Transcript Document

The Year of Education
What the Administration and Congress
have in store for education reform…
Mary Kusler
American Association
of School Administrators
April 22, 2010
A New Vision for Federal Education Policy
Four Key Areas of Education Reform:
1. Achieving Equity in Teacher and Leader Distribution
2. Improving the Collection and Use of Data
3. Improving the Quality of Standards and Assessments
4. Improving Struggling Schools
Reauthorizing ESEA
• Obama administration has made it clear that this
is a huge priority for this year.
• Released ESEA blueprint on March 13, 2010.
• Provided general outline and ideas but limited
details.
• Both the House and Senate committees have
been holding hearings.
• May even get bills this year but politics will
complicate.
• Likely to be completed in 2011.
The Administration’s Blueprint
The good stuff
• The Administration blue print eliminates five
burrs under administrators saddles:
1. AYP - linear, mechanical calculation replaced by
growth/progress
2. All or nothing accountability
3. The 100% proficiency mandate (so we think)
4. One snap shot test for a moment in time
5. Comparison of this years third grade with last
years third grade
The Administration’s Blueprint
The good stuff
• A clear, attainable, measurable goal – US will lead the
world in percentage of college graduates by 2020
• Mandate to improve standards – Common core or
higher ed approved – internationally bench marked,
clear learning progressions from K through 12
• Mandate to improve assessments – aligned to
standards and more accurate and individualized
• More accurate & differentiated accountability – not
high stakes on one group of students.
The Administration’s Blueprint
The good stuff
• Rewards as well as punishment – Top 10% get
flexibility and recognition
• Focus on improving teaching and leadershipFocus on teacher and leader preparation and
development - transitions from qualifications
to effectiveness
• Greater focus on total child – Gathering and
reporting school climate and other curriculum
information, more than reading and math
The Administration’s Blueprint
The bad stuff
• The shift to competitive grants away from formula
grants- The administration’s budget proposal puts ALL
of the new money in competitive grants.
• The federal role is enlarged, many requirements: new
and old – This is very prescriptive even though the text
says the intent is to be loose on means and tight on
goals.
• The heavy hand of the feds trying to grab the progress
of NGA and CCSSO on common standards – Coercion to
adopt the common core will inevitably lead to federal
control.
The Administration’s Blueprint
The bad stuff
• Continuing to use discredited tests and
accountability calculations – President Obama and
Secretary Duncan have blasted the current crop of
state tests but the tests will be used to evaluate
teachers and schools until new assessments are
available.
• School improvement models for bottom 5% are not
based on scientific evidence or predictable success
in practice – But the schools in the reward category
and the next two challenge categories are to use
“scientifically based” interventions.
The Administration’s Blueprint
The bad stuff
• The new data system is a huge unfunded
mandate for districts - On the other hand the
administration proposes new state grants and
state authority to take funds meant for districts
to pay for state data end of new data system.
• Completely unclear about how to force an
equitable distribution of effective teachers and
principals – Does not take into account the free
will of teachers to teach where they want to.
Obama Budget Proposal
• President Obama proposed his FY 2011 (2011 –
2012 school year) budget on February 1st.
• Education to receive historic increases despite
tight funding times.
• Budget proposal calls for a massive
restructuring of ESEA reauthorization.
• Despite overall increases:
– Title I was level funded
– IDEA received a $250 million increase, remaining at
17% instead of the promised 40%
Obama Budget Proposal
• Most new education dollars would flow competitive.
– 65% increase in the amount of discretionary dollars to
competitive grants.
• AASA has a position in favor of formula grants.
U.S. Department of Education 2010
Reauthorization of ESEA Proposal
• Title I now called “Accelerating Achievement and
Ensuring Equity”
– Grants to LEAs renamed “College and Career Ready
Students”
• States will have to adopt more rigorous CCR
standards: not sure relationship to Common Core.
• Broader measure of student performance towards
CCR standards and closing the achievement gap.
– Will focus on identifying success and struggling
schools.
Common Core Standards
• Increased Congressional support for common core (not
national) standards.
– CCSSO and NGA have joined together with 48 states and
territories to develop them.
– States may choose to include additional standards beyond the
common core as long as the common core represents at least 85
percent of the state’s standards in English language arts and
mathematics.
– Draft standards were released in March and open for comment
until April 2nd.
• Certain competitive grants will give priority to Common
Core states.
Title I Funding Equity
• There will be a formula fight within ESEA
reauthorization.
• Title I allocations are made up of four formulas:
– Basic Grant, Concentration Grant, Targeted Grant,
Education Finance Incentive Grant
• Idea is to focus on concentrations of poverty
– Current law uses numbers or percentages
• Since NCLB, all new money in Title I has been split
between the Targeted Grant and the Education
Finance Incentive Grant.
• Focus on percentages of poverty for equity
Serving Schools Most in Need
• School Turnaround Grants will be targeted to bottom 5%
performing schools in each states.
– Schools will have to choose one of four possible interventions.
• Turnaround – fire principal and 50% of staff, institute a new curriculum
• Restart – close school and restart as a charter or under an educational
management organization
• School Closure – close school and send students to other schools
• Transformation – fire principal, grant new budgeting and scheduling
flexibility, new curriculum, intensive professional development,
community schools model
– A fifth “research based” option will be available to some
– Districts will have to build capacity and put in place the
expertise for school improvement
Focusing on Teachers and Leaders
• Cuts Title II, Part A formula by $450 million.
• All states would be required to develop a
definition of effective teachers and principals.
• Will require all states to link evaluations of
teachers and principals to student
achievement.
• Sets up a federal evaluation criteria:
•At least 3 performance levels
•Uses highly effective definitions
•Meaningful feedback to improve
performance and inform Prof Dev
•Developed in collaboration with
stakeholders
Focusing on Teachers and Leaders
• Would move all federal teacher training into
ESEA and focus on preparation programs.
• Creates multiple new competitive funding
grants focusing on teachers.
– Teacher and Leader Innovation Fund
– Teacher and Leader Pathways
– Effective Teaching and Learning: Literacy
– Effective Teaching and Learning: STEM
– Effective Teaching and Learning for a Well
Rounded Education
Creating a Better School Climate
• Successful, Safe and Healthy Students
– Competitive grant program to improve school climate
by reducing drug use, violence or harassment
– Focus on student physical health and nutrition,
mental health and well being
– Extensive school climate survey required
• $210 million proposed for Promise
Neighborhoods
– Based on Harlem Children’s Zone: comprehensive
services to meet needs of the total child
Race to the Top: And the Winners Are…
• States submitted “plans for reform” that
– were comprehensive, coherent, integrating
– Incorporated all four assurances under the SFSF
– May not have any legal, statutory or regulations prohibiting the linking of
student achievement data to teacher or principal evaluations.
• Delaware and Tennessee won the first round!
– Phase One Applications were due January 19, 2010. – 40 including DC
applied.
– 15 States and the District of Columbia made it through the first round.
– All elements are now supposed to be made public.
• Phase Two Applications Due June 1, 2010. (Awards announced
September 2010.)
March Madness: The Sweet 16
Next Steps: Time for You to Get Involved
• ESEA Reauthorization is on the move. Make sure
you help educate.
– Federal Program Administrators have a unique expertise
when it come to the ins and outs of educating children.
• The timeline for action will be quick, even if they
don’t complete it this year. Need to weigh in early
and often.
• ESEA Reauthorization will be high stakes impacting
all education “reform” going forward.
• Take the time to educate your senators and
representatives of the good work being done using
federal formula dollars.
Any questions?
Mary Kusler
Assistant Director, Advocacy & Policy
American Association of School Administrators
801 N. Quincy Street, Suite 700
Arlington, VA 22203
(703) 875- 0733
[email protected]