Austria‘s Lower Secondary School Reform „ Neue Mittelschule “ (NMS)

1. Austria‘sLowerSecondary School Reform „Neue Mittelschule“ (NMS)

2. The Austrian School System: High Level of Parent Choice School leavingcertificate „Matura“ Federal legislation & administration Technical & vocationalcolleges Apprenticeschools Academic secondaryschool Intermediate tech/vocschool Years 9-12/13 Federal legislation, stateprovincialadministration Prevocational Academic secondaryschool Lowersecondaryschool Years 5 -8 Equity issues in lowersecondary due toselectionatage 10 Primary school Years 1-4 Kindergarten

3. Terminology • NMS-EB (Entwicklungsbegleitung) = external consultancy team/guidance during pilot phase 2008-2012; continuity through know-how transfer to National Center for Learning Schools (CLS) established in 2012. • Lerndesigner = teacher leader/change agent,evidence-informed qualification program focused on equity and student achievement2-year curriculum (equals 12 ECTS credits), feeds into a MA program, now a joint program between CLS & PädagogischeHochschulen(regional level)

4. The NMS Story:Goals = equity & excellence 2008 Legislation for NMS Reform Pilot passed in Parliament; Project Team installed 2010 Generation 3 with 76 schools joins the pilot phase. 2009 NMS-EB initiates Lerndesigner role; first national Lernatelier in January Parent survey shows high satisfaction; Online Platform for parents is opened Generation 1 with 67 schools begins pilot NMS-House illustrates key skills & knowledge for curriculum & instructional development Momentum grows; 177 schools apply to participate in Generation 2 and begin in September. All state provinces are now involved in the pilot phase. Two state provinces (Vorarlberg & Burgenland) are near 100% participation. External consulting NMS-EB initiates first network meeting with school leaders NMS-Platform is provides courses, documentation & networking online

5. The NMS Story cont'd 2011 Generation 4 with 114 schools joins the pilot phase 2012 Generation 5 with 264 schools begin in September. 2013 Generation 6 with 254 schools ready to start in September Political will to reform lower secondary grows: “The NMS increases chances for all youth” Lerndesigner-Network focus for Austria’s project in OECD ILE Phase 3 Coalition partners define legislation; mandate passes Parliament in April. Pilot phase ends; implementation begins. First annual NMS Symposia for Lerndesigners post-qualification. National NMS Congress in Vienna; 900 participants from Generations 1 – 5 and system partners Plus of 11.38% in qualification for academic-track schools among NMS graduates 2012/13 Know-how transfer to system; new teacher education curriculum, Master degree program for Lerndesigners begins, CLS continues development online and in face-to-face events with system partners External consulting NMS-EB in its final year; National Center for Learning Schools is created to maintain continuity & continue development

6. From Pilot to Implementation: Complete 2020 G7 Ca. 200 2014/2015 G8 Ca. 200 2015/2016 Pilot Phase Implemen-tation Phase G6 274 2013/2014

7. NMS Ministry Project Structure Ministryof Education, Artsand Culture Dr. Claudia Schmied, Minister NMS-Project Team, Dept. I/2Helmut Bachmann & Andrea Werner-Thaler National Center for Learning SchoolsChristoph Hofbauer & Tanja Westfall-Greiter in cooperationwith PH-Lower Austria & University of Innsbruck + Regional Competence Teams External Evaluation BIFIE (national testing & schooleffectivenessresearch) Erich Svecnik, Günter Haider Ferdinand Eder, Angelika Petrovic, Helmut Fend Implementation in all compulsorylowersecondaryschools; pilotclasses in academic-track schools (opt-in) In cooperationwith: School Boards & School Inspectorates State-Level NMS-Coordinators NMS Think Tank School Principals Teachers Students Parents & Guardians Information & Debate Reports available in the NMS archive (German) www.bmukk.gv.at/nms Brochures, DVD, informationplatforms www.neuemittelschule.at www.nmsvernetzung.at Pädagogische Hochschulen (Teacher Education) PH NMS-Coordinators

8. Gateway to web resourcesandplatforms http://www.neuemittelschule.at/ [4 min video]

9. The NMS Community & Partners: University Colleges ofTeacher Education + State School Boards

10. SuccessFactors • Pilot legislation § 7a  stability • Project teamatMinistry leadership • Pilot schoolsrequiredmajorityamongschoolstaffandparentstobegin momentum • New rolesforteachers teacherleadership • Externalconsultancy NMS-EB  systemlearning • Strategiesthatworked: • Change agents (Lerndesigners) • National networkingevents • Evidence-informedqualification • Online platformfornetworking & dissemination

11. CurrentChallenges • New requirements in NMS mandate confusion, difficulttransitionforpilotschools • Teachercompensationdoes not accommodatenewsocialarchitecture in schools (teacherleaders)  effectivenessdepends on school • „Pension wave“ in next 10 years (76% in NMS) newstartsforsomeschools • Attracting 8-year academicschoolstoopt in  selection • Firewalls betweenpolicy & practice alignment & compliance • Response lag in teachereducation qualificationburden on continuingeducation / CLS