Massachusetts Leads the Way on New Tests

The usual critics have come forward to warn that the state’s leadership of a consortium that will be developing assessments tied to the Common Core State Standards is the end of MCAS.  This judgment is premature given  newspaper reports that quote state leaders contradicting this conclusion and a strong statement by Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Commissioner Mitchell Chester that “…if the PARCC assessments are not stronger than MCAS, we will not hesitate to walk away.”

MBAE Executive Director, Linda Noonan, was at the American Diploma Project meeting when U.S. Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, announced that the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) would receive a $170 million grant to develop the next generation of assessments. PARCC is a consortium of states chaired by Massachusetts Commissioner Mitchell Chester, and led by a governing board of 10 states and the District of Columbia. Florida serves as the “fiscal agent” for the group, which will partner with Achieve, to develop assessments based on the Common Core State Standards.

Two different consortia received awards under the federal governments Race to the Top: Assessments Program. PARCC and the SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) will create comprehensive testing regimes with testing in grades 3-8 and at least one testing period in high school. While SBAC is engaged in perfecting the end-of-course exam through the use of adaptive computer testing, PARCC is using a combination of end-of-course exams and “through-course” assessments which will provide educators with information on student progress through the year. One of the goals, as expressed in PARCC’s grant application is for “Teachers [to] have an assessment system that provides as much for them as it asks from them.”

Participation in an assessment consortium was one way that states could garner points in the Race to the Top application. In the first round of Race to the Top six different consortia were joined by applicants, with some states participating in all six. Ultimately, only three consortia applied for funding, PARCC, SBAC, and the State Consortium on Board Examination Systems (SCOBES) which was competing for a smaller award which would fund solely high school course assessments.

While the main Race to the Top program stole the headlines and energized a nationwide education reform effort, the assessment competition is a critical part of ensuring that the reforms discussed today have a lasting impact in the future. Massachusetts’ Race to the Top plans envision an expansive and powerful teaching and learning system that will allow teachers to access near real time data on student progress and help better prepare students for life after high school. This effort hinges on having assessments that are integrated into courses, are anchored in college and career readiness goals, and do more than call on students to answer multiple choice questions and fill out bubble sheets.

The MCAS is an important tool for evaluating whether or not students have achieved proficiency in basic skills, but was not meant to serve as a test of college and career readiness, course mastery, or an interim measure of student progress. In it’s 2008 report, Educating a 21st Century Workforce, MBAE called for the creation of college and career benchmarked assessments, as well as a system of end-of-course assessments that would test subject matter mastery. We are hopeful that Massachusetts’ leading role in PARCC will allow Massachusetts to gain partners and funds to develop the next generation of assessments, while maintaining its strong commitment to rigorous standards and assessments.

‘Surprises’ in Race to the Top

As the Deputy Director at MBAE, one of the main projects has been tracking, evaluating, and summarizing the education stimulus programs of which Race to the Top (RTTT) is, by far, the most high profile. As such, I’ve gotten quite familiar with the program, the state’s application, and the reporting around both.

So, when my colleague, Linda, referred to this as a cynical post, I’d like to think that it’s not because I’m an overtly cynical person, just that I’m too immersed in the details to be as swept up in celebration. Not to say that there isn’t cause for celebration. Massachusetts has announced over $400 million (between Race to the Top and EduJobs) in additional education funding just last week. Further, as a winning state, Massachusetts has a powerful  four year plan for education reform – with significant investments in data infrastructure and policy change that will outlast the four year grant.

Now, however, the focus is on winners, losers, and the future of the Race to the Top program. In Round 1, most losing states accepted reviewer criticism and looked forward to Round 2 where more grants would be awarded. Unfortunately, in Round 2 there’s not much looking forward, and a lot more controversy around the loss. Notably absent from the winner’s circle were Colorado and Louisiana, two states that had made newsworthy strides towards reforming their education systems. New Jersey’s Commissioner of Education has lost his job in the wake of an application error that cost the state 5 points and $400 million. These specific cases sidestep the overall eastern state bias of the results, with Hawaii, a state that opted for teacher furloughs to balance its education budget, the only winner west of the Mississippi.

None of the above should diminish the impact of the Race to the Top program which has achieved remarkable results from relatively limited funds. And, with any luck, it won’t. Multiple states have crafted education reform agendas, changed laws and regulations, and generally ‘enjoyed’ a resurgence of education reform advocacy.

It seems to me, however, that a third round of Race to the Top – or integration of an annual RTTT into the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) – is unlikely at best and a replay of the sweeping changes brought about by the ‘09-’10 competition – impossible. The winning states have got their money, and, as was the case for the Round 1 winners, are probably ineligible to compete in later rounds. The losing states fall into 2 categories – those that never entered the competition in the first place (and aren’t going to become fans now) and those that just got burned by the Round 2 results. Neither group is likely to back further competitive funding for states with better “grant writers”. With the passage of the EduJobs bill (which had a budget almost twice that of Race to the Top) states and schools have a clear example of an alternate route to the federal funds that everyone will be clamoring for as the stimulus money runs dry in FY11 and FY12.

Again, the impact of Race to the Top on the education reform landscape has been monumental, and here in Massachusetts it has the potential to pay huge dividends – but for states that ran and lost, it will be quite some time before they’ll run again…

More About Race to the Top and Massachusetts

It is raining and raw in Boston but a cross-section of education advocates hiked up Beacon Hill for a press conference this afternoon where Governor Deval Patrick reminded us that as valuable and important as winning Race to the Top may be, we were already on a course in Massachusetts to improve public education.  Now, with the state topping all Round 1 and 2 winners with 471 out of 500 points (scroll to the end of the press release), we have a lot of work to do to maintain our “1st in the nation” status!  But today – we celebrate! 

MBAE has issued a statement  and congratulated state leaders at a State House press conference today.  Pictured from the left, behind Governor Patrick at the podium, Senator Robert O’Leary, co-chair of the Joint Committee on Education, Board of Elementary and Secondary Education Chairman Maura Banta of IBM, The Boston Foundation’s CEO Paul Grogan, Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education Mitchell Chester, Boston Mayor Thomas Menino, Secretary of Education Paul Reville, Speaker of the House Robert DeLeo, House Chair of the Joint Committee on Education Marty Walz, me,  and Superintendent of  Schools Carol Johnson each spoke about the work we have done to forge the winning proposal and the commitment we all share to making the most of this opportunity. 

Now that the results are official and the statements are going up on the web.  Links to Arne Duncan’s You Tube announcement as well as other Ed.Gov documents deliver the U.S. Department of Education’s message.  In the state’s press release,  members of the Massachusetts Congressional delegation weighed in with their comments. 

Among the blog posts there is one from our partners at Associated Industries of Massachusetts  featuring a wise observation from AIM President and CEO Rick Lord, “The most important part of this win is not the money, welcome as that surely is.  Rather, it is the demonstrated commitment to ongoing improvement of our schools, and the willingness to take controversial positive steps, that made our victory possible.”

The analysis will surely continue and my own colleague, Brian Pingree, has a more cynical view of today’s outcome that he will share in a future post.  For today – only the good news!

Massachusetts Wins in Race to the Top!

We won!  The long wait and speculation is over – AP is reporting that Massachusetts has been designated a winner in the second round of Race to the Top!  Other winners are DC, FL, GA, HI, MD, NC, NY, OH and RI!  Official announcement from the U.S. Department of Education hasn’t been made yet, but MBAE is thrilled that the state has this opportunity to accelerate education reform and the money is going to be a big help, too.  

There was disappointment and horror in the Bay State when Massachusetts, with a national reputation for high quality education, lost out to Tennessee and Delaware in Phase 1 of Race to the Top.  But, it provided the kick in the pants we needed to change a process-oriented laundry list into a more coherent vision setting specific goals to meet measurable outcomes. 

With the blogosphere and Twitter frenzy about the leaks, the rumors and the news, there is a lot more to come!  At the moment, it appears we may have gotten our full $250 million request. 

MBAE is most excited about those programs that hold the greatest promise for improving Massachusetts education systems to guarantee every child graduates ready for college, career and citizenship:

• MassCore, a comprehensive college/career preparatory curriculum that will become the default curriculum in the state’s high schools;
• Common Core standards and assessments supplemented with Massachusetts’ specific standards will ensure that our state’s are still one of the most rigorous in the nation;
• Educator evaluation and compensation systems capable of recognizing and developing effective teachers through appropriate use of student performance data and other measures;
• Dropout prevention programs, including an Early Warning Information System, to provide early identification and support that can lead to improved statewide practices;
• A Turnaround Corps of teachers and school leaders trained and committed to improving underperforming schools will provide targeted assistance to the schools most in need.

The Race to the Top program has created unprecedented energy and activity in education reform across the country.  Massachusetts should step up to a leadership role in this movement and take advantage of the momentum that can carry the state forward until every student in the Commonwealth gets a high quality education!

Massachusetts Organizations Win Millions Investing in Innovation

Update: The Department of Education has made their official announcement of the i3 grant winners – no changes from the leaked report, but they have posted a summary of characteristics of the winners as well as answers to frequently asked questions about the highest rated applicants.

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The U.S. Department of Education has announced 49 winners in its $650 million Investing in Innovation (i3) grant program. The i3 program, part of the larger American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), delivered three ‘tiers’ of grants:

• “Scale-up” grants of $50 million for programs that have the potential to reach hundreds of thousands of students and have strong evidence of success;
• “Validation” grants of $30 million are for programs with “good evidence” of their impact that are ready to expand and increase their evidence base; and
• “Development” grants of $5 million are available to support programs that have a high potential for success but need further study.

Over 2,000 organizations submitted letters of intent to apply, and the Department ultimately received 1,698 applications. Of these, only 49 applications were chosen as ‘winners’. This list of winners was leaked on August 4th and Education Week posted a list of the highest rated applications. There is some hedging around referring to these organizations as ‘winners’ because the i3 program requires all grantees to raise matching funds equal to 20% of the grant. The highest ranked applicants have until September 8th, 2010 to raise the funds or receive a waiver from the Department of Education.

There were only four winners for the largest, Scale Up, grants – Knowledge is Power Program (KIPP), Ohio State University’s Reading Recovery Program, the Success for All Foundation, and Teach for America. In Massachusetts  five organizations received grants.  The President and Fellows of Harvard College have won a $12 million Validation Grant for Project READS. The Bay State Reading Institute, Boston Plan for Excellence, Achievement Network, and Plymouth Public Schools each qualified for a $5 million Development Grant.

You can find further information about the various applicants and applications on the Investing in Innovation Data page.