The accountability system for West Virginia is a comprehensive system of measurements designed by the West Virginia Department of Education (WVDE) to provide meaningful feedback about county/district and school performance overall and by subgroups of students. It applies to all West Virginia public schools, including charter public schools, to present a coherent and aligned set of expectations necessary to transform schools into outcome-focused, innovative, and accountable learning organizations that prepare all students for college and career pathways.
The West Virginia accountability system was developed in accordance with the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965, as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) of 2015. The accountability system is outlined in West Virginia Board of Education (WVBE) Policy 2322: West Virginia System of Support and Accountability and complies with W. Va. Code §18-2E-5.
The West Virginia Balanced Scorecard is the online reporting system that documents the state, county/district, school, and subgroup aggregate results for each measure used in the accountability system. It is intended to inform parents, caregivers, educators, stakeholders, and the public about school performance and improvement. The Balanced Scorecard data are annually reported and indicate school performance and progress toward obtaining the knowledge and skills intrinsic to a high-quality education.
Additionally, to ensure each county/district board of education provides a thorough and efficient education for its students, the WVBE shall review annually the academic and student success indicators’ performance levels as they are reported on the Balanced Scorecard. Annual County Approval Status will be determined by the WVBE based on these results.
With this as a backdrop, it is important for stakeholders to understand how the indicators on the Balanced Scorecard are calculated to make school performance determinations to inform continuous school improvement. The purpose of this document is to specify the data sources, inclusion criteria, and methods used to calculate each indicator.
Accountability Indicators
The accountability system for West Virginia is based on multiple indicators that assess academic and student success outcomes in key areas. Indicators differ by programmatic level, and programmatic levels are determined by the highest-grade level of accountability in a school without regard to the overall school grade configuration. Elementary schools are those with a terminal grade below Grade 8; middle schools are those with Grade 8 but no Grade 12; and high schools are those with a Grade 12. In the table below, each accountability measure is listed with a short description and indication for which programmatic level the measure is used.
Accountability Performance Categories
The accountability system for West Virginia public schools is based upon four levels of performance that were set by the West Virginia Board of Education (WVBE). Performance level cuts for each accountability indicator were determined by:
• Considering the evidence base for continuous school improvement in each indicator measure;
• Examining the distribution of school values on each measure using baseline data from the 2015-
2016 school year; and
• Considering long-term goals specified in the West Virginia Consolidated State Plan.
The four performance level categories are color-coded for easier use, and include the following:
For more information follow the link below.
https://wveis.k12.wv.us/essa/docs/methodology_revised2022.pdf#page=28
