American Reading Company’s Action 100 helps Pinewood Elementary achieve top rating.

In February, Minnesota’s No Child Left Behind (NCLB) waiver request was approved by the U.S. Department of Education. As a result of this waiver approval, Minnesota is now transitioning to a new system of school recognition, accountability, and support. The heart of this new system is a new way of measuring schools called the Multiple Measurements Rating (MMR), and a new set of school accountability designations. One condition of Minnesota’s approved waiver is to calculate the MMR for all schools in the state before the end of this school year using previous year’s data, and to designate Reward, Focus, and Priority schools based on the MMR calculation. MDE has been working with data from 2010 and 2011 to satisfy this requirement and is releasing this data today.

This data includes the MMR for every school, and the new school accountability designations of Reward, Focus, and Priority schools. The ratings and designations are based on assessment data from 2010 and 2011.

In Rochester Public Schools, the results are mixed with Pinewood Elementary School designated as a Reward school. As a Reward school, Pinewood is in the top 15% of schools statewide in terms of MMR. Jefferson Elementary is designated as a Focus school. Jefferson was identified as a Focus school, meaning that they are in the top 10% of Title I schools who are not also Priority schools making the biggest contribution to the state’s achievement gap. A Focus Rating is generated by combining the proficiency and growth of the seven subgroups for which there is an achievement gap (Black, Hispanic, Asian, American Indian, Free/Reduced Price Lunch, Special Education, and English Learners). This means that Jefferson is required to write a school improvement plan to address the gap(s) at the school.

Superintendent Muñoz says “we are excited to have Pinewood identified as a Reward school. We will be looking at Pinewood’s best practices to determine ways to replicate them in other schools across the district. As far as Jefferson, we know they are doing some great things and we see their identification as a Focus school as an opportunity for growth and a chance to take an in-depth look at this school and make necessary changes to address the needs of their students.”

In August 2012, MMR results for the current school year, 2011-2012, will be released by MDE. These results will include two additional ratings, Celebration schools and Continuous Improvement schools.

Additional information about the NCLB Waiver and the new MMR accountability system may be found on the NCLB Waiver Workgroup page on the Minnesota Department of Education website.

Definitions of Key Terms:

Multiple Measurement Rating – Minnesota’s new measurement of school performance. The MMR measures proficiency, student growth, achievement gap reduction, and graduation rates. Schools earn points in each category. The percentage of possible points that a school earns is the school’s MMR.

Focus Rating – Minnesota’s new measurement for identifying Focus schools. The Focus Rating is generated by combining the proficiency and growth of the seven subgroups for which there is an achievement gap (Black, Hispanic, Asian, American Indian, Free/Reduced Price Lunch, Special Education, and English Learners).

Priority Schools – The 5 percent most-persistently low-performing schools in the state. These schools will be identified in one of two ways: 1) status as a SIG (School Improvement Grant) School, or 2) the lowest MMR in their grade classification group (elementary, middle school, high school, or other). These schools will be required to collaborate with MDE and the statewide support system to develop a school turnaround plan based on the federal turnaround principles. These schools will be identified once every three years.

Focus Schools – The 10 percent of Title I schools, who are not also Priority schools, making the biggest contribution to the state’s achievement gap and high schools with graduation rates of less than 60 percent. These schools will be identified in one of two ways: 1) the lowest Focus Ratings in their grade classification group (elementary, middle school, high school, or other), or 2) graduation rates of less than 60 percent. These schools will work with their district to develop a school improvement plan that directly addresses poor performance either within a subgroup or in graduation rates. These schools will be identified once every three years.

Reward Schools – The highest-performing 15 percent of Title I schools in the state. These schools will be identified based on being in the top 15 percent of their grade classification group (elementary, middle school, high school, or other) in the MMR. These schools will be publicly recognized for their good work and will be identified every year.

For additional information please visit the Rochester Public Schools website.