In October 2024, the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) announced that it was updating its alternative accountability system to ensure that the unique populations and missions of the District’s alternative schools are recognized and supported. OSSE is federally required by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) to measure the performance of all public schools in the District of Columbia – regardless of the school’s sector and students served. 

We have previously written about what it means to be an “alternative” school in the District. In this post, we will share more information on what alternative schools should expect as we approach the next school improvement designation cycle (December 2026) – and how school accountability scores calculated under the new alternative framework will be used to make designations for school improvement.

When will the alternative accountability metrics be available on the DC School Report Card? 

OSSE is required to calculate school accountability scores every year. We will use the updated alternative accountability system to make school accountability calculations in 2026. All alternative-specific metrics (e.g., ELA/math weighted index, academic persistence, secondary completion or 8^th-9^th grade transition) will be available to the public on the DC School Report Card in December 2026. 

When will school accountability scores be released to schools?

OSSE always shares embargoed school accountability scores with local education agencies (LEAs) prior to publication on the DC School Report Card. Since 2026 is the first time OSSE is using the alternative accountability calculations since the pandemic, OSSE took the additional step of sharing embargoed school accountability scores and data files using 2024-25 school year data in Spring 2026 to help LEAs familiarize themselves with the methodology behind the new alternative accountability system; that information was not publicly posted on the DC School Report Card. Moving forward, alternative schools will continue to receive school accountability scores and metric data on a yearly basis.

Like the traditional framework, alternative schools must be eligible for more than 50 points in order to receive a school accountability score. The calculation differs slightly than the traditional framework, but the usage of floors and targets, as well as student group rates is the same; see the At-A-Glance’s “How Calculated” section for more details on the slight differences. For alternative schools that do not generate the minimum 50 points possible, only the underlying metrics will appear on the DC School Report Card.

Are alternative schools eligible to be designated for school improvement statuses?

Schools in the alternative accountability system will be eligible for school improvement statuses starting at the next three-year designation cycle (December 2026). These statuses include Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI), Targeted Support and Improvement (TSI), Additional Targeted Support and Improvement (ATSI), and Comprehensive Support and Improvement – Low Graduation Rate (CSI-Grad). 

• For CSI designations, all traditional and alternative schools with an eligible school accountability score will be sorted together by their scores; schools (regardless of type) that fall in the bottom 5 percent of this combined list will be designated for school improvement. OSSE designates a total of 10 schools for each 3-year school improvement cycle; this includes eight elementary and/or middle schools and two high schools.
• For TSI designations, alternative schools with student group scores that fall below the bottom 5 percent threshold can be designated. TSI designations occur on an annual basis – and use the same bottom 5 percent threshold from the initial designation year used for CSI schools. If an alternative school is designated as TSI for two consecutive years, it can be given an ATSI designation on the 3^rd year.
• For CSI-Grad designations, this status is determined exclusively based on 4- and 5-year graduation rates that are below the federally-mandated threshold of 67 percent; this designation does not differentiate for alternative schools and student populations that may be historically under-credited.

For more information on the alternative accountability system, please visit osse.dc.gov/essa, as well as review this explainer and FAQ document. OSSE staff from the Division of Data, Assessment, and Research (DAR) and the Division of Teaching and Learning (TAL) are also available at [email protected] to answer questions on school accountability and school improvement designations, too.