The purpose of this rule development is to fulfill requirements under Section 1012.34, Florida Statutes, to adopt the student growth formula(s) for use with statewide assessment data and to set standards for student growth performance that must be ...

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
State Board of Education

RULE NO.: RULE TITLE:
6A-5.0411: Calculations of Student Learning Growth Using Statewide Assessment Data for Use in School Personnel Evaluations

PURPOSE AND EFFECT: The purpose of this rule development is to fulfill requirements under Section 1012.34, Florida Statutes, to adopt the student growth formula(s) for use with statewide assessment data and to set standards for student growth performance that must be met for personnel to earn specified performance ratings on annual evaluations. It is anticipated that this rule will be revised annually as new formulas and performance standards are adopted for statewide assessments, including but not limited to, the Florida Comprehensive Achievement Test (FCAT), End-of-Course Examinations, and the Florida Alternate Assessment.

SUBJECT AREA: Calculations of student learning growth using statewide assessment data for use in school personnel evaluations.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY: 1012.34 FS.
LAW IMPLEMENTED: 1012.34 FS.

A RULE DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP WILL BE HELD AT THE DATE, TIME AND PLACE SHOWN BELOW:

DATE AND TIME: January 17, 2012, 3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.

PLACE: Via conference call: 1(888)808-6959. Conference ID# is 2469406852. The conference call will begin at 3:00 p.m. and last for a minimum of 30 minutes but will conclude after 30 minutes if no additional callers are on the line.

THE PERSON TO BE CONTACTED REGARDING THE PROPOSED RULE IS: Juan Copa, Director of Research and Analysis in Educator Performance, [phone] or [e-mail]

 

THE FULL TEXT OF THE PROPOSED RULE IS:

6A-5.0411 Calculations of Student Learning Growth Using Statewide Assessment Data for Use in School Personnel Evaluations.

(1) Purpose. The purpose of this rule is to provide the formulas for measuring student learning growth and procedures associated with implementing the formulas.

(2) Formulas for measuring student learning growth.

(a) For each formula adopted under this rule, the Department shall publish on its website a document that includes the formula’s class, the mathematical equation, a description of the variables or components in the formula, and a description of the process for developing the formula. The Department shall also publish on its website a report that includes the full statistical description of the formula, the methods of calculation used with the formula and the results of calculations used to develop the model.

(b) Student learning growth formula for use with Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT).

1. The formula for measuring student learning growth beginning in the 2011-12 school year using student FCAT Reading and Mathematics results is a value-added model from the class of covariate adjustment models. A value-added model is a statistical calculation employed for the purpose of determining an individual teacher’s or principal’s contribution to student learning. Mathematically, the formula for this model is , where denotes the test score for student i, is the coefficient associated with gth prior test score, is the coefficient associated with variable j, is the common school component of school k assumed , is the effect of teacher m in school k assumed and is the random error term assumed .

2. The value-added model estimates a student’s performance based on variables, which represent student, classroom, and school characteristics. The variables included in the value-added model are:

a. The number of subject-relevant courses in which the student is enrolled. This variable counts, for each student, the number of courses he or she is enrolled in that are associated with FCAT Reading and Mathematics. The courses associated with the subjects of the state assessment will be published by the Department on its website at http://www.fldoe.org/committees/sg.asp.

b. Up to two (2) prior years of achievement scores for each student. This variable captures each student’s most immediate prior scale score on FCAT, as well as the student’s scale score from two (2) years prior, if available.

c. The student’s primary disability. This is a series of variables, each which identifies a student’s primary disability.

d. The student’s English Language Learner (ELL) status. This variable indicates if the student has been identified as an ELL and is enrolled in a program or receiving services that are specifically designed to meet the instructional needs of ELL students for two (2) years or less.

e. Gifted status. This variable indicates if the student has been identified as Gifted or not.

f. Student attendance. This variable is an indicator of the days the student was present during the school year.

g. Student mobility. This variable is an indicator of the number of transitions a student experienced across schools within a school year.

h. Difference from modal age in grade. This variable indicates the difference in a student’s age from the common age for students enrolled in the same grade across the state and is included as an indicator of retention.

i. Class size. This variable is a count of the number of students assigned to the teacher.

j. Homogeneity of students’ entering test scores in the class. This variable indicates the variation within a classroom in terms of students’ prior test performance.

3. The formula produces a value-added score for a teacher. A teacher’s value-added score reflects the average amount of learning growth of the teacher’s students above or below the expected learning growth of similar students in the state, using the variables accounted for in the model and listed above in subparagraph 2. of this rule. The teacher’s value-added scored is expressed as the sum of two (2) components: one that reflects how much the school’s students on average gained above or below similar students in the state (a common school component), and another that reflects how much the teacher’s students on average gained above or below similar students within the school (a teacher component). Fifty (50) percent of the common school component is included in the teacher’s value-added score.

(c) When student performance data from each statewide assessment for which a formula has been adopted are received by the Department, the Department shall calculate the results of each student growth formula and provide the results to each district for the district’s instructional and school administrator personnel. Results provided to districts shall include the following information for each state assessment for which a formula has been adopted:

1. A value-added score for each instructional personnel employee for the current school year for each grade and subject of the state assessment based on any courses that the employee taught which are associated with that state assessment.

2. An aggregate value-added score for each instructional personnel employee and school administrator in the district, which combines all value added results from all courses and assigned students. An employee’s aggregated value-added score will include data for that employee from the current school year and each of the two (2) prior years for which data are available.

3. The standard error for each value-added score.

4. For each employee, the number and percentage of students assigned to the employee who met or exceeded their expected growth as calculated by the value-added model.

(3) Performance Level Standards. In accordance with Section 1012.34, Florida Statutes, standards must be set for the Performance of Students criterion for use in instructional and school administrator personnel evaluations. Specifically, for each of the performance levels of highly effective and effective, a student growth standard must be set for each statewide assessment that an individual who is being evaluated must at least achieve to be considered by the district as earning that performance level as a summative evaluation rating. In addition, a student growth standard must be set for each statewide assessment that, if not exceeded, will cause an individual who is being evaluated to earn from the district a summative rating of unsatisfactory.

(a) Beginning in the 2012-13 school year, each district school board will implement the performance level standards for each statewide assessment adopted under this rule.

(b) The Department must make recommendations to the State Board for performance standards applicable to a statewide assessment no later than August 1 of the school year during which those standards must be used by each school district.

Rulemaking Authority 1012.34 FS. Law Implemented 1012.34 FS. History–New________.