New Jersey Quality Single Accountability Continuum (NJQSAC)

Recommendations for Change

June 1, 2011

Current QSAC Process Three-year district-wide monitoring cycle that focuses

on almost every aspect of State and Federal code requirements and best practices

Five District Performance Review (DPR) sections: Instruction and Program Fiscal Management Operations Personnel Governance

Districts must meet 80% of requirements in all five DPR sections to be “high performing” and receive State Board certification.

Districts below 80% in one or more DPR sections must develop and implement district improvement plans (DIP), with periodic county office reviews of progress.

Review of QSAC Process Committee of DOE and district staff reviewed

QSAC process after three years of implementation and concluded the following: Overall purpose of QSAC is necessary for improvement Opportunity for districts that are not “high performing”

to develop and implement a DIP, to assist them in increasing student achievement and identified areas of need.

Current process is cumbersome (334 indicators) Many indicators are duplicative Many indicators do not address DOE’s core mission of

student achievement and teaching and learning and therefore, should not be monitored through QSAC.

Summary of Proposed Changes

Narrow the Focus of District Performance Reviews (DPRs) Instruction and Program Fiscal Management Governance

Streamline Indicators Reduce the number of indicators by 70% Eliminate duplication and redundancy Consolidate related indicators

Create a Statement of Assurance (SOA)

Instruction and Program DPRFocus on the essential elements of teaching and

learning Student Performance Curriculum Instruction

Monitor five critical content standards for career and college readiness: Language Arts Literacy Math Science Social Studies World Languages

Proposed Change in Monitoring Student Performance Through State Assessments (NJASK and HSPA)

Explanation of Proposed Calculation for District Progress on State Assessments

District acquires points based on the gap between 95% proficiency and district’s current percentage of proficiency.

Attainment of points depends on the district percentage of proficiency

>=95% 10 points>=85-94.9 8 points>=75-84.9 6 points< 75% but progress made* 5 points

*Progress is based on a 5% decrease in the gap (current percentage of district and the goal of 95% proficiency)

Numerical Snapshot of 2010: Scores and the Impact of Proposed Student Performance Proficiency Levels

QSAC CURRENT METHOD

# of DIST (W/O CHARTERS)

LAL

Met 95% 26

MET PROGRESS 5% 7

RECEIVE POINTS 33

DON’T RECEIVE POINTS 533

TOTAL DIST 566

MATH

Met 95% 16

MET PROGRESS 5% 45

RECEIVE POINTS 61

DON’T RECEIVE POINTS 505

TOTAL DIST 566

QSAC PROPOSED METHOD

# of DIST (W/O CHARTERS)

LAL

Met 95% 26

Met 85% - 94.9 108

Met 75% - 84.9 165

MET PROGRESS 5% gap 16

RECEIVE POINTS 315

DON’T RECEIVE POINTS 251

TOTAL DIST 566

MATH

Met 95% 16

Met 85% - 94.9 171

Met 75% - 84.9 205

MET PROGRESS 5% gap 55

RECEIVE POINTS 447

DON’T RECEIVE POINTS 119

TOTAL DIST 566

Fiscal Management DPR

Hold districts accountable for financial and budgetary controls, grants management and annual audit

Eliminate the efficiency indicators because they are contained in the annual audit

Governance DPR

Ensure that the district board of education is held accountable for the general oversight and management of the school district

Focus on critical areas of statutory and regulatory compliance, budgetary priorities and administrative oversight

Statement of Assurance (SOA)

Provides a formative tool for districts to achieve and maintain code compliance;

Completed annually by the Chief School Administrator (CSA) and signed by the CSA and the Board President

Linked to the Governance DPR as an indicator

Reviewed once every three years as part of QSAC monitoring

Numerical Summary Streamlined Indicators

Current QSAC Indicators Number Proposed QSAC Indicators Number

Instruction and Program 77 Instruction and Program 23

Fiscal Management 86 Fiscal Management 20

Governance 56 Governance 5

Operations 56 Operations DPR indicators were combined with Instruction and Program but the majority are found in the SOA.

Personnel 59 Personnel DPR indicators were combined with Instruction and Program and found in the SOA .

TOTAL 334 TOTAL 48

Statement of Assurance 49