The purpose of this memorandum is to provide information regarding the 2008-2009 School Improvement notification and appeal process based on the 2008-2009 state assessments.
Step 1 Notification:
A) Superintendents and local school board presidents are notified by certified mail of proposed School Improvement status for school(s) in the district. Superintendents are asked to please make principals, and other school administrators aware of the Arkansas Department of Education (ADE) notification of School Improvement status.
B) Superintendents notify school principal(s) of proposed School Improvement status for the principal's school.
C) Preliminary Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) Reports will be posted on the NORMES ED.STAT portal after notification. Principals and superintendents can access the private reports using the NORMES’ username and password.
• To access using the portal, go to http://normes.uark.edu.
• In the Private Access window, click on the ED.STATS portal link.
• Log in with username and password.
• Click on the 2009 tab.
• In the window titled ‘AYP Reports’ click on the AYP Report link. Discrepancy reports will also be available in this link.
Step 2 Appeal Process:
A) Documents sent to the ADE:
Required documentation [Superintendent Certification and Appeal Form(s)] supporting a district’s appeal for school(s) in the district may be filed in one of two ways:
ELECTRONIC SUBMISSION:
Superintendent Certification and Appeal Form(s) e-mailed to ade.ayp@arkansas.gov. It is important that the subject line reads as follows:
AYP, followed by district name, followed by district LEA#
Example: AYP, Great School District, #11000
OR
PAPER SUBMISSION:
Superintendent Certification and Appeal Form(s) should be mailed to Dr. Gayle Potter, Arkansas Department of Education, Four Capitol Mall, Room 107-A, Little Rock, AR 72201
Please choose either e-mail or postal service for sending the required documents. Do NOT send some documents by e-mail and other documents by postal service.
The Superintendent Certification and Appeal Form(s) for all schools in a district should be sent in the same e-mail or same mailing. Depending on district size, more than one e-mail may be necessary.
Documents sent to the ADE:
1. Superintendent Certification
Complete Superintendent Certification. File one certification that lists all schools in the district filing an appeal. Do not send a separate certification for each school.
2. Appeal form(s)
Complete a separate form for each school for which an appeal is being submitted. A justification (see space on form) should be provided for the areas that are appealed.
B) Documents sent to NORMES:
1. Appeals Data Corrections
If the appeal is based on student data coded incorrectly in APSCN such as incorrect 10-digit ID or Social Security Number, incorrect Local Educational Agency (LEA) number, or incorrect course enrollment data, corrected Appeals data sets will need to be submitted.
It is important to note that all appeals data set corrections must be sent electronically to NORMES.
Directions for accessing, correcting and submitting Appeals data sets are located on the ED.STATS portal’s ‘Home’ tab and in the Private Access link titled “Support and Training Materials”.
Appeals data sets, including 1% cap data sets (for districts only), are available in the 2009 tab on the ED.STATS portal in the ‘AYP Data Sets’ window.
In order to process any appeal and provide accurate results, the corrected Appeals data sets must follow the protocol explained in the instructions and contain all the required information per the instructions. Several webinars are scheduled in August to facilitate completing appeals data corrections. These will be announced on the NORMES Web site under Professional Development (http://normes.uark.edu/?cat=30).
2. Timeline
All appeals including all required documentation must be received no later than 4:30 PM on the 30th calendar day from receipt of the superintendent/school board president notification, in accordance with Section 9.05 of the Arkansas Comprehensive Testing, Assessment & Accountability Program (ACTAAP) Rule.
An appeal panel will review all appeals. Appeals will be addressed in the following priority:
1. Schools in School Improvement
2. Schools in Alert
3. Schools that are Meeting Standards