Application for Exception to the One Percent Cap on Proficient or Above Scores Based on Alternate Achievement Standards

2004–05

Available in Word or PDF Format

Federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) regulations limit the number of students in each local educational agency (LEA) who can be counted, for accountability purposes, as proficient on the New York State Alternate Assessment to 1.0 percent of the LEA’s tested enrollment in each grade in which State assessments in English language arts (ELA) and mathematics are administered.  The regulations also allow LEAs to request an exception to exceed the 1.0 percent limitation based on particular circumstances. This application provides LEAs with an opportunity to apply for an exception to the 1.0 percent cap for 2004–05 by documenting extraordinary circumstances within the LEA.

Applicants who received an exception for the 2004–05 school year, based on an application submitted in 2003–04, need not reapply unless they are seeking a modification to the exception previously granted.

Exception Eligibility:

To be eligible for an exception to the 1.0 percent cap, the LEA must document that the incidence of students with the most significant cognitive disabilities who are eligible for the New York State Alternate Assessment (NYSAA) at a particular grade level exceeds 1.0 percent of all students at that grade level and either:

1. provide documentation that the number of Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities (OMRDD) licensed residential programs (e.g., Intermediate Care Facilities, Individualized Residential Alternatives) or other similar community or health organizations located within the district has resulted in a large percentage of students with the most significant cognitive disabilities being in the LEA; or

2. provide documentation that the LEA has very specialized programs for students with severe cognitive disabilities, resulting in a disproportionate number of families of students with the most significant cognitive disabilities residing in the district.

LEAs with 95 or fewer continuously enrolled tested students at the elementary or middle level or 95 or fewer students in a cohort at the secondary level are automatically allowed one NYSAA student to be counted as proficient for accountability purposes, even though that one student would put the LEA over the 1.0 percent cap.  These LEAs do not need to complete this exception application, unless the LEA has more than one NYSAA student scoring at proficient level at a grade level and has extraordinary circumstances that would cause it to have this greater number of NYSAA students in the LEA.  

Authorization to Grant Exceptions:  34 CFR Section 200.13(c)(2)

Application Submission Information

Eligible Applicants:

A local educational agency (LEA)  (including a Charter School and a Special Act School District) that is subject to the accountability provisions of NCLB may apply.  This application does not apply to Boards of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES), State-operated programs, State-supported programs, approved private schools, and other State agency educational programs.

Due Date:

Applications must be postmarked or submitted by e-mail or facsimile by April 16, 2005.  Applications received after that date will not be considered.

Applications must be sent to:

New York State Education Department
Office of Vocational and Educational Services for Individuals with Disabilities
Strategic Evaluation Data Collection, Analysis and Reporting (SEDCAR) Unit
Room 1613 One Commerce Plaza
Albany, NY  12234
ATTN:  Application for Cap Exception
vesidcar@mail.nysed.gov
Fax (518) 408-3363

Applicants will be notified of approval/disapproval of the exception request by June 15, 2005.

Questions regarding the application may be directed to Patricia Geary in the Special Education Policy and Partnerships Unit at (518) 473-2878.

Application for Exception to the One Percent Cap
2004–05

LEA Contact Information

Application Narrative (attach additional pages if necessary)

I.  For all applicants:

II.   For applicants who are applying on the basis that the number of Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities (OMRDD) licensed residential programs (e.g., Intermediate Care Facilities, Individualized Residential Alternatives) or other similar community or health organizations located within the LEA have resulted in a large percentage of students with the most significant cognitive disabilities, provide the following information, as applicable:

III.  For applicants applying on the basis that the LEA has very specialized programs for students with severe disabilities, resulting in a large number of families of students with the most significant cognitive disabilities residing in the district, provide the following information:

IV.      All applicants:

Indicate the cap exception requested for 2004–05:

_______ percent                                 

Provide a rationale for the percentage cap exception requested. (See Attachment 1, question 4.)

____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
 

V.          Assurances: 

All applications must include this statement of assurances signed by the district superintendent, or the chief administrative official in the case of a charter school.  This statement constitutes an assurance that the LEA is fully and effectively addressing the following requirements of 34 CFR Part 200, section 200.6(a)(2)(iii).

      The LEA implements clear and appropriate guidelines, consistent with the November 2003 New York State Education Department guidelines Identification of Students Eligible for the 2003–04 NYSAA*, for the Committee on Special Education (CSE) to use to determine when a child’s significant cognitive disability justifies the alternate assessment based on alternate achievement standards. (*See http://www.vesid.nysed.gov/specialed/alterassessment/identnysaa.htm) 

    Parents are informed that their child will be assessed based on alternate achievement standards, including information about the implications of participation in the alternate assessment. 

     Students with the most significant cognitive disabilities are included, to the extent possible, in the general curriculum and assessments aligned with that curriculum. 

      The LEA disseminates information and promotes the use of appropriate accommodations to increase the number of students with the most significant cognitive disabilities who are tested against grade-level academic achievement standards. 

     Regular and special education teachers and other appropriate staff are knowledgeable about the administration of assessments, including making appropriate use of accommodations for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities.

Criteria for NYSED Review and Approval or Disapproval of Exception Requests

The Department will programmatically review exception requests in consideration of: 

    LEA evidence that more than 1.0 percent of its enrolled student population is taking the NewYork State Alternate Assessment.

      LEA incidence data, particularly the classification rates of students with mental retardation and multiple disabilities.  (The national incidence of children with mental retardation is 1.13 percent of all students, with approximately 1/3 of that percentage functioning in the severe/profound range.) 

     LEA incidence data on other disabilities that may include students with significant cognitive disabilities (e.g., traumatic brain injury, autism, deaf-blind). 

     Documentation submitted by the LEA regarding OMRDD licensed facilities, including sufficient verifiable information, such as the names of the facilities and the numbers and descriptions of the students placed in such facilities. 

     Documentation submitted by the LEA regarding specialized education programs that attract large numbers of students with the most significant cognitive disabilities, ensuring that the documentation is credible and persuasive and describes the characteristics and the numbers of students served in such programs. 

      Submission of a complete application, which includes the original or electronic signature of the Superintendent of Schools or Chief Administrative Official of Charter Schools.

Attachment 1

Questions and Answers

1.     Does the 1.0 percent cap place a limitation on the number of students with disabilities who can take the New York State Alternate Assessment (NYSAA)?

No.  There is no cap on the number of students who may be assessed using NYSAA. The Committee on Special Education (CSE) determines the assessment that is most appropriate for the student with a disability.  All students who are designated as eligible for NYSAA, whether they attend schools in the district or are placed by the CSE in out-of-district placements (e.g., BOCES programs, approved in-state or out-of-state private schools), must take that assessment at the appropriate age, and are considered ungraded.  

2.     Which students are eligible to take NYSAA?

NYSAA assesses students with the most significant cognitive disabilities to evaluate their mastery of skills and attainment of knowledge. This assessment measures a student's level of performance based on alternate performance indicators for students with severe cognitive disabilities functioning at an age five or below level. The CSE determines whether or not a student is eligible to take NYSAA based on the following criteria:

• The student must have a severe cognitive disability, significant deficits in communication/language, or significant deficits in adaptive behavior; and

• The student must require a highly specialized educational program that facilitates the acquisition, application, and transfer of skills across natural environments (home, school, community, and/or workplace); and

• The student must require educational support systems, such as assistive technology, personal care services, health/medical services, or behavioral interventions.

3.     Does the 1.0 percent cap on proficient and advanced scores on NYSAA relate to the school district or to individual schools within a school district? 

The 1.0 percent cap pertains to the school district, not to individual schools within that district, but it could affect an individual school if the district exceeds the cap.  For example, in the 2004–05 school year if a school has more than 1.0 percent of its continuously enrolled tested students at the elementary level score at a proficient or advanced level on NYSAA in mathematics, but the district as a whole does not exceed the 1.0 percent cap in elementary-level mathematics, the proficient and advanced scores of all the school’s students will be used when determining AYP. However, if a district has more than 1.0 percent of its continuously enrolled tested students at the elementary level score at a proficient or advanced level on NYSAA in mathematics, some of those students will be counted as performing at Level 2 when determining AYP for the district. If these students attend in-district schools, the students will also have to be counted as performing at Level 2 when determining AYP for the school they attend. 

4.    How is the calculation made to determine if a school district has exceeded the 1.0 percent cap on proficient and advanced scores on NYSAA for the 2004-05 school year? 

To compute if a school district has exceeded the 1.0 percent cap for a particular year, grade and subject:

• Elementary and middle levels: For the 2004–05 school year, the numerator is the number of continuously enrolled students with disabilities who achieved a score at Level 3 or 4 on NYSAA in the subject and grade level; the denominator is the number of continuously enrolled students (disabled and non-disabled) with a valid score on any of the accountability measures (NYSAA, general assessments, locally selected assessments, and New York State English as a Second Language Achievement Test (NYSESLAT) when taken in lieu of the general assessment)  in the subject and grade level.
• Secondary level: The numerator is the number of district accountability cohort members with disabilities who scored at Level 3 or 4 on NYSAA in the subject at the secondary level; the denominator is the number of students (disabled and nondisabled) in the district accountability cohort.  For the 2004–05 school year, the 2001 cohort results will be reported. The 2001 cohort includes graded students who first entered grade 9 in 2001 and ungraded students who reached their seventeenth birthday during the 2001–02 school year who meet the criteria for inclusion in the cohort.

For additional information on the calculation of Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) for schools and districts, see: http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/deputy/nclb/4-04-ayp-usdoe-fm.htm

5.     If a school district exceeds the 1.0 percent cap on proficient and advanced scores on NYSAA, which scores are reallocated and how? 

If a district exceeds the 1.0 percent cap in English or mathematics at a grade level, sufficient numbers of Level 3 or 4 scores must be counted at Level 2 to reduce the percentage of remaining Level 3 and 4 scores to 1.0 percent or less. The effect on the accountability status of the district and component schools may depend on which students' scores are counted at the lower level.

At the secondary level, districts must report NYSAA performance levels as received by the student, using the System for Tracking Education Performance (STEP) software. This software also provides districts that exceed the 1.0 cap the opportunity to designate particular students whose proficient or advanced NYSAA scores the district chooses to be counted at Level 2 when determining performance indices. Districts should, if possible, designate students whose scores can be counted at Level 2 without changing the AYP status of the district or a component school. For example, districts should select students who are placed out-of-district or students who are attending in-district schools that would not make AYP even with the student counted at the proficient level. If the district fails to identify students whose scores should be counted at Level 2, the STEP program will arbitrarily choose students based on their student identification numbers beginning with out-of district placements.

At the elementary and middle levels, districts must report NYSAA performance levels as received by the student using the Local Education Agency Program (LEAP) software. The LEAP software will produce reports that indicate if the LEA has exceeded the 1.0 percent cap. The Department will make adjustments, as needed, to performance levels when calculating performance indices for LEAs that exceed the cap. Student scores will be chosen such that the performance indices of the LEA and component schools will be least effected.

If a district has been granted an exception to exceed the 1.0 percent cap, but exceeds the cap granted under the exception, similar procedures should be used to reduce the percentage of Level 3 and 4 NYSAA scores to the permitted level.

6.     Can the State grant an exception to a school district (LEA) that exceeds the 1.0 percent cap? 

The State is authorized to grant an exception to an LEA, permitting it to exceed the 1.0 percent cap in counting as proficient and advanced for accountability purposes the scores of students with the most significant cognitive disabilities based on alternate academic achievement standards (34 CFR section 200.13).  Last year, the Department granted exceptions to 16 school districts that met the criteria for an exception based on extenuating circumstances.  In addition, the Department notified any LEA that was granted an automatic one-person exception based on its small overall student population.  These are LEAs where it would take one student per grade to exceed the 1.0 percent cap (i.e., the average enrollment per grade is 95 or fewer students). For example, an LEA with one continuously enrolled student performing at Level 3 on the elementary-level NYSAA in English language arts (ELA) and 90 continuously enrolled students with valid scores on any authorized assessment used for accountability purposes at the grade 4 level for ELA would have a percentage of 1.1, which is exceeds the cap. This LEA would still be allowed to have this one student’s performance to be counted at Level 3 when performance indices are calculated. However, if the LEA has two students performing at Level 3 or 4 on NYSAA, one student’s score would have to be lowered to a Level 2 when performance indices are calculated.

7.  How are the results for students whose NYSAA scores had to be reduced to Level 2 for accountability purposes reported on school report cards? 

A student’s earned performance levels are recorded on the student’s permanent record, reported to the student’s parent, and reported in the Overview and Analysis and Comprehensive Information Report parts of the District/School Report Card.  The performance indices in the Accountability Report part of the District/School Report Card reflect the reallocated performance levels when a school district exceeds the 1.0 percent cap or the cap provided through an approved exception.