Maryland State Superintendent of Schools Lillian M Lowery provided a talking points document, which she used to discuss the old Maryland School Assessments and the new assessments from the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, the field test for which will begin in about a week. This gave her a chance to discuss with staff on March 12 Maryland’s version of the Common Core State Standards, known as Maryland’s College and Career Readiness.
The document below was provided by the Maryland State Department of Education for public viewing. Coming in at more than 2,500 words, this explanation shows why communication between school leaders and the public is in a state of utter disarray. If you are still awake by the end, you have a sturdy soul. The document has much more to do with
- the law
- the tests that come from the law
- the standards that come from the tests
than with any teaching. Certainly, “learning” is nowhere to be found. I hear assessment, standards, workforce-ready (whatever that means, since it’s a fairly diverse workforce we have in America), college-ready (whatever that means, since even the most extensive list of learning standards couldn’t justifiably be called college-preparatory, simply because of the diversity of colleges and universities in America), and so on. Nowhere do I hear anything about learning.
It’s too bad. Tests in this state used to be national models of good testing. What has happened as a result of No Child Left Behind and the general wearing out of its welcome has brought mediocrity to our discussions of the joy of learning. We no longer get excited about how much fun it is to learn stuff; instead, we talk about how important it is to set arbitrarily high standards and measure students’ progress with standardized tests.
Anyway, here’s the document:
By LILLIAN LOWERY
Maryland is implementing higher standards for learning, new high-quality assessments aligned to new standards to provide better information on student learning and improving evaluations as a means for strengthening teacher and principal effectiveness. We began these education reform initiatives in 2010. Where are we now?
MARYLAND COLLEGE- AND CAREER-READY STANDARDS
Maryland is one of 45 states and the District of Columbia that recognized the need to raise standards for students and adopted the Common Core State Standards, which were developed by the nation’s governors and state education chiefs. Local teachers and school leaders have developed curriculum, lesson plans, and coursework aligned to the Maryland College- and Career-Ready Standards – which are based on the Common Core – to prepare students for postsecondary education and the workplace without remediation.
Why?
WE CAN DO BETTER. More than half of high school graduates (57 percent*) enrolled in Maryland public institutions take remedial courses to catch up on or relearn what they missed in high school. That makes graduating with a college degree more difficult and costly for students and their families.
LOCAL CONTROL. Maryland took the higher, internationally benchmarked Common Core State Standards and refined them to meet our needs. State education experts and educators from across Maryland developed the Maryland College and Career-Ready Frameworks in English/language arts and mathematics, which define what students should know and be able to do in order to meet each standard. At the local level, teachers and school leaders developed curriculum, lesson plans, and coursework to teach the knowledge and skills that students should master by the end of each grade level to be on track for success in college and careers.
* Maryland Higher Education Commission, 2013 Data Book, mhec.maryland.gov/publications/research/AnnualPublications/2013DataBook.pdf
BETTER ASSESSMENTS (Not More Testing)
Our state is a charter member of the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC). New online assessments that can provide feedback sooner and for the first time, give students an opportunity to demonstrate critical thinking and a deeper understanding of course content, will be field tested in all schools in spring 2014.
Why?
PARENT & EDUCATOR CONCERNS. In response to parents’ and teachers’ concerns, the new state tests provide clearer information. Parents will more easily know whether children are learning at expected levels. Teachers will track academic growth and know whether students are progressing toward graduation prepared for postsecondary education and the workplace. Both parents and educators will receive better information sooner, as the PARCC assessments will be online and, over time, be able to provide results and information on student progress more quickly, rather than wait for paper-and-pencil exams to be scored manually.
EMPLOYER NEEDS. Today’s employers are searching for employees who can think critically, have problem-solving skills, and can communicate clearly. Maryland will have the tools to measure these in-demand skills and students will have the opportunity to demonstrate their abilities in these highly desirable areas with the new PARCC assessments.
MARYLAND SCHOOL ASSESSMENT & PARCC
The majority of elementary and middle school students will take the Maryland School Assessment (MSA) for the last time in spring 2014. New PARCC assessments will be field tested by at least one classroom of students in nearly all Maryland elementary and middle schools this year (2013-2014). The PARCC assessments are to be implemented in the 2014-2015 school year and will replace the MSA in English/language arts and mathematics for students in grades 3-8.
Are You Double-Testing Students?
No. During the field test year (2013-2014) students will take the MSA or PARCC in English/Language Arts and Mathematics, but they will not take both in either subject, unless their local school system determines otherwise. Maryland submitted and was approved for an amendment to its ESEA Flexibility Waiver of certain requirements of the federal education law, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), by USDE to ensure that no local school system will be required to double-test – ONE STUDENT, ONE TEST per content area.
Why Give Old Test (MSA) When Students Learn New Standards?
CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION. The MSA continues to provide teachers, parents, and students with valuable information on proficiency and grade-level performance. Teachers can continue using data to strengthen literacy and teach mathematics. The basics of English and Math do not change. However, there will be some adjustments to the sequencing and depth in which certain skills are taught. Teachers can continue using student achievement data from the MSA to target deficiencies and tailor instruction for student needs.
IT’S THE LAW. The federal education law (ESEA) directs each state to use the results of student academic assessments, required under ESEA section 1111(b)(3), to review annually the progress of each school served by the state agency and receiving federal funds to determine whether all students meet the State’s proficient level of achievement.
Would the State Save Money By Not Giving MSA?
NO. Expenses associated with testing materials, publisher contracts and licensing agreements already have been incurred for the 2013-14 school year and cannot be recovered.
What Happens If Maryland Does Not Give MSA?
DON’T JEOPARDIZE PROGRESS AND FUNDING – If a State fails to assess students annually, the U.S. Secretary of Education may withhold funds for state administration until the Secretary determines that the state has fulfilled those requirements. The Secretary of Education has made clear to states that the requirement to assess student achievement will not be waived.
Failure to test would jeopardize the ESEA Flexibility Waiver that Maryland received from certain provisions of federal education law, commonly known as No Child Left Behind, including the mandate for 100 percent of students to be proficient in 2014. (Nearly all Maryland schools would be labeled as failing.)
Failure to test would jeopardize $250 million and progress made during the first three years of Maryland’s four-year Race to the Top grant, which provided financial support for raising standards, developing better assessments, improving data systems, creating more useful teacher and principal evaluations, turning around the state’s lowest performing schools and strengthening science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) programs.
Failure to test also would mean possible cuts to more than $180 million in funds from the Title I Program, which supports students living in poverty.
Are test scores going to drop since the state raised standards?
No, this transition to the PARCC assessments is a “TOTAL RESET” of the way we measure student achievement. Regardless of what some will say, it is impossible for scores to drop on an assessment that has never been given.
When the PARCC field tests begin March 24, MSDE will “test-the-test.” There are major differences between the old and new assessments. The new PARCC assessments are scored differently than the MSA and HSA, and use a different scale for scoring.
The assessment itself is totally different — moving away from fill-in-the-bubble paper tests to interactive, online assessments with manipulatives and questions that assess critical thinking, communication and problem-solving skills.
With full implementation next school year, we will establish a new baseline for student achievement and growth.
No longer will we compare schools against each other based on a single test of different students each year. We will measure the achievement of each student individually assessing their own personal growth over time.
With this new online PARCC assessment, we have an opportunity to use better tools to provide better information for teaching.
We are truly making the shift from what some call “teaching-to-the-test” to using advanced assessments to be more targeted in our teaching.
TEACHER & PRINCIPAL EVALUATIONS
Strengthening evaluations provides teachers and school leaders with better information for improving instruction and their overall effectiveness. The three-year transition of new teacher and principal evaluations provides time for professional development and technical assistance before student test scores are used in making personnel decisions.
Will MSA Scores Be Used in Evaluations?
MSA scores will not be used to make personnel decisions. Assessment results will inform evaluations as teachers and administrators work together to develop student learning objectives. Maryland has applied for extra flexibility from USDE, asking for a one-year delay in tying teacher and principal evaluations to personnel decisions based in part on student test scores. All students will take the new PARCC assessments in school year 2014-2015, which will establish baseline data. Student achievement data cannot be used to measure year-over-year academic growth until after PARCC assessments are administered in 2015-2016.
Are we certain that the evaluation processes can be managed?
Allowances are in place that reduce the number of annual evaluations, limit the number of measures, and increase the number of evaluators. Throughout school year 2013-2014, MSDE has provided professional development and technical support to Local Education Agencies (LEAs), executive officers, content supervisors, and data managers in an effort to increase such efficiencies. This work has been focused on streamlining the evaluation processes, elevating data efficiencies, and identifying solutions through collaboration across the LEAs. It will continue into the next three years.
How can we be sure about the quality of evaluators?
Principals comprise the overwhelming percentage of the evaluators of teachers. MSDE has invested two years of training with executive officers (the supervisors of principals) to ensure that both content and practitioner information is translated to principals. In summer 2014, with the enthusiastic support of local superintendents, MSDE will initiate a “Principal Pipeline” to increase the statewide capacity for providing highly effective principals. This partnership with the Governor’s Office and the State principal associations will have the potential for addressing and sustaining the focus on identifying and developing high quality school leaders.
How will we know that the evaluation systems are effective?
Data that is gathered annually will contribute to the continuous review and refinement of evaluation processes. This will be particularly true during the next three years as test measures emerge and as Student Learning Objectives (SLOs) become refined. MSDE will be working closely with LEAs and the Maryland State Education Association (MSEA) to monitor the performance of component and collective evaluation measures and to identify appropriate refinements.
How are teachers and principals being supported?
Tailored Support – For the last three summers, MSDE has held dozens of regional Educator Effectiveness Academies to provide professional development on new statewide reform initiatives to teachers and principals from each of Maryland’s 1,600 schools. Teams from every public school have participated in the Academies.
This innovative professional development model was the first of its kind in the nation – designed for the transition to higher standards in English/language arts and mathematics; and to the standards of practice for integration of instruction in STEM.
Comprehensive Strategy – “Maryland’s Plan for Implementing and Sustaining Teacher and Principal Evaluation” provides five cycles of information sharing, professional development, and technical assistance to superintendents, assistant superintendents, professional development coordinators, executive officers, data managers, professional teacher and principal associations, MSDE staff, and external stakeholder audiences. A built-in “Quality Control Process” monitors the progress of the work and reacts to constituent feedback.
How are we keeping people informed?
By design, the Teacher and Principal Evaluation (TPE) project regularly engages superintendents, assistant superintendents, professional development coordinators, executive officers, data managers, professional teacher and principal associations, MSDE staff, and external stakeholder audiences. An extensive written record of the work is posted to the public and available on the state website. To date, 24 “TPE Communication Bulletins” have been published and made available to constituent groups for dissemination to their representative audiences.
Are we ready to proceed with TPE?
By the end of June 2014, five “Quality Control Checks” on the progress of TPE will have been conducted. As of March 1, LEAs reported high degrees of confidence in being on track and ready to proceed with the final four months of implementation.
Why is the waiver needed?
Both USDE and Maryland recognize there are unknowns that will continue to emerge and be resolved over the next three years. Foremost among these are confidences and proficiencies with SLOs as a student growth measure, confidences in the translation and attribution of the PARCC assessments into student growth measures, and confidences associated with the ability of principals to plan and manage teacher evaluation processes that result in fair effectiveness ratings and effective professional development.
To reaffirm Maryland’s commitment to TPE and to satisfy USDE’s conditions for ESEA Flexibility Waiver Extension, Maryland has developed a three-year plan for transitioning evaluations from MSA to PARCC assessments. School years 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 demonstrate the one-year extension terms of Maryland’s current ESEA Flexibility Waiver, which includes allowance for not using State test-associated measures in making personnel decisions. Test measures from 2014-2015 will serve as baseline data and data from 2015-2016 will facilitate the norming of the test measures in 2016-2017.
Similar norming will occur annually as additional test data is acquired and analyzed. Annual analysis will further support the review and reconsideration of component measures and values within State and local evaluation models and facilitate annual adjustments to TPE. The additional time provided in the ESEA Waiver Extension is critical to helping teachers, principals, and LEAs be thoughtful, purposeful, prepared, and certain of the performance of their evaluation models.
ESEA FLEXIBILITY
What is the ESEA Flexibility Extension Request?
On May 29, 2012, USDE approved Maryland’s request for ESEA Flexibility for the 2012-2013 and the 2013-2014 school years. USDE has now provided all states that received ESEA Flexibility Waivers with the opportunity to apply for an extension to this ESEA Flexibility for the 2014-2015 school year.
Maryland seeks to extend ESEA Flexibility through the end of the 2014–2015 school year because the implementation of the Flexibility has enhanced the ability of MSDE and the local school systems to increase the quality of instruction for all students as well as improve their achievement levels. The Waiver has allowed Maryland to target resources and implement rigorous interventions in our low performing schools. Maryland believes that the flexibility of the Waiver has allowed the State and its LEAs to focus on implementing the Maryland College and Career-Ready Standards; transition to the PARCC assessments; provide support, recognition, and intervention to all Maryland public schools; and develop a TPE system that incorporates student growth as a major component.
As part of Maryland’s request to extend ESEA Flexibility through the 2014-2015 school year, Maryland also proposes changes to its currently approved ESEA Flexibility request.
MSDE requests that USDE approve amending the Maryland State Teacher and Principal Evaluation Models to reflect an updated design. The approval of this amendment further increases alignment and brings all 22 LEAs (those LEAs that signed on to participate in Maryland’s Race to the Top grant) into compliance with the State model frameworks, allowing MSDE to focus the delivery of professional development and technical assistance to LEAs during the 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 school years.
Maryland proposed to use the same assessment for all students at each grade level. Beginning with the implementation of the PARCC assessments in the 2014-15 school year, Maryland would allow any student enrolled in a high school level course to take the assessment associated with that course. This will most often occur with the Algebra I assessment since very few students take English II before high school.
These documents are posted for public comment from March 7-20, 2014 at: marylandpublicschools.org/msde/programs/esea_flex/index.html.
