Times have changed Iowa has slipped from number 1 or 2 in the nation. Worse… when we compare achievement of students with IEPs to those without, Iowa ranks dead last. (Rising to Greatness, Iowa Department of Education, 2011 )

Today, student achievement is our business Measuring our collective efforts is vitally important.

An Expanded Mission Huge socioeconomic, political and educational tidal waves are underway which will impact all levels of government including: –Support for competition and choice in how public services are developed, produced and delivered. –An insistence on more rigorous accountability and transparency. –The greater use of appropriate performance and quality management systems.

An Expanded Mission Iowa’s AEA State System has recently been faced with increasing challenges related to categorical funding. Iowa’s changing demographics have increased demand for AEA services. Stagnant state and federal student performance indicators along with societal pressures for reform demand a more cohesive, focused AEA system.

One Overarching Goal By 2018 every child who graduates from an Iowa pre-k 12 public or non-public, accredited school will be prepared for success in post-secondary studies, a career, and citizenship.

Four Vital Measures 1.Every Iowa child will be proficient in reading by the end of third grade. 2.A numeracy goal will be determined after sufficient progress has been made in reaching the literacy goal identified above.

Four Vital Measures 3.The learning gaps between students with IEPs and those without and for those students in disaggregated sub-groups will be reduced by half by A post-secondary readiness goal will be established by 2014 that most accurately identifies and tracks post-secondary success.

Connection to DE Goals New Report – Overcoming the Achievement Divide – mid-November 2012 Identified problem – significant and increasing achievement gaps for students who face additional challenges Solution – Iowa’s Response to Intervention

System Commitments We will… Provide supports and accountability for implementation of evidence-based, internationally benchmarked, scalable best practices in Iowa schools. Advocate that the current AEA accreditation standards be revised so that they are consistent with the New Compact.

System Commitments We will… Deliver specialized, quality services based on individual student, building, and district needs through a learning contract with each LEA. Re-purpose resources from programs that are not aligned with our overarching goal and vital few measures and/or not delivering consistent student learning results.

System Commitments We will… Build the collective, organizational capacity of AEA personnel to deliver quality services as co-owners of every student’s learning and to decrease variability between AEAs. Maximize our resources. Advocate for efforts and remove policy, structural and statutory barriers that stand in the way of using resources in service to student learning.

System Commitments We will… Constantly and consistently use formative and summative data to inform our progress towards our goal. Meet all statutory requirements at both the state and federal levels. Benchmark our progress against a common dashboard and against standards identified in the research about highly reliable organizations.

Selection Criteria Commitments must… Articulate ways the AEA State System continues its charter responsibility to serve the needs of special education populations. Focus on the requirement that the AEA State System’s services and programs consistently raise student achievement.

Selection Criteria Commitments must… Acknowledge the need for the AEA State System’s to strengthen its collective organizational capacity as well as the capacity of each individual AEA. Help districts and the state provide for ways to find efficiencies in non- instructional services in order to maximize resources for instructional goals.

Selection Criteria Commitments must… Emphasize the goal of holding the AEA State System accountable to co-ownership of student learning goals with its principal stakeholders: LEAs, non-public accredited schools, and the Department of Education. Be administratively, economically, legally, and politically responsible.

Selection Criteria Commitments must… Maintain the ability of the AEA to be responsive to the needs and interests of local districts and accredited non-public schools in their catchment area. Represent the best to which human behavior should aspire.

Accountability Measures During the school year, the AEA system, in collaboration with the DE, will install a performance management system that will define the goals, tactics, timelines, metrics and a tracking mechanism that will provide timely reporting to stakeholders.

Possible Data Sets Healthy Indicators Matrix Iowa Assessments (third grade literacy rates) USDE’s calculation formula for graduate rates Reports detailing the percentage of students requiring post-secondary remediation

A New Compact “The test of the morality of society is what it does for its children.” --Dietrich Bonhoeffer