Notice is hereby given that the following changes have been made to the proposed rule in accordance with subparagraph 120.54(3)(d)1., F.S., published in Vol. 35 No. 32, August 14, 2009 issue of the Florida Administrative Weekly.

The following changes were approved by the State Board of Education on September 15, 2009:

(3)(e) ~~The Commissioner will issue guidelines regarding which school types shall receive school performance grades.~~ The accountability contact person, as specified in subsection (9) of this rule, is responsible for verifying that each school is appropriately classified by type before the issuance of school grades. School type is defined as the school level designation of a school, based on the grade levels served: elementary, middle, high, or a combination across levels. The Commissioner shall periodically review the criteria for including students in the calculation of School Performance Grades, including students in alternative and Department of Juvenile Justice facilities.

(6)(c) One (1) point for each percent of students who score “3.5” or higher on the FCAT writing assessment. Beginning in 2009-10, in order to accommodate changes in scoring procedures ~~for grades 4 and 8~~ this percentage shall be determined for schools ~~serving grades 4 and 8~~ by averaging the percentage of students scoring “3.0” or higher and the percentage of students scoring “4.0” or higher;

(8)(e)1. Four-year high school graduation rate. For the 2009-10 and 2010-11 School Years, the graduation rate will be calculated using criteria for modified No Child Left Behind (NCLB) graduation rate. The procedures used to calculate this rate can be found in the 2008-09 Guide to Calculations for the NCLB School Public Accountability Reports, April 2009, http://www.fldoe.org/eias/eiaspubs/word/nclbguide.doc. ~~Beginning in 2011-2012, the graduation rate will be calculated using criteria for the federal uniform rate.~~ For this component, two (2) grade points shall be awarded for each percent of students counted as on-time graduates in the graduation rate. The total possible points awarded for this component is 200 points.

3. Participation in accelerated coursework, defined as Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), dual enrollment, Advanced International Certificate of Education (AICE), and industry certification courses. Participation shall be calculated for the school year by dividing a weighted count of accelerated coursework participants in grades 9 through 12 (numerator) by the count of all students enrolled in grades 11 and 12 (denominator). For AP, IB, and AICE participation, a student shall be counted in the numerator if he or she has taken the applicable subject area examination (i.e., the AP, IB, or AICE subject area examination). For dual enrollment courses, a student must earn a grade in the course in order to be counted as a participant. For industry certification, a student must ~~be enrolled in a career and technical education course and~~ have taken an industry certification examinaton on the Industry Certification Funding List approved by the State Board of Education in Rule 6A-6.0573, F.A.C., in order to be counted as a participant. In 2009-10 and 2010-11, schools shall receive credit for accelerated coursework participants in grades 9 and 10 in the numerator of the calculation only if the participants successfully complete the acceleration as outlined in subparagraph (8)(e)4. of this rule. Beginning in 2011-12, schools shall receive credit for accelerated coursework participants in grades 9 and 10 in the numerator of the calculation.

b. Grade points assigned. For this component, in 2009-10, two (2) grade points shall be awarded for each percentage point produced by the weighted calculation of participation in accelerated coursework described in subparagraph (8)(e)3. and sub-subparagraph (8)(e)3.a. of this rule. The total possible points awarded for this component is 200 points. In 2010-11, one and three quarters (1.75) grade points shall be awarded for each percentage point produced by the weighted calculation of participation in accelerated coursework described in subparagraph (8)(e)3. and sub-subparagraph (8)(e)3.a. of this rule. The total possible points awarded for this component shall be 175 points in 2010-11. Beginning in 2011-12, one and one half (1.5) grade points shall be awarded for each percentage point produced by the weighted calculation of participation in accelerated coursework described in subparagraph (8)(e)3. and sub-subparagraph (8)(e)3.a. of this rule. The total possible points awarded for this component shall be 150 points beginning in 2011-2012.

4. Performance in accelerated coursework, defined as Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), dual enrollment, Advanced International Certificate of Education (AICE), and industry certification courses. In 2009-10 and 2010-11, pPerformance shall be calculated for the school by dividing the weighted number of grade 9-12 students with successful completions in accelerated coursework (numerator) by the count of all students in grades 11 through 12 who took an accelerated course or subject area examination during the academic year and the count of all students in grades 9 and 10 who successfully completed accelerated coursework as outlined in subparagraph (8)(e)4. of this rule (denominator). Beginning in 2011-12, the denominator of the performance calculation shall include all students in grades 9 through 12 who took an accelerated course or subject area examination during the academic year. For AP, IB, and AICE successful completion is defined as earning a passing score and being awarded credit for specific postsecondary course(s) as determined by the 20098 Articulation Coordinating Committee’s Credit by Exam Equivalencies list which is hereby incorporated by reference and may be obtained at http://www.fldoe.org/articulation/pdf/ACC-CBE.pdf. For dual enrollment successful completion is defined as a passing grade of “C” or higher in a dual enrollment course for college ~~academic~~ credit. For industry certification successful completion is defined as passing an industry certification examination on the State Board of Education approved industry certification funding list. Schools can earn additional successful completions for students who achieve industry certifications that result in credit for more than one (1) college course through statewide articulation agreements. Those agreements can be accessed at http://www.fldoe.org/workforce/dwdframe/artic_frame.asp.

b. Grade points assigned. For this component, in 2009-10, one (1) grade point shall be awarded for each percentage point produced by the weighted calculation of performance in accelerated coursework described in subparagraph (8)(e)4. and sub-subparagraph (8)(e)4.a. of this rule. The total possible points awarded for this component is 100 points. In 2010-11, one and one quarter (1.25) grade points shall be awarded for each percentage point produced by the weighted calculation of performance in accelerated coursework described in subparagraph (8)(e)4. and sub-subparagraph (8)(e)4.a. of this rule. The total possible points awarded for this component shall be 125 points in 2010-11. Beginning in 2011-12, one and one half (1.5) grade points shall be awarded for each percentage point produced by the weighted calculation of performance in accelerated coursework described in subparagraph (8)(e)4. and sub-subparagraph (8)(e)4.a. of this rule. The total possible points awarded for this component shall be 150 points beginning in 2011-12.

5. Postsecondary readiness. This measure consists of two separate components, one for reading and one for mathematics. For each subject area component, postsecondary readiness shall be calculated by dividing the count of on-time high school graduates scoring “ready” on the SAT, ACT, and/or the Common Placement Test (CPT) at any time during their high school careers by the count of on-time high school graduates who scored at Level 3 or higher on the grade 10 FCAT in the applicable subject. This measure shall be based on all on-time standard high school graduates beginning no later than 2011-12. Readiness cutoff scores by subject area on the ACT, SAT, and CPT are established in Rule 6A-10.0315, F.A.C. For students who have taken multiple tests among the ACT, SAT, and CPT, the student’s highest score by subtest shall be used to determine postsecondary readiness for the applicable subject area component. For each of the subject area components, one (1) grade point is awarded for each percentage point outcome of the postsecondary readiness calculation. The total possible points that may be awarded to a school for each component is 100 points.

6. Annual growth or decline in the components described in subparagraphs (8)(e)1. through 5. of this rule. For each component described in subparagraphs (8)(e)1. through 5., additional points are awarded based on the percentage point improvement over the prior year. Schools shall earn one additional point for each percentage point improved over the prior year. Schools shall earn no more than twenty (20) additional points on each component described in subparagrahps (8)(e)1. through 5. of this rule. For each component described in subparagraphs (8)(e)1. through (8)(e)5. of this rule, schools shall lose five (5) points if performance declines by at least ten (10) percentage points over the prior year. Schools that show no improvement in results ~~or show declining results~~ shall receive no additional points.