Testing Accommodations: Changes to Benefit Students

The Kentucky Board of Education (KBE) recently approved changes in 703 KAR 5:070, the regulation related to testing accommodations for students with disabilities. Due to the legislative process, these changes will not take place until the 2012-13 state assessments. The most controversial change in accommodations was the elimination of adult or technology-based readers for the Kentucky reading tests. There were three major reasons for this decision.

1. Validity – Kentucky is changing its state assessments this year, and the reading test for 2012 and beyond will be a decoding and comprehension assessment. If we allow adult or technology-based readers on the reading test, then we are invalidating the construct of the test, and we would have to invalidate the assessment scores of any student provided with a reader. Allowing readers on a decoding and comprehension test turns the test into a listening comprehension test.

2. More than 42 percent of special education students in Kentucky were allowed readers on the reading test in 2011. This number has grown steadily since the enactment of the Kentucky Education Reform Act. Schools and teachers are under great pressure to produce proficient scores on state and federal assessments. By allowing the use of a reader, we have provided a negative incentive to help students with disabilities learn to read. It is the goal of special education to help students become independent readers so they can be successful in college, military and/or the workplace.

3. 2009’s Senate Bill 1 mandates national comparisons. Kentucky’s performance on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) could be questioned due to the large number of students who are provided readers. Students who are provided readers on state assessments are exempted from the NAEP assessments. NAEP allows a state to exempt up to 15 percent of its disabled students; however, in Kentucky 58.2 percent of the 8th-grade disabled students and 53.1 percent of the 4th-grade disabled students were excluded from 2011 NAEP reading tests. Therefore, the NAEP results could be questioned, and in the future, states that have large percentages of exempted students will come under increasing scrutiny.

Moving forward, it is essential to provide teachers and students with the levels of support needed to help more students become independent readers. While the KBE action does eliminate readers for state assessments on reading, readers will continue to be allowed for mathematics, social studies and science assessments, since those are tests of content and not reading. Also, daily instructional practice is not impacted by the change. Teachers certainly will continue to utilize readers with students during daily instruction as they move to transition students to independent reading.

Some national organizations have questioned Kentucky’s decision; however, once they realize that Kentucky changed the assessment to a reading assessment and Kentucky’s decision is in alignment with recommendations from the National Assessment Governing Board, then it is clear that the Kentucky decision was based on research and ensuring validity of assessments.

See information on the changes to state regulation 703 KAR 5:070 made by the KBE at its December 2011 meeting here.

Health Care Costs vs. Spending for Students

When I came to Kentucky in 2009, one of the first reports I read was the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce’s presentation on the state budget, The Leaky Bucket. In July 2011, the chamber updated the initial report with A Stronger Bucket.

The original and follow-up reports have lots of interesting statistics concerning the state budget and recommendations for improving the budget. In this blog, I want to discuss a key issue in the state education budget that was highlighted by the chamber reports – increasing health care costs.

The Kentucky Department of Education’s budget includes the annual appropriation for health care costs for school and district employees. In 2002, the appropriation was $286.7 million. Governor Steve Beshear’s budget proposal for FY13 shows health care costs projected to be $627 million and for FY14, $639.6 million. From 2002 to 2013, the increase in health care costs is $340.4 million, or 118 percent. From 2002 to projected FY14, the increase is $352.9 million, or 123 percent.

Another way to look at the challenge that health care costs present to state budget writers is to see the overall reductions proposed for education funding. In FY13, it’s $12.5 million. This reduction will impact Family Resource and Youth Services Centers, Extended School Services, textbooks, professional development, Read to Achieve, the Mathematics Achievement Fund, vocational schools and many other programs. The average reduction for each program will be 4.5 percent. The increase in health care costs from FY12 to FY13 is $12.5 million. Simple logic shows that if we were able to contain health care costs at FY12 levels, then we would be able to maintain many important education programs at FY12 levels.

Another issue that is directly impacting school districts is the 2010 agreement to provide additional dollars to support health care costs for retirees in the Kentucky Teachers’ Retirement System (KTRS). Beginning in 2010, all school districts were required to make a contribution on behalf of each active employee on payroll of 0.25 percent, increasing steadily to 2.25 percent in 2014. The estimated costs to school districts were $16 million in 2010-11 and $33 million in 2011-12. The costs will at least double for FY13 and FY14.

As an employee who benefits from the health insurance, I certainly am very interested in maintaining an excellent benefit for me and my family. I certainly understand that health care and pensions are important benefits to recruit quality teachers into education. However, the current path is not sustainable.

We are funding health care costs and other benefits at the expense of education resources that teachers and students need in order to reach college and career readiness for all students. We have asked teachers to implement more rigorous standards and reach a higher expectation – college and career readiness for all – and we have eliminated all dollars for instructional resources and greatly reduced the professional development and support for teachers.

The answer to this dilemma is well above my pay grade. I don’t envy the members of the General Assembly or the Governor as they struggle with increasing demands and scarce resources. The purpose of this blog was to create awareness and hopefully encourage some dialogue about the challenges we face in funding education in the Commonwealth.

Kentucky’s Work Banishes the Winter Doldrums

It was my honor this week to represent Kentucky at the White House press conference announcing the states who received the first-round waivers from No Child Left Behind (NCLB). From the announcement of the waiver process in September, the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) team and partners have worked many hours to prepare and negotiate the waiver and flexibility from the rigid requirements of NCLB. I especially want to thank Mary Ann Miller and staff in the Commissioner’s Office for pulling together all the components of the waiver and editing the entire application. Also, I want to thank Associate Commissioners Kevin Brown, David Couch, Ken Draut, Hiren Desai, Dewey Hensley, Felicia Smith and their staffs for the extra efforts in preparing the waiver application.

The waiver process actually began in April 2009 as KDE and partners began to plan for the implementation of 2009’s Senate Bill 1 (SB 1). The goal from the beginning has been to have one accountability system rather than two -- state and federal. Having two accountability systems was confusing to parents and schools. Also, the federal system began to lose credibility due to the details of NCLB.

Since April 2009, hundreds of meetings have been held with all stakeholders to gain feedback on the key components of SB 1 that also ended up being the key requirements of the NCLB waiver. These requirements are adopting new college/career readiness standards, implementing a more rigorous accountability model, implementing support for teachers and principals, and increasing flexibility with funding.

The NCLB waiver will have an immediate impact in Kentucky. This year, teachers and students are working with the new college/career-ready standards in mathematics and English/language arts. Schools and districts are planning for the accountability measures of college/career readiness, cohort graduation rates, student growth, closing achievement gaps and Program Reviews in arts and humanities, practical living/career studies and writing. Teachers and principals are working to develop new models for teacher/principal effectiveness. Educators are now supported by the Continuous Instructional Improvement Technology System (CIITS) that is the envy of many states. Our partners at the Prichard Committee and Kentucky Chamber of Commerce are helping spread the word about the new standards and accountability system.

Over the coming weeks, we will be working with schools and districts to implement the funding flexibility requirements. This flexibility comes at a very important time. State budgets for education have been reduced, and schools/districts will be looking at ways to redirect existing dollars to address the components of Senate Bill 1.

I am very proud to be education commissioner of a state that is leading the nation in education reform efforts. My thanks to Governor Steve Beshear and the General Assembly for setting the expectations in Senate Bill 1 that provided the path to the NCLB waiver and assured Kentucky’s position as a national leader in education.

Raising the Dropout Age

In his State of the Union address, President Barack Obama called on every state to require students to stay in school until they graduate or turn 18. In Kentucky, this issue has been at the forefront of legislative sessions for at least three years.

This year, we have seen Rep. Jeff Greer and First Lady Jane Beshear support legislation (House Bill 216) to raise the dropout age to 18. Governor Steve Beshear has made raising the dropout age one of the key elements of his education agenda. In the Senate this week, Sen. Jack Westwood proposed and the Senate Education Committee passed Senate Bill 109, which would allow school districts the option to raise the compulsory attendance age to 18 if they have appropriate programs for dropout prevention in place. Sen. Westwood also gained support for Senate Bill 38, which promotes career pathways for students (which many believe is a key component to dropout prevention programs).

As commissioner of education, I want to make certain that, during the debate on which dropout bill will pass the House and Senate, we do not lose sight of the main issue. The main issue is that over 25 percent of entering high school freshmen will drop out of school before they reach 18. From an economic standpoint, that means 25 percent of the workforce will be competing for less than 8 percent of the jobs available. From many reports, we know that fewer than 8 percent of the jobs in 2018 and beyond will require less than a high school diploma. We also know that more than 60 percent of the jobs will require some training beyond high school.

Addressing the dropout issue is the major economic issue of our generation. If we do not address this issue, then we will continue to see escalating incarceration costs, health care costs and overall increases in social program costs. According to recent reports from the Alliance for Excellent Education:

What could happen to economy if we lower dropouts and increase college and career readiness?

• If we decreased by half the dropouts -- $68 million in increased savings, $54 million in increased spending, $121 million in increased home sales, $7.1 million in increased auto sales, 450 new jobs, $80 million increase in gross state product, $5.9 million increase in state tax revenue.
• If we increase the percentage of college- and career-ready to 60 percent, and they earned credentials or degrees -- $103 million in increased earnings, $77 million in increased spending, $211 million in increase home sales, 700 new jobs, $123 million in increased state product, $8.9 million in increased state revenue.

Raising the dropout age is a first step in impacting the economy of Kentucky and the future of individual students. Raising the dropout age then must be accompanied with programs and support for teachers and students.

My hope is that we not get bogged down over a debate of “requiring” versus “optional” raising of the dropout age. And, we have many things that we can do right now to lower high school dropout rates. I hope readers will volunteer for Operation Preparation during the week of March 12-16 and help our students chart their path toward and after graduation.

The Kentucky Department of Education’s (KDE) Unbridled Learning: College/Career Readiness for All initiative is designed to ensure that all students are prepared for college and/or career by the time they graduate from high school.

Advising is a key strategy for reaching this goal, and as part of Operation Preparation, trained volunteer community advisors will meet with every 8th- and 10th-grade student.

Log into KET Teachers’ Domain to explore Kentucky’s Unbridled Learning: Operation Preparation, two modules that prepare community volunteers for their individual advising sessions. Module 1 provides an overview of the role of community volunteer advisors. Module 2 details the components of an advisory session.

Operation Preparation is a joint effort of KDE and the Department of Workforce Development and provides an opportunity for schools, students, parents and communities to collaborate on effective advising and focus attention on the importance of planning for college/career.

Highlights of 2011: From Development to Implementation

I’ve had a few weeks to reflect on the work accomplished during 2011, and I wanted to share some highlights with readers. The list below is by no means all-inclusive, but I hope you’ll agree that there was much accomplished in 2011.

There is a common thread running through the items on this list, and it’s that none of this could have been accomplished without the support and work of our superintendents, principals, teachers, school and district staff, education partners, parents, elected officials, state agency employees and citizens.

My thanks and praise to all of you who helped make Kentucky’s educational system better in 2011.

Student Learning and Achievement

January --  Kentucky’s 4th and 8th graders outscored the nation on the 2009 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) science tests. In fact, Kentucky’s scale scores were significantly above the national average.

February -- Kentucky’s overall scores moved up slightly in nearly all subject areas covered by the EXPLORE (8th grade) and PLAN (10th grade) assessments taken in the fall of 2010.

June -- data from the 2009-10 school year showed fairly stable nonacademic indicators for Kentucky's public school students.

August -- Averaged Freshman Graduation Rate (AFGR) data were reported for the first time, and for the 2009-10 school year, the statewide AFGR was 76.68 percent.

August -- overall results from the 2011 administration of the ACT to Kentucky’s public school juniors and public school graduates showed improvements in all subject areas and higher percentages of students ready for college-level coursework.

August -- at a special ceremony on the campus of the Kentucky School for the Deaf (KSD), the Kentucky Board of Education awarded diplomas to African Americans who were enrolled at KSD in the mid-20th century, but did not receive recognition for graduation.

September -- the number of Kentucky public high school students taking Advanced Placement (AP) examinations and scoring at high levels continued to rise.

November -- the results of NAEP’s 2011 assessments in mathematics and reading showed that Kentucky's 4th graders and 8th graders made gains and outperformed the nation in some areas.

November -- the Commissioner's Raising Achievement/Closing Gaps Council (CRACGC) released Guidelines for Closing the Gaps for All Students, a new document that is designed to help parents and community members become engaged in their schools and districts and to focus on statutory and regulatory expectations related to achievement gaps.

Teachers and Leaders

February -- the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) received a two-year, $1 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to support implementation of the new Common Core Standards (CCS) by developing instructional strategies and tools in mathematics and literacy.

March -- the TELL (Teaching, Empowering, Leading and Learning) Kentucky Survey provided a unique, anonymous opportunity to gather information about school working conditions from Kentucky’s certified educators. Participation rates in Kentucky set a record for first-time response rates on similar surveys.

August -- a new 21st-century instructional tool called the Continuous Instructional Improvement Technology System (CIITS) was launched. CIITS is a searchable online database of Kentucky academic standards and student learning targets aligned and linked to high-quality instructional resources to help teachers as they implement the new Kentucky Core Academic Standards in mathematics and English/language arts.

September -- 54 Kentucky school districts are participating in a field test of the proposed Teacher and Principal Professional Growth and Effectiveness System. The proposed system will help define expectations of what it means to be an effective teacher and leader as well as providing support, assistance and resources to help all educators reach that goal.

College/Career Readiness

February -- I called on public school district superintendents and local board of education chairs to sign a pledge to improve college and career readiness in their high schools. All of Kentucky’s school districts signed on to the “Commonwealth Commitment to College and Career Readiness” pledge, reinforcing their commitment to the mandates of 2009’s Senate Bill 1.

June -- a new, free advising toolkit, Your Future Ahead, will help districts keep students in school, better prepare them for postsecondary options and increase the number of students that are college/career ready.

June – the Kentucky Board of Education agreed to include an additional half-point of credit to schools and districts for each student who is deemed both college- and career-ready. This half-point would apply toward a school’s or district’s overall college/career readiness percentage.

August -- the Kentucky Board of Education agreed on a definition of career readiness, for which students are considered career-ready if they meet benchmarks for one requirement in the Career-Ready Academic area and meet one requirement in the Career-Ready Technical area.

Work Around 2009’s Senate Bill 1 (SB 1)

August -- Kentucky, along with other states, called for greater flexibility in implementing the requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, and the U.S. Department of Education (USED) responded. USED announced that President Barack Obama approved the development of a waiver request process to enable states to ask for flexibility in implementing the requirements of NCLB during the 2011-12 school year.

August -- the Kentucky Board of Education took final action on 703 KAR 5:220, the state regulation related to school and district accountability recognition and support, and 703 KAR 5:230, the state regulation related to next-generation instructional programs and support.

September -- an $8.8 million, three-year grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will support teachers and students in 12 school districts. This “Integration Grant” supports the integration of several critical streams of work – measures of effective teaching, implementation of the Common Core State Standards and the development of innovative tools and resources to help teachers deliver instruction. 

September -- I shared the stage with President Barack Obama and U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan as they announced how states could get relief from provisions of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act/No Child Left Behind Act (ESEA/NCLB) in exchange for serious state-led efforts to close achievement gaps, promote rigorous accountability and ensure that all students are on track to graduate college-and career-ready.

November -- KDE submitted the state’s application for flexibility under ESEA/NCLB. The application proposed using Kentucky’s new accountability model in place of the NCLB model for schools and districts.

December -- Kentucky was awarded a federal Race to the Top grant of $17 million to advance targeted K-12 reforms aimed at improving student achievement. The funding will be used to implement professional development and resources and expand Advanced Placement offerings.

December – the Kentucky Board of Education gave final approval to state regulation 703 KAR 5:070, which is related to the inclusion of special populations in the state-required assessment and accountability programs. The board also approved state regulation 703 KAR 5:240, which administrative guidance and reporting processes for the state’s new accountability system.

School Improvement

February – the Governor’s Transforming Education in Kentucky Task Force presented its final report, which included recommendations to strengthen all areas of public education.

April – the Kentucky Board of Education approved the selection of external management organizations, as enabled by KRS 160.346 for assistance to low-performing schools

May -- the Adaptive System of School Improvement Support Tools, or ASSIST^™, can be used for the required Comprehensive School and District Improvement Planning (CSIP/CDIP) process that has been mandated for nearly 20 years.

October -- an additional 19 schools were identified as “persistently low-achieving” and began receiving support from KDE to help improve student achievement. Data show that 90 percent of the schools identified as “Persistently Low-Achieving Schools — Cohort One” demonstrated statistically significant increases in the percentage of students scoring proficient or distinguished in math and reading.

Communications and Outreach

May -- KDE formally entered the realm of social media with the launch of the agency’s Facebook page and Twitter feed.

August -- Kentucky on iTunes U provides the state’s teachers, students, parents and communities with free, state-specific curriculum and instruction resources for users, including school districts and other Kentucky providers.

October -- I hosted KDE’s first-ever Twitter Town Hall, which was designed to capture questions from Twitter users and provide real-time responses.

October -- KDE released the Campus Mobile Portal app, which allows parents, guardians and public school students access to grades, attendance information and more.

December -- Kentucky Chamber of Commerce President Dave Adkisson and I started a 10-city tour to promote education improvement in Kentucky. The theme of our tour was that education drives employment, and employment drives the economy.

“Quality Counts” and Tough Fiscal Realities

Gov. Steve Beshear’s budget proposal for the next two fiscal years contains both bright spots and harsh realities for Kentucky’s public schools. The primary source of state funding – SEEK – would not be cut, but it also will not increase to parallel enrollment growth. The governor’s proposal calls for expanding preschool funding, but school systems would see decreases in other program-area funding.


You can see Gov. Beshear’s budget proposal at http://www.osbd.ky.gov/.

As we steel ourselves for probable funding cuts and shortfalls, it was incredibly heartening last week to receive some positive news in the form of Education Week’s “Quality Counts” issue.

The annual report, which grades all states on key education indicators, showed Kentucky making its highest overall score in the past five years, earning a C+ with 78.6 points (U.S. average, 76.3) and making a dramatic jump in ranking from 24th to 14th overall. Access the full report here.

Education Week uses six indicators to rate a state’s education performance: Chance for Success; K-12 Achievement; Standards/Assessments and Accountability; Transitions and Alignment; Teaching Profession; and School Finance.

As the following highlights show, Kentucky fared well in four out of the six areas, with letter grades above or near the national average:

• A- (ranked 20) for standards, assessments and accountability, compared with the average state score of B
• B- (ranked 5th) for teaching profession, compared with the average state score of C
• B- (ranked 14th) for transitions and alignment, compared with the average state score of C+
• In K-12 achievement, Kentucky scored on par with the average state score of C-, ranking 13th.

The grades and rankings are a testament to our hard-working teachers, administrators, community members and elected officials. But a great deal of the credit also is due to 2009’s Senate Bill 1 (SB 1), which led us to undertake an overhaul of our standards, assessment and accountability system and increase our focus on college/career readiness for ALL Kentucky students.

This legislation set Kentucky on a course to become a leader nationwide, and with the support of Gov. Steve Beshear, legislators, teachers, administrators and parents, Kentucky’s work in school accountability, teacher training, college/career readiness and stronger academic standards is moving us in the right direction.

Certainly, this report validates that. I know as we fully implement our new standards and assessment system, we will see even more positive changes in our schools and for our students.

Are we done yet? No. Not by a long shot.

As the “Quality Counts” shows, Kentucky lags behind when it comes to chances for success for Kentucky students. The state ranks 36th in that area. We recognize that is not where we need to be; it is the exact opposite of what SB 1 mandates – that ALL Kentucky children be prepared to succeed in college or careers.

As I reviewed the 2012 report, I saw some key areas that need improvement, so that in 2013 or 2014 we can celebrate placement in the top ten of all states on the “Quality Counts” report.

For example, Kentucky must improve its 8th-grade NAEP mathematics scores, its high school graduation rate and its Advanced Placement scores. We must reduce achievement gaps for low-income students. We must improve our teacher evaluation system, provide more rigorous training and offer incentives and resources to our classroom teachers. And, we must strengthen our per-pupil funding so that it is within 90 percent of the national average.

That is why it is critical that we move forward implementing the new standards and measures that have grown out of SB 1. Implementing these changes and having them take hold will take time, but we must continue to stay the course if we are to reverse historical underachievement.

I know implementing the requirements of SB 1 will be difficult at a time when we are seeing dwindling resources for instructional materials, Family Resource/Youth Services Centers (FRYSCs), extended school services, professional development and jobs. That is why I have been advocating at three-pronged approach that looks at productivity and efficiency; redirection of dollars; and a call for additional sources of revenue. Kentucky must implement strategies related to these items so that we can improve our standing nationwide.

At the same time, however, I do not want to lose sight of the gains we have made. We should take the time to note and celebrate them. It validates our decisions and work, and it gives us the strength as we move ahead to take on even greater challenges.

Closing the Achievement Gap

NOTE: This posting was originally published in October 2011. It is being posted again in honor of the holiday recognizing Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday.



Last Sunday as I was returning from the airport, I listened to the CNN coverage of the Martin Luther King, Jr. memorial dedication. I listened to President Barack Obama’s remarks as part of the dedication ceremony, and I listened to the entire “I Have a Dream” speech played as part of the dedication.

I could not help but reflect on the past 50 years. As a student in a segregated school until 10th grade, I can vividly remember the activities around integration in our local school system. Then as a college student, I recall traveling with the Furman University band in Washington, D.C. during the riots in the late 1960s. Then as a teacher, I recall the integration of the Gaffney, South Carolina schools and the student walkouts and near-riots related to forced integration.

Throughout my 40-year education career, I have watched our nation and our schools struggle with issues related to integration and helping all children succeed. Our nation began the path toward equity with the Brown v. Board of Education case. One of the cases that was combined into the Brown case came from a school district in South Carolina (Clarendon 3). I visited that school district as part of a team assigned to support the school district in the 1990s. I was saddened to see that not much had changed. The system was still segregated. The public schools were almost 100 percent minority, and white parents sent their students to private academies. The local board was still controlled by local land owners who would not support raising taxes to adequately fund the needs of students.

This system and others were highlighted in a documentary that aired a few years ago called Corridor of Shame. President Obama even highlighted a student who had written about the need for improved schools in this area, and if my memory is correct, there were substantial changes to the school where she attended in a Dillon, South Carolina district.

All of this reflection comes back to a couple of core questions – are we providing equity in access and outcomes for ALL children? Have we closed achievement gaps? These are questions that certainly have clear answers based on the data across the nation and across Kentucky. Look carefully at the achievement gap data in your school and school district. Look carefully at the suspension and discipline rates for minority students in your schools. Look carefully at the percentage of minority students that graduate from high school that are college/career ready, attend postsecondary and graduate from postsecondary. How many minority teachers, principals, superintendents and board members serve in our local school districts?

Almost two years ago, I revitalized the Commissioners Raising Achievement and Closing Gaps Council (CRACGC). This council recently published recommendations to ensure equity in access and outcomes. The recommendations from the council will become a required component for a new group of schools and districts that will be identified as part of our No Child Left Behind (NCLB) waiver request.

This new group of schools will be called “focus schools.” The Kentucky Department of Education will identify those schools that have the largest achievement gaps. These schools will be required to address achievement gap issues through school and district plans. Targeted interventions will increase with each year that the school or district does not meet targets to close achievement gaps.

My biggest fear is that, even with our best efforts through state accountability, a commissioner of education will be writing an article in another 40 years documenting that not much progress has been made ensuring equity of access and outcomes for ALL children.

What will the collective WE do differently over the next 5-10 years? The collective WE must involve communities in addressing poverty and access. The collective WE must address early childhood education, since that is where the gap can best be closed. The collective WE must address jobs and hope in our most challenged communities.

We cannot rely solely on teachers and schools to make a difference (we tried that with No Child Left Behind). We cannot mandate equity. Equity must be a belief that a community holds dear and then takes action to accomplish.

You are part of the collective WE. What will YOU do?