June 2010
To: Superintendents of School Districts
From: Ira Schwartz
Subject: Accountability System for Schools with Alternative Cohorts
Section 100.2(p)(16)(iii) of Commissioner’s Regulations allows schools in which more than half the students enrolled have previously been enrolled in another high school or in which more than half the enrollment is receiving special education services to voluntarily submit the performance of an alternative high school cohort. The alternative cohort in any given year shall consist of those students enrolled in the high school on the first Wednesday of October three years previously who were still enrolled in the school on the first Wednesday of October two years previously.
This memo is to inform you that LEAs with schools that wish to participate
in the alternative cohort should contact SED for approval to use alternative
cohort along with the regular cohort for accountability purposes. For the
alternate cohort AYP results to be considered, the school needs to make alternate
cohort AYP for all groups in both ELA & Math.
The alternate cohort data submission template is available at the
SED website http://www.p12.nysed.gov/accountability/APA/Forms/Forms_home.html.
The data submission deadline is August 13, 2010. If you have any questions,
please contact Shibu Joseph at (718) 722 8556 or e-mail sjoseph@mail.nysed.gov.
We look forward to continuing to work with you to develop appropriate measures
to hold all students accountable for educational results.
cc:
John King
Jean Stevens
Maria (Parzych) Sokol
Shibu Joseph