1. Accountability & Assistance Advisory Council Meeting
April 12, 2017
Best Western Royal Plaza Hotel
Marlborough, MA

2. Agenda Welcome Review of discussion norms & protocols
Discussion of proposed technical amendment to accountability regulations
ESSA state plan update: submission & next steps
Discussion of assistance strategies in MA
Next steps & closing
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

3. Norms & protocols
Promote risk-taking by not assigning specific comments to individual members in meeting summaries & minutes
Maintain confidentiality 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!
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

4. Proposed amendment to accountability regulations

5. 603 CMR 2.00: Accountability & Assistance for School Districts & Schools
Governs the review of the educational programs & services provided by MA public schools & the assistance to be provided by districts & ESE to improve them
Describes the process for placing schools into Levels 1-5
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

6. Proposed changes
The proposed amendment would allow ESE to refrain from placing certain schools into Levels 1-3 at the beginning of the school year
Assessment transition provides opportunity
Common assessment baseline for new accountability system
2017 next-generation MCAS results reported with relative indicator
High school accountability would remain unchanged
Requires a regulatory change
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

7. 2017 accountability reporting
Schools & districts administering next-generation MCAS in grades 3-8 that have participation rates below 90% would be placed into Level 3
Schools serving a combination of grades 3-8 & 9-12 that have persistently low graduation rates would be placed into Level 3
Current Level 4 or 5 schools or districts that are not exiting would maintain their level designation
All other schools would not receive an accountability level, school percentile, or Progress & Performance Index (PPI)
2017 assessment results serve as the new baseline for future reporting
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

8. Summary of public comments
Supports the regulation
Raises a concern about the weight given to this year’s scores in the accountability ratings assigned in the fall of 2018
Asserts that when the accountability rating system is determined, participation rates for 2017 should far outweigh scores from 2017
Comment 2:
Asks why a Level 2 or Level 3 school can’t move up to Level 1 or 2 as reward for improvement
Asks why schools should be penalized for low participation rates if schools are not rewarded for high participation rates
Notes that there is an incentive for schools to set a low baseline this year in order to show growth
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

9. Summary of public comments
Argues that the proposed amendment does not meet either the intention or the requirements of the hold harmless motion passed by the Board in November 2015
Proposes that the amendment should be modified to provide that the 2017 MCAS scores “will never be used as a factor in accountability determinations”
In reference to the 90 percent assessment participation threshold proposed for 2017 reporting, asserts that parents & students have the right to opt out of MCAS exams, & that schools should not be penalized for those decisions
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

10. Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) state plan update

11. Alignment between ESSA & MA goal & strategies
Massachusetts’ ESSA plan represents a continuation of the core work that the Board & the Department have been engaged in for many years
Focus on equity & excellence for all students, particularly for economically disadvantaged & other high need students
High academic standards
Accountability, support, & improvement
Ensuring effective educators
Supporting all students
Academic assessments
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

12. Massachusetts’ goal is to prepare all students for success after high school by:
Strengthening standards, curriculum, instruction, and assessment
Promoting educator development
Supporting social-emotional learning, health, and safety
Turning around the lowest performing districts and schools
Using technology and data to support teaching & learning 12
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education 12

13. ESSA stakeholder feedback: 2016-17
April-July 2016
July-October 2016
October-Dec 2016
Dec March 2017
Listening
Modeling
Revising
External stakeholders
Board of Elementary and Secondary Education
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

14. Stakeholder feedback (April 2016 - February 2017)
200+ stakeholder groups
5 public forums: 250+ attendees
Almost 100 community meetings & presentations
1,500+ responses to our survey
Broad range: educators, parents, students, advocacy groups
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

15. Official public comment (February 2017 - March 2017)
1,000+ responses to our survey
Wide range of participants: educators, parents, students, advocacy groups, legislators, Governor
65+ individual letters
Postcards from the arts community

16. Official public comment: Support for state priorities
Strongly Agree
Somewhat Agree
Somewhat Disagree
Strongly Disagree
Early Grades Literacy
79%
17% 2%
Supports for those who have historically struggled
75%
20% 3%
High quality career pathways
67%
27% 5% 1%
Middle grades math
60%
36%
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

17. Official public comment: Support for indicators
Strongly Support
Somewhat Support
Somewhat Oppose
Strongly Oppose
Access to arts
76%
20% 3% 1%
Access to broad curriculum
69%
28% 2%
Access to advanced coursework
61%
35%
School climate & culture
55%
32% 9% 4%
Chronic absenteeism
43%
39%
12% 5%
9th grade course passing
49%
13%
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

18. Official public comment: Support for indicators
Strongly Support
Somewhat Support
Somewhat Oppose
Strongly Oppose
The proposed system includes the right amount of indicators related to outcomes
23%
54%
16% 7%
The proposed system includes the right amount of indicators related to inputs
31%
43%
17% 9%
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

19. Accountability requirements under ESSA
“Annual meaningful differentiation”
“Ambitious state-designed long-term goals”
All students & subgroups
Focus on gap closing
Continued annual testing
95% assessment participation requirement
Required indicators:
Achievement in ELA, math, & science
Student growth or progress
Graduation rates
Progress in achieving English proficiency for English learners
At least one measure of school quality or student success
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

20. Accountability requirements under ESSA
“Substantial weight” on achievement, progress, ELL proficiency, & graduation rate
Together, they must be given “much greater weight” than any measures of school quality or student success
Identify lowest performing 5 percent of schools & high schools with graduation rates below 67%
Identify schools with low performing subgroups
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

21. MA accountability design principles
Focus on academic performance (e.g., academic achievement & graduation rates) more so than on school inputs
Balance robustness with simplicity & transparency
Ensure the validity & reliability of our accountability index so that it is technically defensible
Set targets that require that each school & district stretch & continually improve
Align accountability incentives for districts, schools, educators, & students
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

22. MA accountability measures
Core measures:
ELA, math, & science achievement results
A measure of student growth in tested grades
Gap closing by accelerating the gains of the lowest performing students
High school graduation rates
Progress & attainment of English language proficiency for English learners
Possible additional measures:
Chronic absenteeism
Annual dropout rates in grades 9-12
Successful completion of a broad & challenging curriculum
Success in the 9th grade
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

23. Proposed accountability approach
Measures aggregated into overall school performance percentile
Percentile used as first step for classifying schools into performance levels
Example Level
Example Criteria
Tier 1
School percentile
Tier 2
School percentile 51-89
Tier 3
School percentile 26-50
Tier 4
School percentile 11-25
Tier 5
School percentile 6-10
Comprehensive Support /
underperforming
School percentile 1-5 and
Current Level 4 schools
State receivership
Commissioner’s determination
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

24. Proposed accountability approach
Performance level designations would not depend solely on performance of other schools
ESE will set annual performance targets for all districts, schools, & subgroups
Schools can move up in performance level by meeting or exceeding school & subgroup targets
Schools can move down in performance by having a low performing subgroup or not meeting participation requirements
District performance levels based on all students in district, not individual schools
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

25. Expanded school report card
Designed with stakeholder input
First published in fall 2018
Potential indicators may include:
Breadth of curriculum (e.g., access to a well-rounded curriculum including the arts & advanced coursework)
School-level financial allocations & expenditures
School climate surveys
Enrollment in career-technical education & other pathways (e.g., early college)
Percent of high school graduates achieving the competency determination
Preparedness for postsecondary education
Pre-kindergarten experience/readiness for kindergarten
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

26. Next steps Timeframe Activity Spring – Summer 2017
USED reviews ESSA state plan (120 day review period)
Fall 2017
Convene internal/external school & district report card working group to redesign report cards for 2018
Late Summer –
Model accountability metrics using first round of Next-Generation MCAS results
Late Fall 2017
Discuss system design with BESE
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

27. Statewide System of Support
Strategic restructuring updates

28. Discussion overview Context March retreat Phases & next steps
Questions & discussion
March Retreat
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

29. Goals of the Statewide System of Support
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

30. Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

31. Performance trends: ELA
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

32. Performance trends: ELA ELL
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

33. Performance trends: Math
Overall Math CPI
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

34. Performance trends: Math ELL
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

35. Successful turnaround in action
Turnaround Practices
Leadership, Shared Responsibility, & Professional Collaboration — The school has established a community of practice through leadership, shared responsibility, & professional collaboration.
Intentional Practices for Improving Instruction — The school employs intentional practices for improving teacher-specific & student-responsive instruction.
Student-Specific Instruction & Supports to All Students — The school is able to provide student-specific supports & interventions informed by data & the identification of student-specific needs.
School Climate & Culture — The school has established a climate & culture that provide a safe, orderly, & respectful environment for students & a collegial, collaborative, & professional culture among teachers that supports the school’s focus on increasing student achievement.
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

36. Overview of 2016 research Impact analysis Implementation analysis
Impact of SRGs on school turnaround, using comparative interrupted time series analyses
Implementation analysis
Qualitative analyses of how Level 4 schools implement key turnaround practices
Field guide
Provides educators with examples of school-specific practices that have contributed to turnaround success
Research brief
Videos
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

37. ESE response to research
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

38. SSoS Theory of Action to achieve goals
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

39. Why adjust the organization & deployment of the SSoS?
Tighter alignment with agency priorities (ESSA, early literacy, middle grades math, etc.)
Based on over 7 years of learning , we are ready to focus our strategies based on what we know works on a bounded set of schools & districts
Responding to changes in resources
Responding to inequities across the system (e.g., #s of schools served by DSAC regions & ODST liaisons)
Adjusting a structure that is currently not sufficiently flexible
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

40. Some key principles Build on success & research
Invest in high leverage, high priority strategies related to school & district turnaround practices & ESE priorities
Importance of having a district lead
Critical for work to be at both the district & school levels
We need standard supports; but we also need to be able to customize those supports to unique contexts/needs
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

41. The work drives the change: draft ideas
Leadership
Instruc-tional Practices
Data-Driven Student Supports
Culture & Climate
Human Capital
Strategies & Supports
Instructional Leadership Teams
Early Grade Literacy
Secondary Redesign
Wrap-around
Supports
Recruitment
&
Retention
Strategies
MSV
Practices
Turnaround Principal Develop-ment
Middle Grade Math
Data Literacy
Family
Engagement
Resource
Allocation
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

42. Potential framework to more flexibly support districts
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

43. Potential framework to more flexibly support districts
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

44. Potential framework to more flexibly support districts
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

45. Potential framework to more flexibly support districts
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

46. Potential framework to more flexibly support districts
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

47. Potential framework to more flexibly support districts
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

48. Assessing our internal capacity
3) Time capacity (other commitments)
4) Geography
1) Expertise & skills aligned with Turnaround Practices
2) Potential areas to develop expertise & skills
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

49. It won’t be built in a day
Restructuring roll-out over 2 years:
Phase 1: SY17-18
Phase 2: SY18-19
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

50. Why two phases?
To develop & refine priority strategies aligned with school turnaround practices & effective district systems of support
To continue to strengthen SSoS capacity to effectively deliver on those strategies
To field test new teaming strategies while maintaining/building strong relationships with districts
To align with ESSA implementation requirements & timeline
To flexibly support agency focus as it develops & incorporate
Phase 1 feedback 1 2 3 4 5
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

51. In the months ahead…
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

52. Changes in phase 1 vs. 2 Phase 1 Phase 2 (SY17-18) (SY18-19)
Piloting deployment of staff outside of traditional DSAC/ODST assignments
Tighter focus on bottom 10%
Development of specialty teams to support the turnaround priority areas
More intentional focus on agency goals, including early literacy & middle grades math
Strategies may shift (add, adapt, subtract) to better align with needs from the field
Redesigned structure to allow for core & flexible teaming
Additional adjustments might be made based on:
ESSA requirements & roll out
Feedback from Phase 1
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

53. Questions, reactions & suggestions53
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education