ESSA: Every Student Succeeds Act – Continuous Improvement

Final Accountability Support Model Determinations

On Thursday, January 29, 2026, districts and charter schools received notification of their final ESSA accountability support model determinations (and appeal decisions, if applicable) for the 2025-26 school year based on 2024-25 results.

By late February 2026, NYSED intends to publicly release the final district, school, and charter school accountability support model determinations on the New York State School Report Card at data.nysed.gov.

NYSED Infographic: What You Need to Know About Support Model Identifications

What's Next?

Local Education Agencies must notify the general public regarding the accountability support model(s) of districts identified as Target Districts and schools or charter schools identified for CIS, ATSI, or TSI within 30 days of receipt of the final accountability determination (on or about March 13, 2026).

On-Demand Video Modules

On-Demand Video Modules covering key components of the NYS ESSA Accountability Determination process are now available to support you and your school teams.

Begin by watching the ESSA Overview and History video below, then use the link beneath the video to access the full library of modules.

You may view the video in place, or enter "full screen" mode by clicking the icon on the bottom right while the video is playing:

Screenshot showing the bottom of a video player with the full screen icon highlighted.

Additional On-Demand Video Modules

Visit our ESSA Video Modules page to access additional modules

Note that this is a password-protected page. Districts subscribed to School Data Bank Services Levels of Service will receive their passcode for this secure page in an email to their Deputy/Assistant Superintendents for Curriculum and Instruction. If your district does not currently subscribe but would like access to the modules, please contact us for assistance.

Current available modules include:

ESSA Overview and History (also posted above)
NYS ESSA Reimagine Support Models (with a brief introduction to the indicators)
NYS ESSA Reimagine Identification Criteria
NYS ESSA Reimagine Exit Criteria
NYS ESSA Reimagine video modules for each indicator:
- Weighted Average Achievement & Core Subject Performance at the Elementary/Middle Level
- Weighted Average Achievement & Core Subject Performance at the High School Level
- Student Growth at the Elementary/Middle Level
- Graduation at the High School Level
- Attendance
- College, Career, and Civic Readiness at the High School Level
- English Language Proficiency

If you've viewed our On-Demand ESSA Video Modules, we invite you to share your feedback. Please take one minute to complete this survey. Your time and input are greatly appreciated and will help us better meet your needs with future resources and supports.

Upcoming Live Workshop(s) & Support Sessions:

We value your feedback. Please reach out to let us know if you have workshop requests related to ESSA Accountability.

Prior Workshop(s):

ESSA Preliminary Results Work Sessions with Guided Support: These open work sessions provided school leadership teams with time and support as they unpacked their preliminary ESSA accountability results. Our School Data Bank Services team was available throughout the sessions to answer questions and offer guidance.

Making Sense of ESSA Indicators (click title to view slides) – This virtual workshop took place on Thursday, November 6, 2025.

This informative session unpacked how New York State identifies schools for support under the ESSA Reimagine Phase. We reviewed the accountability indicators used in the identification and exit process, explored how data informs each support model, and clarified how these calculations can impact school improvement planning. This session was ideal for administrators, data teams, and instructional leaders who want to deepen their understanding of the state’s accountability system.

NYSED ESSA Refresher – The Reimagine Phase: Updates and Opportunities (click title to view slides) – This workshop took place on Monday, October 27, 2025.

This refresher reviewed key updates to the ESSA Reimagine Phase, clarifying what's new and what remains the same. Then, we shifted from compliance to action by exploring how ESSA can be a tool for advancing equity and fostering continuous improvement.

FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions from the Field:

We haven't seen any new CSI (Comprehensive Support and Improvement) or ATSI (Additional Targeted Support and Improvement) identifications in the past couple of years. Why is that?
- Schools are only be identified for CSI and ATSI every three years. The last CSI/ATSI determination year was 2022-23, based on the 2021-22 results. The 2025-26 school year is the next identification year for CSI and ATSI, based on 2024-25 results.
How are Former ELLs included in the calculations?
- First, it's important to know who qualifies as a Former ELL. For data and accountability purposes, a Former ELL is defined as a student who is not an ELL in the reporting year, but was identified as an ELL in one or more of the previous four reporting years. Note that this is different than the 2-year time period used for providing instructional supports and testing accommodations to Former ELLs.
- For ESSA Accountability inclusion, Former ELLs are included in the ELL subgroup in the reporting year if the number of Former ELLs is less than 50% of the sum of current reporting year ELLs and Former ELLs.
  - Former ELLs are generally not included in the English Language Proficiency (ELP) indicator calculations, as this indicator specifically measures the progress and attainment of students currently identified as ELLs/Multilingual Learners (MLLs).
What will happen to schools who were previously identified for Targeted Support and Improvement (TSI)?
- If a school is identified for TSI, it is not eligible to exit until the second school year after initial identification, or any SY thereafter. Therefore, if a school was identified for TSI in the 2024-25 SY (based on 2023-24 results), then there are two possibilities for the school in the 2025-26 year identification cycle:
  - They remain identified for TSI and continue working towards improvement.
  - They identify for the more supportive Additional Targeted Support and Improvement (ATSI) model.
- If a school was identified for TSI prior to last year (e.g., in the 2023-24 SY), then this year they may be eligible to:
  - exit the TSI support model to the Local Support and Improvement (LSI) model, or
  - move up to the more supportive ATSI model if they meet the identification criteria.
In a SIRS Accountability report, why might my subgroup show a count of 3 students but not have any of the accountability calculations columns populated?
- No accountability indices or levels will be calculated for a subgroup with a low n-size. With our shift to the Reimagine Phase of the NYS ESSA Plan, the n-size is 20 student records.
A Student Growth index can't be calculated for our K-3 schools... does that get back-mapped or self-assessed?
- No, the Student Growth indicator is not required to determine a school's support model. When Student Growth is unavailable, a determination will still be issued as long as the school has calculations for:
  - Weighted Average Achievement
  - Core Subject Performance
  - At least one additional measure (either ELP or Attendance).

NYSED Resources

Reimagine Phase Accountability System Resources

https://www.nysed.gov/accountability/school-and-district-accountability-resources-and-data

Fact Sheets
Webinars and Slides
Technical Assistance Documents
- Q and A
- Guides
  - 2025-26 Accountability Status Report Guide
  - Understanding the New York State Accountability System under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) for 2025– 2026 Accountability Statuses Based on 2024–2025 Results
- Static Cut Points for indicators:
  - Attendance
  - Core Subject Performance
- MIPs and LTGs
SIRS Reports and Links

NYSED Office of Accountability website

https://www.nysed.gov/accountability

Access core elements of the office:
- School & District Accountability
- Continuous Improvement
- ESSA Plan and Titled Programs

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