Manassas school officials briefed on new Virginia School Performance and Support Framework

Dr. Jennifer Quesada, executive director of accountability and finance for Manassas City Public Schools, briefed the School Board on the Virginia Department of Education's new School Performance and Support Framework, saying the state will release school performance reports in September.

Quesada told the board the new framework separates performance ratings from accreditation and generates a single weighted index score for each school based on mastery, growth and readiness (or graduation at the high school level). "The accountability performance framework is designed to align with federal requirements, provide school performance information, and identify schools for support," she said.

The nut graf: Board members were shown how the framework will change what counts in school ratings and what the division will present to the public when VDOE posts results. Quesada emphasized that the presentation explained the system, not the Division's scores, and that staff will return with local ratings once the state publishes them.

Under the new model, mastery is based on SOL performance and related alternate assessments; growth compares a student's performance to an individualized expected target computed by the state's growth model (VVAS); readiness includes chronic absenteeism and, at the high school level, a "Ready for Life" component that counts enrollment, employment (CTE) accomplishments and enlistment measures. Quesada said elementary mastery is weighted most heavily (65% at the elementary level in Manassas because state elementary science SOLs do not apply here), while high school models place more weight on readiness and graduation.

Quesada described point scoring for mastery and growth: students earn 1.25 points for "past advanced," 1.0 for "pass/proficient," 0.75 for basic/fail in science or high-school-level tests, and 0.25 for below basic in some grades. On growth, students who exceed expected growth earn 1.25, meet expected growth earn 1.0, slightly below expected growth earn 0.5, and those well below earn no growth points.

Several board members asked clarifying questions. Mrs. Stevens asked about Title I identification; Quesada replied that comprehensive support and improvement applies only to Title I schools and that those identifications occur every three years, while targeted support is identified annually. Miss Miles asked how growth is measured at the elementary level; Quesada said growth scores require two years of SOL data, so only fourth through eighth graders will have growth scores under the statewide model. Ms. Brown and Ms. Brezia asked about alternate (VAA or VAP) assessments and the allocation of points for English learner progress. Quesada said English learner progress is now formally included and counts where students have two WIDA access scores; she noted the federal targets used for that metric are often in the 50–60% range.

Quesada said VDOE will publish federal pass rates (unadjusted assessment results) and then publish School Performance and Support Framework results by September; Manassas City Public Schools will present those reports to the board after publication. She also pointed board members to the VDOE resource hub and the local Manassas School Quality Profile for further detail.

Board members generally described the briefing as "meaty" and asked for follow-up presentations focused on components of highest local concern. "We're going to want to hear different pieces of this again with further explanation because this is something very new and very different," Mrs. Stevens said.

Quesada closed by offering to return with local results once the state releases them and to answer board questions about the underlying data and calculations.

The board did not take formal action on the framework at this meeting; the presentation was informational and will be followed by more detailed local reporting after VDOE posts its scores in September.