Two Major Changes in Marlborough High Classification

Article submitted by the Marlborough Public Schools

The district recently was notified of two important changes regarding the classification of Marlborough High School by the MA Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Both changes are a result of positive outcomes of appeals filed by district administration.

In September, Superintendent Langlois was notified that the 2014 accountability determination for MHS, which previously was classified as a Level 3, has been changed to Level 2 based on an appeal filed by the district earlier this year. The basis for the appeal was a discrepancy in the participation rate on the mathematics MCAS test in one of the testing subgroups. The change in the classification will be reflected in the school’s 2014 accountability report on the DESE website.

A second appeal filed by Marlborough Public Schools was based on the way the high school is compared to other “like” schools. One of the accountability factors, the progress and performance index, involves a complex formula in which schools are compared to other similar schools over a period of four years. Recent data analysis by the administration shows there is a discrepancy in the similar-school comparison; the high school had been ranked in the wrong school configuration category for the past three years.

DESE recalculated the MHS data to more accurately reflect the high school’s cumulative progress and performance index, and the recalculations essentially move MHS – and the district - from Level 3 to Level 2 for the 2011-12 and 2012-13 school years. However, because the appeal period for changes to those accountability reports has expired, this data will not be reflected on the reports for those years. DESE has agreed to include a letter of acknowledgement about the change within the school’s records.

Bottom line: Kudos to the high school, which has performed as a Level 2 school for three years!