AQuESTT

2019 LPS State Accountability Report

Lincoln Public Schools received a designation of “Great” as part of the Nebraska Department of Education’s Accountability for a Quality Education System, Today and Tomorrow (AQuESTT) – the annual school district evaluation information shared Wednesday, October 9, 2019.

A few accountability highlights:

  • School district proficiency scores from spring state assessment indicate that LPS exceeds state mean scores in every grade from three through eight – in both English/language arts and mathematics.
  • The percent of LPS juniors on-track for college exceeds the state average for English, Math and Science and improved from spring 2018.
  • This is a designation that reflects the quality of teaching and learning in the school district, and policies enacted by the Lincoln Board of Education that support high quality teaching and learning.

Other information released Wednesday included:

  • LPS has received preliminary classifications for 57 schools. Of those, 51 classifications are “Good” or higher.
  • After a review in November, 16 schools increased in their preliminary classification after the review process. LPS has zero schools classified as “Needing Improvement.”

After schools receive their initial rating, they are subject to additional “designations” of Targeted Support and Improvement (TSI) or Additional Targeted Support and Improvement (ATSI). These designations are given to schools who have a specific subgroup of students who are underperforming compared to their peers across the state. Less than half of LPS schools received either a TSI or ATSI designation.

“We are proud of our educators and our students, and the accountability scores overall,” said Matt Larson, associate superintendent for Instruction. “Growth scores on the nationally recognized Measures of Academic Progress assessment indicate our students generally grew as much or more than is expected by national growth norms in math and reading between Fall 2018 and Fall 2019. With that said, we recognize that challenges remain. We are aware and continue to work on areas of concern through a relentless focus on instructional improvement. We are committed to achieving equitable outcomes, improving our accountability scores, and ensuring that every student who graduates from high school is college, career and civic ready.”

Visit the Nebraska Department of Education’s website to view Lincoln Public Schools’ Nebraska Education Profile.

The Nebraska Department of Education provides a classification for all Nebraska school districts and schools (Excellent, Great, Good or Needs Improvement) through a system called AQuESTT (Accountability for a Quality Education System, Today and Tomorrow).

Determination of classifications is based on the following data:

  • In grades 3-8, state accountability scores in English/language arts and math, including individual student score growth, school score improvement and reduction in non-proficiency classifications.
  • In grades 5 and 8, state accountability science proficiency status and score improvement.
  • At high school, junior performance on the ACT as measured by the percent of students on track to meet college readiness benchmarks.
  • 95 percent participation in state assessments.
  • At the high school level, four-year and extended graduation rates.
  • Reduction of chronic absenteeism (absent 10 percent or more of membership days).
  • Progress toward English Language proficiency.