State Board Elects New Leadership, Discusses 2017-18 Assessments

The State Board of Education voted in new leadership, electing Stephanie Bell (District 3) to serve as its Vice President and Dr. Cynthia McCarty (District 6) as President Pro Tem at its annual business meeting Tuesday. The vote was unanimous, with Ella Bell (District 5) abstaining due to concerns she cited about “external organizations having an impact” on the board.

In his update, State Superintendent Michael Sentance reported:

• The U. S. Department of Education has released one of three conditions on the state’s Title 1 funds relating to participation.
  
• The draft ESSA plan will be presented at the end of July. That draft, once adopted, must be submitted to Governor Kay Ivey for comments and returned to the board for final approval. 

Sentance also alerted board members that the proposed cuts in the federal health care legislation would have a significant impact on Alabama’s students and schools. The state’s education leaders currently are engaged in efforts to prevent harmful cuts to school-based funding to Medicaid eligible students.

Graduation Rate Investigation: Update

During the work session immediately following the board meeting, former Jefferson County Superintendent Dr. Phil Hammonds delivered a report detailing what he termed the “perfect storm” that resulted in the premature release of incorrect 2015-16 high school graduation rates in April. He said the confusion was the result of a series of communication lapses that occurred after board members requested the graduation rate during a work session and prior to the required review taking place. Miscommunication and false assumptions followed and culminated in the faulty release of data online, he explained. Hammonds said he deemed the snafu a collective responsibility with no one individual to blame. He recommended that moving forward, the ALSDE practice clear policies and protocols along with thoughtful communication to ensure such errors are not repeated in the future. McCarty emphasized that this advice should be integrated throughout the ALSDE.

Assistant State Superintendent Dr. Tony Thacker announced that the corrected federal graduation rate is 87.1 percent for the 2015-16 school year. The federal graduation now differs from the state graduation rate because of students taking courses as part of the “essentials” diploma pathway. Although Alabama considers these students graduates, nearly 1,000 students are not counted as meeting federal graduation requirements.

Assessments for 2017-18

Also during Tuesday’s work session, ALSDE officials discussed assessments for the 2017-18 school year. Sentance explained that Scantron (formerly Global Scholar) will be used for grades 3-8, citing alignment with standards and confidence in the instrument as key factors in the decision. He reported that 60 to 65 percent of school systems already are using Scantron. Officials from the Florence City school system endorsed Scantron as the test they have used through a state waiver. Sentance also noted waivers could not be granted under federal regulation.

Scantron assesses achievement by offering a computer adaptive test that starts at grade level and then increases or decreases in difficulty based on the students’ performance. Sentance explained that test questions are released, allowing educators to see how state standards are addressed in student instruction. He cautioned that there may be some initial surprise about the robust standards included at each grade level, but he also stressed such feedback is exactly what is needed.

For new assessments, Sentance recommended no 10th grade test and administering the ACT during the second semester of 11^th grade. This approach also would include administering the PSAT during the first semester of 11^th grade, a state cost of $680,000. The PSAT would provide scholarship opportunities for students not otherwise available and would not be part of the state accountability program.

The new assessment schedule concerned some board members who said they worried about the tight timeline to prepare teachers to administer the tests this fall. McCarty stressed that quality, robust professional development is critical and that if adopted, only six weeks remain before the first test would be administered in August. ALSDE staff said professional development already is being discussed, and

Scantron officials have been on site to assure that their teams are engaged and that work in the field is ongoing.

MPS Intervention

Dr. Jermall Wright, director of the Office of School Improvement and Turnaround, provided an update on the state intervention in Montgomery Public Schools. He discussed MPS Plan 2022, the strategic plan guiding the intervention, and outlined five goals for the system to meet in five years:

1. Highly reliable and highly performing organization;
   
2. Great schools in every neighborhood;
   
3. Foundation for success in schools;
   
4. College and career ready students; and
   
5. Support for the whole child. 
   

Results of the MPS instructional audit also were released during Wright’s update.

Board members received details about the financial costs associated with the state’s MPS intervention. Jason Taylor, Montgomery Intervention CFOO, explained the MPS budget and outlined accounting reclassifications, while Deputy State Superintendent Andy Craig addressed the investment being made by the ALSDE. McCarty expressed concern about allocation of state resources to one school system when there are so many needs statewide. McCarty repeated her request for an ALSDE department budget with a year-to-year comparison for division funding and associated personnel/vacancies.

At its earlier meeting, the board removed an agenda item to rescind a resolution regarding a hiring freeze for the ALSDE and MPS. At the end of the work session, Sentance requested clear instruction, saying it is critical that the system hire teachers and other key personnel for the upcoming school year. Board members stated the intent of the resolution was never to impact the system's hiring authority and was intended to apply only to hiring state intervention personnel.

The work session closed with two committees named: McCarty, Jeff Newman (District 7) and Dr. Yvette Richardson (District 4) are part of a committee to consider protocols for working with the newly appointed attorneys for the state board; and Ella Bell (District 5), Betty Peters (District 2) and Jackie Zeigler (District 1) will be part of a committee tasked with planning an agenda for an upcoming state board retreat.

A special-called meeting is planned for the end of July (date TBA), and the next regularly scheduled board meeting and work session will take place Aug. 10.

Bylaws and Resolutions Due Aug. 14