Criteria developed for Distinguished Schools
The CSAP and Distinguished Schools Work Group has developed a draft set of criteria for the Distinguished Schools bonus. The four criteria which will be presented to the Transition Team are:1) a School Accountability Rating (SAR), based on CSAP test scores, 2) a SAR improvement score, 3) A Beat the Odds Index that looks at the number of schools with students receiving free and reduced lunch who have a SAR rating of average or higher and 4) A Parent Satisfaction Survey with a return rate of at least 30%.
The work group is also addressing variables to ensure a fair and workable method for determining which teachers will receive the 3% index sustained bonus for Exceeding Expectations for growth on CSAP. First, the criteria will include a minimum class size to ensure that the mathematical analysis is reliable. Also, the group is working on correctly linking students to individual teachers, which is difficult at the secondary level.
The index will be based on past student CSAP scores as a predictor of future “expected gain” and will include the number of special education students in the class who require an Individualized Education Plan (IEP). A relatively small number of teachers are expected to qualify for this “beat the odds” bonus on CSAP growth.