Reviewing Your District’s Limited English Proficient Student

AMAO Progress/Attainment Report Data for

School Year 2011-12

 

Introduction

 

            District, school and student reports for English language proficiency are now available at http://homeroom.state.nj.us/ under “AMAO Data”. These reports reflect the achievement of your district’s limited English proficient (LEP) students in meeting the State’s Title III Annual Measurable Achievement Objectives which relate to the following:

·         AMAO 1: Percent of LEP students who make progress in learning English; and

·         AMAO 2: Percent of LEP students attaining a 4.5 on the ACCESS for ELLs test within a defined timeframe.

 

            The 2011-12 district and school reports show English language progress as measured by the ACCESS for ELLs® test in 2011 and 2012. The reports also show the number and percent of students attaining a 4.5 on the ACCESS for ELLs®  test in each of two cohorts. All districts that received Title III funds  were required to administer the test  to LEP students in the spring of 2012.

 

The purpose of this document is to provide an explanation of the achievement objectives related to English language progress and attainment and to provide suggestions regarding how to review the data for accuracy.

 

AMAO 1 relates to making annual increases in the number or percentage of children making progress in learning English.  "Progress" is defined as a specific increase in the scale score points on the ACCESS for ELLs test.  AMAO 2 relates to the number or percentage of children attaining a composite score of 4.5 on the ACCESS for ELLs® test within a certain timeframe.  AMAO 3 relates to meeting progress targets for the limited English proficient (LEP) subgroup at the district level.

 

The following were the Title III AMAO standards for the 2010-11 school year:

AMAO Indicators

2011 -12 Standards

AMAO 1: Progress

78% of students will improve 10 scale score points or more on the ACCESS for ELLs test.

AMAO 2: Attainment

5% of students in language assistance programs for less than one year through four years will attain a 4.5 composite score on the ACCESS for ELLs test.

 

50% of students in language assistance programs for 5 years or more will attain a 4.5 composite score on the ACCESS for ELLs test

 

AMAO 3: ELL  Academic Achievement

 

The district meets its progress targets for the LEP subgroup

 

Students Included in AMAO 1: Progress Data

 

The AMAO for English language progress is measured by the growth in spring- to-spring scores on the ACCESS for ELLs™ test. "Progress" is defined as an increase of 10 or more scale score points on the test as compared to the previous year's score. Students were counted in the AMAO1 calculations as follows:

·         Students who had been enrolled in the district for one year or more, except for those students who enrolled in 2011 after the administration of the ACCESS for ELLs™ test,  are included in the measure of progress.

·         In cases in which a student’s ACCESS for ELLs scores from a previous district could be matched to the student, the student would be counted in AMAO 1.  Such students are indicated by two green asterisks **  next to their names.    

·         In cases in which the enrollment date was missing or not valid, or where the student’s test score was invalidated, the students were counted as not having met the growth target.    For this reason, districts should check their students’ information during the data validation opportunities provided by the test scoring vendor, MetriTech.

·         Any student whose enrollment date indicates that he/she was in the district for one or more years, but who have no 2011 score attributable to that student, are counted as not having made progress in the AMAO 1 results.

 

Students Included in AMAO 2: Attainment of Language Proficiency Data

            All students who took ACCESS for ELLs™ in the spring of 2012 are included in calculating AMAO 2. The targets for AMAO 2 include two cohorts: students who have been in a language assistance program for up to four years, and those who have been in a program five or more years.  In order to meet AMAO 2, districts must meet both cohorts. Only cohorts of 10 or more students are counted for AMAO calculations.

 

“Attainment” is defined as a student having scored a 4.5 on the ACCESS for ELLs test. In order for a student to be counted as having attained English language proficiency, he/she must have achieved a score of 4.5 or higher in 2011. 

 

 

 

Hints for Reviewing Your Data

 

            Each district has been provided district, school and student reports for 2011-12. The use of the student identification number (SID) has enhanced the capacity to accurately match students from year to year, resulting in more accurate data.  Although great care is taken with data analysis, data errors can happen and districts are encouraged to check their data as follows:

 

ü  Check for indications that the matching of student data might be incomplete:

 

o   Is there a score in the 2011 ACCESS for ELLs® Scale Score column (column 3) for students who have been in your school district for one year or more (that is, entered the district before July 1, 20112)? If not, check to see if the student took ACCESS for ELLs™   in 2011.

o   If a student had been enrolled in your district one or more years in 2011-12 but has no ACCESS for ELLs® test score in 2011, were there extenuating circumstances that prevented the student from taking the test in 2011?

o   If the student entered your district on or after July 1, 2012, and therefore has been enrolled in your district for less than one year, determine if the student took the ACCESS for ELLs test in a previous district.  In some cases, students’ previous records were found and attributed to the student. However, previous year’s records could not be found for all students and these may help your district’s AMAO 1 status.

o   Is the scale score  lower or higher than you would expect? Check the student’s ACCESS for ELLs® score report for 2012 and compare it to  the score reported in the 2011-12 AMAO Student Report to see if the scores match.

o   Are all students who took the ACCESS for ELLs™ test in 2012 listed?

 

 

If any errors are found (not including date of enrollment), or there are student circumstances that should be considered, you may electronically submit an appeal the Office of Title 1 at lep@doe.state.nj.us  Please complete the form in the following link and submit it electronically by __(date)

Link:   

 

If you have any questions, please contact the Office of Title I at lep@doe.state.nj.us or call (609) 633-6889.