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Eligibility and Performance Award CriteriaEligibility for Public Schools: The Department invites Chief State School Officers (CSSOs) for all states and the District of Columbia, the territories, the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE), and the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) to nominate schools for recognition as National Blue Ribbon Schools. In submitting nominated schools, the CSSO of each state and these entities must certify that the nominated schools meet the minimum requirements established by the Department for nomination. As described below, states and nominating entities must rely on their accountability and assessment systems to identify schools for submission to the Secretary.
At least one-third of the public schools nominated by each state must be schools with a high percentage of students from disadvantaged backgrounds. What constitutes “disadvantaged backgrounds” is defined by the CSSO of each state. The definition may include economically disadvantaged students, that is, students who are eligible for free and reduced-price school meals; students with disabilities; students who are English language learners; migrant students; and/or students receiving services under Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015. “High percentage” generally means at least 40 percent of students from disadvantaged backgrounds
The Department also recommends nominated schools reflect the demographic and geographic diversity of the state’s school-age population.
Each state’s nomination criteria must pertain equally to all public schools nominated by the state. The nomination criteria for high schools include additional performance criteria based on graduation rates and optional measures of college and career readiness, but these criteria must pertain equally to all nominated high schools. The Department also recommends that nominated schools reasonably reflect the demographic and geographic diversity of the state’s public schools.
Performance Award Criteria for Public Schools: In order to be eligible for nomination, a school must meet several criteria based on the performance of its students on state assessments in reading (or English language arts) and mathematics or a composite of performance on these assessments with other measures of student performance (e.g., student growth on state assessments, performance on state assessments in other subjects, graduation rates, or other indicators in the state’s accountability system).
A school may be nominated in either or both of two performance award categories: Exemplary High Performing or Exemplary Achievement Gap Closing. The student performance criteria that a school must meet in order to be nominated in each of these two categories are described below:
Criterion | Threshold | Measure for Ranking Schools | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Option 1 |
Option 2 |
Option 3 |
||
1a. Whole School Performance |
Top 15% in the State |
Reading\ELA and Math Performance Separately |
Reading\ELA and Math Performance Combined |
Composite Score Combining Reading\ELA, Math, and Other Measures |
1b. School Subgroup Performance |
Top 40% in the State for Each Subgroup |
Reading\ELA and Math Performance Separately |
Reading\ELA and Math Performance Combined |
Composite Score Combining Reading\ELA, Math, and Other Measures |
1c. High School Graduation Rate and CCR Measure |
Top 15% in the State |
Graduation Rate and optional CCR Measure Separately |
Graduation Rate and optional CCR Measure Combined |
Composite Score Combining Graduation Rate and optional CCR Measure with Reading/ELA, Math and Other Measures |
Criterion | Threshold | Measure for Ranking Schools | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Option 1 |
Option 2 |
Option 3 |
||
2a. School Subgroup Improvement |
Top 15% in the State for One or More Subgroups |
Improvement in Reading\ELA and Math Separately |
Improvement in Reading\ELA and Math Combined |
Improvement in Composite ScoreCombining Reading\ELA, Math, and Other Measures |
2b. School Subgroup Performance |
Top 40% in the State for Each Subgroup |
Reading\ELA and Math Performance Separately |
Reading\ELA and Math Performance Combined |
Composite Score Combining Reading\ELA, Math, and Other Measures |
2c. High School Subgroup Graduation Rate and optional CCR Measure |
Top 40% in the State for Each Subgroup |
Graduation Rate and optional CCR Measure Separately |
Graduation Rate and optional CCR Measure Combined |
Composite Score Combining Graduation Rate and optional CCR Measure with Reading/ELA, Math and Other Measures |
2d. Whole School Improvement |
Equals or Exceeds Whole State Improvement |
Improvement in Reading\ELA and Math Separately |
Improvement in Reading\ELA and Math Combined |
Improvement in Composite Score Combining Reading\ELA, Math, and Other Measures |
In addition to meeting the above performance criteria, a nominated school must have at least 100 students enrolled and have assessment data for at least 10 students in each tested grade for both reading (or English language arts) and mathematics. States with a large percentage of schools with fewer than 100 students enrolled may include up to a similar percentage of these schools in their nominations. However, each school must have assessment data for at least 10 students in each tested grade for both reading (or English language arts) and mathematics.
All nominated public schools must meet the state’s goals for interim progress in the state accountability system or other performance targets that are set by the state for the school year in question in at least reading (or English language arts), mathematics, graduation rates, and possibly other academic indicators, for the all students group. Additionally, nominated schools must have assessment participation rates of at least 95 percent, using the most recent accountability results available, for the all students group. Finally, in order to meet all school performance eligibility requirements, all nominated public schools must be certified by the state prior to the September 2024 announcement of National Blue Ribbon Schools by the U. S. Secretary of Education.
Eligibility for Non-Public Schools: The Department invites the Council for American Private Education (CAPE) to nominate schools that meet the criteria for recognition. Non-profit, non-public schools interested in being nominated should contact CAPE directly at www.capenet.org/brs.html. In submitting nominated schools, CAPE must certify that the schools meet the minimum requirements established by the Department and describe any other criteria used to nominate the non-public schools.
Performance Criteria for Non-Public Schools: Non-public schools nominated for the National Blue Ribbon Schools award must meet the following eligibility criteria:
A student from a "disadvantaged background" may include economically disadvantaged students, that is, students who are eligible for free and reduced-price school meals; students with disabilities; students who are limited English proficient; migrant students; and/or students receiving services under Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015.