BY STATE EDUCATION COMMISSIONER RICHARD P. MILLS
January 2001
BY STATE EDUCATION COMMISSIONER
RICHARD P. MILLS
Closing student achievement gaps and building a preK-16 perspective are the primary issues this month. Three boards will meet: Regents, New York City Board of Education, the Trustees of the City University of New York. A day-long Regents Conference on Closing the Gaps will focus attention on student achievement gaps and actions across the entire spectrum of USNY to close those gaps by raising student performance.
Action:
Reports:
Rarely if ever have the Regents, New York City Board of Education, and Trustees of the City University of New York met together. With all the differences in perspective that the boards bring, there is one shared agenda that creates the opportunity for this meeting. That agenda is about high standards for all students from pre-K through college, the recruitment and preparation of teachers and school leaders, and advocacy for needed resources.
All three boards are interested in high standards for all students, and performance that matches the standards. The boards have different contributions to make, but all are determined that every child shall have a qualified teacher. All are committed to building institutions – colleges and schools – that are built to last and built to deliver quality. All three boards face a common task: building the case for continued investment in education before a Legislature that asks for results.
I recall a meeting last summer when the two chancellors and I met with our counterparts from several other states. The focus was how to sustain a preK through 16 education reform. When it was our turn to speak, "Team New York" needed no preparation to present a compelling picture of the common work. Each of us spoke in turn and built on each other’s contributions. Closer at hand, we see the differences in detail, but out among the other states, the differences were not important. Nor are they today. We have shared tasks that require our best joint efforts.
Are we closing the gaps in student achievement? In some areas the answer is yes but elsewhere, we would have to say not yet. The gap between standards and current performance is closing in elementary and high school English. It is not closing in the middle grades and in some cases the gap is slightly wider.
We have two years of data at all levels now – which is not a lot – but there is widespread determination to pay attention to results, seek root causes and improve performance.
The gaps in achievement are about the standards. The standards enable us to see the gaps. Those standards rest on bedrock values about fairness, work, citizenship and personal responsibility.
Much depends on widespread understanding of just why the gaps are unacceptable. The gaps in student achievement offend those values and we can no longer accept the situation that we see before us. The Regents once again take that case to the public, this time with a daylong conference in New York City.
The gaps can be closed. It is difficult, but others have done it here and elsewhere. It’s easier to describe the strategies than to act on them, but the strategies are not hard to grasp: holding fast to the standards, stronger curriculum for all, effective teachers and leaders, extra help for students who need it, community supports, and adequate state aid.
President-elect Bush’s nomination of Superintendent Roderick Paige as Education Secretary is promising. Dr. Paige has apparently closed some of the gaps in the city he has served for many years. This choice suggests a direction in national education policy that is consistent with New York’s effort.
Governor Pataki proposed a comprehensive campaign to recruit and retain certified teachers in his State of the State message this month. Taken together, the strategies he proposed will help make New York competitive in the national race for teaching talent.
The Governor also condemned the school aid formula and outlined a conceptual framework that included consolidating aids and sending two thirds of the increase to high need schools.
The Executive’s teaching proposals included many items that are consistent with Regents priorities, including alternative certification, career ladders for paraprofessionals, a teacher induction program, and incentives for retired persons to enter teaching. Many elements of his state aid framework also seem consistent with the Regents state aid proposal, but we await the Governor’s Budget message to understand what is intended.
The debate continues on Career and Technical education but the end may be in view, with the possibility of a Regents decision in February. To further support the debate, new information available this month includes results from a December discussion with assessment experts, some staff observations on three options, and an external evaluation of what stakeholders are saying about key parts of the proposal.
The gist of the expert opinion is this: exams that measure high standards and put academic subjects in a technical context aren’t available now and won’t be in the near future for a number of technical and financial reasons. For now at least, alternative proposals that would include such a testing component might best be set aside.
The Regents item also indicates a way to resolve the curriculum flexibility by allowing several options, with quality assured through a rigorous program approval process.
The major remaining issue is whether or not the Regents want to retain the requirement of five Regents exams. I think that is the appropriate course and shared the reasons in my December report to the Regents. The Regents, however, will make the final decision.
In December the Regents considered potential policy issues suggested during the November Forum on the Implementation of the Standards. During the discussion I suggested the need for Board committee work on these issues. Deputy Commissioner Jim Kadamus has proposed a schedule for reviewing those policies between January and June. The schedule calls for work by three committees in preparation for later full Board discussion and decision. This schedule allows time to study the data, consider options, and decide. It’s a good response to the Forum.
As a result of our December Washington, D.C. presentation, the National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity voted to defer action on the Regents petition for continued recognition as a national accrediting agency until Spring 2002. At our December Regents meeting, Chancellor Hayden and I updated you on the Regents role as a national accrediting agency.
During the December meeting of the Committee on Higher and Professional Education, we agreed that monthly status updates will be provided from staff. On January 24, Deputy Commissioner Patton and staff will be meeting with USDE officials in Washington to discuss the Regents petition. Specifically, we will be identifying areas of concern by USDE staff where the Regents petition must be adjusted in order to comply with federal regulations.
We have established a complete work schedule for the 2001 calendar year to ensure that every component of the federal regulations will be complied with by December 2001. Our work plan includes a monthly breakdown of all regulatory, programmatic, field visit and program development activities that must take place for compliance to be achieved. This work plan will be shared with the Regents at your February meeting.
In December we brought over 250 more of our colleagues together under one roof in the Education Building. Our colleagues in the Office of the Professions bring a dynamic operation with an emphasis on the use of technology into an especially historic part of our space. We are getting used to seeing customers once again in the restored rotunda of the Education Building. This move underscores the breadth of the Regents jurisdiction and dedication to the public good.
The Regents have seven priorities for Legislative action in the coming session. Each month this report will show how we are doing on each one:
Priority Legislative Proposals for 2001
Legislative Proposal |
Status |
| State Aid | State of the State includes several Regents issues: Simplification; regional cost differences; Targeting increases to high need districts. Details follow in budget message. |
| Omnibus Teaching Initiative Budgetary
Initiatives and Pension Portability |
|
| Leadership Initiative DS Salary Cap |
|
| Apprenticeship Training | Support secured from the NYS Apprenticeship Council; DOL; Building & Construction Trades Council of Greater NY; AFL-CIO and other Trade Unions. |
| New Century Libraries: Libraries 2002 | Endorsed by key groups such as NYLA, NYS School Boards Association and the Association of Towns of NYS will vote on a resolution at their annual meeting next month. |
| Postsecondary Disability Services | Working with SUNY, CUNY CICU and Proprietary Colleges on joint bill draft. |
| Equal Access to Educational Materials | Working with Governor’s Counsel on amendments to address concerns outlined in the veto message. |
Here are some of the anticipated actions and results in the year ahead:
A monthly publication of the State Education Department
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