MCIEA Conference

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

Center for Collaborative Education website HERE
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

Introduces Dr. Ricardo Rosa for the Keynote

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

wrote a letter to the paper -- Washington Post reprinted it

high scores on high-stakes tests do not show evidence that learning has occurred

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'

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):

"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:

• 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

sees the value of MCIEAs/o to his hometown of Winchester
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 

I chose Session #2

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?

• What is this school doing well?
• How can you tell?
• What can this school improve?
• How can you tell?

Then, my table (and some others) looked at an accountability from DESE (to answer the above bulleted questions):

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 Revere
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

Some reflections on the Board's vote for a new statewide test

I don’t know about you, but I’m a little burned out on arguments about statewide assessments. I accept that we need them, but we’re spending way too much time on them just because students from other countries are "out-performing" students in the US on standardized tests.

It bothers me that we've been angsting over these assessments for so long when there are many other areas in need of our attention and dollars. Plus, I’m more interested in the larger educational context that is our vision and our plan for learners. (I'm not going to call it "21st c learning" because, 2015...!)

Across the discussion of “how to do tests in Massachusetts", I’ve observed a tension between what, on the one hand, is essential for child/student well-being and learning and what, on the other hand, strikes us as essential for the future economy. I will argue that until and unless we are dedicated and accountable to child/student well-being, teaching and learning may have little relevance for many children, thus we contribute to a problem we're trying to solve while putting students at risk of being unprepared - not only for their role in the future economy, but for their lives. Education is more than a talent pipeline for employers, after all, it's an end in itself.*

Beleaguered by the political morass, teachers and learners are losing ground. The teacher/learner relationship is the most essential and everything Principals, District Leaders, School Committees - and State Boards of Education - do must be to support that primal relationship in the learning environment, and build capacity for that relationship to thrive for effective teaching and learning. 

We're seeing how education must be personalized for each student no matter who they are, where they live, what language they speak, or how they present. The skills and dispositions they must possess require a multi-dimensional approach of the kind not undertaken before in K-12 education. A lift of this magnitude requires resources in the form of educational and economic investment from federal, state, and local partners in government, as well as deep and sustained alignment with all components of our educational eco-system, including true partnership with families and communities.

To be truly effective (and more than a blunt instrument of accountability), assessment might be part of a wholly supported, integrated system that's realigned with structures not only for technology and education, but also organizational development and capacity, school climate and culture, budgets, and School Committee policies. Why place the standardized assessment ahead of our needs for high quality professional development, student-family-community engagement, social-emotional learning, and teaching and learning? How can we move forward with an assessment system that's not critically aligned with these in partnership with local districts?

We’re already working from a technology deficit because we lack effective technology in every classroom, in every school, in every district across the Commonwealth. Where that technology isn't present or aligned as part of a strategic framework for educational transformation, it hasn't been identified as a priority and/or committing scarce dollars is a reality. Some business and education leaders suggest that getting online assessments in place first will, therefore, leverage meeting our compelling technological needs.

This thinking isn't correct.

Technology is a part of realizing our vision for learning and student success, not apart from it. Partnering with districts to move toward digital learning environments is more than having the requisite test-taking technology. We're absent a grounding vision that not only supports the learning eco-system, but sustains it with time for learning, teaching, collaboration, and reflection.

Fewer than 25% of people living in communities are families with children in schools. Education, progressive in that it's always moving into the future, should be a source of pride in all communities. These are our schools, our children, our future and we all need a voice in shaping them.

The mission of the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education is to strengthen the Commonwealth's public education system so that every student is prepared to succeed in post-secondary education, compete in the global economy, and understand the rights and responsibilities of American citizens, and in so doing, to close all proficiency gaps.

How will the Board achieve its stated mission? How do we set up the right conditions for all learners and educators? It's not with a standardized test. Standardized tests have not driven us to higher achievement. They've driven us to higher test scores, but not to higher achievement.

And therein lies the rub.

Many children do very well by these tests, and will continue to do well with the new test, especially if they're white and from affluent families, but not all children and schools are well served by them. Poor children do much less well.

The decision the Board has made is tiny compared to its mission and to the other important things I've mentioned.

I agreed with 6 of my Board colleagues who voted (7-4) to support a two year "hold harmless" provision for districts while a new test is developed, but I prefer that we go further.**

Whether we're in a knowledge economy, an innovation economy, or a purpose-driven economy, learning is life-long. There's a lot to be done to prepare our students for life and the future, including knowing exactly what part assessments are to play to inform instruction and improve learning with their timely data and feedback to skilled, knowledgeable professionals with the people, financial, and technological resources to identify learning gaps, modify curriculum, and adjust instruction for whole child and student success.

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Notes, Quotes, Posts, tweets
* A reference to John Dewey's 1893 essay, "Self-Realization as the Moral Ideal". (The Philosophical Review, Vol. 2, No.6 (Nov., 1893), pp.652-664; Published by: Duke University Press on behalf of Philosophical Review; DOI: 102307/2176020; Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2176020). The embedded link in the above post should lead directly to page 660 of the journal - which provides the context for the oft quoted, "Education is not preparation for life but life itself."

** I support bill H.340 of Rep. Marjorie Decker's calling for a 3-year moratorium on the high-stakes punitive nature of testing in Massachusetts.

If you pass a test, didn't you learn something?

Sustaining Improvements in Urban Schools

You wanna fly, you got to give up the shit that weighs you down.
~ Toni Morrison, from Song of Solomon

So much of our work depends on taking time away from students to be the best teachers possible.
~ The JLV

Is Education broken? - @stevewheeler interviews @AudreyWatters http://t.co/y5xHc2NyZv

— Edumorfosis (@edumorfosis) October 15, 2015

What's Behind Door #3? [PARCC::Part II]

We've been reading (for example, HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE, among other places, like HERE, HERE, and HERE) that a recommendation is pending from Commissioner Chester to the Board of ESE about how to move forward with statewide assessments in ELA and maths. He's been floating around his idea for a third way since October 19th's Board meeting, sharing his change of view and describing his process for how he will inform the Board of his recommendation. We assume said recommendation will be similar to what we've been reading and hearing about. Time will tell.

At October's meetings, the Board learned that tech upgrades to infrastructure were estimated to be $3.1 million; another $12.3 million estimated for additional technology in schools. Many schools may be ready for computer-based testing but very many more are not at all equipped with equitable, effective digital learning environments.

Acknowledging our tech deficit across the Commonwealth in this regard, I'm concerned that technology for learning is being driven with an eye to test-taking instead of blending future focused, student-centered, content-rich interactive curricula. What's the plan to align and effectively integrate those environments, while ensuring great teaching and learning?

• How are we supporting practitioner-led professional development that's framework-aligned and tech-integrated? 

• Are all educators in regular and frequent conversations with the rest of the team? Is the instructional technology team part of grade-, course- and/or department-level PLCs?

• How are school staff collaborating with families and community partners to connect students and families to expanded learning opportunities and community services in order to support achievement and civic participation? 

• Is the organization developed sufficiently with integrated tools and resources, including non-cognitive supports for all learners, no matter the language he speaks or where she lives?

• Do educators have what they need when they need it to support all students, including those from disadvantaged backgrounds?

To live in a media-rich, technology-driven environment, the entire educational enterprise must have command of the essential skills of collaboration, communication, problem-solving, critical thinking, and reflection through the integration and effective use of technology.

The point is this: no test ensures great teaching and learning. Teachers in the learning environment are the true catalysts for change. A more effective statewide assessment system in 2015 might be focused on seamless integration with its complementary parts, not on the sturm und drang over the standardized assessment tool.

Educators are skilled professionals - practitioners working to inform their practice so they can nimbly respond to a learner's needs, modify curriculum, and improve instruction. The urgency isn't about getting everyone in a 1:1 relationship with a device for test-taking. It's about remaining focused on great teaching and learning for our digital age, providing opportunities and time for reflection and collaboration, aligned with a vision that holds student-learning at the center of all decisions.

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Resources, quotes, tweets
See HERE, HERE, and HERE for the Department's vision and support for digital learning in MA K-12 schools.

Great read on the Obama administration's changing views on standardized testing.

Those bills in the Massachusetts Legislature calling for a moratorium on testing and on other accountability measures.

Read and heard elsewhere: recent references to "door number three thinking":

• An article about the Lawrence receivership that ran in CommonWealth Magazine on October 12, 2015

• The Secret History of Thoughts - Dark Thoughts that aired on The Invisibilia Podcast on January 9, 2015, rebroadcast on WGBH-FM, November 2, 2015, which is when I heard it

PARCC::Part I

Note: The Board will hold a final public comment session on PARCC -->Door #3 (?) Monday, November 16, 4:00-7:00 PM at Malden High School auditorium (in lieu of Public Comments at Tuesday morning's regular BESE meeting, 8:30 AM).

Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.
~ Albert Einstein

A great obstacle to discovery is not ignorance, but the illusion of knowledge.
~ Daniel Boorstin

Our best measures of educational performance are cognitive because that's what's easiest to test. If the things that are harder to test matter more, that presents something of a conundrum for people trying to formulate educational policy.
~ Megan McArdle in Bloomberg View (Note that Ms. McArdle's article describes key takeaways of an experiment in parent engagement undertaken by Roland Fryer, Stephen Levitt, and John List; Roland Fryer is now a member of the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education).

Great ed leaders inspire others with vision and hope not pressure and fear.

— Pedro Noguera (@PedroANoguera) September 1, 2015

American schools are modeled after factories and treat students like widgets. Right? Wrong. http://t.co/A1FyhOL6Yl

— Jack Schneider (@Edu_Historian) October 10, 2015

Welcome to my World [PARCC::Part I]

The Board has convened five Public Hearings on PARCC. I attended three (in Fitchburg, Lynn, and Springfield) and I'm in the process of reviewing public testimony from all of the hearings.

I appreciate that educators from schools and districts with first-hand experience of the Commonwealth's unique two-year testing trial shared their insights at these public hearings. From educator testimony the Board has heard, some concerns stand out for me, including:

• developmental appropriateness of some ELA questions, especially in the 4th grade test;
• the chaotic nature of administering a new test format [online] and challenges in scheduling the computer-based test;
• appropriate accommodations, such as extended time for all students, including students in special education and ELL;
• lack of equity with regard to technology in all buildings;
• lack of planning time for districts [for funding and professional development]

In a PARCC Position Paper*, MASS Superintendents expressed their preference for an "...implementation process that is regarded as ongoing in nature with frequent opportunities for feedback regarding the success of our efforts..." and shared their thoughts about:

• what constitutes a high quality assessment;
• ensuring the new generation of assessment supports teaching and learning, paying particular attention to
• frequency and timing
• necessary conditions
• logistical considerations
• critical roll out 

Some members of the public noted that some parents and community members were unable to get to venues in time to sign-up for live testimony due to work and/or family schedules. Parents who were able to give live testimony noted:

• excessive time for standardized test-taking;
• a narrowed curriculum, especially in the days and weeks before testing days;
• equity concerns between the paper-based test and the computer-based test;
• questions about the validity of the new test
• lack of clarity about what they wanted to know about the new test and what they would be responsible for if schools and classrooms shift to online learning and testing;  

I've taken several practice maths, finding it challenging at times to "drag and drop" parts of equations into the answer box, often located on a different part of the screen that is unseen when answering the problem. "Screen freeze" was frequent and work not "saved" when this occurred. These might be frustrating for some students (results of a student survey state that 32% of students found this to be true), but perhaps issues such as these could be ameliorated over time.

Questions I still have about the PARCC:

• Is this the right test? Rather, is there such a thing as a "right" test?
• If implemented, how much autonomy and control will Massachusetts have regarding specific testing features?
• What is our vision for 21st c learning?
• What do families need to know? What is the outreach to all families about the changing educational landscape?
• If PARCC represents "next-gen" assessments, what's the implementation process to ensure districts, schools, and classrooms are also next-gen, with instruction, professional development, and technology aligned?
• What resources do teachers and teams need to access high quality training? How much time is necessary with peers to collaborate, brainstorm, and share best practices?
• Are resources for professional development adequate? Do they ensure great instruction for every child no matter who they are, where they live, what language they speak, or how they present?
• Which is more important for students: to be engaged in their careers or to be work ready for their careers?

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Notes, Quotes, tweets
* To read the PARCC Position Paper referenced above, it's currently posted on the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents website: go to Professional Development and scroll down to "Conditions and Considerations for a New Generation of Student Assessment in Massachusetts".

Note that a final public comment session will be held at Malden High School auditorium Monday, November 16 from 4:00-7:00 PM - this is in lieu of a public comment period at the regular Board meeting Tuesday, November 17 beginning at 8:30 AM.

If we teach today's students as we did yesterday's, we rob them of tomorrow.
~ John Dewey

I think the most important thing that young people should be taught at school is how they can decide what they're being taught is true.
~ Harold Kroto, 1996 Nobel Prize recipient

Looking forward to @karinchenoweth's series with educators on using data to improve: http://t.co/6R7QRi6eSX via @HuffPostEd #eddata #k12

— Carnegie Foundation (@CarnegieFdn) October 2, 2015

Complicating MCAS vs. #PARCC decision in MA, new study shows two tests equally good at predicting college readiness. http://t.co/xqOjasdEkr

— Michael Jonas (@bostonjonas) October 13, 2015

Public Hearing on PARCC

The Board of ESE will hold it's fifth and final Public Hearing on PARCC - I look forward to attending:

Tuesday, July 7, 2015
Springfield Technical Community College
Top of Our City Conference Center
4:00-7:00 PM

If you have not had a chance to attend and comment in person, or to offer written testimony, please consider doing so. I am grateful to all who have submitted their thoughtful commentary, written and oral. Over the Summer I will be reflecting on all of the comments received.

Resources about PARCC have been posted to the Department's website.