Officials move back date for school accountability plan

PHOTOGRAPHER: Marc Schultz

State education officials, including NYS Commissioner of Education MaryEllen Elia, seen here visiting Lake Ave. Elementary School in Saratoga Springs in February, have extended their timeline for developing a new school accountability system, aiming fo...

State education officials have extended their timeline for developing a new school accountability system, aiming for a July federal deadline.

As recently as last month, Education Commissioner MaryEllen Elia told a conference of superintendents that the state was looking to have its plan – required under the new federal education law – in place in time for districts to adapt for the next school year.

But the tight timeline, political uncertainty and a desire to head off any complaints that state officials moved too quickly on the system – which determines which school districts need interventions – forced Elia to trim her ambitions.

Elia cited uncertainty over federal rules coming out of Washington, as well as the impending presidential election, as major factors making it difficult for the state to meet its earlier goal. She said a series of proposed federal regulations, including one that puts the new accountability system into effect for the next school year, were still being debated.

“There’s an open question on things until after the election, and they will remain open for a little while,” Elia told the Board of Regents on Monday. “It’s important for us to all be aware of that and know that those things are probably still in flux.”

The state Education Department on Monday also released a list of 36 “high concept” ideas that will guide officials as they develop the plan. The ideas touched on standards and assessments, what measurements would count against schools and what supports would be provided to schools identified as needing improvement.

Elia admitted some of those ideas conflicted with the currently-proposed federal rules. For example, state officials proposed creating a “rigorous action” required by districts in which more than 5 percent of students opt out of state tests. Under the federal proposal, the U.S. Department of Education would dictate what was expected of those schools, and low participation rates would impact a school’s overall performance score.

The state also proposed having English language learners take just one assessment a year that tests their language proficiency.

“Even where there may be conflict, it’s an opportunity for New York State to lead,” Regents Chancellor Betty Rosa said.

The list of ideas also includes counting districts’ five- and six-year graduation rates in their score, incentivizing districts to graduate students who can’t finish all their work in the traditional four years. Schools would also score points for improving test scores from one year to the next and for closing testing gaps between different groups of students.

But Elia said her top concern was giving districts time to adjust to new rules – state or federal.

“My major concern is that we don’t, in New York, put our districts in a position where they are asked after school begins to have rules come in November or December and then hold them to those rules,” Elia said.

Reach Gazette reporter Zachary Matson at 395-3120, [email protected] or @zacharydmatson on Twitter.