The New Jersey Department of Education recently provided updates related to the identification of schools in need of comprehensive and targeted supports and the process for determining whether schools are eligible to exit status according to the Every Student Succeeds Act.
In fall 2022, the NJDOE began implementing changes that were approved through the COVID-19 State Plan Addendum and required as a result of the United States Department of Education’s fiscal year 2019 federal performance review. These changes were outlined in an Oct. 5, 2022 broadcast. The NJDOE will continue with the changes moving forward, unless otherwise noted in its broadcast.
School Identification and Exit
As a result of disruptions related to COVID and through the USDOE’s State Plan Addendum process, the NJDOE was approved through the COVID-19 State Plan Addendum to identify schools for support and improvement in both fall 2022 and fall 2023. Therefore, in fall 2023, the NJDOE will be identifying schools across the following five categories, using data from the 2022-2023 school year:
- Comprehensive Support and Improvement:
- Overall Low Performing
- Title I schools with a summative score in the bottom 5% percent of Title I schools.
- Low Graduation Rate
- High schools with a federal four-year graduation rate of 67% or less.
- Chronically Low Performing
- Title I schools identified for additional targeted support and improvement for three or more consecutive years.
- This is the first year that the NJDOE will be identifying schools in this category.
- Additional Targeted Support and Improvement: Low Performing Student Group
- Schools with at least one student group with a summative score that would be in the bottom 5% percent of Title I schools.
- Targeted Support and Improvement: Consistently Underperforming Student Group
- Schools with at least one student group that missed annual targets and performed below the state average for all available indicators for two years in a row.
- Overall Low Performing
Schools identified for CSI or ATSI status in fall 2023 will remain in status for three years and will be eligible to exit status in June 2027. Schools identified for TSI status in fall 2023 will remain in status for one year and will be eligible to exit status in June 2025.
Additionally, the NJDOE will be reviewing the data for all schools that are currently identified for CSI, ATSI, and TSI status for the 2023-2024 school year to determine if they are eligible to exit status in June 2024 based on whether exit criteria are met. Details about exit criteria can be found on the NJDOE Accountability webpage.
The advisory also includes information on academic progress, including how the NJDOE uses median student growth percentiles to measure academic progress for non-high schools in the school accountability system. While such data was interrupted because of the cancellation of the New Jersey Student Learning Assessment in 2019-2020 and in 2020-2021, median student growth percentiles will once again be reported for the 2022-2023 school year and be used to measure academic progress.
The advisory also includes a variety of information on graduate rates as part of the ESSA accountability system, reporting requirements and more.
Timeline for 2023 Accountability System
The NJDOE expects to share the 2023 ESSA Accountability Profiles with districts in November 2023. The ESSA Accountability Profiles allow districts to review their data for all indicators at the district, school, and student group level for the 2022-2023 accountability process. The profiles also show a school’s status in meeting annual targets or standards for each indicator.
In addition to the ESSA Accountability Profiles, the NJDOE will share student-level data for districts to review through NJDOE Homeroom. Districts will be notified through a broadcast when the accountability profiles and Homeroom data is available for review.
The NJDOE will finalize identification and exit decisions by December 2023 and notify districts by Jan. 31, 2024, if they have been identified for the 2024-2025 school year or will be exiting in June 2024. The NJDOE will provide mandatory technical assistance training to staff from identified schools and districts. The NJDOE will not release identification and exit decisions publicly until the School Performance Reports are released in spring 2024.
Contact the Office of Performance Management with any questions about the accountability system via email.