ARLINGTON HEIGHTS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, #240
NCLB SCHOOL PUBLIC ACCOUNTABILITY REPORT: 2009-2010

The School Public Accountability Report contains several types of data (indicators) designed to inform parents and the general public about the progress of Florida's public schools. This report meets the public reporting requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act and includes certain additional information of interest on the status of Florida's schools.

STUDENT DEMOGRAPHICS

October membership

READINESS TO START SCHOOL

Florida requires that communities and schools collaborate to prepare children and families for children's success in school.

Kindergarten students were screened during the first 30 calendar days of the beginning of school using the Florida Kindergarten Readiness Screener (FLKRS). The FLKRS is made up of a subset of the Early Childhood Observation System (ECHOS): an observational instrument that is used to monitor the skills, knowledge, and behaviors a student demonstrates or needs to develop; and two probes of the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS), Letter Naming Fluency (LNF) and Initial Sound Fluency (ISF).

STUDENT PERFORMANCE

Florida's students are expected to compete at the highest levels nationally and internationally and become prepared to make well-reasoned, thoughtful, and healthy lifelong decisions.

Standardized Tests

Although test scores should not be used to draw absolute conclusions about student learning and performance, they provide measured results of student progress toward educational goals. The tests administered to Florida students are described below.

Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT)

The FCAT measures student performance in writing, science, reading, and mathematics.

Alternate Assessments for Students with Disabilities

An alternate assessment for students with disabilities is a performance-based assessment designed to evaluate the progress of students with disabilities on the Sunshine State Standards for Special Diploma measures. Alternate assessments are used with students whose demonstrated cognitive functioning ability prevents them from achieving the Sunshine State Standards and who require extensive direct instruction in the areas of domestic, community living, leisure, and vocational activities. Alternate assessments for students with disabilities are given for writing/communication, reading, and math.

Alternate Assessments for Students who are English Language Learners

Students who are English Language Learners (ELL) and who have been in an English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) program for less than one year may be individually exempted from the FCAT. In these limited circumstances, locally developed alternate assessments are used to evaluate the academic performance of the student. Alternate assessments for ELL students are given for writing, reading, and math.

FCAT Sunshine State Standards Tests

The FCAT Sunshine State Standards (SSS) tests measure student performance on selected benchmarks defined by the Sunshine State Standards. Students who take an alternate assessment have their results reported in categorical classifications that include the designation of ''Proficient'' so that their performance is counted with those of other students.

Note: Assessment results on the following tables reflect FCAT Sunshine State Standards data combined with alternate assessment data. Results show proficiency attainment for students who were in attendance during both semesters of the school year.

Writing Assessment

For this assessment, students are given 45 minutes to read their assigned topic, plan what to write, and then write their responses. Scores range from 1.0 (lowest) to 6.0 (highest). Alternate assessments have been merged with the FCAT scores for reporting purposes.

* Indicates subgroups not included as separate sub-populations in the Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) calculation.
Note: A blank indicates that no test results were reported.

Reading and Mathematics Assessment

On the FCAT SSS reading and mathematics tests, students can attain one of five possible achievement levels, ranging from Level 1 (lowest) to Level 5 (highest).

* Indicates subgroups not included as separate sub-populations in the Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) calculation.
Note: A blank indicates that no test results were reported.

* Indicates subgroups not included as separate sub-populations in the Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) calculation.
Note: A blank indicates that no test results were reported.

Assessment Results by Grade: Percent Scoring at Level 3 or Above

(FCAT Sunshine State Standards and Alternate Assessments)

For information reporting the percentage of students scoring at each FCAT achievement level, please see 240LVL-Y0910.pdf.

Recently Arrived English Language Learners

Florida students in ESOL programs who have been in the U.S. less than one year are required to be tested on the Comprehensive English Language Learning Assessment (CELLA) as well as the FCAT in mathematics but may be exempt for up to one administration of the FCAT in reading. The following chart shows the number of recently arrived ELL students who were not tested on the FCAT in reading but were included in the AYP reading participation rate based on available CELLA scores. As a federally approved flexibility, test scores for recently arrived ELLs are not included in the reading and math proficiency calculations for AYP.

Recently Arrived English Language Learners
ELL	School	District	State
Reading		17	1398

NATIONAL ASSESSMENT OF EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS (NAEP)

For more than 30 years, The Nation's Report Card (NAEP) has served U.S. educators as an information resource, providing reliable assessment results of what our students know and can do in key subject areas. It is the only ongoing project that monitors national trends in student achievement at grades 4, 8, and 12 and state trends at grades 4 and 8. Main NAEP, conducted at the state- and national-level, occurs every two years in reading and mathematics and every four years in writing and science. A representative sample of the student population participates, and each student takes only a portion of the assessment. Results are then assembled to form projected state and national scores, based on aggregated student results. NAEP does not provide school- or student-level results. Below are Florida's NAEP 2009 results for reading and mathematics for grades 4 and 8.

1. Scale Scores

A scale score is derived from averaging of scores of student responses to NAEP assessment items on a 0-500 point scale. Scale scores summarize the overall level of performance attained by a group of students. (NAEP does not produce scale scores for individual students.) When used in conjunction with interpretive aids, such as item maps, scale scores provide information about what a particular aggregate of students in the population knows and can do.

2. Achievement Level

Achievement levels are performance standards set by the National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB), based on recommendations from panels of educators and members of the public. The standards are based on scale scores and define the degree to which student performance meets expectations of what students should know and be able to do. They provide a context for interpreting student performance on NAEP and offer a means of identifying percentages of students who have demonstrated certain proficiencies. The achievement levels set by NAGB are basic, proficient, and advanced. Below Basic is also reported but not considered to be an achievement level.

Advanced	Superior performance
Proficient	Solid academic performance for each grade assessed. Students reaching this level have demonstrated competence over challenging subject matter, including subject-matter knowledge, application of such knowledge to real-world situations, and analytical skills appropriate to the subject matter.
Basic	Partial mastery of prerequisite knowledge and skills that are fundamental for proficient work at each grade.
Below Basic	is for those students whose scores fall below the cut score for Basic.

The following chart compares the achievement levels between NAEP and the FCAT:

FCAT - Achievement Levels	1	2-3	4	5
NAEP - Achievement Standards	Below Basic	Basic	Proficient	Advanced

NAEP Participation Rates for Required Subgroups.

NAEP	Math Grade 4		Math Grade 8		Reading Grade 4		Reading Grade 8
	Florida	US	Florida	US	Florida	US	Florida	US
SWD	90	84	87	78	83	71	82	72
ELL	95	94	91	92	71	84	58	83

Additional information is provided at the NAEP website at http://www.nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/ or at FLDOE -http://ww.fldoe.org/asp/naep/.

NAEP MATH - STATE LEVEL RESULTS

	% of Students		Avg Scale Scores		% below Basic		% Basic		% Proficient		% Advanced		% Basic and above
GRADE 4	Florida	Nation	Florida	Nation	Florida	Nation	Florida	Nation	Florida	Nation	Florida	Nation	Florida	Nation
ALL STUDENTS	N/A	N/A	242	239	14	19	46	43	35	32	5	6	86	81
WHITE	46	54	250	248	7	10	40	40	44	42	9	8	93	90
BLACK	22	16	228	222	27	37	53	48	19	14	1	1	73	63
HISPANIC	25	22	238	227	16	30	51	49	31	20	2	1	84	70
DISADVANTAGED	55	48	235	228	20	29	51	49	27	21	2	1	80	71
DISABLED	15	12	230	220	28	41	46	40	24	17	2	2	72	59
ELL	8	10	226	218	31	43	50	45	18	11	1	1	69	57

	% of Students		Avg Scale Scores		% below Basic		% Basic		% Proficient		% Advanced		% Basic and above
GRADE 8	Florida	Nation	Florida	Nation	Florida	Nation	Florida	Nation	Florida	Nation	Florida	Nation	Florida	Nation
ALL STUDENTS	N/A	N/A	279	282	30	29	41	38	23	26	6	7	70	71
WHITE	46	56	289	292	20	18	41	39	30	33	9	10	80	82
BLACK	22	16	264	260	47	51	40	37	12	11	1	1	53	49
HISPANIC	26	21	274	266	34	44	44	39	19	15	3	2	66	56
DISADVANTAGED	48	43	269	266	41	43	41	40	16	15	2	2	59	57
DISABLED	13	10	252	249	61	64	31	27	7	8	1	1	39	36
ELL	5	6	241	243	70	72	26	23	3	4	1	1	30	28

NAEP Reading - STATE LEVEL RESULTS

	% of Students		Avg Scale Scores		% below Basic		% Basic		% Proficient		% Advanced		% Basic and above
GRADE 4	Florida	Nation	Florida	Nation	Florida	Nation	Florida	Nation	Florida	Nation	Florida	Nation	Florida	Nation
ALL STUDENTS	N/A	N/A	226	220	27	34	37	34	28	25	8	7	73	66
WHITE	47	54	233	229	19	23	36	36	34	31	11	10	81	77
BLACK	22	16	211	204	44	53	38	32	16	13	2	2	56	47
HISPANIC	24	21	223	204	29	52	40	32	25	14	6	2	71	48
DISADVANTAGED	54	47	217	206	36	49	39	34	22	15	3	2	64	51
DISABLED	15	10	204	189	55	66	28	22	13	10	4	2	45	34
ELL	6	9	205	188	48	71	39	23	12	6	1		52	29

 

	% of Students		Avg Scale Scores		% below Basic		% Basic		% Proficient		% Advanced		% Basic and above
GRADE 4	Florida	Nation	Florida	Nation	Florida	Nation	Florida	Nation	Florida	Nation	Florida	Nation	Florida	Nation
ALL STUDENTS	N/A	N/A	264	262	24	26	44	44	30	28	2	2	76	74
WHITE	46	57	272	271	18	17	42	44	36	36	4	3	82	83
BLACK	22	16	250	245	38	44	47	43	15	13			62	56
HISPANIC	25	20	260	248	27	41	46	43	26	15	1	1	73	59
DISADVANTAGED	47	43	255	249	33	40	46	44	20	15	1	1	67	60
DISABLED	13	10	239	229	55	63	34	29	10	8	1		45	37
ELL	3	5	233	219	59	75	34	22	7	3			41	25

SCHOOL SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENT

Schools and communities must provide an environment that is drug free and protects the health, safety, and civil rights of everyone in the school.

School environmental safety: reported incidents*

The most recent full-year school-level data on reported incidents is available at the Florida School Indicators Report website at http://data.fldoe.org/fsir. (See Incidents of Crime and Violence)

District-level reports are available at http://www.fldoe.org/safeschools/sesir.asp

Note: The No Child Left Behind Act provides for an Unsafe School Choice Option, which ensures that students who attend a school that has been identified as persistently dangerous are allowed the option of attending another school within the same district.

Note: For the 2008-09 school year, no Florida public school was identified as persistently dangerous.*

* pending review of complete full year data.

TEACHERS AND STAFF

Schools, districts, and the state ensure that teachers and staff are professionally qualified. School boards must provide a learning environment conducive to teaching and learning.

New Staff

Staff Type	Total Number for 2009-10	Number Newly Hired for 2009-10	School %	District %	State %
Instructional Staff	41	5	12.2	16.3	14.6
School-Based Administrators	1	1	100.0	36.1	20.6
Total	42	6	14.3	17.2	14.8

The Professional Qualifications of Teachers

Degree Level

This table shows the number and percentage of teachers at each degree level.

Degree Level	Number	School %		District %		State %
		2009-10	2008-09	2009-10	2008-09	2009-10	2008-09
Bachelor's Degree	32	82.1	89.7	71.9	71.5	65.3	65.3
Master's Degree	5	12.8	7.7	26.4	26.7	32.1	31.9
Specialist's Degree	2	5.1	2.6	0.7	0.6	1.6	1.7
Doctorate	0	0.0	0.0	1.1	1.1	1.0	1.0
Total	39	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0

Percentage of Teachers Teaching with Emergency or Provisional Credentials

All Florida teachers are certified, although some teachers may be temporarily assigned to areas outside their field of specialization. Data on classes taught by teachers out of field is provided in the following table.

In-Field and Out-of-Field Teachers

The following chart shows the percentage of core academic classes taught by teachers teaching in-field compared to the percentage of classes taught by teachers teaching out-of-field. When a teacher in a district school system is assigned teaching duties in a class dealing with subject matter that is outside the field in which the teacher is certified, outside the field that was the applicant's minor field of study, or out of the field in which the applicant demonstrated sufficient subject area expertise, as determined by district school board policy in the subject area to be taught, that teacher is teaching out-of-field. Core academic subjects are English, reading, language arts, mathematics, science, foreign languages, civics, government, economics, arts, history, and geography.

	School %	District %	State %
Percentage of Classes with Teachers Teaching In-Field	98.2	86.2	95.2
Percentage of Classes with Teachers Teaching Out-of-Field	1.8	13.8	4.8

 

Classes Not Taught by Highly Qualified Teachers

The chart below shows the percentage of classes not taught by ''Highly Qualified Teachers'' in core academic subjects as defined in federal statute. A ''highly qualified teacher'' has earned at least a bachelor's degree and holds a Florida teaching certificate with appropriate certification for each core academic area of assignment. Core academic subjects are English, reading, language arts, mathematics, science, foreign languages, civics, government, economics, arts, history, and geography.

Classes Not Taught by Highly Qualified Teachers	School %	District %			State %
		All Schools	High Poverty Schools*	Low Poverty Schools*	All Schools	High Poverty Schools*	Low Poverty Schools*
October	12.3	13.4	12.4	11	5.1	5.2	5
February	12.6	11.9	12.8	7.8	4.6	4.6	4.3
Combined All Year	12.4	12.7	12.6	9.4	4.8	4.9	4.7

* High poverty schools are schools ranking in the top 25% of schools based on the percentage of students eligible for free/reduced-price lunch. Low poverty schools rank in the bottom quartile of schools based on free/reduced-price lunch eligibility. That is, low poverty schools have the lowest enrollment in free/reduced-price lunch as a percentage of total membership.
Revised: 9/25/07

Florida School Performance Grade and Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP)

School Performance Grade

Public schools in Florida are graded annually based on student performance on the FCAT and the percentage of students making learning gains. Schools are assigned a letter grade (A through F) corresponding with their rated performance, with grade "A" representing the highest performance rating and grade "F" representing a failed rating. A rating of "I" indicates that grading is incomplete. A grade of "N" indicates that the school is not graded. While the vast majority of Florida's schools receive a performance grade, certain types of schools are exempt from grading, including exceptional student education (ESE) centers and Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) facilities. High schools and combination schools that serve high school grade levels will receive a grade based 50% on new measures. Those grades will not be available until November 2010. Therefore, for those schools, a "P" appears under their school grade.

2009-10 School Performance Grade*: C
* Certain school grades may be subject to modification pending appeal.

For more information on school grades and grading procedures, contact your principal's office or your local school board, or visit the web page at http://schoolgrades.fldoe.org.

NCLB Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) Report

Federal NCLB legislation requires schools to report Adequate Yearly Progress based on annual objectives for students in reading, mathematics, and writing, as well as the high school graduation rate. A separate report that presents and explains AYP results for your school, your school district, and the state is distributed in conjunction with this document and is also available from the office of your school's principal and/or your local school board. The AYP report also includes information on schools identified for school improvement. Detailed information on school, district, and state AYP is available at http://schoolgrades.fldoe.org/default.asp.

REPORTING REQUIREMENTS OF FEDERAL NCLB LEGISLATION

A. Notice of School Improvement Status and Options

School districts are responsible for identifying Title I schools as schools in need of improvement when they fail to make AYP in consecutive years. School districts must notify parents when their child's school has been identified for school improvement, for corrective action, or for restructuring. The school district must also include an explanation of the parents' option to transfer their child to another public school, with transportation provided when required, or to obtain supplemental educational services. Sec.1116(b)(6). School improvement status is indicated by the school performance grade included herein and AYP status.

B. State's Obligation To Assist Schools and Districts in Reporting

The Department of Education shall ensure that each school district collects appropriate data and includes in each school's annual report the information included in the state annual report card as well as the number of schools identified for school improvement and how long the schools have been so identified. Sec. 1111(h)(2)(B).

C. Notice of Local Education Agency(LEA) Improvement Status

Parents of students attending a school in a district identified for improvement are entitled to know why the school district was identified for improvement. The state is responsible for providing an explanation to parents in an easily understood format. The explanation must include information on how parents can assist in the improvement efforts. Sec. 1116(c)(6)

Additional required information is included in 240AYP-Y0910.pdf.

Additional statistics and information of interest may be found in the Florida School Indicators Report on the department's website at www.fldoe.org or at http://data.fldoe.org/fsir.

Notice of Availability of School Financial Report

For information on revenues and expenditures for your school and district, contact your local school board or your school's administrative office. An online listing of district offices is available at http://www.fldoe.org/schools/schoolmap/flash/district_list.asp. A directory of schools is also available at http://www.fldoe.org/schools/schoolmap/flash/schoolmap_text.asp.

 

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