Date: 12/03/2014
Final
SMART Government Act Hearing for the Department of Education
COMMITTEE ON JOINT EDUCATION
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10:21 AM -- SMART Government Act Hearing for the Department of Education
Senator Kerr welcomed the presenters from the Colorado Department of Education (CDE) to the table. Robert Hammond, Commissioner of Education, CDE, introduced his team which included: Jill Hawley, Associate Commissioner of Achievement and Strategy, Keith Owen, Deputy Commissioner, and Rebecca Holmes, Associate Commissioner of Innovation and Choice. He explained that the four strategic goals of the department are that all students to start strong, read by third grade, meet or exceed standards, and graduate high school ready for college and career. He discussed the challenges of implementing new programs and initiatives such as the Reading to Ensure Academic Development (READ) Act and new standards and assessments. He shared several positive stories from classrooms across the state and read some quotes from teachers about teacher effectiveness and teacher assessments.
10:36 AM
Ms. Hawley reviewed the contents of the informational binders that were distributed to committee members. She discussed the vision and mission of CDE and gave an overview of the ten-year examination of student performance that shows the percent of students in the state who are proficient or advanced, as well as the percent of students making catch-up and keep-up growth by subject area. She talked about the increase in total enrollment in the state's public school system over the past ten years, including a 61 percent increase in students who qualify for free or reduced price lunch, and a 38 percent increase in students who are English language learners.
10:48 AM
Ms. Hawley and Mr. Owen answered questions from the committee about how some districts that have a high percentage of students who are English language learners and/or qualify for free or reduced price lunch are able to achieve high performance ratings.
10:54 AM
Ms. Hawley talked about the instructional needs of districts and the strategic goals and related budget priorities of the department. She discussed the new state standards and reviewed the strategic goals of the department. Ms. Hawley answered questions about teacher preparation as it pertains to standards and assessments. She discussed the additional Colorado preschool program slots that were allocated by the 2014 School Finance Act and the need to fund full day kindergarten.
11:09 AM
Ms. Hawley highlighted key early childhood initiatives and discussed the department's goal that every student in the state be able to read by third grade. She spoke about the fact that the number of students in the state with a significant reading deficiency declined by two percentage points year over year, and the efforts being made to address achievement gaps. She told the committee about the progress implementing ten Colorado Academic Standards (CAS) content standards and the history of how the standards were developed.
11:21 AM
Ms. Hawley answered questions about the CAS, the Colorado Measures of Academic Success (CMAS), Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Career (PARCC), and the requirement to have a statewide assessment system that is aligned with the new standards.
11:34 AM
Committee discussion ensued about PARCC, CAS, and CMAS. Ms. Hawley answered questions about Common Core and the review process for developing the standards assessment. Melissa Colsman, Executive Director of Achievement and Strategy, CDE, came to the table to respond to committee questions about standards and assessments. Ms. Hawley answered questions about the PARCC pilot program and field tests, the response from school districts, online assessments, and access to technology.
11:49 AM
The committee discussed issues surrounding the volume, length, frequency, and time spent on testing, and about the possibility of adopting the federal minimum standards. The committee discussed federal testing requirements and their impact on funding to states. Joyce Zurkowski, Executive Director of Assessments, CDE, came to the table to answer questions from the committee.
11:59 AM
Ms. Holmes came to the table to talk about the department's goal to increase graduation rates and ensure that every student graduates high school ready for college and career, and the relationship between these goals and the department's statutory authority. She discussed the Counselor Corps Grant Program, concurrent enrollment, and Individual Career and Academic Plans (ICAP), and reviewed current graduation guidelines.
12:09 PM
Ms. Hawley discussed the implementation of Senate Bill 10-191. Dr. Owen provided an update on accountability and improvement implementation and district accreditation ratings, and talked about priority improvement and school turnaround accreditations.
12:21 PM
The committee discussed the challenges associated with closing a school. Ms. Hawley discussed organizational excellence, specifically in terms of the lean efforts at CDE and its performance report. The committee talked about school finance and the department's budget request, including total program and categorical increase, and BEST budget request based on findings by the Office of the State Auditor). Leanne Emm, Associate Commissioner for School Finance, CDE, came to the table to answer questions about how the money received from marijuana excise tax impacts public school finance. She explained that the first $40 million goes into the Capital Construction Assistance Fund from which districts collect money to use for capital construction. The committee discussed funding through the Building Excellent Schools Today (BEST) grant program.
12:35 PM
The committee adjourned.