Developing a New Accountability in California

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WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF ACCOUNTABILITY?

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Fordham Foundation Definition of Accountability and its Purpose

A System of rewards and consequences to drive improvement at the levels of the:

– School– District– Teacher– Administrator– StudentBased on standards, data, designations (labels)

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NCLB Theory of Action

If we focus on school achievement and apply rewards and sanctions, educators and policymakers will improve education

Strategies• Require Annual Testing• Set Targets for Improvement • Identify Schools that Fail to Meet all Targets• Implement School Consequences • Tie Test Scores to Teacher / Administrator

Evaluation

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What Were the Outcomes?

1992 1996 2000 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013205

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National Test Score Trends (NAEP) Pre- and Post-NCLB

Grade 4 Math

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Post-NCLB

7 point gain

Drop to 240 in 2015

Pre-NCLB15 point gain

2000 2003 2006 2009 2012400

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493

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499491

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What About Higher Order Skills?US Trends on PISA, 2000-2012

Math

Science

Reading

THE U.S. IS FALLING FURTHER BEHIND

Reading

SingaporeJapanKoreaFinlandCanadaIrelandPolandEstoniaLichtensteinAustralia

US is #21

Mathematics

SingaporeKoreaJapanLichtensteinSwitzerlandNetherlandsEstoniaFinlandCanadaPoland

US is # 32

Science

SingaporeJapanFinlandEstoniaKoreaVietnamPolandCanadaLichtensteinGermany

US is #23

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Why Haven’t Outcomes Improved More?

• State Tests Focused on Low – Level Skills• No Incentives for Enriching Curriculum• Focus on Consequences rather than Learning

has Left Schools with Fear but not Tools • Drivers of Achievement Were Invisible • Mandated Solutions Often Unhelpful• Growing Poverty, Homelessness• Inequality / Inadequacy in School Resources

e.g.: Effects of School FundingOver 40 years, low-income students who experienced the benefits of school finance reforms for all of K-12:• Had graduation rates 23 points

higher • Added a year of post-high

school education• Had family incomes 52% higher• Were 20 percentage points less

likely to fall into poverty in any year

• Closed the gap as adults Kirabo Jackson, Rucker Johnson (2015).

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Can We Develop a More Productive Approach to Accountability?

Accountability Mechanisms

• Performance accountability, monitoring the performance of schools / districts across the state’s eight priority areas, plus other local priorities.

• Political accountability, operationalized through Local Control Accountability Plans (LCAPs)

• Professional accountability, through effective licensure, accreditation and professional development

Accountability in Singapore

• Deep investments in educator training at all levels of career system

• New assessments of higher order learning (educator involvement in design & scoring)

• Continuous evaluation of educator & school performance on multiple measures

• Constant sharing of successful practices • Planting of people, innovations, programs,

and resources where needed• Equity investments

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What Policies Drive State Achievement Differences?

Washington DC

Mississippi

California

Louisiana

USA

Connecticut

Vermont

New Jersey

Massachusetts

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8th grade reading scores, NAEP

MA & NJ Reforms Leading to High Achievement and Gap Closing

• Equalized school funding • Expanded curriculum and improved teaching across schools• Invested in bilingual education & special education• Invested in preschool and health care• Established thoughtful student standards with high-quality,

open-ended assessments• Raised standards for teaching and teacher education• Invested in high-quality professional development (Reading

Recovery, National Writing Project, mathematics networks, professional learning communities)

• Focused on accountability for improvement, not labelling• Fostered school redesign

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Creating a New Accountability

Purpose: An accountability system should encourage high-quality teaching and learning in all schools for all students, provide tools for continuous improvement, and means for identifying and addressing problems that require correction.

Accountability =

Testing

Key Elements of an New Accountability System

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A New Approach to Accountability: If we focus on what matters for achievement,

and require attention to improvement and problem correction, education will improve

Strategies 1. Encourage a dashboard of indicators reflecting

-- Student success-- Engagement -- Resources & Opportunities to learn

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Additional Strategies

• Develop systems for school review and continuous improvement

• Require attention to struggling schools / districts

• Ensure that supports are appropriate and expand student learning opportunities

• Enable system-wide learning

Key Elements

• Assessment of student opportunities & access, progress, and outcomes

• Transparency about what schools provide and what students accomplish disaggregated by student groups

• Regular evaluation of outcomes in relation to opportunities leading to new investments / approaches

• Learning systems to improve practice• Community engagement 19

CORE Districts Accountability Criteria 20

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WHAT SHOULD THE STATE DO?

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State Roles

• Ensure adequate & equitable funding• Ensure an adequate supply of well-prepared

teachers and administrators• Support high-quality assessment

-both state and local• Provide high-quality (disaggregated) data

about opportunities to learn and outcomes• Support learning about good practice• Intervene where needed

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How Will We Know What’s Happening?

State Indicators Tools to Support LEAs Local Indicators

Outcomes:5-year graduation ratesStudents graduating college ready (A-G)Students graduating career ready (CTE sequence)Expulsion/suspension ratesAssessments: EL proficiency, ELA, math, science, AP/ IB/ Dual creditOpportunities to Learn:Curriculum offerings / accessQualifications of StaffAvailability of materials

Surveys to evaluate:School climateOpportunities to learn for students and educatorsEngagement

Assessment tools Performance task bank Other formative tools

Local goals:AccessEngagement Students Educators Parents Community OutcomesProcesses

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Leveraging the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence (CCEE)

• Diagnosis of needs for schools or districts that volunteer or are referred for help by counties or charter school agencies

• Effective assistance to schools / districtsWith other agencies, orchestrating:• Knowledge sharing • Learning supports• Evaluation

Possible Improvement Strategies

• Teams of expert educators trained to work with struggling schools

• School pairs and networks for learning• Trained curriculum coaches • School redesign initiatives based on

research and best practices

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School Quality Review 26

Elements of a Continuously Improving System 27

Learning Supports

Information Systems

Ongoing review

Innovation and Evaluation

Knowledge Sharing

Strategies

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A unified long-term strategy could enable California to move to a fully accountable and continuously learning and improving system.