What Does Accountability Mean for a School?

Maine’s Model of School Support includes five indicators that focus on key areas of school and student success, adhere to the requirements of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), and directly align to Maine’s Priorities and Goals. Below is the list of indicators of school success:

Chronic Absenteeism (K-12)
Academic Progress (Grades 3-8 Only)
Progress in English Language Proficiency (ELP) for English Learners (K-12)
Academic Achievement (Grades 3-8, High School)
Graduation Rate (High School Only)

Eligible individual student populations (where there are ten or more students of a specific student population) are also measured to identify where targeted support is needed. Student populations include: economically disadvantaged, students with disabilities, English learners, and students who are white, black, Asian, Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander, Native American, Hispanic, or two or more races.

To determine each school’s performance on the indicators listed above, Maine uses data collected from public schools on an annual basis to provide each school with a performance rating on each applicable indicator.

School Indicators & Performance Levels

The chart below summarizes the indicators used in Maine’s Model of School Support for Maine’s public elementary, middle, and/or high schools. In addition, the criteria surrounding the performance levels for each indicator has been provided.

Indicators	Performance Level
Indicators	Emerging	Developing	Meeting	Excelling
Chronic Absenteeism	All eligible student group populations have a chronic absenteeism rate of 10% or higher.	At least one eligible student group has a chronic absenteeism rate of less than 10%.	All eligible student groups have a chronic absenteeism rate of less than 10%.	All eligible student groups have a chronic absenteeism rate of 5% or less.
Academic Progress – English Language Arts	All eligible student groups have score of less than 100.	At least one eligible student group has a score of at least 100.	All eligible student groups have a score of at least 100.	All eligible student groups have a score of at least 150.
Academic Progress – Math	All eligible student groups have a score of less than 100.	At least one eligible student group has a score of at least 100.	A scores of at least 100 for all eligible student group	A scores of at least 150 for all eligible student group
Progress in English Language Proficiency	The average progress towards the student’s annual target is less than 65%	The average progress towards the student’s annual target is between 65% and 80%	The average progress towards the student’s annual target is between 80% and 95%	The average progress towards the student’s annual target is greater than 95%
Academic Achievement – Math	All eligible student groups did not make annual targets	At least one eligible student group made its annual target	All eligible student groups made their annual targets	All eligible student groups exceeded their annual targets by at least 10%
Academic Achievement – English Language Arts	All eligible student groups did not make annual targets	At least one eligible student group made its annual target	All eligible student groups made their annual targets	All eligible student groups exceeded their annual targets by at least 10%
Graduation Rate – 4YR	All eligible student groups did not make annual targets	At least one eligible student group made its annual graduation target	All eligible student groups made their annual graduation targets	All eligible student groups have met or exceeded the long-term goal of 90%
Graduation Rate – 5/6YR	All eligible student groups did not make annual targets	At least one eligible student group made its annual graduation target	All eligible student groups made their annual graduation targets	All eligible student groups have met or exceeded the long-term goal of 92%

Based on student population performance within the school, each school will achieve performance level for each indicator that is applicable to the grade span (elementary/middle or high school). An example of performance levels for indicators is provided below:

report card

A school’s performance in the above indicators will determine the level of support available to the school.

Tiers of Support

Maine has developed three Tiers of Support designed to direct various levels of assistance from the Maine DOE.

Tier III supports are designated specifically for schools experiencing the most significant challenges across all eligible student groups, and who also receive Title I funding.

Tiers I and II are designed to support both Title I and non-Title I schools.

Support levels are determined based on eligible student groups (individual student populations with at least ten [10] students). Tier III supports are determined based on the performance of all eligible student groups while Tiers I and II are based on individual student groups. Student populations with fewer than 10 students are not included as part of the indicators for the school, this is consistent with federal FERPA regulations.

Below is a detailed summary that describes how a school’s level of support is determined, and the various supports that are available at each Tier.

Tier I Additional Targeted Supports and Intervention	Tier II Targeted Supports and Intervention	Tier III Comprehensive Supports and Intervention
Any school with one or more eligible student group/s not meeting state expectations across all indicators in one or more content areas	Any school with one or more eligible student group/s not meeting state expectations in the same indicator for three (3) consecutive years	Schools that receive Title I funding and where all eligible student groups are not meeting state expectations in all indicators in one or more content areas.
Professional development will be available regionally and statewide at no cost.	With access to a regional school leadership coach, schools will be responsible for developing and implementing a school level plan, in partnership with stakeholders, to include at least one evidence-based intervention. Professional development will be available at no cost and driven by the needs of school staff and students. Tier II supports will be available during the 2019-2020 school year.	With the support of a school leadership coach, schools will be responsible for developing and implementing a school level plan, in partnership with stakeholders, to include at least one evidence-based intervention. Schools will also have access to additional federal funds to support the implementation of a school leadership team and a school plan. Professional development will be available at no cost and driven by the needs of school staff and students.