Legislature(2013 - 2014)CAPITOL 106
03/25/2014 05:00 PM House ADMINISTRATIVE REGULATION REVIEW
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Presentation: Exploring the Concerns of the New Alaska State Academic Standards and the Potential Impacts to Alaska's Education System - Part 1 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
ADMINISTRATIVE REGULATION REVIEW COMMITTEE
March 25, 2014
5:13 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Lora Reinbold, Chair
Senator Gary Stevens
Senator Hollis French
MEMBERS ABSENT
Senator Cathy Giessel, Vice Chair
Representative Mike Hawker
Representative Geran Tarr
OTHER LEGISLATORS PRESENT
Representative Wes Keller
Representative Lynn Gattis
Representative Tammie Wilson
Representative Lance Pruitt
Representative Paul Seaton
Senator Mike Dunleavy
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
PRESENTATION: EXPLORING THE CONCERNS OF THE NEW ALASKA STATE
ACADEMIC STANDARDS AND THE POTENTIAL IMPACTS TO ALASKA'S
EDUCATION SYSTEM - PART 1
- HEARD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
No previous action to record
WITNESS REGISTER
TERRENCE MOORE, Ph.D., Professor
Hillsdale College
Hillsdale, Michigan
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified on academic standards.
ANTHONY ESOLEN, Ph.D.; Professor of English
Providence College
Providence, Rhode Island
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified on academic standards.
SANDRA STOTSKY, Ed.D. Professor of Education Reform
Department of Education Reform
Curriculum and Standards
University of Arkansas
Fayetteville, Arkansas
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified on education standards.
ZE'EV WURMAN, Engineer; Visiting Scholar
Hoover Institution
Stanford University
Stanford, California
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified on education standards.
RON FURHER, President
National Education Association, Alaska (NEA-Alaska)
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified on the new Alaska State Academic
Standards and potential impacts to Alaska's educational system.
JACOB BERA, Teacher
Eagle River High School
Eagle River, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified on Alaska State Academic
Standards.
MARTY VAN DIEST, Parent
Palmer, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified on Alaska State Academic
Standards.
JOE ALWARD, Teacher
West High School
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified on Alaska State Academic
Standards.
TROY CARLOCK, Teacher
West High School
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified on Alaska State Academic
Standards.
MIKE HANLEY, Commissioner
Department of Education and Early Development (EED)
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified and answered questions on academic
standards.
SUSAN MCCAULEY, Director
Teaching and Learning Support
Department of Education and Early Development (EED)
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified and answered questions on academic
standards.
ACTION NARRATIVE
5:13:37 PM
CHAIR LORA REINBOLD called the Administrative Regulation Review
Committee meeting to order at 5:13 p.m. Representative Reinbold
and Senators Stevens and French were present at the call to
order. Representatives Keller, Gattis, T. Wilson, Pruitt, and
Seaton and Senator Dunleavy were also in attendance.
^Presentation: Exploring the Concerns of the New Alaska State
Academic Standards and the Potential Impacts to Alaska's
Education System - Part 1
Presentation: Exploring the Concerns of the New Alaska State
Academic Standards and the Potential Impacts to Alaska's
Education System - Part 1
5:15:27 PM
CHAIR REINBOLD announced that the only order of business would
be the presentation entitled: Exploring the Concerns of the New
Alaska State Academic Standards and the Potential Impacts to
Alaska's Education System - Part 1. She said this will be the
first of many hearings on the topic.
5:19:46 PM
TERRANCE MOORE, Ph.D., Professor, Hillsdale College, reviewed
his background and said that he currently teaches history. He
also works with the Barnry Charter School Initiative, whose
purpose is to help set up classical charter schools around the
country for parents and communities who desire that type of
education. Previously, he was principal of a K-12 classical
charter school in Colorado, which was twice ranked the number
one high school in the state. He said he has written on the
Common Core Standards, and he has also been a long-time school
reformer. He obtained his doctorate from the University of
Edinburgh, where he wrote on the history of education in the
18th century and its influence on the founding fathers. He also
served as a lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps.
DR. MOORE said that the term "standards" is often used but very
few people actually know what it means. It is a very great term
since it is difficult to argue against higher standards of
education. However, he urged legislators to read the standards
and see if they can make sense of them since they are written in
"education speak," which is a language that is impenetrable by
citizens. In fact, when the standards are translated to regular
English they say ridiculous things, for example, one standard is
that kindergarten students should learn the common spellings of
the five major vowels. He questioned how many spellings the
vowel "A" has.
5:21:53 PM
SENATOR STEVENS asked whether he was speaking about the Alaska
Standards or the Common Core Standards.
DR. MOORE related his understanding that the Alaska Standards
look like a blueprint of the Common Core Standards or a "cut and
paste" job; however, if that is not true then that's great. He
said his testimony is meant to warn the legislature about things
found in the Common Core Standards.
CHAIR REINBOLD related her understand that the Alaska Standards
are 95 percent identical to the Common Core Standards.
5:22:46 PM
SENATOR FRENCH asked whether it is fair to say he has not read
Alaska's educational standards.
DR. MOORE suggested that if the Alaska Standards are a "cut and
paste" job, it is a rebranding of the Common Core Standards that
has happened in Arizona or in states such as Indiana, which has
supposedly pulled out of the Common Core Standards.
SENATOR FRENCH interjected that he takes that as a "no."
DR. MOORE said it is the responsibility of parents, educators,
and legislators to find out if that "no" is really a no.
5:23:53 PM
CHAIR REINBOLD asked whether Dr. Moore has read the Common Core
Standards.
DR. MOORE answered yes.
5:23:59 PM
DR. MOORE continued, stating that one of the things in Common
Core Standards is the idea of text complexity and how that
drives the specific text chosen for schools. In the Common Core
Standards, it is decided by the Lexile framework. He urged
legislators to find out if that is the way Alaska will determine
its complex text, since that framework is notorious for
containing mistakes. For example, the Grapes of Wrath is rated
as second to third grade reading level since the Lexile
framework underestimates great literature. The purpose of
Common Core Standards is to diminish the number of literature
texts and, instead, increase the number of informational texts,
such as modern textbooks that devalue literature but increase
political propaganda. These texts are inserted into the
classrooms under the pretext of 21st century thinking skills,
which is something he has observed happening time and time
again. Reviewing textbooks is one way to know if this is
happening. If the textbooks are short on literature or only
provide selections, students are being cheated from reading
great works of classic literature. He expressed concern about
the purpose of Common Core Standards and the College and Career
Readiness Standards. In fact, college professors want students
reading complete novels and complete works of great literature
in order to prepare them for the type of thinking college
freshman should exhibit.
DR. MOORE suggested legislators should also get a sense of the
recommended books in College and Career Readiness Standards, if
any; otherwise, the default will be mediocre textbooks without
any classic literature. One main question that legislators
should ask is whether students read complete works of great
literature or if the textbooks devalue literature. Legislators
should also examine testing that will be used to enforce the
standards. They should determine whether testing will be done
by reliable testing agencies, by Alaskans, or if testing will be
done by one of the organizations such as Smarter Balance or a
shadow organization created for states that opt out of Common
Core Standards. He questioned whether these tests have been
field tested, and if the organizations are testing on modern
articles or political indoctrination that is heavy on
environmentalism, but has very little to do with great
literature. These are leading questions to ask to determine if
the standards aim at excellence, truth, and beauty in great
things instead of setting a very low bar of college and career
readiness, he stated.
5:28:28 PM
DR. MOORE asked how college and career readiness became the aim
of a liberal education, since this wasn't a phrase that was even
around 10 years ago. He has been around education reform for a
long time, and, historically, education aimed at virtue,
knowledge, happiness, and beauty. While this may sound
philosophical and professorial, he recently spoke with parents
that were upset that music and art are dying a slow death in
schools. The reason to study great literature is that it
teaches language, empathy, and insights into the human
condition, which makes students more human. As legislators
examine the standards, he suggested they look to see if they
include Hans Christian Anderson, the Iliad, or Pride and
Prejudice, or if the standards merely obtain superficial
knowledge without imparting any lasting idea of knowledge or how
the world works. These are educational values that parents want
for their children and if they don't get it they will be upset.
CHAIR REINBOLD encouraged people to "Google" Dr. Moore. She
appreciated his articles, she said.
5:31:28 PM
ANTHONY ESOLEN, Ph.D., Professor of English, Providence College,
provided a brief biography, including that he has authored 13 or
so books and has translated the Divine Comedy into English. For
more than 20 years he has been writing about literature and
teaching literature, art, theology, philosophy, and history. He
has used a wide range of literature, ranging from those of the
ancient Greeks and Mesopotamians, through literature from the
end of the Renaissance and into the modern world. Further, he
previously served as the head of the Rhode Island Homeschooling
organization for seven years, during which time he considered
what children need and what they will need when they begin a
freshman Western Civilization course.
DR. ESOLEN said he has read the standards and finds them
wrongheaded and inept. He seconded everything Dr. Moore said.
The standards are wrongheaded because they do not arrive at the
reason students should read good books. He has an old textbook
from the 1920s, a public school textbook prior to Dewey changing
the education system, and the writer begins with what the
English teacher really wants to do, which is to instill in her
students the library habit, or learning to love good books and
how to read them, which leads to the discovery of why these
books are so admirable, grand, and loveable. If the main
experience with the English language is from reading "trashy"
literature or magazines and dumbed down newspapers, it will not
lead to students becoming good writers or to understanding the
capacity of the English language. If the goal is to teach
students to use the English language well, the Alaska Standards
are not going to achieve it.
DR. ESOLEN said the Alaska Academic Standards are written
abominably. In fact, he teaches his students not to do the
things included in them, like vagueness, dependence upon jargon,
bureaucratic flummery, and the failure to state things simply
and clearly. Seventy years ago, George Orwell spoke about this
in his great essay, "Politics and the English Language," calling
it a map for duplicity.
DR. ESOLEN said to begin with these are terrible standards.
Just as he would not have someone covered with blood and filth
in charge of hygiene at a hospital, he cannot embrace the
writers who drafted these standards since they are terrible
writers who purport to teach students how to write. Learning to
write well cannot be achieved by these means, he opined.
DR. ESOLEN emphasized that the only way to learn to write well
is to imitate those who do, to expose students to people who
write well, to expose students to good books, and to instill in
them a love for those good books. Students should read Pride
and Prejudice, Bleak House, works by George Eliot, and other
great works of literature, to gain an understanding of how
language is used. Secondly, the [Alaska] Standards don't teach
grammar. He emphasized the importance of teaching language as a
systematic, coherent, and beautiful whole - a thing that
clarifies and opens things up for them. You can only achieve
that if grammar is taught as a whole, coherently, at the same
time as reading. Grammar cannot be taught in bits and pieces,
since a thorough learning requires one to two hours each day in
5th and 6th grade so it becomes second nature - in the same way
students would study and learn Latin grammar. Students learn
how the parts of language are related to one another, which is
not done in the [Alaska Academic] Standards or elsewhere. In
his experience, the only college students who know grammar are
those who happened to take Latin when they were in high school.
Although he did not have the Alaska Academic Standards in front
of him, he recalled that a "little grammatical thing" is
introduced in second grade and one in 6th grade. He said that
the object should be to get students to love reading good books
and to introduce them to their great heritage of literature
written in English, which is not present in the 24 or 26 pages
of standards.
5:39:02 PM
SENATOR FRENCH referred to page 58 of standards for 11th to 12th
grades. He stated that the standard is to write arguments and
support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts
using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence. He
said it goes on to list additional requirements. He asked
whether there was something wrong with that idea.
DR. ESOLEN acknowledged that there is nothing wrong with
teaching students how to argue, but frankly if you really want
to get students to learn how to think clearly, they must be
taught grammar systematically in the 4th, 5th or 6th grades.
Then these students will do naturally in their writing what is
finally suggested that they do in the 12th grade.
DR. ESOLEN said that not only do college freshmen fail to grasp
grammar, but they don't even know the names of great English
poets or writers. If this continues, in 20 years the only ones
who will know anything about the humanities are those who
received a classical education.
5:41:26 PM
SANDRA STOTSKY, Ed.D. Professor of Education Reform, Department
of Education Reform, Curriculum and Standards, University of
Arkansas, stated that ten years ago she was the senior associate
commissioner in the Massachusetts Department of Education in
charge of all of the K-12 standards. She has also served on the
Common Core Standards Validation Committee. She read Alaska's
English language arts standards, which she found to be almost
identical to the Common Core Standards. The chief difference
was in the introductory material, which was very abbreviated or
reduced in the Alaska Educational Standards. However, the
Alaska Academic Standards seem to be almost identical to the
Common Core Standards, she said.
DR. STOTSKY related that three private organizations in
Washington D.C. developed the Common Core Standards: The
National Governor's Association, the Council of the State School
Officers, and ACHIEVE. These standards were funded by the Bill
and Melinda Gates Foundation, she said. She surmised that the
members of the Standards Development Workgroup were likely
selected by the Gates Foundation and ACHIEVE since she was
unable to find any official information.
5:43:06 PM
DR. STOTSKY reported that the committee developing the College
and Career Readiness Standards were chiefly test and curriculum
developers from ACT, SAT, ACHIEVE, and NCEE. This group of
testing companies has never before been represented on standard
development committees. Absent from the standards committee
were high school math and English teachers, scientists, English
professors, engineers, parents, state legislators, early
childhood educators, and state or local school board members.
She said, "They were simply not there." She expressed concern
that records of meetings were not available, which leads her to
believe the process was not transparent. This matters to her
because she has been active in her community her entire life and
has been involved in community activities as a representative
town meeting member, a library trustee, and as a member of many
selectman and school search committees. When she served on the
[Common Core Standards] Validation Committee in 2009, she was
asked to sign a confidentiality agreement agreeing to never
disclose what occurred in the committee. She expressed alarm
that nothing was transparent about any aspect of the process.
DR. STOTSKY turned to the qualifications of those who wrote the
Common Core Standards used as the basis for the Alaska
educational standards. She focused on ELA [English Language
Arts] since that is her area of expertise. The two lead
writers, David Coleman and Susan Pimentel, have never taught
reading or English in K-12 or at the college level. Neither of
them majored in English as an undergraduate, nor have they
produced any serious work in K-12. At the time they were
appointed to the [Common Core Standards' Validation Committee],
they were as unknown to English and reading educators as they
were to higher education faculty in rhetoric, speech,
composition, or literary study. They were totally unknown, she
said. She was baffled as to the reasons they were selected,
what their charge was, who paid them, and who selected them.
5:46:12 PM
DR. STOTSKY said the purpose of the Common Core Standards
Validation Committee was ostensibly to evaluate the soundness,
rigor, and validity of the standards that the standards writers
were developing over a series of drafts in 2009 and 2010. The
25-29 members of the Common Core Standards Validation Committee
included one mathematician and herself as the sole English
language arts expert, but not one high school math teacher. The
committee eventually added one high school English teacher. The
bulk of committee membership was affiliated with testing,
schools of education, or other related aspects of teaching in
schools and not experts in math or English language arts
standards. This important committee was supposed to verify that
the standards were internationally benchmarked, were researched
based, and included rigorous standards, she said. Although she
was required to sign a letter by the end of the year attesting
to that claim, she was one of five people who could not do so;
she could not "rubber stamp" such a process. First, the Common
Core Standards were not internationally benchmarked. She said
she requested the names of the countries these standards were
benchmarked to, and the information was not provided. Second,
the standards were not research based, and third, the Common
Core Standards certainly were not rigorous. She could determine
this since she is quite familiar with language arts standards
from her work at the Massachusetts Department of Education.
Further, it is now known the math standards failed to include
standards that will lead students to STEM careers, but she has
no idea why they were omitted. The English language arts
literary standards reduce literacy study in grades 6-12 and use
an unproven approach to teaching Euclidian Geometry. They defer
completion of Algebra 1 to grades 9 or 10, which is not what
high-achieving countries do. The Common Core Standards are
developmentally inappropriate in the primary grades, and they
use 50 percent of the reading instructional time for high school
English classes for informational reading.
5:49:17 PM
DR. STOTSKY turned to the specific flaws in the English language
arts standards. First, both reading and English language arts
standards are mainly content-free skills, with two or three
content standards at the high school level - since she placed
them there. Second, the Common Core Standards stress writing
more than reading, even though 100 years of research indicates
that good writers were first good readers. She predicted that
teachers will spend substantial time trying to teach writing
rather than reading. Of course students need to learn to write
and practice writing, but they need more reading, she opined.
Third, she highlighted that the Common Core Standard are
developmentally inappropriate in many grades and lack
coordination between writing and reading standards so students
are asked to set forth pieces of writing that are claimed, yet
they have not seen a piece of reading with a claim unless their
teacher found out students need to see this type of reading to
be able to identify it.
5:50:54 PM
SENATOR FRENCH asked for further clarification on an imbalance
between reading and writing standards. He referred to the
Alaska Standards on page 46-61 and noted there are eight pages
of standards for reading and the same amount for writing. He
asked for further clarification on her claim that the Alaska
standards are wrongly weighted in favor of writing standards.
DR. STOTSKY agreed it appears that the numbers are equal;
however, it is also important to count sub-objectives under the
writing standards. She suggested asking teachers if they are
spending an enormous time on writing at every grade level,
beginning in the primary grades. She emphasized that that the
sub-objectives amount to an entire objective. She said she
discovered that these standards are not fewer, fairer, and
deeper. Instead, what has happened is that several different
objectives are bundled into one statement, but they are called
one standard/objective. Thus, the standards are not fewer than
what the state previously had, she said.
5:53:04 PM
DR. STOTSKY referred to Smarter Balance Consortium, which is the
testing consortium that Alaska will use. When New Hampshire
teachers gave feedback on an early version of the Smarter
Balance test, the entire New Hampshire Teachers Union decided to
collectively oppose the testing. She quoted, "The principal
gathered the information and found out that his staff
collectively believes that the results from the test will not
measure the academic achievement of our students and will be
mainly a test of computer skills and students' abilities to
endure through a cumbersome task." That is the first feedback,
she said, which provides empirical evidence from middle school
teachers. No one really knows what the state is getting because
it is not being piloted in one or several states. Teachers are
not vetting these tests before giving them to their students.
5:54:55 PM
CHAIR REINBOLD related that Dr. Stotsky has an extensive
biography and she encouraged people to review it.
SENATOR STEVENS related his understanding that Alaska is no
longer a part of Smarter Balance Consortium, since it was
withdrawn some time ago.
5:57:11 PM
ZE'EV WURMAN, Engineer and Visiting Scholar, Hoover Institution,
Stanford University, stated that he served as a senior policy
advisor at the U.S. Department of Education between 2007 and
2009, and he served as a commissioner on the 2010 California
Academic Content Standards Commission that evaluated the Common
Core Standards before they were adopted. He has also authored
multiple studies to evaluate the Common Core mathematical
standards and other state standards and serves as an executive
in Monolithic 3D, a Silicon Valley startup company.
MR. WURMAN said that the 2012 Alaska Mathematics Standards are
overwhelmingly a word-for-word copy of Common Core Standards.
Their reduced rigor in K-8 will directly lead to reduced
enrollment, particularly for disadvantaged and minority students
in advanced mathematics courses in high school, who are bound to
be harmed from pursuing challenging and rewarding careers.
Additionally, he wondered if the ultimate value of high school
Common Core Standards is that they are supposed lead to College
and Career Readiness. He said that he compared the Common Core
standards to Alaska Academic Standards and found them to,
essentially, be identical, with the exception of two of forty K-
8 standards. In two other grades, three standards were added,
and in four grades, no additional standards were added.
MR. WURMAN related that the Alaska Academic Standards at the
high school level only contain Common Core Standards, with
several language clarifications. Secondly, he mentioned that
over the last couple of decades the change in American education
has been to push more students to take Algebra by the 8th grade,
which led to an increase from 25 percent to 40-45 percent of
students taking Algebra by 8th grade. This effort was taken due
to the perception that overseas high-achieving nations seemed to
be doing better than America in preparing students for technical
careers. The science in Science Technology Engineering and
Mathematics (STEM) is not only physics or chemistry, but
includes social science. Students who are not prepared to
handle mathematics cannot succeed in these technical careers.
However, the Common Core Standards push Algebra to the 9th
grade, which indicates a lack of rigor.
MR. WURMAN remarked that the importance of this depends on
Alaska's goals since Common Core Standards prepare students for
community colleges and non-selective colleges. If students are
limited to Algebra 2 in high school, their chances of achieving
a bachelor's degree drops to 50 percent, with a 50:1 success
rate for those who desire a STEM career. This data is from 2012
National Center for Education Statistics. In other words,
students will be prepared, at best, for non-selective colleges
under a curriculum developed using Common Core and Alaska
Academic Standards. In addition, since Algebra is pushed into
high school, many students do not have any real chance to finish
high school with calculus.
CHAIR REINBOLD looked forward to any feedback he could provide
regarding his California experience.
6:05:14 PM
RON FURHER, President, National Education Association, Alaska
(NEA-Alaska), said he represents 13,000 education support
professionals and teachers in the state. He noted that he has
provided written testimony. He paraphrased from his March 21,
2014, letter, which read, as follows:
To Whom It May Concern:
As president of NEA-Alaska, I represent 13,000
teachers and education support professionals who
strive to lead their profession by providing the
highest quality education to Alaska's children. In
2013, we voted on six guiding principles for leading
our profession:
· Make every educator a great educator
· Create opportunities for innovative practices
· Increase the amount of time that students spend
learning
· Create a quality teacher evaluation system
· Reinforce effective family-school partnering
· Delivery a rich and varied curriculum
With these principles in mind, NEA-Alaska supported
the adoption of Alaska State Standards and continues
to support the idea of raising the bar for the quality
of classroom learning in Alaska. The National
Education Association endorsed Common Core in 2009
with the hope that we could move away from "teaching
to the test" under No Child Left behind (NCLB) and
place a new emphasis on fostering student learning and
growth.
As Common Core standards have been implemented across
the country, however, teachers and education support
professionals have grown concerned. A recent survey
of teachers showed that seven in ten teachers believe
that implementation of the standards is going poorly
in their schools. Teachers have not been given enough
training, time, or classroom material to make the
shift to the new standards.
We have a chance to get things right in Alaska,
improving student learning and raising education
standards. School districts, school boards, teachers,
administrators, parents, and students have an
important perspective to share and should all be
involved in a collaborative implementation process.
Thank you for taking my testimony on this most
important issue to Alaska's teachers and students.
6:07:28 PM
CHAIR REINBOLD asked whether he could provide any feedback in
Alaska.
MR. FUHRER said he referenced the national study since Alaska's
new evaluation system is at various stages of implementation.
He offered to suggest a member who could speak to implementation
of Common Core Standards in Anchorage schools.
6:08:38 PM
JACOB BERA, Teacher, Eagle River High School, stated he is a
teacher at the Eagle River High School, in the Anchorage School
District. He and his wife are both educators and have two small
children who will start Alaska's public schools so they value a
quality education.
MR. BERA offered to share his views from the perspective of the
classroom on the new Alaska State Standards, teacher involvement
in the decision-making process, and the importance of teacher
autonomy in relation to meeting standards. He viewed the
purpose of standards as setting the academic bar of achievement,
while more importantly allowing educators to decide what
curriculum and educational approaches are appropriate for their
students to meet them. This balanced approach is the ideal that
Alaska is trying to reach, which is to provide consistency in
what students should learn, but to allow teachers to decide how
they should teach students to learn the curriculum.
MR. BERA turned to his area of expertise, the visual arts,
noting he uses national and state standards as a guideline to
help determine what his students should know and experience at
each grade level. He also uses standards to create rubrics to
assess his students' work. Still, he has the ability to choose
the approach he will use with his students, and he knows what
their interests are, what may challenge them, and what may not
be appropriate for them. He uses recommended curriculum and
texts from the district, but the ultimate decision as to what
his students experience in the classroom rests with him. Some
colleagues do not have the same latitude due to the pressures of
accountability measures weighing more heavily on them. The
climate of budget cuts and changing evaluations has also created
added stress as these teachers try to achieve the worthwhile
goal of meeting high standards.
6:10:20 PM
MR. BERA emphasized the importance of ensuring teacher autonomy
by allowing him, as a teacher, to decide what is best for his
students, which is one reason he is active in NEA-Alaska. He
also wants to ensure that his colleagues are treated as
professionals, are allowed to make educational choices for their
students, and have a seat at table when educational decisions
are made. He noted that he accepts responsibility for the
decisions he makes and the performance of his students based on
factors within his control. He sincerely applauded legislators
and educational leaders in Alaska who value the importance of
taking a thoughtful approach in making educational decisions.
6:11:01 PM
MR. BERA acknowledged the importance of setting the educational
bar high, but he also cautioned the bar needs to be achievable
and not set up educators and students for failure. He supported
a process that allows teachers to have a voice in reviewing the
Alaska State Standards, in order to share their insights and
expertise based on their classroom experiences. Although this
may have already occurred, if more time is necessary to review
the Alaska Academic Standards, he expressed his willingness to
do so. He wants what is best for Alaska's students and to
ensure that standards are appropriately implemented. This means
granting teachers time and resources to adjust curriculum so
students can meet the new academic standards. When the teacher
perspective is taken out of the process, standards start to turn
into top down curriculum choices that move the state farther
away from individualized instruction. He opined that innovative
approaches connect with students and help them feel excited
about learning. A number of entities are working to do what is
best for Alaska's students, including the legislature, the EED,
the State Board of Education, and local school boards; however,
he wants ensure that teachers can participate in the educational
choices in Alaska, too. In closing, he advocated for the time
and resources vital for student success and for teacher autonomy
in the classroom.
6:12:46 PM
CHAIR REINBOLD said she wants to ensure magic between teachers
and students without too many mandates. She also wants to
empower teachers and make certain that resources are not
diverted to testing the infrastructure necessary for testing.
She commented that teachers matter and need to have a voice.
6:14:32 PM
SENATOR FRENCH asked whether the teachers agreed or disagreed
with the following statement from the Alaska Academic Standards,
which he read as follows:
These standards do not tell teachers how to teach nor
do they attempt to override the unique qualities of
each student in classrooms. They simply establish a
strong foundation of knowledge and skills all students
need for success after graduation. It is up to
schools and teachers to decide how to put the
standards into practice and incorporate other state
and local standards, including cultural standards.
SENATOR FRENCH asked whether this is a true statement, a false
statement, or needs elaboration.
MR. FUHRER answered "true."
MR. BERA said he believed that it is a true statement. He would
emphasize the part that said it is up to school districts and
teachers to decide how those standards are implemented.
6:15:39 PM
SENATOR STEVENS remarked that he keeps thinking that he should
have had Terrence Moore and Anthony Esolen as professors in
college, as he found their testimony exciting. He related that
his liberal arts education and a classical education are
important. He recalled Dr. Stotsky's earlier comments that more
time should be spent on [reading] than on [writing]. He asked
for feedback on the sense of this and if Dr. Stotsky is right.
He viewed college students as spending more time on analysis and
writing than on reading.
MR. BERA said he is a visual arts teacher, but the school has a
school-wide goal to increase literacy. Teachers try to increase
the amount of reading in all areas and do so in the art room,
too. He focused his concern on allowing teachers to decide what
the students are reading.
6:17:24 PM
SENATOR STEVENS inquired as to how to balance reading classics
with other types of reading.
MR. BERA suggested that allowing teachers to have autonomy gives
them the ability to shape classroom materials based on the
community and the students. Regardless if the standards are
Common Core Standards or Alaska Academic Standards, many reading
lists also provide suggested texts. He recommended that
teachers should be vocal if they have texts that are more
appropriate for their students to meet the standards.
SENATOR STEVENS asked for further clarification on whether the
standards "tie teachers' hands" on literature or for assigned
readings.
MR. FUHRER said there are times when teachers engage students to
think critically, which is when teachers are better apt to make
the determination since they have developed personal
relationships with students and are aware of their interests and
abilities.
MR. BERA said he also serves on the Anchorage Curriculum Review
committee for the visual arts. He offered his belief that the
ultimate recommendations should be left for teachers to decide,
if not, he would challenge the educator to seek more autonomy.
CHAIR REINBOLD stated that the Alaska Academic Standards process
is just beginning, noting the public and teachers are just
becoming aware of the standards, and pilot projects were not
used to test them out. She expressed concern about the unknown
aspects and issues with regard to testing, as well as the
overall effects on teachers and classrooms.
6:21:37 PM
REPRESENTATIVE KELLER said he found it interesting that the
testimony does not seem to find the Alaska Academic Standards of
high value; they do not matter as teachers ultimately have the
standards in their hands. That would emphasize teacher
education, he noted. The legislature is always looking for ways
to improve education. "That's probably the source of the
standards, ultimately some well-meaning person." He pointed out
that the House just voted to eliminate the high school exit
exam. He recalled being involved in that process and how the
teachers really did pitch in and help, but, sadly, the standards
"went down" as the test progressed, and "it left a lot of us
pretty frustrated." He asked whether the state is wasting time
by adopting any standards, because the teachers are saying not
to worry about it because they have it covered in the classroom.
MR. FUHRER viewed the standards as providing the basics.
Teachers' goals are to maximize student learning, and most hope
to exceed the standards, so he tends to think of standards as
the base level.
MR. BERA added that one positive to standards is that it helps
to address transient students, such as military children. The
teachers hope students can perform at a certain level.
6:24:33 PM
SENATOR STEVENS interpreted that he is not saying standards do
not matter, but rather that they matter very much since they
provide guidelines for school boards, administrators, and
teachers.
MR. FUHRER replied yes; it is very important, particularly with
transient students.
6:25:36 PM
CHAIR REINBOLD referred to the ESEA waiver standards which will
be discussed later. She reiterated that Alaska is at an early
stage in terms of academic standards, and it will take some time
to figure it all out.
6:27:52 PM
MARTY VAN DIEST, Parent, paraphrased from the following written
testimony, which read as follows:
My name is Marty Van Diest. I am a graduate of the
University of Alaska Fairbanks, with a degree in
education. I worked for eight years as a teacher and
administrator in three small Christian schools in
Anchorage and Palmer. My wife and I taught our four
children at home over a period of more than 20 years.
Our youngest is now 19 and attending the University of
Alaska, Anchorage. Our oldest daughter was a National
Merit Scholar, which is a level of academic excellence
achieved by less than 40 Alaskan seniors every year.
She did this without attending a single elementary or
secondary classroom.
Although I am not actively engaged in education now, I
am still very concerned that our children receive the
best possible preparation for life.
I have three major problems for subjecting our
children to the Common Core curriculum or standards
that are aligned with it. First, this will continue
the trend toward more centralization that has been
occurring over the past 50 years. During the same
time we've seen our quality in education decline.
Americans are losing their place in innovation and
ingenuity partly because we use the assembly-line
model in teaching our children. This is
centralization in the extreme. We need more
diversity. Diversity encourages invention and
innovative. Centralization discourages it.
Second, these standards will eventually lead to more
federal intrusion into our educational system and into
our classrooms. Standardized testing will need to
continue on a massive and more intrusive scale than we
have seen to date. Some type of enforcement or
incentive-based system will ensue causing us to lose
our ability to choose the style of learning that is
best for our schools and our children.
Lastly, I am concerned that these standards will
eventually limit the ability to choose our own
curriculum to teach our children. Already, most of
the large publishers of educational material have
dropped some information out and added other
information to make sure they are aligned with Common
Core. We will find our choices in curriculum limited
and eventually may be forced to teach to the Common
Core Standards in our private schools and homes.
Please stop this mistake. We have had enough of these
factory-based educational models. Let's give freedom
a try.
6:31:39 PM
JOE ALWARD, Teacher, West High School, paraphrased from the
written testimony, which read as follows:
Recently the issue of Common Core Standards has become
a very hot topic around our country. An explanation
why it isn't working, and quite likely will never work
in our current educational system, is in order.
First, let me point out that the idea behind state
standards is fantastic, in theory. I think everyone
can agree that having some standards to which all
students should achieve is a good idea. After all, we
do want students in our Nation's schools to improve,
right?
However, like most ideals there are fundamental
problems or flaws.
Since the implementation of this poorly thought out
mandate I have noticed at our local level, in the
Anchorage School District, one such flaw. There are
supposed to be core courses being taught at each of
the 8 major comprehensive high schools. That is, a
student is supposed to be able to transfer from one
school to another and continue earning credit in that
course. However, this is not the case. For example,
there are courses being taught at some schools that
aren't being taught at any other. We have entire
programs, like Engineering at Dimond High School that
are unique to a school.
Likewise, West High School, where I teach, is going to
have a very unique facility for Career and Technical
Education in the near future which will very likely
offer courses no other school in the State will be
able to offer. Because of the type of physical
structure that is being built as well as the way it
will be equipped with the latest high tech processing
machinery, this will preclude students from being able
to do so. In other words, there is no way a student
who takes a course at West High's new facility will be
able to transfer to another school, even in our own
district, and have the next school's registrar,
principal or counselor be able to place the student
appropriately so he/she can continue earning credit in
that same particular course.
6:35:05 PM
In addition, with these added courses in CTE it has
pulled highly qualified Science teachers out of our
Science department to meet the need for highly
qualified personnel to teach in the CTE department.
This has created a loss of offerings in Science at our
school. In order to counteract this downturn our
district is allowing students the opportunity to earn
Science credit for CTE coursework. Thus, the
juxtaposition our local district has put us in by
adopting these CCSS has put students, parent and our
communities in a compromising position. This creates
a problem we cannot resolve when students transfer, in
or out of state, from school to school.
Next, if we can't do this on a local level, how in the
heck are we expecting this to be done on a statewide
level? Based on what we know from the ASD's website
we have a very transient population of students in
Anchorage. How are we going to get the small village
schools all of the resources they will need to make
this mandate work? For example, when a student
transfers from Anchorage to the village, he/she may
have been taking biology, but the village school may
not be offering that course this year because they
don't have anyone qualified to teach it. Thus, the
student doesn't get credit for that work.
In closing, Common Core was not well thought out nor
implemented in such a manner to make it a successful
endeavor. It may still have a chance in the future,
with proper adjustments and with buy-in by all or most
of the stakeholders. However, as it is right now,
there are just way too many variables out of whack and
that is why it should be dumped before it wastes any
more time, resources, and does further damage to our
students, school districts and Alaska's great
educational system. Thank you.
6:36:22 PM
CHAIR REINBOLD remarked that it is important to hear from
teachers. She said there is a ripple-down effect from the State
Board of Education or EED, so it's important to address what
happens on the front line. She stated that the concept is
important, but the state needs to evaluate practicality in
practice. She asked whether there were any concerns with
respect to the teacher evaluations and the waiver.
MR. ALWARD said that once people begin to understand what Common
Core Standards means with respect to student performance on
tests, teachers will be more concerned about evaluations based
on the criteria. Currently, it is difficult to have those
discussions since the new standards haven't been rolled out by
the states and have just been used at the local level on a
voluntary basis.
CHAIR REINBOLD agreed, noting that the state is just now
creating opportunities for parents to learn what happened to the
standards and assessments in 2009-2011.
6:38:15 PM
SENATOR STEVENS related his understanding that Mr. Alward
doesn't have a high regard for Alaska Standards and his concern
about student transfers, but he did not see the relationship
between those issues. He asked for further clarification on how
standards have impacted transfers.
MR. ALWARD responded that he has struggled with the impacts the
last few weeks. He clarified that he doesn't have an issue with
specific standards, but the idea of Common Core Standards - the
idea of what is done in Alaska will be the same as what is done
in Connecticut - concern him. He emphasized that Alaska is not
the same as Connecticut.
6:39:21 PM
SENATOR FRENCH said it seems that the flaw Mr. Alward points out
is premised in the fourth paragraph, which indicates core
courses are supposed to be taught at each of the major
comprehensive high schools. He questioned whether that is part
of the Common Core Standards or if it is part of what the school
district is doing to set up the curriculum. He asked whether he
was missing something.
MR. ALWARD said he thought it was both. One problem that
happens in Alaska is that when one course is being taught in one
district it should also be taught elsewhere; otherwise, students
can't take the course and move to the next district or school.
SENATOR FRENCH disagreed, noting that he is not speaking about
the State Academic Standards or Common Core Standards, but of
district policies on curriculum.
MR. ALWARD said he understood; however, he felt that the
standards pit small schools against large schools. He offered
his belief that the state will be faced with this issue even
more so, now that the state is looking at implementation of this
type of reform.
CHAIR REINBOLD emphasized the importance of hearing from
teachers and parents who have the task of implementing this.
6:42:42 PM
TROY CARLOCK, Teacher, West High School, stated that he teaches
at West High School and has been teaching there for 16 years.
He also owns a small pavement maintenance business in Anchorage.
MR. CARLOCK said he totally agrees with Mr. Alward that the idea
of standards is fantastic but should be done at the state and
local level as a bedrock principle of the federal system. Mr.
Alward has correctly pointed out that there are flaws with the
system in the Anchorage School District. There will be untold
sums of money wasted to see that the Common Core Standards are
implemented throughout the state. When Dr. Jim Browder (PH)
came to the Anchorage School District last year, he realigned
the English and social studies curriculum so they would
correlate with each other. For example, sophomores would take
world history alongside world literature and juniors would take
U.S. history alongside American literature. Due to the large
transient student population in the Anchorage School District,
the plan was for students to be able to transfer between high
schools and pick up where they left off.
6:43:51 PM
MR. CARLOCK said that this makes sense; however, each high
school in Anchorage was given the right to choose elective
courses for freshman, so courses do not necessarily correlate
between schools. A student can take freshman consumer economics
at Chugiak High school, then transfer in the middle of the
semester to West High School, but need to take geography, Alaska
studies, or ancient civilization history. He questioned how
this will work at a statewide level, or a national level, if it
can't be aligned at the local level.
6:44:24 PM
MR. CARLOCK asked whether schools like Palmer High School and
West High School will have programs like the international
baccalaureate program (IB). The IB program allows students to
take four semesters of history of the Americas and allows
seniors to graduate without taking any economics or U.S.
government. He offered his belief that this doesn't even align
with the current state requirements for graduation, but this
program exists through special waivers. He questioned how
Common Core Standards will affect this program. He pointed out
that the state of Florida has adopted Common Core Standards and
IB flourishes. Terrence O. Moore, Professor, Hillsdale College
states, "They are deliberately killing the greatest stories of
the greatest nation in history. I believe both these will rob
our students of our nation's heritage."
6:45:25 PM
MR. CARLOCK said there is no doubt that universal education
began in New England clear back to 1647; however, it was done at
the state and local level. For example, the Massachusetts
legislature passed a law requiring every community of [over] 50
families or households to set up free public schools to teach
the fundamentals of reading, writing, ciphering, history,
geography, and bible study. Dr. Moore goes on to later explain
that townships that had 100 families or more were required to
set up secondary schools to help students during that time to go
to Harvard. Our constitutional republic gives these powers and
responsibilities to the states and local government. President
Ronald Regan was very much a proponent of this principle, too.
Founding forefather John Adams makes note of this when he states
that they made an earlier provision by law that every town
consisting of so many families should be furnished with a
grammar school. They made it a crime for such a town to be
destitute of a grammar schoolmaster for a few months, and
subjected it to heavy penalties. The education of all ranks of
people was under the care and expense of the public in a manner
that he believes has been unknown to any other people, ancient
or modern.
6:46:33 PM
MR. CARLOCK stated that the most literate populous of any
country during those times was early America. He emphasized
that state and local governments did these things and not the
federal government. It was the state legislatures that imposed
this on local citizens to see that public education was provided
in their community. He concluded by saying that he believes the
Common Core Standards should not be implemented because the
standards represent cumbersome, overreaching federal control
over the state and local education systems.
6:48:24 PM
CHAIR REINBOLD asked for a list of who was involved with Alaska
Standards.
MIKE HANLEY, Commissioner, Department of Education and Early
Development (EED), referred to a document in members' packets
entitled "Alaska English Language Arts & Mathematics Standards,"
which provides a timeline. He said AS 14.03.015 states that:
It is the policy of this state that the purpose of
education is to help ensure that all students will
succeed in their education and work, shape worthwhile
and satisfying lives for themselves, exemplify the
best values of society, and be effective in improving
the character and quality of the world about them.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY said that stated purpose isn't as fluid as
"college and career readiness," but ultimately it means to
ensure that students succeed in their education and work. He
stated that the department is looking at standards that will
help students be successful in their education and work, which
has been the department's goal all along.
6:49:34 PM
COMMISSIONER HANLEY referred to a review of the success and lack
of success in Alaska students by the Fordham Institute. He said
the institute rated Alaska's last set of standards as being an
"F" in Language Arts and a "D" in Math. The Fordham Institute
rated the University of Alaska's remediation rates poorly, with
53 percent of incoming freshmen needing remedial courses in math
and/or English. Student completion rates for a UA degree were
at 33 percent. One-fifth of the students could not pass the
written exam to get into the military, he said. Twenty percent
of Alaska's workers are nonresidents, and, in terms of NAEP
[National Assessment of Educational Progress] scores, Alaska's
students are 41st in math and 47th in reading.
6:50:47 PM
CHAIR REINBOLD asked what percentage of students take NAEP
assessments.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY responded that a select sampling of fourth
and eighth grade students is done by the U.S. Department of
Education. The department provides the demographics of the
schools and the U.S. DOE chooses the sampling that best matches
the demographics of the state. In response to a question, he
said he did not know the number of students tested.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY said that the data illustrates the need for
something new and that was the driver for the Alaska Academic
Standards. The aforementioned timeline speaks to Dr. Stotsky's
comments regarding the lack of transparency with the Common Core
Standards. He emphasized the openness and engagement of
Alaskans that was used in development of the Alaska Academic
Standards.
6:51:59 PM
SUSAN MCCAULEY, Director, Teaching and Learning Support,
Department of Education and Early Development (EED), reviewed
the aforementioned timeline, noting that beginning in February
2010 and extending for nearly two years, the department went
through a process of developing and publicly vetting the Alaska
Academic Standards (Alaska standards) which were then adopted in
2012. The development process entailed 230 Alaska
representatives from over 56 organizations over a period of
eight meetings, being sure to include teachers of special
education students and English language learners and
representatives of post-secondary school. The Alaska standards
were developed being responsive to what was known about Alaska's
previous set of standards and to how Alaska students perform,
with the goal of wanting to ensure that Alaska's students could
be competitive in and outside of Alaska. The process included
an extended six-month public comment period to ensure a clear
and transparent process. In addition, five regional community
meetings were held throughout the state, eight webinars were
conducted, and 17 in-person presentations were given. The EED
sent frequently-asked-questions (FAQs) and draft standards to
150 business and education organizations across Alaska, inviting
comments on the standards. The draft standards were discussed
in the department's annual report to the legislature in January
2013, and in June 2012, following a thorough review of the
public comments, the Alaska Academic Standards were approved.
In response to a question, Ms. McCauley answered that the state
Board of Education approved the standards.
6:54:23 PM
SENATOR FRENCH asked for the amount of public comment received.
MS. MCCAULEY replied that it was extensive, primarily from
Alaskan teachers with regard to two topics: the original
standards did not include a set of standards for literacy,
history, science, and technical subjects. She reported that
overwhelming public comment from Alaskan educators indicated
that they wanted a set of standards specific to literacy across
the content areas included in Alaska standards. Second,
questions arose regarding computational skills and what
computational fluency was required at each grade level,
primarily at the elementary education grade levels. This led to
adding a fluency chart to the Alaska Academic Standards that
clearly specify the computational skills students should attain
at each grade level.
SENATOR FRENCH asked whether it was fair to say that dozens of
teachers commented.
MS. MCCAULEY answered that there was extensive comment and she
could easily provide it.
CHAIR REINBOLD requested a list of everyone who was involved in
the process, including all of the public comments.
SENATOR FRENCH clarified that he was interested in rough
numbers.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY related that these documents are public
documents.
CHAIR REINBOLD referred to the 2009-2010 development period,
noting she was not sure people knew about the Common Core
Standards at the time, and "they didn't see the tsunami that was
taking over education at the federal level." She said they
still do not know what the National Governor's Association is,
or about the Race-to-Top funding. She said people do not
understand the waiver and the impacts on teachers and the
curriculum. She asked how many of the 53 districts have adopted
Common Core Standards or Alaska Academic Standards.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY related that the Alaska Academic Standards
are the expectation for all districts, but several districts
have adopted Common Core Standards prior to the adoption of the
Alaska Academic Standards.
6:58:28 PM
CHAIR REINBOLD asked how many districts have adopted the
standards. She recalled his testimony on June 2013 that
Commissioner Hanley said there is an estimate of 95 percent
similarity between the Common Core Standards and the Alaska
Academic Standards.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY answered that since then the department has
conducted a thorough review and has determined that Alaska has
320 individual language art standards, and 133 - or about 42
percent - of the standards are different than the Common Core
Standards. In math, 49 percent of the 113 standards are
different than the Common Core Standards, and Alaska has added
an additional 26 standards that are not in the Common Core
Standards, he said.
CHAIR REINBOLD suggested that that the state shouldn't purchase
Common Core literature because the standards are so different.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY replied that the department hasn't told the
districts what to purchase for curriculum.
6:59:52 PM
SENATOR STEVENS related that the Common Core Standards are at
the national level and the Alaska Standards are at the state
level. He expressed concern on Dr. Stotsky's comments about the
enormous secrecy. He asked whether anyone was asked to sign a
letter of confidentiality when developing Alaska's Academic
Standards.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY answered no, and he has tried to get as many
people involved as he could. He pointed out the department went
to five communities around the state to conduct meetings.
SENATOR STEVENS offered his belief that the department has shown
enormous ability to create transparency in the process. He
expressed his appreciation.
7:01:03 PM
CHAIR REINBOLD asked for the percentage of teachers involved.
MS. MCCAULEY answered 230 Alaskans. Although she didn't have
the figures in front of her, she offered to provide exact
factual information to the committee.
CHAIR REINBOLD reiterated her interest in the exact number of
teachers involved in the process.
7:01:48 PM
CHAIR REINBOLD asked how much was spent on the U.S. Department
of Education ESEA waiver and the purpose of it.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY explained that the ESEA waiver is separate
from the educational standards that began development in 2009
and 2010. He stated that Secretary Duncan realized the fallacy
of the NCLB for everyone. One thing that needed to be done was
to develop rigorous standards, he said. The only cost to the
state was the cost of the department's time to put together the
waiver. What it accomplished for the state was to allow moving
forward with a system of accountability that makes more sense.
He described the five-star ASPI [Alaska Standards Performance
Index] as more understandable, with nearly all of our schools
being deemed failures under the previous NCLB. He said, "It got
us out of that and allowed us to move to something more accurate
for our schools and our districts."
7:03:32 PM
CHAIR REINBOLD asked for further clarification that these are
two separate topics, the ESEA flexibility waiver and the Alaska
Academic Standards.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY answered yes, noting that one of the
criteria was to have rigorous standards that help Alaska's
students succeed in education and work. He said that was
already being accomplished so that was one thing the department
could do to allow the state to apply.
CHAIR REINBOLD disagreed since it seemed to her it was part of
the requirement for the waiver.
7:04:14 PM
CHAIR REINBOLD pointed out that Maryland just requested $1
million for the infrastructure. She asked what the department
will need for Alaska State Standards assessments in terms of
infrastructure and funding.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY responded that the assessment test will need
to align with the standards, in other words, to "test what you
teach." So any time that standards are changed, the tests must
change to assure that the state is measuring it. Thus, when the
state originally joined the Smarter Balance Consortium, it was
one option the state had since no other assessments were being
developed; however, as time went on the state chose to put out
an RFP [request for proposal] to more fully understand what
options were available and the number of vendors that would
apply. Five vendors applied and the state chose the Achievement
and Assessment Institute, based in Kansas. The state currently
uses this institute for some alternative assessments and is in
the process of finalizing a contract with them. Part of the
proposal and scoring entails the cost of the proposal, and the
cost of this proposal came in at or below the cost of the
state's current assessments so the department doesn't need any
additional funds. The department can provide a new assessment
for the same cost, he explained.
7:06:02 PM
CHAIR REINBOLD asked for clarification on whether online exams
will be necessary, and if so, what type of infrastructure will
be necessary. She asked whether the department has invested in
any infrastructure and what the investment over the next ten
years will be. She said she understood the department will not
be coming to the legislature for additional funding this year.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY said he did not anticipate the need for any
funding this year. He related that the previous $250,000
increase to the contract is already in place, and it is a matter
of maintaining the contract. He said that the department is in
the beginning stages, but the RFP came in under the bid price.
In terms of infrastructure, the department has the
responsibility to continue to assess students in grades 3-10.
The state must meet the federal requirement to test all students
in grades 3-8 and in high school after 9th grade; however, the
state likes the continuity of data and has continued to assess
students in grades 3-10. The department plans on continuing to
do so. If it is necessary to use paper and pencil, the
department will provide it; however, the goal is to move into
the 21st century with technology-based assessments to the
greatest extent possible. As districts become prepared to use
technology in assessments, the department will incorporate and
use adaptive tests. Adaptive testing is something that cannot
be done with pencil and paper, and this will allow faster
turnaround to provide information to students, counselors, and
students much quicker.
CHAIR REINBOLD asked for further clarification on the paper and
pencil assessments.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY reiterated that the state has the
responsibility to assess all students in grades 3-10, and
wherever possible will do so electronically, either web-based or
cloud-based, and the other is local caching, where the test is
downloaded to a local server, avoiding the need for additional
bandwidth. The third way is to use paper and pencil exams.
7:08:54 PM
CHAIR REINBOLD asked whether the tests are aligned to Alaska
Academic Standards.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY answered yes; they will be related. In
response to Chair Reinbold, he answered that the language arts
has 42 percent differences, and math has 49 percent difference
from the Common Core Standards.
7:09:07 PM
CHAIR REINBOLD asked for further clarification on the ESEA
flexibility waiver from the U.S. Department of Education if the
department considers it a federal mandate.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY answered no; the state could return to NCLB.
The waiver was granted at the state's request, but it is
optional. The state could say it does not want the waiver and
return to Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP). In response to
additional questions, he said the waiver was received in
December 2013, and no federal funding was tied to the waiver.
CHAIR REINBOLD asked if any federal funding or Gates Foundation
funding has been provided to adopt these new standards - Alaska
Academic Standards, Common Core Standards, or College and Career
Readiness Standards.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY answered no; the department's budget is a
public document shared with the finance committees. In fact, if
the state chose not go with the waiver, the state would have
adopted Alaska Standards because that was the direction the
state was moving. The waiver process identified the current
standards. In response to a question, he said he was unsure of
the amount of Title 1 funding.
CHAIR REINBOLD related her understanding that Title 1 funding
ranged from $30-50 million.
7:11:58 PM
SENATOR STEVENS, recalling earlier testimony that Common Core
and Alaska Standards are 95 percent identical, he related his
understanding from today's testimony that the math standards are
51 percent similar. He asked whether the statement that the
standards are 95 percent identical is a fallacy.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY answered yes; but offered to walk through
the differences. He provided an example of seemingly minor
changes that have significance, such as meeting a Kindergarten
standard "with scaffolding," which means with support and is
different. The department has built in some things it believes
are important, he said.
7:13:18 PM
REPRESENTATIVE KELLER recalled Chair Reinbold set the goal of
exploring concerns related to Common Core Standards for this
meeting. He noted his appreciation for Commissioner Hanley's
offer to review the differences.
7:14:38 PM
CHAIR REINBOLD said this discussion if the first in a series,
and the number of meeting depends on the interest from the
public, teachers, parents and others. She said she will follow
this topic for many years, because it involves the minds of
Alaska's youth, which is the state's most valuable resource.
This is the most important topic, and she said she wants to get
to the bottom of it. "This is a transformation of our
educational system," and there is national and widespread
pushback on the Common Core Standards. She said the legislature
should not be left in the dark, and there is a $2 billion
deficit and she is very concerned about the costs, and she asked
what grades are going to be tested and the time spent.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY said there has been a national movement to
go from testing grades 3-10 to grades 3-11. The department took
the question to the State Board of Education and they chose not
to put it out to public comment as they were comfortable with
staying at grades 3-10. Currently, districts take parts of
three days for testing, and he assumes that the time spent will
be similar.
7:17:15 PM
CHAIR REINBOLD directed attention to funding for tests,
infrastructure, and teacher education. She asked for projected
costs and whether the state will be receiving any federal
funding for the waiver.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY responded that currently school districts
are required to review curriculum every six years and to budget
for that review. He assumed new standards would require review
and by the same token the state should be doing so, but it's
been closer to 10 or more years since the state has updated
standards. He maintained there is not any inherent additional
cost to the department. The department has performed its work
as part of its duties without any increment. He acknowledged
that districts have a challenge to raise the bar and shift
focus, so professional development is a requirement. In
addition, schools must review their curriculum. Over the last
three years, districts have been notified of the new standards,
and the department has urged them to consider this during their
curriculum adoption. The districts could certainly use more
support for professional development, he said. He offered to
discuss the department's efforts to assist districts at a
subsequent meeting.
7:20:08 PM
CHAIR REINBOLD asked if the state has received any "Race to the
Top" funding, funding for the NCLB waiver, or Gates Foundation
funding and if the commissioner anticipates more testing costs.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY offered to provide budget documents, but
related that no money was provided for the standards. He
highlighted efforts the Gates Foundation has made in terms of
funding libraries, museums, and universities, but no money has
been tied to the new standards. Further, the state did not
apply for Race to the Top funds.
7:20:58 PM
SENATOR FRENCH asked if the Koch brothers have provided funding.
CHAIR REINBOLD asked the commissioner to finish.
7:21:13 PM
COMMISSIONER HANLEY, in response to the cost or the assessment,
responded that the department is doing work as best as it can.
Additional funding would allow the department to provide greater
training and professional development, but staff are "maxed out"
right now, and the department is not asking for an increment at
this time, but there is ongoing professional development. He
expressed hope that districts will testify regarding challenges
to do more with the continued funding. In response to a
question, he said he does not know about a correlation between
the Gates Foundation and Common Core Standards. The foundation
did not support Alaska Academic Standards, but he assumes that
the Gates Foundation supports the standards in some states.
7:22:50 PM
SENATOR FRENCH related his understanding that Chair Reinbold is
planning a series of meetings on this topic. He expressed hope
that the committee will make the best use of time and focus more
on the standards than on the source. Good ideas should be
embraced. He referred to page 40 of the standards, with respect
to grades 3-5, noting each of these grade levels are to
"demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English
grammar and usage when writing or speaking." He said he fully
supports this idea. He then referred to page 42: grade 4
students should "use common grade-appropriate Greek or Latin
affixes and roots." He said he thought these are good ideas no
matter where the idea originated. He referred to an article in
members' packets about Indiana withdrawing from the Common Core
Standards: "The Common Core was developed by the National
Governor's Association and state education superintendents.
Indiana adopted the standards in 2010, but by 2012, Tea Party
anger had engulfed the national education standards, and
conservative anger over the national requirements helped turn
the superintendent out of office." He expressed hope that the
state would not fall into Tea Party anger instead of studying
the standards themselves.
7:25:03 PM
SENATOR STEVENS agreed with Senator French, but at the same time
the committee also needs a response to the professors who
testified today, relating that the standards are 95 percent
identical and that states are not teaching love of literature,
music, and art, but rather are teaching College and Career
Readiness. He expressed hope for a response in the future.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY offered to do so.
7:25:51 PM
CHAIR REINBOLD said 25 states have introduced legislation. She
said there is pushback on the Common Core standards, including
from left-leaning people who will speak at a future meeting.
She further said she has received concerns about new curriculum,
the impact on test taking in the classroom, and teachers. She
added that she does care where the standards come from, whether
the standards have been vetted, and if they are age appropriate.
REPRESENTATIVE KELLER thanked Chair Reinbold, noting that it was
helpful to review these issues.
7:27:26 PM
CHAIR REINBOLD stated that the motivation is pure, and she wants
to ensure that teachers remain in loop and that morale does not
drop. She has been staying in contact with numerous teachers
and parents, and she highlighted that the regulations specify
the need for feedback from all stakeholders.
7:28:18 PM
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the
Administrative Regulation Review Committee meeting was adjourned
at 7:28 p.m.
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