Date: 01/14/2013
Final
Colorado Department of Education Presentation
HOUSE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
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01:55 PM -- Colorado Department of Education Presentation
Representative Hamner asked the presenters from the Colorado Department of Education (CDE) to come to the table to provide the committee with an update on: education initiatives, student assessments, READ Act implementation, the Colorado Growth Model, and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics learning (STEM).
Jill Hawley, Associate Commissioner of Achievement and Strategy, CDE, came to the table to present. She provided a hard-copy of her Powerpoint presentation to the committee members (Attachment A). Ms. Hawley discussed Colorado's education landscape, noting that the state serves over 863,000 students in PreK-12 public schools. She said that 14.4 percent of students served are English language learners, 41 percent qualify for the free and reduced price lunch program, and 43.9 percent are ethnic minorities. She stated that Colorado has 178 school districts, and that 80 percent of school districts are considered rural. She added that 186 charter schools serve 10 percent of Colorado's public school students. She discussed the composition of CDE and the State Board of Education.
13HouseEd0114AttachA.pdf
Ms. Hawley discussed the goals that CDE has identified for itself, including: preparing students to thrive in their education and in a globally competitive workforce; ensuring effective educators for every student and effective leaders for every school and district; building the capacity of schools and districts to meet the needs of Colorado students and their families; and building the best education system in the nation. She discussed the recent education reform agenda in Colorado and the driving questions behind those reforms.
02:08 PM
Ms. Hawley introduced Pati Montgomery, Executive Director of the Office of Literacy, CDE, and Melissa Colsman, Director of the Office of Teaching and Learning, CDE, to give an update on the READ Act. Ms. Colsman explained that the READ Act replaces the Colorado Basic Literacy Act (CBLA), while including parts of CBLA that worked and replacing parts of CBLA that did not work. She explained that the READ Act is focused on students with a significant identified reading deficiency, and stresses the importance of knowing what the reading deficiency is. Ms. Montgomery discussed some of the resources provided by the READ Act, including: formula funding for students identified with a significant reading deficiency; early literacy competitive grant opportunities; regional technical assistance to the field; and a resource bank of advisory instructional programming and professional development. Ms. Montgomery discussed the statewide outreach meetings being held to solicit input on the READ Act rules, noting that CDE has received input from over 450 participants across the state -- a far greater turnout than expected. She stated that feedback on the READ Act rules fell into four general areas: the definition of a significant reading deficiency should be specific, clear, and concise; assess the five components of reading; rigor; and alignment to the Colorado Academic Standards. She concluded by discussing the milestones and what lies ahead for READ Act implementation.
02:19 PM
Ms. Montgomery responded to questions from the committee.
02:25 PM
Joyce Zurkowski, Executive Director of the Unit of Assessment, CDE, provided an update on Colorado's new summative assessments. She stated that Colorado's new assessments will be able to provide an answer to the question of: did kids make it to where we want them to be by the end of the year? She discussed the timeline for implementing the new assessments, and explained that the assessments will be computer-based and will provide a much shorter turnaround time for producing the assessment results. She discussed the format of the assessments and demonstrated a few items that will appear on the science portion of the assessment. She said that the prime motivation for moving to online assessments in Colorado is to provide an appropriate level of engagement and functionality, noting that several test items, especially in the science portion, provide 360 degree views and are interactive. She added that CDE is working with school districts to assess technology needs and to develop administration plans for implementing the new assessments.
02:37 PM
Dr. Zurkowski responded to questions from the committee about the availability of technology within school districts.
02:41 PM
Dr. Zurkowski continued her presentation, and stated that Colorado is a Governing Board state in the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) consortium. She stated that Colorado will use English language arts and math assessments developed by the consortium. She stated that the goal of PARCC is to make students college and career ready when they leave high school.
Ms. Hawley added that students will benefit by doing well on the PARCC assessments and that there will be an increased level of rigor due to the higher expectations of Colorado's Academic Standards.
02:47 PM
Dr. Zurkowski responded to questions from the committee.
03:05 PM
Keith Owen, Deputy Commissioner, CDE, and Alyssa Pearson, Executive Director of Accountability and Data Analysis, CDE, provided an overview of the Colorado Growth Model. They distributed a handout to the committee members (Attachment B). Dr. Owen stated that 24 states in the U.S. are using Colorado's Growth Model in one way or another, and that the main purpose of the model is to show how much growth is taking place and to determine if the growth level is adequate. Ms. Pearson demonstrated the model for the committee. She stated that data can be viewed at the student level, school level, and district level. At the student level, the data shows how much growth a particular student made in a year compared to other students like them, or their academic peers. She explained that the handout (Attachment B) is the report that is provided to parents and shows how much growth was made over time and if the growth was adequate enough to ensure that the student is proficient in the subject area. She said that the data can be used to show what kind of growth, on average, a school or district needs in order to get its students up to speed. She directed the members to SchoolView.org, where the data is housed and can be viewed. She said that schools and districts can access this information for improvement planning purposes.
13HouseEd0114AttachB.pdf
03:21 PM
Ms. Pearson responded to committee questions about the validity and reliability of the data produced by the model.
03:33 PM
Violeta Garcia, STEM Education Coordinator, CDE, provided an update on STEM. Dr. Garcia distributed a handout to the committee (Attachment C). She provided a definition of STEM Education, stating that it is: an interdisciplinary approach to learning where rigorous academic concepts are coupled with real-world lessons as students apply science, technology, engineering, and mathematics in context that make connections between school, community, work, and the global enterprise, enabling the development of STEM literacy and with it the ability to compete in the new economy. She discussed STEM needs in Colorado, stating that about 49 percent of Colorado high school students score proficient or advanced on the science Transitional Colorado Student Assessment Program (TCAP) and about 36 percent of Colorado students score proficient or advanced on the math TCAP. She noted that persistent achievement gaps exist based on income and race/ethnicity. Dr. Garcia discussed Colorado's Race to the Top Grant of $17.9 million, which is split between the state and local education providers over a four-year period, and how the funds are allocated and being used.
13HouseEd0114AttachC.pdf
03:47 PM
Dr. Garcia responded to questions from the committee about funding and access to STEM programs.
03:52 PM
The committee adjourned.