The Bigger Picture of New Hope Academy Charter School Data Review April 2013
AYP Data in Review: Overview of the 2012 school year and a comparison.
Table of Contents
Understanding Adequate Yearly Progress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 02 Facts: Success by the Numbers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 03 Imagine Having to Retrain Your Team Every Year . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 05 Comparing Apples to Apples. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 07 Measuring What Matters in Urban Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Attendance Rates. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Graduation Rates. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Post-Secondary Placement Rates. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Ensuring Our Children’s Safety. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 In Conclusion: Measuring Up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Solutions: Measuring and Growing Urban Schools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
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Understand Adequate Yearly Progress
It is essential to understand that Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) was designed as a single measure, a “snapshot,” of a school’s performance to monitor schools making progress within the specific, limited scope of what AYP measures. Used since 2001, as part of the No Child Left Behind Act, AYP measures students’ performance according to annual targets set forth by the district and state. Because AYP only measures reading and math, the testing tool does not present a complete assessment of a school’s progress and is limited by measuring only the academic performance of students in any given school within a single week or less of testing in grades 3–8 and 11. The test is often used to represent a full year of progress, when in fact it is presenting a limited snapshot of performance. The only annual, full-picture measures of a school included in AYP calculations are in the categories of attendance and graduation rates, which are often not publicized and not considered to be part of the universal markers for progress. There has been extensive research on schools stating that in order to adequately measure a school for true sustainable progress, a more complete assessment must be compiled—a full picture taking into account influential factors that are indicators of learning, achievement, and effectiveness in closing the achievement gaps. 1 These include factors such as:
Higher Education: Students moving on to college
Graduation Rates: Students moving on to post-secondary education/college data
Pupil Achievement: Achievement data
Attendance Rates: Enrollment data
School Environment: School culture and building data
Although AYP has become the benchmark for how our educational system measures success, it is important to understand what the test is measuring and if an adequate and fair assessment is being used to measure real progress. It is important to take this into consideration as we establish new methodologies and approaches to support sustainable achievement for today’s students, especially in urban environments. New Hope Academy Charter School, located in York City, Pennsylvania, is a prime example of how AYP academic evaluations fail to represent a student’s true progress in the immediate or gauge long-term indicators for achievement. New Hope Academy Charter School is making enormous strides in performance, including attendance, safety, parent satisfaction and college acceptance rates, but when evaluated by limited information measured in AYP, a very different assessment can be made on paper. Students are succeeding at the school; therefore, it is important to evaluate New Hope Academy Charter School’s performance and success in its entirety.
1 http://www.pyninc.org/projectuturn/research.php CHARTER SCHOOL DATA REVIEW
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Facts: Success by the Numbers
FACT: The ultimate measure of academic success is college and post-secondary school acceptance. The goal of all schools is to ensure that students are prepared for college and post-secondary training, leading to a life of self-sufficiency and productivity. New Hope Academy Charter School is EXCEEDING national averages in college acceptance. New Hope Academy is ABOVE the national average for students graduating high school and going to college, exceeding the national average by +16%, with 84% of New Hope Academy students going on to college annually.
84% of New Hope Academy students go on to college.
The national average for students graduating high school and going on to college is 68%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. 1
FACT: It takes, on average, three to five years to close an achievement gap for . students who are academically behind. 2 A student’s progress is incremental—which means that the longer a student remains in a consistent and supportive academic environment, the greater the achievements over time. The more time spent in a consistent and stable school environment, the more increased incremental advancements can be made.
70% of students show a year or more of academic growth.
5th grade students coming to New Hope Academy Charter . School from York City School District scored 39% in Math . and 32% in Reading in 2011.
Based on this fact, 60% or more of New Hope Academy Charter School students are entering the school below grade level.
New Hope Academy data shows that we ARE closing the achievement gap with students who are with our school more than one academic year, according to Pennsylvania Value-Added Assessments that measure growth.
70% of PSSA-tested grade levels show a year or more of academic growth. 3
1 http://www.bls.gov/news.release/hsgec.nr0.htm 2 Dobbie, W., & Fryer, R. National Bureau of Economic Research (2009). Are high quality schools enough to close the achievement gap? Evidence from a
social experiment in Harlem (Working Paper 15473). Retrieved from NBER Working Paper Series
3 Kerbow, D. (1996). Patterns of urban student mobility and local school reform. Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk, 1(2), 147–169. 03
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FACT: Students need to attend school in order to learn. “Being absent from school has been found to be detrimental to learning and academic achievement and sociological risk factors in later years.” 1
Graduation Rate
Attendance Rate
New Hope Academy Charter School graduation rates are 91%, surpassing the local high school graduation rate of 77%.
New Hope Academy Charter School daily attendance rate . is 93%, by far outperforming the local middle school daily . attendance rates of 32% and 72%.
High school dropouts had only a 52% employment rate in 1999, compared to 71% for high school graduates and 83% for college graduates. High school dropouts earned only 65% of the median earnings. 2
FACT: Students need to feel safe at school in order to learn. “Feelings of safety contribute to racial and ethnic gaps in educational performance . . . the achievement gap between black students and white students widens by about 0.10 standard deviations a year.” 3
99.9%
LOWER rate of incidents than other local schools.
New Hope Academy Charter School had 99% fewer incidents reported on its Safe Schools Report than local . schools with the same grade levels.
New Hope Academy Charter School had 9 reported incidents.
The local high school had 79 incidents reported on its Safe Schools Report.
The local middle schools had a total of 592 incidents reported on their Safe Schools Report.
1 Gottfried, M. (2009). Excused versus unexcused: How student absences in elementary school affect academic achievement. Educational Evaluation and
Policy Analysis, 31(4), 392–415.
2 http://www.schoolengagement.org/TruancypreventionRegistry/Admin/Resources/Resources/40.pdf 3 Fryer, R. G., & Levitt, S. D. (2004). Understanding the black-white test score gap in the first two years of school. Review of Economics and Statistics, 86(2), 447–464. CHARTER SCHOOL DATA REVIEW
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Understanding New Hope Academy Charter School Academic Scores:
Imagine Having to Retrain Your Team Every Year Every coach knows that consistency and stability provide a winning foundation. The same goes for academic success.
Imagine your favorite basketball team having to start each year with new players who arrive struggling and behind in their fundamental skills. These players may have had losing records with their previous coach or little to no playing time. At the start of the year, the coach works diligently with the team to build the fundamentals of the game. Some progress is made, but the team is still not where it needs to be at the end of the season. They need more time. Preparing for the next season, the coach is excited to get to work again and invest time with the team, only to discover that 70% of them had to move on to another place and can no longer play. The coach, determined to build a winning team, takes on more players who are just as challenged as the previous year’s players. Again working diligently, the team is taught the fundamentals. And although 30% of the players are advancing their skills because they were with the coach the previous year, the other 70% are behind. Another season is played, but no winning season is achieved. Each year, the coach is faced with the same problem: 70% leave, 30% stay. Constantly having to restart, the coach is forced to deal with never-ending change, yet his success and commitment are measured in the same manner as other teams not faced with the same issues.
Back to School According to York City proficiency rates from 2012, at a minimum, 57% of students coming to New Hope Academy Charter School are behind academically. By design, New Hope Academy has added two new grade levels of students to the school every year since opening its doors. Due to a “growing school” model, and the fact that PSSA tests are only given in grades 3–8 and 11, New Hope Academy Charter School has
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never tested a class of students where more than 50% of its population has been with the school for more than 14 academic months before PSSA test results were attributed to the school.
This means that our team is always restarting and rebuilding. Thankfully, through remediation programs that are specifically targeted for entering 5th and 6th grade students, New Hope Academy Charter School has begun to close that achievement gap, as evidenced by student achievement growth data. New Hope Academy continues to add remedial and after-school programs designed to fully close the gap.
Percentage of New Hope Academy Charter School Students Enrolled for Only 6 Months Prior to PSSA
2012
37%
(New 5th, 6th, attrition 7th, 8th and 11th)
2011
54%
(New 6th, 7th, attrition 8th, and 11th)
2010
54%
(New 7th, attrition 8th, and 11th)
2009
64%
(New 7th, attrition 8th)
2008
100%
N/A
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
FACT: The majority of New Hope Academy Charter School students who are with the school for more than six months are showing growth of more than one academic year, which is necessary to close the achievement gap. Achievement measures provide educators with a snapshot of students’ performance within a single week of time and tell us how well those students perform against a standard of achievement. Pennsylvania state growth measures provide a more complete and comprehensive picture of student growth from year to year, including how much growth, or gain, groups of students make over time. Unfortunately, this information is only available in grades 3–8 and 11. According to Pennsylvania Department of Education growth measures: Grade
6th
7th
8th
11th
Mathematics
Growth Standard Below One Year
Growth of More Than One Year
Growth of More Than One Year
Growth of More Than One Year
Reading
Growth of One Year or More
Growth of More Than One Year
Growth of More Than One Year
Growth of One Year or More
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Comparing Apples to Apples
AYP averages across districts present an unfair representation of student performance for comparison by compiling averages for schools with a complete academic grade range that includes all elementary, middle and high schools against individual schools with fewer academic grades. AYP data, as a district average, represent every PSSA-tested grade, which includes grades 3–8 and 11. The school district’s AYP scores include students who have been consistently enrolled in that school since kindergarten. What is most misunderstood when evaluating and comparing schools using AYP is that a school district, which represents many grade levels and more students, can make AYP even though individual schools within that district fail to meet AYP. In fact, comparing individual schools similar to New Hope Academy Charter School based on 2012 data, the individual schools that did not meet AYP include: Central High School
Susquehannock High School
Dallastown Middle School
Dover High School
(2) West Shore High Schools
Hanover Middle School
Eastern York High School
West York High School
Northern Middle School
Hanover High School
York Suburban High School
Red Lion Middle School
Northeastern High School
YCS William Penn High School
South Eastern Middle School
Northern High School
YCS E.F. Smith Middle School
South Western Middle School
Red Lion High School
YCS Hannah Penn Middle School
(3) West Shore Middle Schools
South Western High School
Helen Thackston Middle School
West York Middle School
As a district, with the culmination of Elementary School data, larger populations and retention of students over multiple years with effective intervention and remediation programs, many districts have been able to maintain proficiency despite many of their schools entering into improvement or corrective action. Although individual schools within districts failed to meet AYP, the following school districts as a whole achieved AYP: Central
South Eastern
South Western
Southern
School District
School District
School District
School District
Comparing New Hope Academy Charter School AYP scores to the averages of a compiled school district is not comparing apples to apples.
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Apples to Apples: Unique Student Populations Of all students taking the PSSA at New Hope Academy Charter School, 98% are socioeconomically disadvantaged compared to similar York City schools where disadvantaged students only equate to 50% or less. Based on New Hope Academy’s unique population of students, urban setting, and only serving grades 5–12 with no elementary program, it is statistically impossible to compare the school to any other district in the state. Even with a clear understanding of the differences, New Hope Academy Charter School continues to be measured by the majority of students new to the school, most of whom arrive behind more than one grade level according to Scholastic Diagnostic Reading and Math Assessments. Despite discrepancies in the school’s population and the fact that 57% of students have been with the school for fewer than 14 academic months prior to taking the PSSA, New Hope Academy continues to be compared to schools that are not well suited for a fair comparison.
Percentage of Students in Grades 5–8 At or Above Proficiency in Reading, 2012 1 E.F. Smith
Hannah Penn
Thackston
NHACS (6-8)
% At/Above Proficient
% At/Above Proficient
% At/Above Proficient
% At/Above Proficient
36.3%
34.8%
46.2%
39%
34.1%
30.5%
43.4%
42.6%
Latino/Hispanic
35%
33.2%
43.4%
33.6%
IEP - Special Education
6.1%
13.8%
18.2%
16.4%
English Language Learners
4.3%
8.8%
—
12%
Economically Disadvantaged
33%
34.7%
43.2%
38.3%
Reading Students Overall Black/African American
(Non-Hispanic)
1 Pennsylvania Department of Education’s Academic Achievement Report: 2011-2012. CHARTER SCHOOL DATA REVIEW
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Percentage of Students in Grades 5–8 At or Above Proficiency in Math, 2012 1 Smith
Hannah Penn
Thackston
NHACS (6-8)
% At/Above Proficient
% At/Above Proficient
% At/Above Proficient
% At/Above Proficient
46.8%
46.7%
53.5%
43%
45.5%
43.2%
54.6%
44.4%
Latino/Hispanic
42.4%
44.9%
50.7%
36.7%
IEP - Special Education
18.7%
22%
18.2%
18.2%
English Language Learners
14.9%
23.9%
—
14%
Economically Disadvantaged
44.2%
47.3%
51.1%
42.1%
Mathematics Students Overall Black/African American
(Non-Hispanic)
The 2012 data from the Pennsylvania Department of Education’s Academic Achievement Report: 2011-2012 show that New Hope Academy Charter School is exceeding or in close proximity to the reading and math test scores of other local schools. These scores reflect the strides that New Hope Academy is making even though it has a shorter amount of time to close the achievement gap, despite the additional grade levels. The leadership of New Hope Academy Charter School has continually used this data so that students are provided with the necessary academic supports to ensure preparation for life after high school.
The focus of the school is—and will continue to be—making sure that each child is “college ready.”
1 Pennsylvania Department of Education’s Academic Achievement Report: 2011-2012.
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College & Post-Secondary Education Rates:
Measuring What Matters in Urban Education
The ultimate goal for any school is to ensure that its children are prepared for college, post-secondary education, or the workforce. Almost every school includes as a part of its mission and vision that all students become productive citizens. Although the words that districts choose to convey this goal may be different, ensuring that children “thrive” as adults is commonplace. As a part of AYP, schools must measure two parts of being prepared for life after high school. The first is the ability to attend school, and the second is the ability to graduate. New Hope Academy Charter School knows—through consistent school research dating back to the 1966 Coleman report on factors impacting equitable access to education—that there are two additional factors that must be measured to ensure that children are truly ready for life beyond high school in urban settings. These factors include the assessment of the safety of our schools and college placement and completion. 1
Attendance Rates: Showing Up Is Half the Battle Attendance in urban education is one of the most basic measures of a school’s success. In its simplest terms, students need to show up in order to learn. It is the starting point for making sure that children do not fall behind academically and the endpoint to closing the achievement gap. Without consistent attendance, students will not be able to meet the challenges that they will face in life after graduation. Consistently, New Hope Academy Charter School has met and exceeded the state’s attendance requirements.
New Hope Academy Charter School
Hannah Penn Middle School
E.F. Smith Middle School
York City School District
Attendance % (2012)
93%
72%
32%
87%
Met AYP Attendance Requirements
Yes
No
No
No
2
Because high schools report graduation rates in lieu of attendance rates, the daily attendance rate for William Penn High School could not be accessed for this report.
1 Coleman, J. S., Campbell, E. Q., Hobson, C. J., McPartland, J., Mood, A. M., Weinfeld, F. D., & York, R. L. (1966). Equality of Educational Opportunity.
Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
2 Pennsylvania Department of Education’s Academic Achievement Report: 2011-2012. CHARTER SCHOOL DATA REVIEW
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Graduation Rates One of the most influential factors in becoming a successful adult is the ability to graduate high school. In today’s job market, it is almost impossible to find a job that will allow a person to live and thrive independently without a high school diploma. Graduation rates contribute to a student’s ability to be a productive member of the community after high school, as well as contributing to lower unemployment rates. Rates of unemployment among dropouts are 66% higher than those of high school graduates, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2012. 1 New Hope Academy Charter School has consistently exceeded the state’s requirement for graduation rates. In 2012, New Hope Academy achieved a 91% graduation rate, which surpassed the rates of many local high schools; in fact, most failed to meet the required 85% AYP graduation rate benchmark. 2 New Hope Academy
William Penn
Red Lion
Dover
West York
State
Graduation % (2012)
91%
74%
87%
91%
89%
83%
Met AYP for Graduation Rates
Yes
No
No
Yes
No
No
Post-Secondary Placement Rates There is little data available from York City with regard to the number of students who are transitioning into college from City schools. It has been reported that there are 738 college graduates living within the York City limits and 3,083 college students, a portion of which includes York College students. 3 According to the U.S. Department of Education, we also know the following:
4
From 1976 to 2010
Students Attending College
Hispanic/Latino
13%
African American
14%
White
83%
New Hope Academy Charter School has tracked its college-placed seniors and reports the following percentages with regard to post-secondary attendance:
1 2 3 4
11
Year
Students Attending College
2011
84%
2012
84%
http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm Pennsylvania Department of Education’s Academic Achievement Report: 2011-2012. Proximity, Pennsylvania School District Demographic Profiles. U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2012). Digest of Education Statistics, 2011 (NCES 2012-001, Chapter 3). |
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Ensuring Our Children’s Safety “Students who are victims of harassment attend school less frequently and feel less connected to and less engaged in school. In turn, they spend less time doing homework and participating in school activities, which ultimately has adverse effects on both cognitive and social growth.” 1 One final measure of school success that often goes unnoticed by many, yet plays a significant role in a school’s ability to educate children, is school safety. Prior to the opening of New Hope Academy Charter School, and throughout the years, many parents have come to the founders and leadership team requesting a “safe school” for their children to attend. New Hope Academy continues to show that it provides a safe environment for children to learn and achieve. New Hope far exceeds local schools in ensuring a safe learning environment for students. By making sure that our children feel safe, New Hope Academy is opening the door to student learning and achievement. New Hope Academy
William Penn
E.F. Smith
Hannah Penn
School District
Aggravated Assault on Student
0
0
1
1
10
Simple Assault on Student
1
7
59
84
442
Aggravated Assault on Staff
0
0
0
0
1
Simple Assault on Staff
0
7
7
12
85
All Other Forms of Harassment
0
1
10
49
80
Fighting
7
42
82
108
338
Minor Altercation
0
0
16
0
18
Sexual Assault
0
1
1
19
24
Indecent Assault
0
0
0
1
1
Indecent Exposure
0
0
0
0
2
Obscene and Other Sexual Materials
0
0
1
0
1
Sexual Harassment
1
0
12
3
38
Threatening School Official/Student
0
8
31
54
161
Theft
0
3
3
13
47
Bullying
0
2
9
9
25
Bomb Threats
0
0
0
0
1
Terroristic Threats (Excluding Bombs)
0
1
0
0
1
Disorderly Conduct
0
0
1
1
59
Possession of Handgun
0
0
0
1
1
Possession of Knife
0
7
3
1
22
Reported Incidents
2
York City
1 MacMillan & Hagan, 2004; Bowen & Bowen, 1999; Payne et al., 2003 2 https://www.safeschools.state.pa.us CHARTER SCHOOL DATA REVIEW
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In Conclusion: Measuring Up
How we measure success must be evaluated to ensure that we are measuring what really matters, and are measuring in real numbers that reflect how our students are truly progressing. When you dig into the data, New Hope Academy Charter School has proven that its students are succeeding in the few short years since its inception. When measuring like cohorts of students, New Hope Academy has consistently proven its capacity to increase attendance, provide a safe environment, grow academically, graduate students and achieve college and post-secondary education placement.
Students attend school: 93%
Students are safe at school: Low number of incidents (1%) compared to other local schools
Students are growing academically: 50% of tested grades achieved beyond one year
Students graduate from high school: 91% graduation rate
Students move on to post-secondary education: 84% college placement rate
With New Hope Academy Charter School continuing to enroll new students annually, the school will continue to face the burden of closing the achievement gap and the statistical game of having students for a limited time when being judged on AYP Academic Measures. The data indicate growth for the majority of grade levels beyond one academic year, which is necessary to close this gap. The statistics thus far indicate that despite the gaps, New Hope Academy continues to exceed in the ultimate measure—graduation and college/post-secondary enrollment. By building a better educational system designed around the unique needs of urban students, great strides can continue. We can improve our students’ rate of success not only in a test but also in real life, including reducing the rates of unemployment, poverty and incarceration.
Let’s evaluate with common sense—we could change the world of education for our children.
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Solutions: Measuring and Growing Urban Schools Accountability and AYP will continue to play an essential role in measuring our schools. The newspapers report our school’s scores annually, and many readers are dismayed by the reading and math percentages posted. Typically, there is a “call for change” immediately following these postings. The City of York is poised to make one of the most significant changes in educational history that its citizens have ever experienced. No matter the opinion of the reader, the outcomes of the City’s decisions will have a lasting impact on the children we educate. Through all of the research conducted as part of this report, one thing has become evidently clear. It is not the data, the percentages and the comparisons that truly matter when it comes to making effective change in urban education, but rather how we use that information to plan and move forward. It should not be that one school is necessarily better than another, but rather a culmination and collaboration among all schools to examine what is working and to replicate those best practices in all of our schools and for all of our children. Should we not use the information we have about our schools, examine our strengths and weaknesses, and share our success as a united community, we will be limited in our progress. There is one additional piece of information that we must include. What follows is a chart of current York City data and data collected from a multi-city analysis commissioned by the U.S. Department of Education examining equitable access to quality education. 1 Some findings of this report are included in this chart: Current
Past
(1966)
York City Data
Multi-City Study
Graduation Rate
77.0%
76.0%
Enrolled in College
28.0%
40.5%
Reading
33.0%
42.2%
Mathematics
32.0%
41.8%
Completed College
3.2%
4.04%
As a follow-up to this document, New Hope Academy is completing a report on current local solutions to the educational issues facing our great city.
1 Coleman, J. S., Campbell, E. Q., Hobson, C. J., McPartland, J., Mood, A. M., Weinfeld, F. D., & York, R. L. (1966). Equality of Educational Opportunity.
Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
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