Tennessee Data and Attendance Supervisors’ Conference Thursday, April 21, 2016 Dr. Candice McQueen, Commissioner of Education

First Year Recap

Goals for 2015 Urgent Goals: Listening and learning Building relationships Focusing on department leadership Focusing on department structure Improving communications Priority Goals: Creating strategic plan Drafting accountability waiver Exploring assessment concerns Exploring funding priorities and challenges Conducting standards review for Math and ELA Implementing TNReady

FOCUS: Seeing Practice & Listening to Educators Trousdale County Shelby County Williamson County

FOCUS: Valuing Teachers Kingsport City Lewis County Milan Special School District Lincoln County

FOCUS: Highlighting Good Practice Focus on Classroom Chronicles blog to share work from across the state

Focus Areas for Early 2016 TNReady – We are continuing to make updates to ensure a smooth test administration this year and improved assessments for next year Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) – No Child Left Behind (NCLB), the previous version of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act that had been up for reauthorization since 2007, has now been replaced with ESSA Read to be Ready – In response to assessment data, we are launching a statewide literacy campaign focused on early literacy as a means for improving postsecondary success

Recent Successes - Funding $260 million for K-12 education, which is the largest investment in K-12 education without a tax increase in state history A record investment in the BEP - approximately $220 million. $105 million for salaries 12th month of insurance Doubled state investment in technology $14 million for ELL $5 million for SPED $40 million for growth & inflation $9 million for current year enrollment growth Provides for a total current year growth fund of $19 million Projected to fund all growth above 1 percent $9 million for statewide reading initiative $15 million for insurance premium increase

Recent Successes – Assessment Tennessee Students Assessment Transparency Act Reduces testing by eliminating Explore (8th grade) and Plan (10th grade) Provides student with retake opportunity for ACT or SAT Releases standardized assessment items annually Changes to TNReady for Next Year Reduced testing time for Math and ELA Revised and streamlined blueprints Additional review of Social Studies and ELA field testing

Recent Successes – Standards Final Math and ELA standards were approved by the State Board of Education last week 18-month process including educator teams and Standards Recommendation Committee appointed by the Governor, Lt. Governor, and Speaker of the House 200,000 pieces of public feedback Implementation in 2017-18

Tennessee Succeeds

OUR VISION. Districts and schools in Tennessee will exemplify excellence and equity such that all students are equipped with the knowledge and skills to successfully embark upon their chosen path in life. This is our unifying vision – success for all students post graduation from high school. This is how Tennessee Succeeds.

OUR GOALS. 1 2 3 Tennessee will continue rapid improvement and rank in the top half of states on the Report Card. The average ACT score in Tennessee will be a 21, allowing more students to earn HOPE scholarships. The majority of Tennessee high school graduates will earn a certificate, diploma, or degree. To ensure our students are ready for postsecondary success, we must meet the following goals. MEASUREMENT Tennessee will rank in top half of states on 4th and 8th grade NAEP in 2019. MEASUREMENT Tennessee will have an average public ACT composite score of 21 by 2020. MEASUREMENT The class of 2020 will be on track to achieve 55% postsecondary completion in six years.

OUR PRIORITIES

OUR PRIORITIES

ALL MEANS ALL Non-Academic Needs Part of our strategic plan involves addressing student non-academic needs. One major indicator of non-academic needs is chronic absenteeism. Tennessee data clearly points to the connection between chronic absenteeism and academic outcomes. The same students we’ve targeted for gap closure are disproportionately represented in the chronic absenteeism numbers.

ALL MEANS ALL In the early grades, students are missing a lot of school. In pre-K, over 1 in 5 students was chronically absent in 2014-15.

ALL MEANS ALL In third grade, chronically absent students perform significantly worse than their regularly attending peers.

ALL MEANS ALL Chronic Absenteeism in Tennessee’s Early Grades The department released a report on Chronic Absenteeism in Tennessee in the early grades In January. Jonathon Attridge will be sharing more data from this report later this afternoon.

ALL MEANS ALL What is the department doing to address chronic absenteeism? Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) includes requirements around the disclosure of non- academic data and specifically includes chronic absenteeism. Tennessee will be participating in the National Attendance Awareness Month in September. Participation in the National Attendance Awareness Month was the suggestion of attendance supervisors.

ALL MEANS ALL What can you do to address chronic absenteeism? Data managers and attendance supervisors play a critical role by providing district, school, and community leaders with timely attendance data. To be successful, we have to be open to new approaches: identifying problems/barriers earlier creating community partnerships supporting students and families pursuing legal options only as a last resort.

HOW WILL YOU LEAD THIS VISION? How will you align? How will you communicate? How will you inspire?

Questions?

Excellence | Optimism | Judgment | Courage | Teamwork Districts and schools in Tennessee will exemplify excellence and equity such that all students are equipped with the knowledge and skills to successfully embark on their chosen path in life. Excellence | Optimism | Judgment | Courage | Teamwork