I was at UMass/Boston this morning for the MCIEA Conference (Massachusetts Consortium for Innovative Education Assessment); their website is HERE
Technical glitch with my laptop kept me from live-blogging the event, but I was able to do some tweeting (#newaccountability) and took notes, so, better late than never!
Today's Agenda (in bold, with program notes; my notes):
Networking and Poster Session: Enjoy breakfast while exploring posters that highlight MCIEA’s School Quality Measures and Quality Performance Assessments
Poster images currently in my instagram story (@mastewartma) and also as a featured highlight (MCIEA), along with a few other slides from today's presentations
Welcome: Arthur Mitchell, Senior Director of Programs, Center for Collaborative Education
Networking and Poster Session: Enjoy breakfast while exploring posters that highlight MCIEA’s School Quality Measures and Quality Performance Assessments
Poster images currently in my instagram story (@mastewartma) and also as a featured highlight (MCIEA), along with a few other slides from today's presentations
Welcome: Arthur Mitchell, Senior Director of Programs, Center for Collaborative Education
Center for Collaborative Education website HERE
Arthur Mitchell with a warm welcome
Arthur Mitchell with a warm welcome
Says, we're working on something transformative
accountability has negative connotations for a lot of people
lots of interest in this new accountability -- not only for students in this region, but across the country
this is a movement
lots of people interested in what we're doing here
accountability to each other
want students to be able to demonstrate what they know and can do
want to transform performance
pencil and paper has a place
State Legislature supporting this [MCIEA] in the budget
Acknowledges presence of Legislators in the room: Rep. Tami Gouveia, Rep. Tim Hawkins, Sen. Pat Jehlen, and Sen. Jason Lewis -- Sen. Lewis will address in a little while
lots of interest in this new accountability -- not only for students in this region, but across the country
this is a movement
lots of people interested in what we're doing here
accountability to each other
want students to be able to demonstrate what they know and can do
want to transform performance
pencil and paper has a place
State Legislature supporting this [MCIEA] in the budget
Acknowledges presence of Legislators in the room: Rep. Tami Gouveia, Rep. Tim Hawkins, Sen. Pat Jehlen, and Sen. Jason Lewis -- Sen. Lewis will address in a little while
Introduces Dr. Ricardo Rosa for the Keynote
Keynote: Gettin’ Critical Wit It: Dr. Ricardo Rosa, Associate Professor, UMass Dartmouth
Keynote: Gettin’ Critical Wit It: Dr. Ricardo Rosa, Associate Professor, UMass Dartmouth
Says, Schools, like any institutions, are like rubber bands -- change requires sustained pressure from below, or nothing will change
is drawn to this work because of the engaging communities
Says he is sometimes dismayed by "constant critique"
of those who only engage in endless critique w/o doing the work of imagining what's possible
gives a shoutout to districts, unions, educators, and students who are doing the work
Reads from Bertolt Brecht's poem, Questions from a Worker Who Reads
Superintendents are not creating the schools
Corporate CEOs are not creating the schools
Schools are owned by the communities they are placed in
has witnessed the destruction schools [by] test-taking
watched the opt-out movement at a distance
the pressures of school leaders on immigrant students to pass the test after only one year in this country
Says he never really pushed back, but did have the impulse to push back after seeing the impact high-stakes testing had on his own child, ultimately
Then, he began to encourage opt-out
would be interesting to look at mental health disorders in relation to high-stakes testing
says, the drill and kill approach to learning is concrete violence against people
school to prison pipeline, as if schools are the problem
it is really a cradle to prison pipeline and it's a problem of our social policies
is encouraged by those who are acting up on MCAS
About the racist question on MCAS: 'for me, that's only the surface'
About the racist question on MCAS: 'for me, that's only the surface'
sees high stakes testing, in and of itself, as racist
communities must be involved if there is to be transformative educational leadership
students are critical piece of the process of critically thinking about performance-based assessment
Dr. Rosa introduces Senator Jason Lewis
Keynote: Where Education in Massachusetts Stands Now: Senator Jason Lewis, Fifth Middlesex District of Massachusetts, Chair of the Joint Committee on Education
Begins talking of 'the importance of education' in MA, via Constitution; esp Chapter V, Section II
#cherish
Quotes Horace Mann, MA's (and the nation's) first Secretary of Education; it's the oft-quoted "Massachusetts mining..." passage (that I first read in a Globe article and is also what Sen. Lewis said at the start of the Joint Committee's public hearing on school finance bills that I attended, and what Tracy Novick reported on and provided a citation to): students are critical piece of the process of critically thinking about performance-based assessment
Dr. Rosa introduces Senator Jason Lewis
Keynote: Where Education in Massachusetts Stands Now: Senator Jason Lewis, Fifth Middlesex District of Massachusetts, Chair of the Joint Committee on Education
Begins talking of 'the importance of education' in MA, via Constitution; esp Chapter V, Section II
#cherish
"Having no other mines to work, Massachusetts has mined into the human intellect; and, from its limitless resources, she has won more sustaining and enduring prosperity and happiness than if she had been founded on a stratification of silver and gold, reaching deeper down than geology has yet penetrated" ~ Horace Mann, 1846
Says, while 2017 high achievement results are the envy of many, they obscure large achievement and opportunity gaps, esp for students of color, English learners, students with disabilities, economically disadvantaged
These are failures to our constitutional and moral obligation to "cherish" education
global economic demands that we have skilled, thoughtful workers
Sees measuring student learning and school quality as a pressing issue
a top priority in the MA Legislature is to finally update and reform our school funding formula
adequate and equitable funding regardless of community wealth
FBRC convened back in 2014
in 2015 FBRC published its report that pointed to underfunding of our public schools by $1-2B, esp for those stus with greatest needs
MALeg is looking at all of the options
continues to listen to all stakeholders
fixing funding formula is high up, not the only, priority
other priorities include:
thanks his colleague Sen. Pat Jehlen, instrumental in securing budget line item [for MCIEA] and launching the consortium
looks forward to working together with MCIEA
Introduction to MCIEA and The New Accountability:
Adeline Bee, President, Attleboro Education Association, MCIEA Governing Board Member
Dianne Kelly, Superintendent, Revere Public Schools, MCIEA Governing Board Member
Believe that standardized testing raised the bar, and also contributed to the gap
Different experiences require different assessment
acknowledges student experience, voice, and their own learning
Performance tasks support teachers and students
Student learning is not limited to ELA and Math, and sometimes science
Students need English, Maths, Arts, creativity, critical-thinking, compassion, enthusiasm, sense of wonder, lots more!
MCIEA process generates collaboration between teachers, not top down from the superintendent
Workshops: Choose from one of the following two workshops:
global economic demands that we have skilled, thoughtful workers
Sees measuring student learning and school quality as a pressing issue
a top priority in the MA Legislature is to finally update and reform our school funding formula
adequate and equitable funding regardless of community wealth
FBRC convened back in 2014
in 2015 FBRC published its report that pointed to underfunding of our public schools by $1-2B, esp for those stus with greatest needs
MALeg is looking at all of the options
continues to listen to all stakeholders
fixing funding formula is high up, not the only, priority
other priorities include:
- expand access to high quality childcare and early education to all families, esp;
- costs of higher education;
- students better prepared to succeed in college and career;
- improvements in K-12 system also how we measure student and school quality so all students can thrive and reach their full potential
thanks his colleague Sen. Pat Jehlen, instrumental in securing budget line item [for MCIEA] and launching the consortium
looks forward to working together with MCIEA
Introduction to MCIEA and The New Accountability:
Adeline Bee, President, Attleboro Education Association, MCIEA Governing Board Member
Dianne Kelly, Superintendent, Revere Public Schools, MCIEA Governing Board Member
Believe that standardized testing raised the bar, and also contributed to the gap
Different experiences require different assessment
acknowledges student experience, voice, and their own learning
Performance tasks support teachers and students
Student learning is not limited to ELA and Math, and sometimes science
Students need English, Maths, Arts, creativity, critical-thinking, compassion, enthusiasm, sense of wonder, lots more!
MCIEA process generates collaboration between teachers, not top down from the superintendent
Workshops: Choose from one of the following two workshops:
- Building Quality Together: Jumping into the Assessment Design Process: Hear from teachers about Quality Performance Assessments, how they’re designed, and try it out for yourself with the Rapid Prototyping Protocol
- More Than a Score: A Holistic Vision for Measuring and Improving School Quality: Explore how MCIEA is gathering data about what we value most in our schools via the School Quality Measures
This session features Jack Schneider & James Noonan
different data can help to tell us different things
What Makes a "Good School"?
Schools are complex ecologies
describing schools in all of their complexity
a deliberate move away from one high-stakes test towards a more robust system of multiple measures of school quality
look on the MCIEA website for more about their framework
Outward facing: telling the full story of schools and districts
Inward-facing: helping schools and districts improve
better and more data is critical
too much weighting on one test leads to distortion
School quality measures (SQM) because multiple measures are important (i.e.): % of teachers teaching 5 years or more; counselors to student ratio; number of electives
Student surveys: 66 total questions total, grades 4-12; 44 Qs presented; translated into 9 languages
T surveys: 70 Qs to all teachers
all surveys are taken on line
SQM data dashboard is design to allow stakeholders to see the full measure of what makes schools work and how they can continue to improve
Setting high expectations for all students: Ts and L'ship; School Culture; Resources; Academic Learning; Community and Wellbeing
Collaboration for adults
What can SQM tell us about schools?
Other tables looked at SQM Data Excerpts for a MCIEA schools:
Judith Evans, Superintendent, Winchester Public Schools, MCIEA Governing Board Member
Cassandra, 5th grade at the Lincoln School
Jade, 5th grade at Lincoln School, draw paint
Omar, 8th grade, Susan B. Anthony Middle School, Revere
Dion, 8th grade, Susan B. Anthony Middle School, Revere
Judy Evans, Superintendent, Winchester Public Schools supt
(I apologize for not getting all of interesting things panelists are interested in! Likewise, for not seeing who said what among the students, at times)
Tritter: Can you tell us some examples of your Project Based Learning?
Omar: At Susan B. Anthony (SBA), students looked at 'anchor texts'. One of them was What sparks revolution? He chose Martin Luther King, Jr to better understand what he was learning at school. Reading was structured around 1-2 weeks to understand the essential question itself; students were given a rubric on different 'presentation styles'; he chose PowerPoint and spoke along with the slides.
Cassandra: We had a 'slime project'; had to figure out if it was solid, liquid, or gas; we determined it was a liquid bc it took the shape of the container that held it
Dion: We did research on the Grand Canyon: looked at plants, animals, and resources like food; had questions about what limits the population to grow or shrink? Considered coyotes, rabbits. it was fun. most of research was computers with a partner. researched for a week
Jade: We had a playground project -- build your dream playground; We had to determine "area and perimeter"; find the area and perimeter for each space in the playground that we wanted; we did it; it was really fun bc we got to use our brains and imagine anything, no limits! We had a zipline and a trampoline
Tritter: Sure, it was fun, but did you learn anything from it?
Jade: Sure! There were no limits to anything; if only rules, that's boring and some kids don't like rules. We could do whatever we wanted to do with the project
Tritter: what helped you to understand area and perimeter/
Jade: I learned more about area needed for putting in a zipline
Tritter: Ms. Gallagher -- talk about performance-based assessments
Gallagher: In the beginning, it was hard letting go; wanted to control. Now, make sure I have all of the materials they need for trial and error so I do more on the planning side of things, not on the control side of things. It's not me grading their paper at night; it's me looking at them while they're doing this to see what they know and what they still need to know
5th stu: In third grade we didn't really do much project-based learning, mostly tests. Things got funner bc you got to pick your partner most of the time
8th stu: my first experience with PBL was 1st grade and it wasn't a big standard and my teacher wasn't really pushing; churning butter, making cookies, carving pumpkins and counting pumpkin seeds; I can have fun and learn at the same time
5th: we're not sitting down doing tests all the time; there's a mix
Tritter: how are you making sure they are learning while they are having all this fun?
Gallagher: It's all about planning; planning came down to what do we need to know and do to plan for this? Stus have to defend their answer
Tritter: what is your experience of MCAS and performance assessment?
8th stu: I have never liked MCAS bc it never properly showed what I know. stus that have bad days and get so stressed do worse, which places them at a disadvantage
5th stu: MCAS is an important test and too many students get stressed out about it; need more hands-on tests. Hands-on let you be creative and have fun, it's more like an assignment
Tritter: In the state, all across MA and the country, are students really learning stuff they need to know? If I came to your school, what should I look for to know if students are learning at the school?
5th: look for how students 'look'; student participation; look at their learning
Omar: walk into a class and look to see if students are bored; see if they are looking at the T; raising their hand: asking Qs about the topic
Tritter: How do I actually know how stus are learning? How would I know?
Dion: I would like you to look directly at my science teacher; it's a crazy class; mats, bouncy balls, fairy lights; any kid will tell you they learn; her tests are formatted such that questions on rocks are followed by questions on reproduction; it's all important that we need
Tritter: MCIEA work, not just you and your classroom. What's involved?
Gallagher: Cross-school validation; cross collaboration; talking with other Ts to test ideas improves my planning
Tritter: turning it over to Supt Evans in Winchester...What comes to mind when thinking of the differences [between MCIEA/PBL and traditional/MCAS]?
Evans: Students are more reflective and thoughtful [with MCIEA]; there isn't only one 'right' answer. With [traditional/MCAS] 'smart equals fast', values compliance over taking risks. Students talk about 'test stress and anxiety'; [MCIEA]widens out perspective. Student choice and voice is the direction for schools
Q from audience: There's basic teaching. How to balance?
Gallagher: Balance is something I'm still working on. I'm math and science. Thinking through how we get there. Students learn in their own way and their own style. Vocabulary. Exploring and taking ownership of their own learning
Q from a Teacher of students in Special Education: Uses students with disabilities MCAS/ALT test
Evans: Waiver from state to more accurately asses students. Students talk repeatedly about working with other students, taps into unique strengths; SWD, ELs;
Q from a parent: How to join the consortium? What is the process?
Noonan: Briefly -- Agreement between district Union and Superintendent.
I had to leave at this point
Closing Remarks: Craig Consigli, Assistant Superintendent, Milford Public Schools, MCIEA Governing Board Member
⸻⸻⸻
Image credit: This question is at the heart of what drives two very different accountability systems in Massachusetts. MCIEA fact sheet HERE ~ mas
different data can help to tell us different things
What Makes a "Good School"?
Schools are complex ecologies
describing schools in all of their complexity
a deliberate move away from one high-stakes test towards a more robust system of multiple measures of school quality
look on the MCIEA website for more about their framework
Outward facing: telling the full story of schools and districts
Inward-facing: helping schools and districts improve
better and more data is critical
too much weighting on one test leads to distortion
School quality measures (SQM) because multiple measures are important (i.e.): % of teachers teaching 5 years or more; counselors to student ratio; number of electives
Student surveys: 66 total questions total, grades 4-12; 44 Qs presented; translated into 9 languages
T surveys: 70 Qs to all teachers
all surveys are taken on line
SQM data dashboard is design to allow stakeholders to see the full measure of what makes schools work and how they can continue to improve
Setting high expectations for all students: Ts and L'ship; School Culture; Resources; Academic Learning; Community and Wellbeing
Collaboration for adults
What can SQM tell us about schools?
- What is this school doing well?
- How can you tell?
- What can this school improve?
- How can you tell?
Other tables looked at SQM Data Excerpts for a MCIEA schools:
Then:
A Conversation with Students and Q&A: Students from MCIEA schools
Paul Tritter, Director of Professional Learning, Boston Teachers Union, MCIEA Governing Board Member [and moderator]Judith Evans, Superintendent, Winchester Public Schools, MCIEA Governing Board Member
We were introduced to a teacher, 4 students, and Superintendent Evans; each introduced themselves, their role at the school, and a little something about themselves
Lindsay Gallagher, 5th grade teachers, Abraham Lincoln School in RevereCassandra, 5th grade at the Lincoln School
Jade, 5th grade at Lincoln School, draw paint
Omar, 8th grade, Susan B. Anthony Middle School, Revere
Dion, 8th grade, Susan B. Anthony Middle School, Revere
Judy Evans, Superintendent, Winchester Public Schools supt
(I apologize for not getting all of interesting things panelists are interested in! Likewise, for not seeing who said what among the students, at times)
Tritter: Can you tell us some examples of your Project Based Learning?
Omar: At Susan B. Anthony (SBA), students looked at 'anchor texts'. One of them was What sparks revolution? He chose Martin Luther King, Jr to better understand what he was learning at school. Reading was structured around 1-2 weeks to understand the essential question itself; students were given a rubric on different 'presentation styles'; he chose PowerPoint and spoke along with the slides.
Cassandra: We had a 'slime project'; had to figure out if it was solid, liquid, or gas; we determined it was a liquid bc it took the shape of the container that held it
Dion: We did research on the Grand Canyon: looked at plants, animals, and resources like food; had questions about what limits the population to grow or shrink? Considered coyotes, rabbits. it was fun. most of research was computers with a partner. researched for a week
Jade: We had a playground project -- build your dream playground; We had to determine "area and perimeter"; find the area and perimeter for each space in the playground that we wanted; we did it; it was really fun bc we got to use our brains and imagine anything, no limits! We had a zipline and a trampoline
Tritter: Sure, it was fun, but did you learn anything from it?
Jade: Sure! There were no limits to anything; if only rules, that's boring and some kids don't like rules. We could do whatever we wanted to do with the project
Tritter: what helped you to understand area and perimeter/
Jade: I learned more about area needed for putting in a zipline
Tritter: Ms. Gallagher -- talk about performance-based assessments
Gallagher: In the beginning, it was hard letting go; wanted to control. Now, make sure I have all of the materials they need for trial and error so I do more on the planning side of things, not on the control side of things. It's not me grading their paper at night; it's me looking at them while they're doing this to see what they know and what they still need to know
5th stu: In third grade we didn't really do much project-based learning, mostly tests. Things got funner bc you got to pick your partner most of the time
8th stu: my first experience with PBL was 1st grade and it wasn't a big standard and my teacher wasn't really pushing; churning butter, making cookies, carving pumpkins and counting pumpkin seeds; I can have fun and learn at the same time
5th: we're not sitting down doing tests all the time; there's a mix
Tritter: how are you making sure they are learning while they are having all this fun?
Gallagher: It's all about planning; planning came down to what do we need to know and do to plan for this? Stus have to defend their answer
Tritter: what is your experience of MCAS and performance assessment?
8th stu: I have never liked MCAS bc it never properly showed what I know. stus that have bad days and get so stressed do worse, which places them at a disadvantage
5th stu: MCAS is an important test and too many students get stressed out about it; need more hands-on tests. Hands-on let you be creative and have fun, it's more like an assignment
Tritter: In the state, all across MA and the country, are students really learning stuff they need to know? If I came to your school, what should I look for to know if students are learning at the school?
5th: look for how students 'look'; student participation; look at their learning
Omar: walk into a class and look to see if students are bored; see if they are looking at the T; raising their hand: asking Qs about the topic
Tritter: How do I actually know how stus are learning? How would I know?
Dion: I would like you to look directly at my science teacher; it's a crazy class; mats, bouncy balls, fairy lights; any kid will tell you they learn; her tests are formatted such that questions on rocks are followed by questions on reproduction; it's all important that we need
Tritter: MCIEA work, not just you and your classroom. What's involved?
Gallagher: Cross-school validation; cross collaboration; talking with other Ts to test ideas improves my planning
Tritter: turning it over to Supt Evans in Winchester...What comes to mind when thinking of the differences [between MCIEA/PBL and traditional/MCAS]?
Evans: Students are more reflective and thoughtful [with MCIEA]; there isn't only one 'right' answer. With [traditional/MCAS] 'smart equals fast', values compliance over taking risks. Students talk about 'test stress and anxiety'; [MCIEA]widens out perspective. Student choice and voice is the direction for schools
Q from audience: There's basic teaching. How to balance?
Gallagher: Balance is something I'm still working on. I'm math and science. Thinking through how we get there. Students learn in their own way and their own style. Vocabulary. Exploring and taking ownership of their own learning
Q from a Teacher of students in Special Education: Uses students with disabilities MCAS/ALT test
Evans: Waiver from state to more accurately asses students. Students talk repeatedly about working with other students, taps into unique strengths; SWD, ELs;
Q from a parent: How to join the consortium? What is the process?
Noonan: Briefly -- Agreement between district Union and Superintendent.
I had to leave at this point
Closing Remarks: Craig Consigli, Assistant Superintendent, Milford Public Schools, MCIEA Governing Board Member
⸻⸻⸻
Image credit: This question is at the heart of what drives two very different accountability systems in Massachusetts. MCIEA fact sheet HERE ~ mas