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2008 NCLB-Blue Ribbon Schools Named ___________ |
 |
| • Overview
• Assessment Requirements • Process and Timeline • USDE Program Web Site |
• Frequently
Asked Questions • Qualifying Test Scores • Additional Guidelines • Previously Recognized Schools |
To Apply for the 2009 Program
|
The No Child Left Behind—Blue Ribbon Schools Program honors public and private elementary, middle, and high schools that are either academically superior or that demonstrate dramatic gains in student achievement to high levels. Since 1982, the U. S. Department of Education’s Blue Ribbon Schools Program has honored many of America’s most successful schools. A Blue Ribbon School flag waving overhead has become a trademark of excellence, a symbol of quality recognized by everyone from parents to policy-makers in thousands of communities.
The program recognizes and presents as models elementary and secondary schools that meet either of two assessment criteria:
These Blue Ribbon Schools are honored at a Washington, DC ceremony. In addition, the winning applications are posted on the Department website. Summaries from a small group of Blue Ribbons Schools visited each year identify educational practices that have been successful in closing the achievement gap.
A private school can be recognized as a No Child Left Behind--Blue Ribbon School in one of two ways: High Performing or Dramatic Improvement.
High Performing: Regardless of the school’s demographics or percentage of students from disadvantaged backgrounds, the school is high performing. “High performing” means that the achievement of the school’s students in at least the highest grade tested in the last year tested places the school in the top 10 percent of schools in the nation in reading and mathematics as measured by an assessment referenced against national norms or in the top 10 percent in its state as measured by a state test. If a private school administers both state tests and nationally normed tests, the school must be in the top 10 percent in both. Disaggregated results for student groups, including disadvantaged students, must be similar to the levels of all students tested; at a minimum, student subgroups must be at the 60th student percentile or higher on nationally standardized tests or state tests if administered.
For schools using national standardized tests, the U.S. Department of Education has published tables of cutoff scores that place a school in the top 10 percent of schools in the nation. You can download the tables here in Word or PDF format. Schools using state standardized tests will have to find out from their state education department whether their scores place them in the top 10 percent of schools in the state. Click here for a PDF list of state contacts. Whether a school uses national or state tests or both, the top 10 percent criterion must be met in both reading and math scores for the most recent year tested in the highest grade-level at which the tests are administered in the school.
Dramatic Improvement: This category is for schools with at least 40 percent of the student body from disadvantaged backgrounds who have dramatically improved their performance in reading and mathematics to high levels. “Dramatically improved” is defined as an increase of at least one-half standard deviation over at least five years and includes the disadvantaged students as shown by disaggregated data. “High levels” means that the achievement of the school’s students in at least the highest grade tested in the last year tested places the school in the top 40 percent of schools in the nation in reading (English language arts) and mathematics as measured by an assessment referenced against national norms or in the top 40 percent in its state as measured by a state test. If a private school administers both state tests and nationally normed tests, the school must be in the top 40 percent in both. For nationally normed tests, schools will have to secure from the testing company documentation that the top 40 percent standard has been met. Such documentation should be submitted with the application as part of the assessment verification documents.
Students from a “disadvantaged background” must include students who are eligible for free or reduced-priced meals (whether or not the school offers the program), and may include students who are limited English proficient, migrant, in need of special services, or receiving services under Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, as amended by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.
For Both Categories of Schools: Test results for each grade tested during the most recent five years must be reported even if the assessment was revised or changed during that period. Private schools must submit at least three years of testing data for each grade tested and up to five years of testing data if such data are available. In the rare cases where five years of test results are not available, an explanation should be provided in the application. If the school had fewer than 10 students in any grade tested during the three most recent years of testing, it is NOT eligible to apply for the program.
For private schools, this supersedes what is in the USDE application.
| By November 3, 2008 | School officials download (1) CAPE's Procedures for Private Schools and (2) the NCBL-BRS application in Word or PDF format. |
| By November 3, 2008 | School officials use CAPE's online registration form to register for the program. Schools not registered by November 3 are not eligible to apply. |
| By December 5, 2008 | School officials should print out and mail to CAPE (a) two hard paper copies of the online application, (b) an original application cover sheet signed by all appropriate parties, and (c) one copy of the assessment verification document(s). (CAPE must receive the package by 5 p.m., December 5.) Click here for CAPE's mailing address. |
| By January 16, 2009 | CAPE's review panel selects 50 schools to nominate for the award and advises applicants accordingly. Nominated schools receive feedback on how to improve their applications. |
| By February 6, 2009 | School officials from nominated schools submit their final online applications to the Department of Education. CAPE delivers to Aba Kumi at USDE the original signed application cover sheet for all 50 applicants. |
| September 2009 | Secretary Spellings announces the 2009 No Child Left Behind--Blue Ribbon Schools. |
| Fall 2009 | Ceremony takes place in Washington, DC, to honor the No Child Left Behind--Blue Ribbon Schools. |
The U.S. Department of Education has published tables of cut scores for standardized tests that school officials can use to determine whether their school ranks in the top 10 percent of schools in the nation. You can download the tables here in Word or PDF format. Cut scores are available for the following tests:
ITBS/ITED (Forms A,B), Riverside Publishing
SAT – 9th Ed (Form S), Harcourt Educational Measurement
SAT – 10th Ed, Harcourt Educational Measurement
MAT 8 , Harcourt Educational Measurement
Terra Nova (All Forms) , CTB/McGraw-Hill
CTP III, Educational Records Bureau
CTP IV, Educational Records Bureau
SAT, College Board
PSAT, College Board
ACT, ACT
PLAN, ACT
If a school's nationally normed testing program is not listed above, the school is not eligible for the NCLB-BRS program unless it administers, and qualifies using, state tests.
In cases where state tests are administered, a school should contact the state education department to find out what scores in reading and math put it in the top 10 percent of schools in the state. Click here for a PDF list of state contacts.
Within a week after they fill out CAPE’s online registration form, schools will receive a “School ID” and a “Password” to access the online application. Hardcopies of the application are available as Word or PDF documents for reference and practice, but schools must complete the application online.
An essential point to keep in mind when working with the online application is that the “Final Submission” button can only be pressed once. The time to press it is in February 2009 when submitting the FINAL application to the U.S. Department of Education. (Only 50 schools selected by CAPE will be able to submit the final application.)
Until the “Final Submission” button is hit in February, the online application is considered a draft application and may be printed, revised, and revisited over and over. The “Final Submission” button in effect locks the application in its final form, which is why schools should not hit it until the February submission.
As part of the CAPE review process, schools must send CAPE two printed copies of the online application by December 5. It is easy to print a paper copy from the online application; just hit "Print Draft Copy." CAPE’s review panel has to work with paper copies and does not have access to online copies.
After CAPE’s review panel meets in January to select the 50 schools to be submitted to the U.S. Department of Education, we notify the schools with suggestions about final amendments they should make to their draft application before submitting the application in February. Only after this review and correction process should schools submit their final application by hitting the “Final Submission” button.
1. Read and follow the directions in the application packet carefully. Pay attention to the technical specifications. When CAPE's review panel evaluates applications in an effort to narrow the field to the allotted 50, it eliminates applications that do not comply with the program's rules and specifications.
2. The program is looking to identify truly exemplary model schools, not just good schools or strong schools. Your responses to the questions must convey programs and practices that are well above the ordinary.
3. Periodically check the Frequently Asked Questions section of CAPE's Web site
4. Proofread and edit the application. Someone with a solid background in writing should do the final edit.
5. We welcome your phone calls (301-916-8460), faxes (301-916-8485), or e-mail inquiries (brs@capenet.org) concerning any aspect of the application process. One of our goals at CAPE is to help private schools receive recognition as No Child Left Behind--Blue Ribbon Schools!
6. When you get your superintendent (e.g., for Catholic schools) and/or school board president to sign the cover sheet, have them sign a few extra copies, so you will have an original signed cover sheet if you are invited to submit a revised application by February 6.
7. Here are some points to review in connection with part II of the application:
8. Examples of responses to particular questions may be found in the applications of winning private schools for 2003-08. Click here to review those applications on the USDE Web site.
9. Avoid using the first person (we, our, etc.) in the narrative.
10. Private schools that have grades with 9 or fewer students in any grade for which test scores are reported for the past three years are not eligible to apply.
11. Pay attention to the rounding rule at the top of page 10 of the application and the exception for ACT and PLAN tests on page 15.
General
What is the maximum number of schools that CAPE can nominate to the USDE for recognition?
Fifty.
What if CAPE receives more exemplary applications from qualifying schools than it can nominate?
The CAPE review panel will narrow the field to 50 by eliminating applications not in compliance with the requirements of the program (including submission deadlines and other technical requirements) and by evaluating the quality and responsiveness of the essay questions. (Download the scoring guidelines that reviewers used for the 2008 program. Guidelines for the 2009 program will be similar though not identical.) CAPE will give preference to schools that qualify in the "dramatic improvement" category. We will also give preference to schools that applied in previous cycles of the NCLB-BRS program but were unsuccessful because of technical violations.* After that, all applications of eligible schools that meet the requirements of the program and that provide exemplary responses to the essay questions will be pooled, and nominated schools will be selected randomly.
*To receive this preferential treatment, schools that fall in this category should attach a note to the draft application submitted in December to let CAPE know that the application is a second try. The note should indicate the year and violation of the initial application.
Must a school have a minimum enrollment to apply?
Private schools that have an enrollment of 9 or fewer students in any grade for which test scores are reported for the past three years are not eligible to apply.
May a K-12 school apply to have only part of its school recognized (e.g., the elementary division or the middle school division)?
That depends on how the school is configured and managed. If the school has separate administrators for its lower, middle, and upper divisions, it may submit a separate application for each division. However, if a school has only one administrator, it must apply as a unit. The rule of thumb is whether or not the public would be able to understand that only a particular unit of the school, and not the entire school, received the award.
If a school received the NCLB-BRS award in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, or 2008 may it apply for the 2009 award?
No. Lists of those schools are available here.
May a new school apply?
A nominated school must be in existence with its current grade configuration for at least five full years, that is, since September 2003.
Foreign Language Requirement
Must a school offer a foreign language program in order to qualify?
If the school includes grades 7 or higher, it must have a foreign language program in those grades as part of its curriculum. Compliance with the foreign language requirement must be communicated as part of the response to Question 1 of Part V.
What standard is used to determine if foreign language is part of the curriculum in grades 7 and higher?
The U.S. Department of Education has determined that a school with grades 7 and higher must have foreign language as a part of its curriculum, and a significant number of students in grades 7 and higher must take the course. CAPE has interpreted this to mean that, for grades 7 and 8, 20 percent or more of students must take foreign language during the regular school day for the equivalent of 30 minutes per week for a full year. So, for example, if a school were to offer foreign language for an hour each week for a half year to 20 percent of its students, it would meet the requirement. At the high school level, foreign language instruction should be an integral part of the curriculum with the majority of students taking two or more years of foreign language instruction before they graduate. If you have questions about whether your school meets this requirement, please send an e-mail message to CAPE (brs@capenet.org) describing the program in detail (e.g., what percent of students in grade 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 take the program; how many periods per week; how many minutes per period). If need be, we will forward your e-mail to the U.S. Department of Education for guidance. Please be sure to resolve this issue before applying for the award. A number of schools were disqualified in past years because they failed to meet the foreign language requirement.
What assessment verification must schools submit to CAPE?
Depending on how they qualify for the program, schools must include with their initial applications the following information:
Top 10 Percent in Nation: A copy of the one-page printout from the testing publisher (it generally has the company logo on it) that identifies the school's scores in reading and math for the most recent year tested in the highest grade tested. (Note: A school must submit, as part of the application, testing data in reading and math for all grades tested for the past five years. But the assessment verification sheet is an additional one-page document that applies only to the highest grade tested in the most recent year tested.) Attach the one-pager to the very end of your application. The point of the assessment verification sheet is to verify the accuracy of the scores the school has reported for its highest grade tested in the most recent year tested. Many schools are disqualified from the program either because they do not submit an assessment verification sheet, or they report school percentiles instead of student percentiles, or the scores in the tables do not match the assessment sheet scores. Call CAPE if you have questions about any of this. Also, high schools using SAT and ACT scores from multiple testing dates should call CAPE regarding assessment verification.
Top 10 Percent in State: A copy of the one-page printout from the state education department that identifies the school's scores in reading and math for the most recent year tested in the highest grade tested. The school must also provide evidence from the state education department that the scores reported for the highest grade tested in the most recent year tested place the school in the top 10 percent of schools in the state in both reading and math. Finally, if the school is reporting disaggregated results for student subgroups, including disadvantaged students, it must provide evidence from the state education department that results for student subgroups are at the 60th student percentile or higher on state tests.
Dramatic Improvement for Schools Serving Students from Disadvantaged Backgrounds: A copy of printouts/letters from the testing publisher or state education department that verify the "high levels" of performance (see definition for dramatically improved schools in application) and the one-half standard deviation of improvement over at least three years.
Other Assessment Issues
Does a school have to meet or exceed the cut scores for every grade tested in the five years for which test scores are being reported?
No. Even though a school must report three years of reading and math scores for every grade tested (and five years, if available), the only scores that must meet or exceed the cut scores are the scores for the highest grade tested in the most recent year tested. Other scores for other grades and other years must be in the general vicinity of the cut scores, but need not meet or exceed them.
If a school is in a state that requires private schools to take state tests, should the school use nationally normed tests or state tests to qualify for the program?
If a private school administers state tests and nationally normed tests, the school must report both sets of test results and be in the top 10 percent in both. In other words, such schools must qualify under state standards and national standards.
If a private school elects to, but is not mandated to, administer state tests in addition to national tests, must it report the state test results and meet the state test cutoff scores?
Yes.
Where can I find out what state tests to report, how to report them, and whether my school is in the top 10 percent of schools in the state?
For questions about state assessments, call your state department of education. Click here for a PDF list of state contacts.
If a school uses national standardized tests for which qualifying cutoff scores have not been determined by the USDE, is there any way it can qualify under the "top 10 percent in the nation" category?
We're sorry, but at this point there is not. If a school wishes to qualify under the "top 10 percent in the nation" category, it must use a test whose publisher has provided the U.S. Department of Education with qualifying cutoff scores.
Under what circumstances must a school disaggregate assessment data for certain groups of students?
The school must disaggregate the data (1) for students eligible for free or reduced-priced meals if such students make up 10 percent or more of students in the school and (2) for any minority ethnic/racial group that makes up 10 percent or more of the student body of the school. Do not, however, report results for any subgroups of nine or fewer students; only report the number of students assessed in the subgroup.
With respect to meal-eligible students, the school must disaggregate the data whether or not the school actually offers the federal school meal program.
Disaggregated results for student groups, including disadvantaged students, must be similar to the levels of all students tested; at a minimum, student subgroups must be at the 60th student percentile or higher on nationally standardized tests or state tests if administered.
What specific data triggers the obligation to report disaggregated scores?
The percentages reported in questions 9 and 6 in Part II of the application. If the percentages for any group, other than the majority group in the school, are 10 or greater, the school is obligated to report disaggregated scores for that subgroup. The obligation is negated, however, in any grade where the number of students in the subgroup is nine or fewer. In such cases, only report the number of students assessed in the subgroup.
Even though a school qualifies for the program using test results in reading and math from the most recent year tested in the highest grade tested, does it still have to submit reading and math results from all the standardized state and national tests administered in all grades for the past five years?
Yes. If the school has testing data for five years, it must submit the data. At the very least, however, it must submit three years of testing data.
What if a school does not have three years of assessment data?
CAPE can only nominate schools that have at least three years of data.
May the assessment results reported by the testing company be adjusted to allow for special circumstances (e.g., by excluding the scores of a student who falls asleep during the test and thereby brings the group’s average down)?
No. The only scores that count are those reported by the testing company. The school may not make adjustments to these scores.
We are a high school, but ninth grade is the highest grade we test, may we use those scores to qualify for the program?
No. High schools may only use scores for tenth grade or higher to qualify.
Does the "top 10 percent" requirement mean that the school has to have been in the top 10 percent of all the schools in the nation or state for at least the past three years? Or could it be for the current year only?
The school must be in the top 10 percent for the latest year of the reported tests. Depending on when test results are available, the "latest year" may be the current one or it may be the previous year.
Does the "top 10 percent" requirement mean that the school has to demonstrate that all student groups in the school score equally well?
No. Schools may use aggregate scores. However, each student group for whom there are disaggregated data must achieve at close to the same levels as the majority students. For example, a school that is in the top 10 percent in the nation or state may have its economically disadvantaged group scoring slightly below the other students, but improving. This school would still qualify. However, a school that is in the top 10 percent in the nation or state that has its economically disadvantaged students scoring far below the other students would not. Also, at a minimum, student subgroups must be at the 60th student percentile or higher on nationally standardized tests or state tests if administered.
Does the "highest grade tested" standard apply to K-12 schools? For example, would a K-12 school with test results for grade 11 (the highest grade tested in the school) in the top 10 percent qualify for the program or would the school have to qualify through its top grade in the upper division, its middle division, and its lower division?
The "highest grade tested" standard applies to K-12 schools. So, in the example above, the grade 11 test results would qualify the entire school, assuming that test results for the rest of the school were in the ballpark.
Can the school report the reading and math scores as a composite?
The reading and mathematics scores must be reported separately. That is, the schools whose applications are submitted by CAPE must achieve at the required levels in both mathematics and reading. For example, for a school to be recognized as being in the top 10 percent of the nation, it must be in the top 10 percent in both reading and mathematics.
If the results of the current year's assessments are not available at the application deadline, may the school use the previous three (five, if available) years' data?
Yes. The school should use at least the most recent three/five years of available data.
What if the nationally normed high school test used is the ACT or SAT?
At least 90 percent of the students in the appropriate classes must take either of the two tests before the results may be used. For example, 50 percent take the SAT and 40 percent take the ACT. If fewer than 90 percent take the tests, the results cannot be reported. The school has the responsibility to demonstrate that, in the aggregate, the students in a school achieve in the top 10 percent of the nation on these tests. Disaggregated results for student groups, including disadvantaged students, must be similar to the levels of all students tested; at a minimum, student subgroups must be at the 60th student percentile or higher on these nationally standardized tests.
Should high schools submit PSAT or PLAN results?
If at least 90 percent of the students take some combination of the PSAT or PLAN, high schools must include the data for those tests.
If a high school has 90 percent or more or its seniors taking some combination of the ACT and SAT, must it submit those scores and must they meet or exceed the cut scores for the program.
Yes.
If a high school has its seniors take a standardized test other than the ACT and SAT but also has 90 percent or more or its seniors taking some combination of the ACT and SAT, must it submit both sets of scores and must they both meet or exceed the cutoff scores for the program.
Yes.
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