Announcements

Public Notice and Comment Period

34 C.F.R. § 200.14(a)-(b) and section 1111(c)(4)(B) of ESSA

The Delaware Department of Education (DDOE) completed the development of an innovative social studies through-year assessment system in grades 4-8 to provide educators with information that will inform teaching and learning, and measure student academic achievement relative to content standards in a much more comprehensive manner. This move to a through-year system supports the evaluation of the instructional materials used to teach the content standards, provide students an opportunity to go deeper into content, and provide “just in time” data to support classroom instruction through the delivery of shorter online tests multiple times throughout each school year.

Impact on Statewide Accountability Calculations

During the period that DDOE developed and field tested a new social studies assessment in grades 4-8, DDOE subsequently requested that the US Department of Education approve an amendment to allow Delaware to pause social studies performance in the calculation of Delaware’s statewide accountability system (the Delaware School Success Framework) for elementary and middle schools for the 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 school years. This amendment was approved by the USED Office of Elementary and Secondary Education on September 11, 2023. High school was not impacted by the development of these new assessments.

Presently, Delaware intends to resume student performance in social studies in the 2024-2025 school year calculation of the statewide accountability system, as the social studies assessments are now fully operational. With the availability of PLDs to measure progress relative to grade-level standards, Delaware will include student performance in the calculation of its statewide accountability system for elementary and middle schools at that time.

As stated in Delaware’s original approved consolidated state ESSA plan, proficiency in social studies in grades 4 and 7 are measures within the School Quality and Student Success Indicator, which in its entirety accounts for 20% of the overall rating for elementary and middle Schools. For the 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 school years, DDOE removed the points associated with the social studies measure within the School Quality and Student Success index score for elementary and middle schools only, keeping the weighting of academic measures significantly higher overall when compared to other measures within the School Quality and Student Success indicator. Again, high school accountability calculations are not impacted by change in statewide assessments.

Assessment Development

The Delaware Social Studies Standards are designed to be end-of-grade cluster instructional targets.  Four content areas – Civics, Economics, Geography, and History – are expected to be taught in 2 years for the 4-5 cluster, and within 3 years in the 6-8 grade cluster. These new Delaware-specific, through-year assessments will allow us to measure and evaluate student proficiency relative to each cluster of grade band standards. The assessments are being constructed with attention to the technical quality of peer-reviewed large-scale assessment systems, and DDOE is on track for the full assessment system in grades 4-8 to be completed by the 2024-2025 school year as was illustrated and described in its previous amendment.

Critical Elements/Technical Quality Review

The Alignment Study was conducted by an independent third party.  An educator panel and content experts from across Delaware served as evaluators. The alignment analyses was planned at two levels.  The first level focused on the extent to which the by-grade test items measured the content standards and sub-content domain(s) at the expected cognitive complexity as specified in the blueprint to match the newly developed curriculum.  The second level focused on the extent to which all items by grade-cluster measured the balance of all content standards under the four sub-content domains at expected proportions of cognitive complexity to match the newly developed curriculum.  The result of the first level of the alignment study supported the use for classroom instruction; the results at the second level supported teaching and learning, as well as high stakes uses for statewide school accountability.

Standard Setting was conducted by the vendor.  An educator panel and content experts from across Delaware served as evaluators. The recommended cut scores and performance levels will be approved by the State Board of Education. To support standard setting, the Performance Level Descriptors (PLDs) will be developed by grade as well as by grade-cluster. Two levels of standard setting are planned.  The first level is to set cut scores by grade after the first operation year; the second level is to set cut scores by grade-cluster. If the by-grade standard setting is conducted years earlier than the standard setting by grade cluster, the changes of student performance and its potential influences on the standard setting by grade-cluster will be considered.

Once the Alignment Study and Standard Setting processes have been successfully completed, PLDs will be developed with an educator panel and content experts from across Delaware to further describe student performance relative to grade-level standards.

NOTIFICATION OF PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD

Prior to the submission of this amendment to request a reissuance of the social studies elementary and middle school

performance in the calculation of Delaware’s statewide accountability system (the Delaware School Success Framework), the DDOE is providing notification and requesting public comment.   Comments on this proposed pursuant to 34 C.F.R. §

200.14(a)-(b) and section 1111(c)(4)(B) of ESSA, may be submitted in writing from March 19, 2025 through March 31, 2025 to April McCrea, Delaware Department of Education, Office of Assessment and Accountability, 401 Federal Street, Suite 2, Dover DE 19901 or through email at April.McCrae@doe.k12.de.us.

Notification of this amendment request is being posted publicly on the DDOE website.  Additionally, this information was disseminated to chief and charter leaders, district and charter coordinators, and Title 1 Committee of Practitioners.  Comments received will be attached to the amendment request being sent to the US Department of Education.