State Issues Corrected Report on ELP Results
Dec 22,2006 00:00 by Bend Weekly News Sources
The Oregon Department of Education announced today the release of corrected information in the Annual Measurable Achievement Objectives (AMAO) report, required under the federal No Child Left Behind Act. The report shows whether or not Oregon school districts are making progress in meeting their targets to teach English to non-English speaking students, and the original report was issued on November 3, 2006.

ODE discovered an error in the calculation of AMAO Objective 1. The error involved a miscalculation that allowed students not making progress to show as making progress. The correction of the error impacts the original ratings assigned to some school districts.

“We regret that an error in calculation was made and that incorrect information was released,” said Ed Dennis, Deputy Superintendent. “We have implemented an improved quality assurance process to make sure that an error like this does not happen again.”

The corrected results for Oregon’s 2005-06 AMAO are shown below:

Did 85% or more move up by one level of English proficiency?
Original results: 55 school districts met (48%); 52 did not meet (46%); 7 Pending (6%)

Corrected results: 22 met (17%); 83 did not meet (66%); 6 Pending (5%); 15 not rated due to small cell size (12%)

Did 20% or more reach English proficiency and exit the program?
Original results: 50 met (52%); 40 did not meet (41%); 7 Pending (7%)

Corrected results: 50 met (40%); 41 did not meet (33%); 6 Pending (5%); 29 not rated due to small cell size (23%)

Did the school district make AYP for ELL students?
Original results: 32 met (38%); 45 did not meet (54%); 7 Pending (8%)

Corrected results: 32 met (25%); 45 did not meet (36%); 6 Pending (5%); 43 not rated due to small cell size (34%)

Did the school district meet all three AMAO targets?
Original results: 51 met (43%); 61 did not meet (51%); 7 Pending (6%)

Corrected results: 26 met (21%); 83 did not meet (66%); 6 Pending (5%); 11 not rated due to small cell size (9%)

There were 52,946 students in English language learner (ELL) programs in Oregon during the 2005-06 school year, and 129 of the state’s 198 school districts (65%) reported that they had ELL students at some time during the 2005-06 school year. Oregon school districts for programs designed to help ELL students gain proficiency in English and meet Oregon’s academic standards. The state of Oregon also gives districts an additional $2,659 per ELL student per year. English proficiency is broken down into a five-point scale, with level 1 defined as speaking little or no English and level 5 defined as full English proficiency. Within this framework, Oregon school districts must meet each of three objectives. ELL students are tested on either a state-approved English language proficiency assessment or on Oregon’s newly developed English Language Proficiency Assessment (ELPA). School districts reported the results of the assessment to the Oregon Department of Education toward the end of last year.

School districts are measured on their progress in three areas, called Annual Measurable Achievement Objectives. School districts must meet all three goals in order to fully meet the AMAO requirement:
1. Did students make progress in learning English (85% or more must move up by one level of proficiency)
2. Did students reach English language proficiency by the end of the school year (20% or more of all students must reach full English proficiency)
3. Did the district make Adequate Yearly Progress for the ELL population on required state math and English/language arts tests (student achievement and test participation)