Accountability & Assistance Advisory Council Meeting March 20, 2019 Best Western Royal Plaza Hotel Marlborough, MA

Welcome & introductions Review of discussions norms Key assistance strategy: Diversity recruitment initiatives Accountability reporting in 2019 K-2 accountability initiative Next steps & closing AGENDA

Welcome & introductions

Welcome & introductions Council co-chairs: Valerie Annear & Mary Skipper New members: Heidi Driscoll, Academic Director of Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment, Southeastern Regional Vocational Technical High School Nancy Urbschat, Owner, TSM Design

Review of discussion norms

Norms & protocols Promote risk-taking by not assigning specific comments to individual members in meeting summaries & minutes. Maintain respect before, during, & after meetings. Seek clarification & check understanding to avoid mistakenly attributing ideas to an individual or organization represented on the council. Keep improvements in student learning at the core of the discussions. Students should drive the conversation. Stay engaged in the issues. Actively address implicit biases & instill cultural proficiency in discussions. Encourage discussion from all voices of members. Be additive, not repetitive. Let members know if pre-reading or other pre-meeting assignments require more than 30 minutes of preparation time. Make it fun!

Key assistance strategy: Educator diversification initiatives

Session overview This session will provide an overview of current strategies developed by the MA DESE to support the diversification of the Commonwealth’s educator workforce. Ventura Boston Collegiate Charter School

Graduation rates Ventura

2018 MCAS average scaled scores (grades 3-8) Ventura

MA’s goal: Prepare all students for success after high school 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 Ventura

Educator diversity research findings Improved academic performance (Dee, 2004; Gershenson et al 2018) Improved high school graduation rates and enrollment in college (Gershenson et al, 2017) Role models (Noguera, 2008; Ladson-Billings,1994) Higher expectations of students of color (Uhlenberg and Brown, 2002; Gershenson et al, 2016) Ventura In addition to continued work on content standards, high quality curricula, and other strategies, we have also begun exploring the potential benefits of having a more diverse educator workforce in the state. Educational research underscores the importance and need to diversify the educator workforce.

Massachusetts K-12 student enrollment by race/ethnicity Ventura

Massachusetts educator & teacher figures by race/ethnicity Ventura

Massachusetts educator preparation program demographics Ventura

Barriers to recruiting teachers of color Obstacles to completing college Teacher preparation and impact of student debt Teacher licensure exams Source: Diversifying the Teaching Profession Through High-Retention Pathways (April 2018). Carver-Thomas Shay Alma Del Mar Public Charter School

Barriers to retaining teachers of color Feeling undervalued or unappreciated Not heard in staff meetings Feelings of isolation, frustration, and fatigue Restriction of assignments Only teaching Black students Disciplinarians Shay Intentional focus on retention, support, and career advancement for educators of color may contribute to lower attrition rates

DESE initiatives to increase educator diversity Teacher Diversification Pilot Program InSPIRED Fellowship Influence 100 Shay MATCH Public Charter School

Teacher Diversification Pilot Program Support district efforts to strengthen and diversify existing teacher recruitment and retention programs: Paraprofessionals with bachelor’s degrees District graduates and other college graduates Provisionally licensed teachers Grow-Your-Own Initiatives Pilot districts will engage in cultural proficiency and anti-bias trainings. Shay

InSPIRED Fellowship In-Service Professionals committed to Increasing the Racial and Ethnic Diversity of the Commonwealth’s teacher workforce. Fellowship Goals Increase the number of students of color entering the teaching profession. Host teacher recruitment activities for students at the high school, community college, and undergraduate level. Increase the retention rate of teachers of color. Activate a network of supports and resources for students interested in becoming educators and for themselves. Shay

Influence 100 Increase the diversity of senior leadership in Massachusetts school districts Approximately 4 percent of traditional public school superintendents and central office staff are people of color. Pilot districts commit to engage in the four-year pilot program to launch summer 2019. School committees and central office staff required to engage in professional development on the root causes of the leadership disparities. Shay Persistent challenge as the 4 percent figure has not changed over the last decade.

Educator diversification initiatives Questions & answers

Accountability reporting in 2019

Accountability discussion Grade 10 accountability reporting Potential changes to the accountability system Expanded advanced coursework list Participation rate calculation Using two years of data Progress towards targets categories

Grade 10 accountability reporting in 2019 – background Current grade 10 students (class of 2021) taking Next-Generation MCAS in English language arts & mathematics for the first time this spring Legacy science MCAS test administered in grades 5, 8, & 10 All high school students must pass MCAS in order to meet the competency determination (CD) & earn a regular high school diploma In February 2018, the Board of Elementary & Secondary Education (BESE) set an interim CD standard for students in the classes of 2021 & 2022 Similar level of achievement to the required standard in the legacy MCAS tests Ensures fairness for students during the transitional period Allows BESE to consider the Next-Generation test results before setting a new CD standard for the classes of 2023 & beyond

Grade 10 accountability reporting in 2019 Grade 10 Next-Generation MCAS results will be linked to the legacy grade 10 MCAS results Similar to process used to link PARCC results to MCAS results in 2015 (“equipercentile linking”) Allows DESE to use the 2019 grade 10 achievement results in the accountability system this year

Equipercentile linking model for setting interim CD standard

Grade 10 accountability reporting in 2019 Grade 10 achievement results will be reported using the Composite Performance Index (CPI) for one more year Allows DESE to report on 2018-2019 change & performance against 2019 achievement targets Student growth percentiles (SGPs) are not impacted by change in assessment

Grade 10 accountability reporting in 2019 How will you communicate this to stakeholders (e.g., school leaders, teachers, school committee, parents & families, etc.)? How can DESE help with communication?

Potential changes to the accountability system – high schools Expanded advanced coursework list Project Lead the Way (PLTW) courses added for 2019

Potential changes to the accountability system – all schools Participation rate calculation Old method: Calculate participation rates separately for each subject (ELA, math, science) for each subgroup Proposed new method: Calculate participation rates for all subjects combined, for each subgroup Using two years of data Accountability results for 2019 would include 2018 & 2019 data Similar to former accountability system (working up to a system that includes multiple years of data)

Potential changes to the accountability system – all schools Progress towards targets categories Progress towards targets currently reported in 2 categories: meeting targets & partially meeting targets In 2018, BESE voted to move to three categories starting in with 2019 reporting (meeting targets, partially meeting targets, & not meeting targets) Proposed change: Move to three categories, with modification

Potential changes to the accountability system – timeline Timeframe Action March 2019 Initial discussion of potential changes with AAAC & the Board   April – May 2019 Department to seek public comment on proposed changes June 2019 Final discussion & Board vote on proposed changes

Potential changes to the accountability system Is there value in DESE doing holding in-person sessions regarding the accountability system & potential changes? What other accountability resources (e.g., videos, webinars, explanatory documents) do you find helpful? Why?

K-2 accountability initiative

K-2 accountability initiative – background About 12% of schools were not included in the most recent accountability release Too new Too small Serve untested grades only There were 84 schools in 69 districts not included in the system that had some combination of grades 1 and 2 but no tested grades (early- elementary schools) Schools are removed entirely from the system because they only have 10-20% of the data (chronic absenteeism & maybe EL progress)

K-2 accountability initiative – update DESE to collaborate with Center for Collaborative Education (CCE) to create a system that reports on performance in early-elementary schools, using performance assessment data Pilot in two districts currently involved in the Massachusetts Consortium for Innovative Education Assessment (MCIEA) Scale up to the remaining early elementary schools (~80) in September 2021

Next steps & closing

Future discussion topics Next steps Future discussion topics Changes to accountability system for 2019 reporting …? Next meeting: Wednesday, May 29th