Opening Remarks Carrie Conaway Chief Strategy and Research Officer Ron Noble Director, Strategy and Integration Center for Instructional Support Federal Grant Programs Conference October 23, 2017

Massachusetts’ goal is to prepare all students for success after high school. Our college- and career-ready standards are at the core of this work. To support standards-based learning, we believe that every student should engage: with grade-appropriate text every day with meaningful real-world problems every day in scientific conversations using data every week in a school environment that supports social-emotional learning, health, and safety Promote coherence across our strategies through our focus on instructional quality Our ESSA plan summary includes lots of details. I will highlight a few broad themes around how our plan will help us work towards greater excellence and equity. 2 Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education 2

ESE’s strategies to reach our goal Strengthening standards, curriculum, instruction, and assessment Promoting educator development Supporting social-emotional learning, health, and safety Turning around the lowest performing districts and schools Enhancing resource allocation and data use Promote coherence across our strategies through our focus on instructional quality Our ESSA plan summary includes lots of details. I will highlight a few broad themes around how our plan will help us work towards greater excellence and equity. 3 Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education 3

Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Why resource use? Population projections for Massachusetts Age 65+ Age 5 to 19 4% decrease in age 5-19, vs. 86% increase in age 65+ Challenges Demographic shifts Less share for education UMass Donahue Institute, Population Estimates Program, 2015 Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

Why resource use with planning and research? Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Why resource use with planning and research? Effective resource use decisions: Advance local and state priorities Use evidence to inform current choices Build evidence on implementation and impact to inform future choices Clear ties to the historical work of OPR – strategy, planning, research, implementation Note that the first item implies a strong strategic plan Opportunities ~$600 million in federal grant funding annually ~100 federal and state grant programs Tons of data on Massachusetts schools Increasing availability of evidence about effective practices in Massachusetts and nationally At times, missed opportunities to use and generate evidence through our work lies a strong strategic plan Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

ESSA: Promoting excellence & equity Strengthen the quality of the instructional program students experience Early grades literacy Middle grades mathematics High quality college and career pathways Historically disadvantaged student groups Equity Access to effective educators School-level expenditure reporting Resource review in turnaround schools Standards implementation and support Principal pipeline Effective feedback for educators Educator preparation Social-emotional skills School and district turnaround Consolidated grant application Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

New opportunities & obligations under ESSA Coordinated (consolidated) grant application Evidence-based practices Changes to accountability system Equity plans (equitable access to excellent educators) Private school equitable share Competitive grants for lowest performing schools Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

ESE’s strategies to reach our goal Strengthening standards, curriculum, instruction, and assessment Promoting educator development Supporting social-emotional learning, health, and safety Turning around the lowest performing districts and schools Enhancing resource allocation and data use To call back to the five agency strategies Carrie shared, I’ll talk about ESE’s efforts to improve the learning standards that undergird what students are learning across the Commonwealth 8 Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education 8

Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks Recent revisions: Science, Technology/Engineering (2016) English Language Arts & Literacy (2017) Mathematics (2017) New frameworks: Digital Literacy and Computer Science (2016) Under review: History and Social Science Coming up: Arts Comprehensive Health Foreign Language Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

2017 ELA/Literacy and Math Standards Approved in March 2017 following an educator-driven review process. Goals of the review: Make use of lessons learned in six years of implementing the 2011 standards Increase clarity, coherence, and rigor where necessary Maintain clarity, coherence, and rigor where appropriate Avoid unnecessary disruption to curriculum, instruction, and assessment Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

2017 ELA/Literacy Standards Revisions Clarity: Sample instructional scenarios and student work provide illustrations of specific standards. Coherence: Cross-references and parallel expectations reinforce connections across strands. Rigor: Academic and discipline-specific language mentioned more frequently and explicitly. Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

2017 Math Standards Revisions Clarity: Descriptions of Standards for Mathematical Practice revised to provide examples specific to each grade span: PK–5, 6–8, and 9–12. Coherence: Solidified learning progression related to recognizing patterns in numbers and ratio/proportions/rates in order to lay a foundation for algebraic thinking. Rigor: Decision-making guidance for completing 4 years of high school mathematics culminating in an advanced math class in grade 12. Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

Where to Find (Most) Resources Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Where to Find (Most) Resources The frameworks pages have been reorganized slightly: there is no longer a separate “current frameworks” page, and all current frameworks are now available on the home “frameworks” page. Most frameworks-related resources will be posted here, although some, like the What to Look For guides and the Writing Standards in Action materials, are elsewhere—as noted in the relevant slides below. http://www.doe.mass.edu/frameworks/ Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

New: Quick Reference Guides These are new resources that will be released on a rolling basis throughout 2017-2018. Each QRG is two pages (or one double-sided page) and designed to be very user-friendly. Audiences for these may include teachers, coaches, and administrators as well as families. Shown here is the beginning of a QRG on close reading in secondary ELA classrooms. As of August 2017, four QRGs exist for ELA/literacy. More are forthcoming in both content areas. QRGs available at http://www.doe.mass.edu/frameworks/

Updated: “What to Look For” Guides The WTLFs are designed to be printed (as one double-sided sheet) and brought to classroom observations. The front side of each summarizes standards for the relevant grade level and content area. The back side lists teacher and student behaviors aligned with the model evaluation rubric and the frameworks. As of August 2017 all ELA/literacy and math WTLFs have been updated to align with the 2017 frameworks. In addition, WTLFs now exist for high school grades or courses in ELA and math (as well as STE). The back page of every WTLF, in all three subjects, also underwent substantial updates in summer 2017. WTLFs available at http://www.doe.mass.edu/candi/observation/ Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

Updated: Writing Standards in Action The WSA Project annotates student work to show how it demonstrates mastery of the MA standards. Annotated and unmarked samples can be used with teachers, families, and students themselves. Shown here is an excerpt from a fifth-grader’s interdisciplinary research project on hot air balloons. As of August 2017 all WSA materials have been updated to align to the 2017 ELA/literacy framework. The 2017 ELA/literacy framework also links directly from specific standards to relevant writing samples. WSA materials available at http://www.doe.mass.edu/candi/wsa/ Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

Direct Engagement: Networks Regional and statewide networks in 2017–2018: Early numeracy (math, pre-K–3) Proportional reasoning (math, grades 4–7) Coursework pathways (math, grades 6–12) Integrating standards (part of Early Grades Literacy Grant) Integrating standards (literacy, grades 4–12) Flexibility in student writing (literacy, grades 9–12) Time on science (STE, pre-K–5) Standards-aligned assessments (STE, grades 5–8) Urban district leaders (math, literacy, STE; pre-K–12) English learner education leaders (pre-K–12) For more information, see: http://www.doe.mass.edu/candi/networks.pdf ESE’s Center for Instructional Support will be running 12 educator networks during the 2017-2018 academic year. The networks will convene classroom, school, and district leaders from across the state to learn about the standards and to develop, test, and refine tools and strategies for implementing them effectively. Each network will meet several times over the course of the school year and focus on a specific aspect of the ELA/literacy, math, or STE framework. Please note that several of the networks are meant to be attended by district teams rather than individuals. Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

District Connections: Gathering Curriculum Information All curriculum directors were sent a form to complete. Goal is to be able to share lists of ELA, math, and STE curricula used in every district. Please encourage your district’s curriculum director to respond! Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education