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

Changes for Student Homeless Populations Under ESSA

According to the National Center for Homeless Education federal data summary, the number of homeless students doubled in less than a decade: public schools identified a record 1,301,239 homeless children and youth in the 2013-2014 school year up from 679,724 in 2006-2007.

New provisions under ESSA seek to increase the capacity of coordinators and liaisons to connect homeless youth to needed services and supports, ensure these students receive a quality education, and hold schools more accountable for homeless student outcomes. While states have until 2017–18 to fully implement most major components of ESSA, key provisions related to homeless students were to be implemented by the start of this (2016–17) school year. Amendments to McKinney-Vento went into effect on October 1; provisions for Foster Care take effect on December 10, 2016:

• For Coordinators & Liaisons: States must designate state coordinators to monitor local education agencies, inform parents and the public of homeless students' rights, and provide high-quality training for local liaisons charged with building local capacity to implement the McKinney-Vento provisions of ESSA.

• Stability: LEAs must consider student-centered factors in making the best determination of schools for homeless students to attend, with a presumption that students will remain in their original schools and their wishes will be given priority.

• Enrollment and Full Participation: SEAs and LEAs must develop, review, and revise policies to remove barriers and create opportunities for homeless students to be identified, enrolled, and engaged in school, including in public pre-K programs.

• Opportunity to Engage in a Rigorous Education: Homeless students must have full access to academic and extracurricular activities, credit for full or partial completion of coursework, and counseling to help support a transition to post-secondary education and career opportunities.

• Accountability: States must disaggregate data on state report cards by homeless student category starting in the fall of 2017-2018.

---

National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth

Child Welfare Information Gateway

Intro to ESSA

At nearly 400 pages the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA, the new iteration of ESEA/NCLB) intends to recalibrate the federal-state relationship (thrown out of whack with NCLB) and continues the commitment of the federal government to "quality and equality in the education that is offered to our young people". The law brings with it several key changes in policy for states and districts, including:

• State Assessment Programs support high-quality assessments through state and district assessment flexibility, federal funding, and a new pilot program to encourage innovation. Still in: the provision that at least 95% of students and 95% of each group of traditionally underserved students will participate in statewide assessments (grades 3-8, once in high school, in ELA & maths).

• State Accountability Systems focus resources on low-performing schools and traditionally underserved students who consistently demonstrate low academic performance. State goals and accountability systems must establish long-term goals for, at minimum:
• student achievement, high school graduation rates, and English language proficiency with measurements of interim progress.
• For the lowest-performing 5% of Title I schools and high schools with graduation rates at or below 67%, comprehensive, locally-determined, evidence-based intervention and targeted support and improvement will increase with need.

• Improving Teacher and School Leader Quality and Effectiveness: States and districts are responsible for improving quality and effectiveness of teacher/principal/other school leaders for increased student academic achievement, especially for students from "low-income families" and "students of color". ESSA eliminates the "highly qualified teacher" (HQT) provision (in NCLB), replacing with:
• School districts must describe how they will identify and address any disparities that result in students from low-income families and students of color being taught by ineffective, inexperienced, unqualified, or out-of-field teachers at higher rates than other students.*
• States must collect and publicly report data on these disparities.*
• State plans must describe how students from low-income families and students of color will not be served at disproportionate rates by ineffective, out-of-field, or inexperienced teachers.*
• School districts must have mechanisms to notify parents regarding the professional qualifications of their child's teacher.
• States may use federal professional development funds to increase access to effective teachers for students from low-income families and students of color.
• Professional development (PD) - ESSA authorizes federal funding for states and districts to provide PD activities that support school leader effectiveness.
• Teacher and leader evaluations - States may (and are not required) use federal PD funds to implement teacher and leader eveluation systems based on student achievement, growth, and multiple measures of performance - and to inform PD.

*Note that this does not apply to students with disabilities and English language learners. COPAA (Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates) testified before the Committee on Education and the Workforce Subcommittee on Early Education, K-12, and Higher Education first hearing on implementing ESSA. Ms. Selene Almazan, Esq. testified on the "vital role" of ED in implementing ESSA to ensure high expectations of teachers and leaders for achievement of students with disabilities, students of color, and students who are English language learners. A letter by organizations representing parents, teachers, and state and local leaders, expressed strong support for and commitment to putting students first.

• Supporting and Improving the Quality of Low-performing High Schools: States and districts are responsible for supporting and improving the quality of low-performing high schools:
• High school graduation rate goals - for all students and student subgroups.
• Low-graduation-rate high schools - at least once every 3 years, states must identify high schools with graduation rates at or below 67% for comprehensive, locally-determined, evidence-based intervention.
• Funding for high schools - ESSA allows districts to target Title I funds to high schools.
• High school program - ESSA eliminates the High School Graduation Initiative (HSGI) included in NCLB and creates a new grant program for states and districts called the Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grant program.
• State and district plans must describe how the state will work with districts to provide for the effective transition of students from middle school to high school and from high school to post-secondary education, including integrating AP, IB, CTE and work-based learning, dual enrollment, and coordination with institutions of higher education and employers.

(Emphasis throughout mine).

US House: Next steps for implementing ESSA

US House of Representatives Committee on Education and the Workforce Subcommittee on Early Education, Elementary, and Secondary Education to hold hearing on restoring state and local control of K-12 education (implementation of ESSA), tomorrow, Wednesday, February 10, 10:00 AM.

Live proceedings of the hearing may be viewed HERE.

NASBE15 Pre-Conference :: Student Data Privacy :: Wednesday, October 21, 2015 :: 1:00 PM*

Pre-test: Can you identify what the following acronyms stand for?

• SOPIPA

• PII

• SBEs

• FERPA

• COPPA

• PI

• PPRA

• SEAs

• PTAC

Presenters

State Law and Policy Trends:
Rachel Anderson, Senior Associate, Policy and Advocacy, Data Quality Campaign

Amelia Vance, Director of Education Data & Technology, NASBE

Common Pitfalls of Contracting with Education Technology Providers:
Michael Hawes, Statistical Privacy Advisor, US Department of Education

Security 101:
Jim Siegl, Technology Architect, Fairfax County Public Schools

Overcoming Policy Hurdles to Help Kids Succeed:
Elizabeth Laird, Lousiana Deartment of Education

Federal Data Privacy Legislation Panel:
Reg Leichty, Moderator, Founding Partner, Foresight Law + Policy
Jon Bernstein, President, Bernstein Strategy Group
Paige Kowalski, Vice-President of Policy and Advocacy, Data Quality Campaign
Kobie Pruitt, Education Policy Manager, The Future of Privacy Forum
Mark Schneiderman, Vice President for Government Affairs, School Messenger
Elana Zeide, Privacy Research Fellow, NYU Information Law Institute

State Boards of Education (SBEs) have some authority over education data privacy (Here's what's posted on MA/DESE website - remind me to follow up on any further BESE authority).

School as we know it is changing:

• Technology and information needs are evolving faster than policies.

• There's a lack of communication with parents and the public about the value of educational data.

• Talking about privacy can be challenging.

• How do we address the personal nature of privacy?

Since September 2015, 187 Bills on student data privacy have been introduced in 47 states; legislative themes include:

Thirty-three states have passed student data privacy laws since 2013. Laws prior to 2014 gave State Education Agencies (SEAs) and SBEs^ authority to:

• Rule-making

• Override authority

• Adopt & implement privacy policies

• Provide a public data inventory

• Appoint Chief Privacy Officer

• Review potential new data elements to be collected/linked/shared

• Ensure role based access to data

• Notify parents of rights

• Create a data security review team

• Provide oversight of vendor contracts

[^ Again - noted for follow-up with DESE]

Rachel Anderson:

• One thing Congress doesn't do is work from scratch

• Congress is attempting to use/update FERPA for student data privacy issues - - it's complex because the law was written in 1974 and it has a hard time fitting into today's educational context:

• 1974 student "educational records" could be locked in filing cabinet with a key...that's out of touch with 2015

• There's no "educational record" now, there is "student data"

Jim Siegl:

• There's a trade-off between what's useful and convenient for teachers in the classroom and a rigid system for "protection"

• Biggest risks to security are the mistakes made by people with access to data in systems every day (as opposed to "data breaches")

• How is your district handling educator training of day-to-day data?

• Ongoing staff training is a must - anyone handling student data should be trained in

• how to use data, and
• how to protect data

Elizabeth Laird:

• Welcome to Privacy-pa-looza!
• Louisiana schools struggle with strict privacy law
• Louisiana is the only state with criminal penalties
• Time for a longitudinal data system
• Lousiana's plan to protect student privacy

Take-aways on student data privacy:

• SBEs have been collecting student/school data for 100 years

• Technology and data can sound abstract
• the philosophy of "protection of data" at the intersection of "education" makes it a challenging issue

• Need to consider state and federal interaction
• How to consider investing scarce public resources to student data privacy?

• What is the appropriate federal role?
• The "role of consent" in some of the federal bills is an "over-correction" > > > must strike a balance between "privacy" and data's "value"

• The potential for over-reach; must consider the role of technology in education and the consequence of passing draconian legislation, lest it become too burdensome for educators

• Still...laws are not enough - we need leadership from the education community to build trust and best practices.

Suggested foundational elements of a state data privacy and security policy to include:

• Statement of the policy/law's purposes - - To include talking about both the VALUE of educational data and the importance of PROTECTING that data)

• Select the person/s in charge - - Who will answer people's questions? Who creates policy and guidance? Who enforces the state's laws?

• Transparency plan - - In the absence of being transparent...anything that can be said will be said...SBEs haven't been good at communicating the VALUE of educational data and the importance of PROTECTING that data. It can (and should) be simple.
• Explain the "who, what, where, why, and when" of data collection.
• Make the data easy to find and understand.
• Give details for those who want to read them.

• Limiting vendor use of data - - Limit data use for non-educational purposes. Check contract provisions for data use and storage. Define who has signing authority on contracts. Beware of "click-wrap" agreements.

• Statewide data privacy & security plan - - Have a comprehensive plan to address privacy, and also address administrative, physical, and technical safeguards. Ongoing staff training and methods of encryption.

• Ongoing staff training - - Anyone who handles student data should be trained in: How to use data and how to protect data

Pre-test answers:

• SOPIPA: Student Online Personal Information Protection Act. A California law, the first state law to comprehensively address student privacy. Effective January 1, 2016

• PII: Personally Identifiable Information

• SBEs: State Boards of Education

• FERPA: Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (of 1974!) A federal law designed to protect the privacy of student "educational records". Established the rights of students to inspect and review their educational records.

• COPPA: Children's Online Privacy Protection Act - a federal law designed to protect the privacy of children under the age of 13

• PI: Personal Information

• PPRA: Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment. A federal law that affords certain rights to parents of minor students with regard to surveys that ask questions of a personal nature.

• SEAs: State Education Agencies

• PTAC: Privacy Technical Assistance Center - provides guidance and best practices.

* I found the presentations and panel discussion to be an excellent complement to the morning visit to Halstead Academy.

NASBE :: Data Privacy Resources

There's more in the Storify

- - -

Materials from the Session available online:

NASBE :: Comparison of 2015 Federal Education Data Privacy Bills

Why Does Student Data Matter?

10 Things We Would Lose Without Data

Student Data Principles

10 Steps Every District Should Take Today

Parsing Student Privacy: Creating a Parent-Focused Framework for Conversation

Is Student Privacy Erased as Classrooms Turn Digital?

Parental Support for Technology and Data Use in Schools

A Parents' Guide to Student Data Privacy

Student Privacy Pledge (with statements from NSBA, CCSSO, Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA), National PTA, more)

::Every Child and the Whole Child

Parents expect schools to prepare children for success in life beyond high school, whatever they choose to do. They want schools to educate the whole child and achieve beyond success on high-stake tests in a few academic subjects. In many communities, budget shortfalls, combined with a narrowed focus on the MCAS, are causing other areas of children's learning to be neglected or eliminated.

Our schools can and should provide a well-rounded education that meets the needs of the whole child. This is accomplished with a rich, varied and engaging program for all children; schools that succeed by meeting students' individual needs. Attention to a child's social and emotional development is as important as academics, enhancing complementary learning skills, things not  currently measured, like creativity, problem-solving, critical thinking, and diligence. 

I am proud to have played a part in moving these ideas forward for students in our schools. I feel we do this better than most, but we can improve, too. 

We could embrace a broader vision and definition of accountability.  District report cards could include indicators of quality that expand upon standardized test scores.  These report cards would be tools for promoting greater involvement of parents and community agencies and would assess school leadership, learning environment, school climate, parent and community involvement, and staff development.

I welcome your input for keeping our schools on track.