News
Federal education initiative brings new evaluations, standards
Sept. 7, 2011
Mohonasen officials are working on a plan to incorporate new federal mandates into the district’s schools and classrooms.
The work is taking place under the umbrella of the federal Race To The Top (RTTT) education initiative, which came with a $700 million grant to New York State last year.
With the funding comes a requirement that the state’s districts ramp up their use of data in teaching; incorporate a new set of national learning standards into the curriculum; and adopt a new teacher and administrator evaluation system. Most of the $700 million is going to the state Education Department, with each of the state’s school districts receiving a share of the remaining funding to help them meet the requirements.
Mohonasen is slated to receive approximately $78,000 over the next three years in RTTT funding (or about $26,000 a year).
Because the amount the district is set to receive is hardly enough to cover the costs to adequately comply with the new requirements, Mohonasen is one of 21 area districts that have pooled their funds to form what is known as the Capital Region Network Team. This consists of experts in the areas of data collection, curriculum/instruction and testing, and will help the district meet the new requirements.
The network team will work with Mohonsen administrators and teachers to implement best practices, analyze student data, and identify ways to address any academic problems and learn from the entire improvement process.
“What this new law does is prescribe, more than ever, what data we collect, how we collect it and how we use it to drive and hopefully improve instruction for all students,” Superintendent Dr. Kathleen Spring said. “However, it doesn’t come without a cost to the district. This is just another example of an under-funded mandate. Our administrative staff will be working overtime during the next year to make sure Mohonasen is in compliance.”
Renewed standards
One of the largest mandates is the implementation of the Common Core Learning Standards.
Learning standards outline the skills that need to be taught through daily classroom lessons and define end-of-the-year expectations for what students should know. Standards are the basis for any class curriculum.
These new standards, which replace the former math and English language arts standards in grades K-12, are designed to better align what is being taught in the classroom with college and work expectations.
There are also new literacy standards designed to supplement the curriculum for history/social studies, science and technical subjects in grades 6-12.
All states that are receiving RTTT funding have agreed to adopt these standards in their entirety. In New York, they will ultimately replace the 2005 learning standards that all state assessments and classroom curricula are currently based on.
The new standards will be fully implemented by the 2012-2013 school year.
“In some cases, these standards will replace what we are teaching to our students, but in most cases they will help us focus on developing certain skills and emphasizing certain ideas. This includes making students more independent, helping them use technology more strategically and helping them better comprehend and critique what they are learning,” Spring said.
“We also expect that with the increased standards will come increased state testing,” she added. “But the state has yet to release those details.”
School leaders are already working to review the new standards and develop an updated curriculum.
New Evaluations
A new evaluation system for both teachers and administrators is also coming, starting this September.
The evaluations will be conducted annually, and will be used for a number of things, from developing more effective professional development programs for teachers to decisions about promotion, retention and removal.
Based on a 100-point scoring system, teachers and administrators will fall into one of four categories: highly effective, effective, developing and ineffective. Scores will consider state exam scores, observations and a number of other state-dictated measures.
This is the first time that teachers/administrators will be evaluated based on their students’ test scores, an issue that has been controversial in the field of public education in New York and across the country. Additionally, there are portions of the teacher evaluation process that are subject to collective-bargaining negotiations.
Because information about the evaluation
process was released only recently, school leaders expect that this
new system will continue to evolve.
Have a question about RTTT, the new learning standards or the new
teacher/administrator evaluation system? Call 356-8200 or
e-mail us.
