6A-1.099822. School Improvement Rating for Alternative Schools.

(1) Purpose. The purpose of this rule is to provide the definitions and policies for school improvement ratings as required in Sections 1008.34 and 1008.341, F.S.

(2) Definitions. For the purposes of this rule, the following definitions shall apply:

(a) “Alternative schools.” For purposes of school accountability improvement ratings, an alternative school is any school that provides dropout prevention and academic intervention services pursuant to Section 1003.53, F.S.

(b) “Exceptional Student Education (ESE) Center School” means exceptional student education center schools as defined in Rule 6A-1.099828, F.A.C.

(c) “Learning gains” means learning gains calculated based on the provisions of Rule 6A-1.09981, F.A.C., except retake assessments for the statewide standardized end-of-course and grade 10 English Language Arts assessments shall be included in the calculation when first-time statewide standardized assessments are not available for a student. For grades 9 through 12, “first-time” designates an assessment that is administered to a student for the first time during enrollment in high school (grades 9 through 12). In addition, concordant and comparison scores as identified in Rule 6A-1.094223, F.A.C., may be used to demonstrate learning gains for students in grades 9 through 12 who scored at Achievement Levels 1 or 2 in the prior year in the same subject area.

(3) School Improvement Rating Framework.

(a) Prior to the calculation of school improvement ratings for alternative schools, as described in this rule, the Department of Education will annually identify alternative schools based on the information submitted by school districts.

1. Districts will be given two (2) weeks to submit recommended additions and deletions to the Department through the Master School Identification information change process described in Rule 6A-1.0016, F.A.C.

(b) Schools identified as alternative schools and ESE Center schools have the option of earning a school grade, pursuant to Section 1008.34, F.S., or a school improvement rating, as outlined in subsection (4) of this rule. Each alternative school identified as described in paragraph (3)(a) of this rule and ESE Center school identified pursuant to Rule 6A-1.099828, F.A.C., shall indicate whether it chooses to receive a school grade or a school improvement rating. Schools that do not indicate a choice will receive a school improvement rating.

(c) Each alternative school or ESE Center school that does not choose to receive a school grade shall be assigned a school improvement rating of Commendable, Maintaining, or Unsatisfactory annually based on the provisions of this rule.

(d) To ensure that student data accurately represent school performance, schools shall assess at least eighty (80) percent of their eligible students to qualify for a school improvement rating. If a school tests less than ninety (90) percent of its students, the school may not earn a rating higher than Maintaining.

(e) Eligible students for determining the percent tested. The percent-tested calculation shall be based on the count of students who were enrolled during the third period full-time equivalent (FTE) student membership survey as specified in Rule 6A-1.0451, F.A.C., and who were also enrolled at the time of statewide standardized testing.

(f) A school shall receive a rating based solely on the components for which it has sufficient data to perform the calculation. Sufficient data exists when at least ten (10) students are eligible for inclusion in the calculation of the component. If a school does not have sufficient data to calculate a measure, that measure shall not be calculated for the school. If a school does not have sufficient data to receive a rating for three (3) consecutive years, then in the third year the school will receive a rating based on the most recent three (3) years of data.

(4) School Improvement Rating System.

(a) The school improvement rating system shall include the following components for all alternative schools and ESE Center schools selecting to receive a school improvement rating.

1. Learning gains in English Language Arts. The percentage of students enrolled in the second or third period full-time equivalent (FTE) student membership surveys as specified in Rule 6A-1.0451, F.A.C., and were tested, who demonstrate learning gains in English Language Arts as defined in paragraph 6A-1.09981(2)(b), F.A.C.

2. Learning gains in Mathematics. The percentage of students enrolled in the second or third period full-time equivalent (FTE) student membership surveys as specified in Rule 6A-1.0451, F.A.C., and were tested, who demonstrate learning gains in Mathematics (on the statewide standardized Mathematics assessment for grades 3 through 8, Algebra 1, and Geometry), as defined in paragraph 6A-1.09981(2)(b), F.A.C.

(b) Procedures for calculating school improvement ratings.

1. The overall school improvement rating of Commendable, Maintaining, or Unsatisfactory as designated in Section 1008.341(2), F.S., shall be calculated based on the percentage of possible points earned by each school for the components applicable to the individual school. In the calculation of the school’s improvement rating, 100 points are available for each component with sufficient data, with one (1) point earned for each percentage of students meeting the criteria for the component. The points earned for each component shall be expressed as whole numbers by rounding the percentages. Percentages with a value of .5 or greater will be rounded up to the nearest whole number, and percentages with a value of less than .5 will be rounded down to the nearest whole number. The school’s improvement rating is determined by summing the earned points for each component and dividing this sum by the total number of available points for all components with sufficient data. The percentage resulting from this calculation shall be expressed as a whole number using the rounding convention described in this subparagraph.

2. School improvement ratings shall be assigned to schools based on the percentage of total applicable points earned as follows:

a. Fifty (50) percent of total applicable points or higher equals a rating of  Commendable;

b. Twenty-six (26) to forty-nine (49) percent of total applicable points equals a rating of Maintaining; and,

c. Twenty-five (25) percent of total applicable points or less equals a rating of Unsatisfactory.

(5) Notwithstanding paragraph (3)(c), of this rule, the provisions of subsections 6A-1.09981(6) and (7), F.A.C. shall apply to school improvement ratings except that the provisions of subparagraphs (6)(a)1. and (7)(f)2., regarding the percent of students tested at the school, is applicable when the percent of students tested at the school is less than eighty (80) percent of the school’s eligible student population.

Rulemaking Authority 1001.02, 1008.34, 1008.341 FS. Law Implemented 1008.34, 1008.341, 1008.345 FS. History–New 4-14-08, Amended 6-22-09, 4-8-12, 11-13-12, 11-19-13, 10-30-16, 2-20-18.