Draft Education Performance Audit Report
For
LEWIS COUNTY SCHOOL SYSTEM
March 2008
West Virginia Board of Education
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March 2008
Table of Contents
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Table of Contents
Page
Introduction 2
Education Performance Audit Team 3
Initiatives For Achieving Adequate Yearly Progress 4
Exemplary Programs & Practices 5
Annual Performance Measures For Accountability 6
High Quality Standards 13
Capacity Building 33
Lewis County Summary 34
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INTRODUCTION
An announced (five days in advance) Education Performance Audit of the Lewis County School District was conducted on January 22-24, 2008. The review was conducted at the specific direction of the West Virginia Board of Education. The purpose of the review was to investigate the reasons the county had not achieved adequate yearly progress (AYP). The Team also reviewed district level high quality standards in accordance with appropriate procedures to make recommendations to the West Virginia Board of Education on such measures as it considers necessary to improve performance and progress to meet the high quality standards as required by W.Va. Code and West Virginia Board of Education policies.
The Education Performance Audit Team interviewed the Lewis County Board of Education President; school district personnel, including the superintendent; the Director of Personnel, Finance official, Director of Secondary Education, Director of Elementary Education, other county office personnel; and a community member/parent. The Team examined documents including the Lewis County Five-Year Strategic Plan; the Lewis County Board of Education’s minutes of board meetings; personnel documents; personnel evaluations; the school system policy manual; regulatory agency reviews, i.e., financial audit, the Comprehensive Educational Facilities Plan (CEFP), etc.; and materials of interest to the Education Performance Audit.
This report presents the Education Performance Audit Team’s findings regarding the Lewis County School District.
EDUCATION PERFORMANCE AUDIT TEAM
Office of Education Performance Audits Team Chair – Dr. Donna Davis
Name / TITLE / COUNTY / categoryRichard Lawrence
/Executive Director, School Improvement
/ WV Department of EducationTeam Leader /
AYP/Five-Year Strategic Plan/High Quality Standards
Carroll Staats
/Superintendent, Retired
/ Jackson County /Evaluation/
Leadership
Kimble Wade /Treasurer
/Marion County
/ FinanceDelores Ranson
/Assistant Superintendent, Retired
/ Jackson County /Personnel – Hiring/Licensure/ Internship
John Lyonett
/Assistant Superintendent
/ Brooke County /Policy Implementation/ Administration
Madelaine Shultz
/Mechanical Engineer
/WV Department of Education
Team Leader
/Facilities
Ken Hughart
/HVAC Technician
/WV Department of Education
Team Leader
/Facilities
EDUCATION PERFORMANCE AUDIT
INITIATIVES FOR ACHIEVING ADEQUATE YEARLY PROGRESS
The Education Performance Audit Team reported that Lewis County had undertaken initiatives for achieving Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP). The prominent initiatives and activities included the following.
7.2.1. County and School electronic strategic improvement plans. The Team commended the Lewis County school system for assembling and providing the leadership for a strategic planning committee that wrote a Five-Year County Improvement plan that should result in increased student learning and achievement for Lewis County students, if implemented well in all schools and classrooms.
7.6. Personnel. The Team commended the director of personnel for office efficiency and organization. All documents requested for review were readily available. He knew immediately where documents and/or information were filed/stored and requested documents were retrieved immediately from personnel files or printed from his office computer. Data, such as coaching information, personnel assignment lists, itinerant schedules, etc., were up-to-date. Although not required by law, all posting data were retained in the personnel office permanently.
7.6.1. Hiring. The county has been able to fill vacant positions with certified applicants. The personnel director works with other nearby county personnel directors (especially Upshur and Monongalia counties) for leads on available candidates. This is the county’s primary recruitment source.
Exemplary Programs & Practices
Lewis County – All Schools
7.1.9. Programs of study.
Title: Universal Preschool Program
Description of Program
Lewis County provided universal preschool services to all four year old children in the county. Ninety-nine percent of the county’s preschool classrooms were collaborative with Head Start. Classrooms were fully integrated, meaning that special needs children, Head Start children, and children who neither special needs nor Head Start were eligible to attend in the same classroom. The Creative Curriculum was being utilized to ensure an instructional center-based approach. During a State monitoring in May 2007, this preschool program was recognized as the first in West Virginia to be meeting all requirements of West Virginia Board of Education Policy 2525, West Virginia's Universal Access to Early Education System.
Summary of Results
Eighty percent of kindergarten children attended the preschool program. Data collected from the assessment component of the Creative Curriculum indicated the developmental level of 89 percent of children in the preschool program increased in at least three to four developmental areas from September 2006 to May 2007.
Contact: Judith Coffman Phone: 304.269.8300 Email:
Lewis County – All Schools
7.1.7. Library/educational technology access and technology application.
Title: Access to Technology
Description of Program
All Lewis County’s schools had access to up-to-date technology. All schools were equipped with stationary computer laboratories, mobile laboratories, computers in classrooms, and wireless Internet access. Grade 3-6 classrooms in Lewis County will have a whiteboard, laptop computer, and LCD projector by the end of the 2007-08 school year. Schools have United Streaming, Brain Pop, Odyssey (Grades K-8), Plato (Grades 7-12), student responders, and document projectors. The county employed four full time Technology Integration Specialists (TIS) (one at the high school, one at the middle school, and two at the four elementary schools) to assist teachers in using available technology regularly to teach the West Virginia Content Standards and Objectives (CSOs) for their specific grade level and content area.
Summary of Results
The use of 21st Century learning tools integration into classrooms expanded during the 2007-2008 school year and continues to evolve. The Technology Integration Specialists’ assistance to teachers has increased technology application in all schools.
Contact: Judith Coffman Phone: 304.269.8300 Email:
COUNTY PERFORMANCE
ANNUAL PERFORMANCE MEASURES FOR ACCOUNTABILITY
This section presents the Annual Performance Measures for Accountability and related student performance data. It also presents the Education Performance Audit Team’s findings.
5.1.1. ACCOUNTABILITY
5.1.1. Achievement
Adequate Yearly Progress
The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) data for the 2006-2007 school year identified that Lewis County did not make adequate yearly progress (AYP). Lewis County failed to achieve AYP for three of the last five reporting years. Chart 1 shows the grade span/assessment and subgroup(s) that did not make AYP. It also shows the percent proficient for each grade span/assessment and subgroup.
Chart 1
WESTEST 2007GRADE SPAN/ASSESSMENT / SUBGROUP / PERCENT PROFICIENT
Elementary Mathematics / Special Education (SE) / 46.9%
Middle Mathematics / Special Education (SE) / 28.4%
Middle Mathematics / Economically Disadvantaged (SES) / 62.4%
Secondary Mathematics / Economically Disadvantaged (SES) / 48.3%
Elementary Reading / Special Education (SE) / 43.8%
Middle Reading / Special Education (SE) / 28.4%
Middle Reading / Economically Disadvantaged (SES) / 69.5%
The Team noted that when the performance of the subgroups listed in Chart 1 was compared with the 2005-2006 No Child Left Behind (NCLB) data, all special education subgroups identified above decreased in academic performance, except for the special education (SE) middle school mathematics subgroup which increased from 26.3 percent proficiency in 2005-2006 to 28.4 percent proficiency in 2006-2007.
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Chart 2 shows the number of Lewis County’s schools identified for not achieving adequately yearly progress (AYP) in the last four years.
Chart 2
NUMBER OF SCHOOLS NOT ACHIEVING AYPYear / Number of Schools Assessment / Number of schools Participation Rate / Number of Schools Other Indicator
2003-2004 / 2 / 0 / 0
2004-2005 / 2 / 0 / 0
2005-2006 / 1 / 0 / 0
2006-2007 / 2 / 0 / 0
An examination of the achievement gap between subgroups for the 2006-2007 assessment school year revealed a measurable achievement gap between the Lewis County School District special education (SE) and economically disadvantaged (SES) subgroups when compared to the academic performance of the all students (AS) and racial/ethnicity white (W) subgroups (Charts 3-8). When compared to the State percent proficient for these same groups, the gap was also sizable.
Charts three through five indicated that the 2006-2007 Lewis County School District student performance in mathematics was below the State percent proficient with the greatest identified need for improvement at the high school level. Chart 3 showed that the AS and SES subgroups were only slightly below the State percent proficient. Student assessment performance in reading language arts (Charts 6, 7, and 8) was also below the 2006-2007 State percent proficient.
Chart 3
ELEMENTARY MATHEMATICSSubgroup / District Percent Proficient / State Percent
Proficient
All Students (AS) / 78.0% / 79.7%
White (W) / 77.6% / 80.2%
Special Education (SE) / 46.9% / 54.9%
Economically Disadvantaged (SES) / 71.0% / 72.7%
Chart 4
MIDDLE MATHEMATICSSubgroup / District Percent Proficient / State Percent
Proficient
All Students (AS) / 69.8% / 75.4%
White (W) / 69.6% / 75.9%
Special Education (SE) / 28.4% / 37.0%
Economically Disadvantaged (SES) / 62.4% / 66.7%
Chart 5
HIGH SCHOOL MATHEMATICSSubgroup / District Percent Proficient / State Percent
Proficient
All Students (AS) / 61.2% / 68.5%
White (W) / 61.0% / 69.2%
Economically Disadvantaged (SES) / 48.3% / 58.6%
Chart 6
ELEMENTARY READING LANGUAGE ARTSSubgroup / District Percent Proficient / State Percent
Proficient
All Students (AS) / 76.3% / 81.3%
White (W) / 76.5% / 81.7%
Special Education (SE) / 43.8% / 48.4%
Economically Disadvantaged (SES) / 69.5% / 74.4%
Chart 7
MIDDLE READING LANGUAGE ARTSSubgroup / District Percent Proficient / State Percent
Proficient
All Students (AS) / 74.6% / 81.4%
White (W) / 74.2% / 81.7%
Special Education (SE) / 28.4% / 39.9%
Economically Disadvantaged (SES) / 69.5% / 73.9%
Chart 8
HIGH SCHOOL READING LANGUAGE ARTSSubgroup / District Percent Proficient / State Percent
Proficient
All Students (AS) / 71.6% / 75.1%
White (W) / 71.5% / 75.7%
Economically Disadvantaged (SES) / 65.2% / 66.0%
Writing Assessment
Lewis County School District’s Statewide Writing Assessment performance for 2007 depicted in Chart 9 was below the State percent of students scoring at or above mastery at Grades 4 and 7 and comparable to the State at Grade 10.
Chart 9
WRITING ASSESSMENT RESULTSPercent Of Students At Or Above Mastery
2005 / 2006 / 2007
WV Grade 4 / 74% / 75% / 70%
Lewis Grade 4 / 59% / 72% / 61%
WV Grade 7 / 73% / 75% / 76%
Lewis Grade 7 / 63% / 60% / 73%
WV Grade 10 / 86% / 79% / 87%
Lewis Grade 10 / 81% / 77% / 87%
SAT/ACT Assessment Results
Chart 10 shows the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) and American College Testing (ACT) results for Lewis County. The SAT scores showed little change in mean scores over the period of time shown in the chart. The ACT trend data also showed little change over the period of time shown in the chart.
Chart 10
SCHOLASTIC APTITUDE TEST (SAT)County / 2002-2003 / 2003-2004 / 2004-2005 / 2005-2006 / 2006-2007
SAT Takers (%) / 9.4 / 5.9 / 4.5 / 6.6 / *NA
SAT Math Mean Score / 520 / 509 / 514 / 513 / *NA
SAT Verbal Mean Score / 514 / 510 / 515 / 513 / *NA
AMERICAN COLLEGE TESTING (ACT)
ACT Takers (%) / 58.8 / 53.2 / 58.8 / 51.1 / *NA
ACT Composite / 20.1 / 19.7 / 20.2 / 20.2 / *NA
*NA – Not Available.
ACT Assessment Results Five Year Trend data (Chart 11) shows that Lewis County composite was lower that West Virginia’s composite for each year from 2002 through 2006.
Chart 11
ACT ASSESSMENT RESULTS (FIVE-YEAR TREND)2002-2003 / 2003-2004 / 2004-2005 / 2005-2006 / 2006-2007
English WV / 20.3 / 20.3 / 20.6 / 20.5 / 20.8
English Lewis / 20.5 / 19.9 / 19.7 / 20.4 / 20.3
Mathematics WV / 19.1 / 19.2 / 19.4 / 19.3 / 19.6
Mathematics Lewis / 18.2 / 18.5 / 18.3 / 18.7 / 19.1
Reading WV / 21.0 / 20.9 / 21.1 / 20.9 / 21.2
Reading Lewis / 21.2 / 21.2 / 20.2 / 20.8 / 20.3
Science WV / 20.4 / 20.3 / 20.3 / 20.4 / 20.5
Science Lewis / 20.3 / 20.3 / 19.9 / 20.4 / 20.6
Composite WV / 20.3 / 20.3 / 20.5 / 20.4 / 20.6
Composite Lewis / 20.2 / 20.1 / 19.7 / 20.2 / 20.2
ACT EXPLORE Assessment Results
According to the 2007 Grade 8 ACT EXPLORE results in Chart 12, Lewis County students showed no significant change in English, reading, and mathematics, but a general decline in science and in the composite score during the period of time covered by the chart.
Chart 12
ACT EXPLORE RESULTSGrade 8
2003-2004 / 2004-2005 / 2005-2006 / 2006-2007 / 2007-2008
English WV / 14 / 14.2 / 14.3 / 14.2 / *NA
English Lewis / *NA / 13.9 / 13.4 / 13.5 / 13.9
Mathematics WV / 14.2 / 14.2 / 14.5 / 14.5 / *NA
Mathematics Lewis / *NA / 14.3 / 14.5 / 13.9 / 14.2
Reading WV / 13.8 / 13.8 / 13.9 / 13.9 / *NA
Reading Lewis / *NA / 13.9 / 12.9 / 13.0 / 13.0
Science WV / 15.7 / 15.7 / 15.9 / 15.9 / *NA
Science Lewis / *NA / 15.9 / 15.7 / 15.4 / 15.5
Composite WV / 14.5 / 14.6 / 14.8 / 14.8 / *NA
Composite Lewis / *NA / 14.6 / 14.2 / 14.1 / 14.3
*NA – Not Available.
ACT PLAN Assessment Results
Based on the 2007 Grade 10 ACT PLAN results in Chart 13, Lewis County test takers showed decreases from 2003 to 2007 in all subject areas and in the composite score.
Chart 13
ACT PLAN RESULTSGrade 10
2003-2004 / 2004-2005 / 2005-2006 / 2006-2007 / 2007-2008
English WV / 16.7 / 16.7 / 16.9 / 16.7 / *NA
English Lewis / 15.7 / 15.7 / 16.4 / 16.5 / 15.4
Mathematics WV / 16.5 / 16.4 / 16.6 / 16.6 / *NA
Mathematics Lewis / 16.0 / 15.8 / 16.0 / 16.6 / 15.5
Reading WV / 16.5 / 16.5 / 16.7 / 16.5 / *NA
Reading Lewis / 15.9 / 15.7 / 16.1 / 16.2 / 15.5
Science WV / 17.5 / 17.7 / 17.8 / 17.7 / *NA
Science Lewis / 17.8 / 17.2 / 17.6 / 17.3 / 17.0
Composite WV / 16.9 / 17 / 17.1 / 17 / *NA
Composite Lewis / 16.4 / 16.3 / 16.6 / 16.8 / 16.0
*NA – Not Available.
5.1.2 Participation rate. A minimum of 95 percent in the current or a two or three year average of all students enrolled in a public school/county school district/state at the time of testing, including students in each subgroup as required by NCLB must participate in the statewide assessment WESTEST or the West Virginia Alternate Performance Task Assessment (APTA) in reading/language arts or mathematics. Students with a significant medical emergency may be exempt by appeal from the calculation of participation rate for AYP provided that the county superintendent has proper documentation. (Policy 2340; Policy 2419; Policy 2510)