System safeguards are used to meet state accountability-related intervention requirements and federal accountability requirements. Performance results are disaggregated to show the performance of each student subgroup on each of the indicators. The purpose of the system safeguard report is to ensure that—in the aggregated district or campus reports—substandard performance in one or more areas or by one or more student groups is not disguised by higher performance in other areas or by other student groups. See Chapter 8 – System Safeguards and Other Federal Requirements in the 2015 Accountability Manual for detailed information about system safeguards in 2015.

2. What are the minimum size requirements for student groups to be included in the System Safeguards?

See Chapter 8 – System Safeguards and Other Federal Requirements in the 2015 Accountability Manual for details on minimum size.

3. Are there two different targets for state and federal performance safeguards?

Yes, see Chapter 8 – System Safeguards and Other Federal Requirements of the 2015 Accountability Manual for the targets for STAAR performance for the state and federal safeguards.

4. What results can we expect to get on system safeguards given the exclusion of grade 3–8 mathematics, STAAR A, and STAAR Alternate 2 from accountability in 2015?

Two system safeguard reports will be issued in 2015:

The State System Safeguards report will exclude grade 3–8 mathematics, STAAR A, and STAAR Alternate 2 results from performance and participation. In addition, no district-level federal cap information will be provided. This report will be available August 7, 2015.
Federal law requires mathematics and alternate assessment reports to be included in federal data submissions. Because of that requirement, a Federal System Safeguards report will be published in October 2015 to include grade 3–8 mathematics using the performance standards expected to be approved by the commissioner by September 2015. The report will also include STAAR A and STAAR Alternate 2 results and the district-level 1% cap calculations for STAAR Alternate 2. See Chapter 8 – System Safeguards and Other Federal Requirements of the 2015 Accountability Manual for additional information on federal system safeguards.

Section 2: Distinction Designations

5. What are Distinction Designations?

Distinction designations are awarded to campuses for outstanding performance in relation to 40 other similar campuses. A campus that receives an accountability rating of Met Standard is eligible for the following distinction designations in 2015.

Top 25% Student Progress
Top 25% Closing Performance Gaps
Academic Achievement in English Language Arts (ELA)/Reading
Academic Achievement in Mathematics
Academic Achievement in Science
Academic Achievement in Social Studies
Postsecondary Readiness

In 2015, districts that earn a rating of Met Standard are eligible for a Postsecondary Readiness designation.

6. Are alternative education campuses (AECs) eligible for Distinction Designations?

No, campuses evaluated under alternative education accountability (AEA) provisions are not eligible for distinction designations, per Texas Education Code (TEC) §39.201.

7. How is the Algebra I by Grade 8–Participation indicator calculated for Academic Achievement Distinction Designation in Mathematics?

Beginning in 2015, the Algebra I by Grade 8–Participation indicator limits the denominator to 8^th grade students (according to the 2014 PEIMS fall enrollment snapshot) who took an Algebra I EOC in the current or any prior school year (as reported on the Consolidated Accountability File (CAF) cumulative history section).

8. What is a campus comparison group?

Campus comparison groups are used to determine which campuses earn distinction designations. Distinction designations are awarded to campuses for outstanding performance in relation to 40 other similar campuses. Each campus is assigned to a unique comparison group comprised of Texas schools that are most similar to it. To determine the campus comparison group, each campus is identified by school type (See the School Types chart in Chapter 2 – Ratings Criteria and Index Targets of the 2015 Accountability Manual.) then grouped with 40 other campuses from anywhere in Texas that are most similar in grade levels served, size, the percentage of students who are economically disadvantaged, mobility rate, and the percentage of English language learners. Each campus has only one campus comparison group, and each campus in a comparison group has its own unique comparison group. There is no limit to the number of comparison groups to which a school may be a member. It is possible for a school to be a member of no comparison group other than its own, or a member of a number of comparison groups within a particular school type. See Appendix H – Campus Comparison Groups of the 2015 Accountability Manual for more details.

9. Can a district earn Postsecondary Readiness Distinction if any of its campuses are rated Improvement Required?

Yes.

10. When do schools receive their distinction designations?

Distinction designations are assigned to eligible campuses concurrent with the release of the state accountability ratings on August 7, 2015. The 2015 campus comparison groups are also released publicly at this time.

11. Do students count toward the College-Ready Graduates indicator used for distinction designations if they meet an ELA benchmark on one type of assessment and meet the mathematics benchmark on another type of assessment (e.g. => 2200 on the mathematics exit-level TAKS and => 25 English and Composite ACT)?

Yes, this is the College-Ready Graduates indicator that has been reported in the Texas Academic Performance Report (TAPR) and Academic Excellence Indicator System (AEIS) reports for several years. It gives credit for students who meet the Texas Success Initiative (TSI) standards on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS), SAT, or ACT within the respective subject area. To be included, the student must meet the standards in both ELA and mathematics.

Section 3: Reports

12. For 2015, which performance reports will exclude and include grades 3–8 mathematics, STAAR A, and STAAR Alternate 2 assessments?

Please refer to the following table.

Data processed from June Consolidated Accountability File (CAF) Grades 3–8 mathematics, STAAR A, and STAAR Alternate 2 Excluded	Data processed from September Consolidated Accountability File (CAF) Grades 3–8 mathematics, STAAR A, and STAAR Alternate 2 Included
Annual Accountability Ratings, Reports, and Downloads	Federal System Safeguards Reports and Download
Annual State System Safeguards Reports and Downloads	EDFACTS Submissions
Texas Consolidated School Rating Report (TCSR)	Federal Report Card
Post-Appeals Accountability Ratings, Reports and Downloads	Texas Performance Reporting System (TPRS) and Downloads
Post-Appeals TCSR	Title III Annual Measurable Achievement Objectives (AMAO) Reports
Texas Academic Performance Reports (TAPR) and Downloads (TAPR replaced the AEIS Reports)
School Report Cards
Texas School Accountability Dashboard
Public Education Grant (PEG)

Section 4: 2015 Accountability Development

13. With a performance index, how do we ensure that individual student groups are not ignored?

Index 3 is specifically designed to address this concern. In addition to evaluating the economically disadvantaged student group, this index identifies the two lowest-performing racial/ethnic student groups for the district and for each campus based on their prior-year performance. Index 3 is the critical index in the overall district or campus evaluation that ensures their lowest-performing student groups receive focused interventions. The system evaluates the performance of eleven student groups: All Students, African American, Hispanic, White, American Indian, Asian, Pacific Islander, Two or More Races, Students served by Special Education, Economically Disadvantaged, and English Language Learners depending on the specific indicator and index.

Also critical to ensuring individual student group performance are the system safeguards. The underlying accountability system safeguards results are reported to districts and campuses and addressed through the Texas Accountability Intervention System (TAIS). Along with possible interventions, the system safeguards ensure that substandard performance in one area or one student group is not disguised by higher performance by another student group or in another area.

14. Do other states use a performance index for the state accountability systems?

Yes, a number of states use variations of performance index systems to evaluate their schools. The accountability advisory committee members that developed the performance index proposal reviewed the performance index systems in place for California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Ohio, Oklahoma, North Carolina, and South Carolina.

15. Who helped TEA develop the state accountability rating system?

Two advisory committees, the Accountability Technical Advisory Committee (ATAC) and the Accountability Policy Advisory Committee (APAC), met with TEA staff numerous times to consider the complex technical issues related to accountability and make recommendations to the commissioner on the specific features of the system. The accountability development materials that were reviewed at each meeting by the advisory groups are available online at the 2015 Accountability Development Materials site.

16. Who are the members of the APAC and ATAC advisory groups?

In addition to educators representing campuses, school districts, and education service centers, the members of the 2015 Accountability Policy Advisory Committee (APAC) includes legislative representatives, business and community leaders, representatives of higher education, and parents of children attending Texas public schools.

Members of the 2015 Accountability Technical Advisory Committee (ATAC) are Texas public school educators from districts and education service centers who have detailed knowledge of the state assessment and accountability systems.

Section 5: Technical Information

17. If a student's reported racial/ethnic value is different in each of the individual assessment files (STAAR 3–8, STAAR 5 and 8, or TELPAS), which race/ethnicity is used?

The accountability results are based on the demographic information from the Consolidated Accountability File (CAF) which includes only one racial/ethnic value. The CAF file provides the most recent demographic information based on the last test administration available for each student.

18. If a student is an excluded continuer from the 4-year graduation rate, because of Average Daily Attendance (ADA) eligibility or other statutory requirements, is this student included in the 5-year rate?

Student exclusions may vary depending on the appropriate data for each cohort. The student may be excluded from the 4-year cohort and included in the 5-year cohort if the reported attendance or relevant data for the student changes in the final year of the cohort. Detailed information about the graduation rate calculations are available in the annual publication, Secondary School Completion and Dropouts in Texas Public Schools, online at http://tea.texas.gov/acctres/dropcomp_index.html#reports.

19. If a student is coded as a special education student or ELL on any one test document, is the student considered SPED/ELL for all documents?

The accountability results are based on the demographic information from the Consolidated Accountability File (CAF) which includes only one special education/ELL (Limited English Proficiency) value. The CAF file provides the most recent program information based on the last test administration available for each student. For the LEP field, if the student tested in TELPAS or is identified as a current LEP student (value of “C”) in any current-year test administration, the value on the CAF file will be “C.”

20. Which TELPAS file used to determine the number of years an ELL student is enrolled in US schools?

Years in U.S. schools is based on 2015 TELPAS data. If information on years in U.S. schools does not exist, results are included with a value of 5 years.

21. How does a district or campus identify immigrants entering grade 9 or above?

The enrolled grade-level reported on the fall 2014 PEIMS enrollment submission, the STAAR EOC test, and the number of years of enrollment in U.S. schools reported on the 2015 TELPAS determine whether or not an ELL student is considered an "immigrant entering grade 9 or above." See Appendix I - Inclusion of ELLs in 2015 and Beyond of the 2015 Accountability Manual for more information.

22. If a TELPAS scored reading test is the only assessment result a district or campus has for a student (who is not an asylee/refugee), is the student included in the math participation denominator?

No.

23. For TELPAS to count toward participation, must the student have a composite TELPAS score, or is participation based on the reading section only? What about for math?

A TELPAS scored reading test credits reading participation. It is possible that a TELPAS scored reading test will credit mathematics participation, but only for asylee/refugee students.

Contact Information

Performance Reporting
Phone: (512) 463-9704
Fax: (512) 936-6431
performance.reporting@tea.texas.gov