The NYC Department of Education (DOE) proposes the following changes for the 2020-21 School Quality Reports to support school communities and field/central offices in improving teaching and learning practices. These changes aim to enable school communities, administrators, and field/central offices in specific goals related to school diversity, integration, and differentiating support. The DOE continues to acknowledge changes due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, its impact on the school year, and the use of remote learning (see "COVID-19 Modifications"). The DOE encourages the use of this data for formative purposes. The proposed changes build on the methodology described in the 2019-20 Educator Guides to the School Quality Reports.
To share feedback during the open-comment period, please use this online form by September 17, 2021. After considering feedback, the DOE will publish a Final Changes document describing the changes for the 2020-21 School Quality Reports.
COVID-19 Modifications
| Description | Rule for 2019-2020 | Rule for 2020-2021 |
|---|---|---|
| Explanatory Notes | The reports include a prominent note acknowledging the impact of COVID-19 on the school year in order to put the results in context and discourage direct comparisons between this year and other years. | Same as 2019-20. |
| No Ratings | The ratings chart on the first page of the School Quality Snapshot (and at the top of each tab) are blank for all schools. Section ratings and metric ratings throughout the report are “N/A.” | Same as 2019-20. |
| No Comparisons | Comparison Groups were omitted due to COVID-19. Comparison Group results indicate the performance of students with similar prior test scores, disability status, and economic need status. The purpose of the comparison group is to control for factors outside schools’ control. Because the pandemic has had such a variety of impacts across the city it would not be accurate to use our usual comparison group methods to make inferences about school quality. Therefore, Comparison Group results will not be calculated for the 2020-21 school year. Comparing schools to the district, borough, or city would be even less fair in this context so we also plan to not display city/district/borough averages on the snapshot. | Same as 2019-20. |
| No SQR Targets | Targets were omitted due to COVID. Each year, targets are customized for each school based on the performance of the Comparison Group of similar students. The SQR targets specifies the values needed for a school to receive a metric rating of Exceeding Target, Meeting Target, Approaching Target, or Not Meeting Target. Given that Comparison Group results will not be published for the 2020-21 school year, SQR targets will also not be calculated. | Same as 2019-20. |
| College Readiness Index (CRI) and College and Career Preparatory Courses Index (CCPCI) | In 2019-20, Regents waivers were accepted as a score of 65 in Geometry and Algebra 2 on the College Readiness Index. The DOE accepted Regents waivers and AP/IB as sufficient for credit on CCPCI. | CRI: the reports will make CRI “N/A” for all schools for the 2020-21 seniors. The reason for this is that the 2020-21 seniors missed exams in both 11th and 12th grade leaving too few exams to make an accurate CRI. CCPCI: Same as 2019-20. |
| Attendance rates | The attendance metric was adjusted for the period of September 2019 through February 2020, before the major COVID-19 impacts. The School Quality Snapshot showed a remoting learning interaction rate to reflect student engagement with the school’s remote learning efforts. | Similar to 2019-20 reports, there will be two attendance rates for 2020-21: one for in-person learning and one for remote learning. |
| No state exam results | No State exams were administered. | Because the state exams for 2020-21 are not intended for use in accountability, results will not be displayed in the School Quality Reports. Instead, we will include an explanatory note indicating that the tests are not intended for this purpose. |
Advancing Equity and Student Support
| Description | Rule for 2019-2020 | Rule for 2020-2021 |
|---|---|---|
| Survey Data by Subgroups for 2020-2021 NYC School Survey | Not reported. | Readers can view percent positive on NYC School Survey questions by racial subgroup, gender, Students With Disabilities (SWD), Emergent Multilingual Learners/English Language Learners, and Students in Temporary Housing. This will apply to student and parent questions only. |
| Percentage of Students with IEPs Receiving Recommended Special Education Programs and Related Services | Not reported. | Provide percentage of students with IEPs who are fully, partially, or not receiving their IEP-recommended special education programs. |
| Social Emotional Well-Being Questions | Not reported. | Display additional questions related to social and emotional well-being under their corresponding sections in the current framework (e.g., Supportive Environment and Trust). |
Tentative 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 Proposed Changes
| Description | Rule for 2019-2020 | Potential Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Course/ Program Demographics (for Middle and Elementary Schools) | High schools only: Provide number of students in AP, IB, and other college preparatory courses and racial subgroup breakdown of students in these courses (%). The display includes a horizontal bar chart with demographic breakdowns comparing course demographic breakdown to the overall student population. | Similar to high schools, the reports will provide the number of middle and elementary students in courses and programs. |
| Percentage of ELL Students with IEPS | Not reported. | Report number of students with ELL and IEP flags in database/student population of school. |
| Section/score for Culturally Responsive and Sustaining Education (CR-SE) | Not reported. | Create a section in the School Quality Snapshot which includes survey questions (by racial subgroup) and metrics to reflect the efforts taken by schools to embed culturally responsive practices in teaching and learning. |
| Student-to-Counselor Ratio and Student-to-Social Worker Ratio | Not reported. | Provide the student-to-counselor ratio and/or student-to-social worker ratio of each school. |
| NYC School Survey Data by Subgroups on School Quality Snapshot | Not reported. | Display a breakdown by demographic subgroup in the School Quality Snapshot of percent positives on select questions. |
| Overlapping Racial Subgroup Demographics | Individuals who select “Hispanic” are counted as “Hispanic” only, regardless of whether additional selections are made (e.g., Asian + Hispanic). The individuals who select more than one race (e.g., Black and Asian) are included in neither category in most sections of the School Quality Reports. In the School Quality Guide there is a section that displays the number and performance for each combination of races (e.g., how many students are “Black and Asian and no other selections” and what their average test score is). The percentages can never add up to over 100% since they are exclusive definitions. | In School Quality Guide and in all other reports, the reports will use a definition of race that avoids undercounting and allows the total percentage to add up to over 100%. If multiple boxes are checked, race will be counted in all categories. For example, if a student is Black and Asian, the student will count both Black and Asian (instead of in one or the other). Exception: students that are both Hispanic and White are not added to the White group. Add an explanatory note wherever race categories are reported such as “Percentages may add up to more than 100% because students can be in multiple groups”. |
| Non-Teaching and Non-Principal Staff | Not reported. | Elementary: Report the number of assistant principals, counselors, school safety agents, and other non-teaching staff as numerical values where each value counts as a full-time staff member. Non-Elementary: Report the number of assistant principals, counselors, deans, school safety agents, and other non-teaching staff as numerical values where each value counts as a full-time staff member. |
| Teacher Retention Rates | Not reported. | Provide teacher retention rates on the School Quality Reports. 1-year rate would be equal to the number of teachers which started in 2020-2021 and are teaching in the same school in 2021-2022 divided by the total number of teachers who started in 2020-21 school year. 5-year rate would be equal to the number of teachers who started in 2015-16 and are teaching in the same school in 2021-22 divided by the total number of teachers who started in 2015-16. |