OSSE is required by the federal government to make school improvement designations on a regular basis using our statewide accountability system, which we run every fall. We use school performance metrics with different weights to calculate overall school accountability scores for elementary, middle, high, and alternative schools. We publish our calculations and school-level scores on the DC School Report Card and in an Excel file on our resources page. 

The Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI) designations apply to schools with low accountability scores (which are based off of school-wide outcomes and growth metrics) and begin a multi-year improvement cycle with OSSE, which you can learn more about in our post about Accelerate DC.

The secondary designations of Targeted Support and Improvement (TSI) and Additional Targeted Support and Improvement (ATSI) are more nuanced and while we have briefly written about them before in this space, we want to spend some time explaining what they are and how we make these designations. Unlike CSI designations, the TSI and ATSI ones are determined every year.

In the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), the US Department of Education (USED) designed TSI designations to address schools with “consistently underperforming subgroups”. States have flexibility to set the criteria for TSI in their ESSA state plans, which are approved by the USED (the DC plan is also approved by the DC State Board of Education (SBOE)). Since states’ ESSA plans are different, TSI schools can (and do) look different across states. For example, DC weights student growth metrics higher than other states. States also determine the exit criteria.

So, how exactly do we identify TSI?

We are federally required to report and make TSI designations for students identified as economically disadvantaged, students from major racial and ethnic groups (i.e., American Indian/Alaskan Native, Asian, Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, Two or more races, White), students with disabilities, and English learners. OSSE does not consider its All Student group when making TSI designations.

1. Using the same metric weightings as the overall accountability score, we produce a student group score for each of the above-listed student groups. Student group scores are only calculated if the group is eligible for at least 50 points in the accountability system.
2. We look to see if any of the above student groups perform below the overall CSI thresholds that were used in an initial designation year (e.g., for Cohort 2024, the CSI thresholds were set at 18.5 for elementary and middle schools and 11.9 for high schools for the three-year school improvement cycle).
3. We designate schools as TSI if they have student group scores below the CSI threshold for two consecutive years for the same student group.

If a school is already designated as CSI/ISI/MIS for the three-year school improvement cycle, that school will not receive TSI (or ATSI) designations. If a high school is designated as CSI-Grad for the three-year school improvement cycle, that school can still receive TSI (or ATSI) designations.

What about ATSI?

4. When a TSI school’s designated student group is again below the threshold for a third consecutive year, they become ATSI designated.
5. If a school is designated as ATSI, they cannot be dual designated as TSI.

We are looking at consistent low performance of student groups at schools based on multiple years of accountability scores. For example, a school has an English learner student group score below the CSI threshold set by the lowest 5% accountability score for only one year, they do not receive a TSI designation. However, if at that same school, the English learner student group scores are below the CSI threshold for two consecutive years, the school receives a TSI-English learner designation. And, if the student group is below the CSI threshold for three consecutive years, they would be designated as ATSI-English learner. In other words, they are escalated to the more serious designation and drop the TSI designation. 

How do TSI- and ATSI-designated schools exit these designation statuses?

Schools that have a TSI designation exit when their student group score rises above the CSI threshold. Schools enter and exit TSI designations every year, whereas OSSE makes CSI designations on multi-year cycles (generally every three years). Exiting the ATSI designation, which schools must remain in for at least two years before exiting, is more nuanced. ATSI-designated schools will exit only after student group scores are higher than the CSI threshold for two of the previous three years. Schools with CSI and CSI-Grad designations can also receive TSI designations. 

There is an additional Comprehensive Support and Improvement – Student Group (CSI-SG) designation, as well. Any school identified for ATSI that does not improve sufficiently to meet exit criteria within three years of ATSI designation becomes CSI-SG for a period of three years. CSI-SG designations can only occur in the same year that CSI designations are made.

Historical School Improvement Designations

OSSE began making school improvement designations after the 2017-18 school year. You can see all of the designations over time on the Accelerate DC webpage. 

Learn More

• What is Accelerate DC? 

• Quick Guide to School Support Designations

• Everything You Need to Know About Summative School Scores

• So, what does “alternative” mean?

• Reimagining Accountability for Alternative Schools: What’s on the horizon?