A Microsoft Word version of this letter is available for download and PRINTING.

 

January 5, 2011

TO THE ADMINISTRATOR ADDRESSED:

SUBJECT:  Submission of 2009-10 Leaver Data in 2010-11

This letter is to remind school districts of the importance of submitting accurate leaver records prior to the January 20, 2011, Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS) resubmission deadline.  These leaver records will be used to produce the 2009-10 completion, graduation, and dropout rate results that will be evaluated in the 2011 state and federal accountability systems and used to fulfill 2011 state and federal monitoring requirements.

Appendix D of the 2010-2011 PEIMS Data Standards provides detailed information about the data submission and documentation requirements for leaver records, including timelines for establishing leaver reasons and obtaining documentation. Districts should ensure that the leaver documentation requirements have been adhered to and that accurate, up-to-date leaver information has been transferred from student folders to local student information systems before submission to the agency through PEIMS.

EDIT+ reports dedicated to the presentation of leaver data are made available to districts prior to and upon submission to PEIMS.  The purpose of these reports is to make evident issues that could indicate errors in the data reported to PEIMS.  I strongly encourage careful review of these verification reports to ensure that accurate PEIMS data are reported.  At a minimum, districts should review the student-level reports on dropouts; graduates; and non-dropout, non-graduate leavers; and the student leaver record submission support reports.

Since 2005, districts have been held accountable for the accuracy of their leaver records through the performance-based monitoring (PBM) leaver data validation system, which will be used again in 2011 to evaluate districts' leaver records.  Detailed information about the PBM leaver data validation system is available on the TEA website at http://www.tea.state.tx.us/index2.aspx?id=4664&menu_id=2147483683. Additional data analyses, including random audits, will be conducted as necessary to ensure the accuracy and reliability of leaver records submitted to TEA.

Regarding appeals to 2011 accountability ratings, state law requires use of an external appeal panel to ensure independent oversight of the state accountability appeals process.  For the 2009 and 2010 ratings, the state accountability appeal panel consistently recommended that appeals related to completion and dropout rates only be granted in limited circumstances given the opportunities that districts are provided to submit accurate leaver records for students who attended their schools in the prior year.  The 2011 Accountability Manual and 2011 Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) Guide that will be released in early summer 2011 will outline the limited circumstances that will be considered for 2011 state accountability and AYP appeals related to completion, graduation, or dropout results. 

House Bill (HB) 3, passed during the 81st legislative session, explicitly requires the use of the current NCES dropout definition until 2011-12 when HB 3 exclusions become effective for state accountability dropout and completion calculations that will be reported in the 2011-12 school year.  Therefore, the 2011 state accountability ratings will be based on the completion and dropout results without the HB 3 exclusions applied.  As in 2009 and 2010, appeals requesting the HB 3 exclusions be applied to the 2011 state ratings will not be considered. 

Additional Resources for Districts

Districts are encouraged to use the preliminary four-year longitudinal cohorts and final dropout lists available on the agency's secure website, TEASE, through the Accountability link. The preliminary cohort lists show the assignment of students to cohorts and provide an expected year of graduation based on the cohort year.  Updated preliminary cohort lists for the Class of 2010 were made available in November 2010.

Resources on dropout prevention programs and high school completion initiatives can be found online at www.tea.state.tx.us/index4.aspx?id=3505&menu_id=2147483659.  Districts are also encouraged to contact their education service center (ESC) for additional information regarding dropout prevention strategies, technical assistance with their 2010-11 PEIMS submission, and other professional development opportunities.

For questions about the state or federal accountability systems, please contact the Division of Performance Reporting at (512) 463-9704 or email performance.reporting@tea.state.tx.us. 

For questions about the use of leaver data in state and federal monitoring systems, please contact the Division of Performance-Based Monitoring at (512) 936-6426 or email pbm@tea.state.tx.us.

For questions about the calculation of completion, graduate, dropout, or underreported students rates or preliminary cohorts, please contact the Division of Accountability Research at (512) 475-3523 or email research@tea.state.tx.us.

Sincerely,

Robert Scott
Commissioner of Education

RS/sh

c:  PEIMS coordinators