Developing a New Accountability in California Linda Darling-Hammond CA Accountability Task Force November 10, 2015

2 W HAT IS THE PURPOSE OF A CCOUNTABILITY ?

Fordham Foundation Definition of Accountability and its Purpose A System of rewards and consequences to drive improvement at the levels of the: – School – District – Teacher – Administrator – Student Based on standards, data, designations (labels) 3

NCLB Theory of Action If we focus on school achievement and apply rewards and sanctions, educators and policymakers will improve education Strategies Require Annual Testing Set Targets for Improvement Identify Schools that Fail to Meet all Targets Implement School Consequences Tie Test Scores to Teacher / Administrator Evaluation 4

What Were the Outcomes? 5 Pre-NCLB 15 point gain

THE U.S. IS FALLING FURTHER BEHIND Reading Singapore Japan Korea Finland Canada Ireland Poland Estonia Lichtenstein Australia US is #21 Mathematics Singapore Korea Japan Lichtenstein Switzerland Netherlands Estonia Finland Canada Poland US is # 32 Science Singapore Japan Finland Estonia Korea Vietnam Poland Canada Lichtenstein Germany US is #23

Why Haven’t Outcomes Improved More? State Tests Focused on Low – Level Skills No Incentives for Enriching Curriculum Focus on Consequences rather than Learning has Left Schools with Fear but not Tools Drivers of Achievement Were Invisible Mandated Solutions Often Unhelpful Growing Poverty, Homelessness Inequality / Inadequacy in School Resources 8

e.g.: Effects of School Funding Over 40 years, low-income students who experienced the benefits of school finance reforms for all of K-12: Had graduation rates 23 points higher Added a year of post-high school education Had family incomes 52% higher Were 20 percentage points less likely to fall into poverty in any year Closed the gap as adults Kirabo Jackson, Rucker Johnson (2015).

Can We Develop a More Productive Approach to Accountability? 10

Accountability Mechanisms Performance accountability, monitoring the performance of schools / districts across the state’s eight priority areas, plus other local priorities. Political accountability, operationalized through Local Control Accountability Plans (LCAPs) Professional accountability, through effective licensure, accreditation and professional development

Accountability in Singapore Deep investments in educator training at all levels of career system New assessments of higher order learning (educator involvement in design & scoring) Continuous evaluation of educator & school performance on multiple measures Constant sharing of successful practices Planting of people, innovations, programs, and resources where needed Equity investments 12

What Policies Drive State Achievement Differences?

MA & NJ Reforms Leading to High Achievement and Gap Closing Equalized school funding Expanded curriculum and improved teaching across schools Invested in bilingual education & special education Invested in preschool and health care Established thoughtful student standards with high-quality, open-ended assessments Raised standards for teaching and teacher education Invested in high-quality professional development (Reading Recovery, National Writing Project, mathematics networks, professional learning communities) Focused on accountability for improvement, not labelling Fostered school redesign

Creating a New Accountability Purpose: An accountability system should encourage high-quality teaching and learning in all schools for all students, provide tools for continuous improvement, and means for identifying and addressing problems that require correction. 15 Accountability = Testing

Key Elements of an New Accountability System 16

A New Approach to Accountability: If we focus on what matters for achievement, and require attention to improvement and problem correction, education will improve Strategies 1. Encourage a dashboard of indicators reflecting -- Student success -- Engagement -- Resources & Opportunities to learn

Additional Strategies Develop systems for school review and continuous improvement Require attention to struggling schools / districts Ensure that supports are appropriate and expand student learning opportunities Enable system-wide learning 18

Key Elements Assessment of student opportunities & access, progress, and outcomes Transparency about what schools provide and what students accomplish disaggregated by student groups Regular evaluation of outcomes in relation to opportunities leading to new investments / approaches Learning systems to improve practice Community engagement 19

CORE Districts Accountability Criteria 20

21 W HAT S HOULD THE S TATE D O ?

State Roles Ensure adequate & equitable funding Ensure an adequate supply of well-prepared teachers and administrators Support high-quality assessment -both state and local Provide high-quality (disaggregated) data about opportunities to learn and outcomes Support learning about good practice Intervene where needed 22

How Will We Know What’s Happening? State IndicatorsTools to Support LEAsLocal Indicators Outcomes: 5-year graduation rates Students graduating college ready (A-G) Students graduating career ready (CTE sequence) Expulsion/suspension rates Assessments: EL proficiency, ELA, math, science, AP/ IB/ Dual credit Opportunities to Learn: Curriculum offerings / access Qualifications of Staff Availability of materials Surveys to evaluate: School climate Opportunities to learn for students and educators Engagement Assessment tools Performance task bank Other formative tools Local goals: Access Engagement Students Educators Parents Community Outcomes Processes 23

Leveraging the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence (CCEE) Diagnosis of needs for schools or districts that volunteer or are referred for help by counties or charter school agencies Effective assistance to schools / districts With other agencies, orchestrating: Knowledge sharing Learning supports Evaluation 24

Possible Improvement Strategies Teams of expert educators trained to work with struggling schools School pairs and networks for learning Trained curriculum coaches School redesign initiatives based on research and best practices 25

School Quality Review 26

Elements of a Continuously Improving System 27 Learning Supports Information Systems Ongoing review Innovation and Evaluation Knowledge Sharing Strategies

A unified long-term strategy could enable California to move to a fully accountable and continuously learning and improving system. 28