2 EDCAL January 23 , 2017
Report examines future of California , K-12 schools
The Public Policy Institute of California recently released their report on California ’ s Future . The section on K-12 education noted the system has made some progress , but more work remains to be done .
The PPIC notes that more than half of California ’ s 6.2 million students are economically disadvantaged . In addition , almost 1 in 4 students is an English learner . That compares to 1 in 10 nationwide .
Although the PPIC noted that the state saw a large increase in per pupil funding in 2015-16 , that amount only helped make up for the fact the state dealt with some of the harshest education funding cuts nationally
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The report said student achievement has shown some modest improvement , although much work remains in this area . Still , the lowest performing student groups from 2014-15 were the ones who showed the most significant gains . The PPIC notes though that the first two rounds of the Smarter Balanced assessments show that the achievement gap still remains .
Although the report noted that many school districts and county offices of education are using LCAPs to help them address challenges facing their students , some districts still struggle in the areas of “ strategic
ACSA Executive Director , Wesley Smith Senior Director , Communications / PIO , Naj Alikhan Senior Director , Educational Services , Barry Groves Chief Marketing Officer , Tatia Davenport
Senior Directors , Governmental Relations , Edgar Zazueta and Adonai Mack
Senior Director , Member Services , Margarita Cuizon Senior Director , Information Technology , Tony Baldwin
EdCal Editor , London Roberts Assistant Editor / Reporter , Cary Rodda Advertising / Website Coordinator , Emily Senecal Communications Content Specialist , Darcy Totten ACSA CareerConnect Coordinator , Tracy Olmedo
ACSA Board of Directors President , Ralph Gómez Porras President-elect , Lisa Gonzales Vice President , Holly Edds VP for Legislative Action , Linda Kaminski Past President , Tom Armelino
Members : Eric Andrew , Mauricio Arellano , Randy Bangs , Angel Barrett , Ana Boyenga , Jonathon Brunson , Daryl Camp , Katherine Castleberry , Craig Helmstedter , Linda Hutcherson , Andrew Ishibashi , Darrien Johnson , Peter Johnson , Sue Kaiser , Jon LeDoux , Robert Martinez , Mary O ’ Neil Grace , Elsbeth Prigmore , Rob Stockberger , Roxanna Villaseñor , Craig Wheaton , Denise Wickham , Ron Williams planning , data-driven decision making , and parent and public involvement .” They did go on to note though , that the new evaluation rubrics adopted by the State Board of Education will shed light on district strengths and weaknesses .
PPIC ’ s report acknowledged that the redistribution of funding under LCFF has allowed more equity for districts serving large numbers of disadvantaged students . However , the report also outlined the funding challenges presented by special education , which has its own separate funding and administrative structure , which poses a challenge to the special education task
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special education teachers , with nearly 90 percent of districts reporting a shortage in this area . There were also significant shortages of qualified mathematics and science teachers , with more than 55 percent reporting shortages in both areas .
Once again , California ’ s neediest children come out on the short end of the stick . The report said that 83 percent of the districts serving the highest concentrations of low-income students reported shortages of qualified teaching candidates , compared to 55 percent of districts with the fewest such students . The numbers were similar for districts serving the highest concentrations of English learners and minority students .
One of the biggest factors in this shortage has been the dramatically dropping numbers of newly credentialed teachers . Nearly 8 in 10 districts cited this as a factor in the shortage of qualified teaching candidates . The second biggest factor was teachers retiring , with 54 percent of districts citing this reason .
As ACSA is well aware , this issue is having a “ trickle up ” effect as the report noted an increasing number of districts citing shortages of site- and district-level administrators . These shortages are again most likely to be experienced by districts with high concentrations of low-income , English learner and minority students .
Certainly , districts are trying to address force ’ s recommendation for integrating regular and special education .
Moving forward , the PPIC outlined several key areas for consideration by policymakers :
• Align state and federal accountability .
• Ensure LCFF is reaching goals of helping student groups .
• Assess if reforms are making students college and career ready .
• Upgrade educational data system to allow use for local improvement .
The PPIC report can be accessed at www . ppic . org .
SBE adopts academic indicator for new accountability system
As previously reported in EdCal , the State Board of Education is underway in the implementation of the first phase of the new state accountability and continuous improvement system . At its January 11 Board meeting , the SBE adopted the performance standards for the Academic Indicator , which are based on student test scores on English Language Arts and Math for grades 3 – 8 , including results from the second year of Smarter Balanced tests .
Schools will be rated on how close student test scores in ELA and Math are to Level 3 ( also known as Distance from Met ) on the Smarter Balance Assessment Consortium exam . Level 3 demonstrates that students have the knowledge and skills associated with college content readiness . Color-coded tables illustrating performance on the Academic Indicator at the state , district , school and student group levels will be available for this and other state indicators to indicate how the methodology might
look in practice . In the new accountability system , English Learners are the only numerically significant group that has its own indicator ( EL Progress Indicator ) and is included in all state indicators . However , the criteria vary depending on the indicator . For example , for the English Learner Progress Indicator which is still being fully developed , the student group is current EL annual California English Language Development Test takers ( grades 1-12 ), plus students reclassified in the prior year .
For the Suspension Indicator , the student group is current EL students who are in grades K-12 . As the Academic Indicator provides information on how well students are mastering the ELA and mathematics standards based on the Smarter Balanced assessments , for purposes of assigning local educational agencies technical assistance and support , the Board approved defining the EL student group in the Academic
Event offers learning for small district leaders
The Small School Districts Association , in conjunction with ACSA , is holding its 34th Annual Spring Conference , March 6-8 in McClellan .
The Design to Align for Success !” Conference offers a wealth of information for small school district leaders , as it has done since 1983 . The event is scheduled to allow small school district superintendents , trustees and chief business officers the most flexibility to attend the conference without interfering with their school and work responsibilities .
The Annual Spring Conference will cover such areas as governance , legal / fiscal , human resources , accountability , technology , facilities , and more . It will also feature a slate of keynote speakers who are among the top in their fields in California education .
Workshops will provide insightful , cutting edge information affecting small school districts , and updates on how current legislation will impact school district operations and financial conditions . The conference also includes a trade show with more than 50 exhibitors promoting a variety of discounted services and products necessary to run an effective district .
Besides exciting learning opportunities , the conference also offers networking opportunities and chances for sharing feedback on successful small school district strategies and practices . To register , please go to www . ssda . org / events .
Indicator as EL students plus RFEP students ( Reclassified Fluent-English Proficient ) four years or less .
This action was a bit contentious as some members of the audience expressed concern that combining EL and RFEP data might mask the actual academic performance of EL students and of RFEP students and that student needs might go unmet . The Board
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years in the making .
“ This ambitious system was not easy to put together ,” Torlakson said . “ It never would have happened without a remarkable effort by a supremely talented group of CDE staff members , help from educators throughout the state , and strong leadership from the State Board of Education .”
Torlakson said the California School Dashboard will be far more useful to parents and the public than the previous Academic Performance Index , which relied on test scores to produce one number for each school .
“ This is another example of California ’ s national leadership ,” he said . “ Our students , our schools , and our districts will benefit by agreed on the need for the data to also be provided separately elsewhere in the new California School Dashboard and directed staff to work with the English Learner Working Group , among others , to determine the best way to do so .
ACSA will continue to monitor and report as developments occur .
having so much readily available information about the performance of schools and districts in the elements needed to create a successful , positive learning environment .”
The SBE approved performance standards for the Academic Indicator , which includes student results on standardized tests for English Language Arts and mathematics , and tools to assist districts in measuring and publicly reporting their progress on two local indicators , academic standards implementation and parent engagement .
The Academic Indicator will be based on assessments of the California State Standards in English Language Arts and mathematics , which are more rigorous than the former standards and expect students to demonstrate the critical thinking , analytical writing , and problem-solving skills needed to be ready for college and the 21st century job market .
the issue , although options are limited . According to the report , many of the districts surveyed are working with teacher preparation programs to coordinate student teacher placements , or to communicate their anticipated hiring needs . A smaller percentage are running grow-your-own teacher preparation programs .
Currently , as schools continue to recover from the massive cuts experienced during the recession , financial strategies to address the shortage are somewhat limited . Some districts are offering additional compensation for teachers that assume leadership roles . Some have managed to offer increased salaries , or to revise salary schedules to attract more experienced teachers .
Some districts have revised personnel strategies to make the profession more attractive . Strategies such as job sharing have been tried by some districts . Others have moved up hiring timelines or have participated in recruitment fairs .
Some districts work to recruit and retain teachers by altering the working conditions . Strategies such as mentorship / induction , providing common planning time , and providing additional professional development were common among surveyed districts .
This is clearly an issue that will need to be addressed as schools move forward . ACSA believes that every student deserves a high-quality teacher , and a high-quality principal leading each school .
The report can be accessed at www . learningpolicyinstitute . org .