THE STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT / THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK / ALBANY, NY 12234

 

TO:

EMSC-VESID Committee

FROM:

Jean C. Stevens

SUBJECT:

Proposal on Portfolio Schools

DATE:

March 17, 2006

STRATEGIC GOAL:

Goals 1 and 2


AUTHORIZATION(S):

 

 

SUMMARY

 

Issue for Decision

 

Should the Board of Regents approve the proposal that would begin to count for State accountability purposes Math Regents exam results for students entering ninth grade in 2009 enrolled in schools in the New York Performance Standards Consortium?

 

Reason(s) for Consideration

 

          Review of policy.

 

Proposed Handling

 

This question will be before the EMSC-VESID Committee for action on March 20, 2006.

 

Procedural History

 

Not applicable.

 

Background Information

 

In 1995, the Department granted a five-year variance to a group of schools that make up the New York Performance Standards Consortium to use a portfolio assessment in place of certain Regents exams.  This occurred before the Board of Regents began to require Regents exams for graduation.  A portfolio is a compilation of a student’s work during the year and may consist of exhibits, projects, book reports, papers and other similar items.  Each school determines what constitutes the students’ portfolio.

 

In 2001, SED provided that the Consortium schools could implement a phased-in transition schedule for the Regents exams so that students who entered grade 9 in 2001 would take all five Regents exams or approved alternatives for graduation.  In 2004, SED extended the transition schedule, allowing students who entered grade 9 in 2001 to continue to use portfolio assessments to graduate, provided that they passed the Regents English exam.

 

In July 2005, the Board of Regents approved the following schedule of Regents exams for students in the Consortium schools, specifying the diploma requirements those students must meet as the Regents 65 graduation standard is phased in over four years:

 

Students entering grade 9 prior to 2005:  required to pass the Regents English exam at 55 or above.

 

Students entering grade 9 in 2005:  required to pass the Regents English exam at 65 or above.

 

Students entering grade 9 in 2006 and 2007:  required to pass the Regents English exam at 65 or above plus one other Regents exam at 65 or above (note no requirement that the other test be the Math Regents).

 

Students entering grade 9 in 2008:  required to pass the Regents English exam and two other Regents exams at 65 or above (note no requirement that either of the two other tests be the Math Regents). 

 

Students entering grade 9 in 2009:  required to pass all five Regents exams at 65 or above.

 

Under this schedule, students entering grade 9 in 2009 need to pass all five Regents exams at 65 or above or an approved alternative to graduate.

 

Commissioner’s Regulations require that students who do not take the Math Regents or an approved alternative be designated a Level 1 for State accountability purposes.  The above schedule, however, does not require students at the Consortium schools to take the Regents Math exam until the 2009 high school cohort.  Accordingly, a policy change is necessary to align this schedule with State accountability requirements, so that students are not penalized with a “Level 1” designation simply because they did not take the Regents Math exam until required to do so.

 

          It is proposed, therefore, that SED first begin to count for accountability purposes the Math Regents exam results for students entering ninth grade in 2009 at the Consortium schools.  Beginning with that cohort, all students attending these schools will be required to pass all five Regents exams, including the Math Regents, at 65 or above or an approved alternative.

 

Recommendation

 

VOTED:  That the Board of Regents approve the above proposal and direct SED to begin to count for accountability purposes the Math Regents exam results for students entering ninth grade in 2009 enrolled in the Consortium schools listed on the attached document.

 

Timetable for Implementation

 

This policy is effective immediately. 


Revised November 2005

 

 Portfolio Schools Covered Under Commissioner’s Decision for Extension of Portfolio Assessment

 

 

1.       Alternative Community School (Ithaca)

2.       Ballet Tech/NYC Public School for Dance

3.       Banana Kelly Community Learning Center

4.       Beacon School

5.       Bread & Roses Integrated Arts High School

6.       Brooklyn International

7.       Brooklyn School for Global Studies (now School for Global Studies)

8.       Central Park East Secondary School

9.       City-As-School

10.     Coalition School for Social Change

11.     East Side Community High School

12.     El Puente Academy for Peace & Justice

13.     Fannie Lou Hamer Freedom School

14.     Humanities Preparatory School

15.     Institute for Collaborative Education (now Institute for Secondary Education)

16.     International High School at LaGuardia

17.     Landmark High School

18.     Legacy School for Integrated Studies

19.     Manhattan International School

20.     Manhattan Village Academy

21.     Middle College High School

22.     Satellite Academy High School - Queens

23.     Satellite Academy High SchoolBronx (no active BEDS code)

24.     Satellite Academy High School - Forsythe

25.     Satellite Academy High School - Chambers

26.     School for the Physical City

27.     School of the Future

28.     School Without Walls (Rochester)

29.     University Heights High School

30.     Urban Academy Laboratory High School

31.     Vanguard High School

32.     Wings Academy