Section 2.03 - Accountability and Assistance for All Districts and Schools(1)Framework for District and School Accountability and Assistance. The Department shall implement a system for district and school accountability and assistance, approved by the Board and known as the framework for district and school accountability and assistance, for the purpose of improving student performance. Both the priority for assistance and the degree of intervention shall increase as the severity and duration of low performance increase. Under the framework, districts shall hold their schools accountable for educating their students well and assist them in doing so; the Department shall hold districts accountable for both of these functions and assist them in fulfilling them.(2)Reported Measures. Each year, the Department will report: (a) An accountability percentile, representing each school's overall relative standing compared to other schools in the state;(b) A criterion-referenced measure of performance against targets, set by the Department, for each accountability indicator, for: 1. Each district or school as a whole, by using data from all students in the district or school and data from the lowest performing students in each district or school; and2. Each subgroup for which there is sufficient data;(c) A subgroup percentile, representing each subgroup's relative standing compared to like subgroups in other schools statewide;(d) For each district, school, and subgroup that meets the minimum group size requirement for reporting: 1. Assessment participation rates; and2. Whether the district, school, or subgroup met the participation rate requirements established by the Department;(e) Information related to each school's need for required assistance or intervention; and(f) Information related to schools that demonstrate exemplary performance, as determined by the commissioner.(3)Annual Performance Determinations. Each year, the Department will issue annual performance determinations for all public districts and schools, using the framework developed by the Department and approved by the Board. (a) Annual performance determinations for districts include:1. Districts in need of required assistance or intervention, for districts that: a. Are in need of broad or comprehensive support, if designated under performing according to 603 CMR 2.05(1) or designated chronically under performing according to 603 CMR 2.06(1);b. Are in need of focused or targeted support due to:i. Low graduation rates, as defined by the federal Every Student Succeeds Act; orii. Low assessment participation rates, as defined by framework for district and school accountability and assistance.2. Districts not requiring assistance or intervention, for districts that do not meet any of the criteria in 603 CMR 2.03(3)(a)1. Annual performance determinations for districts not requiring assistance or intervention will be reported as the degree to which each district has met targets, based on the criterion-referenced measure in 603 CMR 2.03(2)(b)1. (b) Annual performance determinations for schools include:1. Schools in need of required assistance or intervention, for schools that: a. Are in need of broad or comprehensive support, if designated underperforming according to 603 CMR 2.05(2) or designated chronically underperforming according to 603 CMR 2.06(2);b. Are in need of focused or targeted support due to:i. Their placement among the lowest performing 10% of schools statewide, based on the accountability percentile described in 603 CMR 2.03(2)(a);ii. The presence of one or more low performing subgroups, using the relative measure described in 603 CMR 2.03(2)(c);iii. Low graduation rates, as defined by the federal Every Student Succeeds Act; oriv. Low assessment participation rates, as defined by the framework for district and school accountability and assistance.2. Schools not requiring assistance or intervention, for schools that do not meet any of the criteria in 603 CMR 2.03(3)(b)1. Annual performance determinations for schools not requiring assistance or intervention will be reported as the degree to which each school has met targets, based on the criterion-referenced measure in 603 CMR 2.03(2)(b)1. (4)District Reviews. The Department may conduct a district review, encompassing the district and its schools, of any district.(5)District Analysis and Review Tool. The Department shall provide the District Analysis and Review Tool to every district, including multiple data elements, giving schools the capability of comparing themselves with similar schools or other schools of their choice, and giving districts the capability of comparing themselves with similar districts or other districts of their choice.(6)District Standards and Indicators.(a) District reviews, improvement planning, and other forms of accountability and assistance shall be based on standards of effective policy and practice in: 1. Leadership and governance;2. Curriculum and instruction;4. Human resources and professional development;6. Financial and asset management.(b) The Department shall publish a detailed version of the standards and associated indicators, which shall be informed by research-based practices identified as characteristic of schools that have experienced rapid improvements in student outcomes.(7)District Improvement Planning. Every district shall develop and implement an annual self-evaluation and district improvement planning process.(a) The district's self-evaluation and planning process shall result, every three years, in a comprehensive written three-year District Improvement Plan to improve the performance of the district and its schools.(b) Each year, every school shall adopt school performance goals and develop and implement a written School Improvement Plan to advance those goals and improve student performance. The School Improvement Plan shall be aligned with the District Improvement Plan.(c) A district's District Improvement Plan and School Improvement Plans shall be based on an analysis of data including, but not limited to, data on student performance and the District Analysis and Review Tool provided by the Department under 603 CMR 2.03(5), and an assessment of actions the district and its schools must take to improve that performance.(d) District Improvement Plans and School Improvement Plans shall, in form and content, conform to requirements set forth in M.G.L. c. 69, § 1I.(8)Assistance from the Department. (a) The Department shall make available a variety of forms of assistance, such as examples, tools, templates, protocols, and surveys to assist districts and schools in assessing themselves and improving student performance.(b) The Department shall also make available to districts, to the extent funding allows, professional development opportunities and assistance from Department staff members, Department contractors, or third party partners. Priority for receiving professional development or assistance, as well as the degree of intervention by the Department, shall be based on the annual performance determination by the Department of the district or one or more of its schools.(9)Annual Report to Board. The Department shall report annually to the Board on district and school accountability results.(10)Notice and Consultation. The Department shall solicit public comment on proposed changes to the framework for district and school accountability and assistance, including changes to the indicators or the weighting of indicators in the framework. After considering the public comment, the commissioner will forward a recommendation for any proposed changes to the Board for approval.(11)Commissioner's Authority to Suspend the Reporting of Measures and Annual Performance Determinations for Districts and Schools. The Commissioner may, for good cause arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, direct the Department to suspend the reporting of any or all of the reported measures and annual performance determinations, as described in 603 CMR 2.03(2) and (3), for school year 2021-2022.Amended by Mass Register Issue 1338, eff. 5/5/2017.Amended by Mass Register Issue 1369, eff. 7/13/2018.Amended by Mass Register Issue 1474, eff. 7/22/2022.