Race to the Top Massachusetts’ vision and emerging priorities Presented to the Board of Elementary and Secondary Educa

1. Race to the Top Massachusetts’ vision and emerging prioritiesPresented to the Board of Elementary and Secondary EducationOctober 26, 2009

2. Overview • Other ARRA grant opportunities • RTTT application timeline & requirements • Stakeholder engagement: Activities & plans • Vision and emerging priorities in each assurance area

3. Other ARRA grant opportunities • RTTT Assessment Grant - $350 million • Supports consortia of states in developing a common assessment based on common, high-quality standards • Investing in Innovation (i3) - $650 million • Bringing promising practices to scale • Teacher Incentive Fund - $200 million • Supports performance-based teacher and principal compensation in high need districts • State Longitudinal Data Systems - $245 million • Supports development of state data systems

4. RTTT application timeline • Draft regulations issued on July 29 • ESE and EOE submitted joint public comment • Expect final regulations in early November • Applications for the first round will be due 60 days after final regulations are issued • MA goal: Submit application in the first round.

5. RTTT requirements • Only states with an approved SFSF application and no barriers to link student data to teachers are eligible. • Proposal must comprehensively address state reform conditions and reform plan criteria for four assurances: • Priority will be given to states that also focus on STEM • States may also include statewide longitudinal data systems, P-20 coordination and vertical alignment or school-level conditions for reform and innovation Standards and Assessments Data Systems to Support Instruction Great Teachers and Leaders Turning Around Struggling Schools

6. RTTT: Where will the money go? At least 50% to participating districts via Title I formula 50% used by the stateor distributed to districts Additional guidance on district participation expected by early November

7. Stakeholder engagement strategy • Meetings with a broad spectrum of stakeholder groups • Districts, unions, professional associations, business and civic leaders, funders, parents, students, Board advisory councils, other working groups • Survey of superintendents statewide • Webinars on assurance areas for district staff • Regional forums for district staff • Feedback from BESE • Race to the Top website: http://www.doe.mass.edu/arra/

8. Stakeholder engagement in October & November October Nov 19 26 02 09 16 23 30 Board of Education Oct 26-27 Nov 17 Districts & unions Initiative teams Oct 22Standards,Turnaround Oct 20Data Webinars Oct 21Teachers Oct 29STEM Sign up districts to working teams for the different initiatives Determine ongoing communications strategy, influenced by proposal guidance & timing Surveys Launch Oct 28 All districts Complete USN only Close Nov 4 Interviews TBD others Oct 23 Chelsea Oct 26 Lowell Oct 29 Fall River Kicked-off Big 3 ExEL group meeting Nov 4-5 USN meetings Nov 6Include local union, SC leaders Dec 4 Update/Follow-up discussion Oct 22 School Committee leaders Oct 30 Union Funders TBD week of Nov 9 Small group, SGP host TBD end of Nov Large group Business/ leaders Update calls with Linda Noonan, others Oct 6 MBAE Nov TBD Goddard/LG Council

9. Vision and emerging priorities • Standards and assessments: Jeff Nellhaus • Supporting struggling schools: Karla Baehr • Great teachers and leaders: David Haselkorn • Data systems: Bob Bickerton • STEM: Jeff Nellhaus

10. ESE’s vision for standards and assessments Ensure that all MA students achieve proficiency on rigorous and internationally benchmarked standards for college and career readiness Adopt clear and rigorous K-12 standards for high achievement and college and career-readiness Create tools, training, and professional development supports to help districts and schools translate standards into effective curricula and instructional practices Use state-wide summative assessment, including new curriculum-embedded assessments, to assess student progress toward standards Support the development and use of benchmark and formative assessments to inform instruction Establish programs and incentives at the high school level that motivate students to achieve proficiency and mastery of college and career-ready standards

11. Standards & assessments: Emerging priorities Make enhancements to MCAS Develop curricula and instructional supports aligned with common standards Support benchmark and formative assessments High school programs and incentives for college and career readiness • Align MCAS with Common Core of Standards (in development) • Migrate MCAS online with next-generation functionality • Develop performance tasks in strategic areas • Continue to improve reporting tools to inform instruction (e.g., student growth data) • Solutions to support districts, e.g., • Software to help create local curricula • Model curriculum maps • Model course syllabi • ELA and Math benchmark assessments administered periodically • Formative assessment resources available for customized use at the school and class level • Series of professional development courses to support effective use of benchmark and formative assessments • Expand opportunities for Early College High Schools through partnerships with community colleges • Expand the opportunities for AP, IB, and other rigorous college-ready programs, particularly in low performing high schools • Activate the Certificate of Mastery and Certificate of Occupational Proficiency and create incentives for achieving them

12. ESE’s vision for school turnaround Over the past two years, ESE has worked to design a coordinated, tiered system grounded in accountability measures that are tied to appropriate, targeted assistance and intervention To date, ESE has defined a vision of essential school and district conditions necessary for success, and made investments to identify, refine, and disseminate promising models, tools and processes to achieve the essential conditions ESE will support, direct, and guide districts with LEVEL 4 schools in applying models, tools and other vetted resources and partners to rapidly turn around their lowest-performing schools and sustain high levels of achievement. If districts are not successful at LEVEL 4, ESE will take the lead in identifying lead partners to do the turnaround work at LEVEL 5.

13. School turnaround: Emerging priorities Build district leadership capacity Build and disseminate turnaround tools Identify and scale up third-party supports Develop cadre of turnaround teachers and principals Identify and incubate lead partners E.g.: • Supporting effective collaboration between superintendents, union leaders, and school committees E.g.: • Learning Walks • Benchmark and formative assessments E.g.: • Essential Conditions, including social/ behavioral supports • Alternative school transformation E.g.: • Residency, induction, training models to develop teachers and principals • Incentives for school, team, and teacher performance E.g.: • Lead partners to work in LEVEL 4 schools

14. ESE’s vision for great teachers and leaders State’s goal for teachers and leaders:All classrooms in the Commonwealth are staffed by effective educators in schools and districts organized to support student achievement and success The Dept. of ESE seeks to build an integrated state-wide system for teacher and leader development that: • Ensures a strategic and aligned system of educator development, support, and accountability • Incorporates multiple measures of effectiveness (including student achievement and professional growth) into key program approval, licensure, and personnel decisions • Uses national and international best practices as benchmarks

15. Teachers & leaders: Emerging priorities Define and assess teacher and leader effectiveness via multiple measures, anchored in student achievement 1 Use effectiveness measures as the foundation to drive additional initiatives Identify, pilot and scale innovative models to recruit, prepare and develop teachers and leaders Develop a performance-based, tiered licensure system for teachers and leaders Pilot district evaluation and P.D. models that incorporate measures of effectiveness Develop and pilot new models for compensationand equitable distribution 2 3 4 5 Address equitable distribution and turnaround strategies through incentives, improved conditions, leadership, and capacity development Identify and develop turnaround leaders and teacher teams for chronically low-performing schools 6

16. Teachers & leaders: Emerging priorities 1 2 3 4 5 6 Measures of effectiveness Recruitment, prep and development Performance-based tiered licensure Evaluation/ P.D./induction models Compensation and equitable distribution Turnaround teacher and leader teams

17. ESE’s vision for data systems Over the past decade, ESE has begun transitioning from a data system for reporting and compliance and toward a user-oriented data system designed to translate data into useful information To date, ESE has invested in critical infrastructure such as the K-12 data warehouse (including EPIMS, SIMS, and ELAR) and in systems to integrate data across multiple sources in order to better translate data into useful information and learning tools Today, ESE envisions a data system that will empower teachers and leaders to access and use timely, accurate data to inform instruction and decisions

18. Data systems: Emerging priorities Design and build a robust data systems infrastructure Connect and integrate data systems Effectively use data to inform instruction and drive decision-making • Transition from the current resource intensive (burdensome) data collection model to a fully automated process built upon the “Schools Interoperability Framework” (SIF) • Build benchmark assessments aligned with state standards and capacity to collect, analyze, and store data • Build a comprehensive P-20 database and integrate it into the Education Data Warehouse • Create a “Readiness Passport” to connect the Education Data Warehouse to other government databases to create a comprehensive picture of the services and resources accessed and available to MA students • Expand analysis and use of data • Expand capacity at DSACs to train and assist districts with data analysis • Build data “dashboards” to synthesize data from multiple sources • Develop a way to measure proficiency in data use (with accompanying professional development) • Analyze benchmark assessments and make data available quickly and consistently to inform instruction

19. STEM: Emerging priorities Turnarounds Enhanced MCAS Benchmark and formative assessments State model curricula and tools New pathways to college and career-readiness • Add performance tasks to selected MCAS tests that address standards that cannot be directly measured with paper & pencil • Embed TIMSS items in MCAS tests to report TIMSS scores at the district level • Develop benchmark and formative assessments in STEM areas for all schools and districts designed to identify students who need assistance and to improve curriculum and instruction • Develop tools & resources that assist districts in translating Common Core Standards in Mathematics and possibly STE into local curricula • Expand STEM Early College and AP/IB programs, particularly in lower performing high schools • Implement and incentivize STEM focused Certificates of Mastery & Occupational Proficiency Standards & Assessments Professional standards Recruitment, preparation and development Compensation and equitable distribution Turnaround teacher and leader teams • Develop professional standards for STEM teachers that will serve as the basis for their preparation, licensure, and ongoing development and evaluation • Pilot new compensation approaches that improve the recruitment, retention and distribution of highly qualified STEM teachers • Provide training and supports for STEM specialists on teacher and leader teams to help turn around under-performing schools and districts • Pilot innovative teacher recruitment & preparation programs • Expand STEM instructional coaching and content-specific PD for teachers and principals Great Teachers & Leaders

20. More information on RTTT • ESE’s RTTT coordinator: Carrie Conaway cconaway@doe.mass.edu • RTTT email: rttt@doe.mass.edu • Race to the Top web site: http://www.doe.mass.edu/arra/