Identifying
the Schools for the
“Successful
School” Adequacy Study
· For purposes of the “successful school” adequacy study, the Maryland State Department of Education’s School Performance Index (SPI) was used to identify those schools generally meeting the State’s performance standards. An SPI index score of 100 indicates that on average a school is meeting the State’s performance standards.
· For elementary schools, the SPI is based on the attendance rate and the percent of students at satisfactory for each MSPAP content area in grades 3 and 5. The middle school SPI is based on the attendance rate, grade 8 MSPAP scores, and the percent of students passing the Maryland Functional Test in reading, mathematics, and writing by the end of grade 9. For high schools, the SPI involves the dropout rate, attendance rate and the percent of students passing the functional tests by the end of grade 9 and grade 11.
· Based on data from the 1998 – 1999 school year, 67 elementary and 14 middle schools with a SPI greater than 100 were identified for possible inclusion in the study. A higher SPI of 104 was used to qualify 33 high schools. A higher SPI for high schools was necessary because the high school SPI is based on functional tests, attendance, and drop out rates—all less rigorous standards than the MSPAP tests used in the elementary and middle school SPI computations.
· The 114 schools identified as high achieving schools generally meeting the State’s performance standards represent about 9 percent of Maryland’s schools. The table below shows the percentages by type of school.
Identified Schools As a Percent of
Total Schools
|
||||||
|
|
Total
Schools |
Identified Schools** |
Percent of Total |
|||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Elementary |
811 |
|
67 |
|
8.3% |
|
|
Middle |
224 |
|
14 |
|
6.3% |
|
|
High |
221 |
|
33 |
|
14.9% |
|
Total* |
1,256 |
|
114 |
|
9.1% |
|
|
|
||||||
|
* Does not include 99 combined
and other schools **
High achieving elementary and middle schools – 100 SPI; High achieving high schools – 104 SPI. |
||||||
• Sixteen schools with selective admissions policies were eliminated from consideration.
• A sample of 61 schools was selected from the remaining 98 schools. The sample includes 35 elementary schools, 10 middle schools, and 16 high schools. Factors considered in the selection of schools were the following:
• region
• school size
• percent of students eligible for free and reduced price meals
• percent limited English proficient students
• percent minority
· Following the release of the 2000 Report Card, six elementary schools and one middle school were dropped from the “selected list” because these schools did not meet the performance standards used to select schools for the study. Four elementary schools and one middle school with consistently higher performance standards were selected to replace these schools. As a result, 59 schools remain on the “selected schools” list. There is a negligible difference between the original sample of 61 schools and the final sample of 59 schools with regard to the factors that were considered in the selection of schools (i.e., region, school size, students eligible for free and reduced price meals, students with limited English proficiency, and minority students).
· The following series of tables compares the identified schools to the sample for those factors considered when selecting the schools. Generally, attempts were made to include a mix of schools, i.e. different size schools and schools with various percentages of special student populations. Attaining regional balance was problematic given the concentration of schools identified for inclusion in the study in Montgomery, Howard, and Baltimore counties.
|
School Performance Index |
||||
|
|
All (114) |
Elementary (67) |
Middle (14) |
High (33) |
|
Average |
105.4 |
106.2 |
103.0 |
104.8 |
|
Median |
104.5 |
105.4 |
102.1 |
104.5 |
|
Minimum |
100.2 |
100.4 |
100.2 |
104.0 |
|
Maximum |
116.6 |
116.6 |
107.7 |
106.5 |
Selected Schools
|
||||
|
|
All (59) |
Elementary (33) |
Middle (10) |
High (16) |
|
Average |
105.9 |
107.2 |
103.4 |
104.6 |
|
Median |
104.7 |
107.7 |
102.4 |
104.5 |
|
Minimum |
100.4 |
100.4 |
100.6 |
104.0 |
|
Maximum |
116.6 |
116.6 |
107.7 |
106.5 |
|
Geographic Region of Maryland |
||||
|
|
All |
Elementary |
Middle |
High |
|
Eastern Shore |
3 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
|
Western |
6 |
1 |
0 |
5 |
|
Northern/Baltimore Area |
63 |
36 |
10 |
17 |
|
National Capital Area |
42 |
27 |
4 |
10 |
|
Southern Region |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
|
Total |
114 |
67 |
14 |
33 |
|
Selected Schools |
||||
|
|
All |
Elementary |
Middle |
High |
|
Eastern Shore |
2 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
|
Western |
4 |
1 |
0 |
3 |
|
Northern/Baltimore Area |
32 |
17 |
7 |
8 |
|
National Capital Area |
20 |
13 |
3 |
4 |
|
Southern Region |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
|
Total |
59 |
33 |
10 |
16 |
|
Identified
Schools |
||||||
|
|
All |
Elementary |
Middle |
High |
||
|
Allegany |
1 |
|
|
1 |
||
|
Anne Arundel |
8 |
7 |
|
1 |
||
|
Baltimore City |
2 |
|
|
2 |
||
|
Baltimore County |
29 |
16 |
5 |
8 |
||
|
Calvert |
1 |
|
|
1 |
||
|
Carroll |
2 |
|
|
2 |
||
|
Frederick |
1 |
|
|
1 |
||
|
Harford |
7 |
4 |
2 |
1 |
||
|
Howard |
15 |
9 |
3 |
3 |
||
|
Kent |
3 |
3 |
|
|
||
|
Montgomery |
41 |
27 |
4 |
10 |
||
|
Washington |
4 |
1 |
|
3 |
||
|
Total |
114 |
67 |
14 |
33 |
||
|
Selected Schools |
|||||
|
|
All |
Elementary |
Middle |
High |
|
Allegany |
1 |
|
|
1 |
|
|
Anne Arundel |
4 |
3 |
|
1 |
|
|
Baltimore City |
0 |
|
|
|
|
|
Baltimore County |
15 |
8 |
3 |
4 |
|
|
Calvert |
1 |
|
|
1 |
|
|
Carroll |
1 |
|
|
1 |
|
|
Frederick |
0 |
|
|
|
|
|
Harford |
5 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
|
|
Howard |
7 |
4 |
2 |
1 |
|
|
Kent |
2 |
2 |
|
|
|
|
Montgomery |
20 |
13 |
3 |
4 |
|
|
Washington |
3 |
1 |
|
2 |
|
|
Total |
59 |
33 |
10 |
16 |
|
|
Enrollment Count |
||||
|
|
All (114) |
Elementary (67) |
Middle (14) |
High (33) |
|
Average |
756.3 |
466.6 |
974.5 |
1,252.1 |
|
Median |
591.0 |
444.0 |
929.0 |
1,330.0 |
|
Minimum |
147.0 |
147.0 |
635.0 |
412.0 |
|
Maximum |
1,771.0 |
859.0 |
1,771.0 |
1,724.0 |
Selected Schools
|
||||
|
|
All (59) |
Elementary (33) |
Middle (10) |
High (16) |
|
Average |
778.4 |
465.6 |
995.4 |
1,287.8 |
|
Median |
580.0 |
457.0 |
881.5 |
1,475.0 |
|
Minimum |
276.0 |
276.0 |
635.0 |
412.0 |
|
Maximum |
1,771.0 |
650.0 |
1,771.0 |
1,724.0 |
Free and Reduced Price Meals
(% of Students)
|
Identified Schools |
||||
|
|
All (114) |
Elementary (67) |
Middle (14) |
High (33) |
|
Average |
7.9 |
7.8 |
5.4 |
9.1 |
|
Median |
4.4 |
3.8 |
4.7 |
5.8 |
|
Minimum |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.8 |
0.8 |
|
Maximum |
57.6 |
57.6 |
12.5 |
35.6 |
Selected Schools
|
||||
|
|
All (59) |
Elementary (33) |
Middle (10) |
High (16) |
|
Average |
8.9 |
10.4 |
5.3 |
8.0 |
|
Median |
5.5 |
6.2 |
4.7 |
4.4 |
|
Minimum |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.8 |
0.8 |
|
Maximum |
57.6 |
57.6 |
12.5 |
35.6 |
Limited English Proficiency
(% of Students)
|
Identified Schools |
||||
|
|
All (114)
|
Elementary (67)
|
Middle (10)
|
High (16)
|
|
Average |
2.2 |
2.8 |
1.9 |
1.1 |
|
Median |
0.4 |
1.6 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
|
Minimum |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
|
Maximum |
25.4 |
25.4 |
14.1 |
8.8 |
Selected Schools |
||||
|
|
All (59)
|
Elementary (33) |
Middle (10) |
High (16) |
|
Average |
2.6 |
3.5 |
2.3 |
0.8 |
|
Median |
0.0 |
1.6 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
|
Minimum |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
|
Maximum |
25.4 |
25.4 |
14.1 |
6.2 |
Minority Population
(% of Students)
|
Identified Schools |
||||
|
|
All (114) |
Elementary (67) |
Middle (14) |
High (33) |
|
Average |
21.0 |
19.6 |
21.6 |
23.7 |
|
Median |
17.9 |
17.1 |
20.1 |
18.6 |
|
Minimum |
1.5 |
1.6 |
5.0 |
1.5 |
|
Maximum |
91.8 |
47.2 |
48.5 |
91.8 |
Selected Schools |
||||
|
|
All (59)
|
Elementary (33) |
Middle (10) |
High (16) |
|
Average |
19.0 |
19.6 |
20.0 |
16.5 |
|
Median |
19.9 |
17.2 |
20.1 |
11.2 |
|
Minimum |
1.5 |
1.6 |
5.0 |
1.5 |
|
Maximum |
59.0 |
46.8 |
40.5 |
59.0 |
