Mississippi Assessment and Accountability Reporting System
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What are ACCOUNTABILITY RESULTS?

Mississippi implemented a district level Perfromance-Based Accreditation System (PBAS) during the mid 1980s. Districts were assigned an accreditation level and a performance index based on compliance with certain process standards and the performance of students on statewide assessments. The last accreditation levels under that system were assigned in March 1999.

During school year 1998/1999, plans were finalized for the development of an entirely new assessment program that was implemented in 2000/2001. A new school level accountability model was also designed that that would use student performance and improvement on the new assessment system to assign School Performance Classifications. The "Achievement and Growth Model" was scheduled to be piloted in 2002 and implemented statewide in 2003. The first set of School Performance Classifications were assigned in September 2003 based on assessment results from the 2002/2003 school year. For each school, there is an achievement level (1-5) reflecting end of year performance, a growth status (not met, met, or exceeded) based on student improvement, and the School Performance Classification that is determined by combining the achievement and growth results.

During the period that the Mississippi Achievement and Growth models were under development, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) was re-authorized as the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (signed into law in January 2002). Under Title I of the Act, states were required to develop a "single statewide accountability system" based on a rigid model for determining "Adequate Yearly Progress" (AYP). States had to use assessment data from 2002/2003 and assign AYP determinations to all schools and LEAs (school districts) by the start of the 2003/2004 school year. The Mississippi Department of Education developed a plan for AYP that was approved by the U.S. Department of Education in March 2003.

During the summer of 2002, the Achievement, Growth, and AYP models were run using assessment data from the 2002/2003 school year. In September 2003, schools were assigned School Performance Classifications based on the Achievement and Growth Model results. Schools and school districts were assigned AYP determinations in three areas -- reading/language arts, mathematics, and other academic indicators. School Performance Classifications and AYP determinations are assigned annually.

ACCOUNTABILITY RESULTS refers to data files containing results from the Achievement, Growth, and AYP accountability models. School level records in the files contain the school's (1) achievement level, (2) growth status, and (3) school performance classification. District level records contain the AYP determinations for (1) reading/language arts, mathematics, and other academic indicators. There are separate downloadable files containing AYP results at the NCLB subgroup level, graduation data (required under NCLB as an "other academic indicator") lagged one year, and test participation rates.