Whiteboard Insider July 2012 - FINAL

7/31/2019 Whiteboard Insider July 2012 - FINAL

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www.whiteboardadvisors.com

Common Core and the Assessment Consortia

July 2012

www.whiteboardadvisors.com

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Why Education Insider

INTRODUCTION

The ValueWe harnessthe wisdom of

well-

connected

influentials to

provide

insights and

predict policy

outcomes for

stakeholders inthe education

debate.

Whiteboard Advisors is a policy-oriented consulting practice. We provideproprietary research and strategic support to investors and philanthropicdonors, government leaders and entrepreneurs that seek unparalleledunderstanding of the education policy and business environment.

Education Insider helps those who need quality information to make high-stakes decisions about the direction of federal policy. Education Insidercombines the wisdom of informed crowds with expert analysis to offerunparalleled information, analysis, and forecasting on a range of federaleducation policy issues and likely outcomes.

Education Insider conducts an anonymous survey of a small group of key

education influentials (policymakers, thought leaders, and associationheads) to get their thoughts and commentary about the context of thecurrent debate and possible outcomes. This helps surface the underlyingdynamics that can affect the trajectory of policies, positively or negatively,and go deeper than the conventional wisdom and rhetoric.

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Why Education Insider

INTRODUCTION

The Process

Education Insider is a monthly report and webinar that cuts through the

noise and provides real-time insights on national education policy trends,

debates, and issuesfrom the handful of decision makers that are really

driving the process. We combine a survey of key education influencers

with our own analysis to provide a unique perspective on the current state

of debate.

Who Are The Insiders?

Influential leaders who are shaping federal education reform, including

individuals who have or are currently serving as key policy and political

insiders, such as:

Current and former White House and U.S. Department of Educationleaders

Current and former Congressional staff

State education leaders including state school chiefs and former

governors

Leaders of major education organizations, think tanks and other key

influentials

SurveyInsiders

AnalyzeResults

ReportInsights

DriveAction

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Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION

TRACKING MEASURES 6

12 COMMON CORE AND ASSESSMENT CONSORTIA

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TRACKING MEASURES

ESEA Reauthorization: New Tracking Timeline

Timing of ESEA Reauthorization

Question: About when do you believe a final ESEA bill will be signed into law?

7

5337 32 36 30 22

0

43

135

85

9

10 5 12 5

46 64 56 65 7090 95 100

88 95

Jul.

'10

Nov.

'10

Dec.

'10

Jan.

'11

Feb.

'11

Mar.

'11

Jun.

'11

July

'11

Sept.

'11

Dec.

'11

Jan.

'12

2011 2012 2013 or After

Date of Insider Survey

New

Dates

5%12%

33%10%

29%

5%

10%

24% 33%

35%

35%29%

40%

Apr. '12 Jun. '12 July '12

By June 2013 By Dec. 2013By Jun. 2014 By Dec. 2014After Jan. 2015


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Why?

Work wont start until next spring. And theres a lot of work to be done to get a

draft.

It depends on what the Congress looks like and who wins the presidential election.

A Republican sweep in November will hasten the process and make Harkin less of an

obstacle.

This is my optimistic side being hopeful. It could definitely be later very hard to

imagine it being any sooner.

Never.

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TRACKING MEASURES

Insider Insight: Reauthorization Timing


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Question: Are the assessment coalitions on the right track or wrong track?

Note: July survey closed on July 10, 2012.

Are the assessment coalitions on the right track or wrong track?

Assessments Right Track or Wrong Track?

TRACKING MEASURES

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73%83% 85%

27% 17% 15%

Apr. '12 June '12 July '12

PARCC

Right Track Wrong Track

29%44% 42%

71%56% 58%

Apr. '12 June '12 July '12

SBAC

Right Track Wrong Track

Insiders continue

to express moreconfidence in thePartnership forAssessment ofReadiness forCollege andCareers than in the

Smarter BalancedAssessmentConsortium.

Does this matter?

Yes. Whether or

not Insiders are

correct, this

consistent andstrong perception

matters as the

consortia move

forward.


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Insider Insight: Right Track / Wrong Track

TRACKING MEASURES

Why do you believe PARCC and SBAC are on the right or wrong track?

They are behind schedule and are not getting enough input from the assessment

industry.

Both are mediocre at best. Neither has staying power.

PARCC is in good shape despite the many unavoidable challenges. Great governing

board, smart staff.

Smarter Balanced seems to have started with a misdiagnosis of the testing problem

to begin with, and then gone from there. PARCC is more grounded but consequentlyless exciting.


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Insiders responses

are unchangedfrom last month;

they remain

convinced that the

Administration is

most supportive.

The only slight

change is that

Insiders now

believe the

majority of localeducators and

school leaders are

neutral rather than

strong.

Stakeholder Support for the Common Core

TRACKING MEASURES

Question: Please rate the level of support for the Common Core among the following groups

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5%20% 15%

35%

5%

55%

30%

45%

20%

25%

45%

10%

20%

50%

10% 5%

80%

25%

Local educators

and school

leaders

State education

officials

(including

legislators)

Congress Administration Commercial

vendors

Levels of Support Among

Very Weak Weak Neutral Strong Very Strong


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Insiders are

nearly split onwhether each

consortiums

assessment will

be ready by the

2014-2015

school year.

This suggests the

implementation

schedule is

something tocarefully watch.

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Will the Consortia Be Ready to Administer Tests by 2014-15?

ASSESSMENT CONSORTIA

Readiness for test administration by the 2014-2015 school year

Question: Do you believe the consortia will have Common Core-aligned tests ready to be administered by 2014-2015 school year?

55% 55%

45% 45%

PARCC SBAC

Yes No


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Why will the consortia meet or not meet the deadline?

There will need to be time allowed for back and forth once the assessments are

publicly available. Everyone will have their own issues (which will differ by state) that

folks will want to negotiate.

The real question is: Which of the consortia should take advantage of the right toextend the deadline for a year? The answer is probably: Both.

They are 1 year behind given that they need to be out in the next 3 months with test

items and that seems to be a rush. Also, the capacity is not there in states and

districts for the delivery of online assessments.

That's why they were created. It would be a failure of enormous proportions if either

fails.

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Insider Insight: Assessment Readiness by 2014-15



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45 percent of Insidersbelieve that thebiggest threat tosuccessfulimplementation is theoverall ability ofschool districts toimplement this well.

The technologyreadiness of districtsbeing able to managethe onlinecomponents is alsocited as a majorconcern.

Surprisingly, only 15percent of Insiderscited cut scores as thebiggest threat.

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Threats to Successful Implementation of the Assessments


What is the biggest threat to implementation of the assessments?

Question: What is the biggest threat to the successful implementation of the Common Core-aligned assessments?

45%

20%

15%

10%

5% 5%

Overall ability of school districts to

implement this well

Lack of adequate technology

infrastructure

Disagreement among states

around cut scores

Too tight of a timeframe for

successful implementation

States pulling out of the consortiaand using their own tests

Procurement challenges



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Infrastructure is not getting enough attention.

Lack of capacity at the state and district level to implement all of the needed changes associated with this change.

They are over-promised. Many in the field will be disappointed by how much they look like the current generation of

assessments.

Technology capacity and capability for delivery.

Lack of planning in low-standards states for how poor

the results will be.

November election. If GOP sweeps, these both fade away, like a

lanced boil.

One risk is potential confusion among districts over

common core aligned assessments and those by commercial

vendors that claim alignment for marketing purposes but are not

actually aligned.

Lack of adequate technology infrastructure.

The lack of an adequate technology infrastructure.

Cost. SEAs spend more on assessments than anything else. Even a

couple-dollar increase in per-pupil costs means millions of dollars annually. Don't be surprisedif the joint assessments come in more expensive than initially anticipated and states quietly develop

buyer's remorse; start asking why they are giving up their less-expensive, familiar, state-developed

tests; and then look for a way out of the consortium.

Approval processes by legislatures and state and local governing boards.

The politics of states giving up their own assessment.

Teacher quality - today's tests look the way they do for a reason.

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What is the Biggest Risk Related to These Assessments That No One

is Paying Attention to?




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Insiders strongly

believe thatschool districtsare not yetready to fullyimplement thenew standards.Pay close

attention todistrictreactions as thechanges thatCommon Corerequires from

instruction andcurriculumresourcesbecome moreof a reality.

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How Ready are Schools?


How ready are schools for implementingwhat is expected from the Common Core?

Question: How ready are schools for implementing what is expected from the Common Core?

35%

45%

20%

0% 0%0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45%

50%

1 - Not Ready 2 3 4 5 - Extremely ready



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Why do you believe schools are or are not ready to implement assessments?

Very few people understand the shifts in curricular focus, what students are expected to beable to learn, and what teachers are expected to do in the classroom. Even districts with highcapacity are behind, and having been trained by the three past efforts at standardsimplementation, are prepared to underperform.

There has been plenty of time.

The system is unclear an un-implementable.

States are accustomed to transitioning to new standards. But these are different. The transitionwill happen. But how well?

Still a culture of certain kids dont need that stuff.

Some interesting stuff happening around curriculum but it's going to take a lot more work tomake this a reality than most districts realize. These new standards are in many cases a sea-change.

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Insider Insight: School-level readiness




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Insiders believe

the biggestchallenges facing

schools are

changing their

instructional

practices and the

lack of alignedresources.

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What are the biggest challenges schools facing implementing

Common Core?


Biggest challenge faced by schools

Question: What is the biggest challenge schools face in implementing the Common Core?

15%

5%

10%

35%

35%

Lack of aligned instructional

resources

Professional development

Confusion around the interpretation

of the standards

Changing instructional practice

Other


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