Charter School Performance Criteria: Considerations for Alternative Charter Schools

Charter School Performance Criteria: Considerations for Alternative Charter Schools

Massachusetts Office of Charter Schools and School Redesign

Charter School Performance Criteria:Considerations for Alternative Charter Schools

September2017

Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

The Office of Charter Schools and School Redesign

75 Pleasant Street

Malden, MA 02148

Phone: (781) 338-3227

Fax: (781) 338-3220

There are ten (10) Criteria that define expected performance in the three guiding areas of charter school accountability: faithfulness to charter, academic program success, and organizational viability. These Criteria outline expectations for all types of charter schools, including those that serve populations of students who attend alternative charter schools (ACS). This document outlines how theMassachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (Department) evaluates ACS performance against the Criteria.

The purposes of this document are to:

  • Articulate the expectations for ACS accountability;
  • Provide ACS with clear guidance about how the Department, the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (Board), and the Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education (Commissioner) define ACS success and on what basis ACS will be evaluated; and
  • Identify the sub-set of Criteria that require additional consideration or adaptation when evaluating the performance of an ACS.

Department staff adhered to the following key guiding principles while drafting this guidance:

  • Identify areas requiring additional flexibility. The Charter School Performance Criteria (Criteria) do not dictate a certain school model, but allow multiple ways to demonstrate successful performance in the ten areas outlined by the Criteria. Since the Criteria were significantly revised in 2013, the Department has evaluated a number of ACS against the revised Criteria. Throughout this work, the Department has identified areas of the Criteria which require additional flexibility and further definition in order to accurately assess ACSperformance.
  • Define hallmarks of ACS.When developing this guidance, the Department considered existing definitions of alternative education as well as common characteristics of current Massachusetts ACS. The Department has provided a definition of alterative education[1] as an instructional approach offered to “at-risk” students in a non-traditional setting. “At-risk” students may include those who are pregnant/parenting teens, truant students, and suspended or expelled students, returned dropouts, delinquent youth, or other students who are not meeting local promotional requirements. Additionally, the ACS currently operating in Massachusetts provide common programmatic characteristics: rigorous curricula, often mastery- or competency-based with individualized learning plans for students; robust social emotional supports for students; enrollment of a diverse population of students in grades 9-12, who may be over-age and under-credited; or post-secondary and career readiness programming, such as internships, work-study, dual enrollment.
  • Incorporate input from stakeholders. For many years, the Department has considered drafting guidance for accountability for ACS. Additionally, in its role as a charter school authorizer, the Department has participated in the National Association of Charter School Authorizers Working Group on Accountability for Charter Schools to craft guidance on the assessment of alternative charter schools (please see

Prior to crafting this document, the Office of Charter Schools and School Redesign (OCSSR) held focus groups with representatives from the four ACS’, as well as the Massachusetts Charter Public School Association, and internal stakeholders from the Offices of College, Career, and Technical Education and Student and Family Support.

  • Facilitate clear communication about ACS performance and evaluation. The Department will use the Criteria in order to assess the performance of ACS through the site visit or renewal processes, but this document allows the Department to clearly communicate how certain areas of the Criteria will be adapted for ACS. As with any charter school, the Commissioner and/or the Board have the discretion to consider all qualitative and quantitative factors when making accountability decisions, though improvement in student achievement for all student groups is of paramount importance.

Using this Document During the Charter Term

As a companion document to the Charter School Performance Criteria (Criteria), ACS are encouraged to refer to the Criteria and this document on a continuing basis to inform planning and any self-assessment of overall health and viability of their school.Through the charter school accountability site visit process, the Department will provide ACS with feedbackon performance against the Criteria and will use this document to inform any ratings on the sub-set of criteria outlined below.

Using the Criteria for Charter Renewal Decision-Making

Every charter school undergoes a renewal process during the final year of its charter term to determine whether or not the school can continue to operate. The renewal process includes the submission of a renewal application, a renewal inspection visit, and an analysis of all evidence related to the charter school’s performance, including quantitative and qualitative evidence collected through the Department’s charter school accountability process. The Criteria provide the performance benchmarks and lens of inquiry for the renewal inspection visit and for subsequent Department analysis, which leads to a recommendation regarding charter renewal. The Department’s renewal recommendation considers a charter school’s performance against the Criteria. Any renewal recommendation for ACS will incorporate the considerations for ACS schools, as outlined below.

Considerations forAlternative Charter Public Schools

Below please find select Criteria from the Charter School Performance Criteriaand considerations for how the Department will evaluate each criterion in order to assess alternative charter schools.

Criterion 1: Mission and Key Design Elements

The school is faithful to its mission, implements the key design elements outlined in its charter, and substantially meets its accountability plan goals.

Key indicators include but are not limited to:

1.The school is faithful to its approved mission.

2.The school has fully implemented the key design elements[2] in the approved charter and any subsequently approved amendments.

3.School stakeholders share a common and consistent understanding of the school’s mission and key design elements outlined in the charter.

4.The school substantially meets the goals articulated in its accountability plan by the time of the renewal of its charter.

Considerations for ACS: Emphasis on Accountability Plan Evidence

  • All charter schools, including ACS, have accountability plans that go through a rigorous Department approval process. Every charter school creates an accountability plan to publicly articulate the goals the school has set to measure its success; accountability plan is a material term of the school’s charter.The accountability plan is the vehicle for the charter school to clearly articulate its mission and key design elements and for the school to set its own measures to demonstrate to the public that the school is faithful to its innovative model.
  • As outlined in the Accountability Plan Guidelines[3], due to the unique populations of students served, ACS are required to create an accountability plan that articulates objectives and measures for student academic performance because the standard, statewide measures of student academic success may not present a clear picture for ACS students.
  • During the development of its accountability plan, the Department will work with ACS to articulate high quality measures of academic success for schools serving alternative populations.
  • When reviewing Criterion 1, the Department will place an emphasis on how well the ACS performed on its self-created measures of academic success. The performance on objectives and measures in the accountability plan will provide evidence of how the ACS is meeting its mission specific goals and its academic goals for its unique student population. Due to this emphasis, ACS may be asked to submit additional evidence related to their accountability plans for site visits and renewal inspections.

Criterion 2: Access and Equity

The school ensures access and equity for all students eligible to attend the school.

Key indicators include but are not limited to:

  1. The school annually updates and receives approval for a student recruitment and retention plan that includes deliberate, specific strategies the school will use to ensure the ongoing provision of equal educational opportunity to students before, during, and after enrollment. The plan is customized for each school and designed to attract, enroll, and retain a student population that is demographically comparable to the population that is enrolled in similar grades in schools from which the charter school might enroll students.
  2. The school works to retain a student population that is demographically comparable to the population that is enrolled in similar grades in schools from which the charter school enrolls students.
  3. The school makes efforts to enroll a student population that is demographically comparable to the population that is enrolled in similar grades in schools from which the charter school enrolls students.
  4. The school eliminates barriers to program access, including but not limited to, ensuring that information is readily available to parents, students, and the general public regarding non-discriminatory enrollment practices. The school also advertises the availability of specialized programs and services at the school to meet the needs of all students, particularly those enrolled in special education, English learners and those with other diverse learning needs.
  5. School policies, including but not limited to discipline policies, allow all students to access the educational program. This will include a review of the rates of in-school and out-of-school suspensions.

Considerations for ACS: Attrition and Retention Data

  • As outlined in the charter school statute: “When deciding on charter renewal, the board [of Elementary and Secondary Education] shall take into account the annual attrition of students.” (MGL C.71, S.89 (dd)). The Charter School Performance Criteria articulate expectations for charter school performance, including around attrition of students. Attrition is one measure the Department uses to evaluate a school’s performance in relation to Criterion 2: Access and Equity.
  • Due to the unique population of students enrolled at ACS, these charter schoolsmay provide additional data to provide context to the school’s attrition and mobility rates. If the ACS has developed methods to monitor and track the retention of students, the attrition of students, or the eventual outcomes of students who may have interrupted attendance, those methods should be clearly explained to the Department. ACS should collect and document data to accompany the ACS explanation of student retention and attrition. Any such explanation and data may supplement, but not fully supplant data collected and published by the Department.
  • If an ACS indicates it intends to serve specific populations of students (via mission statement, key design elements, or other), the school should provide the Department additional evidence to determine how the school will demonstrate that it recruits and retains those populationsof students.
  • Such additional evidence should be provided to the Department in advance of any site visit or renewal process.

Criterion 5: Student Performance

The school consistently meets state student performance standards as defined by the statewide accountability system.[4]

Additional notes

  • The period of evaluation will focus on the beginning of the charter term through the end of the penultimate year of the charter term. For example, if a school’s charter term runs from July 1, 2013, through June 30, 2018, the data under consideration will include results available through the end of the 201-2017 school. For renewal terms, the last year of the prior charter term will be considered as a baseline for the next charter term, and longer term historical trends may also be considered.
  • Once the statewide accountability system is established pursuant to Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), the Department will articulate the use of academic data in reports and in charter accountability decisions. During the transition period, the Department will consider data from MCAS, PARCC, and Next Generation MCAS assessments. Data from the legacy 10th grade MCAS will continue to be used for site visit reports and accountability decision-making.
  • All performance standards are based on state assessments and data collected through the Student Information Management System (SIMS), including graduation rate and drop-out rate data, for all tested subjects at all grade levels and all accountability subgroups unless otherwise indicated.
  • The Department reserves the right to revise the measures used in this criterion in order to accommodate changes in state assessments, metrics, or accountability requirements, included in any new U.S. Department of Education requirements related to Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) that may be enacted during the charter term.

Considerations for ACS: Additional Evidence

  • By definition, Massachusetts charter schools are meant to help students realize academic gains. As outlined in the charter school statute: “When deciding on charter renewal, the board shall consider progress made in student academic achievement(MGL C.71, S.89 (dd)).
  • Due to the small cohort sizes of students, many ACS do not have sufficient data to see aggregated results on statewide assessments. While the Department will use any statewide assessment data available to analyze ACS performance, the Department will also consider supplemental data from non-statewide assessments. As noted above, ACS must develop five year academic goals for non-statewide assessments in their accountability plans that will allow them to illustrate a track record of academic success during the charter term. During accountability site visits and as part of the renewal process, the Department will ensure that ACS have the ability to submit evidence of academic success from non-statewide assessments.
  • Additionally, when submitting statewide and non-statewide assessment data, ACS may choose to emphasize growth analyses that will clearly show how students have made academic gains while enrolled. Additionally, ACS may provide evidence of how student assessment results may be impacted by students with interrupted attendance.
  • Graduation and drop-out rates are important factors in the Department’s calculation of school success. In order to supplement the Department’s data, ACS should clearly articulate their methods of tracking and calculating drop out and graduation success, as well as multi-year trends according to hose calculations. During the charter term, ACS should provide this explanation and resulting data to the Department as a part of regular site visits and part of renewal activities, as appropriate. The Department will give consideration to the school’s methods and data alongside the standard, statewide calculations.

1

[1] See: information.

[2] Key Design Elements are aspects of the school, originally articulated in the charter application or in subsequent amendments, which make the school unique and distinct from other district or charter schools.

[3]

[4]Once the statewide accountability system is established pursuant to Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), the Department will articulate the use of ratings and academic data in reports and in charter accountability decisions.

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