Governmental Relations Dr. Tim Ogle, Executive Director

Janice Palmer, Director of Governmental Relations

Geoff Esposito, Governmental Relations Analyst

Summary of the AZ Ready Council Meeting

June 18, 2013

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MEMBERS PRESENT: Craig Barrett, Superintendent John Huppenthal, Tim Carter, Rep. Doris Goodale, Eileen Klein, Jake Logan, Diane McCarthy, Jacob Moore, Merl Waschler, Tom Tyree, Glenn Hamer, and Dr. Rufus Glasper. UPDATE FROM THE GOVERNOR’S OFFICE OF EDUCATION INNOVATION: Rebecca Gau, Director of the Governor’s Office of Education Innovation shared analysis showing graduation rates in Arizona have achieved steady growth over the past few years, with the estimated range between .40% and 8%. She also informed the council that data for 2011 was higher because of the new calculation and should be considered the new baseline rather than an uptick in the graduation rate. After discussing graduation rates, she went on to talk about the Governor's second summer reading list, a partnership with libraries around the state that features book suggestions meant to improve comprehension and other academic skills. Finally, she revealed the results of the May teacher survey, which showed a correlation between training on Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and improved confidence in AZ education. Public opinion surveys showed little change in overall awareness of the CCSS, but of those who are aware, support was down from their first poll. However, Ms. Gau cautioned that it's hard to draw conclusions with only two data points. The council engaged in a lively discussion on how to improve outreach efforts and the upcoming efforts to derail these standards. Kerry McConnell spoke about the AZ Ready report cards and tips on how to share it with a broader audience. She also provided information on new college preparation data, which measured the percentage of students enrolling in college without academic deficiencies, as well as the percentage enrolling in English and Math courses and earning a "C" or above in their first of such courses. The new data showed improvement in the percentage of students without deficiencies and those enrolling in courses, but the percentage of those earning a "C" or above in their first course showed no improvement. MCCD DEVELOPMENTAL EDUCATION DATA UPDATE Dr. Rufus Glasper, President of the Maricopa Community Colleges, gave a presentation on developmental education. He shared a definition of developmental education as a "comprehensive and research-based framework" that helps address remediation and stated that this is something that will be a primary focus of their mission. He showed that there is a large need for developmental math among people that graduated high school over a year ago versus those who just graduated -- a gap that was not as pronounced in other subjects. 63% of people who enroll in developmental courses successfully complete those courses and 47% of people in developmental English courses go on to successful complete a college-level course. COUNCIL PRIORITIES Last, Ms. Gau presented on survey results on council priorities for updates and information moving forward. Three of their top five topics had to do with PARCC, with Common core

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dominating the rest of the top ten. The council then engaged in a discussion on how to best move forward considering these results. Next meeting of the Arizona Ready Education Council will be on July 31st in the Executive Tower 2nd Floor Conference Room, 1700 W. Washington St., Phoenix.

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