Wyoming State Board of Education

CHEYENNE – The Wyoming State Board of Education (SBE) approved cut scores for School Performance Ratings during their meeting in Casper on Friday.

The cut scores determine if schools will receive a rating of Exceeding, Meeting, Partially Meeting or Not Meeting Expectations under the Wyoming Accountability in Education Act. The SBE accepted the recommendations of a Professional Judgment Panel (PJP) comprised of educators, school administrators, and parents from across the state. The PJP reviewed performance data from school districts in early October to consider where the bar should be set for the performance of Wyoming schools in light of changes made to the measures used to determine the ratings. School Performance Ratings will be released by the Wyoming Department of Education on November 1, 2018.

“These ratings let the public know how well schools are doing and let schools know what our expectations are for them,” said SBE Chairman Walt Wilcox. “Thankfully, we had a Professional Judgment Panel that recommended that we hold our schools to high expectations. We’re very appreciative of their work to make sure schools across the state are doing the best they can for our students.”

Recommendations from a PJP for alternative schools were also approved by the SBE. The 2017-18 school year was the final pilot year for alternative school accountability. In 2019, alternative schools will receive ratings based on unique measures to determine if they are Exceeding, Meeting, Partially Meeting or Not Meeting Alternative School Expectations. The SBE also discussed the support alternative schools need to improve, and reviewed a report to the Legislature on the Statewide System of Support for Alternative Schools.

During their meeting, the SBE also voted to promulgate Chapter 29 Rules for District and School Leader Evaluations. Public comment was taken July 30 through September 15, 2018. The board reviewed the four public comments received and decided not to make any substantive changes to the rules. The rules will now go to the Governor’s Office for review. The proposed rules mirror the temporary emergency rules which were put in place in June.

Additionally, the SBE received a report on Perkins V and the timeline for implementation of the federal law, which is dedicated to increasing access to Career and Technical Education programs.

The SBE will hold its next meeting on November 16 via teleconference.

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For more information, contact Kylie Taylor at (307) 777-6213 or kylie.taylor@wyo.gov.

Media Contact:
Dr. Thomas Sachse
(307) 752-1900
tom.sachse@wyo.gov