Legislature(2017 - 2018)CAPITOL 106
02/22/2017 08:00 AM Senate EDUCATION
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| Audio | Topic |
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| Start | |
| Presentation: Regional Educational Laboratory (rel) at Education Northwest and the Alaska State Policy Research Alliance (aspra) | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
JOINT MEETING
HOUSE EDUCATION STANDING COMMITTEE
SENATE EDUCATION STANDING COMMITTEE
February 22, 2017
8:02 a.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
HOUSE EDUCATION STANDING COMMITTEE
Representative Harriet Drummond, Chair
Representative Justin Parish, Vice Chair
Representative Zach Fansler
Representative Ivy Spohnholz
Representative Jennifer Johnston
Representative Chuck Kopp
Representative David Talerico
SENATE EDUCATION STANDING COMMITTEE
Senator Shelley Hughes, Chair
Senator Gary Stevens
Senator Cathy Giessel
Senator John Coghill
Senator Tom Begich
MEMBERS ABSENT
HOUSE EDUCATION STANDING COMMITTEE
Representative Lora Reinbold (Alternate)
Representative Geran Tarr (Alternate)
SENATE EDUCATION STANDING COMMITTEE
All members present
OTHER LEGISLATIVE MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Dan Ortiz
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
PRESENTATION: REGIONAL EDUCATIONAL LABORATORY (REL) AT EDUCATION
NORTHWEST AND THE ALASKA STATE POLICY RESEARCH ALLIANCE (ASPRA)
- HEARD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
No previous action to record
WITNESS REGISTER
DAVID STEVENS, PhD
Research Manager
Regional Education Laboratory (REL)
Portland, Oregon
POSITION STATEMENT: Co-presented the overview by the Regional
Educational Laboratory (REL) and the Alaska State Policy
Research Alliance (ASPRA).
ASHLEY PIERSON, PhD
Alaska State Policy Research Alliance (ASPRA)
Portland, Oregon
POSITION STATEMENT: Co-presented the overview by the Regional
Educational Laboratory (REL) and the Alaska State Policy
Research Alliance (ASPRA).
DAYNA JEAN DEFEO, PhD
Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER)
University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA)
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Responded to questions during the overview
by the Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) and the Alaska
State Policy Research Alliance (ASPRA).
ACTION NARRATIVE
8:02:45 AM
CHAIR HARRIET DRUMMOND called the joint meeting of the House and
Senate Education Standing Committees to order at 8:02 a.m.
Representatives Drummond, Kopp, Parish, Fansler, Johnston,
Spohnholz, and Talerico; and Senators Coghill, Giessel, Stevens,
Begich, and Hughes were present at the call to order. Also
present was Representative Ortiz.
^PRESENTATION: REGIONAL EDUCATIONAL LABORATORY (REL) AT
EDUCATION NORTHWEST and the ALASKA STATE POLICY RESEARCH
ALLIANCE (ASPRA)
REGIONAL EDUCATIONAL LABORATORY (REL) AT EDUCATION NORTHWEST and
the ALASKA STATE POLICY RESEARCH ALLIANCE (ASPRA)
8:03:37 AM
CHAIR DRUMMOND announced that the only order of business would
be a presentation from the Regional Educational Laboratory (REL)
at Education Northwest and the Alaska State Policy Research
Alliance (ASPRA).
8:04:04 AM
DAVID STEVENS, PhD, Research Manager, Regional Education
Laboratory (REL), said the report was compiled, based on origin
data, as gathered from Alaskan schools, in order to fulfill the
mission of the Alaska State Policy Research Alliance (ASPRA),
which is to produce and share evidence on Alaska education
issues. The leadership team is comprised of professionals from
the Department of Education and Early Development (EED), Dr.
Susan McCauley, the Alaska Superintendents Association (ASA),
Dr. Lisa Parady, the University of Alaska (UA), Dr. Steve
Atwater, and the Regional Educational Laboratory (REL), Drs.
Pierson and Stevens. He explained that there are 10 REL regions
and Alaska is included with four other states: Washington,
Idaho, Oregon, and Montana. The goal of the REL program is to
assist states and districts in the use of data when addressing
important policy issues and improving educational practices.
The services are provided locally via research alliances such as
ASPRA. A collaborative group, ASPRA engages in four primary
activities: convening Alaska's educational stakeholders,
supporting stakeholders in the use of data and evidence
findings, conducting original research, and disseminating
evidence to facilitate decision making in educational practices.
The work is organized within four specific work groups: state
policy - working with EED to support the implementation of the
Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and other agency identified
topics; superintendents - facilitating a learning community
among the state's superintendents; educator pipeline -
networking with a myriad of stakeholders; and early childhood -
supporting the Alaska Early Childhood Coordinating Committee
Council in attaining and analyzing data on early learning. The
report today is in response to questions that arose out of the
superintendent's working group that identified three primary
concerns: the characteristics of Alaska's small schools;
educator turnover rates in Alaska and how these compare to
national averages; and how well course work is preparing K-12
students for entry into the UA system.
8:10:43 AM
SENATOR GIESSEL asked who funds the service.
DR. STEVENS said the funding is provided through the
department's Institute of Educational Sciences. A competitive
bidding process is held to select organizations to run each of
the 10 regional laboratories. Education Northwest has held the
lab in the northwest region for 50 years. He explained that the
awards are for five- year increments, thus, the 2012-17 contract
has just finished, and the new lab is beginning.
8:11:58 AM
REPRESENTATIVE JOHNSTON asked which eleven districts are
included in the data used for the presentation
8:12:06 AM
ASHLEY PIERSON, PhD, Alaska State Policy Research Alliance
(ASPRA), named a few of the ASA districts represented by the
superintendents and chaired by Ty Mase of the Lake and Peninsula
District. She offered to provide the full list to the
committee. Beginning her part of the presentation, she said
Alaska's smallest schools are those with 10-24 students,
contrasted with schools that have 25 and more students for the
purpose of this analysis. The funding floor is for a school to
have a minimum of 10 students. Based on 2015-16 figures, 58
brick and mortar schools, or 13 percent, of Alaska's schools
have been identified as small. The comparison here is between
brick and mortar schools and does not include correspondence,
alternative, or [Division} of Juvenile Justice operated
facilities. The grade by grade analysis findings are: 60
percent of students in small school are elementary age and
attend grades K-5; 20 percent attend grades 6-8; and 20 percent
attend grades 9-12. The total attendance of the small schools
was 955. She provided three state maps illustrating the locales
of small schools based on enrollment numbers: 10-14, 15-19, and
20-14. Nearly every district, save the far north, have at least
one small school. She directed attention to the handout page
labeled, "22 of 54 districts have schools enrolling less than 25
students," to point out the list of districts that host small
schools.
8:17:40 AM
DR. PIERSON the enrollment shifts were scrutinized, and it was
found that most schools experience changes in enrollment each
year. A shift of only one student can have a dramatic effect on
a small school. Thirty percent of the schools had a change of
25 percent or more. She pointed out that current policy does
not consider enrollment fluctuations, which she suggested might
be policy to consider for revision. Referring to the handout
page labeled, "Most schools with less than 25 students are
accessible only by air," she compared the accessibility of small
versus larger school as reached via air, ferry, or the road
system, followed by a state map to further illustrate the
findings. Continuing, she said the Alaska School Performance
Index (ASPI) is based on the facilities attendance rates,
student test performances and improvements in writing, reading
and math, the graduation rates, and student scores/participation
on college entrance exams. Directing attention to a chart in
the handout, labeled, "Schools with 10-14 students had highest
ASPI star rating," she reviewed the age range data for the small
schools and the overall rate for all other schools to show that
the highest ratings were awarded to small schools with 10-14
enrollees; followed by a state map to illustrate the locations.
The small schools were compared for racial make-up and economic
health, with the analysis showing that these schools have a
predominately Alaska Native population and a high rate of
poverty. In summary, small schools can be characterized as
follows: comprise 13 percent of schools in most regions of the
state; 41 percent of districts host small schools, or 22 of 54;
60 percent of students are enrolled in grade 5 or lower; the
majority are remote and accessible only by air; represent both
high and low performing schools; have a populace of historically
disadvantaged students.
8:25:26 AM
SENATOR COGHILL asked about the fluctuation percentage in the
school size and whether there was any further analysis that
would prove helpful from that study.
DR. PIERSON said the percentage was taken from the study of 58
schools, which showed that 17, or 30 percent, had a change of 25
percent or more in enrollment numbers. She offered to provide
additional information to further detail the statistics.
8:26:17 AM
SENATOR HUGHES noted that K-12 comprises thirteen grade levels
and the analysis shows that 60 percent of the students are in 6
of the lower grade levels, while 40 percent are in the seven top
grade levels. She asked for an accounting of the discrepancy
and pondered if students are leaving to attend boarding school,
dropping rates, or for other reasons.
DR. PIERSON said the high school cohorts were not analyzed to
account for the difference in the numbers, nor were drop-out
rates scrutinized. She offered to provide further information.
8:27:21 AM
SENATOR STEVENS referred to the impact of the poverty rate on
the ASPI standing and asked if comparisons were made with urban
schools. Anecdotally, he said it's been reported that students
living in poverty perform poorly in both rural and urban
locales, and he asked if that was found to be true.
DR. PIERSON responded that Native students tend to have a lower
success rate across the state, as indicated by graduation rates.
The ASPI rating was not analyzed on that point of comparison;
however, she offered to have the statistics applied to the
question and provide the information.
8:28:26 AM
CHAIR DRUMMOND noted the report that current policy doesn't
account for enrollment fluctuations in small schools and asked
whether it is her recommendation that the policy be revised.
DR. PIERSON answered that several options could be considered,
such as implementation of rolling three-year averages to ease
the effects.
8:29:37 AM
REPRESENTATIVE KOPP pointed out that a hold harmless provision
does exist in statute [a part of the school funding foundation
formula], for this reason.
8:29:58 AM
SENATOR HUGHES asked if information was gathered on the ratio of
teachers to students in small schools.
DR. PIERSON answered that the broadband survey data used on
teacher ratio data was not considered accurate enough to prepare
as part of the report.
8:30:50 AM
REPRESENTATIVE PARISH asked about the significant difference of
the higher ASPI star rating that schools with 10-14 students
hold over those with enrollments of 15-19.
DR. PIERSON speculated the cause to be the result of the
sampling size. She said when statistical categories are
comprised of small numbers, slight fluctuations can alter the
averages dramatically.
8:32:06 AM
DR. PIERSON turned to educator retention and said the analysis
was based on nationally published research, EED statistics, and
original analysis produced by ASPRA. Prior to beginning the
report, she established that the percentages for turnover and
retention represent contrasting factors and tenure is considered
as the number of years an employee has remained at a school or
in a district. She highlighted the 2016-17 turnover statistics
produced by EED, to report that 22 percent of the teachers were
new to their school; 10.5 percent were inter-district and 12.8
percent were intra-district. Further, of the 584 administrators
hired, 177, or 30.3 percent, were new.
8:35:44 AM
DR. PIERSON offered a comparison of turnover rates from across
the nation to put Alaskan statistics in context. In 2013, the
national turnover averaged 14 percent. She offered state
percentages for comparison: Alaska 17, Hawaii 21, Idaho, 13,
Montana 19, Oregon 12, and Washington 10. The national
principal turnover rates vary from 15-30 percent across
districts and one report had Alaska ranked as the third lowest
for tenure. Superintendent turnover is about 15 percent
annually, on a national basis, with about 45 percent exiting
within three years.
8:37:01 AM
DR. PIERSON turning to ASPRA statistics, reported that 800
Alaskan educators were new to the state, out of a teaching force
of 8,000, and that this 10 percent rate has remained static for
the last five years. In the 2012-13 school year, principals new
to the state were at 13 percent, which was reduced to 7 percent
in 2016-17; 27 new principals of the 397 positions. Only one
superintendent was new to the state in 2017. She said school
level turnover rates have proven to be steady during the five-
year study period. Percentages for the five years 2013-2017
show: principals = 22, 27, 25, 26, 23; and teachers = 18, 20,
19, 22, 18. Dr. Pierson said defining rural and urban schools
is a challenge in Alaska, and the federal government doesn't
provide a useful classification system. Thus, REL created four
modified categories: urban = off-road locales encompassing
areas such as Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Juneau; urban/rural
fringe = on and off-road locales encompassing areas such as
Palmer, Seward, and Sitka; rural hub/fringe = on and off-road
locales encompassing areas such as Bethel, Healy, and Unalaska;
and rural remote = off-road locales encompassing areas such as
Adak, Arctic Village, and Yakutat. The rural remote schools had
the highest turnover among principals and teachers for 2016-17,
she reported and compared principal/teacher percentages as
follows: urban 21/14; urban/rural fringe 12/16; rural
hub/fringe 21/22; and rural remote 32/31. Similar to schools,
the district principal/teacher turnover percentages were also
steady over the same five-year time period, but by including
superintendent turnover a dramatic contrast is evident. Thus,
five-year principal/teacher/superintendent turnover numbers
respectively read: 16/12/4, 16/13/19, 16/12/43, 13/13/28, and
12/12/24. She pointed out that 72 percent of the districts
experienced a superintendent turnover in the last five years.
8:45:33 AM
DR. PIERSON provided the caveat that not all turnover is
considered negative, and discussed strategies to increase
retention, as found in national publications: grow-your-own
staff and leadership; improve onboarding of new staff through
assisting them to connect within the community and other staff;
build incentives to stay in contracts such as offering a bonus
after two or three years in a district; encourage networks
within and across districts, which is key for rural settings and
can be accomplished through virtual or in-person contacts.
8:48:37 AM
DAYNA JEAN DEFEO, PhD, Institute of Social and Economic Research
(ISER), University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA), explained that
there are many costs incurred due to, or otherwise associated
with, teacher turnover.
The committee took an at-ease from 8:50 a.m. to 8:52 a.m.
8:52:07 AM
DR. DEFEO continued with the costs of teacher turnover,
beginning with teacher preparation including course work, field
placement, and certification requirements. Secondly, when an
experienced teacher leaves there is a productivity, or
performance productivity loss, ultimately seen through student
learning and educational outcomes. The third cost is separation
and the expenses incurred when a teacher terminates, which may
include: exit interviews, payroll closeout, building security
changes, and website/database updates. Recruitment is required,
and costs associated with that category include: advertising,
job fair attendance, and outreach at colleges. The next cost
category is for hiring and includes: screening applications;
interviewing candidates; background and reference checks;
licensure assistance; payroll and benefit system updates; and
computer access and technology resources. Finally, the new
teacher requires orientation and training. The analysis
requested was for the costs incurred for new teachers
leaving/entering a district, not in-district transfers. Data
for this analysis was gathered from 37 of the 54 school
districts, including Mt. Edgecombe. Costs not included in the
analysis include teacher preparation and teacher productivity.
However, the indirect costs of productivity losses have been
researched by other entities and determined to be 40 percent of
the cost of teacher turnover. She said a conservative approach
was taken in arriving at the estimates being presented. In the
categories calculated the cost of wages were included but not
benefits and the average, typical scenario was used for the
purposes of this analysis. Thus, using the included variables
for separation, hiring, orientation, training, and recruitment,
the calculated cost for each teacher position being overturned
is $20,431.08. The $20,400 cost can be attributed, in
percentages, as follows: 1.0 - separation; 12.0 - separation
that includes refreshing the housing; 24.0 - hiring a new
educator, or about $4,900 per teacher; 55.0 - orientation or
$11,100 on average; and 9.0 - recruitment that includes material
costs but not hours or wages at $1,900. She said a detailed
report will be provided to the committee, in the coming weeks,
which will include consideration of additional costs not
included in this preview. Some of the costs represent an
investment, and may help to reduce the turnover rate, she
pointed out; however, reducing turnover will allow reallocation
of costs to the service of student learning.
9:00:11 AM
REPRESENTATIVE JOHNSTON stated her understanding that the
national retention rate for superintendents is five or six years
and asked if there might be advantages to turnover.
DR. PIERSON responded that there is a national trend for a
superintendent to change every three to four years, and the
evidence varies as to the potential effects. The further away
from the school, the lower the impact is on student learning.
That is, principals are the second most important figure next to
teachers; superintendents are further removed. She offered to
provide further information.
REPRESENTATIVE JOHNSTON asked if there is a national trend for
principal tenure.
DR. PIERSON answered that the national average for principal
turnover is 15-30 percent, with an average tenure of about three
years. She added that Alaska has the third lowest rate in this
category. The turnover rates become higher in Alaska's rural
districts, where teachers and principals tend to move away from
high poverty/rural districts and into urban/suburban areas.
9:02:38 AM
REPRESENTATIVE KOPP commented that terminology can be subjective
and some locales being referred to as high poverty are
subsistence areas, where, although there is no economic base,
the people don't consider themselves poverty stricken. The
setting of these areas is foreign to many people, if they
haven't experienced a similar life style, and a rural boot camp
could prove beneficial, he suggested. A teacher considering
locating to a village could have a one- or two-week mandated
residency for familiarization purposes to include speaking with
the elders and meeting the exiting teachers. The perspective
teacher would have the opportunity to realize whether the
situation is suitable for them, prior to making the commitment.
He said recruitment needs to include preparation on the front
end for teachers to understand what they are going to find when
they arrive in a subsistence village or isolated town.
9:05:33 AM
REPRESENTATIVE PARISH asked whether including the 40 percent for
productivity loss would place the burden of teacher turnover
closer to $30,000.
DR. DEFEO said productivity loss was not factored in as it is a
difficult figure to extrapolate, representing a loss of student
learning. The reported 40 percent is a conservative figure that
was located in, and used from, other research. If that estimate
was included, the suggested $30,000 could easily be reached.
Additional costs to the state, that will be factored into the
final report is teacher preparation, which is a significant and
high cost element, and the recruitment costs reported here as a
rough estimate.
REPRESENTATIVE PARISH asked for a ballpark figure of the overall
cost to the state for the loss of a teacher.
DR. DEFEO answered that it could be as high as $50,000. The
other costs to be reported will be teachers moving between
districts.
9:10:07 AM
REPRESENTATIVE FANSLER returned to the principal/teacher
retention rate fluctuations, which are basically aligned for the
five-year reporting period, and asked about the correlation and
whether it represents a national trend or something that is seen
primarily in Alaska.
DR. PIERSON responded that national evidence indicates the
principal as the primary factor for a teacher remaining at a
school.
REPRESENTATIVE FANSLER asked if statistics are available on
retention in the rural hubs/fringe locals contrasting home-grown
versus Outside hires.
DR. PIERSON answered, no; however, anecdotal reports indicate
that someone with strong ties to a community is more likely to
remain.
9:14:02 AM
SENATOR BEGICH noted that the Yupiit School District has held a
boot camp, for the last three years, similar to what
Representative Kopp described, and suggested that the
superintendent be asked to provide the committee with an
overview. He reported that it has served to cull candidates out
immediately.
9:14:51 AM
SENATOR HUGHES said the monetary cost is certainly a concern but
of equal, or more, concern for the state is the loss of student
outcomes. She reported that one district is experiencing a 70
percent turnover, and she asked if there is any means to receive
some analysis specific to Alaska.
DR. PIERSON deferred comment.
DR. DEFEO offered that the final report will indicate some of
the research and outcomes. Teacher turnover impacts the entire
school when the team effort is interrupted. Teachers reach
their maximum effectiveness in the first five years. It would
be important to retain the teachers for those effective years,
which is also when they're at the lower end of the pay scale.
However, new teachers also take some time to orient and develop
strategies in order to be effective. She agreed that a culture
camp is helpful for new teachers entering rural areas.
9:18:55 AM
DR. PIERSON continued with the presentation and said
developmental education was also identified as a topic of
concern, given the intent that Alaskan graduates be college and
career ready. National and Alaskan research was used to prepare
the report. The developmental education courses occur in a
college setting, are non-credit bearing, and help prepare
students for college level math and English classes. The
students who take developmental courses tend to have low college
completion rates, possibly a result of the time and money
involved. High school graduates may be enrolled in these
courses because of the graduation and college entrance
requirements not being in alignment, or due to a lack of
rigorous coursework. Another possibility is a misaligned
placement process determined via a college placement test, which
may not be the best means for predicting whether someone is a
good candidate for completing college. Finally, some students
take these classes as refresher courses.
9:22:13 AM
DR. PIERSON reported that strategies to reduce the developmental
education rates include: shorten the required math sequence for
students not seeking a degree in a math-focused field; increase
high school rigor and offer college prep courses; allow co-
enrollment for students to take simultaneous developmental and
college level courses, to provide the support a student needs
without extending the timeframe for earning a degree; or
universities could change placement policies to better
understand the needs of individual students. She said that
developmental education rates are higher at community colleges,
than four-year universities, perhaps attributable to the open-
access enrollment where grade point averages of enrollees are
not considered. On a national basis, the 2003-04 statistics
show that 68 percent of students entering a community college
attended developmental courses, versus 39 percent at a public
four-year college. A more recent report from Oregon, showed
that 75 percent of high school graduates enrolled in community
college developmental courses. Published analysis from the
University of Alaska (UA) reports figures similar to the
national community college rates: 61 percent of first-time
students between 2008-2012 were recommended to take
developmental courses and, like the rest of the country, the
need for math was much higher than for English; and in 2014, 71
percent of incoming UA students required the courses. She noted
that the UA is an open-access institution, and offers both two-
year, four-year, and graduate degrees.
9:27:09 AM
DR. DEFEO outlined the Center for Alaska Education Policy
Research (CAEPR) work that is being focused around Alaska's
education policy and identifying means to improve college
readiness. Strategies being explored include: piloting an
early college placement test; completion of a state of the state
teacher report; and high school seniors' aspirations and plans
are being compiled to provide a sense of what Alaska's young
people are interested in pursuing.
9:29:45 AM
REPRESENTATIVE JOHNSTON cited a recent study published in an
Anchorage newspaper, which said despite student tests showing a
need for remedial work, those who didn't attend the remedial
courses had far higher graduation and success rates than those
who did.
DR. PIERSON offered to compile research on the topic and offered
that it aligns with what she stated earlier regarding placement
policies and the lack of relevance or accuracy in the placement
tests.
REPRESENTATIVE JOHNSTON asked whether student aspirations are
considered.
DR. PIERSON said some evidence indicates that it can be
disheartening for a student who considers him or herself ready
for college to then be told remedial work is necessary.
REPRESENTATIVE FANSLER asked for further information on the
misalignment of high school courses, and how, despite being top,
local performers, a student is still lacking necessary skills
when they arrive at college.
9:33:52 AM
CHAIR DRUMMOND thanked the participants and announced the next
meeting of the House Education Standing Committee.
9:34:08 AM
SENATOR HUGHES announced the next meeting of the Senate
Education Standing Committee.
9:35:55 AM
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committees, the joint
meeting of the House Education Standing Committee and Senate
Education Standing Committee was adjourned at 9:36 a.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| AK slides 2017-02-22.pdf |
SEDC 2/22/2017 8:00:00 AM |