October 2006

The Meeting in Brief:  The Regents will allocate most of its October meeting to Full Board discussion of a proposed P-16 strategy that emerged from their deliberations at the September meeting.  Their purpose is to define their policy agenda going forward. At appropriate points during the P-16 discussion, the Board will debate high school graduation targets and attendance targets.  Numerous other items will be taken up and decided through the Board’s consent agenda. The Regents will vote on their State aid recommendation for 2007-08.   The Regents will vote on the draft Chapter 655 Report. The Regents will host the 18^th Annual Archives Awards Luncheon to recognize excellence in archival work, and the scholarly use of archived materials.

A P-16 Response to the Achievement Challenge

              Student achievement at all levels of the system, both the gains and the gaps, has been continuously before the Regents, the educational community, and the public.  Since the last Regents meeting, reports on achievement of students with disabilities and all students in grades 3 through 8 in mathematics and English Language Arts have appeared in the context of the Board’s concern about closing the gap.  In the months leading to the USNY Summit, Regents and USNY leaders built awareness of the potential to engage this achievement challenge with the strength of the whole University of the State of New York.  A Call to Action outlined what USNY institutions can do.  Meanwhile, Linda Sanford, co-chair of The Business Council, conducted many regional meetings devoted to economic development, education and innovation.  Regents and the District Superintendents continue to host regional education summits. The Board pushed the matter even further in its policy discussions over the summer, and then spent the entire September Regents meeting on proposed actions. 

            The Board decided to focus on thirteen actions to improve achievement for particular groups of students, and to strengthen systems and structures to enable that improvement. These actions are summarized on page 5 of the attached proposal. Eight principles that are summarized on page 4 would guide the implementation. Both of those summaries are familiar to the Regents from earlier discussions.   September’s Regents meeting concluded with these questions: What would it cost and do we have the capacity to take those actions?

This is a multi-year plan. The actions would cost a total of $301.3 million, of which $73.2 million is already in hand. The additional funds include $69.9 million in the Regents 2007-08 budget recommendation, with the balance proposed for either 2008-09, or possibly through a revision of the Regents 2007-08 request. The actions would require a total of 348 staff, of which 160 are already working in SED, and an additional 188 that would be requested in 2007-08 and 2008-09.

            To help the Regents evaluate the proposed actions, the Board will receive a color-coded budget analysis that shows which actions are in which resource category.

            Chancellor Bennett decided to allocate much of the two-day October Regents meeting to discussion of the proposed P-16 plan.  I commend to the Board the exceptional efforts of a great many people who worked in concert to incorporate the Regents ideas into this plan, including all Deputy Commissioners and their staff, Rebecca Kennard, Len Simms and Mary Drzonsc of Operations and Management Services for their financial analysis, and Alan Ray who assembled the ideas of many into a coherent whole.

Other Items in Brief

            The Conceptual State Aid Proposal extends the Foundation concept of last year, using updated cost studies for foundation cost and regional cost adjustments, and an excess cost formula based on the Foundation, and provides for universal pre-kindergarten. The Subcommittee on State Aid will present a financial recommendation to go with the concept.

            The monthly report on Roosevelt documents recent work in and with Roosevelt, and reports grade 3 through 8 test scores.

            The Annual 655 Report is ready for the Board’s approval.

            A Regents item on the Redesign of New York’s Adult Education System responds to the 6^th USNY aim, and the economic pressures facing adults who lack the skills required by a dynamic global economy.

            An Update on Testing describes responses to the NCLB peer review of New York assessments.

            The Monthly Financial Report shows that all accounts are in structural balance. Regents will ask questions about this report as part of their monitoring of Department financial integrity.

            The Board is receiving two items on closing the achievement gap: setting targets for graduation rates and attendance.

            The Board of Regents envisions a New York in which all people are prepared for citizenship, work and continued learning throughout their lives.  They foresee a New York in which gaps in achievement have closed, and the overall level of knowledge and skill among the people matches or exceeds the best in the world.  In spite of progress over the last decade, we are far from achieving that vision.  And the Board understands that the vision must be dynamic because policy leaders, educators, and other people around the globe are moving as fast as they can to achieve their own version of the same vision. The Board further defined their vision at the Education Summit in November 2005, which validated these aims:

            We also documented the educational challenges facing New York at the Summit and confirmed our goals to confront them:

 q     Close the great divide in achievement along lines of income, race and ethnicity, language, and disability.

q     Keep up with growing demands for still more knowledge and skill in the face of increasing competition in a changing global economy.

             Accomplishing these two related goals requires unprecedented collaboration among parents, employers, elected leaders and educators. Education is a system in which all the parts affect and depend on the others.  Solutions to its problems must be systemic solutions.  For example, giving all children a good start requires prenatal and child health care, family literacy through libraries and other institutions, pre-school programs and full-day kindergarten. And interventions have to start early and support a student’s learning throughout. Students who do not get a good start are unlikely to read by the second grade; students who do not become proficient readers won’t graduate from high school; and students who enter college with weak mathematics and literacy skills won’t graduate unless we do something to bolster their academic achievement.

     The strategies and actions outlined here draw upon the strengths of the entire University of the State of New York. Together these strategies and actions form a coherent whole. They will sustain students from their earliest years – with a focus on transitions, from pre-kindergarten and elementary school, to middle school, then to high school and college – by improving critical systems and structures that support achievement. In the next few pages we describe the principles that will guide our work. Chief among them is a commitment to engage everyone by listening to the people the education system serves. We will engage partners statewide in business, health and mental health, local and state government, community organizations, education, and most of all parents and students. This is a commitment to communication that is rich, continuous, and honest.

The Actions: Overview

For a decade, student achievement has improved in response to Regents policy and local action.  But the improvement is not sufficient. The achievement gap has narrowed but not closed. The world has also changed as billions of people have entered the global economy and ignited a global education boom.  Every society that can afford to do so is moving urgently to improve knowledge and skill and close their own version of the achievement gap.  The Regents will engage with statewide and local partners on the actions below, adopt or recommend policy as appropriate, and, with the State Education Department and all of USNY, seek improved results systemwide:

The Actions

 1.       Promote a sustainable early education program for all high need students.  Resolve issues of standards, funding, and service delivery.

Problem:  Early language and literacy development begins in the first three years of life and is closely linked to a child’s earliest experiences with books and stories. Children lacking pre-literacy opportunities too often don’t become proficient readers. When they enter school, many children participate in a fragmented early childhood system. Although 80% of four-year-olds are in placements outside of the home, only one-third are served in State-funded pre-kindergarten programs. And many adults are not literate. Adults with low literacy have difficulty ensuring that their children can read, thus perpetuating the achievement gap.

Actions:

■       Carry out the Regents early education policy. Key actions include:

o       Increase the number of children participating in Pre-K programs by 100,000, representing 75% of the estimated number of unserved children.

o       Advocate for change in the compulsory school law.

o       Define and advocate for changes in the scope and funding of early childhood programs, including decisions on a supplemental foundation formula, universal coverage for pre-K, and a mixed private and public system for pre-K.

o       Make scientifically-based reading strategies available to all schools and teachers.

o       Require improved screening of pre-academic, health and mental health needs of new students.

■       Through the USNY Cabinet on Early Education, collaborate with other children and family-oriented State agencies and community organizations to identify and help families through large-scale parent training and related services. Set targets for results.

■       Increase literacy of children and parents by expanding proven programs in libraries, museums, public broadcasting. Set targets and advocate for resources.

o       Increase proven training programs for librarians and parents on how to teach reading.[1] Use the resources of public television to help families develop literacy skills in their children, beginning at birth. All public libraries and PBS stations will offer robust programs of early literacy services.

o       Increase participation in libraries’ statewide summer reading program from 1 million to 1.5 million children.

o       Require museums receiving State aid to provide public and educational programs at no cost to families in poverty.

2.       Improve academic outcomes for children with disabilities by setting performance targets, promoting effective practices, and holding schools accountable for dramatic improvements.

 Problem:  Most students with disabilities do not leave school ready for either postsecondary education or employment. Only 37% statewide graduate with a regular diploma after four years; almost 19% drop out.  The lack of adequate intervention to increase student literacy and provide positive behavioral support is a primary cause of poor performance.

 Actions: 

 ■       Set annual State targets for improvement, publish performance data and hold low-performing school districts accountable, including redirecting federal IDEA funds in low-performing schools to improve performance.

■       Identify instructional practices contributing to poor student performance and help school districts identify and make improvements. Describe and promote effective practices, especially those addressing improved literacy and positive behavioral interventions, through district-to-district assistance.

■       Direct VESID’s technical assistance resources to school improvements in literacy, behavioral supports and quality delivery of special education services. Expand availability and capacity of technical assistance centers to promote training and implementation for Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports (PBIS) in the Big 4 and within BOCES.

■       Increase the number of students with disabilities transitioning directly from high schools to vocational rehabilitation training programs, employment and/or college.

3.       Improve academic outcomes for English Language Learners by setting performance targets, promoting effective practices, and holding schools accountable for dramatic improvements.

Problem:  While there has been significant improvement in the performance of English Language Learners since 1999, a large gap remains and results are unacceptably low. 75% of Hispanic students scored at Levels 3 and 4 on the 2005 elementary level mathematics test and 35% of Hispanic students scored at Levels 3 and 4 at the middle level. English language learners are more likely to need an additional year of schooling to meet high school graduation requirements. Even after five years, fewer than half of English language learners have graduated. Literacy is an issue for adults as well. Approximately 28% of New Yorkers speak a language other than English at home. Of these residents, 36% speak English less than “very well.”

 Actions: 

 ■       Set performance targets. Provide technical assistance to low performing schools through Department staff and existing regional networks. Publish results, and hold schools accountable for making Adequate Yearly Progress. Require those that do not meet targets to plan for improvement.  If progress is not sufficient, require schools to modify curriculum, redirect or eliminate funds, and replace educational personnel. 

■       Create a community of practice, evaluate the programs and instruction ELLs are receiving, share best practices and require professional development on effective ELL practice as part of corrective action for low-performing schools. Seek advice from the Committee of Practitioners.

■       Expand public library services to 500,000 additional English Language Learners in the State’s 1,100 public library buildings, including library materials in multiple languages, English language classes, programs to help parents with children’s early literacy and homework, job information, and public access computers. Build on successful models in Queens, Hempstead, Glens Falls, and Westchester County. 

4.       Improve high school attendance and graduation rates by setting performance targets, promoting promising practices that remove barriers to graduation, and holding schools accountable for dramatic improvements.

 Problem:  Since higher standards were adopted in 1996, the number of high school graduates each year has increased. However, only 64% of students who entered 9^th grade in 2001 graduated in four years; 18% were still enrolled and 11% had dropped out. Rates for Black and Hispanic students were below 45%. Data show that graduation rates are closely tied to attendance rates. As attendance declines below 95%, graduation rates decline significantly. And both attendance and graduation rates decline with poverty.  New York’s current graduation rate standard is only 55%, one of the lowest in the nation. Schools need to focus on the least served students, such as Black males, English Language Learners, and students with disabilities.

 Actions:    

■       Set a State standard of 90% for graduation rates, publish four- and five-year graduation rates by school, and specify a schedule of improvement targets for schools to close the gap between their graduation rate and State standard. Set targets now for the students who entered 9^th grade in 2004 and will graduate in 2008. This action is especially important to ensure that more schools intervene to help the most underserved students, such as Black males, English Language Learners, and students with disabilities.

■       Set a State standard for attendance. This is an ideal time for the Board of Regents to consider setting targets for high school attendance rates because New York is scheduled to begin using attendance rate as the third academic indicator for elementary and middle level in the 2007-2008 school year. Under New York’s approved NCLB accountability plan, attendance will replace the grade 4 and 8 science examinations as New York’s third academic indicator at the elementary/middle level.

■       Research and benchmark other states for effective, innovative strategies that improve high school graduation and attendance rates. Provide effective strategies to schools to enable them to achieve the State targets through regional networks.

■       Align the Regents and Big Five districts’ strategies for improving high school graduation.

■       Benchmark the knowledge and strategies that link high school and college experiences in highly effective programs such as the Liberty Partnerships Program and the Science and Technology Entry Program, advocate for additional resources to reach more students, and promote good practices statewide to improve high school and college graduation rates among low income students.

■       Systematize linkages between the professions community and school districts to encourage middle and high school students to consider careers in the licensed professions, particularly in high-need areas, and help them to prepare for the advanced education they will need to qualify for licensure.

5.       Report student persistence and college completion results, and increase investment in programs that have been shown to remove barriers to graduation.

 Problem:  While better than the national average, New York’s college persistence and graduation rates must improve. One in five students who begin baccalaureate degree programs do not persist to the sophomore year in the institution in which they enrolled. One-third of students do not graduate in six years. Fewer than one-third of students in associate degree programs complete a degree in three years. The gap in college completion rates for under-represented students is significant. Only 43% of Black and Hispanic students complete their baccalaureate degrees in six years compared to 65 % of White students. This is unacceptable and must improve.

 Actions: 

■       Publish freshman to sophomore student persistence and graduation rates of associate and baccalaureate programs in New York State. Analyze by sector, proportion of under-represented students, and other key criteria. Draw comparisons to national averages and to states with similar demographics.

 ■       Research and benchmark practices that improve persistence and graduation rates. Share them with colleges and universities through field visits, best practices guidelines, forums, and web-based resources, and help them to replicate successful strategies.

■       Seek additional investment to expand the State’s highly effective opportunity programs for low income students.

■       Monitor high-risk institutions and take action when standards are not met.

■       Require colleges and universities to provide prospective students with accurate information on the institution, job placement, and/or transfer opportunities before they enroll.

6.       Raise the learning standards to exceed global standards so all students graduate ready for citizenship, work, and continued education.   Align standards, assessments, curriculum and instruction across P-16, emphasizing transitions between high school and college, and high school and the workforce.

 Problem:  New York’s learning standards were adopted in 1996.  With the exception of mathematics, they have not been renewed in 10 years.   Other states and nations have renewed their standards and continue to do so.  It’s time to raise the standards to ensure that New York students have the best education available anywhere.

 Actions: 

 ■       Adopt a schedule and process to raise the student learning standards, using expert panels. The schedule will address standards in science, U.S. and global history and geography, English and other languages, and pre-kindergarten.  Benchmark the standards of other states and nations to match the demands of citizenship, higher education, and work. Align standards, assessment, curriculum, and instruction from P-12 and between high school and college. 

■       Revise State assessments based on the higher standards.

■       Make online professional development courses available to all teachers, (such as the PBS TeacherLine NY and NYS Virtual Learning System). Create standards-aligned content with teacher guides, extensive online library resources, and interactive flexibility to fit classroom needs.