DOCUMENT RESUME ED 467 660 EA 031 775 Mississippi Public School Accountability Standards, 2001. TITLE Mississippi State Dept. of Education, Jackson. INSTITUTION 2002-00-00 PUB DATE NOTE 57p. AVAILABLE FROM Mississippi Department of Education, Central High School, P.O. Box 771, 359 North West Street, Jackson, MS 39205. Tel: 601-359-3513; Web site: http://www.mde.k12.ms.us/. For full text: http://www.mde.k12.ms.us/accred/mpsas.pdf. Legal/Legislative/Regulatory Materials (090) PUB TYPE EDRS Price MF01/PC03 Plus Postage. EDRS PRICE *Academic Achievement; *Academic Standards; *Accountability; DESCRIPTORS Educational Administration; Elementary Secondary Education; Public Schools; *State Standards *Mississippi IDENTIFIERS ABSTRACT This report provides a detailed overview of public-school accreditation in Mississippi. It opens with a short history of accreditation, which began in the 1890s. Early efforts were organized around the University of Mississippi, which had formulated programs of study that would prepare high-school students for college. These efforts evolved into a state board of education that was given the power and authority to prescribe the standards and procedures for the accreditation of schools. The report explores the current accreditation policies of the state board of education, as well as its administrative policies, such as membership, appointment, terms of office, duties, officers, meetings, expenses, and staff. Accreditation standards are discussed next, followed by a description of the district accreditation policy. Included in this description are details on assignment of statuses, process standards, accreditation statuses, and notification of deficiencies after assignment of status. Further details are given on the school-performance classification policy, such as assignment of classifications, performance standards, and priority schools. Other parts of the policy that are addressed are monitoring procedures, which includes evaluations and audits; hearing and appeal procedures; process standards; and developing school-performance standards. Appendices list graduation requirements and other information. (Contains a glossary.) (RJM) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. A MISSISSIPPI PUBLIC SCHOOL ACCOUNTABILITY STANDARDS 2001 Mississippi Department of Education U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educational Research and Improvement PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE AND ATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION ED DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL HAS CENTER (ERIC) This document has been reproduced as BEEN GRANTED BY received from the person or organization originating it. .5 m.s Minor changes have been made to . improve reproduction quality. Points of view or opinions stated in this TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES document do not necessarily represent INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) official OERI position or policy. 1 AVAILABLE BEST COPY COMMISSION ON SCHOOL ACCREDITATION Congressional District 1 New Albany Larry Dale Yager Ripley Larry Robbins Shannon William Collins Congressional District 2 Vicksburg Donald G. Brown Greenwood John Johnson Cleveland James I. Tims Congressional District 3 Philadelphia Joe Jordan Brandon George Gilreath Bay Springs Roosevelt Ulmer Congressional District 4 Meadville Homer Harris Martha Wilks Columbia Jackson Geraldine Yates Congressional District 5 Picayune Tom Clark Gulfport Gwendolyn Holmes Petal Barbara Myers i 3 MISSISSIPPI BOARD OF EDUCATION Philadelphia Kenny Bush Biloxi Sondra Caillavet Greenwood Charles Deaton Jackson Frank Melton Gulfport Rosetta Richard Jackson Jayne Sargent Jackson Rowan Taylor Brandon A. M. Zeidman Dr. Richard L. Thompson State Superintendent of Education ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Introductory Information History of Accreditation 1-3 Accreditation Policies of the State Board of Education 4 Administrative Policy 4 Membership 4 Appointment 4 Terms of Office 4 Duties 4 Officers 4 Meetings 4 Expenses 4 Staff Accreditation Standards 5 District Accreditation Policy 5 Assignment of Statuses 5 Process Standards 5 Accreditation Statuses 5 5-6 Notification of Deficiencies after Assignment of Status Factors Affecting Change in Accreditation Status 6 Resolving Accreditation Controversies 6 Consolidation of School Districts or Transfer of Grades 6 6-7 Corrective Action Plan and Withdrawal of Accreditation School Performance Classification Policy 7 Assignment of Classifications 7 Performance Standards 8 Performance Classifications 8 Priority Schools 8 Assignment of Evaluation Teams 8 8-9 School Improvement Plan Professional Development Plan for Educators 9 -10 Withdrawal of Accreditation 0- 1 1 1 iii Accreditation Monitoring Procedures 11 On-Site Evaluations 11 Investigative Evaluations 11 11-12 Special Test Audits Summer Program Audits 12 Other State/Federal Program Audits 12 Analysis and Verification of Accreditation Information 12 Hearing and Appeal Procedures 13 13 Request for Hearing Authorized Representative of the Commission 13 Hearing Procedures 13 Appeal Procedures 14 Process Standards Administration and Personnel 15 15-16 Standards 1-12 School Operations and Climate 16 16-17 Standards 13-22 Instructional Practices 17 17-19 Standards 23-37 Developing School Performance Standards 20 Analysis of Senate Bill 2488 Items Still to be Determined 21 22 Timeline Appendices 23 A -- Graduation Requirements 24 Required Courses in the Curriculum of Each Secondary School B 25 C -- Required Courses for University Admission 26-30 Course Development D Student Records 31 E F -- Requirements of the Mississippi Curriculum Content Assessment System .32 -38 Glossary 39-51 iv 6 THE HISTORY OF ACCREDITATION IN MISSISSIPPI Since the early 1900s, accreditation has sought to improve schools through the requirements of the accrediting agency. In Mississippi, the roots of school accreditation are found in the institutions of higher It all began in 1896 when the University of Mississippi first learning and state teachers' associations. The schools that met the University's published a program of studies for an approved high school. prescribed program of studies were officially listed as affiliated high schools, and the graduates of those schools were admitted to the University on the basis of their records (certificates), without examination. The list included white high schools in Arkansas, Mississippi, and Tennessee, and it was soon recognized as the approved list by the other colleges in the state. The effort to regulate the program of studies in secondary schools was strengthened in 1918 when the University requested the Mississippi Education Association to appoint a committee to classify the The Association appointed five members to a High School Classifying affiliated high schools. Committee and required this group to establish standards of classification, to devise a system for grouping high schools, and to assign each high school to its appropriate group. The responsibilities and workload of this subsidiary committee of the Mississippi Education Association continued to grow, and the need for full-time statewide supervision of high schools soon became apparent. This need was met in 1919 when the position of state supervisor of secondary schools was created in the Mississippi Department of In May of 1920, the High School Classifying Committee became the State High School Education. The State Accrediting Commission, a standing committee of the Mississippi Education Association. Supervisor of Secondary Schools chaired the first Commission, whose membership consisted of representatives from two high schools, the A and M College, Millsaps College, Mississippi College, the Mississippi State College for Women, and the University of Mississippi. This Commission required high schools to meet eleven minimum standards before being accredited and defined an accredited high school as one that meets all requirements and, after inspection, has been approved by the Commission. During that year, the Mississippi Accreditation of elementary schools was not addressed until 1926. Education Association created the Elementary School Accrediting Commission to perform the same duties in regulating programs for elementary schools that the High School Accrediting Commission did for secondary schools. The Elementary Commission consisted of ten members, with the newly appointed State Elementary School Supervisor serving as executive secretary of the group. Operating as separate entities, these two Commissions regulated the elementary and secondary programs in white schools until 1949 when they were discontinued by the Mississippi Education Association, and the Mississippi Accrediting Commission was formed. The first efforts to accredit black schools began in 1935 when the Mississippi Association for Teachers in Colored Schools organized the Negro Accrediting Commission. In 1947 the Mississippi Association for Teachers in Colored Schools became the Mississippi Teachers Association, and the Commission continued to operate under the renamed teachers' association until 1959. During that year, the name was changed to the State Accrediting Commission, and one of the first official actions of this group was to adopt the existing rules and regulations of the Mississippi Accrediting Commission. 1 7 The decade of the sixties found these two Commissions sharing responsibilities for accrediting black and white schools; and, in carrying out their duties, both groups made extensive use of officials in the Mississippi Department of Education. The director of the Division of Instruction and his staff served as liaison personnel in distributing, collecting, and processing accreditation information. This practice of "separate but equal" accreditation terminated in the summer of 1970 when the State Board of Education assumed the responsibility, thus adding a legal dimension to a voluntary process designed to improve schools. The accreditation law of 1970 gave the State Board of Education the power and authority to prescribe the standards and procedures for the accreditation of schools and placed the responsibility for enforcement in the Mississippi Department of Education. The law further mandated the Board to appoint a Commission on School Accreditation, whose membership would consist of four representatives from each of the five Congressional districts and whose primary purpose would be to continually review the accreditation system. Contrary to the general perception of the public, the law did not make accreditation compulsory for any school. The process continued to be voluntary and open to any elementary, secondary, or special school in the state. In the decade following the passage of the accreditation law of 1970, the accreditation system (although now legal) continued to emphasize quantitative factors (specific resources and personnel) as the means by which school improvement was to be accomplished. The provision of adequate resources and personnel was assumed to be a sufficient indicator of the quality of the school program, but, as accreditation information was evaluated, it was found that the quality of the school program was not a direct correlate However, the system was successful in assuring the presence of of the required quantitative factors. adequate resources and in standardizing the organization and operation of school programs. These assurances were not enough to soothe a growing disgruntled public which was constantly evaluating the its students. As the decade of the eighties approached, the state was set products of accredited schools The public wanted the emphasis in for reform in education and, ultimately, in school accreditation. accrediting schools shifted from measures of quantity to those of quality. The Education Reform Act of 1982 established a task force to develop a system for assuring the quality of This new system, appropriately deemed performance-based school school programs in Mississippi. accreditation, was based upon measures that focus on the extent to which schools help students master defined content and objectives. The law clearly shifted the emphasis in accreditation to the outcomes of education, specifically those related to student achievement, and changed the process from voluntary to compulsory for all public schools. Legislation enacted in 1994 maintained the emphasis on student achievement and mandated that the Mississippi State Board of Education examine the performance-based accreditation system in order to The 1994 legislation required the system to establish rigorous minimum strengthen and expand it. standards; to establish levels above the minimum that demand exemplary performance; to establish strict measures for districts that fail to meet minimum standards; and to hold districts accountable for the educational progress of their students. During the 1999 Legislative Session, the Mississippi Student Achievement Improvement Act of 1999 was passed requiring the State Board of Education to implement a performance-based accreditation system for both individual schools and school districts. This legislation also required the State Board of Education to set annual performance standards for each of the schools in the state and to measure the performance of each school against itself, using student growth and performance measures. Additional legislation passed in 2000 further clarified requirements for establishing new accountability standards, making accreditation levels reflective of student performance at the school level rather than the district level. This 2000 2 legislation required school accreditation levels to be based on two criteria: (1) meeting an annual growth expectation in student achievement and (2) the percentage of students proficient at grade level. This legislation also established an intensive assistance program for schools not meeting the accreditation standards. For the first time, all components of a school - students, teachers, principals, superintendents, for student accountable learning. held are and board members school - 3 9 ACCREDITATION POLICIES OF THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION 1.0 ADMINISTRATIVE POLICY 1.1 MEMBERSHIP OF THE COMMISSION ON SCHOOL ACCREDITATION The Commission is composed of fifteen (15) members, with three representatives from each Congressional district. The membership consists of two classroom teachers, two principals of schools, two school district superintendents, two local school board members, and seven individuals who are not actively engaged in the education profession. All appointments to the Commission shall comply with Section 37-17-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, as amended. 1.2 APPOINTMENT Each member of the Commission is appointed by the State Board upon recommendation of the State Superintendent of Education. 1.3 TERMS OF OFFICE The length of a regular term is four years. Upon acceptance of appointment, each member is eligible to serve for two consecutive terms. If a member changes employment or accepts a position that is no longer reflective of the category for which he or she was appointed, or if a member moves out of the Congressional district he or she was appointed to represent, that member must resign and a new member will be appointed to fill the unexpired term. A member of the Commission who is appointed to fill an unexpired term is eligible for appointment to his or her own term of office. 1.4 GENERAL DUTIES OF COMMISSION The State Board of Education, acting through the Commission on School Accreditation, shall establish and implement a permanent performance-based accreditation system, and all public elementary and secondary schools shall be accredited under this system. It shall be the purpose of the Commission on School Accreditation to continually review and enforce the standards on accreditation and to make recommendations to the State Board of Education. 1.5 OFFICERS The Commission annually elects a chairperson and vice-chairperson. 1.6 MEETINGS The Commission meets on call of the State Superintendent of Education. Any official action taken by the Commission requires the presence of a quorum, which is defined as a majority of the present membership. Superintendents of school districts will receive written notice of the place, time, and date of each Commission meeting. Individuals and/or groups who request a time slot on the agenda are required to submit such in writing to the executive secretary. All requests for agenda consideration must be received by the executive secretary no later than seven days prior to the meeting of the Commission. Agenda items received after this deadline may be added if approved by a majority vote of the Commission. 1.7 EXPENSES According to Sections 25-3-41 and 25-3-69, Mississippi Code of 1972, as amended, each member of the Commission is reimbursed for per diem, travel, and other allowable expenses that are incurred when attending meetings of the Commission. The expenses are paid out of any funds available for the operation of the Mississippi Department of Education. 1.8 STAFF Staff assigned to the Commission consists of personnel in the Mississippi Department of Education. The State Superintendent of Education designates one staff member to serve as executive secretary.