Legislature(2001 - 2002)
01/31/2001 01:45 PM Senate HES
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* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
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+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
SENATE HEALTH, EDUCATION & SOCIAL SERVICES COMMITTEE
January 31, 2001
1:45 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Lyda Green, Chair
Senator Loren Leman, Vice Chair
Senator Gary Wilken
Senator Jerry Ward
Senator Bettye Davis
MEMBERS ABSENT
All Members Present
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
Overview - Department of Education and Early Development
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 2
Relating to declaring March 2001 as Sobriety Awareness Month.
MOVED CSSCR 2(HES)OUT OF COMMITTEE
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
SCR 2 - See HESS minutes dated 1/29/01.
WITNESS REGISTER
Ms. Shirley Holloway, Commissioner
Department of Education &
Early Development
th
801 W 10 St.
Juneau, AK 99801-1894
Ms. Yvonne Chase, Deputy Commissioner
Department of Education &
Early Development
th
801 W 10 St.
Juneau, AK 99801-1894
Mr. Bruce Johnson, Deputy Commissioner
Department of Education &
Early Development
th
801 W 10 St.
Juneau, AK 99801-1894
Mr. Eddy Jeans
School Finance and Facilities Section
Department of Education &
Early Development
th
801 W 10 St.
Juneau, AK 99801-1894
ACTION NARRATIVE
TAPE 01-6, SIDE A
Number 001
VICE-CHAIRMAN LEMAN called the Senate Health, Education & Social
Services Committee meeting to order at 1:45 p.m. Present were
Senators Ward, Davis, Wilken and Leman. The first order of
business to come before the committee was SCR 2.
SCR 2-SOBRIETY AWARENESS MONTH
SENATOR WARD, sponsor of SCR 2, moved to adopt a proposed committee
substitute. There being no objection, CSSCR 2(HES) was adopted in
lieu of the original resolution.
He explained that CSSCR 2(HES) adds a reference to inhalant abuse
on page 1, lines 7 and 14, and on page 2, lines 4 and 6. He
pointed out that change was made as a result of testimony heard at
the January 29 hearing.
VICE-CHAIRMAN LEMAN asked if anyone else wished to testify. No one
did.
SENATOR WARD moved CSSCR 2(HES) from committee with individual
recommendations. There being no objection, the motion carried.
VICE-CHAIRMAN LEMAN noted the next item on the agenda was the
overview by the Department of Education and Early Development
(DOEED).
SENATOR WILKEN noted he had to leave to testify on legislation in
another committee.
OVERVIEW BY THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION & EARLY DEVELOPMENT
MS. SHIRLEY HOLLOWAY, Commissioner of DOEED, introduced Deputy
Commissioner Bruce Johnson, Deputy Commissioner Yvonne Chase, and
Beth Nordlund, legislative liaison to DOEED.
COMMISSIONER HOLLOWAY stated that five fundamental beliefs drive
the work of DOEED:
· All children, given adequate opportunity and support, can
learn.
· High standards in early development programs increase the
potential for high student achievement in later school years.
· High student standards, which set high expectations, produce
high achievement.
· Results matter.
· Financial support for schools must be equitable.
COMMISSIONER HOLLOWAY stated that Deputy Commissioner Chase will
discuss quality initiatives in early development. Afterward, she
and Deputy Commissioner Johnson will review the new statewide
assessment system. The two will then give the Committee DOEED's
rationale for the request for a responsible and fair high school
qualifying exam timeline. She noted committee packets contain a
copy of the Alaska Board of Education's resolution on this topic.
The two will describe other accountability measures that will be
implemented, specifically the school designator program. The
presentation will conclude with Mr. Eddy Jeans, School Finance and
Facilities Section director, giving the committee an overview of
the public school funding program.
SENATOR DAVIS asked if the group brought a copy of the assessment
results.
COMMISSIONER HOLLOWAY said they did and the results could be found
in a DOEED document entitled "Assessment Overview."
DEPUTY COMMISSIONER YVONNE CHASE explained DOEED's early
development quality initiatives. Those initiatives track with
three major categories in the quality schools initiative: the
quality professional standards; the family, school, business and
community network; and the school excellence standards.
Under the quality professional standards, DOEED is developing a
comprehensive system of standards for early childhood
professionals. This design has been called the Alaska SEED (State
Education and Early Development) program. It lays out the
competencies and educational requirements for the various levels of
early development professionals - something that has been in the
works for three years and is now ready for implementation. DOEED
was able to acquire additional federal funding this year that will
be used to implement the design and assist the University of Alaska
in completing an essential piece of this process: a bachelors
degree program in early childhood development with a distance
delivery option. This process was fast-tracked because Head Start
is federally mandated to have at least 50 percent of its staff have
CDAs by FY 03.
DOEED began a pilot childcare apprenticeship program with help from
the Alaska Human Resource Investment Council (AHRIC) and a federal
grant. The program's purpose is to address the wage issues in this
historically low-wage industry. The average wage for childcare
workers is less than that for a parking lot attendant.
Another initiative is the childcare grant program and, thanks to
the assistance of the Legislature last year, it has expanded. That
program is focused on licensing facilities in the state and
increasing the quality of childcare programs.
CHAIR GREEN had arrived and asked Ms. Chase if she had any
information on licensing.
DEPUTY COMMISSIONER CHASE offered to discuss licensing after she
explained the initiatives. She explained that DOEED is in the
process of developing regulations that will place greater focus on
standards in childcare facilities. Current regulations focus on
licensing. Some statutory changes may be necessary.
The next initiative pertains to the family, schools, business and
community network, which emphasizes the partnership among agencies,
particularly DOEED and DHSS. Because resources for early
development are limited, both departments wanted to make sure they
were coordinated. The elimination of the waitlist in the childcare
subsidy program has been a major accomplishment because, for the
last several years, the program has had a waitlist and the number
of families needing childcare increased to 1200 due to welfare
reform by the end of last fiscal year. The Legislature
appropriated additional funds for the childcare subsidy and the
waitlist has been eliminated in every location except Anchorage.
Sufficient funds are available to Anchorage and workers are moving
through the list.
CHAIR GREEN asked if that program is run by the Municipality of
Anchorage.
DEPUTY COMMISSIONER CHASE said it is.
DEPUTY COMMISSIONER CHASE explained the last item under the family
network initiative is the development of a five star rating system
for facilities. A number of states are taking this direction to
give parents a clearer way to evaluate the quality differences
among facilities.
The last initiative pertains to school excellence standards. That
initiative is twofold: DOEED is encouraging accreditation and is
trying to restructure the system to provide a financial incentive
for facilities to move through the licensing and accreditation
process. At this time only 25 of Alaska's facilities are
accredited; most of those are on military installations where
accreditation is required. In reviewing the eligibility system for
the childcare subsidy program, DOEED is looking at barriers that
might prevent parents from using the system. For example, DOEED
can subsidize a parent for up to 97 percent of the cost of
childcare but, at one lower income level, the subsidy is 85
percent. Therefore, a parent who might get a slight income
increase may then have the cost of childcare increase from three to
15 percent. If the parent has two or three children, that amount
can be substantial. For some parents, the income increase might
have been $100 per month while the increase in childcare costs is
more. As a result, some parents are taking their children out of
childcare and putting them in less safe environments.
Number 1012
SENATOR DAVIS asked Ms. Chase to expand on that last point.
DEPUTY COMMISSIONER CHASE said if a person's income falls at the
top of the category that allows for a 97 percent subsidy, a small
increase will place them in the next category of eligibility, which
provides for an 85 percent subsidy.
CHAIR GREEN asked what age group the child care subsidy covers.
DEPUTY COMMISSIONER CHASE answered birth through 12. After school
care is covered for 13 year olds.
SENATOR WARD asked if Ms. Chase had any suggestions to remedy the
subsidy problem.
DEPUTY COMMISSIONER CHASE said one possibility is to create another
breakout in the eligibility scale so that the subsidy does not
decrease from 97 to 85 percent, perhaps a 92 percent subsidy.
SENATOR WARD asked if the subsidy problem is causing anyone to
decline additional income.
Number 1167
DEPUTY COMMISSIONER CHASE said she has heard anecdotal stories but
she believes it rarely happens. She thinks the opposite may occur
- that is the individual takes the pay increase and removes the
children from childcare.
CHAIR GREEN asked who sets the percentages.
DEPUTY COMMISSIONER CHASE said DOEED does so the department can
look at the scale.
CHAIR GREEN asked if those rates are set by regulation.
DEPUTY COMMISSIONER CHASE said that is correct.
The committee then turned to the next portion of DOEED's
presentation.
COMMISSIONER HOLLOWAY thanked Chair Green for inviting DOEED to
have an in-depth discussion with the committee over the next five
weeks on the high school qualifying exam. She suggested that DOEED
provide an outline to the committee for those discussions.
CHAIR GREEN said that would be fine.
COMMISSIONER HOLLOWAY noted that committee members have a document
entitled "History of Alaska School Reform Since 1991" in their
packets. She pointed out that from 1990, at the onset of the
development of the content standards, until 1998, standards have
been voluntary - use was at the discretion of school districts.
With the passage of SB 36 and the exit exam legislation in 1998,
the standards in reading, writing and math became mandatory.
Number 1313
CHAIR GREEN asked if DOEED or the Board of Education has reviewed
the statutory requirements for high school graduation.
DEPUTY COMMISSIONER BRUCE JOHNSON replied the credit requirements
are established through regulation. Currently, 21 credits are
required for graduation. Many districts require more and specify
particular courses of study. The two issues facing a high school
student are meeting the local graduation requirements and passing
the qualifying exam.
CHAIR GREEN asked what makes up the 21 credits and who decides what
is a reasonable requirement.
COMMISSIONER HOLLOWAY said to her knowledge it has been a long time
since the Board of Education reviewed that. However, she has
noticed that districts have raised the bar significantly in
relationship to the number of credits required.
CHAIR GREEN said she thinks that is an area that needs to be looked
at.
DEPUTY COMMISSIONER JOHNSON added that some districts are asking
the Board of Education to substitute the credit requirement with
standards. The same skills and knowledge would be taught but seat
time would not be part of the equation. The Board of Education has
granted waivers to two districts and two more will be considered in
March.
SENATOR WARD asked which two districts were granted the waiver and
which two are pending.
DEPUTY COMMISSIONER JOHNSON said the Chugach and the Iditarod
School Districts have been granted waivers and Lake and Peninsula
Borough and Southeast Island School Districts are coming before the
Board in March.
COMMISSIONER HOLLOWAY explained that a standards based system moves
away from seat time and focuses on whether students know and can do
what has been identified as essential. Adding credits does not
guarantee student results. She said she would look forward to a
conversation on that issue.
CHAIR GREEN asked if any of those schools are charter schools.
COMMISSIONER HOLLOWAY pointed out that in the school reform
outline, there has been a great deal of process. DOEED has worked
with many groups across Alaska on the development of the initial
content standards and performance standards that guide the
development of the test and benchmarks, and groups of people who
continue to work with DOEED on the renewal process of the
assessment system. She reminds people that the standards did not
come out of the Legislature or the DOEED. They came from people
across the state.
Number 1540
DEPUTY COMMISSIONER JOHNSON referred to the "Assessment Overview,"
which summarizes some of the performance measures to date. Page 1
of that document contains the results of the first benchmark
assessments given to students in grades 3, 6, and 8. A number of
individuals assisted in the development and review of the
standards, which were ultimately adopted by the Board of Education.
The tests were then developed with Alaskans selecting the test
questions. About 40 percent of the field test questions were
thrown out because they did not work well with all populations in
the state. The entire examination program is based around the
essential skills in reading, writing and mathematics. A lot of
discussion is expected from the Bush Administration about whether
or not states should expand beyond that. DOEED is pleased to be
initially focusing on these three areas. The core concepts and
skills represented in those three areas are common across the state
and nation.
DEPUTY COMMISSIONER JOHNSON referred to the chart on page 1 and
said a number of students are doing quite well in the area of
reading. The writing assessment scores are varied and the math
scores are strong at the third grade level but drop off at the 6th
and 8th grade levels.
CHAIR GREEN asked if 83 percent of the eighth graders were
proficient.
DEPUTY COMMISSIONER JOHNSON replied, "Or advanced."
CHAIR GREEN noted that literacy is considered to be at the fifth
grade, fifth month level. She asked how that equates.
DEPUTY COMMISSIONER JOHNSON said it does not equate because the bar
that was set for eighth grade reading was based on the skill level
considered necessary to master to take the next step in school.
CHAIR GREEN asked if some of the students might be college level
readers but that would not be reflected in the scores.
DEPUTY COMMISSIONER JOHNSON said absolutely. They would be in the
advanced group and score very high.
SENATOR WARD said he spoke to a teacher who was on the committee
for the math test cut scores who said the math exam was so
difficult an ordinary student could not pass it. The teacher told
him the committee was supplied a list of questions about scoring
from an outside firm. The teachers commented but never heard back
or saw any of the comments provided. The teachers felt none of the
comments or the committee's analyses of the questions were taken
into consideration. He asked whether the committee's input on the
math exam score was used.
DEPUTY COMMISSIONER JOHNSON said he attended and actively
participated in all meetings to set the passing scores. He thought
the teacher may have been referring to two pieces: one was where
the passing score is set; and the second was the feedback system
set up by the publishing company. If questions were confusing to
the teachers, they were able to comment on those questions through
a note card process so those comments could be put in the hopper
and considered for correction in future examinations. That was
also true of the scoring guides. If teachers felt the scoring guide
was confusing or not aligned properly, they could comment. In the
actual establishment of the scores, the students had already taken
the exam, which was scored in California. The only impact data,
besides the standards and test booklet, that committee members had
at their disposal was an ordered item booklet. That booklet ranked
the exam questions in order from easiest to most difficult,
according to the students' scores. Teachers decided individually
where to set the scores, then in groups of seven, and finally as
one group of 21. At the end of three days, all had to agree on a
reasonable place to set the score. Following that process, the
publishing company had to take into account standard error
measurement. Every test has some error built into it. The
publishing company set the score at the low end of the confidence
range.
DEPUTY COMMISSIONER JOHNSON said he participated in some of the
groups when they actually finished and the facilitator asked the
group if they all agreed and could live with the consensus
decision.
SENATOR WARD asked if a person on the committee was not in the room
when the final consensus was made, whether they missed the meeting
or whether something was wrong with the process.
DEPUTY COMMISSIONER JOHNSON said he could not say exactly what
happened in that instance. He stated that throughout the spring,
DOEED will see if another group of 21 people will come to the same
decision. DOEED is bringing six of the original group back and
adding 15 new people.
Number 1997
SENATOR WARD said something is very wrong with the perception of
what happened. The Legislature assigned the duty of coming up with
an Alaska test. Some of the people involved in that process do not
believe it is an Alaska test. He indicated he would very much like
to know that all members of the original committee were comfortable
with the process so that the work done is not lost. He repeated
that he wants to know if something was wrong with the process.
CHAIR GREEN said the committee will have time to address that issue
in the future.
DEPUTY COMMISSIONER JOHNSON said the next three charts show the
full breakout of the content areas. All grade levels are
represented with the percentage that scored at each level. The
chart on page 3 shows the CAT/5 grade 4 results from 1998 to 2000.
Those scores show how Alaska students performed on a nationwide
level. Grade 4 students scored at the 58th percentile in reading
in 1998. They scored at the 57th percentile in 1999 and again at
the 58th percentile in 2000. Alaska's students score slightly
above the national average in reading and writing and in the 60th
percentile in math.
On page 4, a chart shows the results of the CAT/5 given to 7th
graders in 2000. That test is normally given to 8th graders, but
because 8th graders took the benchmark exam, 7th graders were given
the CAT/5. Those scores are comparable to the scores of the 4th
grade students.
CHAIR GREEN asked Mr. Johnson to compare the results on page 1 to
the results on the CAT score.
DEPUTY COMMISSIONER JOHNSON said they are two very different tests.
A norm referenced test is a multiple choice exam; a standards based
assessment has some multiple choice questions and a fair amount of
performance based questions requiring students to explain answers
or write short answers, etc.
SENATOR DAVIS noted there was an article in a newspaper this week
by someone from the Anchorage School District that said the same
thing.
CHAIR GREEN said it is amazing how similar the percentiles are
among both tests.
DEPUTY COMMISSIONER JOHNSON continued reviewing the Assessment
Overview. The chart on page 5 shows the number of students from
the Class of 2002 that passed the high school qualifying exam. The
law requires that students be provided the opportunity to take the
exam for three years beyond their normal date of graduation so that
class will have 11 opportunities to take the exam. The exams are
"stand alone" so that a student does not have to retake any part of
the exam they passed.
SENATOR LEMAN asked if a student would be attending high school for
other reasons if that student passed all three parts of the exam as
a sophomore.
TAPE 01-6, SIDE B
DEPUTY COMMISSIONER JOHNSON said yes, a student does not have to
retake any part of the exam once the student passes it. It is
recorded on the transcript as a "pass." He noted that the Class of
2002 had 10,217 students in October of 1999 but that number
decreased to 9,142 in October of 2000. The decrease is
attributable to students dropping out, moving out of state, being
held back and dying. The first administration of the qualifying
exam for the Class of 2003 will occur on the last two days of
February and the first of March. Pages 6, 7, and 8 show how well
the school districts are doing across grade levels with the
standards based assessments. He noted DOEED will be posting the
school report cards electronically next week. The site will
contain almost 500 report cards from around the state. In 2003,
DOEED will be adding the school designator to the website because
by January of 2003 DOEED must rank each of its schools as "in
crisis," "deficient," "successful," or "distinguished."
CHAIR GREEN asked how many results will be in by 2003 for high
schools.
DEPUTY COMMISSIONER JOHNSON said six.
CHAIR GREEN said the number of indicators for grades 3, 6, and 8
will not be as high but DOEED will have the CAT scores.
SENATOR LEMAN asked if the school reports will contain information
about how each school's students scored on the exam.
DEPUTY COMMISSIONER JOHNSON said they will.
SENATOR LEMAN said he would like that information to look at high
performing schools that he is familiar with to compare them with
other schools. He would choose the Alyeska Centralized School of
Correspondence as being a high performing school but its math
scores do not reflect that.
CHAIR GREEN invited him to Mat-Su to see some strong performance.
SENATOR WARD asked if the data will show how many students who took
the test are new to the Alaska school system.
DEPUTY COMMISSIONER JOHNSON said that information will not be
available on the school report card that will be available later
this week. DOEED does have a transient or mobility rate but all
students who participated are included in the results.
SENATOR WARD asked if there is any way to break that information
out inexpensively.
DEPUTY COMMISSIONER JOHNSON stated DOEED is providing school
districts with the ability to electronically file. Districts can
do those manipulations if they want to. At some future point,
DOEED hopes to be able to breakdown that information. Many
questions surround the issue of which students the school districts
should be held accountable for: those who have been in the school
for two years, one year, or from the beginning. DOEED is working
on that through the school designator. The scores of new students
doesn't necessarily reflect on the learning at that school, they
are more reflective of the prior school the student attended.
SENATOR WARD said he is interested in getting the scores of
students who are entering Alaska schools from another state or
country.
Number 2168
CHAIR GREEN asked if those scores can be broken out in any way.
DEPUTY COMMISSIONER JOHNSON pointed out that the data could be
disaggregated in several ways at the first entry into the system.
DOEED will probably not do that at the state level but the
districts are very interested in doing that to guide the work they
do. He offered to find out if DOEED has the ability to do that.
SENATOR WARD said he is particularly interested in the data from
Anchorage and Kenai.
CHAIR GREEN noted that some areas of the state have had large
immigrant groups move in, which could affect the benchmark scores
and the exit exam scores.
SENATOR LEMAN noted there has been a significant drop in scores in
all high schools. He asked if sufficient data is available to
determine the retake success rate.
DEPUTY COMMISSIONER JOHNSON said he can get that information for
Senator Leman. That information is not yet available for the
examinees that took the test this fall because DOEED is still
sorting out how many of those students took that test for the first
time. Almost 2,000 sophomores did not take the test last year,
even though they were required to do so. They did not take it for
a whole host of reasons.
SENATOR LEMAN asked if the chart on page 5 reflects the same group
of students that took the test one year later.
DEPUTY COMMISSIONER JOHNSON said that is correct.
SENATOR LEMAN pointed out that, as the test was developed, the
committee of 21 people decided what a graduating senior should
know, yet the test was given to sophomores so we need to recognize
that sophomores took the senior level exam.
DEPUTY COMMISSIONER JOHNSON said that is correct. He noted that
DOEED does have bar charts that show how far from the passing score
students are, in increments of 25 score points. The scaled score
ranges from 100 to 600. Therefore, if the passing score is set at
300, it is difficult to determine whether a score of 275 is a long
way away yet. It appears, however, that two more years of
schooling will be plenty to get that student "over the hump."
SENATOR LEMAN indicated that he took the sample test available on
the DOEED website. He asked if that is the only sample test
available.
DEPUTY COMMISSIONER JOHNSON said DOEED contracted with the
publishing company to develop a new practice test. It is currently
available to teachers only. That test will be available on the
website on February 12.
SENATOR WARD asked if there is a reason it will not be available
before February 12.
DEPUTY COMMISSIONER JOHNSON said the Board of Education asked DOEED
to place an embargo on it to allow teachers to use it in the
classroom as a pretest before it became available. Teachers could
use it as a diagnostic tool to know what to do in their classes for
future exam cycles.
DEPUTY COMMISSIONER JOHNSON said the last chart is a framework for
continuous renewal (page 9). DOEED determined early on that the
standards will always need to be refined as a result of experience
gained, feedback from teachers in the field, and feedback from
students and families. The continuous renewal process will involve
three content teams of 18 to 21 people. Right now, 15 business
people will be working with teachers and administrators. They will
begin by examining the performance standards to determine whether
they are key to later life success. They will also look at the
exam. Their final task will be to re-examine the passing scores.
Once that process is completed in June, recommendations will be
given to the Board of Education. The recommendations could range
from changing the cut score for the math exam to changing the test
questions.
CHAIR GREEN referred to her earlier question about what the state
requires regarding credits, and said she doesn't see how the exam
can go beyond what is required.
SENATOR LEMAN said his education beyond high school required a lot
of higher mathematics and the sciences. He noted he was taught at
the Ninilchik elementary and high schools and every concept he saw
on the sample qualifying exam he learned in grade school.
COMMISSIONER HOLLOWAY gave the following summary of why a delay in
the high stakes test is being debated and why DOEED believes a
delay is important. It is obvious that a lot of students have a
long way to go to reach the proficiency level. The reasons for
that can be classified into three areas. The first reason has to
do with the opportunity to learn. She suggested the committee hear
from representatives of the Department of Law about the legal
defensibility of the exam. DOEED has to ensure that every student
in this state has had the opportunity to learn the standards that
their feet are being held to the fire for. Districts have to align
their curriculum to the standards. Some districts have had the
technical support and the resources to do that. Other districts
have not. Alaska has switched to a standards based teaching system
and many educators have not had the opportunity to be prepared to
use this new system. In any business, when the way business is
done changes, a great investment must be made to help people learn
how to work differently.
COMMISSIONER HOLLOWAY reminded committee members that DOEED just
received the data from the first test. DOEED knew that whenever a
comprehensive, statewide, standards based assessment is first
built, it will not be perfect. DOEED needs time to refine,
clarify, and improve this assessment. She expressed concern that
in the debate about whether the test is too hard or too easy, the
focus will be lost. The focus is not the test - the focus is
improving student learning. The focus is that young people leave
high school with the skills and knowledge to have choices and be
successful. The test is one tool to provide data so that schools
can change what they are doing. One other aspect is that if the
date is delayed until 2006, today's 7th graders will have taken the
6th grade and 8th grade benchmark assessment. Schools will have
the time to do the appropriate interventions so that those students
can meet the standards. DOEED needs to help districts figure out
how to help students who are not proficient in the benchmark exams.
COMMISSIONER HOLLOWAY'S third point was that the Legislature, Board
of Education, families and DOEED need to work together to figure
out what to do about special needs students, transient students,
students whose first language is not English, and students from
military families.
SENATOR WARD said that we don't want to harm anyone in the course
of trying to improve the education system. He expressed concern
about the original process used to develop the test and scores
because he wants to be able to respond to real or perceived
problems he has heard about.
Number 1388
CHAIR GREEN asked Senator Ward to meet with Mr. Johnson to discuss
that matter.
SENATOR WARD commented that one person who testified previously
suggested that every teacher should have to take the qualifying
exam.
COMMISSIONER HOLLOWAY stated that all Alaska teachers must take the
PRAXIS I test, which is a reading, writing and math test.
SENATOR WARD asked the Commissioner to report back to the committee
on the equivalency of the two tests.
COMMISSIONER HOLLOWAY agreed to do that. She also told the
committee that DOEED is committed to the school reform effort. If
reasonable timelines can be established, DOEED is suggesting that
the schools continue to administer the qualifying exam and that the
scores be posted on students' transcripts to provide students with
an incentive to do well. In addition, the implementation of the
school designator program will put accountability pressure on each
school, community and staff.
CHAIR GREEN asked Commissioner Holloway to give a report on public
school funding at the next committee meeting. She then adjourned
the meeting at 3:00 p.m.
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