Results show progress; work to be done

This week, we released the Unbridled Learning assessment and accountability results from the 2012-13 school year. We have some really positive news. Our cohort graduation rate is 86.1 percent which places us among the top states. Our college- and career-ready rate is 54 percent which is 20 percent higher than our 2010 baseline. It is clear that Kentucky educators are helping more students reach success.

While we have made tremendous progress the last few years, but we have much work to do. I am concerned that students are not making sufficient progress on assessments in grades 3-10 on states tests. These tests measure progress of students toward the goal of college- and career-readiness. Our performance on language arts and math improved, however, the improvement will need to accelerate if we are to maintain and continue to improve our graduation rates and the rate of graduates who achieve college- and career-ready status.

Over the coming months, we will be providing schools and districts with best practices on raising proficiency and closing achievement gaps for all groups of students. It is essential that every classroom, every school and every district in Kentucky have in place a system of interventions to help students when they are struggling academically.

I am very proud of the work of educators in Kentucky. Kentucky has been featured in numerous national publications for our work in college- and career-ready standards, assessments and accountability. I have full confidence that our students, teachers, administrators and parents will continue to push for more student success.

To find out more about your local schools' performance take a look at our easy-to-read online School Report Cards.

Terry Holliday, Ph.D.

Commissioner

Lack of Zzzs Can Lead to More Cs, Ds and Fs

If you’ve ever had a middle or high school student or taught one, you are probably acutely aware of the subject of my blog this week – insufficient sleep in adolescents.  My thanks to the Kentucky Sleep Society’s Adolescent Sleep Task Force, chaired by Sarah Honaker, Ph.D., C.B.S.M. for contributing this guest blog.

It will come as no surprise to many educators that the vast majority of adolescent are achieving less than optimal sleep, impairing their ability to learn.  The National Sleep Foundation’s “Sleep in America” poll from 2006 includes disturbing data about this widespread public health problem.  They found that only 20 percent of adolescents were getting the optimal amount of sleep (9 hours or more per night), with 45 percent of adolescents sleeping less than eight hours per night.  Insufficient sleep among children in this age group has also been associated with mental health difficulties, substance use, and risky decision-making. 

There are many factors contributing to the lack of sleep among our young people, including busy schedules, poor sleep habits, and a biological tendency to stay up later coupled with early school start times.  Many studies have demonstrated a delay in the adolescent sleep cycle, which is associated with puberty.  On average, a “natural” bedtime for an adolescent is between 10 and 11 p.m., making it very difficult to achieve the recommended 8.5-9.5 hours of sleep on school nights in particular.  As a result adolescents are prone to nap after school and oversleep on weekends, perhaps understandable but often resulting in even less sleep on weeknights. 

The Kentucky Sleep Society’s Adolescent Sleep Task Force was formed to disseminate information to adolescents and their families about healthy sleep habits, and information to educators about the positive impacts associated with later school start times.  In an upcoming blog, we will discuss tips on healthy sleep for adolescents and families and provide links to handouts for families.   

Well-educated workforce key to Kentucky’s prosperity

This week, I read a report from the Economic Analysis and Research Network titled “A Well-Educated Workforce is Key to State Prosperity.” The report began by asking the question – “What can state governments do to boost the economic well-being of their people?” The report summarizes that incomes and wages increase when productivity increases. There are several key policy levers to increase productivity: investments in public infrastructure, in technological innovation at public universities and in workers through the education and training systems.

Many states, including Kentucky, have been taking the opposite approach to investment in the workforce. We have seen in the last four years, major reductions to base funding for our K-12 and our higher education systems. Recently, one state, Florida, took an approach of trying to lure employers from Kentucky to the sunshine state. This strategy does not work in the long run since there is very little investment in helping to make the existing workforce more productive.

The report provides several key findings that our policy makers in Kentucky need to review.

1.  Overwhelmingly, high-wage states are states with a well-educated workforce. There is a clear and strong correlation between the educational attainment of a state’s workforce and median wages in the state;

2. States can build a strong foundation for economic success and shared prosperity by investing in education; 

3. Cutting taxes to capture private investment from other states is a race-to-the-bottom strategy that undermines ability to invest in education (I hope Gov. Scott in Florida reads this);

4. States can increase the strength of their economies and their ability to grow and attract high-wage employers by investing in education and increasing number of well-educated workers, and;

5. Investing in education is also good for state budgets in the long run, since workers with higher incomes contribute more through taxes over the course of their lifetimes.

As I reported to the Interim Joint Subcommittee for P-12 education this week, it is time to reinvest in Kentucky education.

For a number of years, Kentucky educators have done significantly more with less. Kentucky education is one of the fastest improving education systems in the nation. However, our educators have hit a wall. Without significant reinvestment in P-12 education, we will begin losing ground. When we lose ground as a state, we have a less well-educated workforce. When we have a less well-educated workforce than our neighbors, we lose jobs and potential employers who pay living wages.

This conversation needs to happen in every community. Every superintendent, teacher, parent and business leader needs to have this conversation with their local school boards and state legislators. We are not going to “cut” our way to prosperity in Kentucky. Investments in education today will pay huge dividends in the short and long term.

Specifically, I am pushing for three major priorities. 

1. Restore the basic SEEK funding per pupil to $3,866 (this will cost $60 million in FY15 and $90 million in FY16 (due to growth and keeping former dropouts in school).

2. Restore funds for safe schools, extended school services, textbooks and preschool. These funds were originally part of the KERA in 1990. We need $60 million each year of the budget.

3. Restore funds to expand access to broadband and network services to our school districts Also, provide a $50 million, 5-year bond to replace aging technology equipment. ($20 million in FY 15 and $20 million in FY16).

While there are many other needs, these are the basic priorities. In a recent meeting with all local superintendents in Kentucky, there was almost universal agreement on these priorities. It is time to connect the dots that a well-educated work force is the key to our Commonwealth’s prosperity.

Educational choices and where they may lead

This week, I reviewed a report issued by the American Institute for Research titled “Higher Education Pays; But a Lot More for Some Graduates Than for Others.”  The report underscored the point that the success we have with our focus on college- and career-readiness will have a big impact on the long range economy of Kentucky and the future of our high school graduates.  

Students who do not graduate with the skills needed to be successful in college and careers, often have to take remedial courses for which they do not receive college credit.  Furthermore, many of these students borrow money to take these courses. Currently, the student loan debt is over $1 trillion and increasing every year. This debt burden will have a negative impact on our national and state economy and on the future of these high school graduates.

The core problem is that many students and parents do not know what it takes to be college- and career-ready. In addition, many students do not know the potential earnings for careers before they enroll in a postsecondary program and before they take on loans to pay for it. The report offered four important lessons that parents and students should know.

1. Some short-term, higher education credentials are worth as much as long-term ones. In Texas, some technical associate degrees pay $11,000 more than a bachelor’s degree. Also, credential programs that take 1-2 years to complete pay more in the long term than those that can be completed in less than 1 year.

2. Where you study affects earnings but less than some may think. The more exclusive higher education programs that are more costly may not provide as much of an earnings advantage as parents may think.

 3. What you study matters more than where you study. Parents and students should look at this report to see which areas pay more in the short and long term. Graduates with engineering and health degrees earn more than graduates in music, liberal arts, and philosophy.

4. The S in STEM is often oversold. Biology and chemistry degrees are not paying as much as engineering, computer and information science and mathematics.

There will be exceptions to the lessons learned in this report. It is crucial that parents and students do their homework prior to applying to a postsecondary program.

Also, it is critical that parents and students begin very early in the school career to ensure the students are on track for college- and career-readiness. In Kentucky, we begin providing this information as early as 3rd grade.

In the next few weeks, parents will receive student test scores which show college- and career-readiness. No matter what level the child is in school, this is an excellent time to have a conversation with your student about college- and career-readiness expectations and to lay the groundwork for postsecondary education options.

Top 10 things you need to know about the Common Core

In the next few weeks, parents will receive information about the performance of their school system, school, and student.  Areas that will be reported include proficiency rates on state assessments in English/ language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies.  Also, the reports will include information on achievement gaps, college/career-readiness, and high school graduation rates. Individual student reports will show parents how well their student is progressing toward the college/career-ready standard and how the student compares with other students in the school, district, state, and national levels.

These reports are built on the requirements from Senate Bill 1 (2009), the far-reaching education legislation that the General Assembly passed unanimously. The legislation required development of new standards that were more rigorous, fewer, and deeper. Also, there were requirements for the development of new assessments based on the standards and a new accountability system using the new assessments. To make certain the system was balanced, Senate Bill 1 also included program reviews in the arts and humanities, practical living, and writing.

Since the basis of Senate Bill 1 was the requirement for new academic standards that would ensure more of our Kentucky graduates are ready for college/career and to be competitive in today’s global market, I thought readers might be interested in more information about the standards that Kentucky adopted and implemented.

Kentucky educators have logged hundreds of thousands of hours over the past three years translating the standards into learning targets, aligning curriculum, professional learning on how to implement the standards, and developing assessments, lesson plans and interventions to help students meet the standards.

These standards were based on the work of educators in 48 states and many partners in higher education. These standards were originally called the Common Core State Standards. In Kentucky, our educators interpreted the standards so they are easily understood and developed the Kentucky Core Academic Standards. 

Here are the top 10 things readers need to know about the Common Core/Kentucky Core Academic Standards:

1.       Common Core is working!
Since implementation of the Common Core (Kentucky Core Academic Standards), we’ve seen improved college/career-readiness rates, improved graduation rates, lower remediation costs and more successful transitions to college and career.

2.       Common Core leaves Kentucky in control of its standards. 
Kentucky educators and the public provided input into the development of the standards so we, as a state, helped determined what they cover. Kentucky’s constitution calls for the state to establish a system of common schools, and common standards, as adopted by the Kentucky Board of Education under its authority, provide an equal opportunity for all students in the state to get a quality education.

3.       Common Core empowers local school districts and teachers.
They get to decide how the standards should be taught and develop the curriculum and resources that work best for their students while ensuring students learn the content and develop the skills they need for success.

4.       Common Core standards are more challenging.
In the past, many other states intentionally adopted lower standards in order to appear more successful under No Child Left Behind, cheating students of the level of preparation they deserved.  Although Kentucky was NOT one of those states, the new standards are more rigorous than Kentucky’s previous standards and on par with what are taught in leading countries around the world.

5.       Common Core is great for students.
It promotes creative and critical thinking over rote memorization, and prepares students with the collaboration, creativity and communication skills that the workplace demands.  By developing students’ ability to think, reason and problem solve, they can internalize their knowledge and apply it to various situations rather than just regurgitate it for a test.  It prepares students for success at every grade level and after graduation from high school.  Students who graduate college- and career-ready are more apt to complete college or postsecondary training and land higher paying jobs.

6.       Common Core is great for teachers.
The standards are clear, focused and easy for teachers and students to understand. In addition, common standards encourage teachers to collaborate, develop and share lessons, resources and what works in the classroom. This allows teachers to more easily individualize instruction to meet student needs and frees them up to create new, innovative, and more effective ways to actively engage students in the learning process. 

7.       Common Core is great for parents.
Because it is aligned with college- and career-expectations, students are better prepared for the demands they face after high school. College costs are reduced because there is less need for costly, remedial, non-credit bearing courses. Students are better prepared for success and are more likely to earn a college degree and/or get a job paying a living wage.

8.       Common Core is great for business and will move Kentucky forward. 
It equips students, our future workforce, with the skills that the workplace demands. A better prepared, more highly skilled workforce attracts new business to the state and allows current businesses to hire employees that are ready to work rather than having to spend money on extensive training or leaving jobs unfilled.

9.       Common Core is great for taxpayers.
By working with other states, Kentucky was able to develop and implement new college- and career-ready standards mandated by the Kentucky General Assembly and Senate Bill 1 (2009) at a much lower cost than doing this solely on our own. 

Plus, students who graduate from high school ready for college/career are more likely to be employed, pay taxes and have a positive impact on the state’s economy; they are less likely to be dependent on state-supported unemployment, welfare and health care benefits or end up in the prison system. This will have a positive impact on our long-term economy.

10. Abandoning the Common Core will be extremely costly to Kentucky taxpayers and have a negative impact on educators and student outcomes.
Since Senate Bill 1 (2009) requires new standards, Kentucky could not simply return to prior standards. We estimate it would take a minimum of $35 million to develop, train, and implement replacement standards in English/language arts and mathematics. Teachers would react very negatively to having to replace standards again just when they are getting used to new standards.

Supporting Kentucky’s future – or not?

This week, I was reading the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) legislative update and received an e-mail from Stu Silberman over at the Prichard Committee. Stu had been reading the same update. Here is the body of his e-mail.

The Southern Regional Education Board has released its most recent legislative update. As you will see in the chart below, Kentucky funding is falling behind and steps must be taken in this next session so we can be competitive.

State	K-12 Budget	Higher Ed Budget
Alabama*	Up 3 %	Up 2.4%
Delaware	Up 4 %	Up 4% (approximate)
Florida	Up 13.9%	Up 34.2%            (state universities)
		Up 3.1%            (state colleges)
Louisiana*	Down 1.7%	Down 10.0%
Oklahoma	Up 3.3%	Up 3.5%
South Carolina	Up 8.5% Charters up 40%	Up 9.4%       (4-year colleges & universities) Up 3.1%       (2-year colleges)
Tennessee*	Up 4.3%	Up 9%

*Also provided pay raises for teachers

In Kentucky, base student funding (SEEK) has remained flat in recent years, but an increase in the number of students has effectively cut per pupil spending. Basic grants (Flexible Focus Funds) that are used to implement Senate Bill 1 (2009) have been reduced by more than $61 million per year. The SREB report, however, shows other states are re-investing in education.

The Kentucky Board of Education is currently reviewing priorities for FY15-16 budget request. At a minimum KBE wants to see restoration of SEEK funding and Flexible Focus funding to 2008-09 levels. For SEEK, this would require an additional $60 million in FY15 and $90 million in FY16. This level of funding would only get us back to $3,866 per student which is woefully inadequate when compared to other states. To restore Flexible Focus Funds would require an additional $61 million in both FY15 and FY16. Flexible Focus Funds provide textbooks, digital resources for teaching/learning, extended school services, pre-school funding, and professional development to help educators implement Senate Bill 1 (2009).

Here is the big problem facing our legislators: there is no new money! Recently, the Consensus Forecasting Group, a non-partisan team of economists, predicted that FY15 state revenue would be fairly flat and indicated that with state obligations such as pensions and debt retirement, there is no new money for education.

Our schools have made remarkable progress in the last 25 years. More students are graduating from high school and reaching college- and career-readiness than at any point in our history. Our educators are taking money out of their own pockets to support children. Our parents are doing more fund raising to support basic needs in schools than ever before. However, this heroic effort by educators and parents cannot continue without a negative impact on morale. Teachers and parents will become extremely frustrated (if not already so) because they are being asked to fund items for students that should be provided through state and local funds.

The answer to this issue is NOT to pass on the reduced state funding costs to local property owners. Funding basic education needs through local property tax only exacerbates the inequities in education funding across 173 school districts (remember the Rose case). The answer to this issue is bold leadership from our state legislators.

As commissioner I am using this blog to announce my strong support for state legislators to address two possible funding sources during the 2014 session. I strongly support efforts at tax reform and also strongly support expanded gaming. These are not popular issues and they are extremely difficult to deal with during an election year, however, my job is to alert decision makers that without adequate funding, Kentucky educators will not be able to maintain current levels of student performance and certainly will not be able to continue improving student performance.

It is apparent from the SREB Report mentioned above that other states are re-investing in education because they know that education will have a positive impact on employment and the economy.

The upcoming session will be a make or break year for education in Kentucky. There are basically two choices – support restoration of funding for education so we can continue to make progress or don’t support restoration of funding. By not supporting restoration of funding, decision makers will be supporting the decline in outcomes for children that will have long term negative impacts on the futures of our children and the future of the Commonwealth.

Listening to Teacher Voices

This week, The New Teacher Project (TNTP) published  a follow-up report to its October 2012 study, “The Irreplaceables: Understanding the Real Retention Crisis in America’s Urban Schools.” This year’s report, “Perspectives from Irreplaceable Teachers,” was compiled from a survey of celebrated teachers across the nation.

The survey was completed by 117 of America’s best teachers, representing 36 states and all 10 of the nation’s largest school districts. The survey respondents were state and national award winners, National Board Certified Teachers, Milken Educator Award winners, Teach for America teachers, National Education Association (NES) members, and KIPP (Knowledge is Power Program) charter school teachers. The summary findings were interesting.

1. When it comes to measuring success in the classroom, they want a wide array of factors. This is good news for Kentucky and other states that are developing teacher effectiveness systems that include multiple measures.

2. They attribute little of their success to formal preparation or professional development programs. This finding highlights the need for teacher preparation reform and reform from professional development to differentiated professional learning. Both of these issues are being addressed in Kentucky. Recent reports from the Council of Chief State School Officers and the new Commission on Accreditation of Educator Preparation standards will guide our work in Kentucky.

3. They have a love/hate relationship with their profession. “Respondents cherish the opportunity to make a difference in their students’ lives, but they feel beaten down by many other aspects of the profession – low pay, excessive bureaucracy, poor working conditions and ineffective leaders, and colleagues.”

Policy makers and legislators would be wise to listen to the voice of teachers. In Kentucky we have numerous processes in place to listen to our teachers. More than 42,000 teachers respond Our TELL Kentucky biennial working conditions survey in the spring of 2013. Our partners at the Prichard Committee, Kentucky Education Association and the Fund for Transforming Education in Kentucky have launched several programs to provide a stronger voice to teachers in Kentucky.  

Our success in helping more children reach college/career-ready status depends heavily on teachers. We should listen to teachers and then act on their recommendations. Hopefully, this report from TNTP will serve as a conversation starter in schools, districts, and state agencies across the nation and encourage more decision makers to listen to teachers!