Title I and Target District
The New York State Education Department (NYSED) assesses knowledge and skills based on New York State learning standards each year for students in grades 3-8 and high school.
These assessments measure students’ achievements in specific subjects. Districts and their component schools must meet required targets in the New York State Accountability System and Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, effective the 2019-2020 school years, NYSED modified the action steps for identified schools and districts. A one-year accountability restart for 2022-23 was formulated based on 2021-22 school year results, and developed a two-year Rebuild Phase for the 2023-24 school year based on 2022-23 school year results and for the 2024-25 school year based on 2023-24 school year results.
For the 2023-24 school year, the Liberty Central School District was listed as a targeted district. It remains so for the 2024-25 school year.
In 2023-24, Liberty Elementary School and Liberty Middle School were identified as Local Support and Improvement Schools (LSI). The Liberty High School was designated as a Targeted Support and Improvement School (TSI). For the 2024-25 school year, the Elementary School is identified as a Potential Targeted Support and Improvement School (PTSI). The Middle School is identified as a TSI school, and the High School has improved to a LSI school.
The District follows expectations from the Office of Accountability with the goal of closing achievement gaps for all students.
The District has completed a five-year Strategic Plan to “cultivate lifelong lead learners who empathetically achieve as students and global citizens,” according to LCSD Superintendent Patrick Sullivan. This plan will guide the District’s systems and practices through 2027. Each school also created an improvement plan, regardless of the accountability designation.
School building designations (2024-25)
- Liberty Elementary School is a Potential Targeted Support and Improvement School.
- Liberty Middle School is a Targeted Support and Improvement School.
- Liberty High School is a Local Support and Improvement School
How designation is determined
The driving force behind the designations is the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA.)
The designations are largely based on student performance and growth on the NYS English Language Arts and Math assessments administered each spring to students in grades 3-8. Other factors include the number of students participating in the assessments, chronic absenteeism and the graduation rate.
The designations are:
- Recognition School: A school that is high-performing or rapidly improving.
- Local Support and Improvement (formerly School in Good Standing): A school that does not have any underperforming student subgroups.
- Additional Targeted Support and Improvement (ATSI): Schools that had been identified as TSI in the 2018-19 and/or 2019-20 school years.
- Targeted Support and Improvement School (TSI): TSI schools have at least one low-performing subgroup. TSI schools are required to develop a School Comprehensive Education Plan which identifies needs and evidence-based intervention solutions and seek input from parents, staff and students through an annual survey.
- Comprehensive Support and Improvement School (CSI): CSI schools have an “all students” subgroup with underperformance in the bottom 5 percent of all schools in the state and, for high schools, a four-year graduation rate below 67 percent.
TSI schools are required to develop a School Comprehensive Education Plan which identifies needs and evidence-based intervention solutions and seek input from parents, staff and students through an annual survey.
These designations provide an opportunity to grow and learn. Administrators and faculty continue to develop, assess and enhance curricula and will continue to monitor performance data and provide targeted professional development to ensure that all students achieve at their highest level, progress every year, attend school every day, graduate on time and are ready for college or careers.
How ESSA measures student performance
ESSA measures student performance in these categories:
- Composite Performance: A measure of how well elementary and middle school students perform on the state’s English Language Arts (ELA), math and science exams. For high schools, it is a measure of student performance in ELA, math, science and social studies exams.
- Student Growth: A measure of student improvement on statewide assessments in ELA and math for students in grades 4-8. Scores are compared to similar scores in prior years.
- Academic Progress: Measured by looking at progress on ELA and math state assessments against the long-term and short-term goals assigned by the state.
- Graduation Rates: A measure of the 4-, 5-, and 6-year cohort graduation rates, compared to the long-term and short-term goals assigned by the state.
- English Language Proficiency: Measures the progress of English Language Learners in meeting their individual goals on the NYS English as a Second Language Achievement Test (NYSESLAT).
- Chronic Absenteeism: Chronic Absenteeism is determined by comparing the percentage of students who miss 10 percent or more days of instruction against long-term goals and short-term goals set by the state for each school and district.
- College, Career and Civic Readiness: Determined by the percentage of students who leave school prepared for college, career and civic readiness. The number of diplomas, credentials, advanced course credits and enrollments a school has, as well as the number of career and technical education certifications, compared in long-term and short-term goals are factored into the school’s score.
The law categorizes and assesses student performance into 10 subgroups:
- All students
- American Indian or Alaska Native
- Black or African American
- Hispanic or Latino
- Asian or Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander
- White
- Multiracial
- English Language Learners
- Students with Disabilities
- Economically Disadvantaged
ESSA reviews the data over a two-year period. A school’s subgroups must have success for two consecutive years to be considered a LSI, formerly “School in Good Standing.” After two years of one or more subgroups failing to meet expectations, that school and district is no longer in “good standing.”