1. DECEMBER 10, 2014 MARK SASS EDUCATION REFORM

2. GOALS FOR TODAY Overview of three main pieces of legislation that impact our practice NCLB RTT SB 191 Philosophical underpinnings of the debate Analyze and then synthesize arguments into statements What it comes down to. Letter from Grant Wiggins to Diane Ravitch

5. RECENT MAJOR NATIONAL REFORMS 2001 No Child Left Behind (NCLB) A reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 State Assessments: States must implement annual state assessments in reading and mathematics in grades 3-8 and at least once in grades 10-12, and in science at least once in each of three grade spans: 3-5, 6-9, and 10-12. Assessments must be aligned with challenging state content and academic achievement standards. States must provide for participation of all students, including students with disabilities and limited English proficient (LEP) students. States must provide for the assessment of English language proficiency of all LEP students. Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP): States must set annual targets that will lead to the goal of all students’ reaching proficiency in reading and mathematics by 2013-14. For each measure of school performance, states must include absolute targets that must be met by key subgroups of students (major racial/ethnic groups, low-income students, students with disabilities, and LEP students). To make AYP, schools and districts must meet annual targets for each student subgroup in the school, and must test 95 percent of students in each subgroup. States also must define an“other academic indicator” that schools must meet in addition to proficiency targets on state assessments. Schools Identified for Improvement : Title I schools and districts that do not make AYP for two consecutive years are identified for improvement and are to receive technical assistance to help them improve. Those that miss AYP for additional years are identified for successive stages of interventions, including corrective action and restructuring (see below). To leave identified-for-improvement status, a school or district must make AYP for two consecutive years.

6. RECENT MAJOR REFORMS 2002 No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Cont’d Public School Choice : Districts must offer all students in identified Title I schools the option to transfer to a non-identified school, with transportation provided by the district. Supplemental Educations Services : In Title I schools that miss AYP for a third year, districts also must offer low-income students the option of supplemental educational services from a state-approved provider. Corrective Actions : In Title I schools that miss AYP for a fourth year, districts also must implement at least one of the following corrective actions: replace school staff members who are relevant to the failure to make AYP; implement a new curriculum; decrease management authority at the school level; appoint an outside expert to advise the school; extend the school day or year; or restructure the internal organization of the school. Restructuring : In Title I schools that miss AYP for a fifth year, districts also must begin planning to implement at least one of the following restructuring interventions: reopen the school as a charter school; replace all or most of the school staff; contract with a private entity to manage the school; turn over operation of the school to the state; or adopt some other major restructuring of the school’s governance. Districts must spend a year planning for restructuring and implement the school restructuring plan the following year (if the school misses AYP again for a sixth year).

7. RECENT MAJOR REFORMS 2002 No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Cont’d Highly Qualified Teachers : All teachers of core academic subjects must be “highly qualified” as defined by NCLB and the state. To be highly qualified, teachers must have a bachelor’s degree, full state certification, and demonstrated competence in each core academic subject that they teach. Subject-matter competence may be demonstrated by passing a rigorous state test, completing a college major or coursework equivalent, or (for veteran teachers) meeting standards established by the state under a “high, objective uniform state standard of evaluation” Use of research based practices : Schools must use effective methods and instructional strategies that are based on scientifically-based research. Testing Accountability Product centered versus process centered

8. RACE TO THE TOP A $4.35 billion competitive grant program, RTT aimed to kick- start key education reforms in states and districts and create the conditions for greater educational innovation. Part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, or ARRA, Race to the Top promised to help states and districts close achievement gaps and get more students into college by supporting key reform strategies including: Adopting more rigorous standards and assessments Recruiting, evaluating, and retaining highly effective teachers and principals Turning around low-performing schools Building data systems that measure student success

9. COLORADO STATE EDUCATION REFORM Senate Bill 191 Educator Effectiveness Evaluation changes for teachers and principals Requires that all teachers and principals receive yearly evaluations Base at least 50% of a teacher’s evaluation on student academic growth Base 50% of a principal’s evaluation on academic growth of students in their school and the effectiveness of the teachers in the school Allows a designee of a principal to conduct performance evaluations Requires Dept. of Ed. to create and make available to school districts a resource ban of assessments, processes, policies and tools to develop an evaluation system.

10. COLORADO STATE EDUCATION REFORM Earning and keeping non-probationary status: A teacher can only earn non-probationary status [tenure] with three consecutive years of demonstrated effectiveness and can lose non-probationary status based on two consecutive ratings of ineffective. Tasks the Council with making formal recommendations for how a non-probationary teacher may appeal a second consecutive rating of ineffective. A teacher who has earned non-probationary status in one district may transfer that status to a new district by showing two consecutive years of effective ratings.

11. COLORADO STATE EDUCATION REFORM Ending the “dance of the lemons”/school based hiring for all teachers: A teacher may be assigned to a school only with the mutual consent of the hiring principal and with input from at least two teachers employed at the school. No principal can be forced by the district to hire a teacher. Requires that if a non-probationary teacher is unable to secure a mutual consent assignment after 12 months or two hiring cycles, the district places the teacher on unpaid leave until the teacher secures an assignment in the district. Reductions in force: When a district makes reductions in force they must first consider the effectiveness of the teacher as displayed in their evaluations. After effectiveness the district can consider other variables, one of which must be the number of years the teacher has served the school district. This way, the district ensures that it retains its most talented teachers regardless of their age or number of years in the profession.

12. EXCELLENCE VERSUS EQUITY Excellence : the purpose of education is to set lofty expectations for students and encourage all students reach these goals. Equity: schools should provide appropriate educational opportunities and democratic advancement for all children regardless of their academic ability. Does education for excellence lead to schooling that is socially repressive by promoting elitist and undemocratic goals? Does education for equity lead to a dumbing down of the curriculum and a socially divisive nation?

13. REFORM IN LINEAR SHAPE Market Norms (excellence?) MaintainDisrupt Social Norms (equity?)

14. PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION REFORM  Video Video As you watch the video, write down the points made by each person. Analyze their points and synthesize them into a philosophical statement that reflects their positions.

15. PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION REFORM Diane Ravitch- Education historian who worked under the Bush and Clinton Administrations at the Dept. of Ed. Once a strong advocate of testing and choice, she renounced those positions in 2010 and has been a strong critic of choice, testing, and what she sees as the privatization of Education. dianeravitch.net Grant Wiggins-Ed.D from Harvard. Along with Jay McTighe, he authored the Understanding by Design program that helps teachers produce curriculum. grantwiggins.wordpress.com