Podcast of Gov. Gregoire’s speech to the state school directors
Posted on 20. Nov, 2009 by Mike.
Gov. Gregoire gave a speech today at the Washington State School Directors’ Association annual conference. The speech begins with an update on our state’s dire budget situation. The second part is about education and the need for policymakers to make budgeting decisions with our children in mind.
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Washington abandoning Round 1 of Race to the Top
Posted on 20. Nov, 2009 by Mike.
We just got word that Washington State will not pursue Race to the Top grants in the first round.
Alan Burke, Deputy Superintendent for K-12 Education at the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, just announced the news at the Washington State School Directors’ Association annual convention last night.
The news is not a surprise. This will allow our state to focus on submitting a stronger application for Round 2, which is due in May.
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What’s at risk in the state budget?
Posted on 20. Nov, 2009 by Mike.
Our friends at the Washington State Budget and Policy Center have put together this excellent narrated slide show about the very real impacts of the $2.7 billion state budget shortfall.
Click on the green “play” button on the bottom to begin the narrated slide show. The large black arrow on the right-hand side just skips forward to the second slide.
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Race to the Top: State Success Factors
Posted on 20. Nov, 2009 by Heather.
The final Race to the Top (R2T) guidelines are out, and we all want to know what Washington’s chances are for scoring a piece of the pie. In a series of posts this week and next, you’ll find a detailed run through of the guidelines, as well as some analysis on where Washington stands (previous post on overall picture here and eligibility and requirements here). This post focuses on the first of six selection criteria: state success factors.
State Success Factors (125 points)
A1. Articulating state’s education reform agenda and local school districts’ participation in it (65 points total)
i. State sets comprehensive and coherent reform agenda (5 points)
ii. Participating local districts are strongly committed to the state’s plans and enter into binding agreements with the state (45 points)
iii. Participating local school districts translate into broad statewide impact (15 points)
These seem like a slam dunk for any state putting together a thorough application. When finding districts to partner with, Washington will need to make sure they are spread throughout the state and represent a significant number of students. Participating districts will need to sign a memorandum of agreement and commit to implementing reforms. If Washington can’t get these points, we don’t stand much of a chance overall.
A2. Building strong statewide capacity to implement, scale up, and sustain proposed plans (30 points total)
i. Ensure that the state has the capacity required to implement its proposed plans (20 points)
ii. Use support from a broad group of stakeholders to better implement the state’s plans (10 points)
These criteria are also feasible. Garnering broad stakeholder support may be a challenge if state application writers leave groups in the dark. It does look like some outreach has been done to start bringing some of the major players along. How this pans out is another story.
A3. Demonstrating significant progress in raising achievement and closing gaps (30 points total)
i. Make progress over the past several years in each of the four education reform areas, and used its ARRA and other funding to pursue such reforms (5 points)
ii. Improve student outcomes overall and by student subgroup since at least 2003, specifically increasing student achievement on Math and Reading NAEP and state assessment, decreasing achievement gaps between subgroups on NAEP and state assessments, and increasing high school graduation rates (25 points)
Washington has made some reforms that strongly align with President Obama’s four assurance areas (standards and assessments, longitudinal data systems, effective teachers and principals, turning around low-achieving schools). For example:
- Washington’s academic standards continue to improve and we’re part of the common core standards group
- Completion of Algebra II will become a high school graduation requirement beginning with the Class of 2013
- Washington’s data system continues to grow and is on track to link student, educator and financial data
- Washington is one of the leaders in number of National Board certified teachers
Our data over the past 5 years, however, may not hurt our application. While 10th grade Reading and Math WASL scores have increased, along with high school graduation rates, gaps between subgroups on 4th grade Reading and Math NAEP are holding steady. Below are the scale scores for Washington 4th graders on the Math and Reading NAEP, passing rates for 10th graders on the Math and Reading WASL, and on-time graduation rates. Green numbers indicate increases in scale scores/passing rates or shrinking achievement gaps. Red numbers indicate decreases in scale scores/passing rates or widening achievement gaps. Purple numbers indicate no or minimal change.
| NAEP Grade 4 Math | 2003 | 2009 | 2003 Gap | 2009 Gap |
| All students | 238 | 242 | ||
| White | 242 | 247 | ||
| Asian | 244 | 253 | ||
| African American | 222 | 227 | 20 | 20 |
| Latino | 223 | 227 | 19 | 20 |
| Native American | 229 | 227 | 13 | 20 |
| NAEP Grade 4 Reading | 2003 | 2009 | 2003 Gap | 2009 Gap |
| All students | 221 | 224 | ||
| White | 226 | 229 | ||
| Asian | 218 | 232 | ||
| African American | 212 | 206 | 14 | 23 |
| Latino | 201 | 206 | 25 | 23 |
| Native American | 208 | 205 | 18 | 24 |
| WASL Grade 10 Math | 2003-04 | 2008-09 | 2003 Gap | 2009 Gap |
| All students | 43.9% | 45.4% | ||
| White | 49.2% | 51.3% | ||
| Asian | 52.0% | 57.1% | ||
| African American | 16.1% | 20.8% | 33.1% | 30.5% |
| Latino | 19.7% | 23.3% | 29.5% | 28.0% |
| Native American | 23.4% | 25.1% | 25.8% | 26.2% |
| WASL Grade 10 Reading | 2003-04 | 2008-09 | 2003 Gap | 2009 Gap |
| All students | 64.5% | 81.2% | ||
| White | 69.6% | 84.9% | ||
| Asian | 70.3% | 85.5% | ||
| African American | 43.1% | 69.5% | 26.5% | 15.4% |
| Latino | 41.5% | 70.5% | 28.1% | 14.4% |
| Native American | 46.5% | 67.6% | 23.1% | 17.3% |
| On-Time Graduation | 2003-04 | 2008-09 | 2003 Gap | 2009 Gap |
| All students | 70.1% | 72.0% | ||
| White | 73.6% | 75.4% | ||
| Asian | 78.0% | 79.3% | ||
| African American | 53.9% | 59.9% | 19.7% | 15.5% |
| Latino | 54.0% | 60.4% | 19.6% | 15.0% |
| Native American | 47.2% | 47.9% | 26.4% | 27.5% |
If we look at other grades for the NAEP and WASL exams, we see similar or worse trends. This isn’t to say Washington doesn’t stand a chance to earn points for this criterion, we just probably won’t earn the full 30 points.
Next week we’ll tackle the remaining five Selection Criteria.
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Wrong move, wrong time
Posted on 20. Nov, 2009 by Lisa.
Yesterday, Superintendent of Public Instruction Randy Dorn proposed yet another delay in math and science high school graduation requirements until 2015 and 2017 respectively. The proposal received tepid support at the state school director’s conference where our state’s school chief delivered a major policy speech.
The League of Education Voters strongly opposes another delay in math and science graduation requirements. It is the wrong proposal at the wrong time.
Send an e-mail to Superintendent Dorn and tell him that we have had enough delay with math and science.
We are not going to boost the educational attainment levels for our young people by sidestepping our math and science achievement problem. Delay is not a plan. We have tried the delay strategy before and it did not work for kids. Three years ago, we delayed math graduation requirements and look what happened-math achievement is down.
We can all agree that we have a very serious problem with math and science achievement and that we need to be fair to kids.
Superintendent Dorn thinks that having students, who are graduating from high school less than four years from now, demonstrate proficiency in math and science is “punishing” them. We think that if there’s a crime here, it is continuing the practice of sending high school graduates out into the world of work or college unprepared.
We want our high school graduates to be college and career ready.
We want our kids to be qualified for the great jobs that our knowledge- and technology driven-economy is creating.
Retreating from the expectation that, by 2013, high school graduates have demonstrated proficiency in math and science is unacceptable.
- Today, more than half our students entering community college need to take remedial math courses-classes for which they receive no college credit.
- Math and science literacy are 21st century skills that everyone needs whether they are going into an apprenticeship or certificate program, a community college, or a four-year university.
- At the very time when we are trying to Race to the Top to win federal education dollars, Dorn’s proposal would sink us to the bottom. It is time for our state education leaders to make a serious plan to boost math and science achievement. We should be doing exactly that with our Race to the Top application.
Delay is not a credible strategy. Our children’s success and our state’s competitiveness depend on our ability to increase math and science achievement levels now.
Superintendent Dorn’s math and science proposal is just that-a proposal for this next legislative session.
It’s time to roll up our sleeves and do the right thing for our children.
We’re not the only ones to disagree. Read what others are saying and then add your own voice to the comments below.
Dorn’s plan is exactly the wrong approach for tough economic times.
Settling for less from Washington’s students means settling for a lesser future for the state. Our collective well-being depends on high school graduates whose diplomas mean something, on students who are ready to compete in the world. Math and science are increasingly important factors in that equation.
Low-income and minority students are most harmed by Dorn’s preference for the easy road. These students don’t need low expectations, they need the equalizing effects of a sound, rigorous education.
We understand that the teachers’ union is frustrated over a lack of adequate funding, including recent cuts forced by the recession. Earnest leaders are working on the funding puzzle, but it isn’t going to be solved this year or next. That cannot become an excuse for letting our kids fall behind.
On the contrary, students deserve a renewed commitment on the part of all adults involved. The rest of the world will move ahead, with or without them.
