Legislature(2019 - 2020)CAPITOL 106
04/24/2019 08:30 AM Senate EDUCATION
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| Audio | Topic |
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| Start | |
| Presentation: K-12 Funding Considerations | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
JOINT MEETING
HOUSE EDUCATION STANDING COMMITTEE
SENATE EDUCATION STANDING COMMITTEE
April 24, 2019
8:31 a.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
HOUSE EDUCATION STANDING COMMITTEE
Representative Harriet Drummond, Co-Chair
Representative Andi Story, Co-Chair
Representative Grier Hopkins
Representative Chris Tuck
Representative Tiffany Zulkosky
Representative DeLena Johnson
SENATE EDUCATION STANDING COMMITTEE
Senator Gary Stevens, Chair
Senator Shelley Hughes, Vice Chair
Senator Chris Birch
MEMBERS ABSENT
HOUSE EDUCATION STANDING COMMITTEE
Representative Josh Revak
SENATE EDUCATION STANDING COMMITTEE
Senator Mia Costello
Senator Tom Begich
OTHER LEGISLATORS PRESENT
Representative Hannan
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
PRESENTATION: K-12 FUNDING CONSIDERATIONS
HEARD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
No previous action to record
WITNESS REGISTER
MARK FOSTER
Finance Performance Analyst
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Delivered the presentation on K-12 funding
considerations.
ACTION NARRATIVE
8:31:25 AM
CHAIR GARY STEVENS called the joint meeting of the House and
Senate Education Standing Committees to order at 8:31 a.m.
Present at the call to order from the House Education Standing
Committee were Representatives Hopkins, Johnson, Story and
Drummond; Representatives Tuck and Zulkosky arrived as the
meeting was in progress. Present from the Senate Education
Standing Committee were Senator Hughes, Birch and Stevens.
^ Presentation: K-12 Funding Considerations
Presentation: K-12 Funding Considerations
CHAIR STEVENS announced that the only order of business would be
a presentation from Mark Foster titled "K-12 Funding
Considerations."
8:32:54 AM
MARK FOSTER, Finance Performance Analyst, Anchorage, Alaska,
began his presentation by giving an overview of what he intended
to present.
Overview (slide 2)
- How are Alaskan students doing on standardized tests?
NAEP and PEAKS, 4th and 8th grade reading/ELA & Math
- What drives the variation in standardized test scores?
Poverty and standardized test scores
- How do we measure effective teaching?
Growth and Proficiency
- Which schools have students who are performing well above
expectations?
- What do local superintendents report as the key factors
driving student assessments?
- What does the national/international research say?
- Recommendations for Alaska
MR. FOSTER highlighted the caveats and limitations (slide 3).
National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) and Performance
Evaluation for Alaska's Schools (PEAKS) are both standardized
tests which measure a student's success. Variations of test
scores are usually contributed to influences outside of the
school's control, with poverty being a prominent one. The Gates
Foundation Project, "Measuring Effective Teaching", found that
pertaining to student and teacher performance, growth and
proficiency are one domain. Other important domains are peer
reviews of teachers and assessment of student engagement level.
The research supports that it is not just test scores that
determine a student's success; there are other factors to
consider.
8:35:20 AM
CHAIR STEVENS asked how a student's success in life is
identified.
MR. FOSTER explained there is published peer review data since
2014 that discusses administrative data on how kids performed in
school. The data follows those students through graduation and
into their careers looking at their incomes during their 20s and
sometimes further. He noted that this research has contributed
to identifying what factors lead to a student's success in life.
CHAIR STEVENS asked if there was Alaska-specific data on student
success.
MR. FOSTER responded there is no Alaska data on that specific
measure. However, there is some Alaska data that is part of
national datasets that is being explored to begin creating those
assessments.
8:36:44 AM
CO-CHAIR DRUMMOND pointed out Alaska has the workforce database
that the Alaska Commission on Postsecondary Education maintains.
The database is called a P20. It contains data from preschool to
postsecondary and early workforce. She said that Alaska does
have its own research in place to answer Senator Stevens'
question.
8:38:02 AM
MR. FOSTER explained that the chart on slide 5 demonstrates 4th
to 8th grade growth and achievement in reading according to
NAEP. Alaska is one of the high growth states with students
moving rapidly to higher levels of performance from where they
started. In math, there is a different result. A similar chart
shows that Alaska remains in the low growth and low base
quadrant, persistently putting the state in a challenging spot
(slide 6).
8:40:40 AM
SENATOR HUGHES told a story about an award she received as a
child for being the most improved, but not the best. She asked
where Alaskan 8th graders land according to achievement in
reading. Is Alaska in the quadrant for achievement or is it just
showing growth, she asked.
MR. FOSTER replied the chart shows Alaska is behind in
proficiency for both 8th grade reading and math compared to
other states.
SENATOR HUGHES asked for clarification that further to the right
on the chart equals higher proficiency.
MR. FOSTER confirmed that was correct. He highlighted that math
remains a challenge. The results show that Alaska remains in the
low growth and low base score quadrant.
MR. FOSTER reviewed the Alaska Performance Evaluation for
Alaskan Schools (PEAKS) 2017-18 test results for 4th and 8th
grade English language arts and math. The data is plotted by
school using a map of the state to display specific schools
within school districts. The proficiency scale goes from red to
green. He said it is noteworthy that schools in Unalakleet and
rural Southeast Alaska continue to be high performing in 4th
grade reading. When looking at success, this data can be used to
further understand what those keys to success were, he said.
8:44:46 AM
REPRESENTATIVE TUCK asked what determines the size of the bubble
on the map.
MR. FOSTER responded the size of the bubble reflects the number
of students taking the test.
REPRESENTATIVE TUCK asked if there are any reasons why students
would not be taking the test.
MR. FOSTER explained that data was only reported where the
number of students taking the test was statistically
significant.
8:45:31 AM
MR. FOSTER discussed that in 8th grade English language arts
there are new stories of success with some schools still behind.
Although there are statewide patterns, growth varies across the
state. He said the results pertaining to 4th grade math in
schools across the state show there is some proficiency.
However, when looking at the results for 8th grade math, there
is a significant reduction in proficiency (slides 10-11). This
reflects consistent findings between NAEP and PEAKS. Alaska is
lacking in growth and proficiency in math, relative to other
states.
8:47:42 AM
CO-CHAIR DRUMMOND said she noticed significantly fewer bubbles
in the 8th grade results for both math and English language
arts. She asked if that means fewer students are taking the
tests.
MR. FOSTER clarified that each bubble represents a school. The
number of schools with 8th grades is considerably smaller than
the number of elementary schools in the school districts.
8:48:14 AM
MR. FOSTER continued to discuss what drives the variation in
test scores (slide 12). Frequently, when trying to understand
test scores across the grade spans, it is found that
poverty/affluence drives the variation. Half the variation in
test scores is due to household and neighborhood challenges
associated with poverty. He noted that the Gates Foundation
recommended the efficiency of teachers be assessed by factoring
out poverty and looking at how teachers are growing their
students. Student growth then becomes the primary measure in how
effective teachers are, regardless of where students might
start.
8:49:37 AM
REPRESENTATIVE ZULKOSKY asked if teacher retention and cultural
differences in the classroom have been identified as factors
that contribute to variations in test scores in Alaska.
MR. FOSTER responded that the short answer is yes. That is
addressed later in the presentation. High performing schools in
rural communities were interviewed. The findings show that the
challenges these schools faced were exactly the issues
Representative Zulkosky mentioned of teacher retention and
cultural differences within the classroom.
8:51:09 AM
MR. FOSTER discussed data from 2009-2013. It shows that in
grades 3-8, the percentage of children in poverty within school
districts corresponds to the average test scores (slide 13).
Stanford reviewed data from all states' standardized tests and
mapped it to a common scale compared by grade level. This shows
a correlation between poverty and below grade level performance.
8:52:25 AM
CO-CHAIR DRUMMOND inquired if Alaska and Hawaii were ignored in
the Stanford data, since they are not shown on the map (slide
13).
MR. FOSTER responded that Stanford did not produce the map. He
said there is data that will be evaluated and added to the map
in the future.
CO-CHAIR DRUMMOND mentioned a fascinating presentation she heard
last week discussing how the state of Washington gives bonuses
to teachers who have National Board Certification. This benefits
students and aids in teacher retention within poverty-stricken
districts. She highlighted that the number of certified teachers
in Washington grew from 9 to 35 percent per school after these
bonuses were given. She noted that in Alaska, there are only 90
certified teachers in the entire state. She said she was excited
about these findings because it could help bring and keep highly
qualified teachers to poverty-stricken school districts in
Alaska.
8:55:17 AM
MR. FOSTER continued that when looking at the data between 4th
and 8th grade for math and English language arts there is a
correlation between poverty and test scores for Alaska schools.
Poverty is the single most important factor for driving
variations in proficiency. He noted the charts on slide 15 show
proficiency scores improving in English language arts from the
4th to 8th grade in rural Alaska, especially for districts not
facing high poverty levels. Southeast and Railbelt communities
generally maintain proficiency across the grade spans from 4th
to 8th grade although math remains a challenge across the state.
MR. FOSTER further explained that superintendents at high
performing schools were asked how they were doing better than
expected given their economic disadvantages. In the Railbelt and
Southeast it was consistently found that highly effective
teachers, parents who value education, and a generous and
supportive municipality are all critical in making the
difference. The biggest threat these schools faced was
instability in policies and finances. Furthermore, rural school
districts have high teacher turnover rates combined with low
proficiency scores. He noted teachers are trying to find ways to
engage students on a local and cultural level but still face a
challenging environment. (Slides 17-20)
9:02:54 AM
REPRESENTATIVE HOPKINS asked if there are any specific school
districts or schools in rural Alaska that have done a good job
with their culturally relevant curriculum.
MR. FOSTER stated that the short answer is yes. He offered to
follow up with information pertaining to specific schools and
districts that are doing well overall and doing well with a
culturally relevant curriculum.
9:03:26 AM
REPRESENTATIVE ZULKOSKY asked if local subject matter experts
have discussed any barriers in providing a culturally relevant
curriculum and if it could also be a resource issue.
MR. FOSTER responded that he was unsure the barriers are
characterized as a resource issue. Rather, they are better
characterized as an understanding of what is culturally relevant
for a community relative to the standardized tests and what it
is measuring. The tension lies between standardized testing
being relevant to students within both suburban and rural
environments. The concern is that the test might not be adapted
to measure what is culturally relevant in the various
communities.
REPRESENTATIVE ZULKOSKY pointed out that there is an unspoken
understanding among policy makers that communities face
significant challenges finding a balance between meeting their
specific cultural and economic dynamics and the ideals of
standardized testing.
MR. FOSTER offered a personal observation. He said one of the
most culturally relevant instructions in one of his science
classes was teaching hunting and fishing. By rethinking what is
locally and culturally relevant to all Alaskans, especially
related to science, could be very interesting and engaging for
students. He said he would like to see this model transfer to
rural areas because more engagement is possible.
9:07:39 AM
CO-CHAIR STORY added that last year the new Next Generation
Science Standards were adopted in Juneau. The standards are
place-based, pertaining specifically to kids in Southeast
Alaska.
9:08:05 AM
MR. FOSTER stated that much of what is being heard from people
in the field in Alaska, matches the national/international
studies regarding the factors related to student achievement.
9:08:56 AM
CO-CHAIR DRUMMOND asked if he could explain what he means by
"students ready to learn."
MR. FOSTER responded by directing attention to slide 24. Reports
from principals and teachers show that kids are motivated, they
come to class wanting to work hard and do well because education
is held in high value within the community and household. In
places where education is not as highly valued, teachers
sometimes make up for that by helping kids become "ready to
learn" by focusing on social and emotional skills.
CO-CHAIR DRUMMOND pointed out that all the studies she's seen on
reading proficiency are focused on kids being ready to learn
when entering the school system. Students are tested in 4th
grade but it could be more effective to test kids when they
enter Kindergarten. Testing at this time could give insight into
what makes a difference in students being "ready to learn." She
mentioned waiting 5 years to test children only shows a teacher
what the student should have been known when he/she entered
school. She asked how being "ready to learn" translates to a 5-
year-old and how readiness is measured such that students are
prepared for the reading assessment in 4th grade.
MR. FOSTER highlighted the factor of teaching students
developmentally appropriate material at the appropriate time.
The critical element of a student's success is setting realistic
expectations and aligning the material to a specific student
across grade spans. The challenge is to teach effectively to
meet each student's level. This is a greater challenge in Alaska
because of the greater diversity between schools, within schools
and within the classroom.
9:14:23 AM
SENATOR HUGHES pointed out the Finnish model waits until kids
are seven to teach them to read. She offered her belief that
assessing students before or after Kindergarten could set them
up for success because this would show whether they were "ready
to learn" or if some children should be held back. She asked if
this type of assessment would be helpful and if any other states
do this and have seen success.
MR. FOSTER stated he wasn't aware of the nature of a specific
assessment but there is a discussion in literature about when it
would make sense to determine if students are developmentally
ready to move on to the next grade level. There is evidence of
the positive impacts of evaluating a student's work in a group
setting, especially pertaining to behavioral issues, to
determine whether a student is ready to move on from
Kindergarten to the 1st grade.
SENATOR HUGHES followed up by saying there has been a lot of
research regarding reading and literacy. She wondered whether
there should be a retention component in the assessment process,
to determine whether a child should repeat Kindergarten. She
said she believes there would be fewer social and emotional
impacts on students if they were held back earlier rather than
later. By ensuring students are ready to progress, they could
avoid being labeled as a poor reader/student. She encouraged
lawmakers to consider this issue when creating new policies.
9:18:57 AM
CO-CHAIR STORY questioned if there has been any discussion about
adverse family experiences and how those stresses impact a
student's readiness to learn. She commented that many schools in
Alaska are becoming trauma-informed schools and are educating
staff in how to provide aid to students who are under stress.
MR. FOSTER answered that looking at students experiencing family
stresses was not high on the list. There was a self-selection of
students doing well above expectations and the focus was on the
factors that drove that success. There were no questions about
what factors students had to overcome. This was primarily
because the dataset was small. Another primary focus of study
was creating a stable environment for teachers and students
within rural communities. This study reflects the concerns of
that were high on the list for schools. However, there are
conversations outside this study about trauma and how it impacts
students and how to adjust instruction to take that into
account.
9:22:04 AM
REPRESENTATIVE HOPKINS observed that on slide 26 there are three
factors pointing to effective measures that support a student's
success in life. Then on slide 27, the same factors relate to
student achievement. He questioned if that means home support
and early literacy plus culturally relevant education are not as
critical for student's success in life and have a low
correlation to student achievement.
MR. FOSTER replied no; all factors are critical elements to
success. What it shows is that there is a collaboration of the
national datasets reinforcing what subject matter experts are
finding locally, which is that all factors play a role in a
student's success.
REPRESENTATIVE HOPKINS asked if the top factors contributing to
a student's test scores and success in life are a student's
readiness to learn, home and community support, and effective
teachers.
MR. FOSTER replied that all five factors shown on slides 26 and
27 are essential. The three factors mentioned by Representative
Hopkins just happen to map to the research that has large
effects. Mr. Foster said he wanted to validate what is being
found by subject matter experts alongside other research. Seeing
the correlations between the two datasets affirms what is making
a difference for a student's success.
REPRESENTATIVE HOPKINS asked if class size factors into a
student's success just as much.
MR. FOSTER responded that the research done on the effects of
class size are on slide 28.
9:25:01 AM
CO-CHAIR DRUMMOND mentioned that she was on the Anchorage school
board when charter schools were established and one of the first
applicants was a Waldorf school model. The Waldorf approach
focuses on music and art. The students would paint and draw to
promote brain development. Reading was taught at age 8 when a
student was developmentally ready. She said she believes Waldorf
had it right in their approach. She noted, looking ahead in the
slides, that cutting classroom size from 30 students to 15 would
increase total student earnings by $600,000. This shows that
class size is critical.
9:26:38 AM
REPRESENTATIVE HANNAN pointed out that Finnish universal reading
programs focus on sound development and auditory speech starting
at age 3. Since Alaska doesn't have universal pre-K, the
expectation is that all those skills will be developed in
Kindergarten and first grade. Identifying speech defects and
sound recognition issues at ages 3 or 4 aids in student success
because those issues can then be focused on before moving on to
written language instruction. She wondered if there was data
showing that the high performing districts were the ones that
have focused on pre-K programs to help kids develop those pre-
reading skills and become ready to learn.
MR. FOSTER replied that he had not looked at the data. He
questioned whether the dataset was rich or deep enough to draw
any significant conclusions. The pre-K program in Anchorage is
predominantly funded through special education funding. It's
descriptively interesting but perhaps not statistically
significant, he said.
9:29:46 AM
MR. FOSTER highlighted information on slide 28 regarding large
datasets that demonstrate what makes a difference in
accomplishing better outcomes within schools. Better teachers,
smaller classes and better technology are the influences focused
on within the study. There is good evidence to support the need
for effective teachers in small classrooms. Small class sizes
are giving the greatest return for investment. Research found
that by dividing a classroom of 30 into two classes of 15
increases the total earnings of those students significantly. He
noted this is interesting research that may be worth considering
for Alaska.
9:32:17 AM
REPRESENTATIVE TUCK commented that he used to teach at Alaska
Electrical Apprenticeship School, and even though he was
teaching adults, going from 15 to 21 students made a difference.
In the larger classes, adequate attention could not be given to
everyone that needed it. He mentioned that once someone falls
behind in their math skills, it impacts the rest of their
learning career.
9:33:53 AM
SENATOR BIRCH pointed out "the success in life" aspect is shown
as a financial component, but that may not apply to all
Alaskans. Some Alaskans believe success is having a moose or
fish in the freezer or it could be just holding a job for
several years. He asked Mr. Foster how he considers and defines
success for the outlier communities within Alaska.
MR. FOSTER answered that he engages local communities to assess
what success for their students might look like. It's about
shifting perspective and ensuring success is defined and
connected to local and culturally relevant issues.
9:36:32 AM
REPRESENTATIVE HANNAN stated that by looking at the
people/student ratio, districts frequently get stymied by having
a second adult in the classroom. She offered her belief that
having two identically certified teachers in a larger classroom
will produce results equivalent to dividing the class into
smaller groups.
9:38:04 AM
MR. FOSTER stated that the key takeaway is ensuring the group of
new teachers being hired to shrink class sizes are highly
effective. Being able to attract and retain highly effective
teachers is a challenge in Alaska, he said.
MR. FOSTER concluded that according to the research, a student's
success is attributed to the five factors discussed. These are:
a supportive community, engaged students that are ready to
learn, effective teachers, small class sizes, and early literacy
plus culturally relevant education as the foundation.
9:39:52 AM
CHAIR STEVENS commented that homegrown teachers are the best
option, so it is concerning to him that the university is
closing its School of Education in Anchorage. He asked if it
would be better to have more Alaskans teaching Alaskans.
MR. FOSTER responded that it is possible if the preparation
programs in Alaska are robust and effective. However, he was
uncertain that progress had been made in recent decades. The UAA
performance and financial statistics show that in 2008-2009
there was an influx of quality teachers from the lower 48. He
suggested the committee not dismiss the ability for Alaska to
attract high quality teachers from out of state. He said he
found it interesting that the data from 2000 to 2014 shows that
UAA, UAF, and UAS prep programs produced good quality teachers,
equating to outside schools/programs.
9:42:57 AM
CO-CHAIR STORY asked if he intended to continue to presentation
since there were remaining slides related to return on
investment.
MR. FOSTER pointed out that when he did comparisons, he was
adjusting for the cost of living no matter what sector (slides
32-34). The charts on slides 35 and 36 indicate "return on K-12
investments" according to cost of living adjusted dollars per
NAEP score growth. This shows how Alaska is doing in relation to
other states as an investment. From 2013 to 2017, in terms of
the state's dollar investment, Alaska was very close to the high
value/high growth quadrant for 4th to 8th grade NAEP test
scores. He noted schools in Alaska are providing reasonable
value that is comparable to the high growth of the other 49
states. He concluded that in reading, Alaska is doing well
regarding investment. However, math remains a challenge, as the
chart on slide 36 indicates.
9:45:03 AM
REPRESENTATIVE HOPKINS referred to slide 29 that says, "Highly
effective equals growth across skills and knowledge plus social
skills to prepare students for success in life." He then
referred to slide 3 and the discussion that social skills are
often a better indicator of success in life than tests scores.
He asked Mr. Foster to explain what those social skills look
like and how they are measured.
MR. FOSTER referenced slide 39 that shows that test scores are a
measure of progress, but not necessarily success in life. He
stated that this study is building on the social and emotional
datasets to see how that correlates to success in life. The
study is showing that motivation and self-restraint are critical
factors for success. Research shows that the probability of
graduating from high school is highly correlated to behavior,
motivation and self-restraint while only moderately related to
test scores. Mr. Foster emphasizes that on slide 38, early test
scores only account for 5 percent of the variation of earnings
across student ages 25 to 27, so the social implications in a
group setting are of high importance.
9:48:54 AM
CO-CHAIR STORY returned to the point that having effective
teachers is one of the most important qualities of success for
students. She discussed the factors that make teachers more
effective and emphasized the importance of funding education at
the appropriate times. The lack of timely funding leads to
higher teacher turnover, which then affects teacher continuity
within schools and across districts. She asked how districts
measure teacher effectiveness.
MR. FOSTER replied that specific criteria was not set. Subject
matter experts who identify effective teaching have indicated
that they rely on the analysis of teacher peer reviews to
determine how well teachers ready their students for the next
grade progression.
9:52:55 AM
MR. FOSTER thanked the committee and Senator von Imhof who
enabled him to do this research and expand the data across the
state to better understand the different and similar challenges
Alaskan communities face. A correlation can begin to create a
statewide perspective of how this system can work together, he
said.
9:54:29 AM
CO-CHAIR DRUMMOND added that Alaska has fiscal uncertainty and a
benefits package problem which is leading to teachers leaving
the state. She suggested having joint meetings this summer to
continue the discussion.
9:55:54 AM
CO-CHAIR STORY asked how the study was funded.
MR. FOSTER responded that a large portion of it was done using
Anchorage baseline information. Senator von Imhof engaged her
staff Jonathan King to do some of the follow up and then she
asked Mr. Foster to finalize the work.
9:56:34 AM
CHAIR STEVENS commented that the committees from both bodies
have expressed interest in holding meetings during the interim
to work together to further discuss these issues.
9:57:03 AM
CO-CHAIR DRUMMOND announced there will be a demonstration on
April 25, 2019, discussing the importance of computer science in
Alaska schools.
9:57:35 AM
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, Chair
Stevens adjourned the joint meeting of the Senate and House
Education Standing Committees at 9:59 a.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| SEDC_Presentation_K-12 Investing in Effective Measures_MarkFoster_24April2019.pdf |
SEDC 4/24/2019 8:30:00 AM |
Presentation: K-12 Funding Considerations, Mark Foster, April 24, 2019 |