Kathleen Davies, a Democrat candidate for Delaware State Auditor, issued an official press release today about the very controversial News Journal article that appeared online and in print over the past couple of weeks. This answers many questions I’ve had and confirms many suspicions I’ve harbored over this matter.
Press Release
Appo Superintendent Matt Burrows Failed To Disclose Student Pointed Handgun At Student In Parent Letter
Appoquinimink School DistrictThe Delaware State Police issued a press release today about the arrest of Tymere Moore, an 18 year old Middletown High School student in Appoquinimink School District. It gives much more information than the statement Appoquinimink Superintendent Matt Burrows sent to parents yesterday. Including the very disturbing fact that the student actually pulled out the handgun and pointed it at another student. The primary charge in the arrest was for brandishing a handgun. Which was not mentioned in Burrows’ parent letter at all.
Crazy Press Release Coming From Smyrna School District!
Smyrna School DistrictWhy did the Smyrna School District wait so long to release this information? Is it because of what happened in Florida two days ago with the school shooting that killed 17 students and staff? **UPDATED** I looked at the Smyrna website when I posted this and it did not have a date on the release but apparently their app on cell phones shows a date of February 6th. Any day longer than the day of the event is too long to release this information. I would think parents would want to know about this kind of stuff sooner! If I had to guess, they are being proactive while facing some type of lawsuit over what happened!
SMYRNA SCHOOL DISTRICT PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE PUBLICATION
On January 24, 2018, a gunman shot 16 people in a school in Kentucky. Two days later, the Administration of the Smyrna School District received a credible report that a named high school student had brought a handgun with him to school and also had a brother at the middle school. The report described the handgun in detail and alleged that the student in question maintained gang affiliations.
An enrollment check revealed that the identified subject had withdrawn from the Smyrna School District. However, the sibling was in school. Given the specificity of the report and its reference to the middle school sibling, Administration and law enforcement immediately initiated a response to protect the health, safety and welfare of all students and staff.
Fortunately, no weapon was found. The Administration contacted the parents of the student, and in concert with local law enforcement, closed the investigation before the end of the school day on January 26th.
It has been alleged that District Administration engaged in an act of racial discrimination by searching the middle school student. First, given the detailed threat that jeopardized lives, swift and discrete action that returned the student to class immediately was necessary. That the student happened to be of a certain race is of no consequence, as the Administration would have interviewed any student under the circumstances, given the exigency of the potential threat. Second, the student was not searched. Given that he was not attired such that he could conceal a weapon on his person, his voluntary turning out of his pockets satisfied staff that he did not present a threat.
SMYRNA SCHOOL DISTRICT
82 Monrovia Ave.
Smyrna, Delaware 19977
(302) 653-8585 Fax (302) 653-3429
Patrik D. Williams, Superintendent
Caesar Rodney School District Drops The Ball
Caesar Rodney School District19 days ago, a student was beaten in the cafeteria of Caesar Rodney High School. Tomorrow, the student’s parents and advocate will be holding a press conference in front of the Caesar Rodney District Office.
Update on CR High Student Beaten 10-3-17
Press Conference 10-23-17 -10am in front of Caesar Rodney Central Office.
District failing to keep agreement upon student return.
Advocate filed a complaint with DPS Internal Affairs Division.
District condemning media outlets who report on unsafe conditions in the school.
Robert & Rose Boyles, in addition to advocate Diane Eastburn will be on hand with statements – evidenced – and audio proof for all in attendance.
Sounds like the district underestimated parents and how far they will go to protect their children. I did find out a few things since my last article on this. As per their teachers union contract with Caesar Rodney School District, teachers may intervene in fights. Note the use of the word may, not shall. Some students can be bigger than some teachers so I can understand a fear of harm from a student.
Our schools and districts haven’t wised up to the fact that parents do have the means in today’s social media world to make some noise. Most schools just want parents to shut the hell up when things go south with their kid but parents don’t have to do that. Never sign a non-disclosure agreement without having an attorney look at it first!
Kendall Massett Rides To The Rescue For Thomas Edison Board As They Are About To Violate More Open Meeting Laws
Thomas Edison Charter SchoolThe Delaware Charter School Network became involved with the firestorm at Thomas Edison Charter School and that can only mean one thing: Kendall Massett is now in charge. The last time she entered the fray like this it resulted in Family Foundations Academy having their board completely gutted when the Eastside Charter School board took over back in January, 2015. I was able to find out a lot more about the school’s “foundation” account and that is the biggest farce of them all! Meanwhile, the school has violated FOIA many times through this and they are about to do the same tomorrow.
Governor Carney Lets Teachers Get Pink Slips While Hiring New DOE Administrator
Delaware DOEThe optics are bad for Delaware Governor John Carney. After telling us you were going to “trim” the Delaware Department of Education, you went and created a whole new division of the Department and placed them in Wilmington. Yes, the new Office of Improvement and Innovation is just different letters for the same accountability machine. Located in Wilmington, this new DOE division, led by former Brandywine Assistant Superintendent Dorrell Green, will “support Delaware’s most in need with a focus on Wilmington’s struggling schools,” according to a press release issued today.
According to Atnre Alleyne, a former Delaware DOE employee who broke this news yesterday, “It downgrades the work of the Teacher & Leader Effectiveness Branch and rebrands it as Educator Support and Collaboration (to be more palatable to those less interested in conversations about effectiveness).” In fact, Alleyne’s post was mostly ripping on the Department he used to work for.
This is my real issue with this announcement. With the FY2018 budget cuts, teachers are going to lose their jobs. Carney’s response? Create a new division of the Department that needs the biggest cuts of all. Yeah, you can shrink down the TLEU and move people around, but setting up what will basically be a priority schools branch smack dab in the middle of Wilmington doesn’t show this DOE transformation. It shows the DOE will be closer to schools they want to “monitor”. While Carney says he wants the DOE to be more of a resource center for Delaware schools, who determines what resources are needed? The schools, the Delaware DOE, or the US DOE? I don’t picture this as a situation where schools say “we need this” and the DOE comes riding in on their white horse to save the day. This is the same color, just a different kind of paint to make it look more pretty.
I don’t know the first thing about Dorrell Green, but it sounds like he has a great deal of experience in Wilmington schools which is always a good thing. And I congratulate him on his new position, but now is not the time to be creating new divisions of the Department that most in Delaware want to see massive cuts. You don’t do this the second the ink is dry on your budget signature and not expect the people of the state to raise a big old stink about it. But, this is Delaware. Where the people’s voice just doesn’t seem to matter anymore.
Delaware DOE Postpones Submission Of State ESSA Plan By One Month
Delaware DOEAs predicted, the Delaware Dept. of Education is delaying the final sending of their state Every Student Succeeds Plan to the United States Dept. of Education by one month. Last week, the U.S. DOE released the final regulations for the accountability portion of the new federal education law. As a result, they are giving states more time to submit their state plans.
For Delaware, this means the State Board of Education will vote on the final plan at their March, 2017 board meeting. On April 3rd, Delaware will send the plan to the U.S. DOE. This changes many of the public comment periods for the Delaware plan as well. Here is the press release from the Delaware DOE from yesterday:
The U.S. Department of Education has extended its submission deadline for states’ Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) plans, allowing Delaware to adjust its plan submission schedule and provide more time for public input and plan development.
Delaware now will submit its final plan on April 3. Other dates leading up to that submission also have been adjusted and are reflected below:
· January 11: Release of second draft of plan
· February 28: Release of final draft of plan
· April 3: Submission of final plan to U.S. Department of Education for approval
The public has several on-going opportunities to provide input on the plan:
· Community conversations: Three of the seven sessions of this second round of public input sessions remain. The next is Thursday night in Newark followed by two sessions for Spanish-speaking community members in Georgetown and Wilmington on December 14 and December 20, respectively. Find more information on these and the previous sessions here.
· Online surveys: Members of the public also may submit their feedback via three online surveys available here. This is the second round of online surveys.
· Discussion groups: Stakeholders are serving on two on-going discussion groups, one focusing on school supports and the second on measures and reporting. These are public meetings, and public comment is available at each session. The next session is tonight. Find more information, including minutes from past meetings here.
· Governor’s ESSA Advisory Committee: Governor Jack Markell’s advisory committee also continues to meeting. These public sessions also include public comment. The next session is Jan. 11.
· Feedback also can be submitted via a designated email address, ESSAStatePlan@doe.k12.de.us.
Greg Meece Letter To Newark Charter School Parents About Settlement Is Going To Stir Up Trouble
Delaware Charter Schools Lawsuit Against Christina and Delaware DOEGreg Meece didn’t wait long. We still don’t have verification that all the charter schools signed the settlement between the Christina School District and the 15 charter schools. But Meece took his opportunity to brag and he did so with arrogance and a pompous attitude. Yes, NCS parents, this is your not so humble leader. I have no doubt this was Greg Meece’s favorite moment of the year. But the big question surrounds the truth. It was under the assumption the charter schools and their attorneys over at Saul Ewing offered the settlement. Other sources have all parties working together over the Thanksgiving weekend to hammer it out. But what Greg Meece states is something completely new. And there is another downright dirty thing in this letter which was not written in the settlement the way Meece wrote it. To me, that kind of negates the spirit of the settlement. The settlement explicitly stated this was not a case of wrongdoing on Christina’s part, but Meece’s one sentence inclusion in here suggests otherwise. That line is bolded for emphasis below.
As I was working on my article this weekend about Greg Meece and Newark Charter School, I went over a lot of articles pertaining to the lawsuit. Why on earth would Christina offer to settle based on their own Legislative Briefing? Furthermore, I don’t recall their board ever voting on action pertaining to the lawsuit. I would imagine only the Christina board could direct their attorneys to negotiate a settlement. The only vote they held about the lawsuit was the one regarding the actual settlement. So someone is lying. Is it Christina or Greg Meece?
Dear NCS Parents and Staff:
This regards the lawsuit that Newark Charter School, in conjunction with 14 other charter schools and four parents, filed against the Christina School District (CSD) and Delaware’s Department of Education (DDOE). The general idea of Delaware’s school finance law is that the property taxes paid by residents, which are initially held by the local school districts, should follow the child when families choose to enroll their children to a public charter or choice school in Delaware. In the case of CSD that was not being done. Charter and choice school students were not getting their fair share. The DDOE performed a detailed analysis of this past year’s funding between districts and charter schools. It concluded that CSD had excluded from charter schools more funds than it was allowed to exclude. Delaware law requires that the Secretary of Education make the final determination regarding the allowable exclusions from districts. In August, the Secretary of Education made his decision. This decision would have provided charter and choice students who live in the CSD approximately $450 more per student. In early September, over the charter schools’ objections, the Secretary reversed his own decision, due to outside pressures being made on him. This is when the 15 charter schools decided to sue both CSD and DDOE.
Both CSD and DDOE offered to settle the lawsuit before it went before the courts and the charter schools agreed to the terms of the settlement. Among the details of the settlement:
* The CSD now agrees that $5.5 million in revenue that had been excluded from the pool of funds shared among all students in the district, including those who attend our school, will now be shared with all charter and choice schools serving Christina students.
* The DDOE agrees to bring greater transparency to the process through which it determines each district’s Local Cost Per Student. DDOE is obliged to share information and seek input from charter schools as part of this process.
* We will be working with the CSD to examine whether opportunities exist to share resources to serve special needs students.
* Both CSD and DDOE agreed to cover the cost of the charter schools’ legal costs.
* In return, the charter schools agreed to relinquish claims on funds that may have been inappropriately withheld in past years.
As a result, the tax dollars that should follow your children to Newark Charter School will arrive for this school year and in future years. These funds will be put to good use here, where they belong and where they are needed.
I would like to thank you for your support as we worked through this legal process, and I’m happy to answer any other questions you might have. If you would like to see a full copy of the settlement, we will be glad to send you an electronic copy.
Sincerely,
Gregory Meece, School Director and the NCS Board of Directors
Excuse the hell out of me Greg Meece, but did you just write a letter to parents indicating that Christina broke the law even though the settlement you just signed clearly indicates otherwise? I have to ask, what the hell is wrong with you? You just violated your own settlement with this public letter.
Meanwhile, the Christina School District put out a press release on their own website today which doesn’t have a few of the things Meece mentioned in his letter:
Christina School District Signs Principled Settlement Agreement
The Christina School District has signed a principled settlement agreement to a Civil Action by 15 charter schools regarding the sharing of local property tax revenue.
The Christina School District has signed a principled settlement agreement to a Civil Action by 15 charter schools regarding the sharing of local property tax revenue. The charter schools filed the Civil Action asserting that the Delaware Department of Education (DOE), the Secretary of Education, the Christina School District, and the Christina School District’s Chief Financial Officer had breached Delaware law as a result of actions taken by the Department of Education in August and September. The agreement requires the approval of all 20 other parties to the suit, which states that settlement is made by December 2. The Christina Board of Education was required as part of the agreement to approve the agreement on or before December 1. The Christina Board voted to approve the agreement on November 30.
With the settlement, the Christina School District resolves the dispute over revenue generated by a 2003 Referendum passed by Christina taxpayers in a manner which honors the promise made to voters in 2003. In that Referendum, 10 cents per $100 of assessed property value was restricted for expenditures on: 1) Phase-in of full day kindergarten for academically at risk students; 2) Expansion of services for Gifted and Talented Program; 3) Expansion of services for Alternative Programs; 4) Technology replacement schedule. All parties in the civil suit have agreed that the 2003 Referendum revenue will be considered restricted, and may only be used to support these four programs as identified in Section II of the 2003 Referendum ballot. In addition, all parties further agreed that:
- In the annual certification of Christina School District’s Local Cost Per Student pursuant to Section 509 (e), both the 2003 Referendum Revenue and CSD’s expenditures posted against those revenues will be ignored. In other words, such expenditures will be neither included in, nor excluded from, CSD’s Total Local Operating Expenditures. This is important because under the statutory formula for sharing local property tax revenue with charter schools, if such expenditures are included in CSD’s Total Local Operating Expenditures, the 2003 Referendum Revenue shared with the charter schools would not be subject to the restrictions imposed by the voters in 2003.
- Beginning with Fiscal Year 17, the revenue generated by the 10 cent levy shall be divided by the total number of students residing in CSD and attending public schools in order to determine the per student share of the 2003 Referendum Revenue.
- The parties agree that the dismissal shall include all claims that were brought or could have been brought, in the Lawsuit regarding FY’17 or any earlier fiscal year.
- DOE will recommend a process to be used by the DOE in the future for determining Local Cost Per Student. In this process:
- Districts will have the opportunity to request DOE approval for Exclusions from Total Local Operating Expenditures, with Districts providing justification for their request.
- DOE will make a tentative determination responding to each requested Exclusion, together with DOE’s reasoning
- Districts will have the opportunity to discuss with DOE its tentative determination before such determination is final and included within the annual certification
- Prior to the annual certification, DOE will provide all charter schools with its tentative determinations, along with District justifications, and will afford the charter schools an opportunity to discuss such determination
- DOE shall establish a schedule by which it proposes to meet each of the steps noted above.
The total amount of restricted funds generated by the 2003 Referendum is approximately $5.5 million. The agreement provides a mechanism for the appropriate portion of these funds to be applied to charter schools that educate Christina students, based on number of Christina students they serve. The portion of restricted funds for all Christina students attending charter schools is estimated to be $1.5 million. The Department of Education is required to establish a unique appropriation for these restricted funds, and is responsible for assuring that they are utilized only for the four programs as identified in Section II of the 2003 Referendum ballot.
For background information on this topic, please use this link to see the presentation made by the District at a Legislative Briefing for elected officials and the public held on September 7, 2016.
# # #
Opt Outs Rise in Delaware for 2015-2016 School Year!
Parent Opt Out of the Smarter Balanced AssessmentThe Delaware Department of Education released preliminary scores for the Smarter Balanced Assessment administered this past spring in public schools. Below is the official press release from the DOE. In comparing students in their grades last year and the grade they are in this year, it looks like opt out actually increased for most grades, from 5th to 8th graders in Math and 6th to 8th graders in English/Language Arts. The opt out numbers are a bit misleading if you compare them to last year. In the 2014-2015 school year, high school juniors took SBAC. 776 of those juniors were opted out of the Smarter Balanced Assessment. In comparing the 3rd to 8th grade levels from last year to this year, we actually see an increase in opt out. Last year, 1,269 students in 3rd to 8th were opted out whereas this year that number increased to 1,375. So as predicted, opt out did go up this year!
Here is the official numbers and kudos from the DOE:
2016 state test results show progress across the board in English language arts, mathematics
Delaware students across the board are performing better in mathematics and English language arts, according to preliminary 2016 state test results for grades 3 to 8 released today. The gains are in almost every grade and subject and across almost every student demographic, including students with disabilities, English learners, students from low-income families and those of most racial and ethnic subgroups. Students reaching proficiency levels increased by 2 to 5 percentage points in nearly all grade levels in both subjects.
“We are pleased with the progress and look forward to continuing gains,” Governor Jack Markell said. “This progress reflects hard work by children and educators to meet higher standards as we aim to ensure every student is prepared for success in the next grade and, ultimately, after graduation. We know a lot more must be done to reach our goal and that means reaffirming our commitment to giving all students, and their teachers, the support they need to reach their potential.”
This is the second year Delaware administered the Smarter Assessment. Statewide, nearly 55 percent of students in third through eighth grades were proficient or better in English language arts this year compared to 52 percent in 2015 for the same grades. In math, almost 44 percent scored at the proficient level or higher, up from 41 percent in 2015.
“What is most exciting about this year’s results is the strong progress made by students across the board, including those from groups that traditionally have performed at lower levels than their peers,” Secretary of Education Steve Godowsky said.
State assessments measure students’ progress toward the academic goals laid out in Delaware’s Common Core academic standards, which are designed to ensure students have the skills and knowledge they need to succeed in jobs and college. The standards, which were established by a diverse group of educators and others in the education community through a national initiative Markell co-chaired, set learning expectations for what students should know or what skills they should master at the completion of each grade level. Individual districts or charter schools determine their own curricula and decide how those skills and knowledge are best taught.
The state assessments ask students to demonstrate and apply their knowledge and skills in areas such as critical thinking, analytical writing, and problem solving. By focusing on skills most important for students to succeed in college and the workplace, the results provide teachers and families with a snapshot of children’s progress, helping to identify school and student strengths and determine subject areas in which students need support.
While no single test can provide a complete picture of achievement, annual assessments give families and educators important information about student progress and areas for improvement, especially when combined with student grades and teacher reports.
This year, Delaware educators are able to access deeper-level Smarter score information than last year through the state’s Smarter Analytics system. Using Smarter Analytics, teachers have the ability to determine each student’s understanding of specific items taught in English and math classes, which helps them better serve individual student needs.
Scores for multiple other standards-based assessments, including SAT and in-class assessments, are available in Smarter Analytics as well, providing a more-comprehensive look at student assessment scores and demonstrating the importance of an entire assessment system over any one test to help guide instruction.
Preliminary state and district/charter-level results were released today. Final results, including school-level, will be released in August.
Families will receive enhanced family score reports for their children in the mail beginning next week. The redesigned reports include detailed information about how students scored on different parts of each subject test and also show how students are progressing through the standards and across grades. Also new this year, families are receiving guides in advance of the score reports that outline how to support student learning at home. The guides include resources for understanding what students should learn at each grade level based on the academic standards. For each grade, families are given lists of what students should have learned last year and what students should be able to do this year and corresponding ways to support student learning at home.
On the Smarter Assessment, students earn an overall score on a four-point scale with at least a three required to be considered proficient.
Statewide change in percent proficient for 2015-16 for ELA by subgroup
Statewide change in percent proficient for 2015-16 for mathematics by subgroup
Almost every school district saw gains in English language arts and mathematics, with the greatest gains made in Woodbridge, Seaford and Laurel, respectively.
Woodbridge Superintendent Heath Chasanov, whose district saw 13-percentage point increases in both English language arts and math, credited his staff for their dedication and hard work.
“We are extremely excited about the growth that we have obtained across the district on this year’s assessment. It’s a testament to a group of educators that believe in the abilities of all children and are dedicated to their success,” he said. “We are proud of how hard our students have worked and continue to be excited for their future success.”
In Seaford, the average proficiency was up 11 percentage points in both subjects.
“These types of gains become possible through the combined efforts of our school board, administration, staff, students, parents and school community. Our district has been on a course to have all of our stakeholders internalize the expectation that all students will be successful,” Superintendent David Perrington said. “While we are appreciative with these gains, we also recognize this is not an end point, but a measure of the dynamic process that is necessary to provide our students with the greatest opportunity to be successful.”
Laurel also saw great gains: 9 percentage points in mathematics and 8 in English language arts.
Superintendent Shawn Larrimore said Laurel refocused last August with a mission of “People. Practices. Performance.” for the district and “Rigor. Relevance. Relationships.” as the instructional mission for the schools.
“We knew we’d have to work very hard this year, but we’d also have to have a laser-like focus on the initiatives that would make the biggest impact – and not waver from them – if we were going to have a shot at increasing student achievement across our district,” Larrimore said. “We started on Day 1. Our teachers and our administrators came together for our first week back to school … and outlined where we were as a district and where we wanted to go.
“Mission statements alone don’t cut it, but they must serve as a lens through which you gauge every decision for your district and for your school,” he said.
Several districts, including Appoquinimink and Caesar Rodney, that already were above the state average also saw strong gains.
SAT
The Delaware Department of Education today also released preliminary statewide results for the state administration of the SAT in 11th grade: 53 percent proficient or above in English language arts and 31 percent or above in mathematics. Since 2011, Delaware has provided the SAT to all public high school juniors during the school day. This year marked the first time the SAT also served as the state’s high school accountability test, replacing the Smarter Assessment used for this purpose last year. This spring also saw a redesigned SAT from the College Board. Because this year’s redesigned SAT is different than previous years’ and on a different score scale, a comparison with 2015 scores is not provided.
The statewide results presented today are preliminary and based on proposed cut scores that must be approved by the State Board of Education. That decision is expected to come at the board’s August meeting. District- and school-level results also will be released at that time.
Other assessment results
Today’s release also included the preliminary Delaware Comprehensive Assessment System (DCAS) assessment results for science and social studies as well as the DCAS-Alt1 test for students with severe cognitive disabilities in all subjects.
For science, DCAS measures the progress of students in grades 5, 8, and 10. In social studies, DCAS measures grades 4 and 7. This year’s DCAS assessment results are consistent with last year across all grade levels for which the assessment is administered.
Percent Proficient on DCAS Science
Percent Proficient on DCAS Social Studies
The DCAS-Alt1 is an assessment designed to measure what students with the most significant cognitive disabilities know and are able to do in reading and mathematics in grades 3 through 11; science in grades 5, 8, and 10; and social studies in grades 4, 7, and 9.
Percent Proficient on DCAS-Alt1
Find more results here. For more information about the state’s standards and assessments, families should visit www.DelExcels.org.
John King Gets Grilled By John Kline Over ESSA Regulations
John King, John KlineThis morning, United States Secretary of Education John King was once again asked to testify in a hearing before the US House Education and the Workforce Committee. Chairman John Kline issued a press release:
Kline Statement on Hearing with Secretary of Education King
WASHINGTON, D.C. | June 23, 2016 – Rep. John Kline (R-MN), chairman of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, released the following statement after Secretary of Education John King concluded his testimony addressing implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act:
The Every Student Succeeds Act is based on the principle that state and local leaders can run their K-12 schools better than Washington bureaucrats. The law represents the best opportunity we’ve had in decades to provide every child in every school an excellent education. We will not allow the administration to destroy that opportunity by substituting its will for the will of Congress and for the will of our state and local education leaders. This hearing is an important opportunity to hold the administration accountable to those leaders and their students. We appreciate hearing from Secretary King, but in many ways he reinforced our concerns with the troubling direction the department is taking this new law. We will continue to use the tools at our disposal to ensure the letter and intent of the law are strictly followed. Our nation’s parents, teachers, and students deserve nothing less.
Kline also issued his opening statement in the hearing:
Kline Statement: Hearing on “Next Steps in K-12 Education: Examining Recent Efforts to Implement the Every Student Succeeds Act”
WASHINGTON, D.C. | June 23, 2016 – Welcome back, Secretary King, and thank you for joining us. When we last met, the process for implementing the Every Student Succeeds Act was just getting underway. We had a healthy discussion about the bipartisan reforms Congress passed and the president signed into law. Those reforms are designed to restore state and local control over K-12 schools.That’s not just my own personal view. It’s the view held by governors, state lawmakers, teachers, parents, principals, and superintendents who recently wrote that, “[The Every Student Succeeds Act] is clear: Education decision-making now rests with states and districts, and the federal role is to support and inform those decisions.” It’s also the view of most honest observers. As the Wall Street Journal editorialized, the law represents the “largest devolution of federal control to the states in a quarter-century.”
That’s not just my own personal view. It’s the view held by governors, state lawmakers, teachers, parents, principals, and superintendents who recently wrote that, “[The Every Student Succeeds Act] is clear: Education decision-making now rests with states and districts, and the federal role is to support and inform those decisions.” It’s also the view of most honest observers. As the Wall Street Journal editorialized, the law represents the “largest devolution of federal control to the states in a quarter-century.”The reason for this hearing and our continued oversight is to ensure the letter and intent of the law are followed. A critical part of our effort is holding your agency accountable, Mr. Secretary, for the steps that are taken to implement the law. When you were with us in February, you said, “You can trust that we will abide by the letter of the law as we move forward …”
That is a strong statement, and it is one of several commitments you’ve made that the department would act responsibly. But actions speak louder than words. In recent months, we have seen troubling signs of the department pulling the country in a different direction than the one Congress provided in the law.
The first troubling sign is the rulemaking process itself. There are a number of concerns about the integrity of the negotiated rulemaking committee, including the makeup of the panel, the lack of rural representation, and the accuracy of statements made by department staff. The point of the negotiated rulemaking process is to build consensus among those directly affected by the law, yet it seems the department decided to stack the deck to achieve its own preferred outcomes.
The second troubling sign surrounds the long-standing policy that federal funds are to supplement, not supplant, state and local resources. Prior to the Every Student Succeeds Act, this rule was applied differently depending on how many low-income students a school served; some schools faced more onerous requirements than others. Last year, Congress decided the rule would be enforced equally across all schools. Now, school districts must simply show that funds are distributed fairly without prescribing a specific approach or outcome. The law explicitly prohibits the secretary from interfering, yet that is precisely what your proposal would do.
What the department is proposing would be both illegal and harmful to students and communities. It would impose a significant financial burden on states and force countless public school districts to change how they hire and pay their teachers. This regulatory effort is trying to achieve an end Congress deliberately rejected and that the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service warns goes beyond “a plain language reading of the statute.” No doubt you have good intentions, Mr. Secretary, but you do not have the legal authority to do this. I strongly urge you to abandon this flawed scheme.
The third troubling sign is the department’s accountability proposal. Let me note that there are policies in this proposal we are pleased to see, such as how states set long-term goals and measure interim progress. But in a number of ways, we also see the department’s bad habit for making decisions that must be left to states.
This is especially troubling given the law’s explicit prohibitions against federal interference, including how states compare school performance and identify schools for support. For years, states grappled with a rigid accountability system imposed by Washington. The Every Student Succeeds Act turns the page on that failed approach and restores these decisions back to state and local leaders. I urge you, Mr. Secretary, to adopt a final proposal that fully reflects the letter and spirit of the law.
We are raising these concerns because it’s vitally important for the laws written by Congress to be faithfully executed. And just as importantly, we are raising these concerns because we want to ensure every child has the best chance to receive a quality education. We cannot go back to the days when the federal government dictated national education policy—it didn’t work then and won’t work now.
If the department refuses to follow the letter and intent of the law, you will prevent state leaders, like Dr. Pruitt from Kentucky, from doing what’s right for their school districts. You will deny superintendents, like Dr. Schuler of Arlington Heights, Illinois, the ability to manage schools in a way that meets the needs of their local communities. And you will make it harder for teachers, like Cassie Harrelson from Aurora, Colorado, to serve the best interests of the students in their classrooms.
Later, we will hear from these individuals because they represent the people we want to empower. Every child in every school deserves an excellent education, and the only way to achieve that goal is to restore state and local control. That’s what the Every Student Succeeds Act is intended to do, and we will use every tool at our disposal to ensure the letter and intent of the law are followed.
As US DOE Releases Proposed Rules For ESSA, Kline & Alexander Threaten To Pull The Plug
Every Student Succeeds ActThe first set of proposed rules for the Every Student Succeeds Act, unofficially released on May 20th, are already drawing the ire of many in Washington D.C. are not too happy with them. Senator Lamar Alexander (TN) and US Rep. John Kline (MN) issued a press release today advising the United States Dept. of Education and Secretary of Education John King that if the proposed rules for regulation do not match the sprit and intent of the law they will take measures to overturn the proposed rules.
Both Kline and Alexander feel the federal overreach, which ESSA was supposed to get rid of, is still there. This is not the first time in recent months they have blasted John King over the US DOE’s interpretation of the ESSA. But as the proposed rules come out, expect a vicious fight in D.C.
Below are the proposed rules sent out for public comment. They will be published in the Federal Register on May 31st, next Tuesday. Also below are a summary of the proposed rules, a chart, the press release issued today by the US DOE on the proposed regulations, the Title I approved consensus for regulatory language on assessments, and the press release issued today by Kline and Alexander.
NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULEMAKING FOR REGULATIONS UNDER ESSA FOR ACCOUNTABILITY, STATE PLANS, AND DATA REPORTING TO APPEAR IN FEDERAL REGISTER ON 5/31/16
US DOE SUMMARY OF PROPOSED REGULATIONS ON ACCOUNTABILITY, STATE PLANS, AND DATA REPORTING UNDER ESSA
US DOE CHART ON PROPOSED ESSA REGULATIONS
PRESS RELEASE FROM US DOE ON PROPOSED REGULATIONS, 5/20/16
TITLE Ia: APPROVED CONSENSUS REGULATORY LANGUAGE FOR ASSESSMENT IN ESSA, 4/19/16
PRESS RELEASE ISSUED BY HOUSE AND SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE CHAIRMEN, 5/26/16
House and Senate Education Committee Chairmen: ESSA Accountability Regulations Need Close Review
Chairmen say if regulation doesn’t follow law, they will seek to overturn it through Congressional Review Act
WASHINGTON, D.C. | May 26, 2016 – House Education and the Workforce Committee Chairman John Kline (R-MN) and Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-TN) released the following statements after the Department of Education released its proposed regulation implementing “accountability” provisions in the Every Student Succeeds Act. This proposed regulation is the first step of the regulatory process. The public will have 60 days to comment on the proposal.
Congressman Kline said: “Congress worked on a bipartisan basis to move the country away from the prescriptive federal mandates and requirements of No Child Left Behind. We replaced that failed law with a fundamentally different approach that empowers state and local leaders to determine what’s best for their schools and students. I am deeply concerned the department is trying to take us back to the days when Washington dictated national education policy. I will fully review this proposed rule and intend to hold a hearing on it in the coming weeks. If this proposal results in a rule that does not reflect the letter and intent of the law, then we will use every available tool to ensure this bipartisan law is implemented as Congress intended.”
Senator Alexander said: “I will review this proposed regulation to make sure that it reflects the decision of Congress last year to reverse the trend toward a national school board and restore responsibility to states, school districts, and teachers to design their own accountability systems. The law fixing No Child Left Behind was passed with large bipartisan majorities in both the House and the Senate. I am disappointed that the draft regulation seems to include provisions that the Congress considered—and expressly rejected. If the final regulation does not implement the law the way Congress wrote it, I will introduce a resolution under the Congressional Review Act to overturn it.”
Now You Are Just Bragging About Your Teach For America Award Senator Coons…
Senator Chris Coons
As if his https://exceptionaldelaware.wordpress.com/2016/02/03/us-senator-chris-coons-sure-does-love-teach-for-america/ wasn’t bad enough, now US Senator Chris Coons (DE) has to issue a full-blown press release about his Teach For America award. When is he up for re-election? Delawareans have had enough of this political bias for charter schools and Teach For America. Why do we keep reelecting these people??? Enough already!
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, February 4, 2016
CONTACT: Brian Cunningham at 302-573-6054 or brian_cunningham@coons.senate.gov
Senator Coons receives Teach For America Congressional Champion award
Wilmington, DE – U.S. Senator Chris Coons was presented with the Teach For America Congressional Champion Award for his continued efforts to expand educational opportunities for students in Delaware and across the nation. Sen. Coons is one of 12 members of Congress to be honored by Teach For America CEO Elisa Villanueva Beard and founder Wendy Kopp at a luncheon on Wednesday, February 3 at the Capitol Complex.
“I have been proud to support TFA’s work to ensure that all students have access to a quality education, regardless of their background,” said Senator Coons. “Teach For America works to give every child the chance to succeed by harnessing our nation’s most promising leaders and striving to strengthen educational excellence and equity. I would like to thank TFA CEO Elisa Villanueva Beard and founder Wendy Kopp for their vision and leadership of Teach For America, as well as TFA Delaware’s Executive Director, Laurisa Schutt for her hard work across the state. I look forward to offering my continued support to this important organization.”
Coons was selected for his unwavering support for Teach For America in Delaware and Washington, D.C.; Coons has been a champion for quality alternative certification programs, competitive grants such as i3 and SEED that enable excellent teacher training and support, and AmeriCorps funding to support those willing to dedicate themselves to serving our most vulnerable populations.
“Our Congressional champions have played an instrumental role in growing Teach For America’s impact in our first 25 years. Their support for critical funding and key policy provisions has helped expand educational opportunity for children growing up in poverty across the country and inspired thousands of individuals to join the fight for educational equity and excellence,” said Teach For America CEO Elisa Villanueva Beard. “I am thankful for leaders like Coons who are committed to ensuring that all children in this nation have the opportunity to attain an excellent education.”
Teach For America has been a community partner in Delaware since 2009. This year, as Teach For America celebrates its 25th anniversary nationally, the Delaware regional team is excited to launch Lead For Delaware, a new, highly-collaborative, in-house principal certification program that prepares educators statewide to lead high-need schools. Currently, 40 Delaware corps members teach 2,500 local students, and an additional 90 alumni call the state home, working from all sectors to expand opportunities for children growing up in low-income communities.
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DSEA Supports Opt-Out! All DSEA Members Need To Support The Override Of Markell’s Veto!
DSEAI strongly implore DSEA to issue a press release giving their full support for the override of Governor Markell’s veto of House Bill 50.
Last April, the Delaware State Education Association issued a press release with their very strong stance against the way Delaware was using standardized testing. They also gave their full support for a parent’s right to opt their child out of standardized testing.
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for immediate release |
Contact person: David WrightCompany: Delaware State Education Association Phone: (302) 734-5834 Fax: (302) 674-9499 Email: david.wright@dsea.org Website: www.dsea.org |
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Standardized testing plays over-sized role in the Delaware public education system
Dover, Del. April 1st — The Delaware State Education Association (DSEA) is concerned about the growing amounts of time, money and energy spent on high-stakes and standardized testing, as well as the use of student performance on these tests to make major decisions affecting individual students, educators, and schools.
The overreliance on high-stakes and standardized testing in state and federal accountability systems continues to undermine educational quality and equity in U.S. public schools. It hampers educators’ efforts to focus on the skills and knowledge that will allow students to thrive in a democracy and an increasingly global society and economy.
DSEA believes that standardized testing is an inadequate and often unreliable measure of both student learning and educator effectiveness.
The over-emphasis on standardized testing has caused considerable collateral damage in too many schools. It is narrowing curriculums, fostering a ‘teach to the test’ approach, reducing love of learning, driving excellent teachers out of the profession, and undermining school climate.
For these reasons, DSEA supports a parent’s right to opt their child out of standardized testing.
DSEA also supports locally developed, authentic assessments as drivers of instruction and increasing the time allotted for educators to teach and students to learn.
We call on the Governor, General Assembly, state Board of Education, local education boards, and administrators to reexamine the public school accountability systems currently used in Delaware.
We urge these decision-making bodies to develop a system that is based on multiple forms of evidence, does not require extensive standardized testing, accurately reflects the broad range of student learning, and can be used to support students and improve schools.
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DSEA also backed Senate Joint Resolution #2, the assessment inventory. But not as an opposition to parental rights. They believe local assessments serve a legitimate purpose in our schools. DSEA was very opposed to the harsh opt-out penalties in the school report card. DSEA President had many concerns when she spoke at the September State Board of Education meeting. Her comments were not heeded as the State Board approved factors in the Delaware School Success Framework that give accountability ratings for Delaware schools with most of the weights coming from results from the Smarter Balanced Assessment.
The Official DOE Response To The Delaware Met Closure
Delaware METAlison May with the Delaware Department of Education release the following press announcement about the historic mid-year closure vote for Delaware Met.
For immediate release
Contact Alison May at (302) 735-4000
DELAWARE MET CHARTER REVOKED
DOE announces path forward for students and families with school closing on January 22
In response to the Delaware Department of Education and State Board of Education’s action today revoking the charter for the Delaware MET charter school in Wilmington at the end of the second marking period, the state announced that its staff will meet with MET students and families in the coming weeks to help them determine their best educational options for the second semester of the school year.
The school will close on January 22, 2016. The state will assist the school’s 206 students and their families in moving to other schools for the rest of the academic year. The children may return to the district schools in their home feeder patterns or choice into another district or charter school that is accepting students. The receiving schools would receive prorated funding for the returning students.
As they look toward next year, families also may fill out the state’s School Choice application for another district or charter school for 2016-17. The application deadline is January 13, 2016.
Families with questions should email Kamilah.Laws@doe.k12.de.us or call 302- 257-3635.
All documents related to the formal review, including committee reports and school responses, are available here.
Kendall Massett And I Agree On Something!!!! Del Met & Other Charter News
Delaware METJust kidding Kendall! But seriously, the more I am hearing about this Delaware Met meeting, the more I can’t wait to see the transcript! Meanwhile, both Avi with Newsworks and Matt Albright with the News Journal covered this big news today as well. One clarification which I am now hearing about. The school did not have most of their population as Moyer students. There were about ten of them I am now hearing. According to Avi’s article, if Godowsky and the State Board shut it down, the students will have the choice to go back to their district feeder schools or other charters. But back to Kendall, from Avi’s article:
School safety also emerged as a major theme. Wilmington police have visited Delaware Met 24 times since the school year began and made nine arrests, according to the testimony of state officials at Tuesday’s meeting. Last month, in response to a CSAC request for information, school officials said local police had only visited Delaware Met six times.
That discrepency irked Kendall Massett, executive director of the Delaware Charter School Network and a non-voting member of CSAC.
“It’s not the number of times the police came, it’s that they need to be honest about it,” Massett said.
Massett said she “absolutely support[ed]” the committee’s recommendation to shutter Delaware Met.
I supported this recommendation before it was even made! One important thing to take note of is the timing. The way charter school funding works, they get their next big chunk of funding in February. By shutting the school down in January, this would prevent them from getting those funds and squandering them if they knew the school was going to shut down at the end of the year. Even the DOE issued a press release on this:
The Delaware Department of Education’s Charter School Accountability Committee today recommended the revocation of Delaware MET’s charter in January because of academic, operational, governance and financial problems at the Wilmington school.
A public hearing is scheduled for 5 p.m. Dec. 7 at the Carvel State Office Building at the corner of 9th and French streets in Wilmington. Public comment will be accepted through December 11. After reviewing the full record, Secretary of Education Steven Godowsky will present his decision regarding the school’s future to the State Board of Education for its assent at the board’s December 17 meeting.
Issues considered by the committee include:
Educational program, specifically:
o Fidelity to the school’s approved curriculum and instructional program, including the Big Picture Learning instructional model, use of technology, participation in various coalitions, and implementation status of project-based learning. Lessons plans submitted to CSAC also were found to be out of alignment with the state’s academic standards.
o Special education services, including the results of a recent monitoring visit by the Department of Education’s Exceptional Children Resources staff that found the school was out of compliance with all 59 of its students’ Individualized Education Programs (IEPs).
School culture, specifically safety and discipline concerns
Governing board and leadership capacity, specifically lack of compliance with open meeting laws
Financial viability, specifically due both to decreased student enrollment and the school’s budget not reflecting full compliance with programmatic requirements, including special education
Delaware MET, which opened this fall, was placed on formal review by the State Board of Education on October 15.
Should Secretary Godowsky and the State Board follow the committee’s recommendation to revoke the charter, the school would close on January 22, the end of the second marking period. The state would assist the school’s 210 students and their families in moving to other schools for the rest of the academic year. The children may return to the district schools in their home feeder patterns or choice into another district or charter school that is accepting students. The receiving schools would receive prorated funding for the returning students.
As they look toward next year, families also may fill out the state’s School Choice application for another district or charter school for 2016-17. The application deadline is January 13, 2016.
I feel bad for these kids. I truly do. It is one thing to have a school not service you and give you a proper education. Delaware Met is another thing altogether! I really hope the State Board of Education and Godowsky do the right thing here. Perhaps the State Board won’t be so quick to approve so many charter schools all at once and will really look at the wisdom of that decision. Perhaps it is time to take a fresh new look at the whole charter school application process. Because it isn’t just Delaware Met. Yes, the spotlight is on them, and they made the most unwise decisions. But other new charters are experiencing severe growing pains. First State Military Academy is now going on their third special education coordinator. I’m not sure if they made their IEP compliance deadline as a new school, but I don’t like what I’m hearing in terms of the school’s issues with understanding the IEP process and what they feel are appropriate accommodations for students with disabilities.
One thing that will become a huge problem in the future for all schools is the concept of personalized learning. If you have a personalized learning program at your school, the IEP is covered under a federal program called IDEA. For those who may not know this, the decisions of an IEP team, covered by federal law, trumps the online learning system. As an example, if a student is required to do 15 out of 20 math problems based on their IEP, than the school needs to honor that. You can’t say the computer score is right and you have to go by that. Unfortunately, the state standardized assessment is another issue. But for unit tests and quizzes, and even homework done on the computer, these schools need to contact these companies like Schoology and learn how THEIR system can accommodate students with IEPs, not the other way around.
As for Delaware Met, they had plenty of time to get it right and it comes down to very bad choices. I’m sure they knew their head of school was pregnant when she got the job last March. Knowing that, why would you not plan for the eventual maternity leave? Sorry, I’m just getting really tired of hearing that excuse. I have to wonder how much training and professional development teachers really got at this school. Positive Outcomes has the same Big Picture Learning program, and they haven’t had the issues Delaware Met is experiencing. And they are a school with about 60% of their population having IEPs. I’m sure the school will play the blame game on the districts and other charters for failing to send them information about the students. But given the issues with the staff and Innovative Schools, I have to wonder how much effort was put into actually requesting those records. We can’t assume everything coming from the school is the Gospel truth. I caught Innovative Schools in at least three lies at their first Charter School Accountability Committee meeting.
At the end of the day, it is about doing the right thing, and Delaware Met failed. I have no doubt the intention was there with many of their board members, but this needs to be a lesson learned for those wanting to start a school without the experience to back it up. First State Military Academy and many other schools are using models that are strongly suggested by Innovative Schools. Perhaps it is past time Innovative Schools has a state investigation and audit to see how useful the services they are offering Delaware charters truly are and how much is wasteful.
The DOE Makes It So Easy…Why Do They Do This?
Delaware DOE, Race To The TopLast week, I wrote about the Race To The Top report the US DOE came out with. I saw Delaware’s ridiculously high graduation rates compared to all the other original Race To The Top states and I just laughed. Turns out the Delaware Department of Education was all set to boast of this and did it in record time! I have to redline this joke of a press release. It is begging me to do it. They do this all the time, and I have to wonder if anyone really cares or listens anymore about what they say. It’s so full of their flawed methodology it’s sickening…
Delaware leads RTTT states in college enrollment gains
Breaking News: Delaware DOE Gets ESEA Flex Waiver Approved By US DOE
Delaware ESEA Flex Waiver ApprovalThis was just announced by the Delaware Department of Education. The good news is teacher and principal evaluations will get another “skip” year from the Smarter Balanced Assessment. The bad news, the feds really want the state to implement more priority, focus and reward schools in 2016-2017 based on the DOE’s new accountability system with grading schools. I told you nine months ago this was coming…and here it is…
Below is the press announcement from the Delaware DOE:
Delaware receives federal approval for ESEA flexibility renewal
Breaking News: DE State Rep. Kowalko Publicly Blasts Governor Markell Over Refusal To Release 3rd State Email
Governor MarkellDelaware State Rep. John Kowalko and Delaware Coalition for Open Government President John Flaherty responded in a big and public way with the response Governor Markell’s attorney gave to them in regards to a FOIA request for all of his state email addresses. You can read the response from Markell’s office and see that this FOIA request was in clear violation of Delaware law!
But in true Kowalko style, he doesn’t stop with a letter to the Governor, he issues a Press Advisory on the matter!
Governor Markell only believes in transparency when it fits his own agendas. He is NOT a Governor for the people, but for corporate interests. When will the legislators do the right thing and impeach this man? The Delaware Way is vile and corrupt, and until Delaware wakes up, our children will pay the price.
Details About The Delaware Universities & Colleges Using Smarter Balanced Scores
Smarter Balanced AssessmentThis was just released by the Delaware Department of Education:
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Susan Haberstroh
PHONE: 735-4003
April 14, 2015
DELAWARE COLLEGES SAY SMARTER BALANCED ASSESSMENTS ARE GOOD MEASURE OF COLLEGE READINESS
Students who do well will not have to pass placement tests and can take credit-bearing courses
Dover– Four institutions of higher education in Delaware—the University of Delaware, Delaware Technical Community College, Delaware State University and Wilmington University—all have said students’ scores on the state’s new 11th grade Smarter Assessments are a good measure of college readiness and will be accepted in lieu of a separate placement test, Gov. Jack Markell announced today.
High school juniors started taking the Smarter English language arts (ELA) and Smarter Mathematics assessments Monday and all students will complete them before June 4. The colleges’ decisions mean that students who score 3 or better on the tests’ 4-point scale now will be able to enroll in credit-bearing English and mathematics classes, as long as they meet certain other conditions, and can avoid taking costly remedial classes that not count toward graduations. They also will not need to pass a separate placement exam.
Those placement exams are offered during the summer before students’ first year in college, at a time when they have not been engaged in studying the subjects, meaning they may be more likely to be placed in remedial courses that they do not need.
The criteria colleges used for accepting students are not changing. Admitted students will still have the option to choose to take placement tests to qualify for credit bearing courses.
In 2012, more than half the Delaware public school graduates who enrolled in in-state colleges had to take remedial classes because they were determined to be not ready for college-level work, according to Delaware’s State Report: College Enrollment, Remediation, and Performance (https://www.delawaregoestocollege.org). National data shows that less than 50 percent of students who take remedial classes will complete the class hindering their ability to receive a college degree.
“Today’s announcement marks another important step toward giving Delaware students the best chance to succeed in continuing their education beyond high school,” Governor Markell said. “Delaware’s colleges and universities are not only sending our high school juniors a clear signal that the Smarter Assessments are a valuable tool. They are also showing a commitment to preventing students from taking unnecessary remedial courses, which too often put students off track before they even start their college education.
Smarter Assessments emphasize the importance of a deep understanding of subject matter, critical-thinking, problem-solving, writing and reading more complex materials—all skills necessary for success in college. Those skills are stressed in the Common Core State Standards that Delaware teachers have used in their classrooms in recent years. The standards are not a curriculum but are a set of clear, consistent guidelines for what students should be able to do at each grade level in math and ELA.
Secretary of Education Mark Murphy said the colleges’ decisions “show that they believe the Common Core standards are rigorous and that the Smarter Assessments provide a good measure of college readiness.”
Delaware State University Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. Alton Thompson agreed. “Delaware State University supports the use of the Smarter Balanced Assessments for placement because we think it’s a great idea to give students incentives to master the Common Core State Standards,” he said. “If they master those standards, as measured by the assessments, we feel confident that they’ll be able to handle college-level work. We have to demonstrate that our students are learning in order to be considered an effective institution and this will help us do that.”
Dr. Mark Brainard, the president of Delaware Technical Community College, said, “Our focus at Delaware Tech has always been to provide access to higher education and we view the Smarter Balanced assessment as an additional means to demonstrate college readiness and facilitate students’ transition to college. We will continue to collaborate with the Department of Education and the school districts on this and other initiatives to prepare students to be successful.”
The Governor announced the agreements with the colleges at the University of Delaware.
“The K-12 school system is working hard to prepare students to enter college and the workforce and the Common Core State Standards help chart a path that students can follow to reach those goals,” University of Delaware President Patrick T. Harker said. “By setting policies around the Smarter Balanced Assessments, we can be sure that students are ready for our entry-level courses. That’s good for the school system. It’s good for institutions like UD. And most of all, it’s good for students and their families, who will know—early and often—where they stand on the path toward college or work.”
Wilmington University also will use Smarter Balanced assessment scores in making placement decisions but is working out details of the new policy. Jim Wilson, Wilmington University’s Vice President of Academic Affairs, said accepting the scores “is in line with our mission of providing opportunities for higher education to students of varying ages.”
In addition, Wesley College is considering how it will treat students’ Smarter Balanced assessment scores. “Wesley College is enthusiastic about exploring options to help our Delaware students transition successfully to college,” Dr. Patricia M. Dwyer, Wesley’s provost and vice president for academic affairs, said.
Delaware is one of 19 states and territories that are members of the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium, which created the assessments. “This is a game changer,” said Tony Alpert, Smarter Balanced Executive Director. “In the past, most state tests had no linkage to higher ed. Smarter Balanced has worked with states and higher education to give meaning to high school exams.”
Alpert noted, “Reducing students’ need for remediation can go a long way toward meeting state and national goals for increased degree attainment, as research has consistently shown that students who enter college without need for remediation are far more likely to complete a degree.”
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Colleges Policies
University of Delaware
English
Score of 3
· Eligible for credit-level coursework.
Score of 4
· Eligible for credit-level coursework.
· Recommend that students consider dual enrollment in English 110 in their senior year of high school.
Mathematics
Score of 3
· Students who take Algebra II or a higher level mathematics course in their senior year and earn at least a B, may enroll directly in Math 113 (Contemporary Mathematics) or Math 114 (College Mathematics and Statistics).
· Students who take Algebra II or a higher level mathematics course in their senior year and who earn at least a B, may take the University of Delaware’s Placement Examination (ALEKS) to be placed in Math 115 (Precalculus), Math 117 (Precalculus for Scientists and Engineers), or higher.
Score of 4
· No developmental courses are necessary.
· Students place directly into any Math course whose prerequisite is Math 010. That is, entry into Math 113, 114, 115, or 117 is guaranteed.
· Students who take Precalculus or a higher level mathematics course in their senior year, and score a 75% or above on their University of Delaware Placement Examination (ALEKS) may enroll directly in Math 221 (Calculus I) or Math 241 (Analytic Geometry and Calculus A).
· Recommend that students consider dual enrollment in a mathematics course in their senior year.
Delaware State University
English
Score of 3
· Eligible for credit-level coursework.
Score of 4
· Eligible for credit-level coursework.
· Recommend that students consider dual enrollment in English 101 in their senior year.
Mathematics
Score of 3
· Students who take Algebra II or a higher level mathematics course in their senior year and earn at least a B, may enroll directly in MTSC 101 (Survey of Mathematics I) or MTSC 102 (Survey of Mathematics II).
· Students who take Algebra II or a higher level mathematics course in their senior year and who earn at least a B, may take the Delaware State University’s Placement Examination (ACCUPLACER) to be placed in MTSC 121 (College Algebra and Trigonometry), MTSC 131 (Precalculus), or higher.
Score of 4
· No developmental courses are necessary.
· Students who take Precalculus or a higher level mathematics course in their senior year, and who earn at least a B, may take the Delaware State University Placement Examination (ACCUPLACER) to be placed in MTSC 251 (Calculus I) or MTSC 225 (Calculus for Business and Social Sciences).
· Recommend that students consider dual enrollment in a mathematics course in their senior year.
Delaware Technical Community College
English
Score of 3
- In conjunction with a “B” or higher in senior English, student would be eligible for credit-level coursework
Score of 4
- Eligible for credit-level coursework
- Recommended that student consider dual enrollment English in senior year
Mathematics
Score of 3
· No developmental or remedial courses necessary
· Students place into any college level math course with a pre-requisite of Review of Math Fundamentals (MAT012) or Elementary Algebra (MAT015)
· Students who take Algebra II or a higher level math course in their senior year, and earn at least a B, can take DTCC’s Precalculus (MAT185)
· Students can also retake the Smarter Balanced assessment or take DTCC’s Accuplacer to be placed in Precalculus (MAT185) or higher
Score of 4
· No developmental or remedial courses are necessary
· Students place directly into DTCC’s Precalculus (MAT185)
· Students who take Precalculus or a higher level math course in their senior year, and earn at least a B, can take DTCC’s Business Calculus (MAT261) or Calculus I (MAT281)
Official Press Release For Parent Press Conference on Delaware Education Sent To Media
Parent Press ConferenceAs the number of parents joining the Parent Press Conference on April 1st grows by the hour, members of the media were sent the official press release for the event. This was a massive press release sent to all the major media outlets in the tri-state area. Parents can look forward to a very well-attended event with a lot of coverage. If you would like to speak at the press conference, please arrive 15-20 minutes early, or feel free to contact me at the email in the press release. Parking can be tight in this area, so you may want to arrive early.
The Season Of Myths 