                       |                       |
| determinations in 1) |                       |                       |
| the 2002-03 school   |                       |                       |
| year, 2) the 2003-04 |                       |                       |
| & 2004-05 school     |                       |                       |
| years, and 3) the    |                       |                       |
| 2005-06 school year  |                       |                       |
| and beyond.          |                       |                       |
|                      |                       |                       |
| <table>              |                       |                       |
| <colgroup>           |                       |                       |
| <col                 |                       |                       |
| s                    |                       |                       |
| tyle="width: 19%" /> |                       |                       |
| <col                 |                       |                       |
| s                    |                       |                       |
| tyle="width: 26%" /> |                       |                       |
| <col                 |                       |                       |
| s                    |                       |                       |
| tyle="width: 25%" /> |                       |                       |
| <col                 |                       |                       |
| s                    |                       |                       |
| tyle="width: 27%" /> |                       |                       |
| </colgroup>          |                       |                       |
| <tbody>              |                       |                       |
| <tr class="odd">     |                       |                       |
| <td>Grade</td>       |                       |                       |
| <td>2002-03</td>     |                       |                       |
| <td>2003-04 &amp;    |                       |                       |
| 2004-05</td>         |                       |                       |
| <td>2005-06 +</td>   |                       |                       |
| </tr>                |                       |                       |
| <tr class="even">    |                       |                       |
| <td>3</td>           |                       |                       |
| <td>CRT—R &amp;      |                       |                       |
| M</td>               |                       |                       |
| <td>CRT—R &amp;      |                       |                       |
| M</td>               |                       |                       |
| <td>CRT—R &amp;      |                       |                       |
| M</td>               |                       |                       |
| </tr>                |                       |                       |
| <tr class="odd">     |                       |                       |
| <td>4</td>           |                       |                       |
| <t                   |                       |                       |
| d>NRT<sup>a</sup>—R, |                       |                       |
| L, &amp; M</td>      |                       |                       |
| <td>Writing          |                       |                       |
| (analytic)</td>      |                       |                       |
| <td><p>CRT—R &amp;   |                       |                       |
| M</p>                |                       |                       |
| <p>Writing           |                       |                       |
| (analytic)</p></td>  |                       |                       |
| </tr>                |                       |                       |
| <tr class="even">    |                       |                       |
| <td>5</td>           |                       |                       |
| <td>CRT—R &amp;      |                       |                       |
| M</td>               |                       |                       |
| <td>CRT—R &amp;      |                       |                       |
| M</td>               |                       |                       |
| <td>CRT—R &amp;      |                       |                       |
| M</td>               |                       |                       |
| </tr>                |                       |                       |
| <tr class="odd">     |                       |                       |
| <td>6</td>           |                       |                       |
| <td></td>            |                       |                       |
| <td></td>            |                       |                       |
| <td>CRT—R &amp;      |                       |                       |
| M</td>               |                       |                       |
| </tr>                |                       |                       |
| <tr class="even">    |                       |                       |
| <td>7</td>           |                       |                       |
| <t                   |                       |                       |
| d>NRT<sup>a</sup>—R, |                       |                       |
| L, &amp; M</td>      |                       |                       |
| <td></td>            |                       |                       |
| <td>CRT—R &amp;      |                       |                       |
| M</td>               |                       |                       |
| </tr>                |                       |                       |
| <tr class="odd">     |                       |                       |
| <td>8</td>           |                       |                       |
| <td>Writing          |                       |                       |
| (analytic)</td>      |                       |                       |
| <td><p>Writing       |                       |                       |
| (analytic)</p>       |                       |                       |
| <p>CRT—R &amp;       |                       |                       |
| M</p></td>           |                       |                       |
| <td><p>Writing       |                       |                       |
| (analytic)</p>       |                       |                       |
| <p>CRT—R &amp;       |                       |                       |
| M</p></td>           |                       |                       |
| </tr>                |                       |                       |
| <tr class="even">    |                       |                       |
| <td>High             |                       |                       |
| School</td>          |                       |                       |
| <td                  |                       |                       |
| >HSPE<sup>b</sup>—R, |                       |                       |
| W, &amp; M</td>      |                       |                       |
| <td                  |                       |                       |
| >HSPE<sup>b</sup>—R, |                       |                       |
| W, &amp; M</td>      |                       |                       |
| <td                  |                       |                       |
| >HSPE<sup>b</sup>—R, |                       |                       |
| W, &amp; M</td>      |                       |                       |
| </tr>                |                       |                       |
| </tbody>             |                       |                       |
| </table>             |                       |                       |
|                      |                       |                       |
| CRT =                |                       |                       |
| Criterion-referenced |                       |                       |
| test; NRT =          |                       |                       |
| Norm-referenced      |                       |                       |
| test; HSPE = High    |                       |                       |
| School Proficiency   |                       |                       |
| Exam                 |                       |                       |
|                      |                       |                       |
| R = Reading; L =     |                       |                       |
| Language; W =        |                       |                       |
| Writing (holistic);  |                       |                       |
| M = Math             |                       |                       |
|                      |                       |                       |
| ^a^ During the       |                       |                       |
| 2002-03 school year, |                       |                       |
| a nationally         |                       |                       |
| norm-referenced test |                       |                       |
| (ITBS) is being used |                       |                       |
| in the AYP           |                       |                       |
| determination        |                       |                       |
| process. This is     |                       |                       |
| being done for       |                       |                       |
| several reasons.     |                       |                       |
| First, until state   |                       |                       |
| legislation is       |                       |                       |
| passed (currently in |                       |                       |
| session) formally    |                       |                       |
| removing the NRT as  |                       |                       |
| the primary          |                       |                       |
| indicator for school |                       |                       |
| designation, the     |                       |                       |
| department does not  |                       |                       |
| have authority to    |                       |                       |
| ignore the state     |                       |                       |
| mandate. Second,     |                       |                       |
| current statute and  |                       |                       |
| the Title I          |                       |                       |
| transition plan for  |                       |                       |
| assessment under     |                       |                       |
| IASA provided        |                       |                       |
| achievement level    |                       |                       |
| definitions aligning |                       |                       |
| NRT scores to state  |                       |                       |
| performance          |                       |                       |
| standards. Third,    |                       |                       |
| schools and school   |                       |                       |
| districts have       |                       |                       |
| relied on NRTs as    |                       |                       |
| the primary school   |                       |                       |
| accountability       |                       |                       |
| measure since the    |                       |                       |
| 1997-98 school year. |                       |                       |
| Given the timing of  |                       |                       |
| the passage of NCLB  |                       |                       |
| and the issuance of  |                       |                       |
| supporting           |                       |                       |
| regulation, too      |                       |                       |
| little time was      |                       |                       |
| available to notice  |                       |                       |
| schools and school   |                       |                       |
| districts with the   |                       |                       |
| change in assessment |                       |                       |
| requirements. The    |                       |                       |
| final and related    |                       |                       |
| reason, NCLB         |                       |                       |
| requires states to   |                       |                       |
| develop baseline     |                       |                       |
| estimates using data |                       |                       |
| from the 2001-02     |                       |                       |
| school year. As a    |                       |                       |
| result, the state of |                       |                       |
| Nevada has had to    |                       |                       |
| rely heavily on NRT  |                       |                       |
| performance for      |                       |                       |
| these initial        |                       |                       |
| estimates. The state |                       |                       |
| does not anticipate  |                       |                       |
| using NRT            |                       |                       |
| performance in the   |                       |                       |
| AYP determination    |                       |                       |
| process after the    |                       |                       |
| 2002-03 school year. |                       |                       |
|                      |                       |                       |
| ^b^ The state of     |                       |                       |
| Nevada has a long    |                       |                       |
| history of using     |                       |                       |
| high school          |                       |                       |
| examinations for     |                       |                       |
| student              |                       |                       |
| accountability.      |                       |                       |
| Students must pass a |                       |                       |
| series of rigorous   |                       |                       |
| standards-based      |                       |                       |
| assessments in       |                       |                       |
| reading, writing,    |                       |                       |
| and math to earn a   |                       |                       |
| standard high school |                       |                       |
| diploma. Assessments |                       |                       |
| target 12^th^ grade  |                       |                       |
| benchmarks. In       |                       |                       |
| administering "exit" |                       |                       |
| examinations, Nevada |                       |                       |
| adheres closely to   |                       |                       |
| the Standards for    |                       |                       |
| Educational and      |                       |                       |
| Psychological        |                       |                       |
| Measurement. This    |                       |                       |
| includes providing   |                       |                       |
| students with        |                       |                       |
| multiple             |                       |                       |
| opportunities to     |                       |                       |
| pass the individual  |                       |                       |
| tests. Although tied |                       |                       |
| to 12^th^ grade      |                       |                       |
| benchmarks, students |                       |                       |
| are provided         |                       |                       |
| opportunities for    |                       |                       |
| reading and math     |                       |                       |
| tests beginning in   |                       |                       |
| grade 10 and the     |                       |                       |
| writing test in      |                       |                       |
| grade 11. There is   |                       |                       |
| no guarantee,        |                       |                       |
| however, that all    |                       |                       |
| students have had    |                       |                       |
| the opportunity to   |                       |                       |
| learn all            |                       |                       |
| prerequisite         |                       |                       |
| material until the   |                       |                       |
| Spring of their      |                       |                       |
| 12^th^ grade year.   |                       |                       |
| State regulation     |                       |                       |
| requires a certain   |                       |                       |
| number of credits to |                       |                       |
| be earned to         |                       |                       |
| classify students by |                       |                       |
| grade in high school |                       |                       |
| but it does not      |                       |                       |
| specify what courses |                       |                       |
| must be taken and in |                       |                       |
| what sequence*.* It  |                       |                       |
| does require 3 full  |                       |                       |
| years of math and 4  |                       |                       |
| years of ELA and as  |                       |                       |
| a result, the great  |                       |                       |
| majority of students |                       |                       |
| are still learning   |                       |                       |
| the material covered |                       |                       |
| on the high school   |                       |                       |
| exit examinations    |                       |                       |
| throughout the       |                       |                       |
| 12^th^ grade school  |                       |                       |
| year. Supporting     |                       |                       |
| this is the fact     |                       |                       |
| that the majority of |                       |                       |
| students do not pass |                       |                       |
| all sections of the  |                       |                       |
| high school tests    |                       |                       |
| until Spring of      |                       |                       |
| their 12^th^ grade   |                       |                       |
| year. Nevada is      |                       |                       |
| opting to use the    |                       |                       |
| "exit" examinations  |                       |                       |
| to fulfill the NCLB  |                       |                       |
| school               |                       |                       |
| accountability       |                       |                       |
| requirements at the  |                       |                       |
| high school level.   |                       |                       |
| Based on USED review |                       |                       |
| of its system,       |                       |                       |
| Nevada agrees to use |                       |                       |
| cumulative pass      |                       |                       |
| rates up to and      |                       |                       |
| including the 11^th^ |                       |                       |
| grade April          |                       |                       |
| administration for a |                       |                       |
| given graduating     |                       |                       |
| class. A cohort's    |                       |                       |
| numerator for the    |                       |                       |
| performance estimate |                       |                       |
| would include the    |                       |                       |
| sum of those         |                       |                       |
| students having      |                       |                       |
| passed the           |                       |                       |
| examinations on each |                       |                       |
| state administration |                       |                       |
| leading up and       |                       |                       |
| including the April  |                       |                       |
| administration and   |                       |                       |
| the denominator      |                       |                       |
| would include all    |                       |                       |
| students counted in  |                       |                       |
| the numerator and    |                       |                       |
| all students         |                       |                       |
| participating in the |                       |                       |
| 11^th^ grade April   |                       |                       |
| administration.      |                       |                       |
| There is no intent   |                       |                       |
| to choose a students |                       |                       |
| "best" performance   |                       |                       |
| for accountability   |                       |                       |
| designations (Note:  |                       |                       |
| The number of        |                       |                       |
| students who have    |                       |                       |
| dropped out of       |                       |                       |
| school is controlled |                       |                       |
| through the          |                       |                       |
| Graduation Rate      |                       |                       |
| other indicator).    |                       |                       |
| Nevada understands   |                       |                       |
| that once it has an  |                       |                       |
| efficient cohort     |                       |                       |
| tracking mechanism   |                       |                       |
| in place, the        |                       |                       |
| extension of the     |                       |                       |
| cohort analysis      |                       |                       |
| through grade 12     |                       |                       |
| will be considered.  |                       |                       |
|                      |                       |                       |
| Evidence:            |                       |                       |
| Pre-technical        |                       |                       |
| bulletin for         |                       |                       |
| accountability,      |                       |                       |
| Board PPT, HSPE test |                       |                       |
| calendar             |                       |                       |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+

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

+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| ## CRITICAL ELEMENT | **EXAMPLES FOR**      | **EXAMPLES OF**       |
|                     |                       |                       |
|                     | **MEETING             | ***NOT* MEETING       |
|                     | REQUIREMENTS**        | REQUIREMENTS**        |
+=====================+=======================+=======================+
| 1.  What is the     | State definition of   | State definition of   |
|     State           | graduation rate:      | public high school    |
|     definition for  |                       | graduation rate does  |
|     the public high | -   Calculates the    | not meet these        |
|     school          |     percentage of     | criteria.             |
|     graduation      |     students,         |                       |
|     rate?           |     measured from the |                       |
|                     |     beginning of the  |                       |
|                     |     school year, who  |                       |
|                     |     graduate from     |                       |
|                     |     public high       |                       |
|                     |     school with a     |                       |
|                     |     regular diploma   |                       |
|                     |     (not including a  |                       |
|                     |     GED or any other  |                       |
|                     |     diploma not fully |                       |
|                     |     aligned with the  |                       |
|                     |     state's academic  |                       |
|                     |     standards) in the |                       |
|                     |     standard number   |                       |
|                     |     of years; or,     |                       |
|                     |                       |                       |
|                     | -   Uses another more |                       |
|                     |     accurate          |                       |
|                     |     definition that   |                       |
|                     |     has been approved |                       |
|                     |     by the Secretary; |                       |
|                     |     and               |                       |
|                     |                       |                       |
|                     | -   Must avoid        |                       |
|                     |     counting a        |                       |
|                     |     dropout as a      |                       |
|                     |     transfer.         |                       |
|                     |                       |                       |
|                     | Graduation rate is    |                       |
|                     | included (in the      |                       |
|                     | aggregate) for AYP,   |                       |
|                     | and disaggregated (as |                       |
|                     | necessary) for use    |                       |
|                     | when applying the     |                       |
|                     | exception clause[^9]  |                       |
|                     | to make AYP.          |                       |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| **STATE RESPONSE AND STATE ACTIVITIES FOR MEETING REQUIREMENTS**      |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| To determine graduation rate in Nevada, the NCES definition of        |
| completion rate which incorporates completers and dropouts will be    |
| adapted. "Completers" include standard and advanced diploma           |
| recipients, adjusted diploma recipients, and certificate of           |
| attendance recipients. Graduation rate only counts diploma recipient  |
| completers in the numerator excluding adjusted diploma recipients.    |
| The denominator includes all diploma recipients, certificate of       |
| attendance recipients, dropouts (9^th^, 10^th^, 11^th^, and 12^th^),  |
| and GED recipients.                                                   |
|                                                                       |
| For the 2001-2002 school year, graduation rate is equal to^a^:        |
|                                                                       |
| [\# of Diploma recipients (01-02) (excluding adjusted diploma         |
| recipients) .]{.underline}                                            |
|                                                                       |
| \# of diploma recipients (01-02) (all recipients) + certificate of    |
| attendance recipients (01-02) +                                       |
|                                                                       |
| GED recipients (01-02) + 9^th^ grade dropouts (98-99) + 10^th^ grade  |
| dropouts (99-00) +                                                    |
|                                                                       |
| 11^th^ grade dropouts (00-01) + 12^th^ grade dropouts (01-02)         |
|                                                                       |
| Graduation rate for a school year can only be established several     |
| months after the completion of the school year. This means that for   |
| the 2002-2003 AYP designations, graduation rates from the 2001-2002   |
| school year are used.                                                 |
|                                                                       |
| Based on complete information from the 2001-2002 school year, the     |
| state, through the State Board of Education, established a graduation |
| rate baseline and annual targets. To develop the baseline, the        |
| Department of Education used the rules specified in NCLB for creating |
| test score baselines (e.g. 20^th^ percentile school). For AYP         |
| comparisons, schools have to demonstrate that they have met the       |
| annual target **(the target rate is 50%)** or improved toward the     |
| threshold in comparison to the previous school year.                  |
|                                                                       |
| The state department will be able to calculate graduation rate for    |
| the school as a whole and for each of the five race/ethnicity         |
| subpopulations to be used in the 2002-03 AYP determination process.   |
| For all remaining subpopulations, graduation rate will be available   |
| for use in the AYP determination process during the 2006-07 school    |
| year. Until the 2006-07 school year, average daily attendance will be |
| used as a substitute for graduation rate for economically             |
| disadvantaged. Limited English proficient, and special education      |
| students.                                                             |
|                                                                       |
| ^a^ Based on formal discussions with the United States Department of  |
| Education, Nevada has agreed to revise the formula in two ways.       |
| First, IEP students who earn an adjusted diploma will not be          |
| recognized, through this formula as having earned a standard diploma. |
| Second, IEP students, if consistent with their IEP, will be given 7   |
| years to earn the standard diploma, as opposed to the 4 years         |
| provided to all other students. Third, GED recipients will be added   |
| to the denominator of the formula.                                    |
|                                                                       |
| Evidence: 2002-2003 State Report Card                                 |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+

+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| ## CRITICAL ELEMENT | **EXAMPLES FOR**      | **EXAMPLES OF**       |
|                     |                       |                       |
|                     | **MEETING             | ***NOT* MEETING       |
|                     | REQUIREMENTS**        | REQUIREMENTS**        |
+=====================+=======================+=======================+
| 1.  What is the     | State defines the     | State has not defined |
|     State's         | additional academic   | an additional         |
|     additional      | indicators, e.g.,     | academic indicator    |
|     academic        | additional State or   | for elementary and    |
|     indicator for   | locally administered  | middle schools.       |
|     public          | assessments not       |                       |
|     elementary      | included in the State |                       |
|     schools for the | assessment system,    |                       |
|     definition of   | grade-to-grade        |                       |
|     AYP? For public | retention rates or    |                       |
|     middle schools  | attendance            |                       |
|     for the         | rates.[^10]           |                       |
|     definition of   |                       |                       |
|     AYP?            | An additional         |                       |
|                     | academic indicator is |                       |
|                     | included (in the      |                       |
|                     | aggregate) for AYP,   |                       |
|                     | and disaggregated (as |                       |
|                     | necessary) for use    |                       |
|                     | when applying the     |                       |
|                     | exception clause to   |                       |
|                     | make AYP.             |                       |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| **STATE RESPONSE    |                       |                       |
| AND STATE           |                       |                       |
| ACTIVITIES FOR      |                       |                       |
| MEETING             |                       |                       |
| REQUIREMENTS**      |                       |                       |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| For elementary and  |                       |                       |
| middle schools, the |                       |                       |
| state plans to use  |                       |                       |
| average daily       |                       |                       |
| attendance rate as  |                       |                       |
| the single "other"  |                       |                       |
| indicator included  |                       |                       |
| in making AYP       |                       |                       |
| determinations.     |                       |                       |
| Attendance rate is  |                       |                       |
| currently used in   |                       |                       |
| Nevada as a school  |                       |                       |
| accountability      |                       |                       |
| indicator, and its  |                       |                       |
| use will be         |                       |                       |
| continued.          |                       |                       |
|                     |                       |                       |
| Note that both      |                       |                       |
| graduation rate and |                       |                       |
| attendance rate are |                       |                       |
| used in calculating |                       |                       |
| AYP in two ways.    |                       |                       |
| Based on final      |                       |                       |
| regulation, an      |                       |                       |
| overall comparison  |                       |                       |
| of school or school |                       |                       |
| district            |                       |                       |
| performance         |                       |                       |
| relative to the     |                       |                       |
| other indicator     |                       |                       |
| must be made (i.e.  |                       |                       |
| did the school have |                       |                       |
| 90% ADA or did it   |                       |                       |
| improve in ADA      |                       |                       |
| based on previous   |                       |                       |
| year's ADA rate).   |                       |                       |
| Second, if relative |                       |                       |
| growth (safe        |                       |                       |
| harbor) comparisons |                       |                       |
| must be made for    |                       |                       |
| any subpopulation,  |                       |                       |
| the subpopulation   |                       |                       |
| in question must    |                       |                       |
| also be judged      |                       |                       |
| relative to the     |                       |                       |
| other indicator. To |                       |                       |
| fulfill the         |                       |                       |
| attendance rate     |                       |                       |
| criterion, a        |                       |                       |
| school/school       |                       |                       |
| district or         |                       |                       |
| subpopulation       |                       |                       |
| within must         |                       |                       |
| maintain status at  |                       |                       |
| or above the annual |                       |                       |
| threshold or        |                       |                       |
| demonstrate         |                       |                       |
| progress toward the |                       |                       |
| goal in comparison  |                       |                       |
| to performance in   |                       |                       |
| the preceding       |                       |                       |
| school year.        |                       |                       |
|                     |                       |                       |
| Current statute     |                       |                       |
| requires an average |                       |                       |
| daily attendance of |                       |                       |
| 90% for purposes of |                       |                       |
| school              |                       |                       |
| classifications.    |                       |                       |
| The State Board of  |                       |                       |
| Education acted     |                       |                       |
| during the summer   |                       |                       |
| of 2003 to maintain |                       |                       |
| **90% as the annual |                       |                       |
| target for average  |                       |                       |
| daily attendance**. |                       |                       |
|                     |                       |                       |
| For the 2002-03     |                       |                       |
| school year and     |                       |                       |
| beyond, average     |                       |                       |
| daily attendance    |                       |                       |
| can be calculated   |                       |                       |
| for all identified  |                       |                       |
| subpopulations.     |                       |                       |
|                     |                       |                       |
| Evidence: Current   |                       |                       |
| statute, Board      |                       |                       |
| recommendation and  |                       |                       |
| action report       |                       |                       |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
|                     |                       |                       |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| 2.  Are the State's | State has defined     | State has an academic |
|     academic        | academic indicators   | indicator that is not |
|     indicators      | that are valid and    | valid and reliable.   |
|     valid and       | reliable.             |                       |
|     reliable?       |                       | State has an academic |
|                     | State has defined     | indicator that is not |
|                     | academic indicators   | consistent with       |
|                     | that are consistent   | nationally recognized |
|                     | with nationally       | standards.            |
|                     | recognized standards, |                       |
|                     | if any.               | State has an academic |
|                     |                       | indicator that is not |
|                     |                       | consistent within     |
|                     |                       | grade levels.         |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| **STATE RESPONSE    |                       |                       |
| AND STATE           |                       |                       |
| ACTIVITIES FOR      |                       |                       |
| MEETING             |                       |                       |
| REQUIREMENTS**      |                       |                       |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| The state's minor   |                       |                       |
| adaptation of the   |                       |                       |
| formula established |                       |                       |
| by NCES gives       |                       |                       |
| confidence that the |                       |                       |
| graduation rate     |                       |                       |
| indicator is        |                       |                       |
| reliable.           |                       |                       |
|                     |                       |                       |
| For both graduation |                       |                       |
| rate and average    |                       |                       |
| daily attendance,   |                       |                       |
| data for these      |                       |                       |
| comparisons is      |                       |                       |
| based upon          |                       |                       |
| information         |                       |                       |
| collected in the    |                       |                       |
| state and school    |                       |                       |
| district student    |                       |                       |
| information         |                       |                       |
| systems. Auditing   |                       |                       |
| and quality         |                       |                       |
| assurance           |                       |                       |
| procedures will be  |                       |                       |
| established to      |                       |                       |
| better ensure the   |                       |                       |
| accuracy of         |                       |                       |
| collected data.     |                       |                       |
+---------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+

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

+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| ## CRITICAL ELEMENT  | **EXAMPLES FOR\       | **EXAMPLES OF**       |
|                      | MEETING               |                       |
|                      | REQUIREMENTS**        | ***NOT* MEETING       |
|                      |                       | REQUIREMENTS**        |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| 1.  Does the state   | State AYP             | State AYP             |
|     measure          | determination for     | determination for     |
|     achievement in   | student subgroups,    | student subgroups,    |
|     reading/language | public schools and    | public schools and    |
|     arts and         | LEAs separately       | LEAs averages or      |
|     mathematics      | measures              | combines achievement  |
|     separately for   | reading/language arts | across                |
|     determining AYP? | and mathematics.      | reading/language arts |
|                      | [^11]                 | and mathematics.      |
|                      |                       |                       |
|                      | AYP is a separate     |                       |
|                      | calculation for       |                       |
|                      | reading/language arts |                       |
|                      | and mathematics for   |                       |
|                      | each group, public    |                       |
|                      | school, and LEA.      |                       |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| **STATE RESPONSE AND |                       |                       |
| STATE ACTIVITIES FOR |                       |                       |
| MEETING              |                       |                       |
| REQUIREMENTS**       |                       |                       |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| As indicated         |                       |                       |
| previously, AYP      |                       |                       |
| calculations are     |                       |                       |
| based on a sequence  |                       |                       |
| of comparisons by    |                       |                       |
| school/school        |                       |                       |
| district,            |                       |                       |
| subpopulation within |                       |                       |
| school/school        |                       |                       |
| district, and by     |                       |                       |
| language arts and    |                       |                       |
| mathematics          |                       |                       |
| separately.          |                       |                       |
|                      |                       |                       |
| See accountability   |                       |                       |
| pre-technical        |                       |                       |
| bulletin for a       |                       |                       |
| fuller explanation.  |                       |                       |
|                      |                       |                       |
| Evidence: Board PPT, |                       |                       |
| AYP Steps PPT,       |                       |                       |
| Pre-technical        |                       |                       |
| bulletin for         |                       |                       |
| accountability       |                       |                       |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+

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

+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| ## CRITICAL ELEMENT  | **EXAMPLES FOR\       | **EXAMPLES OF**       |
|                      | MEETING               |                       |
|                      | REQUIREMENTS**        | ***NOT* MEETING       |
|                      |                       | REQUIREMENTS**        |
+======================+=======================+=======================+
| 1.  How do AYP       | State has defined a   | State does not have   |
|     determinations   | method for            | an acceptable method  |
|     meet the State's | determining an        | for determining       |
|     standard for     | acceptable level of   | reliability (decision |
|     acceptable       | reliability (decision | consistency) of       |
|     reliability?     | consistency) for AYP  | accountability        |
|                      | decisions.            | decisions, e.g., it   |
|                      |                       | reports only          |
|                      | State provides        | reliability           |
|                      | evidence that         | coefficients for its  |
|                      | decision consistency  | assessments.          |
|                      | is (1) within the     |                       |
|                      | range deemed          | State has parameters  |
|                      | acceptable to the     | for acceptable        |
|                      | State, and (2) meets  | reliability; however, |
|                      | professional          | the actual            |
|                      | standards and         | reliability (decision |
|                      | practice.             | consistency) falls    |
|                      |                       | outside those         |
|                      | State publicly        | parameters.           |
|                      | reports the estimate  |                       |
|                      | of decision           | State's evidence      |
|                      | consistency, and      | regarding             |
|                      | incorporates it       | accountability        |
|                      | appropriately into    | reliability (decision |
|                      | accountability        | consistency) is not   |
|                      | decisions.            | updated.              |
|                      |                       |                       |
|                      | State updates         |                       |
|                      | analysis and          |                       |
|                      | reporting of decision |                       |
|                      | consistency at        |                       |
|                      | appropriate           |                       |
|                      | intervals.            |                       |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| **STATE RESPONSE AND |                       |                       |
| STATE ACTIVITIES FOR |                       |                       |
| MEETING              |                       |                       |
| REQUIREMENTS**       |                       |                       |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| The state's choice   |                       |                       |
| to use confidence    |                       |                       |
| intervals and to     |                       |                       |
| conduct statistical  |                       |                       |
| tests for "status"   |                       |                       |
| and "growth"         |                       |                       |
| comparisons is       |                       |                       |
| predicated on the    |                       |                       |
| need to make         |                       |                       |
| reliable AYP         |                       |                       |
| determinations. It   |                       |                       |
| is predicated on the |                       |                       |
| understanding that   |                       |                       |
| measurement error to |                       |                       |
| include sampling     |                       |                       |
| error must be        |                       |                       |
| considered when      |                       |                       |
| making high stakes   |                       |                       |
| decisions for        |                       |                       |
| schools. The         |                       |                       |
| alternative of       |                       |                       |
| selecting a single   |                       |                       |
| minimum N for the    |                       |                       |
| purpose of making    |                       |                       |
| AYP determinations   |                       |                       |
| is problematic. The  |                       |                       |
| necessary n-size, to |                       |                       |
| ensure that all      |                       |                       |
| comparisons are      |                       |                       |
| reliable, would have |                       |                       |
| to be very large     |                       |                       |
| and, hence, would    |                       |                       |
| rule out the         |                       |                       |
| majority of          |                       |                       |
| comparisons, even at |                       |                       |
| the school district  |                       |                       |
| level. This would    |                       |                       |
| clearly call into    |                       |                       |
| question the         |                       |                       |
| validity of the      |                       |                       |
| classification       |                       |                       |
| system. Again, the   |                       |                       |
| reliability of       |                       |                       |
| accountability       |                       |                       |
| decisions is largely |                       |                       |
| driven by sampling   |                       |                       |
| error. Conjunctive   |                       |                       |
| models are less      |                       |                       |
| reliable than        |                       |                       |
| compensatory models. |                       |                       |
| Models with many     |                       |                       |
| conjunctive          |                       |                       |
| decisions, like      |                       |                       |
| NCLB, will           |                       |                       |
| accumulate larger    |                       |                       |
| amounts of           |                       |                       |
| misclassification    |                       |                       |
| error. For NCLB,     |                       |                       |
| school performance,  |                       |                       |
| depending on other   |                       |                       |
| indicators, can be   |                       |                       |
| judged as            |                       |                       |
| satisfactory if it   |                       |                       |
| meets a status       |                       |                       |
| requirement or a     |                       |                       |
| growth requirement.  |                       |                       |
| Both are equally     |                       |                       |
| important and        |                       |                       |
| determinations with  |                       |                       |
| respect to them must |                       |                       |
| meet educational     |                       |                       |
| standards for        |                       |                       |
| measurement.         |                       |                       |
|                      |                       |                       |
| Safe harbor          |                       |                       |
| \"improvement\"      |                       |                       |
| decisions are more   |                       |                       |
| vulnerable to error  |                       |                       |
| than status. As      |                       |                       |
| stated previously,   |                       |                       |
| using confidence     |                       |                       |
| intervals is a       |                       |                       |
| superior alternative |                       |                       |
| to increasing        |                       |                       |
| n-size. It better    |                       |                       |
| ensures that more    |                       |                       |
| low performing       |                       |                       |
| schools will be      |                       |                       |
| identified and not   |                       |                       |
| "escape" simply      |                       |                       |
| because of n-size.   |                       |                       |
| It also allows       |                       |                       |
| confidence that the  |                       |                       |
| identification of a  |                       |                       |
| school is done       |                       |                       |
| reliably.            |                       |                       |
| Reliability in safe  |                       |                       |
| harbor decisions is  |                       |                       |
| important, not       |                       |                       |
| because it will      |                       |                       |
| under-identify       |                       |                       |
| schools at any one   |                       |                       |
| point in time but    |                       |                       |
| because, if left     |                       |                       |
| uncontrolled, the    |                       |                       |
| \"bounce\" from year |                       |                       |
| to year will cause   |                       |                       |
| schools to move in   |                       |                       |
| and out of           |                       |                       |
| identification       |                       |                       |
| (\"one year you\'re  |                       |                       |
| good, the next year  |                       |                       |
| you\'re bad\").      |                       |                       |
|                      |                       |                       |
| In making            |                       |                       |
| statistical          |                       |                       |
| comparisons, the     |                       |                       |
| state will control   |                       |                       |
| the error rate for   |                       |                       |
| status with a        |                       |                       |
| one-tailed 95%       |                       |                       |
| confidence limit.    |                       |                       |
| The state has chosen |                       |                       |
| to use a less        |                       |                       |
| stringent test for   |                       |                       |
| safe harbor (75%     |                       |                       |
| controlled rate) but |                       |                       |
| by defining          |                       |                       |
| significant in its   |                       |                       |
| plan diminishes the  |                       |                       |
| plausibility of      |                       |                       |
| statistical          |                       |                       |
| challenges at a      |                       |                       |
| later date. This     |                       |                       |
| allows the state to  |                       |                       |
| appropriately        |                       |                       |
| control              |                       |                       |
| misclassifications   |                       |                       |
| for the independent  |                       |                       |
| statistical          |                       |                       |
| comparisons          |                       |                       |
| providing a minimum  |                       |                       |
| degree of confidence |                       |                       |
| in the               |                       |                       |
| classification       |                       |                       |
| process. The         |                       |                       |
| credibility of an    |                       |                       |
| accountability       |                       |                       |
| system hinges on     |                       |                       |
| consistency in       |                       |                       |
| classification and   |                       |                       |
| on being able to     |                       |                       |
| assist schools after |                       |                       |
| identification. Both |                       |                       |
| depend on reliable   |                       |                       |
| classification.      |                       |                       |
|                      |                       |                       |
| Moreover, the        |                       |                       |
| state's decision to  |                       |                       |
| combine performance  |                       |                       |
| across grade levels  |                       |                       |
| and, when            |                       |                       |
| applicable, across   |                       |                       |
| years, is predicated |                       |                       |
| on reliability       |                       |                       |
| considerations. The  |                       |                       |
| combination of data  |                       |                       |
| across grades and    |                       |                       |
| years contributes to |                       |                       |
| the stability of     |                       |                       |
| performance          |                       |                       |
| estimates.           |                       |                       |
|                      |                       |                       |
| Evidence: AYP Steps  |                       |                       |
| PPT, CCSSO Guidance, |                       |                       |
| Linn---CRESST        |                       |                       |
| article              |                       |                       |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+

+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| ## CRITICAL ELEMENT  | **EXAMPLES FOR\       | **EXAMPLES OF**       |
|                      | MEETING               |                       |
|                      | REQUIREMENTS**        | ***NOT* MEETING       |
|                      |                       | REQUIREMENTS**        |
+======================+=======================+=======================+
| 2.  What is the      | State has established | State does not have a |
|     State\'s process | a process for public  | system for handling   |
|     for making valid | schools and LEAs to   | appeals of            |
|     AYP              | appeal an             | accountability        |
|     determinations?  | accountability        | decisions.            |
|                      | decision.             |                       |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| **STATE RESPONSE AND |                       |                       |
| STATE ACTIVITIES FOR |                       |                       |
| MEETING              |                       |                       |
| REQUIREMENTS**       |                       |                       |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| Reliable decisions   |                       |                       |
| and valid            |                       |                       |
| interpretations are  |                       |                       |
| inextricably linked. |                       |                       |
| Reliability is a     |                       |                       |
| necessary, but not   |                       |                       |
| sufficient,          |                       |                       |
| condition for valid  |                       |                       |
| interpretations.     |                       |                       |
| Therefore, enhancing |                       |                       |
| the reliability of   |                       |                       |
| our decisions        |                       |                       |
| through the use of   |                       |                       |
| statistical tests    |                       |                       |
| lends itself to      |                       |                       |
| valid AYP            |                       |                       |
| interpretations.     |                       |                       |
| Additionally, by     |                       |                       |
| combining data       |                       |                       |
| across grades and    |                       |                       |
| school years, the    |                       |                       |
| state better ensures |                       |                       |
| that all             |                       |                       |
| schools/school       |                       |                       |
| districts will be    |                       |                       |
| held to the same     |                       |                       |
| accountability       |                       |                       |
| standards            |                       |                       |
| irrespective of      |                       |                       |
| school/school        |                       |                       |
| district size. It is |                       |                       |
| only through the     |                       |                       |
| statistical control  |                       |                       |
| of classification    |                       |                       |
| decisions that the   |                       |                       |
| state will be able   |                       |                       |
| to consistently      |                       |                       |
| provide technical    |                       |                       |
| assistance and       |                       |                       |
| school support.      |                       |                       |
|                      |                       |                       |
| Controlling for      |                       |                       |
| unreliability is an  |                       |                       |
| important step but   |                       |                       |
| there remains a high |                       |                       |
| level of concern     |                       |                       |
| with the number of   |                       |                       |
| comparisons that     |                       |                       |
| must be made to      |                       |                       |
| determine            |                       |                       |
| satisfactory AYP     |                       |                       |
| performance and the  |                       |                       |
| ability to cogently  |                       |                       |
| interpret findings.  |                       |                       |
| The conjunctive      |                       |                       |
| nature of the        |                       |                       |
| NCLB-AYP model and   |                       |                       |
| the dependence among |                       |                       |
| the individual       |                       |                       |
| comparisons strains  |                       |                       |
| the validity of AYP  |                       |                       |
| interpretations.     |                       |                       |
|                      |                       |                       |
| To support AYP       |                       |                       |
| interpretations,     |                       |                       |
| schools/school       |                       |                       |
| districts are        |                       |                       |
| provided a 30-day    |                       |                       |
| appeal period        |                       |                       |
| following            |                       |                       |
| preliminary          |                       |                       |
| designations.        |                       |                       |
| Appeals are designed |                       |                       |
| to allow schools and |                       |                       |
| school districts to  |                       |                       |
| replicate the AYP    |                       |                       |
| calculations and to  |                       |                       |
| address differences  |                       |                       |
| in state and local   |                       |                       |
| findings. Moreover,  |                       |                       |
| through the appeal   |                       |                       |
| process, schools and |                       |                       |
| school districts can |                       |                       |
| present information, |                       |                       |
| not used directly in |                       |                       |
| the calculation of   |                       |                       |
| AYP, that is         |                       |                       |
| relevant to school   |                       |                       |
| success and that may |                       |                       |
| refute the AYP       |                       |                       |
| decision. Appeals    |                       |                       |
| will be reviewed     |                       |                       |
| using predetermined  |                       |                       |
| evaluation criteria. |                       |                       |
| The Nevada           |                       |                       |
| Department of        |                       |                       |
| Education will work  |                       |                       |
| collaboratively with |                       |                       |
| local education      |                       |                       |
| agencies to          |                       |                       |
| establish acceptable |                       |                       |
| appeal review        |                       |                       |
| criteria.            |                       |                       |
|                      |                       |                       |
| Because of the       |                       |                       |
| consequences         |                       |                       |
| associated with      |                       |                       |
| negative AYP         |                       |                       |
| decisions, it is     |                       |                       |
| critical that a      |                       |                       |
| state be able to     |                       |                       |
| support the AYP      |                       |                       |
| determination        |                       |                       |
| process. The         |                       |                       |
| foundation for this  |                       |                       |
| process is the state |                       |                       |
| assessments. State   |                       |                       |
| tests have been      |                       |                       |
| carefully designed   |                       |                       |
| to measure Nevada    |                       |                       |
| state standards and  |                       |                       |
| achievement          |                       |                       |
| standards. They are  |                       |                       |
| built to balance     |                       |                       |
| content coverage and |                       |                       |
| test difficulty.     |                       |                       |
| Ongoing validity     |                       |                       |
| studies are          |                       |                       |
| conducted to support |                       |                       |
| the various          |                       |                       |
| programs. These      |                       |                       |
| efforts provide a    |                       |                       |
| strong foundation    |                       |                       |
| for deriving support |                       |                       |
| for AYP              |                       |                       |
| interpretations.     |                       |                       |
|                      |                       |                       |
| As a secondary       |                       |                       |
| support, the state   |                       |                       |
| will engage in an    |                       |                       |
| annual evaluation of |                       |                       |
| the AYP              |                       |                       |
| determination        |                       |                       |
| process. This        |                       |                       |
| program of study     |                       |                       |
| will involve 4 basic |                       |                       |
| steps. 1) Profiles   |                       |                       |
| of high achieving    |                       |                       |
| and low achieving    |                       |                       |
| schools will be      |                       |                       |
| developed. The goal  |                       |                       |
| is to discern        |                       |                       |
| patterns related to  |                       |                       |
| sustained success    |                       |                       |
| and failure. 2)      |                       |                       |
| Decision consistency |                       |                       |
| will be studied to   |                       |                       |
| estimate the degree  |                       |                       |
| and types of errors  |                       |                       |
| being made in the    |                       |                       |
| classification       |                       |                       |
| process. 3)          |                       |                       |
| Discriminant studies |                       |                       |
| will be conducted in |                       |                       |
| an attempt to        |                       |                       |
| validate, through    |                       |                       |
| the use of external  |                       |                       |
| factors, the AYP     |                       |                       |
| classification of    |                       |                       |
| schools as           |                       |                       |
| satisfactory or      |                       |                       |
| failing. 4) Studies  |                       |                       |
| of "growth" will be  |                       |                       |
| conducted to         |                       |                       |
| approximate the      |                       |                       |
| degree of            |                       |                       |
| sensitivity within   |                       |                       |
| the NCLB---AYP       |                       |                       |
| determination        |                       |                       |
| process.             |                       |                       |
|                      |                       |                       |
| The state has for    |                       |                       |
| many years used a    |                       |                       |
| national technical   |                       |                       |
| advisory committee   |                       |                       |
| (TAC) to assist it   |                       |                       |
| with its testing     |                       |                       |
| programs. The TAC    |                       |                       |
| typically meets 3    |                       |                       |
| times a year and in  |                       |                       |
| the past year and a  |                       |                       |
| half has dedicated   |                       |                       |
| 1/3 of its time      |                       |                       |
| specifically to      |                       |                       |
| school               |                       |                       |
| accountability       |                       |                       |
| issues. The state    |                       |                       |
| will continue these  |                       |                       |
| efforts using the    |                       |                       |
| TAC to plan          |                       |                       |
| refinements to its   |                       |                       |
| assessment and       |                       |                       |
| accountability       |                       |                       |
| system.              |                       |                       |
|                      |                       |                       |
| Evidence: AYP Steps  |                       |                       |
| PPT and              |                       |                       |
| Pre-technical        |                       |                       |
| accountability       |                       |                       |
| bulletin             |                       |                       |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+

+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| ## CRITICAL ELEMENT  | **EXAMPLES FOR\       | **EXAMPLES OF**       |
|                      | MEETING               |                       |
|                      | REQUIREMENTS**        | ***NOT* MEETING       |
|                      |                       | REQUIREMENTS**        |
+======================+=======================+=======================+
| 3.  How has the      | State has a plan to   | State's transition    |
|     State planned    | maintain continuity   | plan interrupts       |
|     for              | in AYP decisions      | annual determination  |
|     incorporating    | necessary for         | of AYP.               |
|     into its         | validity through      |                       |
|     definition of    | planned assessment    | State does not have a |
|     AYP anticipated  | changes, and other    | plan for handling     |
|     changes in       | changes necessary to  | changes: e.g., to its |
|     assessments?     | comply fully with     | assessment system, or |
|                      | NCLB.[^12]            | the addition of new   |
|                      |                       | public schools.       |
|                      | State has a plan for  |                       |
|                      | including new public  |                       |
|                      | schools in the State  |                       |
|                      | Accountability        |                       |
|                      | System.               |                       |
|                      |                       |                       |
|                      | State has a plan for  |                       |
|                      | periodically          |                       |
|                      | reviewing its State   |                       |
|                      | Accountability        |                       |
|                      | System, so that       |                       |
|                      | unforeseen changes    |                       |
|                      | can be quickly        |                       |
|                      | addressed.            |                       |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| **STATE RESPONSE AND |                       |                       |
| STATE ACTIVITIES FOR |                       |                       |
| MEETING              |                       |                       |
| REQUIREMENTS**       |                       |                       |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| As noted previously, |                       |                       |
| the state            |                       |                       |
| anticipates three    |                       |                       |
| major shifts in the  |                       |                       |
| assessment profile   |                       |                       |
| being used in the    |                       |                       |
| AYP determination    |                       |                       |
| process. This will   |                       |                       |
| lead to a            |                       |                       |
| recalculation of the |                       |                       |
| annual thresholds    |                       |                       |
| for achievement      |                       |                       |
| after the 2002-03    |                       |                       |
| school year and      |                       |                       |
| again after the      |                       |                       |
| 2005-06 school year. |                       |                       |
| These adjustments    |                       |                       |
| correspond           |                       |                       |
| respectively to the  |                       |                       |
| elimination of the   |                       |                       |
| NRT as an AYP        |                       |                       |
| indicator and the    |                       |                       |
| full implementation  |                       |                       |
| of the final         |                       |                       |
| assessment system.   |                       |                       |
| The recalculation of |                       |                       |
| annual thresholds    |                       |                       |
| will not in any way  |                       |                       |
| change the 100%      |                       |                       |
| proficiency          |                       |                       |
| requirement for the  |                       |                       |
| 2013-2014 school     |                       |                       |
| year. It can,        |                       |                       |
| however, change the  |                       |                       |
| intermediate goals   |                       |                       |
| in years prior to    |                       |                       |
| the 2013-2014 school |                       |                       |
| year.                |                       |                       |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+

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

+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| ## CRITICAL ELEMENT  | **EXAMPLES FOR\       | **EXAMPLES OF\        |
|                      | MEETING               | *NOT* MEETING         |
|                      | REQUIREMENTS**        | REQUIREMENTS**        |
+======================+=======================+=======================+
| 1.  What is the      | State has a procedure | The state does not    |
|     State\'s method  | to determine the      | have a procedure for  |
|     for calculating  | number of absent or   | determining the rate  |
|     participation    | untested students (by | of students           |
|     rates in the     | subgroup and          | participating in      |
|     State            | aggregate).           | statewide             |
|     assessments for  |                       | assessments.          |
|     use in AYP       | State has a procedure |                       |
|     determinations?  | to determine the      | Public schools and    |
|                      | denominator (total    | LEAs are not held     |
|                      | enrollment) for the   | accountable for       |
|                      | 95% calculation (by   | testing at least 95%  |
|                      | subgroup and          | of their students.    |
|                      | aggregate).           |                       |
|                      |                       |                       |
|                      | Public schools and    |                       |
|                      | LEAs are held         |                       |
|                      | accountable for       |                       |
|                      | reaching the 95%      |                       |
|                      | assessed goal.        |                       |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| **STATE RESPONSE AND |                       |                       |
| STATE ACTIVITIES FOR |                       |                       |
| MEETING              |                       |                       |
| REQUIREMENTS**       |                       |                       |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| For all state tests  |                       |                       |
| the state will       |                       |                       |
| employ a methodology |                       |                       |
| whereby, for every   |                       |                       |
| student enrolled     |                       |                       |
| during the testing   |                       |                       |
| window, a test       |                       |                       |
| answer document must |                       |                       |
| be submitted on the  |                       |                       |
| student's behalf.    |                       |                       |
| This is true for all |                       |                       |
| students whether     |                       |                       |
| they actually test   |                       |                       |
| with or without      |                       |                       |
| accommodations, test |                       |                       |
| in the state         |                       |                       |
| alternate or         |                       |                       |
| district modified    |                       |                       |
| assessment, refuse   |                       |                       |
| to participate, or   |                       |                       |
| are absent during    |                       |                       |
| the test window ^a^. |                       |                       |
|                      |                       |                       |
| The score sheet      |                       |                       |
| methodology is being |                       |                       |
| used in part because |                       |                       |
| of student           |                       |                       |
| transience and the   |                       |                       |
| substantive          |                       |                       |
| difference in time   |                       |                       |
| between the state's  |                       |                       |
| official enrollment  |                       |                       |
| count date and the   |                       |                       |
| dates for testing.   |                       |                       |
| Although there is an |                       |                       |
| official count day,  |                       |                       |
| unofficial counts    |                       |                       |
| are taken at least   |                       |                       |
| two times during the |                       |                       |
| school year. Based   |                       |                       |
| on information       |                       |                       |
| stored on the state  |                       |                       |
| and local SIS        |                       |                       |
| systems and official |                       |                       |
| count day records,   |                       |                       |
| auditing of          |                       |                       |
| submitted score      |                       |                       |
| sheets will take     |                       |                       |
| place. In those      |                       |                       |
| cases in which       |                       |                       |
| significant          |                       |                       |
| differences exist    |                       |                       |
| between count day    |                       |                       |
| information and      |                       |                       |
| submitted score      |                       |                       |
| sheets,              |                       |                       |
| schools/school       |                       |                       |
| districts will be    |                       |                       |
| required to provide  |                       |                       |
| formal explanations. |                       |                       |
|                      |                       |                       |
| Students are counted |                       |                       |
| as having            |                       |                       |
| participated so long |                       |                       |
| as they attempt to   |                       |                       |
| take the test. An    |                       |                       |
| attempt is defined   |                       |                       |
| as a returned score  |                       |                       |
| sheet which includes |                       |                       |
| valid responses. For |                       |                       |
| example, if a        |                       |                       |
| student's score      |                       |                       |
| sheet is invalidated |                       |                       |
| by school personnel  |                       |                       |
| because of           |                       |                       |
| inappropriate        |                       |                       |
| student behavior,    |                       |                       |
| that student would   |                       |                       |
| not be counted as    |                       |                       |
| having participated. |                       |                       |
|                      |                       |                       |
| ^a^ Student          |                       |                       |
| participation on the |                       |                       |
| High School          |                       |                       |
| Proficiency          |                       |                       |
| Examination (HSPE)   |                       |                       |
| will be determined   |                       |                       |
| using first time     |                       |                       |
| administration       |                       |                       |
| participation rates  |                       |                       |
| for the 2002-03      |                       |                       |
| school year only.    |                       |                       |
| Students are given   |                       |                       |
| their first          |                       |                       |
| opportunity to take  |                       |                       |
| the HSPE in April of |                       |                       |
| their sophomore      |                       |                       |
| year. Therefore,     |                       |                       |
| participation rates  |                       |                       |
| will be calculated   |                       |                       |
| using the ratio of   |                       |                       |
| sophomores           |                       |                       |
| participating in the |                       |                       |
| April HSPE           |                       |                       |
| administration       |                       |                       |
| divided by the       |                       |                       |
| enrollment number    |                       |                       |
| for tenth graders of |                       |                       |
| that same year. This |                       |                       |
| method is considered |                       |                       |
| the most             |                       |                       |
| parsimonious and is  |                       |                       |
| not plagued by       |                       |                       |
| problems associated  |                       |                       |
| with attrition,      |                       |                       |
| second-time test     |                       |                       |
| takers, and/or       |                       |                       |
| population growth.   |                       |                       |
| Beginning in 2003-04 |                       |                       |
| a more efficient     |                       |                       |
| process will be used |                       |                       |
| that tracks a cohort |                       |                       |
| from the fall of the |                       |                       |
| 10^th^ grade year    |                       |                       |
| through the April    |                       |                       |
| 11^th^ grade         |                       |                       |
| administration.      |                       |                       |
| Tracking the cohort  |                       |                       |
| will allow for an    |                       |                       |
| accurate accounting  |                       |                       |
| of students that     |                       |                       |
| arrive new to the    |                       |                       |
| cohort between       |                       |                       |
| enrollment date in   |                       |                       |
| grade 10 and the     |                       |                       |
| 11^th^ grade April   |                       |                       |
| administration.      |                       |                       |
| Moreover, it will    |                       |                       |
| allow students that  |                       |                       |
| first take the test  |                       |                       |
| after the 10^th^     |                       |                       |
| grade administration |                       |                       |
| to be counted as     |                       |                       |
| having participated. |                       |                       |
| It is anticipated    |                       |                       |
| that in 2003-04      |                       |                       |
| school districts     |                       |                       |
| will be given an     |                       |                       |
| opportunity to       |                       |                       |
| "resolve" changes in |                       |                       |
| the cohort           |                       |                       |
| population observed  |                       |                       |
| by the state.        |                       |                       |
| Beginning in 2004-05 |                       |                       |
| it is expected that  |                       |                       |
| this process will be |                       |                       |
| fully automated. At  |                       |                       |
| that time, extension |                       |                       |
| through grade 12     |                       |                       |
| will be considered.  |                       |                       |
|                      |                       |                       |
| Evidence: Statute,   |                       |                       |
| SMART dictionary,    |                       |                       |
| Answer documents     |                       |                       |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+

+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| ## CRITICAL ELEMENT  | **EXAMPLES FOR\       | **EXAMPLES OF\        |
|                      | MEETING               | *NOT* MEETING         |
|                      | REQUIREMENTS**        | REQUIREMENTS**        |
+======================+=======================+=======================+
| 2.  What is the      | State has a policy    | State does not have a |
|     State\'s policy  | that implements the   | procedure for making  |
|     for determining  | regulation regarding  | this determination.   |
|     when the 95%     | the use of 95%        |                       |
|     assessed         | allowance when the    |                       |
|     requirement      | group is              |                       |
|     should be        | statistically         |                       |
|     applied?         | significant according |                       |
|                      | to State rules.       |                       |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| **STATE RESPONSE AND |                       |                       |
| STATE ACTIVITIES FOR |                       |                       |
| MEETING              |                       |                       |
| REQUIREMENTS**       |                       |                       |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| For subpopulations   |                       |                       |
| within               |                       |                       |
| schools/school       |                       |                       |
| districts, or for    |                       |                       |
| schools/school       |                       |                       |
| districts as a       |                       |                       |
| whole, with fewer    |                       |                       |
| than 20 students,    |                       |                       |
| all students would   |                       |                       |
| be required to       |                       |                       |
| participate to meet  |                       |                       |
| the 95% NCLB         |                       |                       |
| participation        |                       |                       |
| threshold. The state |                       |                       |
| recognizes that in   |                       |                       |
| practice there are   |                       |                       |
| extenuating          |                       |                       |
| circumstances that   |                       |                       |
| can arise preventing |                       |                       |
| a student from       |                       |                       |
| participating.       |                       |                       |
|                      |                       |                       |
| For these small      |                       |                       |
| schools/school       |                       |                       |
| districts and/or     |                       |                       |
| subpopulations, the  |                       |                       |
| state intends to     |                       |                       |
| calculate the        |                       |                       |
| participation rate   |                       |                       |
| but will allow a     |                       |                       |
| participation rate   |                       |                       |
| of "N" -- 1 (N being |                       |                       |
| the number of        |                       |                       |
| students in the      |                       |                       |
| group). For groups   |                       |                       |
| with 20 or more      |                       |                       |
| students, exact      |                       |                       |
| participation rate   |                       |                       |
| percentages will be  |                       |                       |
| compared against the |                       |                       |
| 95% threshold.       |                       |                       |
|                      |                       |                       |
| The state provides   |                       |                       |
| extended testing     |                       |                       |
| windows. The state   |                       |                       |
| encourages school    |                       |                       |
| districts and        |                       |                       |
| schools to use       |                       |                       |
| "make-up" test days  |                       |                       |
| within the windows   |                       |                       |
| to ensure that all   |                       |                       |
| students can         |                       |                       |
| participate.         |                       |                       |
|                      |                       |                       |
| As required by the   |                       |                       |
| NCLB Act, the        |                       |                       |
| operational          |                       |                       |
| definition for       |                       |                       |
| determining          |                       |                       |
| participation rate   |                       |                       |
| will come into       |                       |                       |
| effect during the    |                       |                       |
| 2002-03 school year. |                       |                       |
| Current Nevada       |                       |                       |
| statute and          |                       |                       |
| supporting           |                       |                       |
| regulation requires  |                       |                       |
| only a 90%           |                       |                       |
| participation rate.  |                       |                       |
| Participation rates  |                       |                       |
| have been a part of  |                       |                       |
| Nevada's             |                       |                       |
| accountability       |                       |                       |
| system since the     |                       |                       |
| inception of the     |                       |                       |
| Nevada Education     |                       |                       |
| Reform Act (NERA) of |                       |                       |
| 1997. NERA has       |                       |                       |
| depended solely upon |                       |                       |
| the use of           |                       |                       |
| norm-referenced      |                       |                       |
| testing performance  |                       |                       |
| in grades 4, 8, and  |                       |                       |
| 10. Schools          |                       |                       |
| otherwise qualifying |                       |                       |
| as "exemplary" had   |                       |                       |
| to test at least 95% |                       |                       |
| of their eligible    |                       |                       |
| population of        |                       |                       |
| students, "high      |                       |                       |
| achieving" schools   |                       |                       |
| had to test at least |                       |                       |
| 93% of their         |                       |                       |
| eligible students,   |                       |                       |
| and schools          |                       |                       |
| receiving a          |                       |                       |
| designation as       |                       |                       |
| "adequate" had to    |                       |                       |
| test at least 90% of |                       |                       |
| their eligible       |                       |                       |
| students. Any school |                       |                       |
| that tested less     |                       |                       |
| than 90% of their    |                       |                       |
| eligible students    |                       |                       |
| for two consecutive  |                       |                       |
| years was required   |                       |                       |
| to re-test their     |                       |                       |
| students at the      |                       |                       |
| expense of the       |                       |                       |
| district and under   |                       |                       |
| the supervision of   |                       |                       |
| NDE staff. By Nevada |                       |                       |
| law, the only        |                       |                       |
| students not         |                       |                       |
| required to          |                       |                       |
| participate in       |                       |                       |
| testing were special |                       |                       |
| education students   |                       |                       |
| whose IEPs exempted  |                       |                       |
| them from            |                       |                       |
| participation in     |                       |                       |
| large-scale          |                       |                       |
| assessments, and LEP |                       |                       |
| students whose       |                       |                       |
| Language Assessment  |                       |                       |
| Scale (LAS) results  |                       |                       |
| were below           |                       |                       |
| designated levels of |                       |                       |
| performance.         |                       |                       |
| Students exempt from |                       |                       |
| testing under these  |                       |                       |
| two conditions have  |                       |                       |
| historically been    |                       |                       |
| removed from the     |                       |                       |
| formula in the       |                       |                       |
| calculation of the   |                       |                       |
| percentage of        |                       |                       |
| students tested. All |                       |                       |
| other students       |                       |                       |
| within a school      |                       |                       |
| comprise the         |                       |                       |
| "eligible population |                       |                       |
| of students".        |                       |                       |
| Although Nevada law  |                       |                       |
| has allowed the      |                       |                       |
| exemptions described |                       |                       |
| in this paragraph,   |                       |                       |
| training for the     |                       |                       |
| administration of    |                       |                       |
| the NRT testing for  |                       |                       |
| the fall of 2002     |                       |                       |
| included strong      |                       |                       |
| recommendations for  |                       |                       |
| the testing of all   |                       |                       |
| students in order to |                       |                       |
| comply with NCLB     |                       |                       |
| expectations. It is  |                       |                       |
| also important to    |                       |                       |
| note that no         |                       |                       |
| students have been   |                       |                       |
| removed from AYP     |                       |                       |
| calculations under   |                       |                       |
| NCLB. Although       |                       |                       |
| Nevada has not       |                       |                       |
| previously broken    |                       |                       |
| out participation    |                       |                       |
| rates by subject     |                       |                       |
| area, two years of   |                       |                       |
| historical data,     |                       |                       |
| collapsing           |                       |                       |
| participation rate   |                       |                       |
| across grade levels, |                       |                       |
| under the NERA       |                       |                       |
| accountability       |                       |                       |
| system suggests that |                       |                       |
| this NCLB            |                       |                       |
| requirement can be   |                       |                       |
| met at the state     |                       |                       |
| level:               |                       |                       |
|                      |                       |                       |
| Fall 2001 NRT: 96.7% |                       |                       |
| participation rate   |                       |                       |
|                      |                       |                       |
| Fall 2002 NRT: 97.2% |                       |                       |
| participation rate   |                       |                       |
|                      |                       |                       |
| Because of statutory |                       |                       |
| inconsistencies, the |                       |                       |
| state will use the   |                       |                       |
| 95% criterion        |                       |                       |
| outlined in the NCLB |                       |                       |
| Act in making        |                       |                       |
| designations. The    |                       |                       |
| state will consider  |                       |                       |
| on appeal            |                       |                       |
| participation rate   |                       |                       |
| and student          |                       |                       |
| inclusion issues     |                       |                       |
| because of the       |                       |                       |
| inconsistency.       |                       |                       |
|                      |                       |                       |
| Evidence: Test       |                       |                       |
| Calendar, Regulation |                       |                       |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+

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

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

[^3]: State Note: All schools, school districts, and the state,
    regardless of AYP performance, are required to develop/revise
    improvement plans annually.

[^4]: If the state has separate assessments to cover its language arts
    standards (e.g., reading and writing), the State must create a
    method to include scores from all the relevant assessments.

[^5]: Decisions may be based upon several years of data and data may be
    averaged across grades within a public school \[§1111(b)(2)(J)\].

[^6]: The minimum number is not required to be the same for reporting
    and accountability.

[^7]: The Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) prohibits an
    LEA that receives Federal funds from releasing, without the prior
    written consent of a student's parents, any personally identifiable
    information contained in a student's education record.

[^8]: State Assessment System will be reviewed by the Standards and
    Assessments Peer Review Team.

[^9]: See USC 6311(b)(2)(I)(i), and 34 C.F.R. 200.20(b)

[^10]: NCLB only lists these indicators as examples.

[^11]: If the state has more than one assessment to cover its language
    arts standards, the State must create a method for including scores
    from all the relevant assessments.

[^12]: Several events may occur which necessitate such a plan. For
    example, (1) the State may need to include additional assessments in
    grades 3-8 by 2005-2006; (2) the State may revise content and/or
    academic achievement standards; (3) the State may need to
    recalculate the starting point with the addition of new assessments;
    or (4) the State may need to incorporate the graduation rate or
    other indicators into its State Accountability System. These events
    may require new calculations of validity and reliability.