Race to the Top

Race to the Top was built upon the premise that too many American students graduate from high school without the skills and knowledge necessary to succeed in postsecondary education and 21st Century careers.
In New York more than nearly a quarter of students in two and four-year Institutes of Higher Education take remedial coursework and Colleges in NYS consider a score of 75-85 on Regents exams to be the bare minimum for college readiness.
(CCLS) for Mathematics
(CCLS )for English Language Arts & Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects
(CCLS) for Science (Draft)
By accepting RTTT money the State agreed to make these four assurances:
Standards and Assessments
Data Systems
APPR
Low Performing Schools
Rationale for Race To The Top

Common Core State Standards
NYS adopted the standards and added 15%
Network team Deliverables
School-Based Inquiry Teams -




Determined by school need, led by principal
Outcomes Focused – using a systematic, data-informed approach (e.g., formative assessment analysis) to train teachers and improve instruction
Small Group Focus – by teams of teachers, particularly on those kids who struggle while supporting the learning of all students
Effective Instructional Strategies – developed and deepened by design (e.g., use of video reflection activities, lesson study)
Systemic and Sustainable Change – promoted through shared leadership and a culture of reflective practice
*Trained by Network Teams
The Key to a Culture of Reflective Practice
2011-12
Training on implementation of the Common Core Standards for ELA and Math
Training on implementation of curriculum models aligned with the Common Core Standards
Training on the use of formative assessments aligned with Common Core

2012-2013
Training on access and use of Early Warning Data Systems
Implementation and training of the school-based inquiry teams
Training on accessing and using the Instructional Reporting System to improve instruction

2013-2014
Training for implementing the PARCC summative assessments in ELA and math
Tennessee Growth Model
Tennessee is the first state in the nation to be approved to use a growth model to evaluate school performance under No Child Left Behind.
The growth model plots a trajectory of how a student is projected to score three years into the future based on the student’s demonstrated performance on state tests since third grade.
Students who score below proficient in a given year but have made accelerated progress toward being proficient will be deemed proficient.
Conversely, students who score proficient but have made severe declines will not be counted as proficient.
Issues of Accountability
A move from Institutional to 
Individual Accountability
Students must be College and Career Ready
New graduation rates
Adjustment for students with disabilities
Adjustment for Gr 3-8 ELA & Math Proficieny levels
Align Regents passing scores with college readiness, 75 in Math & 80 in ELA
Flow of Information
for RTTT
Federal Government
Dept. of Education
RTTT - Not a replacement to NCLB
State Government
NYSED – RTTT hires:
Project Management Office: 
    1 Executive Director
    4 Project Assistants
    1 Team Coordinator
Office of District Services:	
    3 Project Coordinators
Teacher/Principal Career Ladders:
    1 Project Coordinator
    2 Project Assistants

Regional
BOCES hires:
Project Leader – Network Teams –Lynn Wells @ Capital Region BOCES
•	Curriculum Specialist
•	Instructional Specialist
•	Data Specialist
District
•	Professional Development Committee (PDC)
•	School Based Inquiry Teams
Curriculum to Match Standards
Where is it?
ELA Gates Curriculum (STI Website)
2012-2013 ELA & Math Curriculum Model & Formative Assessments aligned
2013-2014 Science, Social Studies and the Arts Curriculum models and formative assessments aligned
Assesments of Standards & Aligning Curriculum
National Assessments (PARRC) by 2014-2015
Summative (on Computer?)
through-course (mini-summative) - up to three annually
Hopefully more than standardized mc tests
21st Century Skills?
Utilization of Data
Better tracking of Student data K-12 (Electronic Trascript, NYC)
Student growth
To improve teaching and learning
2011-2012: School-Based Inquiry Teams using data
2012-2013: Early Warning Data Systems
Instruction Improvement Reporting Systems
APPR
Chapter 103 of the Laws of 2010
Requirements of the Statute
Pertaining to Measuring Growth
HS Graduates Prepared to Succeed in College and Careers

The Regents College and Career Readiness Working Group has begun discussions about the effectiveness of New York's high school graduation policies
Policy Directions for consideration:
-Increase graduation requirements
-More flexibility in the ways students can meet requirements
-Offer alternatives or supplemental credentials
-Rethink the "safety net" for students with disabilities
Increase Graduation Requirements*
Strategies for consideration:
Four years of Math
Four years of Science
"College and Career Ready" Credit
- a career and technical education (CTE) course (linkedFour years of math
- a college course
- an advanced course (i.e., AP or IB)
A Second Regents Exam in Mathematics
Increase the required passing scores on the English and Math Regents exams to a level that is associated with College Readiness (75 in Math, 80 in ELA)
Extend the school day/ school year
Increase Flexibility
Student choice in one or more of their five required Regents exams
Successful completion of a CTE technical assessment (as part of an approved CTE program)
Increase the maximum number of academic credits that students can earn through integrated CTE programs and specialized CTE courses
Flexibility in the courses that students may take in middle school
Allow students to earn additional credits through demonstration of competency rather than seat time. Current regulations allow for:
- 6.5 credits via credit by examination
- 3 credits via independent study
- 1 credit for visual arts
- credit via make-up credit regulations
Implementation of the New York State Common Core Learning Standards will begin in all schools in 2011-12.
The reporting of state assessment results for 2011-12 will include performance mapped to both the existing NYS standards and the new NYS standards (inclusive of the Common Core).
In school year 2012-13, classroom instruction is expected to be fully aligned to the new standards.
Assessments that year will test achievement of the New York State P-12 Common Core Learning Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy and Mathematics.

Partnership for the Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) –
Assessing the CCLS,
Application:The PARCC assessments will be designed to be formative in nature by assessing students at key times during the year (through-course assessments) and will be aligned with end-of-year evaluations.  The majority of assessments will be computer based allowing teachers to be able to focus their instruction on clear targets and have access to actionable assessment data more frequently.  Performance tasks will assess a wide variety of knowledge and skills.  PARCC assessments will be aligned to the Common Core to enable cross-state comparison.  The current timeline projects that these assessments will be in place by 2014.
What We Know
Change
It is impossible to coast uphill.
Tecnical vs. Adaptive Problem Solving
Problems that have already been solved
somewhere else - apply solution
Problems that haven't been solved yet - adapt to a
world you can't even imagine
Solving problems and creating product that are
valued in one's culture, what Howard Gardner called
intelligence.
Not new - In vogue
Be a student of the world, keep exposing yourself to
new material.
20th Century  - Teach kids the answers
21st Century - Teach kids how to find the answers
Synergy -
Whole is stronger
than the sum of Its parts
There is more computer power in your
car than was used to land on the moon.
RTTT - Doesn't tell you how to get there(adaptive)
Internalize what we like-Adapt it to our situation
Diane Ravitch - Improve Schools at the Local Level by Teachers and Principals working together.
The Teacher and Principal Advisory Committee, which is expected to be appointed by the Board of Regents, will include representatives of teachers, principals, superintendents of schools, school boards, school districts and other stakeholders. 


New Teacher and Principal Evaluations -
A Partnership in Individual Accountability
Senior Deputy Commissioner John King said, "A teacher evaluation system with four distinct levels will help educators improve their craft by focusing on their specific needs and recognizing outstanding teaching." 


"NYSUT remains committed to a fair evaluation system that supports positive educational outcomes," said NYSUT President Richard C. Iannuzzi. "This legislative proposal advances that process."


The goal is to construct an evaluation system that can be customized to the professional development needs of every teacher. 

Under the proposed system, those rated "developing" and "ineffective" would receive additional support through a customized improvement plan.  Teachers and principals with a pattern of ineffective teaching or performance – defined as two consecutive "ineffective" ratings – could be charged with incompetence and considered for termination through an expedited hearing:

A pattern of ineffective teaching would constitute very significant evidence of incompetence and could provide the basis for removal;
The hearing would have to be completed within 60 days – compared with the current state average of 274 days, as reported in the New York State School Boards Association’s most recent survey.
Under the proposal, 40 percent of the evaluation score would be based on student achievement measures, with the portion based on student growth phased in as follows:

Year one:  20 percent student growth on state assessments or comparable measures for teachers in the common branch subjects or ELA and Math in grades four to eight only, and 20 percent other locally selected measures that are rigorous and comparable across classrooms;
Subsequent years before Regents approval of a value-added model:  20 percent student growth on state assessments or comparable measures for all teachers, and 20 percent other locally selected measures that are rigorous and comparable across classrooms;
Subsequent years following Regents approval of a value-added model:  25 percent student growth on state assessments or comparable measures, and 15 percent other locally selected measures that are rigorous and comparable across classrooms.
The remaining 60 percent of the evaluation score would be based on locally negotiated processes (e.g., classroom observations by trained evaluators), according to standards developed by the Commissioner. 


An advisory committee that will include NYSUT and practitioners will have a key role in helping to define the details in the new teacher/principal evaluation system.


NYSUT and AFT Grant
Charlotte Danielson
Our Current APPR
Questions We Have:
What about support professionals?