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California Department of EducationExecutive Office
SBE-002 (REV. 01/2011) / memo-dsib-csd-apr13item01
memorandum
Date: / April 1, 2013
TO: / MEMBERS, State Board of Education
FROM: / TOM TORLAKSON, State Superintendent of Public Instruction
SUBJECT: / Academic Updates for State Board of Education-Authorized Charter Schools.
Summary of Key Issues
The California Department of Education (CDE) provided the State Board of Education (SBE) an annual report for the 2011–12 school year in an October 2012 Information Memorandum and presented additional analysis and proposed recommendations at the November 2012 SBE meeting. This Information Memorandum provides a summary of the annual updates submitted by each SBE-authorized charter school for the 2011–12 school year and the Student Achievement Plans (SAP) for the 2012–13 school year.
Of the 33 SBE-authorized charter schools, 31 were in operation for the 2011–12 school year and were required to submit an annual update to the CDE. Additionally, 21 of the 31 schools were required to submit a SAP for the 2012–13 school year because Academic Performance Index (API) growth targets or Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) was not met.
As defined in the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), using cumulative data from the prior year, (2011–12), the SBE-authorized charter schools are required to report on several elements in their annual update, including: results of standardized assessments, progress towards meeting AYP and API growth targets, progress towards each of the measurable pupil outcomes identified in the charter, progress towards closing any achievement gaps, results on any local schoolwide assessments, and outcomes and goals for the current (2012–13) year.
Additionally, if the school was required to submit a SAP in the prior year, the school included an update on each element including, the progress made in addressing the goals identified in the SAP, professional development activities, changes in curriculum and instructional strategies, evidence the school is using data to drive instruction, and funds targeted to support the SAP.
The annual update was due to the CDE by November 13, 2012. Most of the annual updates provided by the SBE-authorized charter schools were missing required elements; CDE staff did contact each of those charter schools to request additional information and received supplemental documentation. However, some of the annual reports still lack adequate detail to address all the required elements. CDE staff will continue to work with the SBE-authorized charter schools to ensure that the schools report on all the required elements in future reports.
Attachment 1 provides brief summary of each of the annual updates submitted by the charter school and an analysis of the SAP completed by CDE staff, if applicable. The summary chart, on page five of Attachment 1, lists each of the SBE-authorized charter schools and indicates if the school turned in an annual update, a SAP for 2011–12 update and a SAP for 2012–13. Most of the information provided in the annual report and the SAP is self-reported by the charter school including, progress towards meeting school specific goals. However, CDE staff verified progress on some goals related to student achievement and other data reported to the CDE.
Of the 31 SBE-authorized charter schools, 30 schools had a valid 2012 growth API score; one school did not administer the California Standards Test because the school only served students in kindergarten. Of the 30 charter schools, 18 had a schoolwide 2012 growth API score of 800 or above. Additionally, all the numerically significant subgroups at ten of the charter schools also earned a 2012 growth API of 800 or above; five schools did not have numerically significant subgroups for the 2011–12 school year for API purposes. Twenty-two schools meet schoolwide API growth targets for the 2011–12 school year, 20 of those schools also meet API growth targets for all subgroups, and two schools did not have growth targets, as it was their first year of operation.
In reviewing the 31 annual updates and 21 SAPs provided by each of the SBE-authorized charter schools, CDE staff found that many of the charter schools did not submit all the required information as outlined in the MOU. Many of the reports did not contain an analysis of the statewide data and did not provide an update on local, schoolwide assessments and measureable pupil outcomes that are unique to the charter school. The reports varied in the level of details and information.
Therefore, CDE staff is reviewing the submission requirements, discussing alternatives to improve the quality of the reports provided by the charter schools, and may develop a reporting template that would be used by the schools. CDE staff seeks to improve the process of data reporting as we move forward to provide a more efficient process to review and analyze academic performance to provide a clear, concise report to the SBE each year.
Attachment 1:Academic Update for State Board of Education-Authorized Charter Schools (74 Pages)
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California Department of Education
District, School & Innovation Branch
Charter Schools Division
Academic Update for State Board of Education-Authorized Charter Schools
Table of Contents
Common Elements
SBE-Authorized Charter Schools Summary Chart
Aspire Public Schools
Aspire Alexander Twilight College Preparatory Academy
Aspire Alexander Twilight Secondary Academy
Aspire APEX Preparatory Academy
Aspire Junior Collegiate
Aspire Port City Academy
Aspire Titan Academy
Aspire Vanguard College Preparatory Academy
Barack Obama Charter School
Dixon Montessori Charter School
Doris Topsy-Elvord Academy
Everest Public High School...... 30
High Tech High
High Tech Elementary Chula Vista
High Tech Middle Chula Vista
High Tech High Chula Vista
High Tech High North County
High Tech Middle North County...... 41
Ingenium Charter School
Lifeline Education Charter School
Livermore Valley Charter School
Livermore Valley Charter Preparatory High School
Long Valley Charter School...... 51
Mission Preparatory
New West Charter School
Pacific Technology Schools
Pacific Technology Orangevale
Pacific Technology Santa Ana...... 60
Ridgecrest Charter School
River Montessori Charter School
San Francisco Flex Academy
The School of Arts and Enterprise
Today's Fresh Start Charter School...... 71
Western Sierra Collegiate Academy
Common Elements
Each of the State Board of Education (SBE)-authorized charter schools participating in Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) outlined in this document met the participation rate for Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP). Each charter school has a chart summarizing academic accountability results. In 2012 the criteria for percent at or above proficient in English language Arts were 78.4 percent and for mathematics was 79 percent. The results indicated for the California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE) are for the 10th grade combined administrations.
The CDE will continue to provide additional guidance and further elaborate on the expectations for the Annual Report and SAP.
The school reports use a number of achievement and school related acronyms. The table below defines each acronym that will be used throughout the report.
Table of Acronyms
Acronym / TermsA-G Requirements / A set of courses required for admission to the California State University or University of California.
API / Academic Performance Index
APR / Accountability Progress Reporting
AMO / Annual Measurable Objectives
AYP / Adequate Yearly Progress
CAHSEE / California High School Exit Exam
CELDT / California English Language Development Test
CI / Confidence Interval (methodology used to adjust Annual Measurable Objectives for schools with fewer than 100 valid scores)
CST / California Standards Test
CSU / California State University
EL / English Learner
ELA / English Language Arts
EOC / End of Course
IEP / Individualized Education Program
MPO / Measurable Pupil Outcomes
PFT / Physical Fitness Test
PI / Program Improvement
SAP / Student Achievement Plan
Acronym / Terms
SED / Socioeconomically Disadvantaged
SH / Safe Harbor (an alternative method of meeting Annual Measurable Objectives if school or student groups show progress in moving from scoring below proficient level to proficient level)
STAR / Standardized Testing and Reporting
UC / University of California
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SBE-Authorized Charter Schools Summary Chart
School Name / Annual Update / 2011–12 SAP update / 2012–13 SAPAspire Alexander Twilight College Preparatory Academy / x / x / X
Aspire Alexander Twilight Secondary Academy / x / n/a / n/a
Aspire APEX Preparatory Academy / x / n/a / X
Aspire Junior Collegiate Academy / x / n/a / X
Aspire Port City Academy / x / x / X
Aspire Titan Academy / x / n/a / n/a
Aspire Vanguard College Preparatory Academy / x / x / X
Barack Obama Charter / x / x / n/a
Dixon Montessori Charter / x / x / X
Doris Topsy-Elvord Academy / x / x / X
Everest Public High / x / n/a / X
High Tech Elementary - Chula Vista / x / n/a / n/a
High Tech Middle - Chula Vista / x / n/a / n/a
High Tech High Chula Vista / x / x / n/a
High Tech High North County / x / n/a / X
High Tech Middle North County / x / x / X
Ingenium Charter / x / n/a / X
Lifeline Education Charter / x / x / X
Livermore Valley Charter / x / n/a / n/a
Livermore Valley Charter Preparatory High / x / n/a / X
Long Valley Charter / x / x / X
Mission Preparatory / x / n/a / n/a
New West Charter Middle / x / n/a / n/a
Pacific Technology School Orangevale / x / x / X
Pacific Technology School Santa Ana / x / x / n/a
Ridgecrest Charter / x / x / X
River Montessori Elementary Charter / x / n/a / X
San Francisco Flex Academy / x / n/a / X
School of Arts and Enterprise, The / x / x / X
Today's Fresh Start / x / n/a / X
Western Sierra Collegiate Academy / x / n/a / X
n/a - not applicable because SBE-authorized charter school did not need to submit this document
Aspire Public Schools
The SBE authorizes seven charter schools under the charter management organization, Aspire Public Schools. Six of the charter schools are part of the Aspire Statewide-Benefit Charter: Aspire Alexander Twilight College Preparatory Academy, Aspire Twilight Secondary Academy, Aspire APEX Academy, Aspire Junior Collegiate Academy, Aspire Port City Academy, and Aspire Titan Academy. The SBE approved Aspire Vanguard College Preparatory Academy on appeal. All seven of the Aspire schools share the same mission and measurable pupil outcomes (MPO).
Aspire’s charter petition outlines seven MPOs aligned with three goals and two measurable school outcomes. The seven MPOs are broken up into three categories:
Basic Skills
- All students (100 percent) passing core academic classes each semester
- Increase of 10 percent each year of students scoring proficient or advanced
proficient based on STAR
Thinking Skills
- All students (100 percent) meeting annual interdisciplinary project requirements,
using rubrics based on Newman’s standards for rigor to asses projects
- All students (100 percent) passing ROPE(s)/ exhibitions on an annual basis
Life Skills
- Annual attendance rate of 95 percent
- A student participation rate of 90 percent in co‐/extracurricular activities
- All students (100 percent) are promoted
The two measurable school outcomes for each Aspire school are:
- To meet or exceed Academic Performance Index (API) growth targets
- All numerically significant subgroups to demonstrate comparable improvement in meeting or exceeding annual API growth targets.
Aspire provided CDE with an annual update for each of its schools. Overall the reports did not provide adequate detail on the schools’ academic performance, progress toward meeting all MPOs and schoolwide assessments. The schools did not report on all of MPOs and did not include all the required elements of the Annual Update and Student Achievement Plan (SAP). The CDE followed up with Aspire to request the additional information. The following seven reports provide an academic update on each of the Aspire Public Schools based on the annual updates and SAPs provided to CDE at the time of this report.
Aspire Alexander Twilight College Preparatory Academy
Sacramento, CA, 95821
CDS Code: 09 76489 01201469
Charter Term Expires: 6/30/2017
Authorized Grade Span: K–5
Grades Served in 2011–12 School Year: K–5Enrollment: 414
Numerically Significant API Subgroups: Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Socioeconomically Disadvantaged
Title I Funded: YesPI Status: In PI year 2
Met API Growth Targets:Made AYP: No
Schoolwide: Yes
All Student Groups: No
All Targets: No
Groups / Academic Performance Index / Annual Measurable Objectives / California High School Exit Examination2012 Growth API / 2011–12 Growth from Prior Year / English Language Arts / Mathematics / Percent of students in grade 10 Passing in English Language Arts / Percent of students in grade 10 Passing in Math
Percent at or Above Proficient / Met 2012 AYP Criteria / Percent at or Above Proficient / Met 2012 AYP Criteria
Schoolwide / 829 / 27 / 60.3 / Yes
(SH*) / 77.8 / Yes (SH*) / n/a / n/a
Black or African American / 835 / 35 / 63.4 / Yes
(SH*) / 74.6 / Yes (SH*) / n/a / n/a
Hispanic or Latino / 775 / -4 / 46.6 / No / 73.9 / Yes (SH*) / n/a / n/a
Socioeconomically Disadvantaged / 813 / 32 / 55.5 / Yes
(SH*) / 74.8 / Yes (SH*) / n/a / n/a
*SH=Passed by safe harbor
Overall, Aspire Alexander Twilight College Preparatory Academy (AATCPA) experienced growth in academics during the 2011–12 school year. AATCPA scored above the statewide performance target of 800 in 2012 and met three out of four API growth targets; AATCPA did not meet API growth target for the Hispanic or Latino subgroup. AATCPA did not meet Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) for the 2011–12 year; the school met 16 out of 17 AYP criteria. The school met the annual measurable objectives (AMOs) schoolwide and for most of the numerically significant subgroups under safe harbor for English language arts (ELA) and mathematics. However, one numerically significant subgroup, the Hispanic or Latino students, did not meet the percent proficient rate criteria in ELA.
Annual Report
AATCPA submitted an annual update for the 2011–12 school year to the CDE addressing four of the six required elements. AATCPA did not report on progress made toward closing any achievement gaps among numerically significant subgroups or results on any additional schoolwide assessments.
AATCPA only reported on four of nine academic goals and reports meeting three of those four goals. AATCPA exceeded the API goal of 800, increased the percent of students scoring proficient or advanced on STAR, and met the schoolwide API growth target. However, all the school’s numerically significant subgroups did not meet their API growth target; two out of the three subgroups met the API growth target. Overall the school is making academic progress and showing a positive growth trend for most students and student groups. Additional focus should be centered on assisting Latino or Hispanic students in English language arts.
AATCPA reported on the 2011–12 SAP update as part of the annual update, but did not specifically address any of the five required elements. The school provided detailed charts and analysis of student performance on the California Standards Test (CST) in ELA, mathematics and writing applications, made comparisons between the
2010–11 and 2011–12 school years, and presented the data in several different graphs. Overall this data showed an increase in students performing proficient or advanced.
AATCPA did not adequately address the required elements in the Annual Update. CDE staff will continue to work with the school to obtain the necessary information. AATCPA will be locally authorized in 2013–14.
2012–13 Student Achievement Plan
AATCPA submitted a SAP for the 2012–13 school year because the charter school did not meet AYP. The 2012–13 SAP addressed all seven required elements and provided refinements to the prior year’s SAP including a specific measurable goal in ELA and a detailed action plan. In addition, the current SAP provides more specific actions to target the subgroup that did not meet the ELA target for AYP.
AATCPA used fall benchmark assessments to identify specific ELA standards and strands to focus on by grade level and the school has set a goal to have 80 percent of students proficient on the spring benchmark, which supports the measureable outcomes listed in the charter petition around API growth targets. The school reported an established practice of regularly analyzing student data to inform instruction and professional development opportunities for teachers. The action plan identified specific strategies and actions AATCPA will implement during the 2012–13 year such as data analysis, realigning pacing guides, a targeted afterschool program, small group instruction and intervention, culturally responsive professional development, additional training in English Learner (EL) instructional strategies, collaboration with universities, hiring an intervention teacher, and instructional coaching. The structures in place appear to be a sufficient to support the plan that AATCPA developed to raise student achievement for all students, specifically the Hispanic or Latino subgroup.
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Aspire Alexander Twilight Secondary Academy
Sacramento, CA. 95821
CDS Code: 09 76489 0121467
Charter Term Expires: 6/30/2017
Authorized Grade Span: 6–12
Grades Served in 2011–12 School Year: 6–10Enrollment: 189
Numerically Significant API Subgroup: Socioeconomically Disadvantaged
Title I Funded: YesPI Status: Not in PI
Met API Growth Targets:Made AYP: Yes
Schoolwide: Yes
All Student Groups: Yes
All Targets: Yes
Groups / Academic Performance Index / Annual Measurable Objectives / California High School Exit Examination2012 Growth API / 2011–12 Growth from Prior Year / English Language Arts / Mathematics / Percent of students in grade 10 Passing in English Language Arts / Percent of students in grade 10 Passing in Math
Percent
at or Above
Proficient / Met 2012
AYP
Criteria / Percent at
or Above
Proficient / Met 2012
AYP
Criteria
Schoolwide / 745 / 45 / 45.8 / Yes
(SH*) / 44.4 / Yes
(SH*) / 94 / 82
Socioeconomically Disadvantaged / 729 / 42 / 42.0 / Yes
(SH*) / 42.0 / Yes
(SH*) / 92 / 75
*SH=Passed by safe harbor:
Overall, Aspire Alexander Twilight Secondary Academy (AATSA) experienced significant growth in academics during the 2011–12 school year. AATSA met all of its API growth targets and AYP for the 2011–12 school year. In addition AATSA’s numerically significant subgroup met the API growth target. AATSA also met the AMOs schoolwide and for Socioeconomically Disadvantaged Students under safe harbor for ELA and mathematics. However, the school did not achieve over 800 on the API schoolwide or for its numerically significant subgroup. The number of students performing at the proficient or above level shows improvement, but remains low. CDE staff will monitor the school’s academic progress through its benchmark assessments and will provide technical assistance, as deemed necessary.