UConn Executive Leadership Program

1. UConn Executive Leadership Program EDLR 478 Policy, Fall 2007 Philip Streifer, Richard Kisiel and Robert Villanova (Note: the beliefs and dispositions section of this presentation reflect the beliefs of Phil Streifer only)

2. Today’s Agenda 1:00 Overview of Course and Assignments; examples of policy papers 2:00 Francine DeFranco (confirmed) 3:00 The Reform Movement 4:00 Bob Villanova (confirmed) 5:00 Dinner 6:15 The Reform Movement (Con’t) 9:00 Adjourn

3. Course Requirements • Do reading and participate in discussions • Write quality work as if you were submitting it to a Board of Education • Required Assignments (1, 2, 3 and one other): • Assignment I: Analyze your local school district goals. What is the genesis of these goals? Are they realistic and can they be achieved? Due by Session II.

4. Assignments Assignment II: Part I - Using the CSDE ECS website, what factor is most contributing to your district’s lack of state aid? If you were the superintendent of schools and were asked to testify before the CT Legislature on the fairness of the ECS formula, what position would you take and what changes would you recommend? Part II: Review your local budget and determine if resources are equitably distributed. Provide rationale to demonstrate resources are equitably distributed or how it might be done differently if needed. Due by Session III.

5. Assignments • Required - Assignment III: Major Policy Analysis Paper and Board Presentation (due last session) • Select One: • Assignment IV: assignment on research based programs for NCLB. Identify what the US Dep’t of Education now accepts as ‘researched based’ interventions and determine if any of your local programs instituted in the past five years meets these criteria. • Assignment V: identify examples of equitable or inequitable distribution of resources in candidates’ home or internship district. One section of the paper should focus on proper allocation of resources to provide a safe, effective, and efficient facility

6. Assignments - Optional • Assignment VI: short paper on the impact of disproportionality in their home district – what pressures is it putting on local resources and how will they address publicly the allocation of scarce resources for special needs students/programs. • Assignment VII: describe the basic principles used in daily decision-making. What priorities will guide decision making? • Assignment VIII: paper reaction to presentation on politics and the legislative process.

7. Course Topics/Sessions • Topic I. Reviewing the Educational Political Environment • Educational Reform Movement: Historical Perspective, Context, Trends, Strategies, Implications. • Political Structure and Sources of Conflict: Political Actors, Interest Groups, Governmental Agencies, Political Culture. • Politics of Education at Governmental Levels: Political and Governance Patterns at Federal, State and Local Levels. • Role of local Boards of Education and superintendents in district leadership and goal setting. • Topic II. The Policy Process and Policy Analysis • Development of Policy Agendas: • Community Communication Involvement Strategies: • Decision Making and Priority Setting in Government • The Policy Process • Policy Analysis Methodology

8. Topics/Sessions Con’t • Topic III. School Funding • How the issues of adequacy, equity and efficiency affect state school funding formulas. • Connecticut’s state aid formula – does it work? Why, why not? • Securing the local share of school funding resources: the influence on school governance • Topic IV: Local Policy Development • How school districts identify policy issues • Local school policy development and the role of the Board of Education and Superintendent • Implementing and monitoring local district policy

9. Topics/Sessions (Con’t) • Topic V: Issues in Special Educational Law, Policy and Programming; other issues • Special Education Law and Regulations • Educational Alternatives (Choice, Charter Schools, Vouchers, Privatization) • Desegregation and Tracking

10. Tom Sobol The Unanticipated Consequences of the Standards Movement

11. From a speech given by Thomas Sobol to National Suburban School Superintendents, Palm Beach, FL. November, 1999.  Sobol on the Unintended Consequences of the Standards Movement 1. “You wouldn’t run a class that way – embarrassing kids into better performance.” Reference made to singling out poor performing districts on tests. “Carrot and stick approach won’t work.” 2.     “Tests create stifling singular practice – we don’t know enough to do that” 3.     “Standards movement confuses standards with standardization – we are locking into place the practice of the past and locking out creativity needed for the future.” 4.     “Tendency toward reductionism – we are limiting what we teach to those goals we can easily measure.” 5.     “There is a shift in locus of local policy making from local to the state.” 6.     We are promoting “The dead hand of past practice.” 7.     “The single-minded focus on standards has kept us from pursuing other equally important areas.” Sobol went on to say that “coming together (in classrooms) is an important learning” and “Kids need to be raised as well as instructed.” He finally argued that this is not an ‘either – or’ argument, but a ‘both and’ argument.

12. What should be done? 1.     “Continue to set and achieve high standards.” 2.     “Standards and tests should be broad enough to allow teachers to think and experiment.” 3.     “Standards should apply to the core of the school curriculum, but not its totality.” 4.     “If I could say only one thing to the Nation’s policy makers it would be ‘We need to slow things down.’ We need more time to teach teachers and to harness technology.” 5.     “Need to expand our notion of accountability to one that looks like a circle – not a pyramid. We need accountability up and down.” 6.     “We should embrace the new standards but also deal with the problems they are creating.” 7.     “The role of superintendents should be to help us maintain sanity.”

13. Sobol suggested that the only group in the Nation that could speak out on this topic were those superintendents gathered as they are the leaders of the top, highest performing districts in the Country. In any references made to the information contained herein, please make reference to notes taken by Phil Streifer from a speech given by Thomas Sobol at the SSS Conference, Palm Beach, FL, November 5, 1999.

14. Discussion 1 1. Sobol: “Need to expand our notion of accountability to one that looks like a circle – not a pyramid. We need accountability up and down.” What does he mean by this? How would you operationalize his recommendation? • Develop a response to Sobol: Do you agree/disagree? Why? Develop a policy recommendation to your Board on testing and accountability. How much? What tests and at what grades? For what purposes, i.e., how will the results be used? (for example, are you in favor of or opposed to testing early childhood grades: K-3?). Defend your position. • Given the changes in state testing brought about by NCLB – testing all grades – what is your position on providing more regular feedback to teachers on how kids are doing re: standards based assessments; quarterly assessments, etc.?

15. David Berliner 2005 • Berliner argues that the answer to achievement is the reduction of poverty. • Some argue that making such an argument is skirting school responsibility. Certainly this is the position that the Federal Government is taking. • If you were asked by your Board to react to Berliner’s argument, what would you say?

16. History of Data Driven/Policy Driven Reform -- Prior to NCLBSee Streifer 2004 Ch. 6

17. CT Issues: How Should Schools Be Governed? • Controlling Public Education • What is local control? Define it operationally. • Should school finance be centralized such as in Hawaii? • What are the implications of the school finance law suit now underway here in CT (CCJEF)? • School Autonomy and School Choice. What is your position? • Sheff v. O’Neill – not over yet! What is your position regarding regionalization? Sharing limited state funds with the cities through magnet schools? Busing and open enrollment?

18. CT Issues: How Should Schools Be Governed? (Con’t) • Why not private school choice? • What is your position on charter schools? • What is the role of the CSDE, State Board of ED, Commissioner? • Normally…? • Under NCLB? • Why did CT file suit against the Federal Government for NCLB? • Key issues? • What chances to you give it and why? • Why did CT lose?

19. CT Issues: How Should Schools Be Governed? (Con’t) • Under what conditions should the state be allowed to dictate local policy? • Desegregation: what is the basis of this authority? • How is CT addressing this issue?

20. CT Issues: How Should Schools Be Governed? (Con’t) • Adequacy and Equity – how is this addressed in CT? • Standards and Adequacy. How are these concepts connected? What are the local implications? • Should local fund raising be banned? Why is this even important?

21. Political Trends and Forces • Why understanding data and analyses are important • Standard & Poor’s School Evaluation Services • US Department of Education and the National Science Foundation • Only statistically defensible studies are funded • Experimental designs only! • Are states ‘on board’ or ‘jumping ship’ with NCLB? • Why? What is the political mood? How does this impact local district governance and accountability

22. S&P SchoolMatters • http://www.schoolmatters.com • What’s Different about SES than Other Online State Reporting Systems? • Observations = Judgments • Performance Cost Indicators • PA Superintendents working on the Interpretive Guide found these ‘Observations’ told an incomplete story and were often very complex.

23. Comparative Data Made Public How can you have the local percent be more than 100%? It’s a consequence of the formula used here by S&P.

24. Some ‘Conclusions’ are Controversial: We believe these are complex and require professional interpretation. They May Be Unfair.

25. From the College Board on the SAT Points to Note • Reliability: The data show that the SAT I is a reliable test and that an individual test taker would tend to earn similar scores on repeated testings. • SEM: The standard error of measurement is approximately 30 points, indicating that, on average, a test taker’s observed scores would be within 30 points of his or her “true score”. • SED: The Standard Error of the Difference (SED) is roughly 40 for both verbal and math scores on the SAT I. The user can be reasonably confident that a score difference of around 60 points or more indicates a true difference in ability between two test takers.

26. Overview: High Stakes Testing for Tracking, Promotion and Graduation • Framework/Criteria for test appropriateness • Cross-Cutting Themes • Appropriate use of tests in: • Tracking? • Promotion and Retention? • Awarding or Withholding high school diplomas? • Using voluntary national tests for tracking, promotion or graduation decisions • This was 1999 – now we have NCLB. Why did the Congress do an about face since they commissioned this report?

27. Overview: High Stakes Testing for Tracking, Promotion and Graduation (Con’t) • Participation and Accommodations: • Students with disabilities • English-Language Learners • See full document for list of recommendations….

28. Discussion 1 • Your SATs are down for the third year in a row, this year by 24 points mostly attributed to the verbal scores. Last year you ameliorated the Board by arguing that the trend was only two years, and the drop in scores within the standard error of the test. But this year you can’t make that argument and several Board members who normally support you on these issues are now pressuring you for a plan and action. • What do you do and say at next Tuesday’s Board meeting? • You are the Board of Education and you are frustrated at this further decline. Test scores were down mildly for the past two years and now by another 24 points. You don’t feel that the administration is taking this seriously or perhaps, you wonder, if they really know what to do about it. • What questions do you have for the administration at next Tuesday’s Board meeting?

29. Discussion 2 • What have been the state-wide policy implications of reliance of the CMT and CAPT in CT? • What have been your local policy implications? • Do you favor the identification of ‘failing schools’ in CT? Why? Why not? • Would you consider CT’s data driven reform movement successful? Does it use ‘high quality data’? Does it meet the recommendations of the ‘high-stakes’ research? • You have been asked by CAPSS to write a position paper to the Commissioner on the new versions of CMT and CAPT. Given Sobol’s comments and the Maryland experience, develop ‘bullet points’ for this paper.

30. WHEN SCHOOL CHOICE ISN'T School choice, as written into federal law, was intended to provide an escape for kids stuck in lousy situations, while at the same time spurring competition for reform. It came about as a compromise between advocates and foes of private school vouchers by creating parental choice, though only within public schools. In exchange for a significant increase in federal funding, the new education law demands that failing or persistently unsafe schools give parents new transfer options and cover the costs of transportation to another school. As it turns out, providing viable transfer options for parents is much harder than it sounds -- especially when the program is underfunded, poorly publicized to parents, limited to low-performing schools, administered by unenthusiastic school officials, and full of bureaucratic loopholes. Educators raise legions of logistical, financial, and educational objections to giving parents more say in choosing their children's schools. However valid they may be in some cases, in many others, the reasons offered appear to be more a function of lack of enthusiasm on the part of bureaucrats, and, more surprisingly, of parents. While it's worth rooting for almost any reform that truly provides better choices for students stuck in dysfunctional schools, it's hard not to conclude that the most efficient way to improve education for the millions of such children is by doing it the old-fashioned way: by fixing the schools they already attend. The sooner we recognize this and start doing more of what we know can improve achievement -- better teachers, higher academic expectations, summer school, smaller classes and schools -- the better. http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2001/0209.russo.html

31. THE PARADOX OF STATE SCHOOL REFORM According to Hayes Mizell, higher expectations for teacher performance are appropriate, but meeting these expectations is not simply a matter of educators working harder or more efficiently, though there is no doubt that there are some teachers and administrators who need to do both. Even when states’ policies are of high quality, there is a tremendous gap between educators’ understanding standards and knowing how to help students perform at standard. Implicit in many of the states’ policies is the assumption that if the state tells educators what to do, the educators have the knowledge and skills to do it. Most teachers and administrators do not know how to help all their students perform at significantly higher levels. For those who have been teaching for the past seven to ten years, their pre-service education did not prepare them for the realities of today’s classroom nor for the levels of performance states now expect. The modus operandi of these teachers has been classroom survival framed by the expectation that some students would do well, many would get by, and some would fail. While acknowledging that newer teachers fare slightly better, Mr. Mizell explores how states must improve and increase professional development opportunities for educators so they are more effective in the classroom. http://www.emcf.org/programs/student/student_pub.htm Do You Agree/Disagree? Why?

32. FAILING SCHOOLS FIND HOLE IN LAW The wide disparity in identifying failing schools underscores the limitations of the impact of the No Child Left Behind Education Act of 2001 on the nation's schools, a weakness that could undermine President Bush's signature domestic policy initiative. While 8,652 U.S. public schools have been identified as "failing" under the law, the entire state of Arkansas, according to its officials, has no failing schools. Michigan, in contrast, lists 1,513 failing schools, the most of any state, a total that officials there attribute to rigorous standardized tests. "I think in the beginning, some people got carried away with saying how much this law would make a difference in education," said Tom Loveless, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. "In the end, the states are going to be the ones who define what failure is. If a state stares the federal government in the eye and says, 'We have no failing schools,' there is not much that the federal government can do." http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A9106-2002Aug28.html If you were Ted Sergi at the time, where would you set the cutoff score?

33. Summary Discussion Questions • Who do Dick, Bob and Phil report to? • What does ‘local control’ refer to? What is influenced locally? • How would you define ‘accountability’? • Are the CMTs and the CAPT high stakes tests? Why? Why not? • Who decides your curriculum? 10 years ago? Now?

34. Discussion Questions • Define the Federal role in education. • What is the constitutional authority for a federal role? • What are the unanticipated consequences of a strong accountability system? Of the standard movement?

35. Discussion Questions • Define the public school finance model used in CT. • What works? • What’s wrong with it? • How would you change it if you could? • What is most likely to happen and why?

36. I Believe and Support… Phil Streifer

37. Streifer Major Beliefs and Dispositions • Schools are complicated organizations and are becoming more so. We need to help people in the organization see how their work ties into the bigger picture. • Schools are best governed through effective policy. When serious issues arise for which there are no established policies or where current polices do not suffice, we will look to the Board to establish new policies with our guidance. • Full transparency on all issues is a key to success in this new information-rich age.

38. Beliefs (Con’t) • Instructional effectiveness supported by coherent systems results in improved achievement. Teacher expertise is the critical factor. • Great principals are enormously important to have great schools. • All students can learn at high levels of challenging content. • There are no excuses for poor student achievement. • Goal (on mastery tests) should be the goal; proficiency is not sufficient.

39. Beliefs Con’t • Success in the 21st Century requires new skills and literacies. All students should be prepared for higher education upon leaving high school. • Collaborations with the community and its broad array of resources support our mission. • Resources are a necessary but insufficient condition for success; money is not the key – attitudes and dispositions are.

40. My Beliefs on Educational Issues • There is no such thing as the board makes policy and the superintendent carries it out. Its not that simple. • More testing done right is better than less testing done poorly. • Charter schools are the future of public education.

41. My Beliefs on Educational Issues • External forces and structures are needed to provided students adequate opportunities. Example: Early College High Schools. Current school structures are too inflexible. • Total academic freedom is dangerous and threatens students’ chances of long term success. We cannot let teachers do ‘their own thing’.

42. My Beliefs on Educational Issues • NCLB was necessary and a positive force for changing the nature and direction of public education. • NCLB was genius legislation; not folly. Yet, it probably will not work. • High Stakes Testing is wrong and blatantly unfair to students. • Tom Sobol was right; we screwed up standards based reform. But the problem was/is ‘us’ – not the goals of the movement.

43. My Beliefs on Educational Issues • Poverty and transience seriously impact achievement. Poverty requires new opportunities that the education establishment has been unable to provide so far. Transience argues for a nationally standardized curriculum. • Local school control is more myth than reality. Let’s get over it and focus on good instruction.

44. My Beliefs on Educational Issues • The state should take over failing schools. The schools belong to the state, not the local district/community. Education is first and foremost a state responsibility which trumps local and federal roles. • Defacto economic segregation is wrong and must be dealt with by the state in directing local zoning practices/laws.

45. My Beliefs on Educational Issues • Will CCJEF impact the nature of CT’s public schools? Yes, without doubt. • How much? Think NJ and VT. • Which is it? Equity, Adequacy or Efficiency? All three. • Will the financial pie get bigger as a result? No, it will get smaller.

46. My Beliefs on Educational Issues • The property tax is the most regressive tax in the nation. Under current law schools should be funded exclusively through a state and local income tax. • Let’s get over it, the Feds have a role in education. Their financial contribution needs to increase. • Many schools in CT provide an inadequate education. Funding structures need to change to balance adequacy. Get over the equity issue; it is largely over – equity is less important than adequacy and efficiency.

47. My Beliefs on Educational Issues • If we are going to rely on testing, then we all need to get smarter about testing. Data driven decision-making will become even more important; but it is arguably the most complex topic in our field. We need to stop trying to train everyone and rely on in-district experts.

48. My Beliefs on Educational Issues • Today, after so many reform movements since ‘A Nation at Risk’ (Goals 2000; outcomes-based education; standards based education; ‘strategic planning’, even NCLB) – the nature and structure of public education has not fundamentally changed. This argues that reform from within will not work. Thus the future of change is choice both internal and external.

49. My Beliefs on Educational Issues • The progressive education movement was arguably a disaster for public education. • Much of the political and social backlash can be traced to a reaction to the fundamental goals of a liberal/progressive movement. • The backlash is also due to the fact that in urban schools, kids are failing. • And, the cost of education coupled with our financing models are now backfiring.

50. My Beliefs on Educational Issues • Standards, testing and accountability are not at odds with the arts, the affect, or athletics. Believing so is a contrivance of the under-educated and inexperienced. • Schools will never have enough money; get over it. (The interesting difference since the 1970s is that you can become moderately wealthy as a ‘school teacher’ today) • ………………………………………