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Coleman Discusses Common Core State Standards New Standards to Boost the Academic Performance David Coleman – one of the primary authors of the proposed Common Core State Standards – told in a teleconference for California journalists on Monday that if adopted, the new standards would boost the academic performance of California students and make them be “college and career ready, without remediation” and even reduce the cost of textbooks in the state. And – perhaps mindful that some of the nation’s educators seem a trifle weary of top-down, do-it-our-way-or-else education policy... Governor, Assembly Speaker Name Appointees for Academic Content Standards Commission The line-up for California’s Academic Content Standards Commission – which during the next few weeks will examine the recently proposed Common Core State Standards, and forward a recommendation to the State Board of Education in time for action on August 2 – is now complete. Last Friday, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger announced his appointments... Revised Common Core State Standards Released – O'Connell, Schwarzenegger Signal Support With a geographically diverse group of elected officials, education stakeholders and corporate leaders on hand to indicate broad-based support, the National Governor’s Association rolled out a much-anticipated new set of Common Core State Standards at a press conference in Georgia on Wednesday. The English-language arts and mathematics standards for grades K-12 were developed in collaboration with a variety of stakeholders including content experts, state leaders, teachers, school administrators and parents... More Members of Academic Contents Standards Commission to be Appointed Assembly Speaker John Pérez is expected to announce his five appointments to the Academic Contents Standards Commission in the coming days. Another 11 appointments to the commission will be made by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger – it is not clear when the Governor’s appointments will be announced. Five appointments to the commission have already been made by the California Senate... June Conference Will Examine Issues Parent and Community Support Are Key Factors in Student Achievement Educators know, as a general rule, that parent and community involvement is a key component in operating a successful district and school. Unfortunately, it’s easy to simply assume that effective practices are in place when, in fact, more attention should be directed to this important area. Total School Solutions, in partnership with the Association of California School Administrators (ACSA), has sponsored three statewide conferences this year... Site Visits Key to Implementing Reform Plans Part IV in a series In the Center on Education Policy report on Improving Low Performing Schools, research indicated states should encourage schools and districts to have regular site visits. The districts with the most success had ongoing school site visits from consultants or state staff to assist the district in creating reform plans. The districts received assistance in the implementation of the plan and evaluating the implementation of the plan. The study found that states which had regular visits from outside consultants or state staff increased achievement... Similar School Ranking, Growth Targets for 2010 O'Connell Releases New Cycle of Base Academic Performance Index Statistics State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell kicked off California's annual reporting cycle of academic growth and achievement on Thursday with the release of the public school rankings and the Base Academic Performance Index (API) report. The numbers released to the public on Thursday will not come as a surprise to most school district administrators, who were given early access to the information by the CDE... CSBA Wins Appeal in Algebra I Litigation The Third District Court of Appeals has upheld an injunction that was granted in California School Boards Association’s successful 2008 lawsuit against the State Board of Education regarding the State Board of Education's decision to mandate Algebra I for all eighth graders in California. In the action taken last week, the court declared that the SBE had violated the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act by failing to give adequate notice of its intended action... State Schools Chief Jack O'Connell Announces Second Phase of Digital Textbook Initiative On Monday, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell announced that California's Free Digital Textbook Initiative has entered a second phase with the completion of a review of digital textbooks by the California Learning Resources Network (CLRN), yielding 10 new digital resources. The Free Digital Textbook Initiative was launched last year by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger with the support of the State Board of Education (SBE). After a review by CLRN to evaluate the digital textbooks' alignment to California's rigorous content standards... Administration Reverses Bush Policy Regarding Title IX, Equal Support of Women in Sports On Tuesday, Vice President Biden announced that the Obama Administration has issued a 'Dear Colleague' letter that reversed a previous Bush Administration policy by withdrawing a 2005 interpretation of Title IX policy. Enacted in 1972, Title IX mandates that any educational institution receiving federal funding for programs and activities cannot discriminate on the basis of sex. The 2005 policy issued compliance standards that were widely criticized for being inadequate and inconsistent with Title IX's nondiscrimination goals... Program Trains Pink Slipped Teachers for Special Education Alternative Certification Programs Placed 3,500 New Special Education Teachers Last Year The California Teacher Corps, the statewide organization representing alternative certification programs, announced Wednesday that its programs are reaching out to school districts to provide pink-slipped and laid-off teachers retraining to move into the high-need field of special education. The announcement follows the state's notification in March, when more than 26,000 teachers received notices of potential lay-offs. Alternative certification programs will work closely with school districts to offer many of these teachers continued opportunities within the teaching profession... March 25 Session Offered Pointers, Another Conference Upcoming Mutually Understood Goals and Common Practices Can Boost Student Performance Districts in California where African-American, Latino and English Learner students are meeting proficiency targets share common practices. These commonalities are emerging as school leaders share strategies that have resulted in positive student gains in a series of conferences focusing on these key subgroups. After reviewing student performance data over a period of three years for the featured schools, most educators attending the conferences ask, “I wonder how they did that?”... Most Low-Performing Schools Remain In Lowest Quartile New Research Shows Persistence of Test Scores and School Performance, Despite Reform Efforts Seeking to answer the question of whether failing schools can be saved, a new report from the Brookings Institution’s Brown Center on Education Policy concludes that test scores are primarily static, and that while turning around these schools can be done, the odds are daunting. The research compares the 1989 and 2009 California Assessment Program (CAP) test scores of 1,156 California schools that had an eighth grade class in 1989 and were still operating in 2009... 2009 Nation's Report Card Reading Shows Gains in 8th-Grade Scores, While 4th-Grade Scores Hold Steady Since 2007, the nation’s 8th-graders have made some improvements in reading comprehension while the overall results for 4th-graders were unchanged, according to results from the 2009 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), also known as The Nation’s Report Card, released on Wednesday. The 2009 NAEP Reading Report Card — the only nationally representative and continuing measure of student achievement — shows the average reading score for the nation’s 8th-graders rose from 2007 to 2009, as nine states posted increases and no state showed a decline... Comment Due By April 2 Revised Common Core Standards Unveiled, Some Differ with California's Standards The Council of Chief State School Officers and the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices last week released the draft K-12 Common Core State Standards for English language arts and mathematics on behalf of 48 states, two territories and the District of Columbia. California is participating in the process. An online survey is posted at www.corestandards.org to solicit response to the standards. The public comment period will end on April 2, 2010 and it is expected that the final set of standards will be available in late Spring of 2010... A Single Program Probably Won't Help In Every Case Multifaceted Reforms Should Focus On Each School's Particular Needs As districts look for ways to turn around struggling schools, a recent Center on Education Policy (CEP) report found that most states were not solely using the six corrective actions found in No Child Left Behind (NCLB). Most were using the new curriculum action – but with multiple reform efforts occurring. The importance of the multiple reform efforts emphasized the need for each district and school in Program Improvement (PI) to look at what can and should be done districtwide, and what other reform efforts are needed based on the specific school needs... Concerns Raised Over Linking Title 1 to Common Core Several national education associations have expressed concern over President Barack Obama’s proposal to link Title 1 funds to the adoption of college- and career-ready standards. Under the proposal, states would be required to adopt higher-level Common Core Standards in English language arts and math in order to qualify for Title 1 grant funds. However, there has been concern in the field over the coercive nature of the proposal... Seminar on March 25 in Ontario Latino Students and English Learners: Strategies to Improve Student Performance California educators will gather in Ontario on March 25 to share insights on strategies to improve academic performance for Latino students and students who are English Learners. The all-day session will focus on the needs of English learners who are acquiring English as they seek to meet grade-level standards, and the needs of Latino students who are making progress toward closing the achievement gap in California schools and districts with large socioeconomically disadvantaged populations... Budget Crisis Means Fewer Sections Available Decline in Community College Enrollment Projected, Despite High Student Demand Reversing five years of enrollment growth, enrollment at California’s community colleges appears to be headed downward – largely due to budget cuts that limit student access to classes. “Our enrollment is not dropping due to a lack of demand,” said California Community Colleges Chancellor Jack Scott last Wednesday at a press conference in Sacramento. “As demonstrated by last year’s record high enrollment of nearly 3 million students, our colleges are more popular than ever.”... O'Connell Announces New Tool to Help Migrant Students Succeed Academically State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell announced last week that California will participate in the Migrant Student Information Exchange (MSIX) system. “One of the most difficult challenges students of migrant families face is maintaining a continuum of education services because of the itinerant nature of their lives,” said O'Connell. “This too often results in migrant students falling behind their peers academically... "Closing the Achievement Gap for African-American Students" Draws Educators to Sacramento Some 350 educators gathered in Sacramento on Wednesday (February 17) to focus on “Closing the Achievement Gap for African-American Students: Best Practices for Student Success.” The all-day institute – offered by Total School Solutions (TSS), the Association of California School Administrators (ACSA) and the California Association of African American Superintendents and Administrators (CAAASA) – featured 12 presentations, held at the Sheraton Grand Hotel and the Sacramento Convention Center... Science Teachers Can Use Free Lesson Plans Highlighting Vancouver Winter Olympics The Silicon Valley Education Foundation (SVEF) is offering an online collection of learning tools that helps students learn about physics, biology, and mathematics through exploration of events featured at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics via a 16-part video series, Science of the Olympic Winter Games, produced by the National Broadcasting Company’s Learn and the National Science Foundation. The lesson plans and activities are hosted on the SVEF online repository, Lessonopoly... Test, Evaluate, Collaborate, Reteach Use Data to Guide Decisions about Instruction Part II of a series. In an article last week, we looked briefly at the Center on Education Policy (CEP) recommendations for improving struggling schools. (To review last week’s article, click here.) This week we will begin with the only factor all schools which exited Program Improvement had in common – a frequent analysis of testing data and the use of the data to inform instruction... Governor Launches Second Phase of Free Digital Textbook Initiative Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has launched the second phase of his first-in-the-nation free digital textbook initiative. The initiative reviews existing free digital textbooks against California’s rigorous academic standards to identify which free textbooks are standards-aligned and may be used in California’s classrooms. Free digital textbooks are downloadable and may be projected on a screen, viewed on a computer, printed chapter by chapter, or bound for use in the classroom... The Center on Education Policy Releases Report on "Improving Low-Performing Schools"; Recommends Data Analysis, Reform Strategies As more districts and schools enter Program Improvement, the quest to find answers on how to turn around a struggling school intensifies. Many school and district leaders are searching frantically for the program or study that will solve these achievement issues. The Center on Education Policy studied six states and a group of districts who were working to improve achievement. In December 2009, the Center on Education Policy released their 5 year study on improving low performing schools... Lower Expectations for Students Who Aren't "College Bound" Study Sheds Light on Gap Between High School Preparation and College Expectations High schools should focus on providing in-depth instruction of fundamental knowledge and essential skills, rather than covering a larger number of skills in less depth, to better prepare students for college and career. That is one conclusion of the latest ACT National Curriculum Survey® findings, released Wednesday by ACT, Inc. The research, in which thousands of secondary teachers and postsecondary instructors across the U.S. were surveyed, sheds light on the gap between high school preparation and college expectations... Federal Lawsuit Charges Los Angeles County with Failure to Educate Probation Camp Youth An alliance of legal groups including the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Southern California filed a ground-breaking class-action lawsuit this week against the Los Angeles County Probation Department and top county education officials, charging they have failed to provide youth in the county's largest juvenile probation facility with basic and appropriate education. The lawsuit, filed in United States District Court in Los Angeles, charges that county personnel – including administrators and teachers at the Challenger Memorial Youth Center in Lancaster, California – have in some instances relied on worksheets in lieu of substantive classroom instruction... State Board of Education Approves New "Education and the Environment" Curriculum The State Board of Education on Wednesday unanimously approved 76 instructional units developed for California’s Education and the Environment Initiative, which was authorized seven years ago by legislation by current State Sen. Fran Pavley, back when she was a member of the California Assembly. Sen. Pavley was all smiles as SBE member Yvonne Chan – who is also a school principal in Los Angeles – praised the new curriculum... CTC Discusses Third-Tier Credential Option The California Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC) continued to discuss a third-tier teaching credential in December, despite opposition by the Association of California School Administrators (ACSA) and other education associations. In October 2008, at the request of the CTC, staff brought forward the concept of the third-tier credential, aimed at recognizing and rewarding teachers who demonstrate expertise in their chosen fields, promoting the retention of teachers and honoring master teachers... NAEP Math Scores Rise in Urban Districts Participating in TUDA, San Diego School District Sees Improvement The mathematics results from the 2009 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) — released Tuesday in Washington, DC — paint a mixed picture of student achievement in the 18 urban school districts that participated in the most recent Trial Urban District Assessment (TUDA). Among the districts that also participated in earlier years, most showed improvement since 2003 but no significant change since 2007. The 11 districts that participated in prior years are: Atlanta; Austin, Texas; Boston; Charlotte, N.C.; Chicago; Cleveland; the District of Columbia; Houston; Los Angeles; New York City; and San Diego... Obesity Still a Problem 2009 Physical Fitness Results Released – California Students Show Some Progress State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell this week released the results of the annual California Physical Fitness Test, called the FITNESSGRAM®, which was given during the 2008-09 school year to more than 1.38 million students in the fifth, seventh, and ninth grades. The FITNESSGRAM® assesses a total of six fitness areas. In the last school year, a greater percentage of students met all six benchmarks compared to the previous year. More than half of the students in the fifth and seventh grades successfully met five of the six targets as did two-thirds of the ninth graders... Duncan Meets Superintendents from Nine Rural School Districts U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan met Tuesday with a group of rural school superintendents from nine states (including California) to listen and learn about their needs and to discuss ways the Education Department can be a partner in helping to find solutions to their educational challenges. “Rural schools have unique challenges and benefits, and we value the input of rural school leaders as we work together to improve education for all children,” Duncan said... Global Tides Rescinds Some of its 91 Charter Petitions, Plans to Submit Revised Petitions Soon Marco Salazar, who filed charter school petitions with school districts up and down California seeking to establish the Global Tides online charter school, told EdBrief this week that he is retooling his effort. Salazar, a vice president with Charter School Development Systems and spokesman for Global Tides, indicated that thus far, Global Tides has not been granted a charter in any of the 91 school districts in which petitions were filed during September. Several dozen school districts have denied the petition... New Report on High School Exit Exams Shows Improvement in Passage Rates A new study released Thursday by the Center on Education Policy (CEP) finds that although high school exit exam policies are increasingly complicated and diverse across states, there is a general trend in increases in initial passage rates by students. Also, the report finds more states are using exit exams for accountability under No Child Left Behind (NCLB), but have also designed varied alternate pathways to graduation. The report, State High School Exit Exams: Trends in Test Programs, Alternate Pathways, and Pass Rates, draws from CEP’s eight-year study of high school exit exams to identify long-term trends... New America Foundation Releases Report on Early Learning in California As California struggles to close persistent achievement gaps, it is increasingly apparent that these gaps exist at school entry and that efforts to improve the early education systems (PreK-3rd) are warranted. The state could make major strides by implementing a PreK-3rd strategy that focuses on pre-K access, curriculum and standards alignment, data collection and high quality teaching across the early grades, according to a report released last week by the New America Foundation... California Charter School Enrollment Rises by 56,000 – Nearly 90 New Schools Opened This Fall The California Charter Schools Association announced this week that 88 new public charter schools opened their doors this fall, bringing the total number of California charter schools in operation to 809 schools, serving approximately 341,000 public school students. New and existing charter schools added an estimated 56,000 new students this year, equivalent to adding the entire enrollment of the ninth largest school district in the state... O'Connell Announces New Web Tool to Help Education Agencies Close the Achievement Gap State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell on Wednesday introduced Signature Practices, a new Web-based searchable database of effective strategies used by California Distinguished Schools to improve student achievement and close the achievement gap. Providing this resource to schools is one of the recommendations made by O'Connell's California P-16 Council in its Closing the Achievement Gap report. “Schools that are struggling to close the achievement gap need to know what really works to improve student achievement with different subgroups of students,” O'Connell said... Nation's Report Card NAEP Scores Hold Steady, California Scores Remain at the "Basic" Level There has been no significant change in the performance of the nation’s 4th-graders in mathematics from 2007 to 2009, a contrast to the progress seen from 1990 to 2007 at that grade level and subject, according to the 2009 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in mathematics, which was released on Wednesday. But the 8th-grade mathematics score on the NAEP – which is also called The Nation's Report Card – posted a small two-point improvement over the 2007 score, and reached its highest level since 1990... O'Connell Calls for Restoration of Framework and Instructional Materials Development Funds State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell launched a campaign this week aimed at regaining funding for the California Department of Education’s (CDE) programs for curriculum framework and instructional materials development – funds that were cut earlier this year by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. O’Connell said that unless funds are restored, California students won’t see updated texts in several critical areas until 2017... CDE Releases Online Kit for Achievement Gap The California Department of Education (CDE) this week announced a new online tool called the Resource Kit for Developing Partnerships to Close the Achievement Gap (Resource Kit). The Resource Kit may be used by families, communities, and organizations to develop partnerships with schools that can help narrow the academic achievement gap that exists between higher-performing and lower-performing students. The online tool can help anyone understand the importance of partnerships, how to create them, and help existing partnerships improve... Nationwide Panel Evaluates "Common Core State Standards," Obama Administration Supports Effort A group of educators convened by the National Governors Association (NGA) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) is gathering comment on a recently proposed draft set of English and math standards – a project that advocates hope will establish as common standards defining “college ready” skills for high school graduates in states around the nation. The Common Core State Standards Initiative, as the effort is known, released the proposed draft standards last week (available at www.corestandards.org), and will be accepting comment from states into October... San Bernardino City Unified School District Posts API Gains after Recent DAIT Work Eight out of nine schools in the San Bernardino City Unified School District that worked with a District Assistance and Intervention Team from Total School Solutions (TSS) posted gains that met or topped their growth targets in last week’s release of 2009 Growth Academic Performance Index data by the California Department of Education (CDE). Two elementary schools in the district – Inghram and Muscoy – posted strong double digit gains... More than 100 Schools with API Over 800 Now in PI Academic Performance Index Scores Rise; Yet More Schools Tip into Program Improvement The number of schools meeting or exceeding the 800-point target on California’s Academic Performance Index (API) is on the rise. In results for the 2009 Growth API released on Tuesday, some 42 percent of California’s schools are at or above 800 – the point at which the California Department of Education (CDE) considers them to be “high performing” schools. That’s an increase of six percent over last year. At the same time, the number of California schools meeting Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) requirements under federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation is on the wane... Preparing for "District of Choice" State lawmakers this week approved a significant expansion of the current “district of choice” program. And it looks like the governor will most likely sign it the next month. If signed, the bill will take effect January 1, 2010. Senate Bill 680 (Romero, D-East Los Angeles) would expand the current district of choice (DOC) program statewide and extend the sunset date by seven years. In addition, the program enables participating school districts to declare themselves a “district of choice” and admit students from neighboring districts without a reciprocity agreement from the student’s district of residence... CAHSEE Results Released; Achievement Gap Persists There are some rays of sunshine in the California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE) results for 2008-09, released on Wednesday by the California Department of Education (CDE). But despite small improvements in a variety of categories, the results show that the much-discussed “achievement gap” between ethnic and socioeconomic subgroups hasn’t narrowed a whole lot. As a large group, some 90.6 percent of California students in the Class of 2009 passed both... LAUSD Board Approves Plan That Could Transfer 250 Campuses to New Management The Los Angeles Unified School District’s board of education voted by a 6-1 majority on Tuesday to approve a controversial plan that could transfer operation of up to 250 schools – including 50 newly built campuses and 200 campuses that are in Program Improvement Year Three (or higher) – to charter schools, “outside operators,” or even neighborhood control under a teacher collaborative. The plan authorizes LAUSD’s Superintendent Ramon Cortines to recommend the best option for running some of the mammoth district’s lowest-performing schools... CDE Postpones Release of CAHSEE by a Week; APR Release Delayed to Mid-September In an announcement sent to reporters on Monday, the California Department of Education (CDE) said that “The (public) release date for the 2008-09 California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE) results has been pushed back.” The public release had originally been scheduled for Thursday, August 27. According to the CDE, the 2008-09 CAHSEE results will now be publicly released on Wednesday, September 2... 2009 STAR Results Show Progress, But Lingering Achievement Gap Prompts Concern, Criticism California students made incremental progress in the 2009 Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) Program results, released on Tuesday by State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell. But even as O’Connell praised the slow-but-steady progress of students in several academic areas over the past few years, he acknowledged that the achievement gap between different ethnic and socioeconomic groups remains stubbornly evident... Update on QEIA Funding Situation: As reported in EdBrief last week, the recently adopted State Budget included a significant budget hit for the 135 school districts participating in the Quality Education Investment Act (QEIA). This is a hit on top of the huge reductions they have taken alongside other districts in 2008-09 and 2009-10. In a nutshell, these districts and their participating schools have had their QEIA funding completely erased for the 2009-10 school year. And this occurs at the time when many school districts have already begun the school year, while other districts are within a couple of weeks of starting... State Leaders Intend to Restore Funding to QEIA Districts and Schools The recently adopted State Budget contained an unpleasant surprise for the 135 school districts participating in the Quality Education Investment Act program (QEIA). The budget deleted additional $450 million non-Proposition 98 appropriations contained in the 2009 Budget Act approved in February 2009, including $402 million appropriated for the QEIA program. This action was taken to avoid reduction of $450 million in Proposition 98 funding and, alternatively, any negative impact on the health and social services side of the state budget... Back to School, Already?! Many Districts Are Starting Classes in Early August – Even July The barbeque grills and other summer gear share space with the “Back-to-School” section at Target and other retailers nowadays, as parents stock up on new Jonas Brothers backpacks, pencil cases, and binders. The smell of burnt gunpowder from Independence Day celebrations has barely left the nostrils when kids are forced to start getting up early for the first week of classes – trundling off to school on days when many inland communities will see the thermometer go over 100 degrees... O'Connell Invites Comment on Education and the Environment Initiative Curriculum State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell announced this week that instructional materials submitted for the 2009 Education and the Environment Initiative (EEI) Curriculum Review for kindergarten through grade twelve are now available for public review and comment. “Students today will be responsible for making decisions that influence the future health of the environment,” said O'Connell. “This curriculum provides the foundation to prepare students to be informed, environmentally conscious decision makers... Rising Enrollment, Surging Percentage of English Learners Pose Challenge for California Educators The task facing California educators has grown substantially over the past 29 years, with rising enrollment and several dramatic shifts in student demographics making the situation more complex, according to a report presented to the State Board of Education (SBE) by former California State University system chancellor Barry Munitz and Rick Miller, deputy state superintendent with the California Department of Education, at the July 9 meeting of the SBE. Highlights of the presentation include... SBE Defends CAHSEE, Approves Waivers Allowing Districts More Time to Buy New Textbooks This week’s meeting of the State Board of Education (SBE) included several items relating to the California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE), and approval of a slew of waivers giving about 70 school districts an additional year before they are required to buy new math and English Language Arts instructional materials. The SBE unanimously approved a resolution expressing continued support for the CAHSEE, and urging the Legislature not to send any bill to the Governor that would suspend the CAHSEE as a high school graduation requirement... U.S. Supreme Court Affirms Reimbursement for Special Education Services Earlier this week, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that parents of special education students may seek local education agency (LEA) reimbursement for private school tuition – even if they had not previously received and/or sought such services from their public school. The court in Forest Grove School District v. T.A., No. 08-305 (June 22, 2009) held that the 1997 amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) did not restrict its authority to “grant appropriate relief” on this matter... Summer School Programs Cut, O'Connell Bemoans Loss of Local Programs Several school districts, large and small, located up and down California, have cancelled or reduced summer school programs in response to local budget problems brought on by reductions in state funding. On Wednesday, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell held a news conference at Ethel Phillips Elementary School in the Sacramento City Unified School District to highlight the impact of these summer program cuts on students, many of whom are already lagging behind their classmates in academic performance... Budget Conference Committee Votes to Drop CAHSEE as Graduation Requirement One of the eye-catching budget-cutting plans voted through on Tuesday by the Legislative Budget Conference Committee in Sacramento was a proposal to temporarily drop the California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE) as a requirement for high school graduation. Under the proposal – which has not cleared either chamber of the Legislature, or been signed by the Governor – students would no longer be required to pass the CAHSEE (starting in the 2009-2010 school year) as a graduation requirement... ACSA Invites School Leaders to PI Institute Association of California School Administrators (ACSA) is sending an open invitation to district administrators and staff to come to the Program Improvement Summer institute that has been developed to address the needs of all districts without regards to their accountability status. The institute is being offered in association by ACSA and Total School Solutions (TSS). The objective of the institute is not only to help improve current practices and learn from experts with demonstrated success in schools and districts in California, but also to start building the foundation for the work required in improving district culture and systems... Poor Attention in Kindergarten Predicts Lower Test Scores in High School, UC Davis Study Finds Students that have “attention problems” in kindergarten and elementary schools often grow up and become high school students that achieve lower scores on standardized tests. That’s the conclusion of a UC Davis study appearing online this week in the June issue of the medical journal Pediatric. The study found a clear link between attention problems early in school and low achievement when the same students reach their teens... State Evaluating Free Digital Texts; Deadline for Submissions is June 15 State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell and the State Board of Education, in support of the Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Free Digital Textbook Initiative, announced this week that content developers of digital textbooks may submit materials to the California Learning Resources Network (CLRN) for review. “The time has come for California to be the leader in promoting this effort, especially now when school districts are struggling to survive the current budget crisis,” O’Connell said... More Schools Hit "High Performing" Status in 2008 Base API – But Achievement Gap Lingers The number of California schools reaching the threshold of “high performing” status grew slightly in the 2008 Base Academic Performance Index Report (API), released by the California Department of Education (CDE) on Thursday. But the ongoing achievement gap among California students continued to be a cause for concern, with students from white and Asian ethnic backgrounds tending to score significantly higher on standardized tests than their African American and Hispanic/Latino classmates... ACSA Releases Second Round of ARRA/IDEA and Title I Guidance In this advisory from ACSA on the three main funding streams that are part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), we cover federal guidance for the use of IDEA Part B, ARRA formula funds and ESEA Title I, ARRA formula funds. The purpose of this advisory is to cover the requirements, reporting and use of these new limited term funds. This advisory comes directly from the federal guidance. Please click on the link below to view the first advisory on the State Fiscal Stabilization Funds (SFSF) on the ACSA website... Mixed Results on "Nation's Education Report Card" The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) rolled out "The Nation's Report Card" this week. The assessment has been tracking the academic progress of representative groups of nine-year-olds, 13-year-olds and 17-year-olds over the course of roughly four decades. The executive summary of the 2008 version of the report card concluded that:
California's Dropout Rate Dips Slightly, While High School Graduation Rate Inches Higher The graduation rate for California high school students increased slightly in 2007-2008, and the dropout rate declined by a small amount, according to initial figures released by the California Department of Education (CDE) on Tuesday. These figures may be revised as further data is analyzed. The shifts were not dramatic. In 2007-08, 68.3 percent of public school students in California graduated, up from 67.7 percent in the previous year. The adjusted four-year derived dropout rate for the same school year was 20.1 percent, down from 21.1 percent the previous year... Governor Announces Program to Compile List of Digital Texts Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger announced a program on Wednesday to create a cache of free, open-source digital textbooks for California high school students. The Governor directed his Secretary of Education Glen Thomas to ensure these resources are available for use in high school math and science classes by fall 2009. "As California's budget crisis continues we must find such innovative ways to save money and improve services," said Governor Schwarzenegger. "California was built on innovation and I'm proud of our state's continued leadership in developing education technology... In an Era of Budget Cuts . . . What About GATE? "You can't cut our program – those are the future leaders of this country!" was a statement recently made by a GATE parent to one of the authors of this article. The parent’s school district is considering some significant changes to the GATE program in light of budget constraints and student enrollment. And the parent's remark highlights the visceral challenges that education leaders often face when considering changes in the way a GATE program is operated or funded. In 1961, the state of California established what was then called the MGM (Mentally Gifted Minor) program,... English Learners Post Modest Gains in CELDT California students who are English learners posted modest gains on the California English Language Development Test (CELDT), according to statistics released on Wednesday by the California Department of Education (CDE). For 2008-2009, nearly 39 percent of English learners who took the CELDT in the public schools scored at the “early advanced” level (29.7 percent) or the "advanced" level (9.5 percent). This represents a three-point gain over the preceding year... TSS, Springboard Combine DAIT Services Educational consulting firms Total School Solutions and Springboard Schools have announced a new partnership to support and improve Program Improvement districts. Springboard and Total School Solutions will combine efforts and provide joint District Assistance and Intervention Teams (DAIT). This brings the expertise of two experienced companies together in providing quality services to school districts and County Offices of Education needing DAIT support and reforms to improve student achievement... New Stanford Study Concludes Exit Exam Doesn't Boost Achievement, Negatively Impacts Girls & Minorities A study released on Wednesday found no evidence that California’s High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE) has improved student achievement, and also found that the exit exam has negative impacts on girls and students of color among students scoring in the bottom 25 percent on the state’s annual standardized tests (or STAR tests). Sean Reardon, an associate professor at Stanford University, and Michal Kurlaender, assistant professor at UC Davis, based the study on data from four large school districts... Former ACSA President Enters Race for Superintendent of Public Instruction Larry Aceves, a former president of the Association of California School Administrators (ACSA), who’s served with school districts in Northern and Southern California, announced on Monday that he’s running for State Superintendent of Public Instruction. In announcing his candidacy, Aceves said his priorities would be to increase funding for public education, close the achievement gap, and ensure that poorer school districts receive the same level of school funding as wealthier ones... Caught in the Matrix: Program Improvement Districts and AB 519 Amidst the epic budget angst that has dominated the landscape for schools and districts this year is a little-known piece of legislation that established how school districts caught up in the No Child Left Behind Act’s Local Educational Agency Program Improvement would be treated as they move into “sanction” or “corrective action” (“sanction” being the federal term, changed to the kinder and gentler “corrective action” by California’s State Board of Education.) The bill, AB 519, lent clarity and direction last fall to the California Department of Education (CDE) and State Board of Education (SBE)... SBE Approves Several New Charter Schools, Waivers The State Board of Education dealt with several charter school issues and waiver issues during its meeting on Wednesday and Thursday in Sacramento. The board: — Held a lengthy discussion, but took no formal action on a request by the Los Angeles Unified School District to waive Ed Code regarding class size reduction requirements under the Quality Education Investment Act (QEIA), allowing funds from seven QEIA schools to follow students to nine newly constructed schools. CDE staff had recommended denial. In the absence of action by the SBE, the waiver will automatically be granted for one year... DAIT Districts: To adopt, or not adopt? Many districts are grappling with the current financial crisis, and are knee deep in pink slips, growing class sizes, and red ink as they go forward into the next school year. A major consideration is the second of the large back-to-back core adoptions, Reading/English/language arts. IMFRP (Instructional Materials Funding Realignment Program) funding for these adoptions has become more anemic over the years. And in the current fiscal environment, many districts find the hefty adoption of new Reading/English/language arts,... Special Education Efficiency Studies – A Money Saving Tool in Rough Economic Times School districts are in the process of making important decisions about significant budget-cutting steps to reflect the dismal current and projected state budget. One area of potential savings that districts should consider is special education. Special education services are a vital component of any district’s instructional program. In many cases, these services are mandated by state or federal law. Nonetheless, there is potential to realize cost savings based on a district’s staffing and program offerings... QEIA and the Budget Butcher: Now What? The Quality Education Investment Act (QEIA) of 2006 was the final outcome of the dispute between the legislature and the governor over promises made and broken in our last budget crisis. Ah, the good old days. You’ll recall that close to $3 billion was allocated to a grant for Decile 1 and 2 schools, and a lottery determined the winners of a $500-$1000 per pupil formula (depending on the grade level) for each year through 2014... CTA, ACSA Part Ways Over Class Size Reduction A political battle is under way over the future of class size reduction programs in California public schools — and the issue has produced something of a divide in education circles. Since 1996, many California school districts have participated in a state-sponsored class size reduction program that maintains a ratio of 20 students to one teacher for kindergarten through third-grade classes, and in some classes for ninth- and 10th-graders... The Show Must Go On . . . Keep the Goal in Mind If you are a California school district administrator, you have probably experienced several weeks including all-day cabinet meetings, meetings with teachers, meetings with classified staff, meetings with site administrators, board study sessions, and meetings with parents. And all of these meetings have likely focused on one thing: the state budget deficit, and the reductions that school districts will experience as a result. We’ve heard two things about the budget that have come up again and again... State Board of Education Hears From Three Districts About DAIT Process At the Jan. 8 meeting of the State Board of Education, the board heard presentations from three school districts that had recently had positive experiences with DAIT (District Assistance and Intervention Teams) providers. The San Bernardino City Unified School District worked with a DAIT team from Total School Solutions. Superintendent Arturo Delgado began by describing his district, which has about 55,000 students – one of the ten largest districts in the state in terms of enrollment... CDE Seeks Participation in Framework Revisions State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell announced on Thursday that people may apply to participate in the revision and update of the K-12 Mathematics and Health Frameworks for California Public Schools. The Frameworks are designed to provide guidance to teachers, administrators, and parents in the implementation of the subject matter that reflects the state-adopted content standards. A framework is like the scaffolding upon which the state builds support for teaching the content standards, i.e., the subject matter teachers teach in the classroom that is appropriate for the grade level being taught... Master Scheduling III – Building Your Master Schedule, While Reducing Staff Shortly before corks were popping on New Year's Eve, the Governor popped a cork of his own and quietly proposed another round of cuts to education that included proposals to shut down school a week early this year, as well as dropping a year of Science from the paltry two-year Science graduation requirements for California’s high school students. In our previous articles on master scheduling (Master Scheduling I, November 21 and Master Scheduling II, December 12) we talked about important timelines and strategies for saving on staff... Master Scheduling II – Streamline and Optimize Staffing When Resources Are Stretched Thin Our last installment discussed the importance of an established master scheduling calendar that begins a full year prior to the actual implementation, and how important it is to match student enrollment projections with staffing allocations. We also discussed matching student course sign-ups with teacher assignments. Identifying real needs early allows the school and district to make staffing adjustments and to possibly realize some cost savings in the difficult times ahead... Master Scheduling I – Prepping the Master Schedule . . . in November? This may sound like "Christmas in July" . . . But believe it or not, it's time to think about and act on master scheduling for next year in your middle and high schools. Yes, even now in November. Especially this year. Master scheduling feels a lot like hanging wallpaper – 90% the work is in the preparation – but it also often feels rushed and maybe a little sloppy as a late spring or even summer activity. The truth is that the most effective master schedule preparation begins in earnest the previous year... State Board of Education Discusses New Committee, Curriculum Some developments at this week's State Board of Education meeting involved African American students, curriculum questions, and updates on election results.
Computer-Based Math Intervention Programs For years there have been predictions of the day when technology programs would take the place of paper textbooks. Some predictions even suggested that teachers would be replaced by computers. That hasn’t happened yet. But technology does play a larger classroom role each year. A few states have adopted technology-based programs as state adopted curriculum. When California’s State Board of Education (SBE) adopted a new math curriculum last year... Fifty-Two Districts Await State Board Action Regarding Program Improvement Status Dozens of California school districts are closely following developments in Sacramento as they move further into the Program Improvement process. And many other California school districts – realizing that they may likely go into Program Improvement themselves sometime during the next few years – are keeping an eye on the situation as well. In the next few weeks, the California State Board of Education (SBE) will hear the recommendations for corrective action and proposed requirements... The Seven Year Itch: Adopting New E/LA Materials in 2009 Just as you finished (or are finishing) with the mathematics adoption, and are feverishly distributing books, and training your teachers . . . the long-awaited Reading/English/Language Arts and English Language Development (ELD) adoption moves from the on deck circle to the batter’s box for your consideration. School year 2009-2010 is the target for implementation, though in light of budget woes and uncertain Instructional Materials Funding Realignment... DAIT & PI Technical Assistance Districts and schools in the advanced stages of Program Improvement, or those with DAIT (District Assistance and Intervention Team) or Technical Assistance status can expect a variety of initiatives being undertaken to make rapid reforms for students who are underperforming. These districts are typically trying to avoid the new scarlet letter in our modern accountability system: PI... New AYP/API Releases Upcoming It’s that time of year again. Districts received their STAR results in late July and early August, with the public notification of STAR results throughout the state released August 14. The results for the 2007-2008 school year demonstrate overall steady progress, with some areas of flat performance or minimal improvement. Examples would be Grade 2 Mathematics and upper level Mathematics courses at the high school level;... |
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