PR BASICS - Framing Adequate Yearly Progress Reports for the Media

Communicating

ADEQUATE YEAR LY P R O G R E S S to the Media / Public

MEASURES INCLUDED IN AYP Annual measurable objectives Percent of students scoring proficient (goal varies by grade and subject) Participation rates Percent of students participating in assessments (goal = 95%) Additional academic indicators Attendance rate (goal = 90% or make improvement)

Graduation rate (goal = 90% or meet target)

AYP 2010

COMPONENTS OF AYP Reading Annual measurable objectives Participation rates

Mathematics Annual measurable objectives Participation rates

Additional Academic Indicators

A school that meets its goals for all three components is considered to have made AYP.

Attendance rate Graduation rate

AYP 2010

Communicating AYP to the Media / Public Even though the media has been reporting about AYP for almost a decade now, keep in mind a couple of very important things.  NCLB and AYP are relatively complicated subjects for

even the most seasoned education reporters.  The AYP landscape is changing as we get closer to the

2013-14.  CHANGE THE CONVERSATION. REAUTHORIZATION is OVER DUE: We’re ALL heading for the same BRICK WALL

Communicating AYP to the Media / Public As we rapidly approach 2013-14, without changes in the law, without a shift or pivot of focus, eventually all schools will NOT MAKE AYP.

If your school is listed as missing AYP, or as is often reported “FAILED” to make AYP, it obviously generates negative attention.

Communicating AYP to the Media / Public  Avoid making comparisons with other systems or

schools IF your school does make AYP.  DON’T BRAG if you made AYP. Things change quickly.  Avoid complaining about or dismissing NCLB in any

way that implies the school is making excuses for NOT making AYP. BUT… although schools should be positive, forthcoming, and factual about their AYP status, it is not COMPLAINING or MAKING EXCUSES to highlight the positive growth being made within a school, even if the school did not make AYP.

Communicating AYP to the Media / Public  One of the most important

responsibilities of a communicator is to take the STING out of the status of not making AYP.  First, we need to do all we can to

influence the education reporters in all mediums to STOP using the word FAIL in response to AYP reporting.

Communicating AYP to the Media / Public  Don’t let not making AYP distract reporters away from the main point – that schools in AL are consistently making huge strides in GROWTH in student achievement. GROWTH is what’s important not status.  Where there’s positive to tell, tell it.

Communicating AYP to the Media / Public  Because of the ALL OR NOTHING guidelines that NCLB

currently works under, it is a lot easier for reporters to throw the “baby out with the bathwater” and (unintentionally at times) miss out on all of the positive stories of academic achievement that lie beneath the surface.

 Expand on all your school’s or system’s achievement:

Programs that help to graduate students, etc…

Communicating AYP to the Media / Public  Take Control IF YOUR SCHOOL STAYS QUIET AND LET’S THE MEDIA TELL THE STORY you run the probable risk that a negative slant will get out front. DON’T WAIT UNTIL THE AYP ANNOUNCEMENT to start talking about the progress your school is making.

Begin framing the schools strengths and be forthcoming about the school’s weaknesses.

Explain what programs sustain the schools strength and what initiatives are being utilized to help the school’s weaknesses.

Communicating AYP to the Media / Public  KEEP YOUR STAFF ENCOURAGED. The impact of word-of-

mouth has as much if not more impact than the MEDIA.  Remind your TEACHERS and STAFF they are ambassadors for

your school. Through word of mouth in social settings, church, school and social events, etc., make sure they are aware of the progress your school is making, even if your school did not make AYP, celebrate the growth, particularly within the subgroups, and consistently address the areas where academic growth is slow or doesn’t exist.  Use your basic communication vehicles to push your message:

Newsletters, Memos and Notes, Lunch Menus, Parent-Teacher Conferences, Open Houses, Websites, Social media venues, Staff Meetings, etc. 

Communicating AYP to the Media / Public  Parents

Parents want to know what impact not making AYP will have on their children’s education.

Be prepared to share with parents the plans the school has implemented and are considering to improve student performance in assessed areas.

SHOW PARENTS THE GROWTH MODEL OF ACHIEVMENT, particularly if data show improvement, but not enough improvement to make AYP. We’ll discuss in further detail later.

Communicating AYP to the Media / Public  MEDIA

The best thing a Communications professional can do is make sure the reporter’s in their area have a clear understanding as to what the AYP data means and, what it does not mean, preferably ahead of time.

 If you are able to, have a AYP PRE-

BRIEFING

Communicating AYP to the Media / Public AYP PRE-BRIEFING:  A week or two before official announcement  Allows reporters to ask all of the questions concerning

AYP data ahead of time to help gain a clear understanding.  It also serves as a forum for all of the subject matter

experts on AYP at your school to meet face-to-face with reporters and answer questions that a reporter might not have time to ask on the hectic “day of” .

Communicating AYP to the Media / Public AYP PRE-BRIEFING:  The presentation of information at the AYP Pre-Brief can be similar to what it will be once the ‘actual’ information is released.  This helps the reporter gain a better understanding,

but it also serves as practice for the Communications staff make sure materials are thorough.

Communicating AYP to the Media / Public AYP PRE-BRIEFING:  Keep in mind there’s a lot of TURN OVER in the media business. New education reporters can be an ASSET.  New reporters are more likely to write what you give

them if they do not have a firm grasp of the subject matter.  What’s OLD to you is NEW to a new reporter.

Communicating AYP to the Media / Public

We’re all heading toward an inevitable brick wall of negative media attention unless we collectively

CHANGE THE CONVERSATION from STATUS to GROWTH and PROGRESS

Communicating AYP to the Media / Public  In April, the State Department of Education hosted a

Congressional Roundtable with Alabama’s congressional delegation to push for the REAUTHORIZATION of NCLB.  Part of that REAUTHORIZATION is the idea to begin

looking at academic progress through a GROWTH MODEL instead of the existing, PASS OR NO PASS AYP MODEL.  That has not happened, but individual school CAN

prepare a growth model for a more accurate explanation of where their school is heading.

Communicating AYP to the Media / Public

 Schools can go ahead and look 3 years back and have a

growth model set, based on the same group of students, and drop in the new numbers once they have them. Growth of the same groups of students, not growth of the same grade over again. This will NOT always yield positive results, but it does identify more accurate trends/

(example: 2007 3rd graders, 2008 4th graders, 2009 5th graders, etc.)

Communicating AYP to the Media / Public  Another example of how reporting surface

Accountability data does a disservice to subgroups of students is SPECIAL EDUCATION.  Many of you are aware that the primary reason

most schools DID NOT make AYP last year was because of the assessment of the school’s SPECIAL EDUCATION population.

STATE AYP STATUS REPORT READING Participation Goal = 95%

Met Participation Goal

Met Proficiency Goal

SCHOOL YEAR

20072008

20082009

20092010

20072008

20082009

20092010

20072008

20082009

20092010

All Students

99

99

99

YES

YES

YES

YES

YES

YES

Special Education

99

99

99

YES

YES

YES

YES

YES

NO

Amer. Indian/Alaskan Native

99

100

99

YES

YES

YES

YES

YES

YES

Asian/Pacific Islander

99

100

99

YES

YES

YES

YES

YES

YES

Black

99

99

99

YES

YES

YES

YES

YES

YES

Hispanic

99

99

99

YES

YES

YES

YES

YES

YES

White

99

100

99

YES

YES

YES

YES

YES

YES

Limited-English Proficient

99

99

100

YES

YES

YES

YES

YES

YES

Free/Reduced Meals

99

99

99

YES

YES

YES

YES

YES

YES

AYP 2010

STATE AYP STATUS REPORT MATHEMATICS Participation Goal = 95%

Met Participation Goal

Met Proficiency Goal

SCHOOL YEAR

20072008

20082009

20092010

20072008

20082009

20092010

20072008

20082009

20092010

All Students

99

99

99

YES

YES

YES

YES

YES

YES

Special Education

99

99

99

YES

YES

YES

YES

YES

NO

Amer. Indian/Alaskan Native

99

100

99

YES

YES

YES

YES

YES

YES

Asian/Pacific Islander

99

100

100

YES

YES

YES

YES

YES

YES

Black

99

99

99

YES

YES

YES

YES

YES

YES

Hispanic

99

99

100

YES

YES

YES

YES

YES

YES

White

99

100

99

YES

YES

YES

YES

YES

YES

Limited-English Proficient

99

99

100

YES

YES

YES

YES

YES

YES

Free/Reduced Meals

99

99

99

YES

YES

YES

YES

YES

YES

AYP 2010

Communicating AYP to the Media / Public This group made significant improvements, outpaced their counterparts, and was STILL the reason why the school didn’t make AYP. That alone is evidence of how broken the AYP system is.

Although it is broken, we can’t fix it. But we can present student assessment data, as in the previous slides, to show audiences the progress that occurs under the headlines of MADE or DID NOT MAKE AYP.

NAEP Scores for Special Education READING 4th Grade - 2003 4th Grade - 2009 8th Grade – 2007 8th Grade - 2009

Alabama Sp Ed

}

158 +14 172 203 +5 208

}

MATHEMATICS

Alabama Sp Ed

4th Grade - 2003 4th Grade - 2009 8th Grade - 2007 8th Grade - 2009

192 194 213 221

}+2 }

+8

Nation Sp Ed

Alabama Gen Ed

}

184 +5 189 226 +3 229

}

Nation Sp Ed

214 220 242 249

212 221 257 259

}+9

220 +3

}+2

265 +1

Alabama Gen Ed

}+6 }

+7

227 231 268 273

Nation Gen Ed

}+4

}

+5

} 223

266

}

Nation Gen Ed

}

236 +6 242

}

280 +5 285

AYP 2010

Communicating AYP to the Media / Public  Another way individual school can frame their

progress despite AYP results is to look at chronological assessment data and compare APPLES to APPLES.  Currently, we compare 3rd graders in 2007, 08,09, 10, 11

– those are 5 different groups of kids. If we look at 3rd graders last year, we SHOULD look at 4th graders this year. Why compare different sets of kids. It makes no sense. A DIAGONAL line (in successive grade levels) gives a more accurate picture of how students are performing as the progress.