This Week in Performance Reporting: August 30, 2019

Good afternoon, Performance Reporting bulletin members.

Welcome to this week’s update. 

Have a coworker who needs to sign up? Bulletin subscriptions can be managed on TEA’s website at https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/TXTEA/subscriber/new.

What’s New in Performance Reporting

A–F Accountability

Appeals

Districts and charter schools may appeal any overall or domain rating and any campus overall or domain rating of B–F for any reason. Only appeals that would result in a changed rating are considered. For its appeal to be considered, a district, charter school, or campus must explain how the proposed change will affect the district, charter school, or campus rating. 

A successful accountability appeal is typically limited to such rare cases as a data or calculation error attributable to the testing contractor(s), a regional education service center (ESC), or the Texas Education Agency (TEA). The appeals process is not an appropriate method to correct data that were inaccurately reported by the district. Online applications provided by TEA and the testing contractors ensure that districts and charter schools are aware of data correction opportunities, particularly through TSDS PEIMS data submissions and the Texas Assessment Management System (TAMS). District and charter school responsibility for data quality is the cornerstone of a fair and uniform rating determination.

Decisions regarding distinction designations cannot be appealed. Indicators for distinctions are reported for most districts, charter schools, and campuses regardless of eligibility for a designation. Districts, charter schools, and campuses receiving an F rating are not eligible for a distinction. However, districts, charter schools, and campuses that appeal an unfavorable rating will automatically receive any distinction designation earned if their appeal is granted and the district, charter school, or campus rating is revised to A–D.

Finally, campuses identified for comprehensive, targeted, or additional targeted support may not appeal the identification, as it is based on August 2019 accountability data. Additional information about the appeals process is available in Chapter 8 of the 2019 Accountability Manual.

Local Accountability System

Districts interested in participating in the Local Accountability System (LAS) process for the 2019–20 school year must submit an online Notice of Interest (NOI) form and attend a TEA-sponsored training session during the fall of 2019.

The NOI form and the 2020 DRAFT Local Accountability System Guide and Appendices (draft) are available on the LAS website. By submitting the NOI form, districts will be provided additional information about the LAS process but are not committed to participate in the process. The deadline to submit a NOI form for the 2019–20 school year is Friday, September 13, 2019.

Districts who anticipate participating in the LAS process during the 2019–20 school year are also required to attend a TEA-sponsored two-day training session this fall. The LAS 2019 training sessions are scheduled for September 25–26 and September 30–October 1 in Austin. Districts with an approved NOI will be given priority when registering for the LAS training.

Have a question or comment about the local accountability system? Drop us a line at LAS@tea.texas.gov or call (512) 463-9704.

Assessment Scoring and Reporting

The Student Portal has been updated with the latest assessment information. Parents can access their child’s results using a unique access code, which can be found on their child’s Report Card. Additionally, parents can view their child’s performance relative to the campus, district, and state.

Raw score to scale score conversion tables are posted here. 

For questions or help with accessing and interpreting STAAR, STAAR Alternate 2, TELPAS, and TELPAS Alternate results, districts and parents can email assessment.reporting@tea.texas.gov or call (512) 463-9704.

This Week’s FAQs

What are the posting requirements for the 2019 accountability ratings? Am I required to post these reports on our district website?

The Texas Education Code (TEC) requires the following:

• TEC §39.361 requires districts to state whether one or more of its campuses have been awarded a distinction designation or is currently rated F and to provide an explanation of the significance of the information.
• TEC §39.362 requires districts to post on the district website the current accreditation status and accountability ratings, Texas Academic Performance Reports (TAPR), and School Report Cards (SRC) as well as an explanation of the information by the 10th day of each school year. The district should update its website with the 2018–19 TAPR and 2018–19 SRC as soon as they are available.

For additional information, see the Requirement for Posting of Performance FAQ.

Employment Opportunities in Performance Reporting

The Performance Reporting Division is looking for someone to join our team. Interested and qualified candidates can apply for the following position at https://capps.taleo.net/careersection/701/jobdetail.ftl?job=00006496&tz=GMT-05%3A00&tzname=America%2FChicao

Programmer IV

The person chosen to fill this position will conduct data analysis, ad-hoc queries, generate data tables and reports regarding academic performance and accountability. This role is critical to helping TEA increase transparency, fairness, and rigor in district and campus academic and financial performance.

Accountability Fall Learning Webinars

Performance Reporting is happy to announce the continuation of our learning webinar series this fall. These presentations will review components of the 2019 accountability reports, the Texas Academic Performance Report (TAPR), and distinction designations. The series is designed for audiences who are not familiar with the topics or need training on the most crucial components.

All webinars are offered through Zoom, a free video conference service. You can sign up using a Zoom, Google, or Facebook login. If you don't have an account, you can sign up for free.

Accountability Fall Learning Webinar Dates

Walkthrough of the 2019 Accountability Data Reports—September 26, 2019 at 1:00 pm 

Understanding Distinction Designations—October 30, 2019 at 1:00 pm 

Understanding the 2018–19 Texas Academic Performance Report (TAPR)—December 11, 2019 at 1:00 pm 

Performance Reporting Calendar

September 13—2019 accountability appeals window closes

November—Preliminary longitudinal graduation cohort lists are updated (TEAL)

December—TEA notifies districts of accountability appeal decisions (mail and TEAL)

December—Final list of campuses identified under PEG criteria for 2020–21 school year are released (TEAL)

December—2018–19 Final TAPR, School Report Card, and Federal Report Card are released (public website)

 

Contact Information
Texas Education Agency
Performance Reporting Division
(512) 463-9704
performance.reporting@tea.texas.gov