State Accountability - School Accreditation and Request to Reconsider

The Education Accountability Act of 2009 aligned the state accountability measures for districts and schools. The Act requires the Colorado Department of Education (CDE) to release District and School Performance Framework reports with an initial accreditation category for each district and an initial plan type assignment for each school.

The process for determining each district’s initial accreditation category and each school’s initial plan type and the process for submitting district and school plans are outlined in the Colorado District Accountability Handbook (PDF).

Districts must submit to the Department the accreditation category that the district has assigned to each school and the performance framework used by the district for that accreditation assignment, including evidence of the school’s level of attainment on the State’s key performance indicators:

• Academic Achievement
• Academic Growth
• Postsecondary and Workforce Readiness

Districts may use the state’s SPF ratings to accredit their schools, or they may use their own local accreditation process, provided that their accreditation ratings correlate to the state’s plan type assignment. In addition, no later than October 16, if a district disagrees with the Department’s initial assignment of an accreditation category for the district or if the district disagrees with any of the Department’s initial assignments of a school plan type for any of the district’s schools, the district may submit additional information for CDE’s consideration.

Announcements

School and District Accountability and Request to Reconsider in 2017

CDE staff will be available to assist schools and districts with the request to reconsider process this summer and fall. If a district would like individualized assistance reviewing any local data in the meantime, please register for your own Office Hours (held via phone). Office Hours will begin Thursday, August 17 and will be held every Tuesday and Thursday from 2-4pm until the request to reconsider process concludes.

If you have any questions, please contact Jessica Watson at watson_j@cde.state.co.us.

School and District Request to Reconsider Decisions

These documents summarize CDE's decisions on school and district requests to reconsider.

Submitting School Accreditation Forms and Requests to Reconsider

The resources below detail the process for districts to submit school accreditation categories and to submit requests for reconsideration if a district disagrees with the Department’s initial district accreditation category or initial assignment of a school plan type.

Resource	Last Updated	File Type
Request to Reconsider Webinar Recording This webinar covers the process of districts accrediting schools, the timeline, and the request to reconsider process. https://enetlearning.adobeconnect.com/pdibd8xznfpu/	August 24, 2017	Webinar
Request to Reconsider Webinar PowerPoint This PowerPoint was used for the Request to Reconsider webinar.	August 24, 2017	PDF
Policy Guidance: Submitting Requests to Reconsider Submitting Requests to Reconsider: this document details the process for Requests to Reconsider, including required forms, request conditions, and CDE review considerations. Request to Reconsider Templates: Request to Reconsider Data Template - To better assist you in submitting your district or school's additional data to CDE, we have created a template to streamline the process as well as give you an idea of what data we need to collect for the Request to Reconsider process. Everything needed to submit a Request for Reconsideration of your District or School Performance Framework rating may be completed in this spreadsheet. Submitting a Request to Reconsider due to Data Collection Error for Accountability Participation Rate - If a district went through the Student Biographical Data (SBD) collection for SAT/PSAT and there are data collection errors that impacted accountability participation rates and resulted in the district/school’s rating being lowered one level, a request to reconsider submission may be considered.  For this request, districts must submit the following information included in this checklist, with signatures, to CDE. Submitting a Request to Reconsider due to Data Collection Error for Accountability Participation Rate for 5 or Fewer Students Submitting a Request to Reconsider for Insufficient State Data: Low Participation	September 7, 2017	PDF
Policy Guidance: Submitting Accreditation Categories This document will detail the process for submitting Accreditation Categories and required forms.	August 2017	PDF
School Accreditation Form Instructions and district login information will be e-mailed to superintendents and district accountability contacts after the DPF/SPF release. http://www2.cde.state.co.us/scripts/AccreditationForm/	August 2017	URL
Request to Reconsider Key Questions and Reports This document highlights key questions and reports CDE considers in making a Request to Reconsider decision.	Coming Soon	PDF
Example Request to Reconsider Submissions (PDF) District and school Request to Reconsider submissions will vary, depending on their individual body of evidence, but a submission from 2014 is provided as an example of the type of information considered by CDE for a body of evidence request. District and school Request to Reconsider submissions will vary, depending on their individual body of evidence, but a submission from 2016 is provided as an example of the type of information considered by CDE for an insufficient state data request.	August 25, 2017	PDF

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For assistance, please contact Jessica  Watson (née Knevals), Watson_J@cde.state.co.us or 303-866-6778.