At its January 22 meeting, the Maryland State Board of Education approved a new methodology for identifying schools that have “comprehensive needs.”  The new methodology works with the School Progress Index (SPI) reviewed by the State Board in December 2012.

Under the new accountability system, each school receives a SPI measured by student achievement, gap closure, and either student growth in elementary/middle school, or college- and career-readiness in high school. Depending on its SPI, a school is then placed into one of five “strands.” Schools in the lowest two strands (Strand 4 and Strand 5) are not progressing as expected. Under the newly proposed methodology, schools in Strands 4 and 5 would be identified as “comprehensive needs” schools for the purpose of awarding stipends to certain teachers and non-administrative school-based personnel in conformance with Section 6-306 of the Education Article.

For a complete list of actions taken by the Board at their recent meeting, click here.