= Passed
This section defines all fields in School FIRST as well as some financial management terms, in alphabetical order.
The number of the indicator. Indicators make up the set of criteria used to determine the status and rating of a school district for a particular school year.
On the Overall Statistics screen, this field appears twice:
In the Status Counts section, this field shows the percentage of the total number of districts in Texas that received a passing status, the percentage that received a failing status, and the percentage whose status has not yet been determined.
In the Rating Counts section, this field shows the percentage of the total number of districts in Texas that received each rating: Superior Achievement, Above Standard Achievement, Standard Achievement, Substandard Achievement, and Suspended Due to Data Quality. (Districts with a status of "Error" and a rating of "Undetermined" are not included in this section.)
A check box indicating whether to include this indicator in the calculations when running or re-running district rating reports (checked=yes, unchecked=no). After checking or unchecking this check box, you must click the Update button at the bottom of the screen to save your change(s).
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Changes to this field potentially affect the outcome of the district ratings. After making changes, you should examine the Ratings configuration (on the "Ratings Administration" screen) and the minimum Passing score (on the "Application Parameter Administration" screen) to assess whether any changes need to be made to those settings. |
Administrative Cost Ratio Data File
Specifies the internet location of the Administrative Cost Ratio Data File used in the indicator calculations. This value is used to locate the file for viewing and/or importing on the External Data Administration screen.(See the "External Data Administration" section for more information.)
Capital Project Funds
Fund type used to account for financial resources to be used for the acquisition or construction of major capital facilities (other than those financed by proprietary funds and trust funds.)
Cash
The term, as used in connection with cash flows reporting, includes not only currency on hand, but also demand deposits with banks or other financial institutions. Cash also includes deposits in other kinds of accounts or cash management pools that have the general characteristics of demand deposit accounts in that the governmental enterprise may deposit additional cash at any time and also effectively may withdraw cash at any time without prior notice or penalty.
Used by the TEA developers of the FIRST application. Before a new indicator can be added to FIRST, the developer must first define the class for the new indicator.
On the Overall Statistics screen, this field appears three times:
In the Status Counts section, this field shows the number of districts in Texas that received a passing status, the number that received a failing status, and the number whose status has not yet been determined.
In the Rating Counts section, this field shows the number of districts in Texas that received each rating: Superior Achievement, Above Standard Achievement, Standard Achievement, Substandard Achievement, and Suspended Due to Data Quality. (Districts with a status of "Error" and a rating of "Undetermined" are not included in this section.)
In the Answers By Indicator section, this field shows the number of districts by points for a particular indicator. (Indicators make up the set of criteria used to determine the status and rating of a school district for a particular school year.)
A non-critical indicator is one that a district is not necessarily required to pass in order to receive an overall passing rating (if the district has passed enough of the other indicators, the district may receive a passing rating despite its failure on one or more non-critical indicators).
For critical indicators, a district MUST pass a certain number of these indicators in order to receive an overall passing rating. This number is configured by the FIRST administrator.
The type of district data files that can be downloaded to your computer in tab-delimited format (filename.tab). See the "Data Downloads" section for more information.
This option allows the administrator to run a chosen school year's indicator calculations against a previous year's set of district data. The default value for this field is 0, which causes the system to use the current year's data for the calculations. Entering -1 causes the system to use the previous year's data, -2 uses the data from two years ago, and so on. This is useful if indicators are added or changed, and the administrator would like to see what effect the new indicators will have on a district's current or past rating. For example, if a district earned a Standard Achievement rating for the 2004-2005 rating year, but the proposed indicators for the 2005-2006 rating year have changed, the administrator can run the newly proposed indicators using the 2003-2004 school year data (by entering -1 as the Data Load Year Offset) to determine whether the proposed indicator changes will help or hurt the district's rating for the next year (or neither).
After changing this option, you must use one of the methods for running indicators to actually generate results using a previous year's data. See the "Running Specific Indicators" section for more information.
Indicates how early or late the district's Annual Financial Report was filed, in days. A negative number indicates that the report was filed before the due date; a positive number indicates that the report was filed late. A zero indicates that the report was filed on the due date. The system uses the Received date and Due date fields to calculate the Days Late value.
Debt Service Fund
Governmental fund type used to account for the accumulation of resources for, and the payment of, general long-term debt principal and interest.
Deferred Revenue
Resource inflows that do not yet meet the criteria for revenue recognition. Unearned amounts are always reported as deferred revenue. In governmental funds, earned amounts also are reported as deferred revenue until they are available to liquidate liabilities of the current period.
Deficiency
Represents receivables owed at the end of the school year.
A Delete check box signifies that a particular item can be deleted from the system for a chosen school year. More specifically:
On the Indicator Administration screen, individual financial indicators can be deleted.
On the Application Parameter Administration screen, individual system-wide parameters can be deleted.
On the Indicator Parameter Administration screen, individual state-wide parameters can be deleted.
On the Ratings Administration screen, individual financial rating configurations can be deleted.
On the Submit Date Data Administration screen, individual district submission entries can be deleted.
To delete an item, activate the check box for the item, then click the Delete button at the bottom of the screen. (Multiple items can be deleted at the same time.)
Designated Fund Balance
Represents tentative plans for the future use of financial resources. Designations require Board action to earmark fund balance for bona fide purposes that will be fulfilled within a reasonable period of time.
The unique six-digit number identifying a district.
On the District Status Summary table, clicking on this number displays detailed information about the district's financial accountability rating (if you are authorized to view this information).
For administrative users, the District Number drop down list at the top of the screen lists all districts in FIRST. Selecting a district number from the list displays the District Status Detail report for that district.
The numerical score earned by this district. This field is hidden from view for non-administrative users.
The district's score must meet or exceed the Passing Score set forth by the TEA in order to receive a "Passed" status in FIRST. See the "Passing Score" field for more information.
See the "Understanding District Score Calculations" section for details about how the District Score is tabulated.
District Size - Number of Students Between
On the District Status Detail report, the indicators shown at the bottom of the screen depend on the district's size and on pre-determined acceptable ratios of students to teachers and students to staff. The District Size column lists several ranges of student enrollment numbers for the district. Within the appropriate range for your district, refer to the Ranges for Ratios columns to determine the low and high ratios that are acceptable for your level of student enrollment. For example, a range of 7 to 22 indicates that there should be no fewer than 7 students per teacher/staff and no more than 22 students per teacher/staff. In order to pass these indicators, a district's ratios must fit within these ranges for the district's size.
See the "Ranges for Ratios" field definition for more information.
The date by which the district's Annual Financial Report must be received to be considered on time, in YYYY/MM/DD format. The system calculates this date as follows:
Fiscal Year End date (from Submit Date Data screen)
+ Submission Deadline in Days After Fiscal Year End (from Application Parameter Administration screen)
EDA
see Existing Debt Allotment (EDA)
Specifies the internet location of the EDA Data File used in the indicator calculations (e.g., http://wahoo/first/sourcedata/2002/EDA_0203.xls). This value is used to locate the file for viewing and/or importing on the External Data Administration screen.(See the "External Data Administration" section for more information.)
On the Overall Statistics screen, this field appears three times:
In the Status Counts section, this field shows the number of students in Texas who are enrolled in each type of district (passing, failing, or neither due to errors in the processing of their status).
In the Rating Counts section, this field shows the number of students in Texas who are enrolled in each district type (Superior Achievement, Above Standard Achievement, Standard Achievement, Substandard Achievement, and Suspended Due to Data Quality). (Districts with a status of "Error" and a rating of "Undetermined" are not included in this section.)
In the Answers By Indicator section, this field shows the number of students in Texas who are enrolled in districts that failed a particular indicator. (Indicators make up the set of criteria used to determine the status and rating of a school district for a particular school year.)
Error (status)
see Status
ESC (Education Service Center)
Supports the districts in a specific region of the state.
Excess
Represents receivables due at the end of the school year.
The amount of state funds to be allocated to the district for assistance with existing debt.
Expenditures
The cost of goods delivered or services rendered, whether paid or unpaid, including expenses, provisions for debt retirement not reported as a liability of the fund from which retired, and capital outlays.
Fiscal Year
A period of 12 consecutive months legislatively selected as a basis for annual financial reporting, planning, and budgeting. The fiscal year may run September 1 through August 31 or July 1 through June 30.
On the Submit Date Data screen, this is the last day of the district's 12-month accounting period, in YYYY/MM/DD format. Valid fiscal year end dates are August 31st and June 30th.
Full-Time Equivalent (FTE)
Measures the extent to which one individual or student occupies a full-time position or provides instruction; e.g., a person who works four hours a day or a student who attends a half day represents a .5 FTE.
Function
Function codes identify the expenditures of an operational area or a group of related activities. For example, in order to provide the appropriate atmosphere for learning, school districts transport students to school, teach students, feed students, and provide health services. Each of these activities is a function.
Fund Balance
The difference between assets and liabilities reported in a governmental fund.
General Fund
This fund finances the fundamental operations of the district in partnership with the community. All revenues and expenditures not accounted for by other funds are included. This is a budgeted fund and any fund balances are considered resources available for current operations.
IFA
see Instructional Facilities Allotment (IFA)
Specifies the internet location of the IFA Data File used in the indicator calculations (e.g., http://wahoo/first/sourcedata/2002/IFA_0203.xls). This value is used to locate the file for viewing and/or importing on the External Data Administration screen.(See the "External Data Administration" section for more information.)
Include Districts Outstanding Month/Day
The date on which districts which have not filed their data for the current year or which have processing errors are first displayed on the District Status screens, in MM/DD format (the current year is assumed). Prior to this date, these districts are excluded from the display. ("Processing errors" occasionally occur if a calculation for a particular indicator involves dividing a number by zero. (In mathematics, dividing a number by zero gives an "undefined" or "indeterminate" result.))
This setting overrides the Pub Level setting for a district.
This setting does not affect which districts are included in the Overall Statistics.
Indicators make up the set of criteria used to determine the status and rating of a school district for a particular school year.
The Overall Statistics screen shows totals and percentages of responses and enrollment, as well as totals for each indicator.
On the Indicator Test screen, this is the Indicator Description (see the "Indicator Description" field definition for details).
The definition of the indicator. Indicators make up the set of criteria used to determine the status and rating of a school district for a particular school year.
On the District Status Detail report, clicking on the indicator description displays detailed information about how the indicator was calculated.
The District Status Detail report displays the number of points, by indicator, received by a district.
Instruction
The amount spent on direct classroom instruction and other activities that deliver, enhance, or direct the delivery of learning situations to students regardless of location or medium. Expenditures associated with this functional area are reported under Function 11.
Instructional Facilities Allotment (IFA)
(State Aid) Provides assistance to school districts in making debt service payments on qualifying bonds and lease-purchase agreements. Proceeds must be used for the construction or renovation of an instructional facility.
On the District Status Detail report, the Last Updated field is the last date & time the district status information was updated (e.g., the last time an indicator was edited for this district, the last time the status information was published to the web, the last time the number of failed indicators changed for this district, etc.).
The Last Updated field on the Indicator Test screen and the Updated field on the District Status Detail report display the last date & time the indicator was updated (e.g., the last time the indicator was edited for this district, the last time the calculations for the indicator were re-run, etc.).
On the Overall Statistics screen, this is the last date & time any indicator or district status information was updated or re-run.
The name of the school district. (On the District Status Detail report and the Indicator Test screen, the name is followed by the unique number identifying the district, in parentheses.)
On the Application Parameter Administration screen, this is the name of a system-wide parameter.
On the Indicator Parameter Administration screen, this is the name of a specific operand within the formula for a particular indicator.
On the Ratings Administration screen, this field is used when adding a new rating level to the system, and indicates the name you want assigned to the new rating level.
Number of Students Between
see District Size - Number of Students Between
Object
The highest level of accounting classification used to identify either the transaction posted or the source to which the associated monies are related. Each object is assigned a code that identifies in which of the eight major object groupings it belongs (assets, liabilities, fund balances, revenue, etc.)
Operating Expenditures
A wide variety of expenditures necessary to a district's operations fall into this category, with the largest portion going to payroll and related employee benefits and the purchase of goods and services.
On the Data Downloads screen, the Download option saves the selected district data file to your computer in tab-delimited format (filename.tab). See the "Data Downloads" section for more information.
On the External Data Administration screen, this is a list of external TEA files which can be viewed and/or imported into FIRST. See the "External Data Administration" section for more information.
On the Application Parameter Administration screen, these are the administrative functions that can be performed. An administrator can delete an existing parameter, update the system-wide value for an existing parameter, or add a new parameter and configure its system-wide value. See the "Application Parameter Administration" screen for more information.
On the Indicator Parameter Administration screen, this is a list of existing indicators for which the administrator can add, delete, or update default operand values. See the "Indicator Parameter Administration" screen for more information.
On the District Status Summary table, these are the administrative functions that can be performed. See the sections on "Printing District Status Reports" and "Changing District Publication Levels" for more information.
On the District Status Detail report, these are the administrative functions that can be performed. See the sections on "Running Specific Indicators", "Changing District Publication Levels", and "Suspending a District's Rating" for more information.
On the Overall Statistics screen, the Update Enrollment Counts option imports the latest enrollment data from PEIMS and refreshes the overall statistics to reflect the new data. See the "Viewing Overall Statistics" section for more information.
On the Ratings Administration screen, these are the administrative functions that can be performed. An administrator can delete an existing rating, update the Minimum/Maximum Failed values for an existing rating, or add a new rating and configure its Minimum/Maximum Failed values. See the "Ratings Administration" screen for more information.
On the Submit Date Data Administration screen, these are the administrative functions that can be performed. An administrator can delete an existing district's date data, update the date data for an existing district, or add a new district and enter its date data. See the "Submit Date Data Administration" screen for more information.
On the Indicator Administration screen, these are the administrative functions that can be performed. An administrator can delete an existing indicator, update the parameters for an existing indicator, or add a new indicator and configure its parameters. This screen also includes the "special" Rollover option for setting up the system for a new school year. See the "Indicator Administration" screen and the "Configuring the System For a New School Year" section for more information.
Other Resources
This amount is credited to total actual other resources or non-operating revenues received or residual equity transfers in.
see Passing Score
The numerical score established by the TEA that a district must meet or exceed to receive a "Passed" status in FIRST. This number is configured on the Application Parameter Administration screen.(See the "Application Parameter Administration" section for more information.)
Changes to this parameter take effect in the district rating reports immediately (i.e., it is not necessary to re-run the indicators).
On the District Status Detail report, this field is hidden from view for non-administrative users.
PEIMS
see Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS)
The extent to which the district's data has been made available to users in FIRST. District ratings with a Pub Level of 0 can only be viewed by a FIRST administrator or an internal TEA user. District ratings with a Pub Level of 1 can also be viewed by the particular district and by the staff of the district's supporting ESC. District ratings with a Pub Level of 2 can be viewed by all users (both overall and detailed rating information can be seen).
This field is hidden from view for non-administrative users.
The administrator can raise or lower the publication level for a district (or for all districts) at any time.
The "Include Districts Outstanding Month/Day" setting overrides the Pub Level for districts with processing errors or incomplete data.
The date and time the district's rating for the chosen school year was most recently raised to Pub Level 1. If the rating has never been raised to Pub Level 1, or if the rating has been lowered back to Pub Level 0, this field displays "None". This field is hidden from view for non-administrative users.
See the "Pub Level" field for more information.
The date and time the district's rating for the chosen school year was most recently raised to Pub Level 2. If the rating has never been raised to Pub Level 2, or if the rating has been lowered back to Pub Level 1 or 0, this field displays "None". This field is hidden from view for non-administrative users.
See the "Pub Level" field for more information.
Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS)
A state-wide data management system for public education information in the State of Texas. One of the basic goals of PEIMS, as adopted by the State Board of Education in 1986, is to improve education practices of local school districts. PEIMS is a major improvement over previous information sources gathered from aggregated data available on paper reports. School districts now submit their data via standardized computer files. These are defined in a yearly publication, the PEIMS Data Standards.
Qualified Opinion
A term used in conjunction with financial auditing; a modification of the independent auditor's report on the fair presentation of the financial statements indicating that there exists one or more specific exceptions to the auditor's general assertion that the financial statements are fairly presented.
On the District Status Detail report, the indicators shown at the bottom of the screen depend on the district's size and on pre-determined acceptable ratios of students to teachers and students to staff. The Ranges for Ratios column displays these pre-determined ratios. The Low column displays the lowest number of students that are acceptable per teacher/staff member for a particular district size, and the High column displays the highest number of students that are acceptable per teacher/staff member for a particular district size. For example, a range of 7 to 22 indicates that there should be no fewer than 7 students per teacher/staff and no more than 22 students per teacher/staff. In order to pass these indicators, a district's ratios must fit within these ranges for the district's size.
See the "District Size" field definition for more information.
On the District Status screens, this is the financial accountability rating that was earned by the district for the indicated school year: Superior Achievement, Above Standard Achievement, Standard Achievement, Substandard Achievement, Suspended Due to Data Quality, or Undetermined. See the "Understanding FIRST Ratings" section for more information about these ratings. (If the rating is Suspended Due to Data Quality, and if the administrator entered a reason for the suspension, this reason is displayed beside the rating.)
On the Ratings Administration screen, this column shows the financial accountability ratings that are currently configured in the system. See the "Ratings Administration" section for details about configuring FIRST ratings.
On the Overall Statistics screen, this column lists the possible financial accountability ratings that can be earned by a district: Superior Achievement, Above Standard Achievement, Standard Achievement, Substandard Achievement, and Suspended Due to Data Quality. (Districts with a status of "Error" and a rating of "Undetermined" are not included in this section. Also, if the number of districts for a particular rating is zero, that rating is not shown in the table.) See the "Understanding FIRST Ratings" section for more information about each of these ratings.
The date on which the district actually filed its Annual Financial Report with the TEA. The system uses this date and the district's fiscal year end date to determine whether the district filed on time.
The Education Service Center (ESC) region in Texas in which the district is located. This field is hidden from view for non-administrative users.
Release Overall Stats Month/Day
The starting date on which the overall district statistics for the specified year can be viewed by users, in MM/DD format (the current year is assumed). Prior to this date, only administrators can view this information for the specified year. See the "Viewing Overall Statistics" section for more information.
The Required Group to which the indicator is assigned: 0, 1, or 2. See the "Required Group 1 Pass Minimum/Required Group 2 Pass Minimum" field for more information.
On the District Status Detail report, †1 to the left of the indicator number indicates required Group 1, and †2 indicates Required Group 2. Indicators without a group designation to the left of their indicator number are assigned to Required Group 0. This column is hidden from view for non-administrative users.
An indicator's Required Group affects how it is sorted on the screens. See the "Sort" field for details.
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Changes to this field potentially affect the outcome of the district ratings. After making changes, you should examine the Ratings configuration (on the "Ratings Administration" screen) and the minimum Passing score (on the "Application Parameter Administration" screen) to assess whether any changes need to be made to those settings. |
Required Group 1 Pass Minimum/Required Group 2 Pass Minimum
Each indicator in the system is assigned to a Required Group (0, 1, or 2). For indicators in Required Group 0, a district is not necessarily required to pass the indicator in order to receive an overall passing rating (if the district has passed enough of the other indicators, the district may receive a passing rating despite its failure on one or more Group 0 indicators).
For indicators in Required Groups 1 and 2, a district MUST pass a certain number of these indicators in order to receive an overall passing rating. These numbers are specified in the Required Group 1 Pass Minimum and Required Group 2 Pass Minimum fields on the Application Parameter Administration screen, and are configured by the FIRST administrator.
For example, if the Required Group 1 Pass Minimum is set to 3, and the Required Group 2 Pass Minimum is set to 1, this means that each district must pass at least three of the indicators in Group 1 AND at least one of the indicators in Group 2. If either of these conditions is not met, the district automatically receives a failing rating.
Changes to these parameters take effect in the district rating reports immediately (i.e., it is not necessary to re-run the indicators).
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Changes to this field potentially affect the outcome of the district ratings. After making changes, you should examine the Ratings configuration (on the "Ratings Administration" screen) and the minimum Passing score (on the "Application Parameter Administration" screen) to assess whether any changes need to be made to those settings. |
Reserve Fund Balance
The portion of fund equity which is not available for appropriation or which has been legally separated for a specific purpose.
On the District Status Detail report, this is the outcome of the calculation for a particular indicator. (Indicators make up the set of criteria used to determine the status and rating of a school district for a particular school year.) To see detailed information about why the indicator passed or failed, click on the Indicator Description for the desired indicator.
If you are logged in as an administrator, the Score field is displayed instead of the Result field. See the "Score" field for more information.
Revenues
Any increase in a school district's financial resources from property taxes, foundation fund entitlements, user charges, grants, and other sources. Revenues fall into three broad sources: local & intermediate, state, and federal.
School Year
The 12 months beginning September 1 of one year and ending August 31 of the following year, or beginning July 1 and ending June 30. (Districts have two options.)
On the District Status Summary table and in the District Status Data file, this is the District Score (see the "District Score" field). This field is hidden from view for non-administrative users.
On the District Status Detail report, this is the number of points the district earned for this indicator. If the district failed the indicator, the score is 0. If the district passed the indicator, the score is typically 1 (if the indicator is weighted more heavily than other indicators, the score can be higher than 1; see the "Weight" field for more information). These indicator scores are used to determine the district's overall score; see the "District Score" field for details. (For non-administrative users, the Result field is displayed instead of the Score field. See the "Result" field for more information.)
The secondary order in which the indicators are sorted for display on the District Status Detail report and the Overall Statistics screen (from lowest to highest).
The primary sort order is determined by the indicators' Required Group settings. Indicators in Required Group 1 are sorted first, indicators in Required Group 2 are sorted next, and indicators in Required Group 0 are sorted last. The Sort value is then used to do secondary sorting within these Required Groups.
The Sort value solely controls the numbers shown in the "number" column in data files downloaded from the application.
See the "Required" field for more information.
see Options
Special Revenue Fund
A governmental fund type used to account for the proceeds of specific revenue sources (other than for major capital projects) that are legally restricted to expenditures for specified purposes.
On the Overall Statistics screen, this column lists the possible statuses that can be earned by a district: Passed, Failed, Error, Incomplete, or New. (If the number of districts that earned a particular status is zero, that rating is not shown in the table.)
On the Indicator Test screen, this is the outcome of the calculation for this indicator. (Indicators make up the set of criteria used to determine the status and rating of a school district for a particular school year.) An indicator that was forced to pass by an administrator is displayed as "Passed (Forced)".
On the District Status Summary table, this column displays an icon representing the overall status that was earned by the district for the indicated school year:
= Passed
= Failed
= Error (i.e., undetermined)
(Two other status types, Incomplete and New, occur rarely.) You can position your cursor over the icon on the District Status Summary table to display the description of the icon ("Passed", "Failed", "Error", "Incomplete", or "New").
On the District Status Detail report, the Status field near the top shows the overall status that was earned by the district for the indicated school year: Passed, Failed, Error, Incomplete, or New. The Status column displays an icon representing the outcome of the calculation for each indicator. The Status information is hidden from view for non-administrative users.
See the "Understanding FIRST Ratings"section for more information about the Passed and Failed statuses.
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A Status of Error usually occurs if a calculation for a particular indicator involves dividing a number by zero. (In mathematics, dividing a number by zero gives an "undefined" or "indeterminate" result.) This situation requires manual correction by the FIRST administrator. |
Submission Deadline in Days After Fiscal Year End
The amount of time (in days) after the districts' fiscal year end date that districts are allotted to prepare and file their Annual Financial Reports. This parameter applies to all districts. Beyond this number of days, a district's report is considered late. This parameter is used to calculate the Due field on the Submit Date Data Administration screen.
Changes to this parameter do not take effect in the district rating reports until the related indicator is re-run for the district(s).
See the "Due" field and the "Submit Date Data Administration" section for more information.
The shorthand name assigned to an indicator when the indicator was first added to the system.
These names are configured on the Indicator Administration screen whenever new indicators are added.
The field that defines the Indicator Description for each indicator. See the "Indicator Description" field for more information.
Undesignated Fund Balance
The portion of fund equity that is currently available to finance expenditures not already approved by the Board of Trustees.
Undesignated Unreserved Fund Balance
Available expendable financial resources in a governmental fund that are not the object of tentative management plans (i.e., designations). One primary criterion of rating agencies for school bonds is the relative amount of undesignated unreserved fund balance. Bond rating agencies view undesignated unreserved fund balances as a reflection of the financial strength of school districts and they show concern when district fund balances decrease.
Unqualified Opinion
An opinion rendered without reservation by the independent auditor that financial statements are fairly presented.
see Last Updated
User Role
The level of access assigned to the user who is currently logged in (District, ESC, Internal, or Admin). See the "Access to the School FIRST Application" section for details about each of the roles.
On the Indicator Test screen, this column displays the values that were actually used to calculate this indicator for this district. To the right of each value is an icon with a ? symbol in the center. Position your cursor over this icon to see how this value was derived by the system (usually from external sources, such as PEIMS or the district's Annual Financial Report). (If the word "Parameter" is shown when you display the derivation for a value, this indicates that the value came directly from a parameter that is defined in the FIRST system by the TEA, and that the same value is used for all districts.) See the "Viewing the Calculation of an Indicator" section for more information about this field.
On the Application Parameter Administration screen, this is the value that has been established by the TEA for a system-wide parameter. Each parameter is defined separately in this Glossary (in alphabetical order).
On the Indicator Parameter Administration screen, this is the default value defined by the TEA for a specific operand within the formula for a particular indicator. These default values are used for all districts when computing the indicators. In general, these values are static, but may change occasionally. Changes to these parameters do not take effect in the district rating reports until the related indicators are re-run for the district(s).
Generally, each indicator used in the calculation of a district's score is weighted equally (with the exception of the critical indicators, which are treated slightly differently). Optionally, an indicator can be given more weight, such that it contributes more to the final outcome than other indicators. The normal weight for an indicator is 1. This means that a "Yes" answer for the indicator contributes 1 to the district's final score. Raising this number causes an indicator to have a more significant effect on the final score; setting this number to 0 removes any effect of this indicator on the final score.
See the "District Score" field and the "Score" field for more information.
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Changes to this field potentially affect the outcome of the district ratings. After making changes, you should examine the Ratings configuration (on the "Ratings Administration" screen) and the minimum Passing score (on the "Application Parameter Administration" screen) to assess whether any changes need to be made to those settings. |
Each screen displays a "YEAR" drop down list at the top of the page. This field indicates the rating year; the rating for the rating year is based on the prior school year’s data. You can change this field by clicking on the list box and selecting a different rating year.
