The Office of Accountability has prepared this document to answer our most Frequently Asked Questions. Q. How does my school rate or rank in Oklahoma? A. The Office of Accountability does not rate or rank schools. There are more than 500 individual Oklahoma school districts that operate approximately 1,800 conventional school sites. When evaluating education, it is important to remember that no single score, ratio or measurement can quantify the academic soundness of a state, district, school or student. We provide a standardized reporting system using many educational statistics in order for you to compare a particular school to schools in similar communities throughout the state. We provide this information by producing the annual "Profiles" report series and the site-specific "School Report Cards." We hope our readers evaluate educational institutions based upon the factors they feel are most important in the educational process. See the Profiles: State Report for a general overview of education in Oklahoma. The Profiles: District Reports have the most information regarding socioeconomic characteristics and school district programs and can be useful to compare similar communities within the state. The School Report Cards offer the results of your school's standardized achievement testing and other indicators of school success.   Q. I'm relocating to Oklahoma. How can I find which school districts serve the area I'm moving into? A. If you are new to Oklahoma, it is important for you to know that school district boundaries DO NOT follow city limit boundaries, county boundaries, zip code boundaries, or any other boundaries. The best way to find the correct local school is 1) start with the name of the city used in the residential mailing address; 2) call the superintendent's office for the school district with that same name; 3) provide the residential street address or location to the superintendent's staff. If it is not in the district, the staff will tell you which neighboring district the residence is within. It is also important to ask the type of district in which the residence is located. Oklahoma has elementary school districts and independent school districts. Elementary, or dependent, districts only offer kindergarten through the eighth grade. After the eighth grade, students must transfer to a neighboring independent district for grades 9 through 12. In this case, you may want to review information about both districts by accessing the Profiles: District Report and The School Report Cards.   Q. How can I figure out which School Report Cards or District Reports to select from the website if I am new or relocating to Oklahoma? A. Find out the name of the county in which you will be working or living. Oklahoma's four most populated counties are Oklahoma (Oklahoma City Metro), Tulsa (Greater Tulsa Metro), Cleveland (Moore and Norman), and Comanche (Lawton). Next, when using our website you will be asked how you want to locate school district names. Choose "County List" or "Map of Counties" and you will be able to select from all of the districts and schools within each county. There are many school districts that DO NOT have corresponding community names on the road atlas. For example, the Putnum City School District within Oklahoma City enrolls nearly 20,000 students, but there is no city named Putnum City, Oklahoma.     This website does not have school district boundary information. For the most accurate boundary information, contact the school district(s) in question for more information.   Q. Do you have a technical guide for the statistics published by your office? A. Yes. Click here to access the Explanation of Terms and Data.   Q. Can you explain the layout of the District Report and School Report Cards? A. These reports are broken down into three general areas including Community Characteristics, Educational Process and Student Performance. For a detailed explanation of these areas, click here.   Q. Why are these reports about a year old when they first come out? A. We provide the most comprehensive report on public education in Oklahoma by collaborating with more than seven other agencies and organizations. A large portion of the information used in the annual Profiles: State Report, Profiles: District Report and The School Report Cards is not available from the source agencies or organizations until several months after the close of the school year. After receiving the data, the Office of Accountability is persistent in working with the provider to audit and verify the information to ensure that only the most accurate statistics are published. This often results in continuously updating files, modifying report formats, and researching methodologies to provide readers with a precise snapshot of Oklahoma's public education system.   Q. When will the new reports be available? A. Each spring the Office of Accountability publishes the results of the previous school year. The "School Reports Cards" will be distributed to school principals between February and April and released to the media and public in early May. The "Profiles: State Report" and "Profiles: District Report" are available after printing is completed, usually in early June.   Q. What is the Community Group Average shown on the District Reports? How is it a better comparison that the State Average? A. The Community Group Average shows the average of peer school districts. Each district is assigned a letter/number combination. The letter is based on the size of the district in terms of enrollment. The number represents the district's socioeconomic status as compared to the state average. This grouping allows districts to be compared with other districts serving similar communities. Comparing a district to its peers is preferred to comparing a district to state average. For a more detailed explanation, please refer to The Community Grouping Model found within the Explanation of Terms and Data.   Q. Who is in my Community Group? A. On each Profiles District Report page, under the Community Characteristics section, it reads, "Community Group." For a list of schools in each Community Group, please refer to the Explanation of Terms and Data. You may also call us at (405) 225-9470 or Email contact@SchoolReportCard.org.   Q. Does the Office of Accountability/Education Oversight Board regulate schools? Can it resolve disputes between patrons and local school boards? A. No. The Office of Accountability/Education Oversight Board does not regulate schools and is not authorized to intervene in local school district disputes. Oklahoma school districts are accredited, regulated and funded through the State Department of Education. You may contact the State Department of Education at (405) 521-3301.   Q. Where can I get copies of these documents? A. The School Report Cards, Profiles: District Report and Profiles: State Report are available online for downloading in (PDF) format for easy viewing and printing. You can also Email yourself the reports or contact the Office of Accountability at (405) 225-9470 or Email contact@SchoolReportCard.org to obtain FREE electronic or paper copies.   Q. Where can I find my child's individual test scores? A. The Office of Accountability does not receive individual tests results. To find out more about your child's performance on the state mandated test, contact your local school. You will need to call the school or site of the appropriate grade in which your child was tested. For example, if your child is entering the 9th grade at the high school and you want to request his/her eighth grade tests results, you will need to contact the elementary or middle school where he/she attended and was tested.   Q. On the Profiles Report, what does "% Tested as 'Regular Education'" mean? A. According to the current reporting system, tests results are released in three categories of students: 1) Regular Education, 2) Alternative Education, and 3) Special Education. The Office of Accountability only reports the scores within the first category, Regular Education. Percent Tested as "Regular Education" represents the maximum number of "Regular Education" students tested in any one of the subject areas divided by the enrollment count for that grade. For a more detailed explanation, please refer to the Explanation of Terms and Data.   Q. How can I tell if a particular school is a good school? A. First you must decide what characteristics you believe a "good school" possesses. Some feel small schools with low student-teacher ratios are most important. Others believe facilities and course offerings have the most influence; and yet, others may only be concerned with a particular test score. When evaluating education, it is important to remember that no single score, ratio, or measurement can quantify the academic soundness of a state, district, school, or student. The various factors that contribute to the educational process must be evaluated while paying close attention to their interrelationship. The Education Oversight Board and Office of Accountability strive to present a host of meaningful educational statistics, and readers are free to evaluate educational entities based upon the factors the feel are most important in the educational process.   Q. How can I compare Oklahoma's public education system to other states? A. There is limited data available for directly comparing states or regions within the United States. Each state government relates information differently and there is little consistency in testing and reporting. The National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES) is a clearinghouse for educational data within the nation. Visit their website at http://nces.ed.gov.   Q. What is the Oklahoma Performance Index, or OPI? A. An OPI is a scale score set by the State Department of Education. This score is used to determine which level of performance (advanced, satisfactory, limited knowledge, or unsatisfactory) was achieved in each subject of the Oklahoma Core Curriculum Tests. The score and scale are changed annually by the State Department of Education. For a more detailed explanation, please contact the Office of Accountability at (405) 225-9470 or Email contact@SchoolReportCard.org.   Q. What is the Office of Accountability/Education Oversight Board? A. In the early 1990's, Oklahoma experienced sweeping changes in public education. House Bill 1017 (HB1017), also known as the Oklahoma Educational Reform Act, was signed in to law by the Governor and reaffirmed by a vote of the people the following year. This legislation created the Office of Accountability and the Education Oversight Board which "shall have oversight over implementation of this act (HB1017) and shall govern the operation of the Office of Accountability." It also provided that the Secretary of Education be the Chief Executive Officer of the Office of Accountability and have executive responsibility for the Oklahoma Educational Indicators Program and the annual report required of the Education Oversight Board. In May of 1996, the legislation was amended and provided the Education Oversight Board with full control and responsibility for the Educational Indicators Program. The "Profiles" report series is the fulfillment of the reporting requirement of this program. The amended legislation also placed the Office of Accountability, its personnel, budget and expenditure of funds solely under the direction of the Education Oversight Board. For more information, please refer to the Oklahoma Educational Indicators Program Overview.   Q. Is the Office of Accountability part of the State Department of Education? A. No. The Office of Accountability is a separate state office that works with other organizations to collect information relevant to the socioeconomic status, educational processes and student performances in Oklahoma's public education system. The Oklahoma State Department of Education, Office of Juvenile Affairs, State Regents for Higher Education, and Department of Career and Technical Education are just a few of the agencies the Office of Accountability collaborates with to collect, verify, audit, and publish more than 100 educational statistics each year.   Q. Does your office provide specialized data requests? A. Our goal is to provide reliable and valuable statistical information to educators, lawmakers, researchers, and the public for the improvement of Oklahoma's public education system. Specialized data requests should be sent to the Office of Accountability at 655 Research Parkway, Suite 303, Oklahoma City, OK 73104 or Email contact@SchoolReportCard.org. Please provide your name, title, company/organization, contact information, and reason for request. All inquiries are considered, but produced on a time-available basis as assigned and approved by the Chief Executive Officer and the Education Oversight Board.