A Guided Tour of the

1% Exception ProcessFrom Documentation to Approval

NCLB Assessment Basics

• All students are required to be assessed under the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB).

• All scores (ISAT, PSAE, IAA) affect performance and participation data and therefore, AYP.

(2009 threshold = 70%)

Exception Application

• Exceptions are only processed at the district level. Individual schools may not apply separately.

• If more than 1% of your district’s students are identified as having “the most significant cognitive disabilities,”

YOUR DISTRICT SHOULD APPLY FOR AN

EXCEPTION.

Why Apply?

• If the exception is approved:Your district’s IAA scores are applied to AYP at the levels earned by those students.

IAA SCORE EQUIVALENT SCORE Mastery Level 4

Satisfactory Level 3 Foundational Level 2

Entry Level 1

EXAMPLE

• Your district has 1,000 students in the grades assessed.

• Your district has 25 “Students with the most significant cognitive disabilities.”

Let’s do the Math:

25/1000 = Of all students tested, your district has 2.5% with the most significant cognitive disabilities.

Let’s say…all 25 children score at the 3 or 4 proficient levels.

With an exception: All 25 proficient scores are counted as passing for the purpose of AYP.

Without an exception: 10 proficient scores will count as passing for AYP.

15 proficient scores will be counted as failing for AYP.

NO LAW LIMITS HOWMANY STUDENTSWITH DISABILITIESMAY BE ASSESSEDWITH THE IAA.

That Mysterious 1%

That Mysterious 1%

• NCLB sets this percentage as the legal expectation of the incidence of students with significant cognitive disabilities at the national, state and local levels.

That Mysterious 1%

• The NCLB cutoff for scores that can be accepted as progressing/attaining based on alternate academic achievement standards …

UNLESS AN EXCEPTION IS GRANTED.

Conditions for an Exception

• The LEA must document that the incidence of students with the most significant cognitive disabilities exceeds 1.0 percent of all students in the grades assessed.

Locating the Exception Form

• Exception form and instructions will be available after March 1, 2009 at:

http://www.isbe.net/spec-ed/html/exception_cap.htm

Click link for: Exception Form 37-58

• For the purpose of this presentation, you will find sample documents at the end of this packet.

Filling Out the Form, Section 1

• Row A – All students enrolled at the time of State testing in grades 3-8 and 11 (submit after all State testing is completed).

• Row B – All students with the most significant cognitive disabilities in the same grades.

• Row C – Divide Row B’s TOTAL by Row A’s TOTAL to determine percentage.

Section 2Why Incidence Is Above 1%

• School, community or health programs in the LEA draw large numbers of families of students with the most significant cognitive disabilities.

Section 2: Another Possibility

• The LEA has a small overall student population that would take only a very few students with such disabilities to exceed the 1% cap.

Section 2: Other Possibilities

• Beyond the control of the LEA, students are placed in a group home within the LEA’s boundaries.

• One family adopts special needs children, resulting in a potential perennial incidence rate issue for the LEA.

• Families move to the area due to proximity to Federal or State institutions.

Mobility Rate Issues

Large Low SES Population

Section 3 - 34 CFR 200.6(a)(2)(iii)The Superintendent Assures:

• District IEP teams implement clear and appropriate guidelines to determine IAA as the State assessment for students with significant cognitive disabilities.

Section 3The Superintendent Assures:

• Parents are informed* that their child’s achievement will be based on alternate academic achievement standards.

* Additional line on notification form for IAA decision.

Section 3The Superintendent Assures:

• Such students are, to the extent possible, included in the general curriculum and in assessments aligned with that curriculum.

34 CFR Part 200 Title I--Improving the Academic Achievement of the Disadvantaged;

Final Rule “Regardless of where students receive instruction, all students with disabilities should have access to, participate in, and make progress in, the general curriculum (emphasis added). Thus, all students with disabilities must be included in the measurement of AYP toward meeting the State's standards.”

Section 3The Superintendent Assures:

• The District disseminates information and promotes the use of appropriate accommodations to increase the number of these students who are tested against grade-level academic achievement standards.

Section 3The Superintendent Assures:

• General and special education teachers and other appropriate staff know how to administer assessments, including making appropriate use of accommodations for these students.

Section 3The Superintendent Assures:

• The district must provide for the participation of all students in the grades assessed.

Outcomes:With an Exception

• All IAA scores = actual performance

• All proficient scores are counted as passing.

• Potentially, IAA scores have a decreased negative impact on AYP.

Avoid shooting yourself in the foot!!!

Apply for the 1% Exception!!!

When Should I Apply? NOT NOW

Elementary Districts – after the IAAs are completed on

March 27, 2009.

High School & Unit Districts –after the final PSAE makeup

on May 7, 2009.

Contact Information for Exception Applications

Pearl SchneiderStudent Assessment Div., ISBEPhone: 217/782-4823FAX: 217/782-6097Email: pschneid@isbe.net

Outcomes:Without an Exception

• Data Analysis Division will contact your district with options for assignment of failing IAA scores.

• The district identifies the possible choices for placement of the deficient scores and the specific students whose scores will be affected.

Methods of Assignment

The District chooses assignment:

• to the fewest subgroups.

• to the largest subgroups.

• to the smallest subgroups

• to the subgroups whose performance is farthest above the 2008-09 target.

• to the subgroups whose performance is farthest below the 2008-09 target.

Contact Information “Methods of Assignment”

Questions

Data Analysis Div.

Phone:

217/782-3950

Fax:

217/524-7784