Category Archives: State Board of Education

How to decipher the state’s proposed school and district report cards | EdSource

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By John Fensterwald

Some states assign a single number or letter grade to rate a school. Some parents prefer that too. But California education leaders are proposing a very different system with a brightly colored report card as a way of explaining the achievement of every school and district. At its meeting Wednesday morning, the State Board of Education will look at the latest draft and discuss how to proceed with it. (You can watch the webcast, starting at 8:30 am, here.)

The board is facing a September deadline to adopt a new school and district improvement and accountability system, which will take effect in 2017-18. In place of the now suspended Academic Performance Index, which assigned a three-digit number to a school based on standardized test scores, the state will take a more comprehensive look at school life and academic progress. The change will parallel the shift in Washington from the No Child Left Behind Act to broader measures required under the Every Student Succeeds Act.

Source: How to decipher the state’s proposed school and district report cards | EdSource

New framework for teaching K-12 science moves closer to approval | EdSource

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By Pat Maio

A framework for new science assessments for California’s 6.2 million public school students moved closer to completion last week, as a state advisory panel approved sending the latest draft to the State Board of Education for approval.

At the same time, the panel, known as the Instructional Quality Commission, approved the draft for a final 60-day public comment period.

The framework would implement the “Next Generation Science Standards” – a major overhaul of the nation’s approach toward teaching science in K-12 grades. The standards, more commonly called NGSS, emerged after educational leaders nationwide met in 2010 and pushed for rewriting a science curriculum that had not been changed since the late 1990s.

Approving the framework is a key step in the multi-layered and multi-year process the state has initiated to introduce the standards in every school district in the state. While the NGSS standards create common practices for teaching science, the framework consists of several chapters detailing what is to be taught at specific grade levels: pre-1st grade, 1st and 2nd grades, 3rd through 5th, 6th through 8th, and the high school grades.

Source: New framework for teaching K-12 science moves closer to approval | EdSource

Brown urged to ‘reaffirm the vision’ of funding law | EdSource

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By John Fensterwald

A team of researchers found that, two years into the state’s new school financing law, “nagging concerns” are tempering the enthusiasm that school districts and county offices of education have for the Local Control Funding Formula.

In their final report, due out in several weeks, they will urge Gov. Jerry Brown and the State Board of Education to “reaffirm the vision” of the new funding law – shifting decisions to the local level, closer to the classroom – or risk losing the opportunity “if we don’t get it right.”

via Brown urged to ‘reaffirm the vision’ of funding law | EdSource.

California prepares to adopt materials for new English learner approach | EdSource

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By Theresa Harrington

The State Board of Education is set to adopt a new set of instructional materials and textbooks for kindergarten through 8th grade on Wednesday that incorporates what education officials describe as a pathbreaking approach to more effectively teaching English learners.

In January 2014, the state board adopted a set of recommended textbooks for math aligned with the Common Core, but it has taken nearly two additional years to come up with its list of Common Core-aligned recommended textbooks and other instructional materials in English language arts. This is in part because it has integrated English language development – which teaches English learners to speak and read English – into the English Language Arts framework that was adopted last year.

via California prepares to adopt materials for new English learner approach | EdSource.

Statement on Test Scores by CA State Board President (CA Dept of Education)

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Test results released Wednesday by the California Department of Education set a new baseline for academic performance of students, schools and districts. The tests set standards at readiness for college unlike the old, multiple-choice tests they replaced. Results, in combination with new online instructional resources and local accountability tools, give parents, educators and stakeholders much more actionable data than ever before.

The results show that 53 percent of California’s students meet or nearly meet the English Language Arts achievement standards, and 48 percent meet or nearly meet the mathematics achievement standards. One of 10 students exceeds the standards for both subjects. At every grade level, English Language Arts results are stronger for girls than for boys. The results for math show much less gender disparity. Results for students from traditionally disadvantaged groups show significant achievement gaps.

These new tests aligned with the Common Core Standards ask a lot more of students than the old, multiple-choice exams. The new tests use computer adaptive technology to provide more accurate information about individual student performance. Along with reading to follow a story, students are asked to cite evidence and draw logical conclusions. They are using math to solve real-world problems.

via SBE News Release for September 10, 2015 – State Board of Education (CA Dept of Education).

State delays releasing Common Core-aligned test scores until September | EdSource

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By Sarah Tully

As educators eagerly await the results of the new standardized assessments aligned with the Common Core standards that more than 3 million students took in the spring, state officials now say they plan to release the scores in early September, later than originally projected.

Parents can expect to start receiving their children’s scores about the same time.

As early as last month at the State Board of Education’s most recent meeting, California Department of Education officials anticipated that results of the Smarter Balanced Assessments would be released to the public sometime in August.

Officials say that because this is the first time results on the new assessments will be released, they want to take extra care to make sure everything is accurate and complete before the official release in September. A date has yet to be announced.

via State delays releasing Common Core-aligned test scores until September | EdSource.

State board gets extra year to create measures of school progress | EdSource

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By John Fensterwald

The Legislature has given the State Board of Education an extra year to complete the next phase of a new school accountability system required by the state’s 2-year-old funding law.

The state board had requested more time, which legislators included in Assembly Bill 104 (section 22), the catch-all “trailer bill” that enacts the state budget details into law. The trailer bill also is a way to expedite non-controversial issues that need quick action.

For months, the board has been struggling with an Oct. 1 deadline for adopting a set of “evaluation rubrics,” a set of uniform student and school performance standards. The Legislature mandated that the state board establish the standards and ultimately hold districts accountable for meeting them.

via State board gets extra year to create measures of school progress | EdSource.

Dixon middle school earns Gold Ribbon honor – The Reporter

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By Richard Bammer

C.A. Jacobs Intermediate School in Dixon, on Tuesday was among nearly 200 California middle schools that State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson honored under the state’s new Gold Ribbon Schools Awards Program, which is temporarily taking the place of the California Distinguished Schools Program.

Two other Solano County public schools, also deemed Title 1, or low-income, were cited. They were the Mare Island Technology Middle School and MIT Academy High, both in Vallejo City Unified and the latter among 180 high schools designation for the honor. All were recognized as Title I Academic Achieving Schools, too.

“These schools are academically successful, vibrant, and innovative centers of learning and teaching,” Torlakson said in a press release. “They provide great examples of the things educators are doing right — embracing rigorous academic standards, providing excellence and creativity in teaching, and creating a positive school climate.”

via Dixon middle school earns Gold Ribbon honor.

Local educators hail state ed board’s decision to suspend API for one year – The Reporter

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By Richard Bammer

Vacaville-area educators on Thursday hailed state education leaders’ decision to suspend for one year the Academic Performance Index (API), the so-called “report card on schools,” as Sacramento officials develop a broader measurement system rather than a single, test-based metric.

The decision, which the state Board of Education unanimously made Wednesday, came as California school district academic officers, tech-support employees and teachers are still struggling, in some cases, to get used to new technology and the all-computerized tests ushered in with the Common Core State Standards within the last year.

“There’s been a major learning curve with all the new technology, and it’s radically different from what we’ve done before,” said Moira McSweeney, president of the 680-member Vacaville Teachers Association, “It’s something the California Teachers Association has been working on. We are in support of it.”

via Local educators hail state ed board’s decision to suspend API for one year.

California Task Force Seeks Sweeping Changes to Special Education – Education Week

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By Christina Samuels

Improving the academic outcomes for California students with disabilities will require an extensive revamp of the states education system, a task force said Wednesday. Among them: a revision of teacher preparation, support for early learning, and an overhaul of special education financing with an eye to more local control and accountability.

Those recommendations are part of a 100-page report drafted by Californias Statewide Task Force on Special Education and submitted to the state board of education. (The task force also released an executive summary of its findings, as well as four subcommittee reports.)

About 613,000 students ages 6 to 21 receive special education services in California, about 10 percent of the nations total special education population of 5.8 million in that age range. The graduation rate for California students with disabilities is about 60 percent, compared to 80 percent for the student population as a whole.

via California Task Force Seeks Sweeping Changes to Special Education – On Special Education – Education Week.

California suspends other standards for Common Core, for now – The Reporter

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By Christine Armario, Associated Press

One set of California school standards has temporarily fallen victim to another.

California’s school accountability system and its new Common Core academic standards were put head-to-head on Wednesday, and Common Core won.

At a meeting in Sacramento, the states Board of Education suspended its Academic Performance Index for the 2014-2015 school year. The move is intended to give teachers and students time to adjust to new standardized tests aligned with the Common Core standards.

The suspended index used student results on statewide tests to rank schools and to identify those that need improvement.

via California suspends other standards for Common Core, for now.

California Board of Education suspends school Academic Performance Index system – The Reporter

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By Theresa Harrington

The State Board of Education has agreed to suspend the Academic Performance Index, or API, this school year to allow for the development of a more comprehensive accountability system.

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson announced the unanimous decision Wednesday, saying the new system will include several factors, rather than providing a single score based on standardized test results. Other performance criteria that may be included along with test scores are graduation rates and college and career readiness indicators.

The state expects to release scores for the new California Assessment of Student Progress and Performance, or CAASPP tests — computerized exams that replace STAR tests — by the end of August. However, the new school accountability scores are not expected to be available until fall of 2016 at the earliest, according to a news release.

via California Board of Education suspends school Academic Performance Index system.

API should be replaced, state committee recommends | EdSource

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By Michelle Maitre

A state advisory committee that spent more than two years trying to find a way to rejigger the Academic Performance Index is now recommending moving away from that single number in favor of a more comprehensive system allowing for a broader picture of school effectiveness.

In a unanimous vote Tuesday, the Public Schools Accountability Act Advisory Committee approved a recommendation calling on the state to replace the API, the three-digit number that since 1999 has been the dominant means by which schools are measured.

Instead, California should adopt a system that relies on “multiple measures” to evaluate schools, the committee said. Such a system – which has yet to be determined – would be better aligned with the requirements of the new school funding law, the Local Control Funding Formula. The law sets out eight priority areas districts must focus on, including pupil achievement and engagement, implementation of academic standards and other factors. Standardized test scores, the sole component of the API, would be just one part of a new system.

via API should be replaced, state committee recommends | EdSource#.VNJvfmctHGg#.VNJvfmctHGg.

State rethinks how to report test scores | EdSource

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By John Fensterwald

California policymakers say they intend to create a different system for reporting results of the upcoming tests on the Common Core standards than parents and schools have become used to in the era of the No Child Left Behind Act.

At this point, they can’t say what it will look like. The reporting system is one of several moving parts that include recalibrating the Academic Performance Index, the current measure of school improvement, of which the results on the Common Core standards would be a big piece. But state leaders can say what the new system won’t be: anything resembling the federal system for measuring schools, which led to most being judged failures.

“States can report however we want and can include anything that we want,” said Michael Kirst, president of the State Board of Education, which is immersed in creating a new accountability system for districts and schools.

via State rethinks how to report test scores | EdSource.

Torlakson victory ensures continuity in reforms | EdSource

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By Louis Freedberg

One immediate consequence of State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson’s rebuff of challenger Marshall Tuck is to ensure the continuance of the cohesion in state education policy that has been forged since Gov. Jerry Brown returned to Sacramento four years ago.

“Who is in charge?” is a question that hovered for decades over what State Board of Education President Michael Kirst has described as an inherently “fractured and fractious” education governing structure. But the last several years have demonstrated that, under the right conditions, dysfunction is not necessarily a constant condition of California politics.

Torlakson’s victory guarantees that there will be continuity on the key reforms underway in California schools, most notably the Common Core State Standards, the new Smarter Balanced assessments to be administered to 3 million California children in the spring, and the dramatic revision of school funding, including targeting funds at low-income students, English learners and foster children.

via Torlakson victory ensures continuity in reforms | EdSource.

Vacaville schools to discuss program improvement, assessments – Daily Republic

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By Susan Winlow

Out with Standardized Testing and Reporting and in with the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress.

Both assessment umbrellas come with acronyms, of course, STAR is the old and CAASPP is the new.

Vacaville School District trustees will hear an update on program improvement status Thursday and take a look at statewide assessment methods and scores.

The new assessment umbrella this year will include Smarter Balanced assessments for English-language arts and math that go along with the new Common Core standards of teaching. The California Standards Tests will continue to be administered for science assessments in fifth, eighth and 10th grades.

via Vacaville schools to discuss program improvement, assessments Daily Republic.

School districts should begin planning now for new science standards | EdSource Today

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By Trish Williams

The Next Generation Science Standards, adopted last September by the State Board of Education, will better engage and educate all students in science, and better prepare them to enter more in-depth science, computing and engineering courses in high school and beyond.

I am a passionate champion of California’s new science standards.

The board adopted the standards based on recommendations by Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson and California’s Science Expert Panel, which included 27 industry and university scientists as well as K-12 science teachers.

via School districts should begin planning now for new science standards | EdSource Today.

Dan Walters: Lawsuit opens new front in California’s school war – Sacramento Bee

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By Dan Walters

A new front in the years-long political and legal war over the future of California’s immense and immensely expensive public school system opened this week in a Los Angeles courtroom.

The war pits the education establishment, which argues that more money is the best way to improve academic outcomes, against civil rights advocates and reform groups backed by business interests and wealthy individuals, which contend that structural change is needed.

via Dan Walters: Lawsuit opens new front in California’s school war – Dan Walters – The Sacramento Bee.

California Board of Education to decide on new school funding plan – Sacramento Bee#mi_rss=Education

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By Loretta Kalb

The California Board of Education is poised today to adopt emergency regulations guiding the state’s landmark plan for distributing money to the state’s 6.2 million-student school system.

The expected vote on the rules for the state’s new Local Control Funding Formula drew hundreds of educators, community leaders, student advocates and Gov. Jerry Brown to the meeting.

via California Board of Education to decide on new school funding plan – Education – The Sacramento Bee#mi_rss=Education.

First Common Core Math Materials Adopted – Year 2014 (CA Dept of Education)

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SACRAMENTO—School districts now have a list of more than 30 instructional materials to choose from that are aligned to the Common Core State Standards for mathematics, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson announced today.

This comes after the State Board of Education completed the 2014 adoption of kindergarten through grade eight mathematics materials for California students. The list is attached.

“Today’s step keeps us on track toward our goal of providing students the real- world skills they will need for college and career, in part through the Common Core,” Torlakson said. “These quality materials will help students achieve the proficiency in mathematics that California’s employers are looking for from this future workforce.”

via First Common Core Math Materials Adopted – Year 2014 (CA Dept of Education).