Stds-based Reform in Ma and Wa 2004

8/9/2019 Stds-based Reform in Ma and Wa 2004

1/12

Benchmarks for an Effective State

Standards & Testing Strategy

LESSONS FROM THE

FRONT LINES OFSTANDARDS-BASED

REFORM IN TWO

NATIONAL-MODEL

STATES


2/12

MIE Leadership Sponsors

FleetBoston Financial

Irene E. and George A. Davis Foundation

Nellie Mae Education Foundation

State Street Corporation

The Boston Foundation

Verizon Communications

Washington Mutual

Major Sponsors

Allmerica Financial Charitable

Foundation

Cox Charitable Trust

EMC Corporation

IBM

John Hancock Financial Services

PricewaterhouseCoopers

Contributing Sponsors

BlueCross BlueShield of Massachusetts

Gortons Seafoods

Intel Corporation

Liberty Mutual

Mass 2020

National Grid USA

Philips Medical Systems

Retailers Association of Massachusetts

For more information, contact:

Mass Insight Education and Research Institute18 Tremont Street, Suite 930

Boston, MA 02108617-722-4160Fax: 617-722-4151insight@massinsight.comwww.massinsight.comwww.buildingblocks.org

For more information, contact:

Partnership for Learning500 Union Street, Suite 745Seattle, WA 98101206-625-9655info@partnership4learning.orgwww.partnership4learning.org


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Benchmarks for an Effective StateStandards & Testing Strategy

Lessons from the Front Lines of Standards-BasedReform in Two National-Model States

ACROSS THE U.S., STATES ARE GRAPPLING WITH THE CHALLENGE ofimproving schools and increasing achievement among all students.Some, spurred by No Child Left Behind, are relative newcomers to

standards-based reform; others began their efforts in the early 1990s.The work is hard and complex. NCLB, enacted with bipartisan spirit, hasbecome a lightning rod for debate on the campaign trail this year.

The complexity of the school-reform challenge and its public-policysolutions threaten to mask the simplicity of the higher-standards idea:to replace time as the standard for advancement with skills.

To accomplish that goal, state governments must tackle four imperatives:

Produce challenging state standards for what students should knowand be able to do, benchmarked against the best national standards;

Provide for good testing: assessments that measure skills that matter

and help schools focus on whats being learned, not whats being taught;

Make achievement count by holding high school students responsi-ble for developing essential skills and schools responsible for help-ing allof them do so;

Ensure the resources and support required for communities,schools, students, and parents to accomplish the job.

There are plenty of devils in the details. But there is also an emergingtrack record of genuine success in using these four elements of stan-dards-based reform to raise student achievement. We have prepared thisstatement to distill some of the approaches that have helped make stan-

dards and stakes successful in two states, Massachusetts andWashington. We offer these ideas to other states that are framing theirown approaches to standards-based reform in the hope that we can helpthem adapt good practice and improve student achievement.

Mass Insight Education

and Partnership for Learning

Spring 2004

American high school gradu-ates today face a vastly differ-ent, more competitive worldthan they did in the past.

In a world marketplace, theold basic skills arent enoughto join (or even stay in) themiddle class. The U.S. economyand the livelihood of todaysstudents hang in the balance:we musthelp our studentsdevelop the skills they willneed to succeed.

Thats why we need higheracademic standards in schools.Americas black and Hispanic

high school graduates on aver-age have the skills of white13-year-olds.

They are the victims of chroni-cally low expectations. Theirstory is not a new one; wehave been passing kids withfew skills through school fordecades. Its time we recog-nized their right to be held

and taught to standards oflearning that will bring themsuccess.

Thats why we need accounta-bility in education for

students, for schools, and forall of us.

LESSONS FROM THE FRONT LINES MASS INSIGHT EDUCATION & PARTNERSHIP FOR LEARNING


4/12

This is the civil rights issue of our time. All

students no matter what their skin color

or their zip code deserve to develop the

skills necessary to succeed in todays world.

That means: no more watered-down tracks

for disadvantaged kids. Challenging state

standards must actively shape schools cur-

ricula and classroom teaching at all levels.

B E N C H M A R K N O . 1

Challenging State Standards for Every Student

ACADEMIC STANDARDS RAISE THE BAR FOR ALL STUDENTS BECAUSE THEY SET 21ST-CENTURYEXPECTATIONS.

WHATS

WORKING

in

MASSACHUSETTS

and

WASHINGTON

Benchmarking the standards. Both

states have compared and affirmed their

standards against other models nation-

wide.

Providing grade level expectations at

each grade, K-10. Schools need perform-

ance benchmarks at each grade level

not just the grades when testing is con-

ducted. In both states, educators from the

field helped to shape grade-by-grade stan-

dards in English and math.

Focusing on key skill areas first. Both

states have goals and standards for as

many as seven (MA) or eight (WA) content

areas. But both states recognize that

schools cant raise achievement in all con-

tent areas at once. Massachusetts made

English and math its requirements for grad-uation, though the state conducts testing

in science as well. The result has been a

statewide focus on literacy and numeracy.

Washington currently tests for literacy,

math, and science skills.

THE OLD WORLD Pre-Standards

Massachusetts statewide requirements to earn ahigh school diploma in 1993 (before passage of theEducation Reform Act):

One year of American history

Four years of gym)

THE NEW WORLD Post-Standards

Excerpt from the current Massachusetts MathematicsCurriculum Frameworks:

MATH Guiding Principle: To achieve mathematicalunderstanding, students should be actively engaged indoing meaningful mathematics, discussing mathematicalideas, and applying mathematics in interesting, thought-

provoking situations.

Excerpt from the current Washington Grade LevelExpectations for Mathematics:

Apply understanding of direct and inverse proportion tosolve problems.



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B E N C H M A R K N O . 1 Challenging State Standards

Problem Solving

Problem solving is both a means of developing students knowl-

edge of mathematics and a critical outcome of a good mathemat-ics education. As such, it is an essential component of the cur-

riculum. A mathematical problem, as distinct from an exercise,

requires the solver to search for a method for solving the problem

rather than following a set procedure. Mathematical problem

solving, therefore, requires an understanding of relevant concepts,

procedures, and strategies. To become good problem solvers, stu-

dents need many opportunities to formulate questions, model

problem situations in a variety of ways, generalize mathematical

relationships, and solve problems in both mathematical and

everyday contexts. from theMassachusetts Mathematics Curriculum

Framework Guiding Philosophy

"Massachusetts' standards andtests are the strongest and most

aligned of the 10 state systemsAchieve has studied in depth. Thissets Massachusetts apart and setsa very solid foundation on whichto build other education policies.Massachusetts' standards and testsare a model for other states toemulate."

from Measuring Up: A Report on EducationStandards and Assessments for Massachusetts,"

produced by Achieve, Inc., 2001

Putting Standards to Good Practice: This sample curriculum map from the Braintree (MA) Public Schools

demonstrates why it is in constant use by teachers there. It links the Massachusetts math standards with

performance benchmarks and specific references to curricular materials. The maps help embed the standards in

everyday classroom practice and encourage teachers to orient their teaching around the benchmarks. The maps are

used to create classroom assessments as well. See www.buildingblocks.org for more.



6/12

Its not about what teachers teach. Its about

what students learn.

That means: agreeing on what students

shouldlearn in order to succeed and

accurately measuring how well they are pro-

gressing. Good tests that measure reasoning,

problem-solving, and communicating are

fundamental to higher student achievement.


Good Tests, Aligned to Standards, Measuring Skills that Matter

STATE TESTS MEASURE SKILLS TEACHERS WANT TO TEACH.

WHATS

WORKING

in

MASSACHUSETTS

and

WASHINGTON

Involving teachers. In both states, teach-

ers are the vital link between testing and

teaching. Teachers help develop test ques-

tions, participate in the scoring, and ana-

lyze results to improve student and school

performance.

Making tests untimed. The tests are

meant to measure students skills not

how well they perform under pressure.

Showing whats being tested and what

skills are expected. De-mystifying the

test directly supports public and leadership

understanding of the goals and strategies

of standards-based reform. Since 1998,

Massachusetts and Washington have pub-

licly released their test questions and sam-ple student responses.

See www.doe.mass.edu/mcas and

www.k12.wa.us/assessment for more.


Whatstandardizedtests look like: Disconnected from state and local curricula so

they may not test what students have been learning

Norm-referenced or graded on a curve so theymeasure students skills to an average, not to the skillsstudents need to succeed

Largely multiple-choice questions so they producea narrow picture of what students know and can do


What goodstandards-basedtests look like: Aligned with the state standards that shape what stu-

dents have been learning

Measure every students own learning progress againstthe standards for skills they will need to succeed

Measure skills that matter problem-solving, analy-sis, communicating not rote memorization

See next page for sample questions.



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B E N C H M A R K N O . 2 Good Tests, Aligned to Standards


Old World Math Test Sample

ITBS Math Test Example (Grade 7)

Denise has a five-dollar bill. She wants

to buy three candy bars that each cost

$1.25. How can she figure out how

much change she should receive?

A Divide $5.00 by $1.25 and then

multiply by 3

B Multiply 3 times $1.25 and then

subtract that value from $5.00

C Subtract $1.25 from $5.00D Subtract $1.25 from $5.00 and

then multiply that result by 3

Student performance is judged based

on whether the correct response (B) is

chosen.

New World Math Test Sample

Washington Assessment of Student Learning Example

(Grade 7)

The data in the table below show the average (mean) num-

ber of people riding in passenger cars, including the driver,

for different years.

Year Mean Number of People in

Each Moving Passenger Car

1970 3.5

1975 3.0

1980 2.5

1985 1.5

1990 1.3

1995 1.2

Nicholas wants to present this information to the class in

the form of a graph. Graph the data from the table on the

grid below. Give it an informative title. Label the scales and

axes.

Student performance is judged by an expert scorer based

on the completeness and accuracy of the graph.

New World Literacy Test Sample

Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System Example (Grade 8)

Many students have personal goals, such as making the honor roll, playing a musical instru-ment, or being a top scorer in a video game. To be successful in reaching goals, it helps to

have certain qualities. Some of these might include self-discipline, determination, or a posi-tive attitude.

Think about a goal that you would like to achieve. In a well-developed composition, stateyour goal. Describe at least two qualities you will need to reach your goal, and explain whyeach quality is important to be successful.

Students are graded according to a rubric developed by Massachusetts teachers on content,clarity, organization of thought, and word and grammar usage.


8/12

If tests dont count, they become irrelevant

and inaccurate. Standards with stakes

fairly administered are the disadvantaged

students best friend.

Why? Because they require schools to expect

just as much from a child in urban public

housing as a child in an affluent suburb.


High School Graduation: Making Achievement Count

FAIR, REASONABLE ACCOUNTABILITY IS THE ENGINE THAT DRIVES SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT ANDHIGHER STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT.

WHATS

WORKING

in

MASSACHUSETTS

and

WASHINGTON

Providing time for reform but stay-

ing the course. Massachusetts put its

graduation requirement in place 10 years

after passing its education reform law

(2003). The state held firm on the require-

ment despite interest-group pressure.

Washington set a 15-year window for itsrequirement (2008).

Setting reasonable goals and raising

them over time. Massachusetts initial

passing level is Needs Improvement. It

will rise to Proficiency over the coming

years.

Providing for multiple retakes. Students

progress at different rates. Both states pro-

vide at least five chances to pass their

tests.

Ensuring fairness for students in spe-

cial populations. Both states provide a

range of alternative exams and testing

accommodations for Special Ed and LEP

students.

Providing for limited appeals by the

small (2% in MA) percentage of students

who show they have the skills but cant

pass the tests.


Massachusetts MCAS predecessor theMassachusetts Educational Assessment Program(MEAP), administered without stakes in the earlyto mid-1990s was almost universally ignored byeducators, policymakers, students, parents and thepublic.

Unless high school tests count for graduation, studentsand schools dismiss them. Massachusetts 10th-gradescores leaped when the test began to count;Washingtons 10th-grade scores (which do not count yet)have stagnated while 4th-grade scores have improved.

(See next page.)


School districts, high schools, and high school stu-dents began paying real attention in Massachusettswhen MCAS began to count.

Percentage of Class of 02 students passing MCAS inthe 10th grade (the last year before it counted): 55%.

Percentage of Class of 03 students passing MCAS as10th-graders: 68%.

Percentage earning a diploma by 2003: 95%.

Gap between the percentage of white students passingin 2001 and African American students: 40 points(77%-37%).

The same gap by 2003: 9 points (97%-88%).



9/12

B E N C H M A R K N O . 3 Making Achievement Count


95

90

81

68

76

89

84

70

93

85

75

50

55

60

65

70

75

80

85

90

95

100

Grade 10

Test

Restest 1 Retest 2 Retest 3 Retest 4+5

Class of 2003

Class of 2004

Class of 2005

95

90

81

68

76

89

84

70

93

85

75

50

55

60

65

70

75

80

85

90

95

100

Grade 10

Test

Restest 1 Retest 2 Retest 3 Retest 4+5

Class of 2003

Class of 2004

Class of 2005

48

8886

37

48

56

75

96

75 83

90

68

96

85

29

41

50

70

83

97

7782

8794 97

9196

83

73

96

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Grade 10

Test

Retest 1 Retest 2 Retest 3 Retest 4+5 Retest 6

African American

Asian

HispanicWhite

Native American

97

83

82

67

35

716

85

5545

30

69

80

979487

8377

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

Grade 10

Test

Retest 1 Retest 2 Retest 3 Retest

4&5

Retest 6

Limited English Proficient

Students w/ Disabilities

Regular Education

97

83

82

67

35

716

85

5545

30

69

80

979487

8377

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

Grade 10

Test

Retest 1 Retest 2 Retest 3 Retest

4&5

Retest 6

Limited English Proficient

Students w/ Disabilities

Regular Education

Percentage of Students Attaining CompetencyDetermination, Massachusetts Classes of 2003-5

Percentage of Students Attaining Competency Determinationby Race and Ethnicity, Massachusetts Class of 2003

Percentage of Students Attaining CompetencyDetermination Special Populations, MA Class of 2003

Massachusetts high school students

show steady progress in meetingtheir MCAS graduation require-

ment. Ninety-five percent of the

Class of 2003 attained their compe-

tency determination, and each sub-

sequent class has bettered the pass-

ing rate of the class just before it.

Massachusetts has been able to significant-

ly narrow though not entirely eliminate

the achievement gap separating white

students from members of other ethnicities

and regular-ed students from SPED and LEP

students, as the charts at left show.

Achievement in Washington has not climbed yet

among 10th graders; in Massachusetts, there was

a large jump when the test began to count.

0

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%10th Grade

7th Grade

4th Grade

1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003

Student Achievement in Washington, 97-03


10/12

Its not about the tests. Its about our response

to what the tests tell us.

That means: For the first time, students are

responsible for their own learning. Schools

are being held accountable for teaching.

Political leaders and the public need to hold

themselves accountable too and that

means changes in behavior from all of us.


Ensuring Support and Changing Behavior

ACCOUNTABILITY MUST BE MATCHED WITH LEVELS OF INVESTMENT AND SUPPORT NECESSARYTO DO THE JOB.

WHATS

WORKING

in

MASSACHUSETTS

and

WASHINGTON

Trading funding for accountability.

That deal in Massachusetts helped sus-

tain bipartisan political leadership support

and the commitment of urban superin-

tendents through years of unsatisfactory

test scores and public controversy.

Investing public funds strategically.

Washingtons multi-million dollar focused

assistance program brings attention and

resources to the states most struggling

schools. Massachusetts academic support

program (up to $50 million per year since

1999) has ensured extra help for high

school students who need it. Both states

have found that targeted funding for high-

priority programs helps ensure that they

are not lost in school district budgets.

Helping educators learn from each

other. Washington and Massachusetts are

both leaders in producing research on

effective reform practices and working

to scale up those practices statewide.

See www.buildingblocks.org and

www.just4kids.org for more.


Gap in 1993 between the amount spent per studentin Massachusetts poorest quartile of school districtsand its wealthiest: 40%


Gap in 2002 between the amount spent per studentin Massachusetts poorest quartile of school districtsand its wealthiest: 3%

Between FY1994 and FY2004, Massachusetts investedmore than $20 billion in new education funding forschool reform, targeted primarily at poor urbanschool districts.

Two-thirds of MA high school students who failedMCAS in 10th grade credit state-funded support pro-grams with helping them develop the skills requiredto pass the test later on.



11/12

B E N C H M A R K N O . 4 Ensuring Support and ChangingBehavior


0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Percent of Class Year 2003 Students WhoParticipated in FY'02 ELA ASSP Programs and

Then Passed Subsequent MCAS Retests

WorcesterAll Districts

Boston Springfield

Key:

AnyASSP funded

program

After schoolASSP funded

programs

During schoolASSP programs

71%

70%

79%76%

73%

67%

81%

75%

90%

79%80%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Percent of Class Year 2003 Students WhoParticipated in FY'02 Math ASSP Programs and

Then Passed Subsequent MCAS Retests

WorcesterAll Districts

Boston Springfield

Key:

AnyASSP funded

program

After schoolASSP funded

programs

During schoolASSP programs

78%

60%

68%67%

80%

67%

77%

73%

68%66%

44%

Massachusetts commitment to providing

extra support for at-risk students particu-

larly high school students provided proof

during the years leading up to the 2003

implementation of the graduation require-

ment that the state would help those who

needed help. (See charts above.)

Students in that class the first in

Massachusetts to be held accountable for

learning told Mass Insight Education

researchers that after failing MCAS in the

tenth grade, they recommitted to learning:

working harder, paying more attention in

school, and spending more time on home-

work than they had before. (See charts at

right, from Mass Insight Educations 2003

report, Seizing the Day.)

ASSP programs received state funding to support highschool remediation activities.


12/12

Matching Effective State Reform Programswith an Effective Communications Campaign

Not listed among the four benchmarks is

one other imperative for a successful statestandards program: active, thoughtfuladvocacy and public service information onbehalf of the effort. We hold it separatefrom the others because it does not directlyinfluence classroom practice (as the othersall do). But states that overlook its impor-tance put their entire school reform pro-

grams at risk.

Both Mass Insight Education andPartnership for Learning have conducted

public information outreach campaigns on

behalf of their states standards initiativesfor at least seven years. The programs aredesigned to help state policy and businessleaders, educators, parents, and the publicbecome partners in the reform effort.

All education, to paraphrase former HouseSpeaker Tip ONeill, is local. So our out-reach programs have included everythingfrom print distribution and online commu-nications to working with local leadership

groups to advocate for higher achievementexpectations. We also conduct regularopinion polling. Leaders in both states andof national reform organizations credit theorganizations work with sustaining public

support for the goals and strategies ofstandards-based reform.

The public service campaignshave been run in close conjunc-tion with both states educationagencies. But the lesson on bothcoasts is clear: state agencies

play central communicating

roles, of course, but having inde-pendent statewide groups outfront, marshalling advocates andinforming public and leadershipopinion, has been vital to build-ing support for the sometimesdifficult and controversial workof improving the public schools.

Support for MCAS Across Five YearsDo you favor or oppose requiring this test as a graduation requirement?

51%55%

50%52%57%59%

64%

54%55%50%48%

70%

67%70%

77%

44%42%44%42%

34%38%

31%

40%38%

44%46%

24%30%

26%

17%

MAOct.'98

MAOct.'99

MAJan.'00

MAOct.'00

MAJan.'01

MAApril'01

MAJuly'01

MAOct.'01

MAJan.'02

MAApril'02

MAJuly'02

MAOct.'02

MAJan.'03

MAApril'03

MAOct.'03

Favor Oppose

51%55%

50%52%57%59%

64%

54%55%50%48%

70%

67%70%

77%

44%42%44%42%

34%38%

31%

40%38%

44%46%

24%30%

26%

17%

Favor Oppose

WashingtonSupport/

Opposition,2003

Stds-based Reform in Ma and Wa 2004

Documents

Transcript of Stds-based Reform in Ma and Wa 2004