The Montgomery County Board of Education today [Tuesday, October 14] unanimously urged the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) to recalculate the Maryland State Assessment results of last year's reading assessment in Grade 3 and determinations of adequate yearly progress (AYP) for every school and school district in the state in which reading scores were invalidated and replaced for students who received reading accommodations.

The Board also requested MSDE to permit special education and limited English proficient students who receive verbatim reading accommodations to have an appropriate test to demonstrate their proficiency on the MSA, receive individualized test scores, and not be penalized by having their tests invalidated. Furthermore, it urged that MSDE seek specific clarification and relief from the United States Department of Education so that school districts within Maryland that desire to provide proper accommodation to such students are not penalized.

The action follows reports last week that scores were invalidated for certain third grade special education students and children with limited English proficiency and substituted with the lowest possible score for each student in the calculation of AYP to meet federal requirements under the No Child Left Behind Act. In Montgomery County, this change affected 832 students, and thousands more were affected statewide.

Board Resolution on the Calculation of Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP)

WHEREAS, The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 requires all states to test students in reading and mathematics, with the results used as a measure of school, district, and state performance in calculating Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP); and

WHEREAS, The federal law requires that all ESOL students, regardless of level of English proficiency, and all special students are to participate in such testing; and

WHEREAS, The Maryland State Department of Education mandated the administration of the Maryland School Assessment (MSA) for the 2002-2003 school year in grades 3, 5, 8, and 10 in reading and mathematics, in order to comply with the federal requirement; and

WHEREAS, The State is requiring that, for the 2003-2004 school year, the MSA be administered to all students in grades 3 through 8 and grade 10 in reading and mathematics; and

WHEREAS, The Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE), in calculating the scores for the 2002-2003 administration of the MSA, invalidated the reading scores of third grade special education and limited English proficient students throughout the state if they were provided an accommodation of verbatim reading and, in lieu thereof, assigned them the lowest possible score and placed them in the basic proficiency category included in the calculation of a school's and district's AYP for this benchmark year; and

WHEREAS, This action to invalidate the use of accommodations for special education and limited English proficient students is at variance with the requirements of Federal law and regulation; now therefore be it

Resolved, That the Montgomery County Board of Education hereby requests that MSDE revise its calculation of the scores on the third grade reading test and readjust the determination of AYP for every school and district within the State; and be it further

Resolved, That the Montgomery County Board of Education hereby requests that MSDE permit special education and limited English proficient students who receive verbatim reading accommodations on an appropriate test to demonstrate their proficiency on the MSA, receive individualized test scores, and not be penalized by having their tests invalidated; and be it further

Resolved, That the Montgomery County Board of Education hereby requests that, to the extent to which MSDE considers its actions to be dictated by Federal regulation, MSDE seek specific clarification and relief from the United States Department of Education so that school districts within Maryland which desire to provide proper accommodation to such students are not penalized and so no child is left behind.