On November 13, Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath spoke before the SBOE on Texas’ National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) performance and recently passed legislation relating to STAAR examinations. Commissioner Morath also provided other agency updates and responded to questions from the SBOE.
NAEP results
- Reviews NAEP process and results
- Texas 4th graders in mathematics – performing as well as they ever had, not significant statistically move but better its not down and going up
- Texas 8th graders in mathematics – downward trend since 2011 and trend continues, trend is significant statistically
- Accommodations provided for students in Special Education
- Only students not tested are those with server cognitive disability
- Texas 4th grade reading – score flatten, slight downward trend but it stopped in this recent year but the one point this year is not statistically significant
- Since start of this year – prioritize visit in elementary while reading instruction is happening, have seen notable shift in phonics and direct results of ELAR revision and proclamation SBOE is involved in
- Texas 8th grade reading – perhaps most problematic area of results, most significant decline and only significantly statistical decline, indicative of something that demands thoughtful deliberation but notes SBOE may have already taken steps to reverse the trend (ie ELAR)
- White 8th graders doing worse than they have in decades and same is happening in other student groups
- Number of statewide policy changes may remedy this automatically – notes HB 3 and it may take a full decade to work through system
- Summary – Texas continues to outperform the nation while it lags behind in reading, African American students currently rank 1st among all states for grade 4 math, Texas underperforms within Students with Disabilities
HB 3906 Update
- Changes related to STAAR test
- Spotlights list of what bill covers, points out nature of questions on STAAR will have to change regarding multiple choice
- Items more free response and open ended will be coming to design of STAAR test over next few years
- One key point of bill, advisory committee structure – will set up educators committee
HB 3
- STAAR Study overview – results due back this month and study is moving at pace and is in process
- Expect in early Dec part I of student and Part II in early Feb
Additional Updates
- TEA is doing everything they need to align commissioner authority with SBOE authority regarding review of instructional material, there is some overlap
- Change to proposed rules and will go to Texas Register on Jan. 10th
- Don’t want to duplicate any work and want to build upon work
Agency Interventions
- Statutory interventions required by agency in chronic areas of low performance – variety of statutory mechanisms created by Texas Legislature
- Ex Charter school, if unacceptable for 3 years the entire system is closed down, very “stringent” and “much tighter framework” than for ISDs
- For public ISDs is under a 5 year timeline, one of two options which is close campus or order BOM for entire district
- Reviewed BOM process, there is a more rigorous process for one intervention so Houston ISD has a few more steps according to stakeholders in HISD
Questions
- Perez-Diaz – Slide 13 on HB 3906 and impact on transforming STAAR, robust teacher process; what will that look like in terms of teacher recruitment? What does it look like and will there be any work done with districts that have educators volunteer?
- Have teacher involvement in STAAR in many areas, 3906 creates new policy advisory committee that is the additive/new process
- Reviews different committees and review process
- Educator Advisory Committee is a new thing
- Monica Martinez – have identified opportunities to convene teachers via webinar, pay for substitute for a half day of work so teachers can participate on their campus
- Out of assessment budget they try to do this – utilize substitute teachers
- Perez-Diaz asked for link of qualifications/expertise TEA is looking for
- Perez-Diaz – appreciate on boarding of information for BOM but anything that speaks to transition from BOM back to elected body?
- Started practice in recent years in assigning a conservator
- 2 year window in transitioning BOM off
- Little – really concerned on 8th grade NAEP results, what about kids in gap from K-3 and 8th grade, do we have a vendor for reading academies?
- Don’t think we have a vendor, going to put out an application for people to become authorized providers of reading academies within the month – clarifies no vendor selected
- Little – will Collin county be able to set up identified people within area
- Yes, thinks this type of activity will be common
- Have already done what you can do, degree of rigor of material set in front of them makes a difference
- Can’t overstate HB 3 dyslexia allotment and its impact, etc
- Gives audible reading example of what middle school teachers hear, if don’t have appropriate interventions and building systematically the capacity to remediate that then should not expect reading capacity to grow at scale
- Trying to increase investments in technical assistance
- Little asked about Reading Advisory board, Morath said predominately addressing lower elementary grades
- Allen – HISD process in selecting Superintendent, application process on BOM
- Statute requires when placing a BOM need to name a Superintendent, not necessarily new but need to name one but not sure which they will do yet
- Regarding application process, update on HISD website and there will be a committee that will review applications
- Committee will be asking feedback from community leaders and legislative leaders for feedback on the list
- Cargill – thank you for shout out on ELAR textbooks, following up on NAEP; hopes Morath is encouraging staff to look at Mississippi
- The one things Mississippi has that we don’t mandatory grade retention in 3rd grade
- Cargill – regarding reading academies, concerned about numbers trained online versus face to face
- Agree evidence says job embedded is most effective but its expensive
- Structure for reading academies is bifurcated structure
- 10 day in person PD/ 2x per semester job embedded instruction
- Blended model is same content and artifacts that will have to produce so they need to demonstrate proficiency in artifacts they produce
- Thinking about a bunch of controls to maintain quality
- For efficiency do want to create a “test out” framework
- 80k teachers will be eligible
- $3 billion in hands of districts of new money, 1/3 should go to raises, then pre-K requirements and reading academies and then whatever comes out
- Ongoing obligations out of district budgets
- Davis – for NAEP do you have any qualitative study plans to look at downward trends?
- Yes, but history of NAEP is also littered with people trying to figure out causality and can’t
- Strong accountability system has had impact on strong upward trend of NAEP
- Tasked team to look at hypothesis thought and if it could inform
- NAEP are big long term cycles
- Have a research partner attached to them, AIR (new name RESTAT)
- Cortez – HISD differences, is all this happening because of one campus
- Screening and interview requirements, trainings
- Changes documented on HISD website
- Enforcement order was on three statutory provisions: chronic under performance on one campus, statutory violations found in special accreditation investigation/illustrated governance issues, if conservator needed for 2 years can go to BOM
- Cortez – concern agency is urging use of HB 1882
- Variety areas of strategic focus needed to drive improvement for kids
- From how well you support and onboard teachers, etc
- Overview parts of the equation
- Morath views his jobs to make sure BOM best team, mission focus and believe all kids can learn
- Cortez – what does shut down campus look like
- Building is empty is statutory closure
- Perez – are you including all SBOE proposals in rule changes
- One most familiar with but says Yes
- Perez – can consortium of school provide reading academies?
- They can become authorized providers
- Hardy – what is TEA doing to help universities or insist they teach phonics?
- IN Mississippi did require teaching of letter training
- From HB 3 that every teacher will demonstrate competency on reading, phonics and foundational literacy skills
- All curriculum for these academies will be made available for free