Moving the Massachusetts Public Schools into the 21 st Century

1. Moving the Massachusetts Public Schools into the 21st Century Presented by Gerald Chertavian On behalf of the Task Force for 21st Century Skills Tuesday, November 18, 2008

2. Last Century’s Classroom 21st Century Skills

3. This Century’s Classroom

4. Massachusetts Has Many Reasons To Be Proud Viewed as being a state that “did Education Reform right” Nationally-recognized standards and assessments We have kept standards high Continued bipartisan support for reform NAEP results top all other states SAT scores at or near the top nationally More than 70% of our graduates go to college

5. We Have Much More Work To Do • Employers want graduates who are both “book smart”and prepared to succeed in today’s hi-tech, complex, competitive world. • To do this right we must: • Find ways to integrate and embed 21st century skills and knowledge in the K-12 curriculum • Create conditions to support our teachers to teach and model these skills • Find ways to assess whether these skills are being taught and if students are learning them

6. By 2015, about 85 percent of new jobs will require at least a two-year degree Just 10 percent of the state’s employment opportunities are in manufacturing Employers say most critical job skills are professionalism, work ethic, oral and written communications, teamwork, collaboration, problem solving and critical thinking Recent MBAE study found a majority of high school graduates and many college graduates were lacking in most of those skills The Global Economy is Driving Change

7. Today’s Jobs Require Different Skills Source: Preparing Students to Thrive in the 21st Century. 2007, Richard Murnane

8. Hourly Wage Gaps are Widening Advanced Degree 4-year college degree $24 difference $12 difference High School diploma Some High School

9. Today’s Jobs Require More Education & Training Change in the distribution of education / skill level in jobs, 1973 v. 2001 -9% -23% +16% +16% Source: Carnevale, Anthony P. & Donna M. Desrochers, Standards for What? The Economic Roots of K–16 Reform, Educational Testing Service, 2003.

10. P21 Framework

11. 21st Century Skills Framework Core Subjects21st Century Themes • Economics • English • Government/Civics • Arts • History • Geography • Reading or • Language Arts • Mathematics • Science • World Languages • Global Awareness • Financial, Economic, Business • & Entrepreneurship Literacy • Civic Literacy • Health Literacy

12. 21st Century Skills Framework • Learning & Innovation • Critical Thinking & Problem Solving • Creativity & Innovation • Communication & Collaboration • Information, Media & Technology • Information Literacy • Media Literacy • ICT (Information, Communications & Technology) Literacy • Life & Career • Flexibility & Adaptability • Initiative & Self-Direction • Social & Cross-Cultural Skills • Productivity & Accountability • Leadership & Responsibility • Cultural Competency

13. Task Force on 21st Century Skills • 22-member task force formed in May • Leaders in education, business and technology • Charged with developing recommendations for ways to integrate 21st century skills in K12 curriculum • 4 subgroups: • Assessment and Accountability • Curriculum Development, Instruction and Learning Environments • Standards and Workforce Development • Educator Quality and Support

14. Recommendations: Educator Quality and Support • Overhaul the state’s teacher training and professional development programs to recruit and retain high achieving educators who have a background in and up to date knowledge of 21st century skills.

15. Recommendations: Educator Quality and Support • Redesign educator preparation, licensure and PD programs to attract and nurture high achieving candidates • Build public/private partnerships to enhance educator growth and learning opportunities • Offer PD opportunities on 21st century skills to educators, administrators and staff of ESE • Require all educators to demonstrate mastery of the use of technology to teach, assess and manage student learning • Develop online “Hubs” for curriculum, PD and assessment to share information, best practices and success stories

16. Recommendations: Standards and WF Development • Raise the state’s bar on rigor by embedding complementary 21st century skills and content throughout the Commonwealth’s curriculum frameworks in every subject.

17. Recommendations: Standards and WF Development • Review and update all curriculum frameworks to integrate and embed 21st century skills • Prior to BESE vote, review revised frameworks with Partnership for 21st Century Skills and Achieve Inc.’s American Diploma Project • Create and promote new and existing scholarships and incentives for proficiency in 21st century skills • Encourage schools to offer online learning options • Commit Readiness Centers to serve in part as 21st century skills capacity-building centers to assist in curriculum and instruction

18. Recommendations: Assessment • Become a national leader in assessment by integrating the measurement of 21st century skills throughout the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS).

19. Recommendations: Assessment • Revamp the U.S. History exam to become the state’s first MCAS exam to test proficiency in both content and 21st century skills • Update the STE exam to require students to demonstrate knowledge through locally administered projects and lab experiments • Participate in multiple global benchmarking opportunities to analyze how MA performance compares internationally • Develop and formalize partnerships with higher education and private businesses to explore innovative ways to improve MCAS

20. Recommendations: Accountability • Hold teachers, administrators and the state accountable for incorporating 21st century skills into the curricula in a complementary way and hold students accountable for learning them.

21. Recommendations: Accountability • Develop a growth model component of the state’s assessment system • Require all students to use technology to research, develop, complete and present a locally-evaluated senior project prior to graduation • Examine ways to incorporate performance assessment of 21st century skills and knowledge into the state’s accountability system and provisions • Develop a method to measure the quality of opportunities schools provide for students to engage in creative work • Develop Quality Teaching Audits to examine curricula and teaching methods

22. Recommendations: Demonstration Vehicles • Establish up to five 21st century districts and up to ten 21st century schools • Expand the number of Expanded Learning Time schools to 100 or more • Expand the Creative Teaching Partners Initiative and strive to place up to 1000 artists, scientists and/or engineers in schools part-time over the next five years

23. Next Steps • Encourage EOE to draft principles and a vision for the Commonwealth’s 21st century students, educators, schools and districts, to be adopted by the ESE, DHE and EEC Boards • Build support among education stakeholders • Clearly define the role of the ESE and establish accountability measures • Create an advisory council charged with making policy recommendations to the BESE • Encourage MASS, MASC and union leaders to work together to build support for 21st century skills • Collaborate with other New England states to adopt a common set of standards and policies