Leadership Education Legislation - Does It Go Far Enough?
Wednesday, May 08, 2019
The leadership of the Rhode Island Senate and House of Representatives unveiled a package of education reform bills during a press conference at the State House on Tuesday. The package presented as a Massachusetts style reform package proposed to address local control and site-based management, but does package of bills go far enough to address high stakes testing and issues of teacher evaluation?
“We were all disappointed by the standardized test scores last year,” said Speaker of the House Nicholas A. Mattiello (D-Dist. 15, Cranston). “There was also a great disparity in results from community to community, often based on income. This package of bills will standardize curriculum, improve governance and accountability so more decisions are made at the local level, and improve teacher training and evaluation. These are long-term solutions that will really change the ways that schools do business.”
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTA range of experts including Neil Steinberg head of the Rhode Island Foundation and Gary Sasse of the Hassenfeld Institute of Bryant University have urged lawmakers and Governor Gina Raimondo to move forward with comprehensive reforms that address all the issues.
Steinberg in a previous interview with GoLocal had also warned that simply adopting Massachusett’s standards alone will not solve all of Rhode Island’s education challenges.
Legislative leaders claim RI already have high standards in place.
“We have high standards in place, as well as assessments that are aligned to those standards. However, we never did the hard work of ensuring our curriculum prepares students for these expectations. Nor have we done the difficult work of better preparing and supporting teachers so they are equipped to help students succeed. We have the gold standard in education right next door in Massachusetts, and we looked to their model to see what best practices could make a real difference here,” said Senate President Dominick J. Ruggerio (D-Dist. 4, North Providence, Providence).
But, Rhode Island’s results have been dismal.
“A report comes out saying that the performance in our public schools is way behind our neighbor and if Rhode Island was one district we'd be the bottom 10% of Massachusetts,” said Sasse, who is the former Director of Administration for the state of Rhode Island said Monday on GoLocal LIVE.
In November, the Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) released performance results for students in grades 3 through 8 on the Rhode Island Comprehensive Assessment System (RICAS) -- and on average, Rhode Island scored 17 percentage points lower than Massachusetts in ELA and 20 percentage points lower in mathematics, according to RIDE.
The Legislative Package Includes:
The first bill would require the Commissioner of Education to align statewide academic standards with curriculum and the Rhode Island Comprehensive Assessment System. It would also require the Commissioner to develop curriculum frameworks, which are broad, research-based instructional strategies for educators to help students develop the skills, competencies, and knowledge called for by the statewide standards.
“This bill would ensure that our academic standards set forth the skills, competencies, and knowledge expected of each student. The curriculum will align with those standards, and the frameworks would provide strategies to help meet the diverse needs of our students, closing any gaps that exist,” said Sen. Hanna M. Gallo (D-Dist. 27, Cranston, West Warwick), chairwoman of the Senate Education Committee and sponsor of the bill. “The bills seek to bring about a culture change within our education system so that the talented professionals at the Department of Education can shift from ensuring compliance to assisting schools with on the ground – or in the classroom – support. We need educators, not regulators.”
“The goal is to give parents a clear map of what their children will be learning, and have it be consistent statewide,” said Representative McNamara, chairman of the House Committee on Health, Education and Welfare, and sponsor of the bill. “It’s tremendously important that we bring these three tiers — standards, curriculum and testing — into alignment.”
Under the second bill, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education would become a professional support partner with local education agencies regarding effective ways to evaluate student improvement and proficiency. The department would support local schools by providing a comprehensive understanding of how curriculum affects those schools based on their specific characteristics, such as size, budget, and demographics. The legislation is sponsored by Sen. Adam J. Satchell (D-Dist. 9, West Warwick) and Rep. Daniel P. McKiernan (D-Dist. 7, Providence).
The third bill site-based management structure that will increase building-level management of our schools, increases on-the-ground support for underperforming schools, and provides for the same support at the district level, which has not existed before. Student assessments would include a range of elements, such as work samples, projects, and portfolios, in recognition of the variety of student learning styles.
“This bill will increase the authority and power of those who know their schools best – the principals, teachers and community members who are fully aware of their school’s needs and how to best meet these needs,” said Rep. Gregg Amore (D-Dist. 65, East Providence), the House sponsor of the bill. “I have spoken with numerous school professionals, in Rhode Island and in Massachusetts, and they tell me such a change would make a significant difference in their ability to properly cultivate the educational environment in order to best serve our children. This bill is an important piece of the reforms we are trying to enact so that our children have the best educational opportunities in our state,” said Representative Amore”
“This legislation will create a greater collaboration among state, district and school officials to develop and implement plans,” said Sen. Ryan W. Pearson (D-Dist. 19, Cumberland, Lincoln), the Senate sponsor of the bill. “This bill is really a culture change for our schools. It’s reform that will focus on the success of individuals by giving greater authority to those who are actually doing the educating at a school and district level.”
The fourth piece of legislation applies to new teachers, would add an instructional component to the test that teachers must pass to get their certificates. But this legislation would not be applied to existing teachers in the school systems across the state. "This component will demonstrate that, in addition to understanding what they will teach, the aspiring educator must understand how to teach that subject matter to students," said the announcement. The bill is sponsored by Sen. James C. Sheehan (D-Dist. 36, North Kingstown, Narragansett) and Rep. Karen Alzate (D-Dist. 60, Pawtucket).
The fifth bill would create a process for certifying teachers with certain specialized skills. Its intent is to alleviate difficulties that districts have in finding qualified teachers with certain skills for elementary and secondary education. Typically, such specialty skills are needed for the STEAM curricula: science, technology, engineering, arts, and math. The bill is sponsored by Rep. Mario F. Mendez (D-Dist. 13, Johnston, Providence) and Sen. Thomas J. Paolino (R-Dist. 17, Lincoln, North Providence, North Smithfield).
The sixth bill would create a new teacher evaluation system designed, in part, to promote growth, place student learning in the center, and shorten improvement timelines. It will apply to both administrators and educators. The bill is sponsored by Sen. James A. Seveney (D-Dist. 11, Bristol, Portsmouth, Tiverton) and Rep. Justine A. Caldwell (D-Dist. 30, East Greenwich, West Greenwich).
The seventh bill would require the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to establish a fast-track program to certify new principals. Applicants to the program must have at least 10 years of experience as an “effective” or “highly effective” teacher, a recommendation from the superintendent where they have taught, a record of leadership and a master’s degree. The bill is sponsored by Rep. Jean Philippe Barros (D-Dist. 59, Pawtucket) and Sen. Harold M. Metts (D-Dist. 6, Providence).
Related Slideshow: 2017-2018 RICAS Math Rankings for “Meeting or Exceeding Expectations”
The Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) released performance results on November 29, 2018 for students in grades 3 through 8 on the Rhode Island Comprehensive Assessment System, or RICAS. The 2017-2018 school year was the first year of implementation for the RICAS, which is the Rhode Island administration of the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS), the assessment tool of the nation’s highest-performing state for public education.
Data was suppressed to "ensure confidentiality" for Urban Collaborative, the RI School for the Deaf, and Trinity Academy for Performing Arts because greater than 95% of students did not meet expectations; data was suppressed to "ensure confidentiality" for DCYF because the minimum reporting size of ten was not met.
Below are the rankings of school districts -- and charter schools -- with the data provided by RIDE.
