The Data Quality Campaign (DQC), along with groups such as the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, the Council of Chief State School Officers, and the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education, have created a template to guide discussions by states and teacher preparation programs around how data can be collected, analyzed, shared and used to improve the preparation of teachers and the ultimate increase in st
udent achievement. On August 24th at 1 p.m. ET the Data Quality Campaign will host a webinar, “Leveraging State Longitudinal Data Systems To Inform Teacher Preparation and Continuous Improvement,†where they will introduce the template and hear from states that have begun developing data partnerships with teacher preparation programs. You may register for the webinar here.
Posts Tagged ‘accountability’
DQC Webinar on Data Sharing Between SEAs and Teacher Preparation Programs
Monday, August 16th, 2010West Virginia Governor Takes Over as Chair of NGA, Unveils College Completion Initiative
Tuesday, July 13th, 2010At their 102nd annual meeting in Boston this weekend, West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin III becam
e chair of the National Governors Association (NGA). Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman was named NGA Vice Chair. During the meeting Gov. Manchin announced his new initiative, Complete to Compete, which focuses on increasing the number of students in the United States who complete college degrees and certificates and improving the productivity of the country’s higher education institutions.
“My initiative will bring together governors, higher education executive officers, campus leaders and corporate CEOs to make marked improvements in college completion and productivity and get our country back on track to produce a successful workforce for the future,†said Gov. Manchin.
Complet
e to Compete will create a set of common higher education completion and productivity measures that governors and higher education leaders can use to monitor state progress and to compare their performance to other states and between institutions. These proposed measures can be found in Complete to Compete: Common College Completion Metrics. This report will be followed in the coming weeks by a technical guide for states.
The Complete to Compete initiative will also:
- Develop a series of best practices and a list of policy actions governors can take to achieve increased college completion;
- Provide support to states to design policies and programs that increase college completion and improve higher education productivity and serve as models for other states around the country; and
- Hold a learning institute for governors’ senior advisors in education, workforce and economic development focusing on successful state strategies to graduate more students and meet workforce demands.
Secretary Duncan Appoints Committee on Measures of Student Success
Thursday, June 3rd, 2010On Wednesday, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced the 15 members of the new Committee on Measures of Student Success which will advise the Secretary in assisting two-year degree-granting institutions of higher education in meeting the completion or graduation rate disclosure requirements outlined in section 485 of the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008. The committee will also develop recommendations regarding additional or alternate measures of student success that are comparable alternatives to the completion or graduation rates, taking into account the mission and role of two-year degree-granting higher education institutions. These recommendations will be submitted to the Secretary within 18 months of the first meeting of the Committee.
The panel will be chaired by Thomas Bailey, professor of economics and education at Columbia University’s Teachers College and head of the Community College Research Center. The other members are:
- Margarita Benitez, senior associate, Excelencia in Education
- Wayne Burton, president, North Shore Community College
- Kevin Carey, policy director, Education Sector
- Alisa Federico Cunningham, vice president, Institute for Higher Education Policy
- Jacob Fraire, assistant vice president for educational alliances, Texas Guaranteed Student Loan Corporation
- Isabel Friedman, student, University of Pennsylvania
- Millie Garcia, president, California State University at Dominguez Hills
- Sharon Kristovich, higher education consultant
- Harold Levy, managing director, Palm Ventures; former chancellor of New York City Public Schools
- Geri Palast, executive director, Campaign for Fiscal Equity
- Patrick Perry, vice chancellor, California Community College System
- Lashawn Richburg-Hayes, deputy director, MDRC
- Linda Thor, chancellor, De Anza College
- Belle Wheelan, president, Southern Association of Colleges and Schools’ Commission on Colleges
Data Quality Institute Posts Preliminary Outline, Shares Topics Being Considered
Friday, May 7th, 2010According to the Perkins Collaborative Resource Network (PCRN), the 2010 Data Quality Institute (DQI) will be ‘virtual,’ spreading out over a several week time period in late 2010, rather than concentrated into a single block of 1 1/2 to 2 days. Content will be offered via general strands, with sessions currently in consideration that include:
- Perkins Accountability 101 for new state staff
- Common Reporting Mistakes in CAR report data entry
- POS Evaluation Workshop
- Performance–based funding in CTE
- And many more topics
Refer to the PCRN Web site for more information.
PCRN is a resource of the Division of Academic and Technical Education (DATE), within the Office of Vocational and Adult Education (OVAE).
Obama Administration Releases ESEA Blueprint
Monday, March 15th, 2010This weekend, the Obama Administration released its blueprint for revising the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) with the goal of raising expectations of students and rewarding schools for producing dramatic gains in student achievement. The blueprint builds on the reforms currently being undertaken through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, including:
- College- and Career-Ready Standards and Assessments
- Great Teachers and Leaders in Every School
- Equity and Opportunity for All Students
- Raise the Bar and Reward Excellence
- Promote Innovation and Continuous Improvement
Many of these priorities align to the areas of focus in NASDCTEc’s ESEA reauthorization recommendations.
Of particular note in the blueprint is the administration’s plan for funding for assessments in the law, which CTE could be a part of [emphasis added]:
“States will receive formula grants to develop and implement high-quality assessments aligned with college- and career-ready standards in English language arts and mathematÂics that accurately measure student academic achievement and growth, provide feedback to support and improve teaching, and measure school success and progress. States may also use funds to develop or implement high-quality, rigorous statewide assessments in other academic or career and technical subjects, high school course assessments, English language proficiency assessments, and interim or formative assessments. Beginning in 2015, formula funds will be available only to states that are implementing assessments based on college- and career-ready standards that are common to a significant number of states. The program also will support competitive grants to consortia of states, and to other entities working in partnership with states, for research on, or development and improvement of, additional high-quality assessments to be used by multiple states in such areas as science, history, or foreign languages; high school course assessments in academÂic and career and technical subjects; universally designed assessments; and assessments for English Learners and students with disabilities.â€
CTE may also benefit from the proposed grant program to increase access to accelerated learning opportunities that help students prepare for, or directly provide, college-level work such as dual enrollment and early-college programs.
Secretary of Education Arne Duncan will testify before both the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee and the House Education and Labor Committee on Wednesday to discuss the blueprint.
CLASP Recommendations for WIA Reauthorization Promote Shared Accountability System
Wednesday, March 10th, 2010In a new set of Workforce Investment Act (WIA) recommendations, CLASP advocates for significant changes to performance accountability for workforce development and adult education programs authorized under WIA. The recommendations included:
- Title I of WIA should focus on high quality education, training and related services that provide individuals with the necessary skills and experience to access jobs that pay family-supporting wages and have advancement potential.
- Title II of WIA, also known as the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act, should focus on increasing the rate at which all adult education students attain career and postsecondary success.
- Title I and II should be better aligned within a career pathways framework in order to provide more intensive and integrated workforce development and adult education services that are linked to income, work and academic supports and to better connect these systems with employers and postsecondary education.
Regarding their recommendation for better alignment, CLASP would also like to see a shared accountability system across WIA and other workforce development and education programs like the Carl D. Perkins Act, postsecondary education, Trade Adjustment Assistance, and the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). This shared system of accountability would include a shared set of interim and outcome measures, consistent definitions of units of service that can be used across federal programs, commonly agreed upon cost-allocation methods for services funded by multiple sources, and consistent standards of data quality and data sharing.
Community Colleges’ Assets Hidden, Report Says
Friday, March 5th, 2010Community colleges have long served the nation and its workforce by playing a significant role in providing the necessary education and training for individuals. And in light of the nation’s economic turn of events, community colleges are experiencing even more growth and facing greater demand to serve as an educational and training hub.
But with this great opportunity, community colleges are also facing different and higher expectations. An obstacle to their growth may be their inability to demonstrate accountability – comparable evidence that community colleges are meeting the desired goals. A recent report, Counting the Hidden Assets: First Steps in Assessing the Impact of Community College Noncredit Education Programs on the Workforce and Local Economies, by the Community College Resource Center explores the issue.
The report notes that “there is no standard national measurement of the direct educational and economic benefits of noncredit courses to their communities, so they are not systematically evaluated.†That means despite the demand for community colleges by individuals and the growing requirement by employers for workers with postsecondary education, policymakers and other funders may lack the valid information to understand the need to support community colleges, the report said.
The report provides recommendations on how to measure success of community colleges as a first step to address the very large issue of data collection and measurement, and relating the information to accountability and standards.
College and Career Readiness Goals Not Reflected in Most High School Accountability Systems
Friday, February 5th, 2010In College-and-Career Ready: Using Outcomes Data to Hold High Schools Accountable for Student Success, the Education Sector reports that many districts rate schools solely on graduation rates and on student scores on basic-skills tests in a single year, but finds that most high school accountability systems fail to recognize college and career ready goals. The report suggests that states can do more to recognize college and career readiness goals by calculating the earnings of graduates who enter the workforce, broken down by occupation and industry sector.
Getting Assessment Right in ESEA Reauthorization
Friday, January 8th, 2010Yesterday, the Forum on Education Accountability (FEA) hosted a discussion with Linda Darling-Hammond of Stanford University, Gene Wilhoit from the Council of Chief State School Officers, and Monty Neil of FEA.
The panelists discussed issues regarding assessments in the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, including performance assessment, use of local and classroom evidence of learning, formative and summative assessment, possibilities of new technology, and the role of common core standards and assessments.
Linda Darling-Hammond gave an international  perspective on other countries assessment methods. While the U.S. tends to test students on recall and rote learning, other countries are more concerned with hands-on experience and application of knowledge. In Singapore, students are evaluated through project-based assessments where they are asked to identify a problem, design an investigation, evaluate their methods and use various scientific technologies and apparatus.
During the question and answer period, the panelists stressed that while performance-based assessments are more expensive than the current tests administered in the U.S., they are worth the investment for several reasons. First, they are cheaper than intervention or remediation later. Second, students learn more through application, and teachers learn more by designing such tests. Finally, performance-based assessments will yield higher quality results than multiple choice tests alone.
Our First Sit Down With The New Assistant Secretary
Thursday, November 19th, 2009Kim Green and I were pleased to have our first formal meeting yesterday with OVAE Assistant Secretary Brenda Dann-Messier. During the course of our 45 minute meeting we spoke broadly about a variety of topics as we all began to get to know each other better and lay the groundwork for a productive working relationship.Â
We discussed the progress we are making on following up the ideas presented at the Fall Summit, the Race to the Top and Investing in Innovation (i3) funds, area career technical education centers, the importance of accountability, and leadership development. We also shared some of our thoughts about the upcoming FY 2011 appropriations process as well as what the future may look like for CTE’s place in legislation such as the reauthorizations of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and Workforce Investment Act.
The Assistant Secretary that many of us saw present at the Fall Summit in Baltimore is the same person we met with at her office yesterday: forthright, enthusiastic, goal oriented, and supportive of making CTE an important component of education policy. We look forward to a solid, positive relationship with the Assistant Secretary and the rest of the OVAE staff over the next several years.