School Accreditation

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The Regulations establishing Standards for Accrediting Public Schools in Virginia provide a comprehensive view of school quality while encouraging continuous improvement for all schools, and places an emphasis on closing achievement gaps. The accreditation models uses multiple measures based on student outcomes.

School Quality Indicators

School accreditation ratings are based on student performance across nine school quality indicators:

INDICATOR	DESCRIPTION
Academic Achievement -English	Uses results from state assessments to report the academic achievement of all students.
Achievement Gap-English	Uses results from state assessments to report the academic achievement of groups of students.
Academic Achievement-Mathematics	Uses results from state assessments to report the academic achievement of all students.
Achievement Gap-Mathematics	Uses results from state assessments to report the academic achievement of groups of students.
Academic Achievement-Science	Uses results from state assessments to report the academic achievement of all students.
Chronic Absenteeism	The percent of students in a school who miss 10% or more of their enrolled days during an academic school year.
Graduation and Completion Index (GCI) (only applies to schools with a 12^th grade)	A measure for a graduating cohort based on weighted student outcomes. Outcomes include students who earn a diploma, a GED, Certificate of Completion, or remain active in school membership on the last day of school.
Dropout Rate (only applies to schools with a 12^th grade)	A rate that includes any student whose latest status is "dropout" or unconfirmed" in the graduating cohort.
College, Career and Civic Readiness Index (CCCRI) (only applies to schools with a 12^th grade)	An index that measures, for the graduating cohort, student preparation for college and careers while in high school. Credit is given for advanced coursework, CTE courses and credentials, JROTC coursework and credentials, work-based learning, and service learning.

College, Career and Civic Readiness Index (CCRI)

CCCRI Frequently Asked Questions

Achievement Gap Indicators

The Achievement Gap indicators for English and mathematics each have a performance rate and corresponding performance level reported for the following groups:

Asian students
Black students
Hispanic students
Multiple Races
White students
Economically disadvantaged students
English Learners
Students with disabilities (excludes 504 students)

There are a set of rules applied that use the performance levels for each group to determine the overall performance level for each achievement gap indicator.

Performance Levels

Performance on each school quality indicator falls into three levels:

Level One-At or Above Standard: Performance meets or exceeds the state standard by using the best of the current or cumulative three-year rate; OR current year rate is in the Level Two range and performance demonstrates adequate improvement from the previous year.
Level Two-Near Standard: Performance meets a specified range using the best of the current or cumulative three-year rate; OR current year rate is in the Level Three range and performance demonstrates adequate improvement from the previous year.
Level Three-Below Standard: Performance meets a specified range using the best of the current or cumulative three-year rate; OR performance has stayed at a Level Two or Level Three rating through four consecutive years (Level Three-4 YRS rating).

Demonstration of Adequate Improvement

Demonstrating adequate improvement is accomplished by either reducing a rate by at least 10 percent from the previous year (designated as R10) or increasing the Graduation and Completion Index by at least 2.5 percent (designated as I2) from the previous year.
R10 is used in all Academic Achievement and Achievement Gap indicators, as well as Chronic Absenteeism, and Dropout Rate.

Level Three - 4 YRS Performance Rating

A school quality indicator with a status of Level Two or Level Three through four consecutive years will be designated in the fifth year as Level Three – Below Standard (noted as Level Three – 4 YRS) if the fifth year’s performance remains at Level Two or Level Three.
For the Achievement Gap-Mathematics and Achievement Gap-English indicators, the Level Three - 4 YRS designation applies to the student groups within the indicator, not to the overall Achievement Gap level designation.

Achievement Rates Used in Accreditation to Determine Performance Level

For students in grades 3 through 8, both the Academic Achievement-English and Achievement Gap-English indicators are measured using a combined rate that includes students who (1) passed the reading and/or writing state assessments, (2) failed the reading state assessment but showed growth, or (3) failed the reading state assessment and did not show growth but showed progress towards proficiency in English as an English Learner (EL) as measured by the English language proficiency assessment (ACCESS for ELLS 2.0).
For students taking the EOC English assessments, the Academic Achievement-English indicator is measured using a combined rate that includes students who (1) passed EOC Reading, or failed the EOC Reading assessment but showed progress towards English proficiency as an EL and/or (2) passed EOC Writing.
Both Academic Achievement-Mathematics and Achievement Gap-Mathematics is measured using a combined rate in elementary and middle school (grades 3 through 8), and a pass rate in high school (grades 9 through 12). The combined rate includes students who (1) pass state assessments or (2) fail state assessments but show growth.
Academic Achievement-Science is measured using a pass rate.

School Accreditation Ratings

Schools earn one of the following accreditation ratings based on performance on school quality indicators:

Accredited: Schools with all school quality indicators at either Level One or Level Two. In addition, schools that are in a triennial accreditation period are also Accredited.
Accredited with Conditions: Schools with one or more school quality indicators at Level Three.

There are three additional accreditation ratings:

Accreditation Denied: Schools that fail to adopt or fully implement required corrective actions to address Level Three school-quality indicators.
Accreditation Withheld: Used when there is a serious testing irregularity and the validity of data cannot be determined; and
New School: Awarded for a one-year period to a new school that comprises students who previously attended one or more existing schools.

Sample Schools

Sample School: South Middle School
School Quality Indicator	Performance Level
Academic Achievement-English	Level One
Academic Achievement-Mathematics	Level One
Achievement Gap-English	Level One
Achievement Gap-Mathematics	Level Two
Academic Achievement-Science	Level Two
Chronic Absenteeism	Level Two
Overall Accreditation Rating	Accredited

Sample School: North High School
SCHOOL QUALITY INDICATOR	PERFORMANCE LEVEL
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT-ENGLISH	Level Two
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT-MATHEMATICS	Level One
ACHIEVEMENT GAP-ENGLISH	Level One
ACHIEVEMENT GAP-MATHEMATICS	Level Two
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT-SCIENCE	Level One
CHRONIC ABSENTEEISM	Level Two
GRADUATION AND COMPLETION INDEX	Level Two
DROPOUT RATE	Level Three
COLLEGE, CAREER AND CIVIC READINESS INDEX	Level One
OVERALL ACCREDITATION RATING	Accredited with Conditions

Detailed Information (coming soon)

The document, via the link above, has more detailed information regarding the components of the accreditation model, including the benchmarks that correspond to the indicator performance levels.

Academic Reviews

Schools who earn a Level Two or Level Three for one or more indicators must undergo an academic review in coordination with the Office of School Quality. Information regarding academic reviews can be found by accessing this link.

State Summary Results By School for the Current and Previous Years

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