The Maine Department of Education held a webinar on June 21 to Review the NEO Accountability Report and certification requirements. The recording is available for anyone who was unable to participate in the webinar.

The NEO Accountability Report allows districts to validate student enrollment and demographic data.  The report lists students by student groups which will directly inform student group reporting as part of school support determinations and ESEA Report Cards.  The report also identifies which assessments the students should have taken, full academic year enrollment for all students, and whether or not a student will be included for accountability measures or only for assessment reporting.

The Accountability Certification will need to be submitted by each Superintendent. Once validated, the data will be used for ESEA Report Cards and other assessment and accountability reporting.

NEO Accountability Report and Certification Webinar Recording (you will need to register for GoTo Webinar to view the recording)

Accountability Webinar Questions and Follow-Up FAQs

1. My school is an SPPS (Special Purpose Private School). NEO also shows “no data” for this report
   • SPPS are not factored in the accountability model. However, the fact that data doesn’t show for your school is an error in NEO that will be corrected. Student data should show for your schools so you can validate that the information is correct. The report developers have been notified.
2. As a SPPS, does my superintendent need to verify this report?
   • No
3. What were the asterisks vs the blanks for on the Student Detail?
   • Asterisks indicate the assessment(s) that the student should have taken. A blank indicates that the student did not need to take any of the assessments.
4. If something is not right, who do we contact?
   • If the data is related to student demographics or enrollments, please first validate that the information is correct in Synergy. If the data is correct in Synergy, please contact the Helpdesk – MEDMS.Helpdesk@maine.gov 207-624-6896 or contact Charlotte.Ellis@maine.gov 207-624-6696
5. My accountability certification report is blank, but I can see kids in the detail report. Is this because I don’t do the certification? Or is there something else I need to do?
   • This was an error that has been corrected.
6. Who certifies?
   • Superintendent
7. Our schools are each their own district because we are an AOS. I have some kids who are marked N for full year district and a Y for full year school. They should be the same for each district and school in our case since our schools are their own districts. how do I fix this?
   • Please review the enrollment data in Synergy. It is possible for a student to attend one of your schools for the full year, but whose resident district has changed, so the district full academic year would not be Y, but the school full academic year would be Y.
8. What is a schoolwide program?
   • Schoolwide program is a type of Title 1 program. For further information please contact Dan Weeks at: Daniel.R.Weeks@maine.gov or (207) 624-6749.
9. What about those that are tagged Y but are AFS students?
   • AFS (Foreign exchange) students are not treated any differently than other high school students.
10. What if the students take their entire program at a vocational center?
    • The sending school/district is still responsible to see that the student takes the appropriate assessments.
11. Can you explain where the numbers are coming from on the bottom? Such as Title 1
    • Title 1 numbers have two sources.
      • If the school has a schoolwide Title 1 program, then all of the students are flagged with Title1ELA and Title1Math.
      • If the school does not have a schoolwide Title 1 program, but rather a targeted assistance program, then the flags come from data entered into Synergy.
12. We are a school wide, but the numbers are not matching the number of students above.
    • Please recheck the numbers. There was an error in the report earlier that has been fixed. If there are still issues, please contact Charlotte.Ellis@maine.gov 207-624-6696.
13. Are Special Purpose Private Schools responsible for entering and checking this data for their students or is this a requirement for the public schools only?
    • SPPS should review the data (if the report has been fixed so you can see it) to validate that student grade levels and enrollments are entered correctly.
14. Where can I get the recorded version?
    • https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/8477604477455510018
15. We have a student that was enrolled the entire year, but is showing N in both District and School Full Year columns.
    • Students are considered to be school full year if they are enrolled on October 1 and May 4 at the same school.
    • Students are considered to be district full year if the same district is responsible for the student on October 1 and May 4.
    • October EPS enrollment data is utilized to determine the October 1 status, if enrollments were entered after October EPS was closed (even if they cover the October 1 date), then the student isn’t counted as Full Academic Year.
16. What does the E mean in the ELA Assessment column?
    • The “E” indicates Exempt.
      • EL students who arrived at a US school between April 1, 2017 and March 1, 2018 and who took the ACCESS for ELLs assessment are exempt from having to take the ELA assessment
      • EL students who arrive at a US school between March 1, 2018 and May 4, 2018 are exempt from having to take the ELA assessment
17. We have students with “waivers” who shouldn’t be on the list
    • The only “waivers” that the Department recognizes are
      • the EL exemption – see question 16
      • special considerations – these students will have an S in the column for the assessment(s) for which the special consideration was granted
    • Students whose parents requested that the student not test will be counted as Non-Participants – there is no waiver for these students

For further questions contact Charlotte Ellis, Data Manager at Charlotte.Ellis@maine.gov.