October, 2003
Report to the State Board of Regents
BY STATE EDUCATION COMMISSIONER RICHARD P. MILLS


The Meeting in Brief:  Four related policy issues are before the Regents for decision: Regents Math A, the passing score for Regents exams, Regents physics, and the options for students with disabilities.  Policy deliberation on Middle Level Education continues, leading to a decision in February. The Regents will decide their priority legislation recommendations. The Subcommittee on State Aid will direct staff on the structure of the Regents State aid recommendation, which will appear in November in concept and again in December for decision. In addition to these matters, the Regents will conduct one of its regional meetings, with a focus this month on the Capital Region.

Adjust and Press On

We are nearly a decade into the effort to raise student achievement, and while we know how far we still have to go, the schools have succeeded in many ways. National and state assessments show our children are learning more now than they were a decade ago.  Yet we have always known, and the Regents have often said, we would make changes along the way.  Five years ago, for example, I promised the annual meeting of the superintendents that we would adjust policies at some point, and I read those words to them again last month. The Regents have certainly revised policy in the past and have scheduled certain policy reviews in the 24 – Month Policy Calendar. We are now at a moment that requires mid-course adjustment. The moment also requires a two-part message: adjust in the light of the data, and press on.

I begin with the recommendations of the Independent Panel on Math A, and then turn to three related policy issues. Note that the Regents have scheduled a discussion of Math A in October, review of the 65 passing score policy in November, and the special education adjustments in March.  Regents may deal with these related issues as a package or adhere to their policy schedule.  Meanwhile, this report and the Regents item show how the four issues are connected and how they might be resolved.  I propose that the Regents provide broad policy direction on all four issues now. Doing so would enable both local educators and the State Education Department to concentrate on the work at hand.

The four issues are the minimum-passing grade on Regents exams, the options for students with disabilities, Regents Math A, and Regents Physics.  To guide us, we have data on the performance of students on the five exams required for graduation, the Panel report, and the recommendations of the Regents Work Group on physics.

 The principles to guide these decisions, I believe are:

·        Support children by ensuring that they are educated to high standards; protect children by balancing the push for achievement with the support they need.

·        Consider the data as we decide.

·        Build on the effective work of others in crafting solutions.

·        Keep the school system moving toward the goal of higher achievement for all students.

      My recommendations are in two parts. The first is a policy recommendation for the Board about the immediate issue. The second is a proposal for intense work to keep improving student learning and to close the performance gaps. The recommendations reflect the data. They build on the work of others in that we now know what rapidly improving schools do and we know of effective programs in many other institutions including BOCES, colleges and universities.

Here are four recommendations in summary:

1.   Keep 55 as a local option passing score to give students and schools more time to improve achievement. This provision will be in effect for all students now in high school and for those entering 9th grade in the fall of 2004. During this time, generate a renewed, rigorous and relentless statewide effort to lift the achievement of all to 65 by building on research that shows what works and the accomplishments of the people in the schools who are applying what works. Concentrate on reading and mathematics, particularly in the high need schools, while investing available federal funds to build capacity.

2.      Extend the existing alternatives for all students with disabilities entering 9th grade through 2009. At the same time, the Department will intensify the work to improve performance of urban districts by targeting federal aid and focusing on improving the achievement of students with disabilities, particularly in the Big Five districts in cooperation with good efforts already begun locally.

3.      Accept the report of the Independent Panel on Regents Math A. Adopt its major recommendations to revise the standards, curriculum, and exam. In turn, the Department will both implement the Regents decision and continue with improvements already put in place this summer that implement recommendations in the math report.

4.      Accept the policy recommendation of the Regents work group on physics concerning future exams. In turn, the Department will implement the Regents decision by immediately convening a committee of practitioners to establish new scoring for the next Regents Physics exam.

The Regent item presents the details.

Thank You, Math A Panel.

In June, I said the June 2003 Regents Math A exam was not fair. The Final Report of the independent Panel explains why this is so and describes what to do.  In my opinion, the Panel report is wise and it is right.  I propose that we implement many of the recommendations immediately and study all of the recommendations and report regularly on follow-up actions to the Board

The Math A Report reveals a Panel motivated by concern for children. They believe mathematics is essential to a child’s education, and to that end, children need clear and high standards, a curriculum to match, teachers who know what to teach, and tests that are fair. We agree. We thank them for their careful and constructive recommendations. We thank them best by acting on their good advice. The report is direct. We asked them to be direct when we created the Panel and gave them nine hard questions to answer.

While the Panel completed its work, we anticipated some of the problems, and acted. For example, in September, we announced improvements in field-testing, staff levels, and oversight in assessment. We announced “whole test” review before any test is given, and applied that concept for the August exams. We also announced a test results verification procedure that will be used in January.

Here are additional actions needed in response to the Panel’s final report, presented here as recommendations: 

1.      Revise the mathematics standards to make them clearer, more tightly focused on the essential knowledge and skills, and easier to apply in the classroom.  The standards will remain high, as the Panel recommended. We will appoint a Mathematics Standards Committee whose members are mathematics teachers, mathematicians, and other users of mathematics to accomplish this. Some members of the Math A Panel will be included. The Mathematics Standards Committee will continue to meet periodically to advise the Regents and Commissioner.

2.      Publish a suggested grade-by-grade K-12 curriculum, with scope and sequence, that matches the revised standards. We will appoint a Mathematics Curriculum Committee, which will include members of the Mathematics Standards Committee to ensure consistency. Their work will include a review of existing curricula because elements of what is needed may already be available. 

3.      Establish a new Regents Math A exam, using improved field-testing and equating methods, and with newly established cut scores.  This exam will be appropriate for the typical student after one year of high school mathematics as defined in the standards. 

4.      Pending the creation of a new Regents Math A exam, we will restructure the existing exam along the lines suggested by the Panel.  We will use the score validation system announced in September to ensure that the results are fair before the scores become final. 

5.      The Regents Committee on Higher Education and Professional Practice will continue to review teacher preparation, certification, and professional development in consultation with the higher education community and elementary and secondary school practitioners, as well as members of the public.  (The Regents anticipated some – but not all – of the Panel’s recommendations for teacher preparation in their recent policy decisions, and there has been follow through in the colleges.)

6.      The Regents and the Commissioner will encourage local and regional discussions between school mathematics practitioners and mathematicians in higher education and users of mathematics in other fields. The purpose will be to share curriculum, create professional development opportunities, and build support for strong mathematics programs.  We will incorporate the best practices and research in mathematics into on-line training, math institutes, and on-site help to schools. We will invite mathematics experts to Regents meetings to begin these discussions and draw attention to the work already going on in higher education institutions, BOCES, and high performing schools. We will then follow through with regional discussions. We will include public television and libraries in this effort.

The publication of the Final Report of the Panel is the latest in a series of efforts to discover and correct any problems with the Math A exam. 

·        In June, I declared the June exam was not fair and allowed districts to set it aside for juniors and seniors.

·        The Regents and I appointed an independent panel and gave them complete access to data, people, and other material related to the Math A exams.

·        The Panel recommended that the June results be adjusted statistically, and we did so immediately before the start of the new school year.

·        In September we took other actions including revising field test procedures, “whole test” quality checks involving expert teachers, more staff and better oversight, and a score validation process for the January exams.

·        We promised to publish the report exactly as presented, and we do so now.

State Aid: Current Decisions in Context

The Regents build their annual State aid proposals on a research foundation. In September the Subcommittee on State Aid reviewed data describing relationships among resources, achievement, poverty, and financial capacity. In October, they will discuss a State Aid Work Group paper on local effort, which has long been an element of aid discussions. The subcommittee will also discuss a statement of preliminary directions which will lead directly to the Regents recommendation in November.

State aid is equalizing when it compensates for local differences in ability to pay for education. But there are also differences in local tax effort. Of particular interest to those shaping State aid recommendations are the districts that meet three conditions simultaneously: low per pupil spending, low tax effort, and low student achievement. As the Regents have not only advocated for more aid to districts in highest need, they also have sought policy recommendations to ensure that the local share is appropriate.

The preliminary directions draft includes proposed goals for the Regents recommendation. They include aid for districts with students needing the most help to reach standards, regional cost adjustments, stability through hold-harmless provisions, local maintenance of effort, flexibility with accountability, and measures of State aid system performance in relation to Regents goals.

In concept, what needs to be done to improve the equity and adequacy of the State aid system is well known and has deep roots. The debates over practical details matter because over the years improvements appear in the system. For example, Funding for Fairness, the report of the 1988 Salerno Commission called for many things that didn’t exist then but do now: school accountability (SASS), an annual report to the Governor and Legislature (655 Report), a uniform set of standards (Regents Learning Standards), parental notification of results (School Report Cards), and additional help (Academic Intervention Services.) These are only a few examples. There are also references to poverty factors, increased aid for those at risk, and regional cost factors – all topics that are still fresh.

While what needs doing from the Regents perspective has been discussed, and in time often gets done, there are economic barriers. However, such barriers can be overcome in time.  Regents State aid proposals are conceived as multiyear. Finally, there are differences that can only be resolved in the political process. The Court recognized this in addressing the decision to Executive and Legislative branches.

The new element this year is the Court’s decision, and its potential as a catalyst. The Regents recommendation on State aid could become the bridge from the current State aid system to one more supportive of student needs. We know that others have worked on part of the problem before us, and partly succeeded because they persevered. We also will persevere.

 Grade-by-Grade Testing – NCLB

The No Child Left Behind Act requires testing in mathematics and reading from third grade through eighth. To comply with the law New York will retain the existing fourth and eighth grade tests but must create new ones to fill the gaps.

Leaders from the NYS Council of School Superintendents suggested discussions with the field to build a framework for these new tests and in response we formed a practitioners’ panel of teachers, boards members, administrators, and parent representatives. Among their many helpful suggestions were these: ensure that tests support instruction, make reports on results readily understandable to those who must use them to improve student learning, and make the resulting array of tests a consistent system.

We are now issuing a Request for Proposals to create these new tests and have based that request on the work of the practitioners.

 Middle Level – Where so many other policy issues come together

Middle Level policy and regulations constitute the other great decision on instructional matters – after those concerning assessments – for this academic year. The Regents last month accepted a decision framework to guide their work from the policy statement adopted in June to the decision on regulations in February. They agreed to complete this in three monthly discussions.

The continuing discussion on Middle Level is related to the potential decisions on assessments this month. Actions that succeed in increasing student learning in middle grades will surely lead to better high school performance for all students. The performance of students with disabilities is very much a factor in the middle level issue. Work to improve mathematics curriculum and instruction will be part of the ultimate success story in Middle Level education. And throughout, the issue of time and flexibility is before us. Resources are finite. We cannot ask people to do more of everything. Rather we must choose what seems on the evidence to be most likely to benefit children.  

Regents Recommendations for Legislation

Every year, decisions on three Regents recommendations prepare us for the legislative session: Budget, State Aid, and Legislative priorities. The Regents adopted a budget proposal in September, they will decide a State Aid recommendation in December, and this month, will choose their Legislative priorities.

Legislative priorities reflect committee discussions and many Regents Task Forces and commissions. All are consistent with our Strategic Plan. Together, the priorities are a reflection of the Regents concern for all parts of the University of the State of New York. Here they are: 

·        New Century Libraries would invest $107 million in libraries and library systems.

·        Improvement in Postsecondary Disabilities Services will build capacity in higher education with $15 million.

·        School District Planning and Reporting will reduce local reporting and align it with a standards based system of education.

·        Interagency Collaboration: Increase Access to School-Based Health and Mental Health Clinics will help remove barriers to learning by bringing health and mental health facilities into schools.

·        State Aid will help all schools educate all children to the standards by providing adequate and equitable funding.

·       Allowing Retired Public Employees to Qualify for Teaching and Educational Leadership will respond to shortages in schools. 

·        Removal of the Salary Cap for District Superintendents will support leadership for educational efforts statewide by enabling reasonable salary increases that have not occurred since 1993.

·        Nursing Faculty Scholarship Program will respond to the nursing shortage by building higher education capacity.

·        Revising the Public Accountancy Statute to Reflect Contemporary Practice and Oversight will protect the public and resolve issues of scope of practice.

·        IDEA conforming legislation appears on the list as a placeholder in anticipation of congressional reauthorization of fundamental law governing education for persons with disabilities.

Reading First Grant

Through the hard work of our eight person team led by Shelia Evans-Tranumn and in cooperation with the Governor’s Statewide Reading and Literacy Partnership, New York has been awarded  $129 million in federal Reading First grant funds and is eligible to receive over $460 million over the next six years.  Approximately 135 New York State school districts and charter schools will be eligible to apply for Reading First funding.  This will be an important resource for closing the gap and raising student achievement.

 

Commissioner Richard Cate

Richard Cate has been called to be Commissioner of Education in Vermont. He will be a great Commissioner.  When he joined us, he promised to serve for five years. He gave seven and a half. In the words of an earlier generation of Vermonters, he has done his full duty.

During his time in New York, Richard has guaranteed the Department’s financial integrity, enabled the restoration of the State Education Building, created systems of all kinds to strengthen operations, and helped guide state aid campaigns. Richard Cate has been steadfast and has given reliable advice in all situations. Many will remember him most for his commitment to help others grow in knowledge and skill.

 We thank him for his work and friendship and wish him success in his new work for the children of Vermont.


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Last Updated: November 01, 2004