FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 9, 2023
Contact: Jonathan Kelly VermontCIO@vermont.gov, Lindsey Hedges aoe.publicinformation@vermont.gov
Montpelier, VT. - On September 8, the State of Vermont issued its Annual Snapshot/State Report Card, which provides data insight into state, district, and school level performance as one tool to evaluate education equity for students and provide transparent information for the public.
Vermont's Agency of Digital Services (ADS) and Agency of Education (AOE) recently identified a calculation error in the previously released Annual Snapshot for the 2021- 2022 school year. This error does not change the overall reporting of 2022 school performance and proficiency levels. However, the original Snapshot used incorrect values in the year over year changes for individual schools. This error resulted in incorrect analyses of the statewide results related to year over year performance and assigned some schools the incorrect accountability designation. AOE staff has alerted relevant district personnel of these changes and the impacts.
Immediately upon learning of the discrepancy, both Agencies met jointly with the system provider to identify and resolve the calculation error and verify the corrected data and calculations. The corrected information is now reflected in the State Report Card.
“Overly complex systems, requiring manual intervention, are always more vulnerable to error,” said ADS Secretary Reilly-Hughes, “As a post-incident action, ADS and AOE are working together to reduce the challenges associated with this legacy system and focusing our efforts on automation and digital modernization.”
"We regret the impact this may have on some Vermont schools," said Interim Secretary of Education Heather Bouchey. "While we believe this error points to the need to reevaluate the complexity of the Snapshot tool, it’s important for us to use this summary of our state progress to guide the work that lies ahead to improve performance.
Ultimately, this is about students and our ability to accurately gauge statewide performance in key areas like literacy, math, and science, as we turn to reversing downward trends over the past several years.”
For more information, please visit the Vermont Annual Snapshot website.