District Micro-decisions for Student Learning Objectives

For the decisions listed below a district will need to decide who the decision-maker will be and whether the decision is rigorous and lawful. Note that some of the decisions may be different for various content areas.

Learning Content
Topic Whole or Part Decision to be Made Should the learning content be whole or part? What is considered the most important learning for each content area? DecisionMaker What was Decided

Admin.

Teachers must include ALL of the learning standards for their content area in their SLOs.

Deci sion Mad e? (Yes Yes /No)

Is it Rigorous? (Yes/No)

Is it Lawful? (Yes/No )

Yes

Yes

Most Important

Teachers

Standards

What is the source of standards for the content area(s)?

Admin.

It is understood that pre and post assessments may not assess every standard Yes for the course. It is the responsibility of the teacher to identify the most important learning for the year that will encompass many standards within one test item. K-4: Common Core for classroom teachers and SPED, NYS Learning Standards for special area teachers with at least 1 reading Yes and 1 writing standard from the Common Core (k-2 may use speaking and listening) 5-8: Common Core for ELA, math, and SPED teachers, NYS Learning Standards for all other teachers with at least 1 reading and 1 writing standard from the Common Core 9-12: Common Core for ELA teachers, NYS Learning Standards for all other teachers with at least 1 reading and 1 writing standard from the Common Core

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

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Common Core

To what extent should/must the New York State P-12 Common Core Learning Standards be included in an SLO? What are the districts learning content priorities/needs and must/should they be included?

Admin.

K-12 ELA, K-8 math, and SPED teachers will use ALL Common Core All other teachers will use NYS Learning Standards for their specific content area with at least 1 reading and 1 writing standard from the Common Core. At this point we are not going to address district priorities.

Yes

Yes

Yes

Admin.

Priorities

Yes

Yes

Yes

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Data Sources

Alignment

Standards and Indicators

Which data source(s) and level of review is required or recommended for SLOs? What is the level of vertical alignment required to be articulated to ensure future course preparedness for each SLO? What format or depth of standards and indicators annotation is required on an SLO?

Admin. Admin.

N/A (Data sources are not required since we will not be prioritizing standards.) Yes N/A (If we had prioritized standards, we wouldve had to make sure that those selected were appropriate in terms of Yes vertical alignment.) Yes Yes

Yes

Yes

Admin.

Teachers must write one statement that indicates the standards they will be using for their SLO. If their statement requires Yes more information as in the History standards, then they must articulate that.

Yes

Yes

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Evidence
Topic Decision to be Made What level of parallelism is required between the pre- and summative assessment(s)? DecisionMaker What was Decided Decision Made? (Yes/No) Is it Rigorous? (Yes/No) Is it Lawful? (Yes/No)

Admin.

Parallelism

Pre and post assessments may or may not be the same length but neither are to exceed two 40-minute class periods Yes Pre and post assessments should mirror one another in item type (multiple choice, constructed response, etc.) Pre-assessments and post assessments can NOT be the same test. Teachers may score their own preassessments but they may NOT score their own post-assessments There should be 100% alignment. Yes

Yes

Yes

Alignment

To what level of quality should the pre- and summative assessments be aligned with the learning content? When no preassessment is available will a preassessment be developed? If so by whom?

Admin/ Teachers Admin.

Yes

Yes

PreAssessment

Pre-assessments will be created by department or grade level teams. Pre-assessment must be developed, administered, and scored prior to 10/9/12. No additional time will be provided. Teachers will need to collaborate during their planning periods/teaming time.

Yes

Yes

Yes

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Which prePreAssessment assessments will be used to establish baselines?

Admin.

Pre-tests developed by department/grade level teams. Yes Yes Yes Pre and post assessments should reflect the learning content 100%. Yes Yes Yes

How strongly must the pre-assessment reflect the content of the course included in the SLO? Scoring PreAssessment Which staff members will be asked to score the preassessments? For which courses is no summative assessment available? For which courses will summative assessments be developed, and by whom? When?

Admin/ Teachers Admin.

Teachers will score their own preassessments.

Yes

Yes

Yes

Admin.

Courses without a state exam or a Regents exam.

Yes

Yes

\Yes

Admin.

Summative Assessment

Post-tests will be created for all courses without a state exam or Regents exam Post tests will be created by departments Yes or grade level teams (using the edoctrina bank). LOTE = regional proficiency exam and comprehensive exam (other LOTE courses will need to create pre and post assessments NOTE: ALL post-assessments must be reviewed and approved by administration prior to being given

Yes

Yes

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For which courses/teacher groups will attribution of points be based on performance on State assessments?

Admin.

What summative assessments will be required or recommended?

Admin.

AIS and RTI teachers will be creating their roster as they go They can Yes develop their SLO with the grade level teachers, but they will have to wait and see who ends up in their room. (This is an alternative to attributing them with points based on the NYS assessments.) Grade 3 NYS Assessment 8th grade NYS Science Assessment Yes Regents exams Department/grade level assessments Regional LOTE exams (proficiency and comprehensive)

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

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Summative Assessment

Accommodations

What structure will be used for scoring summative assessments? What accommodations and documentation must and/or should be allowed for special population of students? Will the assessment(s) provide the needed scoring specificity, or are additional reports needed?

Admin.

Department Scoring Grade Level Scoring Regional Scoring (if available)

Yes

Yes

Yes

Admin.

Special Education IEP Plan Section 504 Plan (Teachers must include a generic statement that Yes indicates they will adhere to their students IEP and 504 plans.)

Yes

Yes

Admin.

There are no reporting features with the assessments being created. We will Yes/WIP Yes/WIP definitely need additional reports.

Yes/WIP

Assessment Reporting

If additional reports are needed, how and when will they be produced?

Admin.

Teachers will develop their own rosters, which they will use to record the preYes/WIP assessment scores and the individual student targets. At a later date, the district will determine whether or not they need to create one universal document. Individual teachers will be responsible for recording data on the spreadsheet (or in the database) Office of Curriculum and Instruction will determine next steps on the universal document.

Yes/WIP

Yes/WIP

Which department or staff position is responsible to disseminate the assessment reports?

Admin.

Yes/WIP

Yes/WIP

Yes/WIP

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When will the needed report(s) be made available to teachers, schools, etc.? Will multiple measures be required and/or recommended for pre-assessment(s)?

Admin.

Multiple Measures

Admin/ Teachers

Teachers will be creating their own rosters so there is no need to provide Yes/WIP them with the reports. A date for the universal document is TBD. Multiple measures should mirror state Yes assessments and Regents exams. If no state exam or Regents exam exists, teachers will determine whether multiple measures are appropriate for their courses. Most assessments should have a combination of item types.

Yes/WIP

Yes/WIP

Yes

Yes

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If multiple preassessment measures are used, what guidance on weighting will be provided and when? Multiple Measures Will multiple measures be required and/or recommended for summative assessment(s)? If multiple summative measures are used, what guidance on weighting will be provided and when?

Admin/ Teachers Admin/ Teachers

Admin/Tea chers

Multiple measures would occur within one assessment not several different Yes assessments. The teacher would be responsible for determining the proportions of the test items Multiple measures should mirror state assessments and Regents exams. Yes If no state exam or Regents exam exists, teachers will determine whether multiple measures are appropriate for their courses. Multiple measures would occur within one assessment not several different Yes assessments. The teacher would be responsible for determining the proportions of the test items

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Baseline
Topic Decision to be Made How many data sets are needed to establish the baseline? What constitutes a proper amount of student need for the content? DecisionMaker What was Decided Decision Made? (Yes/No) Is it Rigorous? (Yes/No) Is it Lawful? (Yes/No)

Multiple Data Points

Admin/ Teachers

Pre-assessment is required Additional data is allowed (will continue Yes to review this and may become more specific in future) N/A we are not prioritizing standards. This information could be used for Yes priorities in classroom instruction.

Yes

Yes

Student Need

Admin.

Yes

Yes

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Knowledge of Students

What depth of knowledge of students should/must be reflected in the baseline?

Admin.

N/A unless we use multiple data points to develop a more well-rounded picture Yes of the student. Otherwise it will be tough to articulate this.

Yes

Yes

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Target
Topic Decision to be Made What amount of growth defines a year's worth of growth? Growth DecisionMaker What was Decided Decision Made? (Yes/No) Is it Rigorous? (Yes/No) Is it Lawful? (Yes/No)

Admin.

Student will be expected to grow of the difference between 100% and their Yes pre-test score. If students score 29 or below, they will be expected to grow to a passing rate of 65%. (Sp. Ed. Students are expected to grow to a passing rate of 55%) (This will be revisited after the 1st year to determine if it is an appropriate amount of growth.) Students who are behind grade level will have the same expectations as those on Yes grade level but will be provided additional supports to achieve them.

Yes

Yes

Dosage

What is the appropriate amount of growth for students who are behind grade level? What impact will dosage (amount of time a staff member has with each student) have on target-setting?

Admin.

Yes

Yes

Classroom teachers will be responsible for the students they work with 100% of Yes the time. SPED teachers will be responsible for the students they work with 100% of the time. (Both classroom teachers and SPED teachers should be working collaboratively with one another to ensure the success of ALL students.)

Yes

Yes

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Documenting Growth

What method(s) will be used to document student pre- and summative results, including targets?

Admin.

Special Populations

Target Approaches

What process will be used to decide how to set targets for special student populations? What types of approaches will be applied for targetsetting? (common growth, growth to mastery, etc.)

Admin.

Teachers will develop their own rosters, which they will use to record the preYes/WIP assessment scores and the individual student targets. At a later date, the district will determine whether or not they need to create one universal document. The target-setting process will be the same for special populations as it is for Yes Yes the regular populations.

Yes

Admin

Student will be expected to grow of the difference between 100% and their pre-test score. Yes (Growth = 100 pre-test) 2 (Target= growth + pre-test If students score 29 or below, they will be expected to grow to a passing rate of 65%. Another option would be to use the banded approach Pre-test Target 15-25 60 26-35 65 36-45 70 46-55 75 56-65 80 65+ 85

Yes

Yes

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Thresholds

Is there a minimum threshold for the percentage of students that must meet targets? Is there a minimum threshold/s for individual student targets?

84% of students will meet their individual targets. Yes 84% (minimum threshold) is based on receiving the highest number of points in the effective range ALL students must have a minimum of 65% for their individual target. (Sp. Ed. Yes Students will have a minimum of 55% for their individual target) The pre-assessment score must be used to set the target. Additional data is allowable. Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Data to Inform TargetSetting

What data sources could/must be used to set targets?

Yes

Yes

HEDI
Topic Decision to be Made Will different HEDIs exist for teachers of different class sizes? Will different HEDIs exist for teachers of different content One HEDI areas? Will different HEDIs Structure or Multiple exist for teachers based on their dosage of instruction? Will different HEDIs exist for teachers using performance-based summative assessments? 2012, Community Training and Assistance Center DecisionMaker What was Decided Decision Made? (Yes/No) Is it Rigorous? (Yes/No) Is it Lawful? (Yes/No)

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

Yes

Yes
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Effective HEDI Rating HEDI Spread

How many "effective" points will be earned for achieving the target exactly? How will the spread of student results exist within each HEDI rating category?

17 effective points will be earned for achieving an exact target of 84% of students meeting their goals. See attached HEDI scale Ineffective = 0-64 Developing = 65-74 Effective = 75-84 Highly Effective = 85-100

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Rationale
Topic Decision to be Made To what extent must district priorities be reflected? DecisionMaker What was Decided Decision Made? (Yes/No) Is it Rigorous? (Yes/No) Is it Lawful? (Yes/No)

Priorities

At this time we are not concerned with addressing the district priorities in our SLOs. (We may revisit this in the future.)

Yes

Yes

Yes

Vertical Alignment

Instruction

To what level must vertical alignment be articulated in the rationale? What will be expected in terms of articulating instructional implications and approaches in the rationale?

We are not requiring our teachers to articulate the vertical alignment between Yes grade levels at this time. Teachers will be expected to articulate the instructional implications associated Yes with their SLO(s). Teachers should also articulate a connection to college and career readiness in their rationale.

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

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Population
Topic Decision to be Made How will the district monitor to ensure that at least 50% of a teachers students are included in the SLO student population? DecisionMaker What was Decided Decision Made? (Yes/No) Is it Rigorous? (Yes/No) Is it Lawful? (Yes/No)

Monitoring

How will the district monitor that all enrolled students for an included course section are included in the SLO? To what degree of specificity will special student population be denoted on rosters? What method of documenting student performance will be used? (e.g., names, ID numbers) What types of data points should be included on the student rosters?

Administrator will determine which teachers need SLOs, and which sections Yes of their courses need to be included in each SLO. This will be done according to the regulations o 3012c and SED guidance Building administrators will ensure that they have included 50% of the population and have worked from greatest to smallest in their selection. Elementary classroom teachers must include their entire class. See above Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Not at all Yes Names Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

Special Populations

Pre-assessment scores, individual growth targets, and post-assessment scores

Yes

Yes

Yes
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Interval
Topic Course Length Decision to be Made What courses are designated to be less than one academic year? DecisionMaker What was Decided Decision Made? (Yes/No) Is it Rigorous? (Yes/No) Is it Lawful? (Yes/No)

Admin.

Elective courses Special area courses (art, music, tech, home.ec. Etc,) PIG, Economics Any others?

Yes

Yes

Yes

Global Processes
Topic PreSelected Elements Decision to be Made If elements are going to be pre-selected what process will be used for each teacher group? How will the approval process for SLOs be structured? Decision - Maker What was Decided Decision Made? (Yes/No) Is it Rigorous? (Yes/No) Is it Lawful? (Yes/No)

Admin.

HEDI Scale 1st half of target statement: 84% of students will meet their individual targets.

Yes

Yes

Yes

Admin.

Approvals

Teachers will submit a copy of their SLO to building principals no later than Yes 10/16. (Hard copy or electronic is fine.) The administrative team will review the SLOs together and return them to teachers no later than 11/1 Approved SLOs will be returned via mailbox. Unapproved SLOs will require a meeting between the principal and the teacher/grade level team. Deadline for SLO creation is on or before 10/16/12

Yes

Yes

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What will the timeline for SLO submission look like and when will it be set each year? Will there be a single submission date or multiple submission dates?

Admin.

Create SLOs on 10/9 Final due date is 10/16 SLOs returned by 11/1

Yes

Yes

Yes

Admin.

Window for submission begins on 10/9 and ends on 101/16. Yes

Yes

Yes

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Approvals

What will be the timeframe between teacher SLO submittals and feedback? How will due dates be communicated?

Admin.

One week after due date (October 16th) Yes Yes Yes

Admin.

Due Dates

What will the process look like to monitor for compliance with due dates? What will happen if a due date is missed? How will teachers and administrators communicate about SLOs?

Faculty Meetings Department Meetings Staff Development Day N/A All teachers will comply.

Yes

Yes

Yes

Admin. N/A All teachers will comply. Admin. Admin. Open discussion during training sessions Individual conferences with teachers (as needed) Written feedback on SLO document The SLO will be returned to the teacher/grade level team with specific recommendations for improvement Individual meetings can be held if necessary

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes Yes

Yes Yes

Yes Yes

Processing Decisions

What will happen if an SLO is rejected?

Admin.

Yes

Yes

Yes

Will there be a makeup window for rejected SLOs? Will teachers hired after training be required to undergo training?

Admin.

Yes. There will be a makeup window of 5 school days. Yes Yes, all new teachers (required to write an SLO) will undergo training. Yes BOCES can provide this training if necessary

Yes

Yes

Admin.

Yes

Yes

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How late can new teachers start SLOs?

Admin.

Waiting for information from SED. This will be a district decision if we dont hear anything.

Yes

Yes

Yes

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Compliance

What will happen if a teacher does not complete SLOs as required? Will there be a quality monitoring process, if so what will it be? How will the quality of SLOs be monitored?

Admin.

Zero will be recorded for State Score Yes Submission Process with review and feedback using Annotated SLO Rubric Yes Form provided by Engage NY Submission Process with review and feedback using Annotated SLO Rubric Yes Form provided by Engage NY Teacher will be given the option to review and correct areas needing improvement Yes Yes Yes

Admin.

Yes

Yes

Quality Control

Admin.

Yes

Yes

What will be the outcome if the quality is rated too low? What training will be provided to district staff and schools?

Admin.

Yes

Yes

Admin.

Training If SLO training is to be provided, will the training be mandatory? How much training will be required/offered (frequency and number of sessions)?

Admin.

Faculty has received multiple introductions to the SLO through Yes faculty meetings and department meetings. They will receive two summer PD sessions. Opening day will review SLOs Superintendents Conference Day will be devoted to the creation of SLOs. Additional training will be provided as needed Yes Yes See above Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Admin.

Yes

Yes

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What is the timeline for training? When will training take place? What will be the format (face-to-face versus virtual, content and activities of each session)?

Admin.

Face to face training with time allotted for teachers to work by departments or Yes grade levels Training began in the Spring of 2012 and has continued through the summer of 2012. Training will continue into the fall of 2012. No, administrative support/meeting if needed with teacher Yes

Yes

Yes

Will there be individual, group, or district training after initial training for teachers needing help in developing or improving SLOs?

Admin.

Yes

Yes

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What is the timeline to develop an SLO? What is the process for teachers to submit SLOs for approval? What site-based discussion should be expected, such as the frequency and nature of SLO conferences, identifying and determining baseline data, and utilizing support and resources? Is there a need for data providers to adjust procedures in order to comprehensively support schools in a timely manner? What will be the construct of any conferences or improvement plans? What changes need to occur throughout central office to fully support schools? What departments will be most affected and require additional instructions and commitments?

Admin.

From Oct 9th initial meeting till Oct 16th

Yes

Yes

Yes

Admin.

Turn into Building Level Principal (see process above) Yes Between faculty meetings, department meetings, staff development days, Yes opening day, etc. Teachers and principals will have had plenty of time to discuss the SLOs in great detail.

Yes

Yes

Admin.

Yes

Yes

Other Decisions

Admin.

No Yes Yes Yes

Admin.

1:1 meeting with principal Yes None Yes Office of Curriculum and Instruction designing Excel Spread sheet for data Yes collection (if determined a necessity) Yes Yes Yes Yes

Admin.

Admin.

Yes

Yes

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Other Decisions

Will differences in classes, levels, student/teacher times, special needs or language challenged students, etc. need separate/additional consideration to ensure fairness and equity? How will disputes within the SLO approval process be handled? Will there be a help line available for questions or guidance? Who will be the central point person(s) to ensure the success of the initiative?

Admin.

If teachers request extended time, it will be left to the administrators discretion if extenuating circumstances exist If a decision is not able to be agreed upon by building administrator and teacher, Superintendent may be involved. If a decision is not able to be agreed upon by building administrator and teacher, Superintendent may be involved. No

Admin.

Admin.

Admin.

Any member of the administrative team

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