Cari Wade Gervin over at MetroPulse in Knoxville has the story on the turmoil brewing there over education reform, teacher evaluation, and more. Her story notes that while Knox County has seen a lot of tension, teachers are organizing and offering feedback across the state.
Knox County’s Lauren Hopson gained attention with this speech to the Knox County School Board.
At a more recent Board meeting, student Ethan Young made a plea that the Board reconsider its current path.
Today, leaders across Tennessee lauded the NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress) results. And they should. Tennessee is first in an education statistic and it’s a good one. The fastest growing state in the last 2 years in terms of growth in math and reading scores as measured by NAEP.
That’s good news. It’s very good news. Despite some claims, though, it’s very difficult to say results on the 2013 NAEP are a direct result of reforms that took place in 2011 and 2012. States with more rigid teacher tenure and with collective bargaining for teachers scored higher overall than Tennessee (nevermind Ron Ramsey’s rant against both — they just don’t test out as significant indicators of student achievement in either a positive or negative way). And of course, it’s easier to grow when you have a long way to go — Tennessee has historically been among the lowest performing states on the NAEP.
Let’s take a look at the data on a deeper level, though, and see what’s been happening. For the sake of this comparison, I’m going to look at Tennessee and Kentucky — a similarly situated Southeastern state with a nearly identical level of students in poverty and/or on free/reduced lunch. I’m going to look at 20 year trends to see what we can learn from the overall education work in both states. So, here goes:
4th Grade Math
1992 KY 215 TN 211
2013 KY 241 TN 240
Over the 20 year period, Kentucky increased by 16 points, Tennessee by 19 — and Kentucky still leads by 1 point. To Tennessee’s credit, the gap in scores was narrowed by 3 points.
Let’s look at the percentage of students in each state who test at or above basic — this is short of the mastery demonstrated by the score of proficient, but still indicates a basic understanding of the concept — below basic is the lowest score and is frankly, unacceptable.
In 1992, 51% of Kentucky kids tested at or above basic and in Tennessee, it was 47%. Now, 84% of Kentucky kids are at or above basic in 4th grade math while only 80% can say the same in Tennessee. Both states posted 33 point gains in this important number over the last 20 years and Kentucky remains 4 points ahead of Tennessee.
Now, let’s look at the two states and how they are doing with their poorest students, those on free and reduced lunch. One of the key goals of many involved in education is closing achievement gaps and moving the lowest performing kids forward quickly.
FREE/REDUCED LUNCH 4th GRADE MATH SCORES
KY 232 TN 228
Achievement gap
KY 19 points TN 26 points
Not only do Tennessee’s students on free and reduced lunch score lower than Kentucky’s, Tennessee’s gap is wider — by a 7-point margin in the case of 4th grade math. This begins a troubling pattern.
Before I go further with this analysis, I want to point out that Kentucky doesn’t use value-added data for teacher evaluations, has no charter schools, its teachers are awarded tenure after 4 years, and it hasn’t adopted any of the reforms Tennessee’s current leaders tell us are essential to improving scores. In fact, their Commissioner has openly expressed skepticism of any evaluation system that bases any part of a teacher’s score on value-added data. As the rest of the data will demonstrate, both Kentucky and Tennessee have posted gains over time on NAEP — in most categories, Kentucky started out tied or very slightly ahead of Tennessee and today, Kentucky remains ahead. Kentucky posted some pretty big gains in the mid-90s and again from 2003-2009. Since then, they’ve held fairly steady. That’s an expected result, by the way — a big gain followed by steady maintenance of the new level. For Tennessee, that won’t be enough, but celebrating the big gain is certainly warranted. It’s also important to take care in assigning causality.
Ok, back to the data.
8th Grade Math
1992 KY 262 TN 259
2013 KY 281 TN 278
Over 20 years, both states made a 19-point gain in 8th grade math and Kentucky maintains a 3-point lead. Looking at students at or above “basic,” Kentucky was at 51% in 1992 and is at 71% today while Tennessee was at 47% in 1992 and at 69% today. Kentucky gained 20 points and Tennessee, 22.
FREE/REDUCED LUNCH 8th GRADE MATH SCORES
KY 268 TN 265
Achievement Gap
KY 25 points TN 27 points
4th Grade Reading
1992 KY 213 TN 212
2013 KY 224 TN 220
Here, Kentucky makes an 11-point gain and Tennessee makes an 8-point gain over the same time period. Now, Kentucky has a solid 4-point lead in reading — while in 1992, it was just 1-point. In terms of students at or above “basic,” Kentucky was at 58% in 1992 and stands at 71% today while Tennessee was at 57% in 1992 and is now at 67% — Kentucky gained 13 points over this time, while Tennessee gained 10.
FREE/REDUCED LUNCH 4th GRADE READING SCORES
KY 213 TN 205
Achievement Gap
KY 24 points TN 32 points
8th Grade Reading
1998 KY 262 TN 259
2013 KY 270 TN 265
Here, Kentucky gained 8 points and Tennessee only 6 — giving Kentucky students a 5-point edge over Tennessee’s in 8th grade reading. Both states posted 6-point gains in percentage of students at or above “basic,” with Kentucky maintaining a 3-point edge in that category.
FREE/REDUCED LUNCH 8th GRADE READING SCORES
KY 258 TN 256
Achievement Gap
KY 23 TN 20
As the data shows, Kentucky and Tennessee in many cases posted similar net gains over time, with Kentucky seeing big jumps in the mid-90s and again in the early part of the last decade. In all categories, Kentucky’s students still outperform Tennessee, though in some cases that gap is narrowing. Also, in all subjects, Kentucky’s students on free/reduced lunch outperform Tennessee’s students on free/reduced lunch.
ABOUT THAT FREE LUNCH
Possibly the most interesting (and troubling) finding in this data is the widening of the gap between free/reduced lunch students and those not eligible. Tennessee has a significant population of students who qualify (as does Kentucky) and one of the key aims of reform is to ensure that gaps are closed and that those with the most challenges get more opportunity. Here’s some data demonstrating that Tennessee’s achievement gap is widening when it comes to its poorest students.
FREE/REDUCED LUNCH ACHIEVEMENT GAPS
4th Grade Math 2011 — 20 points 2013 – 26 points
8th Grade Math 2011 — 25 points 2013 – 27 points
4th Grade Reading 2011 — 26 points 2013 – 32 points
8th Grade Reading 2011 — 20 points 2013 – 20 points
The 4th grade scores in particular present rapidly widening gaps. That’s absolutely the wrong direction. Moreover, students on free/reduced lunch saw their scores improve less than those not on free/reduced lunch 3 points vs. 9 points in 4th grade math, 3 points vs. 5 points in 8th grade math, 1 point vs. 7 points in 4th grade reading, and both groups saw a +6 in 8th grade reading.
While we’re told that “poverty is not an excuse” it certainly appears to be a factor (and one growing in importance) in terms of student achievement growth in Tennessee. While we have had significant reforms in some of our poorest urban communities (and even have an Achievement School District to address the most challenged schools), the gap between poor and better off students widened in the last two years.
Yes, Tennessee should celebrate its growth. But policymakers should use caution when seeing the results from the last 2 years as a validation of any particular policy. Long-term trends indicate that big gains are usually followed by steady maintenance. And, even with the improvement, Tennessee has a long way to go to be competitive with our peers. Additionally, education leaders should be concerned about the troubling widening of the rich/poor achievement gap – an outcome at odds with stated policy goals and the fundamental principle of equal opportunity.
For more on education politics and policy in Tennessee, follow us @TNEdReport
The Robertson County Education Association, representing 90 percent of Robertson County teachers, has taken a vote of no confidence in Education Commissioner Kevin Huffman.
The RCEA indicated that Huffman is not listening to educators as he implements reforms and that the pace of reform is too fast and is causing good teachers to leave the field.
Similar concerns have been expressed by a teacher in Knox County whose presentation to the School Board there went viral.
Additionally, both Bradley County and Cleveland City passed resolutions questioning the pace of reform and the use of TVAAS in high-states decisions for educators.
Those actions followed similar votes in Marshall and Roane counties.
With school districts, teacher organizations, and superintendents from across the state challenging the pace and implementation of the state’s education reform, it seems likely that at least some action will be taken in response during the 2014 legislative session.
For more on Tennessee education politics and policy, follow us @TNEdReport
We reported last week on Roane County’s School Board passing a resolution urging Gov. Haslam and the State Department of Education to slow down the pace of education reform, collaborate more with district leaders, and provide adequate funding to move schools forward.
Now, Marshall County is joining the fray.
It will be interesting to see how many districts pass similar resolutions before the start of the 2014 session of the General Assembly.
Even more telling will be how the respective legislative delegations respond.
Stay tuned to Tennessee Education Report and follow us @TNEdReport for more details.
As I understand it, the Roane County School Board recently passed the resolution below. Basically, it says they like education reform in general, but that it is going too fast and the money coming to the district is not keeping pace with the mandates of reform. It’s frustrating teachers and creating a negative climate.
I’m wondering if more districts will pass similar resolutions ahead of the 2014 session of the General Assembly.
Here’s the Resolution:
RESOLUTION
Whereas, the Roane County Board of Education recognizes Governor Bill Haslam’s commitment to education and appreciates additional funds provided by the state and the efforts to raise the academic standards for our students, and
Whereas, the Roane County Board of Education strives to provide a quality education for every student of the county,
Whereas, Roane County’s teachers are diligent, motivated and capable, and
Whereas, teachers and administrators are frustrated by the time restraints placed upon them to implement mandated programs, and
Whereas, required additional funding is not provided for such mandated programs, and
Whereas, the system’s leaders welcome open dialogue with those on the local and state level concerning issues that impact education, and
Whereas, the concerns of the educators and system administrators are not being heard by the Commissioner of the State Department of Education.
Therefore, be it resolved that the Roane County Board of Education, on behalf of students, parents, teachers and administrators, ask the Governor and the General Assembly to address the disconnect that currently exists with the State Department of Education.
____________________ _________ __________________ _______
Chairman of the Board Date Director of Schools Date
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A group of 56 Tennessee School Superintendents sent a letter to Governor Haslam this week encouraging him to ask his Education Commissioner, Kevin Huffman, to be more inclusive and collaborative in his approach on education reform. The letter stirred up a bit of controversy and no doubt created headaches for Huffman last week and into this one.
Now, one of those who signed the letter, Williamson County’s Mike Looney, is explaining why he did.
Looney notes that he is a supporter of common sense education reform. He indicates that his concern is with both the speed at which reform has been implemented and the lack of collaboration.
Here are a couple of important points made in Looney’s letter:
Our state secured and has spent $500,000,000 in Race to the Top grant funds in the last three years. At the same time, Tennessee has realized small incremental improvements in student results. One might argue that the dizzying rate of education reforms in Tennessee is the result of the huge influx of federal dollars rather than a careful, measured understanding of the needs of students. Others believe these pockets of improvement are a result of implementing The Tennessee Diploma project, which preceded Race to the Top initiatives. In reality, as most any researcher would concede, it is difficult to know which reforms have been beneficial because we have manipulated too many variables.
Perhaps most discouraging is the fact that 50% of the $500,000,000 was kept by the Tennessee Department of Education. I wonder for what purpose and to whose benefit? The district I serve received less than $400,000 which did not come close to covering the cost and burden of implementing these reforms.
This is likely why organizations like Professional Educators of Tennessee are asking for an audit of Race to the Top expenditures.
Looney continues:
Based on the number and pace of reforms, their strategy seems to be to throw as many darts as possible at the problem in hopes that something, anything, will hit the bull’s eye and stick. Meanwhile, many teachers and administrators have encouraged a more deliberate, reflective and inclusive approach, which I believe will yield long term sustainable results. In short, Tennessee students, educators and families are not well served by rapid-fire reform efforts that ignore the importance of collaboration and thoughtful implementation.
This is a thoughtful letter raising very legitimate concerns that should certainly be addressed by the Governor and Commissioner Huffman. If Dr. Looney’s urging won’t encourage their response, perhaps some legislators will raise these very same questions.
Tennesseans deserve excellent education for all children. They also need to know the reform strategy being pursued is being implemented thoughtfully and is efficiently using the state’s limited funds.
For more on education policy and politics in Tennessee, follow us @TNEdReport
The Senate Education Committee is holding hearings on the Common Core State Standards this Thursday and Friday — the Thursday hearings begin at 1 PM.
According to Andrea Zelinski of the Nashville Post, 5 of the 14 speakers are having expenses paid by right-wing groups the Tennessee Eagle Forum and the 9.12 Project. Those five and two additional speakers are identified as being hand-picked by the Tea Party to discuss opposition to the new standards.
Here’s the full story, including the slate of speakers.
A Plea for Caution From Russia
By VLADIMIR V. PUTIN
MOSCOW — Recent events surrounding education policy in Tennessee have prompted me to speak directly to the people of Tennessee and their political leaders. It is important to do so at a time of insufficient communication between our societies.
Oliver Munday
Relations between us have passed through different stages. We stood against each other during the cold war. But we were also allies once, and defeated the Nazis together. The universal international organization — the United Nations — was then established to prevent such devastation from ever happening again.
The potential rebalancing of the education policy debate — towards more thoughftulness, critique, and effective collaboration — despite strong opposition from many education organizations and major political and education leaders, will result in more innocent victims.
Russia must ask: What about the children?
Any effort to depart from your current reform path, and embrace countervailing viewpoints, would undermine effective, unilateral efforts to resolve the pressing teacher evaluation, pay, and licensure issues, as well as the Charter schools-Traditional schools conflict. Departing from the current reform path could also destabilize Metro Nashville Public Schools and Memphis City Schools. It could throw the entire emerging system out of balance.
Tennessee, and these school systems, are not witnessing a battle for public education, but the equivalent of an armed conflict between defenders of the status quo and those worried more about the children, rather than adults. There are few champions of education reform in Tennessee. But there are more than enough defenders of the status quo and extremists of all stripes. The Tennessee Department of Education should consider formally designating certain groups, fighting with the defenders of the status quo, as education terrorists.
From the outset, Russia has advocated peaceful dialogue — that is, a positive and collaborative tone — enabling those truly dedicated to public education in Tennessee to develop a plan for their own future. We do not advocate protecting any particular set of policies, but rather the law itself, as passed by the Tennessee legislature and the Tennessee Board of Education. Russia believes that preserving law and order in today’s complex and turbulent world is one of the few ways to keep education policy from sliding into chaos. The law is still the law, and we must follow it whether we like it or not, even if it sometimes means issuing harsh sanctions.
No one doubts that spurious character attacks, politically-motivated statements, articles, op-eds, blog posts, and tweets, and selective use of research and anecdote have been used during education debates in Tennessee. But there is every reason to believe these were used not by the those truly dedicated to the cause of education, but by opposition forces, to provoke intervention by their powerful patrons.
It is alarming that debate in policy discussions is becoming increasingly commonplace in Tennessee. Is it in Tennessee’s long-term interest? I doubt it. Millions around your country increasingly see Tennessee, not as a state making innovative, cage-busting strides towards high-quality seats under the slogan “you’re either with us or against us,” but rather as a model of collaborative debate and democratic critique and discussion.
But discussion and debate have proved ineffective and pointless. Memphis is reeling, and no one can say what will happen after state oversight withdraws. Metro Nashville Public Schools is divided into tribes and clans, and the civil war continues, with dozens Tweeting at each other, incessantly, each day.
No matter how targeted the discussions or how sophisticated the debate, casualties are inevitable, particularly of students left without high-quality seats, whom the debates are meant to protect.
We must stop using the language of deliberation and collaboration, and return to the path of urgent, rigorous, and innovative educational reform.
A new opportunity to avoid thoughtful debate has emerged in the past few days. Tennessee, Metro Nashville Public Schools, and all members of the educational community must take advantage of both sides’ willingness to destroy any possibility of collaboration on the issues of charters. Judging by the statements of many in the state, both sides see ramping up the rhetoric as a good alternative to considered and thoughtful debate and policy solutions.
I welcome the any Tennessean’s interest in continuing the dialogue with Russia on education policy. We must work together to keep this hope alive, and enforce the law, as written. We must keep moving forward.
If we can avoid any slowdown of progress and any deliberative, community- and state-wide discussions, this will improve the education atmosphere in Tennessee and strengthen the respect of others within the United States, and around the world.
My working and personal relationship with education and political leaders in Tennessee is marked by growing trust. I appreciate this. I have carefully studied their public (and private) statements over the last several years. And I would rather disagree with a recent case made on Tennessee’s deliberative and collaborative spirit, stating that Tennessee’s efforts at honest and thoughtful discussion, and true collaboration is “what makes Tennessee different. It’s what makes Tennessee exceptional.” It is extremely dangerous to encourage people to be thoughtful and deliberative, whatever the motivation. There are big school systems and small school systems, rich and poor, those with long education reform traditions and those still finding their way to true education reform. Their policies differ, too, though Russia is happy to help in fixing this. We are all different, unfortunately, but when we ask for the Lord’s blessings, we must not forget that God wants every child to have a high-quality seat, and does not care how we get there, so long as we do it quickly.
Vladimir V. Putin is the president of Russia.
Is Education Commissioner Kevin Huffman finally feeling the heat?
A group of 60 Directors of Schools from around the state signed a letter calling for a halt to the fast pace of education reform — reform that some critics suggest has little to do with helping students.
Some recent proposals for changing public education have included changes to teacher licensure (that could result in more testing of students) and an unproven teacher merit pay plan that could place an unfunded mandate on local governments.
In addition to the concerns of the Directors, at least one state legislator is complaining about the most recent proposal.
Having a letter signed by 60 Directors suggesting that the pace of reform slow and that the actual reforms be re-evaluated seems unprecedented in the state.
Now, the question is: How will Governor Haslam and the Commissioner respond?
State Senator Rusty Crowe of Johnson City recently penned a column directly addressing his disappointment in the State Board of Education’s decision to link teacher licensing to student test scores.
Crowe suggests that using value-added data to inform teaching practice and even as a portion of a teacher’s evaluation is appropriate. But using it to take away a teacher’s license is not acceptable.
Crowe concludes his piece by noting that he expects some level of legislative intervention in the matter. Hardly an idle threat given that Crowe is a long-time member of the Senate Education Committee — the very committee that oversees State Board of Education action.
A simple, straightforward legislative intervention might be worded in such a way as to prohibit the Tennessee State Board of Education from enacting any policy that would cause a teacher to lose his/her license on the basis of student test scores. Of course, it may have to repeal any such policy previously enacted, but since the testing proposal doesn’t take effect until 2015, it may be sufficient to prevent its implementation.
While teachers have been under attack by state policymakers for several years now, it seems in this case, the State Board may have gone a step too far. At the very least, there’s sure to be legislative discussion around this issue in 2014.