May 2009: Education Updates
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Political Landscape Archives >
Political Landscape section is a collection of news items, updates, and essays on policy issues, state and federal legislation, academic standards, testing issues, the politics of funding, and other issues.
Updates from the League of Women Voters’ Joan Platz:
- 128th General Assembly Actions
- Ohio’s Evidence-Based Model
- State Government News
- State Education News
- National Education News
- Changes to Biennial Budget
128th General Assembly
Senate Education Committee
On April 15, 2009 the Senate Education Committee heard information about developing state academic standards from Sandra Stotsky, professor of education reform at the University of Arkansas, and former senior associate commissioner at the Massachusetts Department of Education. Professor Stotsky described how Massachusetts revised their preK-12 academic content standards and teacher and administrator preparation and training and as a result increased student achievement on national and international assessments. She emphasized the importance of including intellectual content rather than skills and strategies in state academic standards; consulting experts in subject matter in the development of academic content standards; and embedding the academic knowledge base in the teacher licensure regulations, teacher licensure tests, and the criteria for professional development.
According her testimony, Ohio’s academic content standards are “mediocre at best.” Most of the state standards that she has reviewed are “cluttered” with statements on pedagogical skills, processes, and strategies. She believes that students must have clear content standards in order to learn. Skills such as critical thinking will develop with the deeper understanding of the content.
To revise content standards, she recommends avoiding a huge grassroots process involving hundreds of stakeholders. Instead, a targeted and focused review of the current standards should be conducted, and components that address skills, learning processes, and strategies eliminated. This review should include information about national and international research on standards, and feedback from the governor, state board of education, lawmakers, teachers, parents, and the public through an online survey. A small group appointed by the state superintendent of instruction should be appointed to be in charge of the drafting process. Experts in the content areas should be consulted to determine the content students need to know in subject areas. Teachers also have an important role, and should be consulted to assess the developmental levels, grade-level placement, and impact on teaching load. District superintendents should be consulted to assess overall grade placement and identify other concerns. The final draft should be made available for public comment and expert evaluation.
The committee also heard testimony from the Ohio Grantmakers Forum regarding a report released in January 2009, Beyond Tinkering: Creating Real Opportunities for Today’s Learners and for Generations of Ohioans to Come. Testifying about the report were George Espy, president; Ann Mullins, senior program officer for the George Gund Foundation; and Helen Williams, education program director for the Cleveland Foundation.
The presenters shared a comparison of the recommendations included in the report and the evidence-based model (EBM) proposed by Governor Strickland. According to their testimony, many of the recommendations of the report are included in some way in the EBM. Among the several recommendations presented in their testimony, they suggested that the education reform included in HB1 place more emphasis on end of course exams and the requirements for high school graduation be weighted so that student achievement of academic content is given higher priority than completing a service-learning project.
Ohio’s Evidence-Based Model Reviewed
Lawrence Picus from the University of Southern California and Allen Odden from the University of Wisconsin at Madison, school funding experts and researchers, presented an overview of the principles and components of the evidence-based school funding model (EBM) to the House Finance and Appropriations Committee on April 23, 2009. Governor Strickland based his education and school funding plan, included in HB1 (Sykes), on the elements of the evidence-based model, and recently Professors Picus and Odden issued Review and Analysis of Ohio’s Evidence-Based Model (OEBM).
The researchers designed and developed the “evidence-based model” (EBM) to “link school funding to school performance”. Other models for reforming state school funding systems are the professional judgment model, successful schools model, and cost function model. Ohio’s current school funding system is somewhat based on the successful schools model. The evidence-based model has been used by policy makers in Wyoming and Arkansas to change their state school funding systems, and other states have used the EBM to evaluate their school funding systems. There is also evidence that implementation of the educational strategies “embedded” in the model can lead to improved student achievement.
The proposed Ohio EBM supports a number of education initiatives that the Strickland administration believes will transform Ohio’s education system and prepare students for life and careers in the 21st century. These include increasing the length of the school year, providing full-day kindergarten to all students, providing student support services, engaging the community, improving educator quality, increasing stability and transparency, and establishing an effective accountability system.
The researchers noted that most states are cutting budgets for education. Ohio is the ONLY state that is reforming its education and school funding systems during this recession. (North Dakota is also reforming its school funding system using components of the evidence-based model, but North Dakota’s economy has not been affected by the current economic recession.) The researchers recommended the following 10 steps for state policy makers to consider as they reform their education and school funding systems:
- Analyze state testing systems and results
- Set high goals (expectations) and standards for ALL students to meet
- Adopt a new curriculum that includes effective instruction
- Commit to data-based decision making
- Invest in ongoing professional development
- Focus class time more efficiently on teaching core subjects and eliminate electives
- Provide multiple intervention strategies, including individual and small-group tutoring, extended school day programs, and summer instruction
- Create professional learning communities, where teachers can collaborate
- Empower leaders to support instructional improvement
- Take advantage of external expertise
Overall Ohio’s evidence-based plan, in HB1 as introduced, is similar to the plan outlined by Odden and Picus. However, the researchers identified some differences regarding personnel support, organizational units, the instructional quality index, teacher pupil ratios, special education, professional development, support for central office, transportation, and three areas related to professional development in which the OEBM plan differs from the evidence-based model supported by the authors. Some of these components, for example gifted education and special education, have been adjusted by the House Finance Committee, which accepted a substitute bill for HB 1 on April 21, 2009.
Several committee members asked the researchers questions about the model and its cost. Representative Amstutz asked the researchers to explain why the proposed model would increase spending for primary and secondary education by 42 percent when fully implemented. They responded by saying that in most states the evidence-based model has cost between two and nine percent more than the national average for education. The Ohio model is different, because in addition to school reform and funding reform, the model shifts more of the responsibility for funding to the state, which accounts for the large increases. This is accomplished in two ways: by reducing the charge-off from 23 to 20 mills and implementing the Educational Challenge Factor, which drives more dollars to districts that are poorer. They also noted that changes in how current dollars are being spent can bring about increased student achievement. Districts that offer too many electives, for example, divert funding from subjects such as science and math.
The researchers suggested that the commitment to the model will become easier in the future as policy makers see student achievement improve, and investing in the components could better position Ohio to receive “Race to the Top” dollars from the U.S. Department of Education.
The Picus/Odden report was prepared for the KnowledgeWorks Foundation, with support from Cleveland Foundation and the Education Tax Policy Institute. Read more >
State Government News
State Budget News
The Office of Budget and Management, J. Pari Sabety director, released on April 10, 2009 the monthly financial report for the state (see http://obm.ohio.gov/). According to the report, the OBM may need to make further budget adjustments before this fiscal year ends on June 30, 2009, but will make that decision after income tax receipts are tallied. To close a projected $2 billion deficit, the state has already reduced spending and made other adjustments to the FY09 budget. State receipts for March (tax and nontax) were $53.9 million below revised budget estimates, and total GRF revenues were $471.9 million below revised estimates for the fiscal year to date.
Tax receipts for March totaled $1.2 billion. Receipts were down in sales tax and personal income tax, and up slightly for the auto sales tax and corporate franchise tax. The Commercial Activity Tax (CAT) rebounded in March, but is still $63.7 million below estimates for the fiscal year.
The report also notes that the U.S. economy continued to decline in March, and unemployment in Ohio reached 9.4 percent in February, the highest that it has been since 1984.
With all of the bad news there was a “glimmer” of good news for consumer spending, which stabilized in January and February. “Consumer spending has never (dating back to 1948) declined for three consecutive quarters,” according to the report, and there are indications for a positive first quarter this year.
State Education News
ODE Website on Stimulus Funds
The Ohio Department of Education has created a website called the Stimulus Update to provide information about the disbursement of federal education stimulus funds provided in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The website will explain how to apply for the competitive grants, federal and state guidelines for using the funds, allocations for school districts and community schools, and accountability requirements for school districts and community schools. According to information released by the U.S. Department of Education, accountability for the stimulus funds will be documented through the Comprehensive Continuous Improvement Plan (CCIP) for school districts and schools.
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan also released information last week about changes to the Title I regulations issued in October 2008. The changes would remove the requirement that states must review the minimum student group size (N size) for adequate yearly progress (AYP) purposes; would allow districts and schools identified in improvement status to provide supplemental education services (SES); and would allow a “one-time” waiver for states, for the 2009-10 school year, regarding the requirement that school districts notify parents of school choice options no later than 14 days before the start of school.
ODE Seeking Participants for Standards Revision Process
The Ohio Department of Education issued an invitation for teachers and curriculum directors to participate in a June 30, 2009 planning meeting in Columbus regarding the upcoming revision process for Ohio’s Academic Content Standards. The standards that will be revised include those for English language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies. The State Board of Education’s EDGE committee recommended that state academic content standards be reviewed and aligned to international standards and blend core content with skills for the 21st century. The timeline calls for standards for English language arts, mathematics, science and social studies to be revised by June 2010, and standards for fine arts, computer literacy, wellness literacy, financial literacy/entrepreneurship, and world languages to be revised by June 2011. Sub. HB1 (Sykes), the FY10-11 budget, now being debated in the Ohio House, also calls for state academic content standards to be revised.
According to a report on the standards revision process presented to the March 2009 meeting of the State Board of Education’s Achievement Committee, teams from ODE’s Office of Curriculum and Instruction have been reviewing best practices, current work in Ohio and other states, and international benchmarking in mathematics and science in preparation for revising Ohio’s academic content standards. According to an analysis, the state’s current academic content standards cover too many topics and should be compressed. Ohio’s standards should also prepare students for college and careers, rather than serve as an exit document.
The revision process will be split into two parts: grades K-8 and 9-12. The K-8 standards will have clear vertical articulation and be accompanied by instructional guides. The 9-12 standards will be reflected in course syllabi and be accompanied by end of course exams. The 9-12 standards will also align to college readiness expectations set by the Ohio Board of Regents.
Experts will be invited to assist the ODE staff in drafting the revisions, which will then be presented to content experts and stakeholder groups for review and critique. During the planning meeting, participants will discuss the revision process, review staff findings and suggestions, and offer advice based on their real-world teaching experiences. Those wishing to participate must register by May 15, 2009 online >
School Improvement Institute
The Ohio Department of Education is requesting proposals to present at the Ohio School Improvement Institute, which will be held on November 19-20, 2009 in Columbus. The proposals can be submitted by individuals or teams for 60-minute or 20-minute roundtable discussions. Topics can include assessment, instructional strategies, college credit articulation, and data-driven decision making, etc. Teachers, administrators, business/community representatives, college education administrators are encouraged to submit a proposal by the June 6, 2009 deadline. More information >
State Board of Education Meeting
The State Board of Education (SBE), Jennifer Sheets president, met on April 13-14, 2009 at the Ohio School for the Deaf in Columbus. The Achievement Committee, chaired by Ann Womer-Benjamin, heard an update on financial literacy, a presentation on the NASBE Grant for High School Reform, and an update on the development of benchmarks and indicators for Physical Education Standards. A board member suggested that the introduction to the report on financial literacy may be misleading, because it may portray this work as a way to solve the national banking crisis, which it is not. Some members also suggested that other stakeholders should be contacted and involved in developing information about teaching financial literacy.
Carl Wick provided an update on the NASBE and Council of Chief State School Officers’ High School Redesign Initiative, Leadership Policy Grant ($10,000) funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which the ODE received. The purpose of the grant is to help states align policies and initiatives to turn around low-performing and underperforming high schools. The funds will be used to assess policies, initiatives, and infrastructure; establish partnerships, and design policies for Ohio. High Schools that Work and the Ohio Improvement Model will be used as a framework for building a pilot project. Board members noted that funding for High Schools that Work is being reduced, and output metrics must be included to show results.
There was also a presentation on a draft of the proposed Physical Education Academic Content Standards, benchmarks, and indicators, which are required through Am. HB 119 - 127th General Assembly. Board members raised questions about graduation requirements for physical education, and waivers for physical education for students participating in cheerleading, band, and sports. There was a suggestion that information about the importance of nutrition be added to the standards, and groups such as Action for Healthy Kids be involved in the development of the standards.
The Capacity Committee, chaired by Rob Hovis, discussed rules for employee/applicant rehabilitation standards and pupil activity programs.
National Education News
Military Recruiters and NCLB
According to an article in the Boston Globe on April 24, 2009, “Congress to debate role of recruiters in schools” by Kevin Freking, Congress may reconsider military recruiters’ access to students in the next round of revisions to the federal No Child Left Behind Act. The current provisions that require all federally funded high schools to provide student information and access to military recruiters may be debated in Congress later this year. Some educators and parents are urging lawmakers to reform the recruiting system and want parental consent to be required before such information could be released. Read more >
