Legislature(2013 - 2014)Anch LIO Conf Rm
10/29/2014 01:00 PM House ADMINISTRATIVE REGULATION REVIEW
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Presentation: Department of Education & Early Development Regulations: Restraint & Seclusion of Students -- 4 Aac 06.175 & 177; Accountability -- 4 Aac 06.812(b), 883, 895, 899; Common Standards Initiative -- 4 Aac 04.145; Internet Speed Costs -- 4 Aac 33.665(b) & 670 | |
| 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
Anchorage, Alaska
October 29, 2014
1:15 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Lora Reinbold, Chair
Representative Geran Tarr
MEMBERS ABSENT
Senator Cathy Giessel, Vice Chair
Representative Mike Hawker
Senator Gary Stevens
Senator Hollis French
OTHER LEGISLATORS PRESENT
Representative Wes Keller
Representative Tammie Wilson (via teleconference)
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
PRESENTATION: DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION & EARLY DEVELOPMENT
REGULATIONS: RESTRAINT & SECLUSION OF STUDENTS -- 4 AAC 06.175
& 177; ACCOUNTABILITY -- 4 AAC 06.812(B)~ 883~ 895~ 899; COMMON
STANDARDS INITIATIVE -- 4 AAC 04.145; INTERNET SPEED COSTS -- 4
AAC 33.665(B) & 670
- HEARD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
No previous action to record
WITNESS REGISTER
DEENA PARAMO PhD, Superintendent
Matanuska-Susitna (Mat-Su) Borough School District
Palmer, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Answered questions related to the discussed
regulations.
RACHELLE SIEPER(ph)
Wasilla, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Expressed concerns with Common Core
standards
TIM CLINE, Director
Interior Distance Education of Alaska (IDEA)
Fairbanks, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Expressed concerns.
MIKE HANLEY, Commissioner
Department of Education and Early Development
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Answered questions related to the discussed
regulations.
LES MORSE, Deputy Commissioner
Office of the Commissioner
Department of Education and Early Development
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Answered questions related to assessment
regulations.
JIM POUND, Staff
Representative Wes Keller
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Provided testimony related to the effect of
HB 140 on regulations issued by the Department of Education and
Early Development.
TARREN LESLIE
North Pole, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Expressed concerns with the Common Core
Standards and the Alaska State Standards.
ACTION NARRATIVE
1:15:03 PM
CHAIR LORA REINBOLD called the Administrative Regulation Review
Committee meeting to order at 1:15 p.m. Representatives Tarr
and Reinbold were present at the call to order. Representatives
Keller and T. Wilson (via teleconference) were also in
attendance.
^PRESENTATION: DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION & EARLY DEVELOPMENT
REGULATIONS: Restraint & Seclusion of Students -- 4 AAC 06.175
& 177; Accountability -- 4 AAC 06.812(b), 883, 895, 899; Common
Standards Initiative -- 4 AAC 04.145; Internet Speed Costs -- 4
AAC 33.665(b) & 670
PRESENTATION: DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION & EARLY DEVELOPMENT
REGULATIONS: Restraint & Seclusion of Students -- 4 AAC 06.175
& 177; Accountability -- 4 AAC 06.812(b), 883, 895, 899; Common
Standards Initiative -- 4 AAC 04.145; Internet Speed Costs -- 4
AAC 33.665(b) & 670
1:15:53 PM
CHAIR REINBOLD announced that the only order of business would
be discussion related to the Department of Education & Early
Development regulations: Restraint & Seclusion of Students -- 4
AAC 06.175 & 177; Accountability -- 4 AAC 06.812(b), 883, 895,
899; Common Core Standards Initiative -- 4 AAC 04.145; Internet
Speed Costs -- 4 AAC 33.665(b) & 670.
1:16:55 PM
DEENA PARAMO PhD, Superintendent, Matanuska-Susitna (Mat-Su)
Borough School District, offered to answer questions related to
the regulations being considered by the committee.
CHAIR REINBOLD, referring to Internet speed in public schools,
related her understanding that some legislators believe that
"while this regulation's clearly filed, it lacks the clear
articulation of ongoing fiscal responsibility." She asked Dr.
Paramo to state what her stance is on Internet speed in the Mat-
Su Borough School District.
DR. PARAMO said Mat-Su, along with the other larger schools in
proximity to larger city centers, has access to Internet speed
connectivity greater than 10 megabits (Mb/s). She said "all of
our schools" share a connectivity of between 30-100 Mb/s, and
some of the high schools are over that." She said the district
had been in a planning phase for some time and received federal
grants to "build out fiber to our schools." She said "our
delegation" - including Representative Keller - assisted the
school district by [obtaining] matching state funds to have a
request for proposal (RFP) to "build out to schools." She
pointed out that the "trunks" that were added benefited the
entire community, because surrounding neighborhoods were
connected.
DR. PARAMO said certainly the five largest school districts are
a minority as compared with the rest of the fifty-three
districts in Alaska, and she said she is not certain how many
districts have speeds above ten Mb/s. She said the issue of
connectivity has been of concern to superintendents, because
colleges and universities are beginning to use on-line learning
to deliver curriculum.
CHAIR REINBOLD asked if it is Dr. Paramo's understanding that
all the school districts in Alaska will have to increase their
Internet speeds to meet the demand of on-line testing that is
approaching, and - if so - at what cost.
DR. PARAMO answered that those of the districts in the core
areas can use the enterprise system and access the Internet in
"the cloud." She offered her understanding that because there
is not enough speed in some of the remote school districts, the
department has arranged for caching of the assessment." She
continued as follows:
The next two years of the assessment is designed to be
a straightforward test; multiple - I guess - copies of
similar tests with similar questions for the next two
years. In the third year out is ... what's called a
dynamic test where, depending on the individual who is
taking the test, his or her right answer or wrong
answer would select another question to really target
the learning area. But until that time, the test is a
multiple form test just given on-line, which is easy
to cache in a system where it resides on a local
server. And so, my understanding, from the training I
received from the department, is that it can be done,
but in the future, certainly connectivity is a
concern, I think, not just for school districts but
for medical places and other places in the state of
Alaska.
DR. PARAMO indicated that paying according to Mb/s, without a
clause in a contract, can result in higher Internet costs when
"you crank up those pipes." She said she does not know how much
data would be used, but noted that when her children use the
Internet, the costs vary depending on whether they are texting
or streaming video.
1:22:04 PM
CHAIR REINBOLD asked how much the district received in the
aforementioned federal grant.
DR. PARAMO answered that the Mat-Su district received $6 million
in combined monies from the federal and state governments, and
she offered her understanding that the project is just being
completed. She said the district partnered with MTA - a local
provider that applied for a grant available to local providers
that partner with school districts - and MTA received $1.3
million to bring "fiber" to the area inclusive of Glacier View,
the district's remote K-12 school, which has under 150 students.
DR. PARAMO, in response to Chair Reinbold, clarified that the $6
million was for connectivity to schools, including on-line
learning, video conferencing, and "pushing out a class from one
school to another." She said the district has been doing on-
line testing through the measures of academic progress, and has
found the connectivity to be an added bonus in that regard.
CHAIR REINBOLD asked Dr. Paramo to relate the cost to her
district of on-line testing, including the cost of increased
staffing and training.
DR. PARAMO replied that she was unsure of the specific cost to
the department. She explained that the cost would depend on the
system, for example, whether setup could be done on one
computer, which then could communicate with multiple computers,
or if someone would have to program each individual computer.
She said it would also depend on how updated the buildings were
in terms of wireless and firewalls. She said the district has
always incurred costs during testing time because of rules and
regulations related to how many students can be in a room, and
proctors needed to administer the tests. She said the district
has utilized outside space, such as churches and senior centers,
to accommodate large numbers of students for testing.
1:26:00 PM
DR. PARAMO, in further response to Chair Reinbold, explained
that "pushing out" is when one computer can be set up to then
connect the information or image to many other computers. She
said if districts have that ability, then it is easier to set up
for testing. In response to a follow-up question, she said an
image relates to the verification and security of a student's
name and test information. Each child enters his/her key name
to log on, and it would take much longer to set up each computer
to take the child's name rather than just doing that from one
computer and "pushing that out."
CHAIR REINBOLD, regarding the concern over privacy, asked if any
private information is being released about the students or if
any "mining of information" is happening on the assessments.
DR. PARAMO said the district gets students' scores from each
school; parents receive information on their child's progress
following Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)
laws; each district has a housing network for its own data, as
well as the On-line Alaska School Information System (OASIS)
numbers, which identify each child. She explained that the
OASIS numbers reside at the state level, and the district has a
district number.
1:29:53 PM
CHAIR REINBOLD relayed that the committee had heard testimony
during its August meeting about a breach of data that occurred
in Kansas. She opined that "we're ramping it up an entire year
and kind of throwing the districts into a kind of tailspin,
basically, trying to get ready for these assessments." She
indicated areas of concern include lack of teacher training,
curriculum, and Internet speed. She asked Dr. Paramo to explain
the OASIS numbers.
DR. PARAMO replied that an OASIS number is provided to each
child in a school district so the state can determine funding
for the child. Prior to OASIS numbers, there were times during
a 20-day count period where a student had moved from one
district to another and there would be a duplication of student
enrollment at two schools. She said the OASIS number is 10
digits. Before the testing, that number was primarily used for
the accountability of revenue that was given to school
districts. She said under current the No Child Left Behind Act
of 2001 (NCLB) law, districts have to report their students'
progress number. She added further details.
CHAIR REINBOLD asked Dr. Paramo to confirm that "they're not in
aggregate; they actually go down directly to the student."
DR. PARAMO answered that's correct.
1:32:25 PM
DR. PARAMO said students are unaware of their OASIS numbers, but
are given six-digit identifier numbers in kindergarten that
follow them through school. Children who receive free and
reduced lunches can key in their numbers and no longer be
identified as a child of low socio-economic base. She said
parents from home can put money on an account, which students
access through their numbers. Students also use their numbers
to check out library books and to log on from home and look up
their assignments. For testing purposes, an adult aligns a
student with a computer that is coded with that student's
information, much like in the past when a booklet, in which a
student's information was included, was handed out to that
student.
CHAIR REINBOLD asked Dr. Paramo if she was comfortable with the
idea of allowing an outsider to develop Alaska's student
assessments, which teachers do not get to see, when the results
of those assessments are used to evaluate teachers'
performances. She said she knows there are a lot of teachers
who are concerned about this, and she asked if teachers are
relaying their concerns to Dr. Paramo.
DR. PARAMO confirmed that there are many teachers who are
concerned about assessments being used prior to review of the
assessments. She said the district has shared that with the
commissioner of the department, and she offered her
understanding that "they are in the process of getting a waiver
to the waiver to not have to put those assessments in the
evaluation until we are sure that these assessments reflect
learning." She said the tests are secure, and educators are
involved in the "process of advising." She said her doctorate
is in assessment, and she does not think it would be desirable
to have teachers create the tests that are used to determine
students' outcomes. She said there are professional test makers
for reliability and validity. She said, "Some questions that we
ask aren't really valid." She offered her understanding that
the state "jumped off board with Smarter Balance," in order to
have more control of and input into the state's assessments.
She said she has not seen the assessment, but said the thought
is that "it is an Alaskan test and they're making it for
Alaska."
1:37:23 PM
CHAIR REINBOLD stated that it is a huge move away from the
system where a teacher got to choose the curriculum and develop
the tests. She said, "We don't know those tests; we don't know
the FERPA laws." She asked Dr. Paramo if she understands that
there have been changes to the FERPA laws, in that there has
been an executive decision to loosen some of them. She
indicated that many parents have expressed concerns about on-
line testing in general, allowing an outsider develop the tests,
and sufficient state statutes to protect the privacy of
students. She expressed concern that haste makes waste in terms
of fast-forwarding new assessments. She stated her
understanding that Dr. Paramo supports the Common Core
Standards, which she said are virtually identical to the Alaska
Academic Standards.
DR. PARAMO said the Mat-Su Borough School District (MSBSD) does
not say it follows Common Core Standards, because under current
law, it must follow the Alaska State Standards. She said her
district has concerns about the Common Core Standards, which the
Anchorage School District (ASD) has adopted as its curriculum.
She said, as allowed by law, MSBSD has its own standards
informed by state standards. In response to Chair Reinbold, she
indicated that the district's standards must be "with the Alaska
[Academic] State Standards."
1:40:15 PM
CHAIR REINBOLD indicated that the Common Core Standards and the
Alaska [Academic] State Standards are 95 percent the same. She
questioned why, if the assessments are the same, the district
would not be "straight up with your people and just say, 'We're
doing Common Core'?"
DR. PARAMO answered that this is part of a process in reaction
to universities saying that students are not being prepared for
post-secondary education - especially in mathematics. She said
the result of that conversation was that "they raised the
standard and they raised the rigor." She related that one young
student got caught between the new and old level of standards,
where "the expectation of knowledge grew without the years and
matriculation through our school system." There are more
standards to teach children starting in kindergarten; however,
those older children have a lot to make up. She said the
district is trying to solve the problem by offering free access
to on-line programs to encourage self-learning. She said the
change is a result of discussions that are happening nationwide.
She concluded, "Students are being asked to do much higher
learning at lower grade levels."
CHAIR REINBOLD said she knows that the marketing message is that
there is greater rigor, but said it is debatable in the upper
grades. She said it sounds like Dr. Paramo is a supporter of
the Alaska Academic Standards and is fully implementing them.
DR. PARAMO responded that it is her duty as a superintendent of
a school district to follow the law of the state, and "that is
the law of the state."
1:43:19 PM
CHAIR REINBOLD said state legislators do not set those
standards; the [State Board of Education and Early Development]
does that, and maybe the law needs to be changed "where we
actually are the ones [who set standards], because we're the
elected policy setters." She told her to make sure she knows
that it is unelected people who are running away with this
policy on a train so fast that no one can catch it. She added
that she has deep concerns, because one of the [board] members
said, "I don't have time to study this, I'm a volunteer," so
Chair Reinbold asked, "Do you have any idea what you're doing to
our students as you have no time to study this?" She said that
the marketing message is very debatable, and she spoke of
outsiders coming in through the NCLB waiver, and they "pretty
much used the federalized standards ... and now choosing the
curriculum and doing these assessments is very, very alarming to
me personally and also to hundreds and hundreds, if not
thousands, of people out there that are just waking up to
figuring out what's going on." She asked Dr. Paramo to explain
[Apex Learning Inc.].
DR. PARAMO said that Apex is an on-line company that provides
curriculum for courses, and she is not sure about Common Core,
because she does not use Apex to look it up. It has courses
approved by the College Board, and in her district, five years
ago, they were looking at ways for credit recovery for students
who had fallen behind. On-line learning was an effective way to
do that, and what they found was that students who had access to
on-line learning were "doing it more" because it was a choice.
Approximately 90 percent of the students in her district who
were choosing to take an on-line course were doing so to get
ahead or to learn something different. She said there are
courses in English and science. Previously, students who were
trying to make up a course had problems with alignment; so there
were holes in the system. She said, "We use APEX for the
alignment, and what we get good at as teachers is - what we're
qualified to do - is to teach it." Apex was chosen because it
is NCAA-approved. There had been problems regarding
scholarships for students who took on-line learning that was not
approved. She added that self-motivated students choose on-line
learning more than others who need feedback from their teachers.
"So we wanted to have higher level courses," and Apex learning
is one of the only approved College Board courses. She added
that the teachers are the ones who are coaching the students
through the courses, "and so you have the course and the
assessments and things like that all built-in in the curriculum
in the Apex, but it is one of our teachers on the other end on-
line...."
CHAIR REINBOLD interjected and said this where all of the
concern is. The Alaska Academic Standards are virtually the
same as Common Core [Standards], and "then they're picking the
curriculum, then they're approving assessments, now all of the
ACTs and SATs are now aligned to Common Core, so it really is a
complete takeover." She said that when she looked at the on-
line description of Apex, it says that the content is geared to
the Common Core, and they are misleading everyone. She
expressed her belief that people should quit hiding from the
term Common Core. She said she wants to know who paid for Apex.
1:48:43 PM
DR. PARAMO said the College Board has controlled all of the
curriculum for advanced placement (AP) for over 25 years. When
giving assessments, the school does not control any of that
information. She said MSBSD does not own the assessments, and
that is what SATs and ACTs are for - they give a level of
achievement. She said it would be difficult to find any
materials for math courses that are mass=produced without having
Common Core stamped on them.
CHAIR REINBOLD said monopolization of education is her concern.
It is a dangerous road to go down. She asked about paying for
Apex.
DR. PARAMO said, "We're moving into $45 a student and they can
take up to seven courses a day." Her district uses Apex for
language classes in the Spanish immersion program and for
financial literacy courses. She added that 75 percent of all
funds in the school district are state funds, and 25 percent are
local.
CHAIR REINBOLD surmised that the state paid for 75 percent of
Apex. She asked about seeing a cost of $500,000 for APEX.
DR. PARAMO said that was for creating on-line classrooms, not
for curriculum. The state provided a grant for computers and
furniture to create "cyber centers."
CHAIR REINBOLD asked if Dr. Paramo knows that there is language
in HB 278 to prevent funds from being used for anything having
to do with Common Core [Standards]. There are a lot of people
out there who want nothing to do with Common Core, so the intent
is to prevent public funds from implementing Common Core or a
program like Apex.
1:52:44 PM
DR. PARAMO said she is not exactly sure, because Common Core is
stamped on everything.
CHAIR REINBOLD said the State Board of Education has done that,
not the legislature.
DR. PARAMO asked for clarification.
CHAIR REINBOLD said everything goes through EED, is her
understanding, for the base student allocation, so none of that
money can go toward the Common Core [Standards]. That is what
Chair Reinbold's intent is, so she asked Dr. Paramo if she had
any concerns.
DR. PARAMO said she is not familiar with this. Her
understanding is that HB 278 provides the state's 75 percent
funding.
CHAIR REINBOLD said this raises a serious concern when the
intention is to not use the Common Core [Standards], and
everything is Common Core. She asked where it has been
internationally benchmarked, that makes "you guys so excited
about this." She asked if this is just "an expensive experiment
to you guys."
DR. PARAMO said it has not been internationally benchmarked.
One of the concerns mentioned by Chair Reinbold earlier was that
the higher-end students are always fearful of "leveling-out"
education. That is why her district uses the [Dynamic Learning
Maps Consortium (DLM)] assessment to make sure that those kids
continue to learn at an accelerated rate, she explained.
CHAIR REINBOLD said a lot of people think the higher levels are
much lower. She stated that she understands the marketing
message, but reality is not meeting that message. That is a
discussion for another day when she invites experts on that
topic, she added. She asked what will happen if the school
district does not do well under the new standards.
DR. PARAMO said the district will look at the standards and at
what kids know and what they are able to do. It may review what
is being taught in the classrooms by using its teacher experts,
and it will use that to improve learning, she said. The
outcomes for students are what the district is concerned with,
whether they go into the workforce, the military, or to college.
1:56:14 PM
CHAIR REINBOLD asked if her district needs the federal
government or if the local teachers can be responsible for the
jobs that are in the area. She said she does not think that a
student from an Alaska village needs to know the same things
that New York students need to know. She said she does not
believe the Common Core [Standards] will ever work. She said
billions of dollars are being spent, and Alaska better be
getting something for the money. She asked if the standards are
outcome- or process-based.
DR. PARAMO said it would depend on what is being asked of the
students. To determine if they are able to achieve at the next
level would be outcome-based. Responding to further questions,
she said the school district is caught in the middle of
"standards-jumping-rigor," so it is trying to work with that,
but the feedback from the universities and workplaces is that
"we're" not preparing kids well enough. The state's reaction
was to change the standards....
CHAIR REINBOLD said spending this kind of money on this
experiment is not acceptable.
DR. PARAMO said, "We'll find out." The standards will be more
difficult, she added, and the state will get involved through
the Alaska School Performance Index (ASPI) in a low-achieving
school district. She noted that Alaska would have 95 percent of
schools not making adequate yearly progress (AYP) without the
NCLB waiver.
CHAIR REINBOLD asked what the difference is between academic
achievement and school progress.
DR. PARAMO said it is debated by experts, but academic
achievement is based test scores, and progress refers to growth
and movement on a continuum of learning. All kinds of students
come to her schools, and "we start where they are and move them
on the continuum." If a student is behind, her district looks
for more than a year's growth in a year, she stated. She said
they also look at the upper end students, because the district's
philosophy is: If you are a year in a school, you've got to grow
by at least a year. Just because a student is ahead, that does
not mean that student can stall out, she added.
2:00:34 PM
CHAIR REINBOLD said that ACT and SAT are aligned with the Common
Core [Standards]. What percentage of kids in Alaska get a four-
year degree?
DR. PARAMO said, nationally, only about 30 to 40 percent of any
population has a four-year degree, but she does not know about
Alaska. In Mat-Su, to see if kids are getting what they need,
there was a study assessing where the students go, and it found
that 48 percent get some type of degree from a two- or four-year
[program], and about 17 percent get on-the-job training. She
noted that the information is on the district's website and is
called, "Post-Outcome Survey Data."
CHAIR REINBOLD said she heard that 10 percent of Alaska kids get
a four-year college degree and questioned why every child takes
the ACT and SAT, "and why in the world should the state be
paying for that?" She noted that parents used to pay, but now
it is costing the state.
DR. PARAMO explained that students can take WorkKeys if they are
not interested in college, and apprentice programs look at
those, but she is unsure of the costs. The department is giving
one opportunity to every child, which assists families who
cannot pay. She said one would want academic and career plans
for students and make the assessments match what they want to do
with their lives. She explained that her district encourages
technical training for many; however, some apprenticeship
programs expect students to take Algebra 1 and higher math.
"We're taking a look at that because we're working with IBEW and
labor unions to know what it is that their kids need," she said.
2:04:46 PM
CHAIR REINBOLD said, "So are you happy with the math, the Common
Core math? It's all over the Internet. I mean it's a joke
nationwide."
DR. PARAMO said at this point she does not know enough about the
Common Core math, but she has heard the complaints and there are
more than usual because the district changed its math program.
She said her district is using "Go Math!" for K-8 and it is "an
entirely different presentation." The district has had two math
programs and one was very traditional, and that is what Dr.
Paramo taught with. Then the district had "Math Expressions,"
which was more similar to "Go Math!" To match the new
standards, "we kicked up the levels for kids so we had to find
textbooks for which the teachers could use." Some of the
features of the textbooks are nice, like scanner codes that take
parents to a You Tube video that helps them teach their children
if they are not understanding their lesson.
CHAIR REINBOLD said that parents should be able to do K-12 math,
and if math is being taught in a way that parents do not
understand it, that is another serious red flag. Every single
parent she has talked to preferred "Saxon Math," and she
questioned "why we went and did this" as math is so important
and she wants to get to the bottom of why this has happened.
She asked why change something when it is working.
DR. PARAMO said some people thought it was not working.
CHAIR REINBOLD noted that Dr. Paramo said there were more
complaints.
DR. PARAMO said the complaints were based on the outcomes.
"That they weren't achieving at the levels they needed." The
calls about the math program specifically relate to the way the
textbook is set up. The bigger picture is that the Alaska
[Academic] Standards changed because of the achievement levels,
she explained.
CHAIR REINBOLD said that is debatable. Some people believe that
"you have to dig deep," and she is inviting experts to debate
that. She said, "We have heard that marketing message that
they've got all of you guys talking about," but whether it is
accurate is another thing. It is the methodology that the
parents are having difficulty with, and she will certainly
continue to listen to the parents because they have the
responsibility for educating their children, she stated. She
said she could go on and on about the Board of Education and EED
signing things that were not vetted and putting the cart before
the horse. "It's just a shame that a lot of people are really
paying the price, dearly."
2:08:51 PM
DR. PARAMO said she is a strong believer in math facts; every
Mat-Su student will need to know their math facts.
CHAIR REINBOLD said she loves math, and she piloted her children
through math because she saw some of the crazy things [schools]
were doing with "Everyday Math." She wants them to get it
right, and they are not getting it right. She cannot believe
that these standards were virtually rubber stamped, and no one
can hide from the fact that Alaska [Academic] Standards are
Common Core [Standards].
DR. PARAMO said, in response to a question, that "Go Math!" was
put in this year for most schools, and some schools determine
their own curriculum, but district-wide, 36 middle school and
elementary teachers vetted text book companies, but they were
unable to buy a book without Common Core on it. They narrowed
the books down to three and teachers and parents tried them out.
Go Math! was one that both the middle and elementary schools
chose. High schools used a different text for Algebra 1 and
Algebra 2, so there were gaps in the learning, and "that's what
we were dealing with and now it's starting to level out, but our
first month of school was very rough for kids learning algebra."
REPRESENTATIVE KELLER said he was helping his grandson with
math.
CHAIR REINBOLD asked if EED limited her choice of textbooks to
the ones that included Common Core.
DR. PARAMO said no. Individual districts choose their
materials, and EED has nothing to do with determining her
district's textbooks. "We liked the math inside of a textbook,"
but every page was stamped with Common Core. "And we said we
don't want to buy that; we don't like that. We see your math
matches our standards in Alaska, but we don't want Common Core
on there. And ... we went to the companies and said we don't
want to buy those, and they said there isn't one [without Common
Core]. I guarantee, because of the trouble across the United
States, in a year or two they will start publishing the same
exact textbook without Common Core written on them."
CHAIR REINBOLD said it is clear raw deception. She said to call
it what it is and not hide from it. She noted that Dr. Paramo
said "they" would only let the district pick one book, and she
asked who "they" were.
DR. PARAMO said no. Her district went to the textbook companies
after the teacher and parent group chose the textbook they
preferred - the one that matched the curriculum the best. "And
we said we didn't like the look of the book, because it had
Common Core on it, and we were told by the companies that there
was no other option." The companies did not have the books -
with the content the district wanted - that did not have Common
Core stamped on them.
2:13:17 PM
CHAIR REINBOLD said David Coleman has changed AP [advanced
placement] history. She said it is all over the Internet.
There is push-back from the left and the right-"it's massive."
She asked Dr. Paramo about it.
DR. PARAMO said the Common Core [Standard] is bi-partisan
regarding who likes it, and it is bi-partisan regarding who does
not like it. Her district likes to offer advanced placement
courses, and the advantage is that they give students college
credit, depending on the university. She said the University of
Alaska (UA) allows credit for AP scores of 3, 4, and 5, she
added. The AP curriculum and the AP test are purchased through
the College Board. She said she has not seen the AP history
changes, but it is different and the testing will be different.
She noted that her mother is an AP history teacher.
CHAIR REINBOLD urged a review of AP history by superintendents,
as it all boils down to David Coleman. There are a few puppet
masters of all of this, she explained, and the state is losing
its autonomy and the legislators are losing power. She said she
is very, very concerned and she will not stop until she gets to
the bottom of this. Alaska likes independence, she said, and
U.S. history is very, very critical to the understanding of how
this wonderful nation was built. "What our kids learn about our
country is very, very important," she stressed. She said the
legislature is being blamed, "and we didn't adopt the standards
- that is ridiculous." She said the contracts were signed
before "the bill" even passed, and it is terrible public policy.
She loves education and she wants to learn more about who did
this and the different timelines. She said she is really
concerned about the homeschoolers; they are losing control over
education because they are being told to use Common Core
[Standards]-aligned items.
2:17:56 PM
DR. PARAMO said that her district does not pre-determine the
math books. The homeschool parents have multiple vendors to
choose from, and they can even create their own programs, she
added. The district is only concerned about the outcomes, and
if the students are achieving at appropriate levels, the
district has no concern and does not get involved. There are
over 500 approved vendors listed on the district website.
CHAIR REINBOLD said that is good in theory, but in reality, if
homeschooled students take the same assessments as everyone
else, they are forced into the Common Core [Standards]. If
ACTs, WorkKeys, and SATs are tied to the Common Core
[Standards], there is no getting away from it. She added that
if those students do not make the cut score, then they do not
even get a diploma.
DR. PARAMO said those tests do not have cut scores.
CHAIR REINBOLD countered that the bottom line is that the tests
are aligned to the Common Core [Standards]. She said she is
concerned about what jobs are available in the Bush communities,
and the concept of everyone learning the same thing is not the
right approach. She said Alaska is losing its sovereignty and
individuality, and it is very concerning to her. She noted that
there is language in HB 210 to set up the expectations that any
crisis or intervention training must be evidence-based, but the
regulations seem to say that it is a peer-reviewed process. She
noted her concern and then asked Dr. Paramo about it.
DR. PARAMO answered that in MSBSD there has been a program since
1991 that is evidence-based, and it is called Mandt Training.
Since 2008, anyone who might need to restrain someone must be
trained. Regarding seclusion, the immediate reporting to EED
and parents is new to the district. If a child in a classroom
is restrained, "we need to be sure that every principal knows so
that they can ensure that every phone call was made." She
pointed out that the legislation might be research-based.
2:22:22 PM
CHAIR REINBOLD read AS14.33.127 [in part], "the department shall
approve crisis intervention training for the schools, which
shall include evidence-based techniques that have been shown
effective in the prevention of restraint and seclusion...." It
does not appear that the regulation reflects the intention of
the statute, she said.
DR. PARAMO said her understanding is that if something is peer-
reviewed in a scholarly sense, it is research-based. She noted
that her district is partnering with a few small school
districts that do not have on-site trainers. Larger school
districts probably have the economy of scale and have these
partnerships, and her district is the one providing the training
for the two small districts in order to meet this law.
CHAIR REINBOLD asked her about fiscal concerns with this new
regulation.
DR. PARAMO answered that the district has a choice to do the
training on the weekend or in the evening, and would pay
teachers an honorarium, or if the teachers were trained during
their work day, the school would need to pay for substitute
teachers.
CHAIR REINBOLD stated that zero fiscal notes are unacceptable
when there truly is a cost to the district.
DR. PARAMO said, "A lot of this we would do it anyway," but if
the district has to train more people, then it will cost more.
Her district will not pay for a trainer to fly to the smaller
school districts, she noted.
CHAIR REINBOLD said the committee is here to empower the school
districts and the individuals, and it is listening to both
sides.
DR. PARAMO added that the district would prefer not to have any
kind of stipulation about the amount of courses being "core" or
"non-core." In the district, if a school is functioning well,
the district does not change it, and the same is true for its
homeschool parents whose children are learning. "We would not
want the department to put any stipulation that we would never
put on our homeschool folks," and that includes taking away
funding based on scoring. "Our homeschool is one of our schools,
and I can determine the funding and the support at every
building ... EED does not determine how much money goes to this
class or that," she said.
REPRESENTATIVE KELLER said he wants to see the list of the
curriculum available to homeschools and how that list is
selected.
DR. PARAMO said there are some religious-based vendors that were
not approved. She said the district was not looking to buy
religious material, so "we run into problems there." Parents
bring forward the venders and then they are vetted at the
school. There are some "silly" rules, whereby a calculator sold
at a religious store would be denied. But there are 500
statewide and local vendors available, she added.
2:29:59 PM
RACHELLE SIEPER(ph), said she homeschools her children through
IDEA in the Mat-Su Valley, and she noted that Dr. Paramo said
there were over 500 vendors available, and that is true. She is
able to select the best curriculum for her students, but she is
concerned that the new regulations state that curriculum
materials for a course of study must be aligned to state
standards. She expressed concern that vendor options will be
reduced. The regulations also say that test scores will change
how contact teachers monitor and suggest curriculum for the
students. She stated that many homeschool [parents] are
choosing to avoid teaching to the Common Core, so the students
will not perform well on the tests, and then there will be more
monitoring. She asked how the new assessments will impact her
curriculum choices in the future.
CHAIR REINBOLD said the screws are getting tighter and tighter,
and "we were told for years that it would have nothing to do
with curriculum at all." She kept disagreeing, because if there
are standards and assessments, the choices will be limited. She
asked the witness to submit her concerns in writing. She said
this goes against the U.S. Constitution.
2:34:55 PM
TIM CLINE, Director, Interior Distance Education of Alaska
(IDEA), informed the committee that IDEA is the largest school
in Alaska and it is focused on providing customer service to
families, which is foremost in his mind when reviewing new
regulations and laws. He applauded the efforts of Senator
Dunleavy in drafting this new law, but the regulations sometimes
"miss the mark, and change is hard." His organization exists to
support parents in educating their children as they see fit, and
it is done by becoming partners with the parents instead of
telling them what to do. Drawing from his experiences traveling
around the country, Mr. Cline opined that there is no program
like IDEA and there is no other state school system that allows
state funding for homeschools. Members should expect for IDEA
to be around for a long time as it understands what works, he
said. Mr. Cline expressed concern with the [proposed]
curriculum changes and the social implications to history. Once
IDEA parents are told to teach their students in a certain way
and use a certain curriculum, they will be "out in force."
Customizing education to the individual child allows IDEA to
meet the expectation of the parent, which is IDEA's goal. He
characterized the new rules regarding the SAT, ACT, or WorkKeys
as a hoop that students have to go through, but said there will
be a problem if cut scores are established.
CHAIR REINBOLD related her agreement with Mr. Cline's comments
and added that [the regulations] infringe upon parental rights.
Research shows that parent involvement is the number one
indicator of success. She stressed that it's wrong to strip
these homeschool parents, who are giving up their lives to
educate their children, of choice for their children.
Furthermore, homeschool education is some of the most cost-
effective education, she opined. Therefore, she wanted to
protect and preserve cost-effective education, particularly in
today's economic climate. She then urged any individual or
organization that is being told what curriculum to use or how to
teach something to contact her office. She emphasized that she
will vehemently protect parents' rights, state's rights, and
local districts' rights.
2:41:34 PM
MR. CLINE then turned to curriculum, which he characterized as a
critical piece. He opined that [the state] needs to hang on to
the curriculum it has already approved through the [state]
School Board and keep those materials available for those who
choose to use them to teach their children because they are
going to become less available on the open market. With regard
to children who perform poorly, Mr. Cline related that with no
more than support for the parents [IDEA] students perform close
to other students [in other education models] on tests. He
related that homeschoolers struggle in certain areas just as
students [in other education models] struggle in certain areas.
He stated that in general homeschool students struggle in math.
The goal with IDEA is to search for solutions for parents who
teach their children. To that end, many great ideas are being
developed. For example, the early literacy screening
requirements for kindergarten through second grade was a
potential difficulty for those in IDEA as it was being thrust on
the IDEA parents with short notice. Parents in the IDEA don't
like that kind of change being thrust upon them. In response to
that change, IDEA found a tool that allowed the parents to be in
the room while the child took the on-line test, and provided the
parent with the results. Once parents understood [the test]
wasn't threatening and that there were no consequence regardless
of [how] their child [scored/ranked], [the test] was found by
most to be valuable. Although in most cases the test validated
what the parent already knew about their child, there were some
surprises that provided an opportunity to offer suggestions for
the challenges the child might be having. Drawing from his 34
years in education, of which the first 20 were in building base
programs, Mr. Cline said he has never seen anything that works
as well as IDEA. He attributed the success of IDEA to parental
involvement, which he opined is a critical component.
CHAIR REINBOLD mentioned a symposium that is planned for 12/9-
10/14 in Anchorage and invited Mr. Cline to attend.
2:46:58 PM
MIKE HANLEY, Commissioner, Department of Education and Early
Development, said Dr. Paramo is a strong leader for education in
Alaska, and many people look to MSBSD for innovation and
leadership in providing opportunities for their students. The
district often thinks outside the box to get the job done,
including its use of Apex courses and College Level Examination
Program (CLEP) tests.
CHAIR REINBOLD said one of the many issues of the legislature is
that HB 278 provided funding to increase Internet speed, and
there is no fiscal note attached.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY said the fiscal note was attached to the
bill itself, so the funding has already been appropriated by the
legislature. Fiscal notes on regulations represent additional
funds that the department would need, he explained. The fiscal
note is a zero because EED does not need additional funding to
implement what the legislature put in place, he added.
CHAIR REINBOLD said, "So how much did this cost?"
COMMISSIONER HANLEY stated that the legislature appropriated $5
million. It was sponsored by Senator Olson, and the goal was to
get all districts up to 10 megabits, which is a minimal Internet
speed. The original proposal was $7 million, he said.
CHAIR REINBOLD asked, "Do you anticipate going above 10
megabits?"
COMMISSIONER HANLEY said no, 10 megabits was the goal. Such a
speed is much lower than found in most houses in Anchorage and
Fairbanks. He noted that Dr. Paramo mentioned that some of her
schools have a speed of 100 megabits. It is recognized as a
place to start, he explained.
CHAIR REINBOLD asked if he anticipates "going higher."
COMMISSIONER HANLEY said the idea was driven by the legislature,
"so I'm not sure what the legislature would plan in the future."
2:50:06 PM
CHAIR REINBOLD said a lot of the legislature is influenced by
the department, so she asked him to please tell her what the
anticipated needs will be, and the complete, total cost for the
10 megabits.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY said this is an area where EED and schools
are consumers, not drivers. The Statewide Broadband Task Force
is in the Department of Commerce and Economic Development
(DCCED), he explained. He believes school Internet availability
is a positive step forward, but, again, the bill was driven by a
couple of legislators with input from DCCED.
CHAIR REINBOLD asked for the total costs of the legislation and
future costs.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY said $7.3 million was estimated by DCCED and
the Broadband Task Force to get all schools up to 10 megabits.
CHAIR REINBOLD asked if he believed that was correct.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY answered in the affirmative.
CHAIR REINBOLD said HB 278 explicitly prohibits spending of
money to implement the Common Core Standards, and yet certain
schools are fully implementing Common Core Standards. "How do
you deal with the prohibition of spending on Common Core
Standards yet unrestricted funding goes to a Common Core
district such as ASD?"
COMMISSIONER HANLEY said there were a couple of versions of the
bill, and when introduced, there were conversations between
legislators about if the legislation will "stop the work we're
doing." In the House Finance [Committee], the person who
introduced the legislation said:
We have adopted the Alaska State Standards and we have not
adopted the Common Core Standards as written, so if you're
going to get assistance to be able to put the Alaska State
Standards in place, and being able to find curriculum and
others to do with the standards that we have adopted (and
they are our own standards that we've adopted) so this
does not stop the department from going forward with the
standards that they have out there.
So, he said, the testimony during the hearing was "basically
around putting a hedge between the work that's being done in
Alaska and our work that is currently being done with the Alaska
[Academic] Standards." That is what EED focuses on, he added.
The EED does training and professional development for school
districts on the Alaska standards-not the Common Core, but this
does not prevent ASD from getting funding in the future even
though it had adopted the Common Core. He said he doubts there
would have been much support for the bill if Anchorage
legislators thought that their school district would not be
funded because it had adopted the Common Core.
2:54:47 PM
CHAIR REINBOLD noted that he referred to a small amount of
testimony, but there was a lot more, and she is aware of that
because she worked on the bill for about 91 days. One of the
versions stated that no state funding may be spent to implement
the Common Core, and many legislators did not want this federal
overreach in education, she said. "I know you can debate one
comment here and there, but I was there ... and I know I
stripped a lot of this language out in the House Education
[Committee]." The committee took public testimony, she said.
She told him to look globally, not just at a little snapshot,
and she asked, "Are we doing Common Core or are we not?"
COMMISSIONER HANLEY said, "We adopted the Alaska Academic
Standards; they are substantially similar, as we've said, to the
Common Core [Standards], but we didn't join the club, which
means we didn't buy into anybody else having overreach or a say
into our standards. We still get to determine where we go."
CHAIR REINBOLD said that someone said, in 2010, that
Commissioner Hanley stated that the Alaska Academic Standards
were 97 percent the same and 3 percent better. She said it was
a very, very prominent person who said that. "Why are you
hiding from the word Common Core?"
COMMISSIONER HANLEY said [EED] intentionally did not buy the
Common Core. A Chevy and a Ford are both pickup trucks, and
they might even have the same engine, but there are differences.
When he made the quoted statement he was talking about the
outcomes of the students.
CHAIR REINBOLD told him to take a guess at the differences
[between the Alaska Academic Standards and Common Core
Standards].
COMMISSIONER HANLEY estimated that 40 percent of language arts
was changed and 50 percent of the math.
CHAIR REINBOLD asked if the changes were significant or just
grammatical.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY said that he would say they are substantial
because the stakeholders in Alaska determined that they were
important enough to include. [After obtaining information], he
said that 42 percent of English language arts standard were
changed, and 49 percent of math standards are different from the
Common Core Standards, but the outcomes that are expected of the
students are similar.
3:00:34 PM
CHAIR REINBOLD said that Commissioner Hanley said 95 percent at
one hearing, "and in an email you said nearly identical; from a
very prominent person in the community you said 97 percent the
same, and now you're saying that they are 49 percent changed and
42 percent changed." That is a serious conflict of testimony,
she surmised.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY clarified that at the end of the day Alaska
wants its kids to be competitive with their peers around the
country. The expectations [EED] has are substantially similar
to Common Core expectations, but changes have been made on how
to get there, based on the stakeholder input, and he repeated
the percentages of the standards that have been changed.
CHAIR REINBOLD remarked that a lot of the books are being
stamped "Common Core" and the testing is being aligned to the
curriculum, and she offered her understanding that the U.S.
Department of Education had to approve "the waiver in these
standards."
COMMISSIONER HANLEY responded that he has no control over the
publishers of curriculum. He said the responsibility of the
department is to set expectations.
CHAIR REINBOLD clarified that she wanted to know whether the
U.S. Department of Education has anything to do with the College
and Career Ready Standards.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY responded as follows:
The State Board of Education approved these standards; they
were vetted by the University of Alaska; and, as such, they
were deemed as vetted by the university as college and
career Ready.
CHAIR REINBOLD reiterated her question as to whether the U.S.
Department of Education had anything to do with that.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY answered no. He said one of the things the
department had to do when it applied for the waiver was to have
college and career ready standards in place. He said, "They had
been adopted eight months earlier and vetted, so they recognized
that our standards were vetted by our university and were
college and career ready."
CHAIR REINBOLD asked, "Did they approve these standards or not?
Did they accept them as part of the waiver?"
COMMISSIONER HANLEY reiterated that [the U.S. Department of
Education] accepted the department's standards, because they
were vetted by [Alaska's] university as being college and career
ready. In response to a follow-up question, he named Diane
Hirshberg, who is with the University of Alaska, as well as with
ISER [Institute of Social and Economic Research], as the person
who initiated the work. He said, "She took that and had several
conversations with several professors, as well as some of the
technical institute."
3:04:37 PM
REPRESENTATIVE TAMMIE WILSON said she wanted to clarify that she
did make the statement [referred to by the commissioner] in a
discussion held during a House Finance Standing Committee
meeting. Commissioner Hanley said that "we didn't have to worry
about any money being spent on Common Core because we had Alaska
Standards." Now that Alaska has at least one district that has
adopted the Common Core Standards, she asked, "Would not the
base student allocation come into play now whether or not they
got that because they did?" She then asked, "Because they were
allowed to adopt the Common Core, and you could only adopt
standards that are more stringent than the current ones, are we
saying now that Alaska standards are not as stringent as the
Common Core Standards are?"
COMMISSIONER HANLEY responded that the Anchorage School District
adopted the Common Core Standards prior to the department's
adoption of standards in June 2012. He said his conversations
and testimony were that "this would not stop the department's
work, because it says that the department will not spend money."
However, he said, it did not seem to be his or the legislature's
intent to have local control and tell districts that they could
not adopt a particular curriculum. He said because the Alaska
State Standards are in regulation, it is required that districts
address them with their students. He said Ed Graff, the
Superintendent of the Anchorage School District, does "a
crosswalk" between the Alaska State Standards and the Common
Core Standards and has to address the differences between the
two.
CHAIR REINBOLD opined that Commissioner Hanley misled at least
ten legislators by telling them "we weren't doing Common Core,"
because she has heard from people who have told her they are
being forced to buy curriculum based on the Common Core
Standards. She said the assessments that Anchorage is doing are
Common Core and "the media's all over that." She said
Commissioner Hanley is saying that "we're not doing Common Core,
but the tests are based on Common Core, and the same assessments
being done in Anchorage are being done statewide." She stated,
"I think that you need to own it and come ... outright and ...
tell the people of the state that we are doing Common Core, and
... be completely upfront with the alignment for the Common Core
and that the assessment ... and, of course, curriculum is ...
ending up being selected because of the assessments." She
indicated that she had heard from Commissioner Hanley varying
percentages of similarity between the two standards, ranging
from the 40 percent range to 98 percent. She said this is
confusing to legislators, and maybe the real issue is that the
legislature needs to change statute so that the legislature does
get to select the standard and make the decisions about local
control.
3:08:52 PM
COMMISSIONER HANLEY responded that the state's standards and
assessments are not aligned to the Common Core Standards; they
are being custom made for Alaska with Alaskans being involved.
CHAIR REINBOLD asked, "So, you're stating now that our
assessments are not aligned to the Common Core?"
COMMISSIONER HANLEY answered, "I'm saying that the assessment
that we are working on - the AMP [Alaska Measure of Progress] -
is aligned to the Alaska Standards with Alaskan educators
helping write the items."
CHAIR REINBOLD offered her understanding that Commissioner
Hanley had just said that [the state] is not aligned to the
Common Core. She offered her understanding that Marcy Harmon,
at a prior meeting, had testified that "we're not doing Common
Core," and she said "that was, like, days before my last
testimony in August."
COMMISSIONER HANLEY stated, "So, since we're not doing the
Common Core, and so our assessment is aligned to the Alaska
Standards and is customized for Alaska - and I'm speaking about
the AMP."
CHAIR REINBOLD said, "I know the AMP, trust me." Regarding the
BSA [base student allocation], she asked for confirmation that
"all this funding comes through DEED" and [the department] sends
it out to the districts.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY confirmed that is correct.
CHAIR REINBOLD said the department is, through regulation,
prohibited from money from being spent on Common Core; however,
"it's being funneled through you." She asked, "Isn't that
virtually the same thing?"
COMMISSIONER HANLEY answered no. He explained that the formula
that the department distributes to the school districts is based
on a student count, and aside from very few restrictions, such
as 70 percent needing to go to instruction, there are local
decisions made on how the money is spent to best meet the needs
of the students. He said, "It's a local control issue."
CHAIR REINBOLD said the regulation prohibits EED from spending
money to implement the Common Core, but "you're sending money to
someone who is implementing" it, and that is virtually the same
thing. It goes against the statute and the regulation.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY said, "Well, we don't spend the BSA, so we
don't spend that money. We provide it to districts to meet the
needs of their kids." He asked Chair Reinbold if she was
suggesting that the department stop sending money to Anchorage.
CHAIR REINBOLD answered, "Absolutely not." She said she was
just addressing a regulation that EED cannot spend money on
Common Core.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY said that is a statutory provision that was
put in place under HB 278.
CHAIR REINBOLD said she understands that, but a regulation
usually interprets the intent of legislation, and it looks like
"it's almost identical, so I don't understand ... why you need
this regulation in the first place."
3:12:00 PM
COMMISSIONER HANLEY said the intent of the legislature and the
administration was to clarify "what money is." He said the
statute says the department may not expend money to implement
the set of standards. The regulation has one small difference
and that is the department may not expend state money, or money
received from other sources, to implement the set of educational
curriculum standards. The regulation clarifies that EED could
not find grants to support implementation of the Common Core
[Standards]. Commissioner Hanley remarked:
Honestly, I think this strengthens the statute not
only for myself, but for the people who follow me to
make sure that it matches up with the intent of the
legislature.
CHAIR REINBOLD stressed that her intention was to not spend
state money on the Common Core Initiative in any fashion. She
restated that the commissioner had said the state is not doing
Common Core, although there have been statements that it is
"virtually identical," which has caused confusion for
homeschools and for school districts. She said, "Regarding the
new regulations on district accountability, what was the need
for the new accountability program?"
COMMISSIONER HANLEY responded that the accountability
regulations were a "simple fix." Previously, the WorkKeys
assessment was required in 11th grade. Because some students
already had plans to go to college, the legislature and the
governor provided the option of taking the WorkKeys, the SAT or
the ACT assessment tests. The biggest change is that when EED
developed its ASPI scores, 2 percent credit was given to schools
for their participation in the WorkKeys assessment, but now
schools are given 8-10 percent credit for providing a career
readiness indicator. Another change is that the "jury
exemption" was already in place in statute for low-performing
schools, and the new regulation adds that EED use its one- or
two-star designation of a low-performing school instead of AYP.
CHAIR REINBOLD asked why EED needed a waiver from the NCLB.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY said that by last year 100 percent of
students would have to be deemed proficient and all schools
would have been deemed as failing no matter what level of
success schools reached. In his contact with principals and
teachers, it seemed like an erroneous model because there was no
way to get to proficiency. Also, the waiver allowed EED to
remove some restrictions on the use of Title 1 [Elementary and
Secondary Education Act of 1965] money; restrictions are placed
on schools that are deemed not proficient for a certain number
of years.
3:19:02 PM
CHAIR REINBOLD asked what percentage of total funds are federal
funds. She clarified that she was asking for what percentage of
K-12 education funding comes from the federal, state, and local
governments.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY answered that about 8-12 percent comes from
the federal government, and over $200 million comes from local
contributions. He added that about 13 percent is federal funds,
including Title 1, about 86 percent of the budget comes from
general funds (GF), and local funds are not in the EED budget.
The department's budget is federal, GF, and 1 percent of other
funds.
CHAIR REINBOLD concluded that EED needed the waiver so "all the
schools didn't look to be failing." She opined that a tiny
amount of federal funding dictates how state dollars are spent.
She asked, "First of all explain to me why would all our schools
be failing? What were you guys doing wrong, that everybody
would be failing?"
COMMISSIONER HANLEY said EED applied for a waiver because a
school of one hundred students could be 95 percent proficient
and it would be deemed failing because of two students.
CHAIR REINBOLD asked whether the waiver was obtained in order to
retain federal funds.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY said no. The department obtained the waiver
because under AYP essentially all of our schools would have been
deemed failing, which is not accurate, he opined. In further
response to Chair Reinbold, he said the schools would be deemed
failing under the NCLB system.
CHAIR REINBOLD noted the amount of money that has been spend on
education and restated her question.
3:23:53 PM
COMMISSIONER HANLEY remarked:
I'll go back and say that I didn't say that all of our
schools would be failures, I said that they would all
be deemed as failures and the difference is, and the
frustration that I would have, is that we've got
schools that are doing very well. And yet, based on
this 100 percent rule that every child meet
proficiency, they would be called failing, and I
didn't think it was accurate. So, we, we got out from
under that ... but funding wasn't tied to it.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY continued to explain that the use of Title 1
funding was more flexible. In further response to Chair
Reinbold he estimated that Title 1 funding is $60 million.
CHAIR REINBOLD restated her question as to why EED wanted the
NCLB waiver. She remarked:
You didn't do it for funding, is that correct? O.K.
So we ended up implementing these new college and
career readiness assessments, these new college and
career standards, and all this, for no money, just,
just because the federal government wanted you to do
this.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY said no. The standards are not tied to the
waiver, but the department has been working on them for two
years, and they were in place in June, 2012, and the waiver came
after that. The standards were not done to get the waiver, but
the standards that were in place allowed EED to get the waiver.
CHAIR REINBOLD asked whether there were any requirements or
mandates put on the state to get the federal dollars and to get
the NCLB waiver. She gave the example of costs to the state for
the expansion of Medicaid.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY said "Not tied to funding." To get the
waiver, the department had to have standards in place, which it
did, it had connect teacher evaluations to student learning, and
it needed an accountability system in order to get rid of the
AYP system.
CHAIR REINBOLD remarked:
So these new standards that you developed, supposedly
two years before, started working on them, you weren't
doing this in anticipation of the waiver at all.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY said correct.
3:27:01 PM
CHAIR REINBOLD asked for an explanation of the difference
between academic achievement and school progress in the
accountability regulations.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY explained that academic achievement is a
function of proficiency - how many students are proficient - and
one of the flaws in AYP was that "all students had to get above
the bar." The department wanted to get all students to the
level of proficiency, but also recognize school progress, which
is growth towards proficiency. A low-performing school that
moves students towards proficiency should get credit. The
difference is: progress towards proficiency and the number at
proficiency.
CHAIR REINBOLD returned to the new regulations about district
accountability and asked whether the new district accountability
standards were developed to ensure that EED was in alignment
with the NCLB waiver.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY stated that to get a waiver from AYP, EED
needed to develop its own standards. In further response to
Chair Reinbold, he said EED has a five-star rating system, and a
school that does not meet the requirements is rated on a scale
of one to five. The department recognizes and rewards schools
at the top end and helps support schools in the one-star range.
In further response to Chair Reinbold, he said a one-star school
will be contacted to understand why it has the rating, for
example a small school is impacted by one student, and then EED
provides support through coaches, mentors, and/or state support.
CHAIR REINBOLD pointed out that the House Education Standing
Committee took out the college and career readiness indicator
from HB 278 and asked what percentage of students are getting
four-year college degrees.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY said he did not have that information.
REPRESENTATIVE KELLEY noted that a one-star school is as low as
a school can go. He asked whether there is a point at which the
rating system designates a school as a failure.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY said there isn't. Previously at EED there
was a system of school interventions and his experience was that
interventions caused conflict and strife. The one- to five-star
system identifies schools that are really struggling and in the
last two years districts have appreciated the model and the
support coaches.
CHAIR REINBOLD called attention to the committee's 8/14/14
hearing on assessments. She remarked:
Last hearing you were unable to provide the
guidelines, when we talked about the cognitive
abilities and things like that, but in Appendix D, ...
the contract policy for accommodations were due, if
you look at the [Achievement & Assessment Institute
(AAI)] contract from Kansas, who we're doing the
testing through, they were due on August 1. However,
you could not provide them to us at the hearing....
Now on your DEED website, these draft guidelines for
accommodations are part of regulation 4 AAC 06.775,
AAC 06.721-724, and they appeared in October of 2014.
Were the draft guidelines on these assessments part of
the information that was submitted [to] AAI [in]
August for the design of these assessments?
3:33:24 PM
LES MORSE, Deputy Commissioner, Office of the Commissioner,
Department of Education and Early Development, responded that
the aforementioned guidelines are the participation guidelines
and are not used by the test company in designing the test, but
are what districts use to determine what accommodations that
they provide to students with special needs, either in special
education or English language arts. Thus the guidelines are to
help work with the special education students when they take the
assessment so that they can be appropriately accommodated based
on their disability, or on any limitation they may have due to
their English language proficiency.
CHAIR REINBOLD referred to a memo from "legal" [document not
provided]. She asked whether the guidelines were given to AAI
when the new assessments were developed.
MR. MORSE said the guidelines are not needed to "build" the
assessment, but are needed to build individual education plans
(IEP's) for students so they can take the assessment. In
further response to Chair Reinbold, he said no, the state board
has yet to approve them. He continued:
AAI doesn't need them. They certainly can look at
them. There are reasons why AAI would need them ...
for example, let's say we decide students can't use a
highlighter function that might be on the computer,
then of course, AAI would need to know that so that
they would not make that a function of our test.
Outside of that, AAI really doesn't need those, other
than making sure that accommodation is available on
the test or is not available. It's the state decides
what those are, working with districts.
CHAIR REINBOLD expressed her desire to learn why there was a
$700,000 increase in the contract to AAI.
MR. MORSE explained that there was a technical error on the
original issuance of the contract. The change was an amendment
to correct the amount in the original request for proposal
(RFP). In further response to Chair Reinbold, he advised that
the final RFP was issued as amended and there are no additional
dollars needed at any point, nor any additional appropriation.
CHAIR REINBOLD said this type of mistake raises a red flag. She
turned to HB 140 which requires that EED assess the department
and other departments and "all the costs associated in aggregate
to the private sector and, of course, that would be including
municipalities as well." Chair Reinbold asked whether EED has
completed a cost analysis of Common Core, Common Core
implementation, the assessments, and [the cost to increase]
Internet speed.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY said there are no regulations to implement
the Common Core or Common Core assessments. October 15th is the
effective date for HB 140, thus any regulation posted after that
date is required to go through that process.
CHAIR REINBOLD stated that her interpretation is that House Bill
140 is in effect and asked whether EED will apply the
requirements of the bill to the regulations under discussion.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY said it is not required for regulations that
were posted prior to October 15th.
3:39:06 PM
JIM POUND, Staff, Representative Wes Keller, Alaska State
Legislature, said a regulation that is proposed is not filed,
and in order for it to be filed, the regulation is required to
have the budget as directed by HB 140, because HB 140 supersedes
the filing of the aforementioned regulations.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY related that EED has been advised by counsel
that these regulations do not require [the budget] process. He
said EED will seek confirmation in this regard.
CHAIR REINBOLD expressed her belief that HB 140 should apply and
said she will formally request costs because people have a right
to know how much the Common Core, Alaska Academic Standards,
mandates from the federal government, and the Internet speed
will cost. She then asked why the assessments were fast-
forwarded from 2015 to 2014.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY opined EED has not "fast-forwarded." He
said the date on the regulations was changed from 2016; however,
all of the districts have known of the change in date for at
least one and one-half years. The change was a "clerical fix"
in order match the date so all of the districts would know EED's
goal.
CHAIR REINBOLD pointed out that assessments are aligned to the
Common Core and the standards are fairly new. She inquired as
to the date of the full implementation of "the Common Core
Standards, across the state, the Alaska Academic Standards."
COMMISSIONER HANLEY clarified that assessments are aligned to
Alaska standards.
CHAIR REINBOLD said:
There is debate there, tremendous debate there....
For all practical purposes, I am choosing to use
Common Core and Alaska Academic Standards ... the
same.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY said the standards were fully adopted in
June 2012, and districts had the responsibility to implement
them into their districts. In further response to Chair
Reinbold, he said EED did not set a specific date but districts
had the responsibility to review curriculum and plan for moving
toward the implementation of the new strategies, which may
include new curriculum, to address the new standards.
CHAIR REINBOLD surmised EDD adopted standards and then within a
year or so required districts to implement the new standards,
and required that assessments are "in trial" two years later in
August of 2014.
3:43:47 PM
COMMISSIONER HANLEY said the assessments will be given in the
spring of 2015, which is three years. In further response to
Chair Reinbold, he said assessments were given in the spring of
2014.
CHAIR REINBOLD pointed out that teachers teach to the
assessments the year before, and the assessments will take place
in the 2014-2015 school year. She questioned the reason for
fast-forwarding from the original date of 2015-2016 and whether
EED believes "it's putting them in a tailspin at all."
COMMISSIONER HANLEY expressed his belief that the time period is
closer to three years. He acknowledged that any transition to
higher standards is "going to be a challenge," but there is an
urgency for the sake of the kids to eliminate the need for
remediation.
CHAIR REINBOLD further questioned why the state is paying for
SAT/ACT/WorkKeys testing when about 10 percent of the state's
students get a four-year degree, yet all students are forced to
participate in the testing. She officially requested the costs
of the SAT/ACT/WorkKeys [assessments] in their entirety,
including the cost of proctors, and asked if this testing is
part of the NCLB waiver.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY said no. The department has not put forward
any regulations in regard to that; in fact, that requirement is
statutory and is found in HB 278. The intent of the legislature
was to provide choice.
CHAIR REINBOLD stressed her disagreement that the state is
paying for Common Core aligned tests. She restated her
question.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY restated that the assessments have nothing
to do with the NCLB waiver.
CHAIR REINBOLD noted that a student who does not take one of the
assessments graduates with a certificate of achievement and not
a diploma.
3:49:13 PM
COMMISSIONER HANLEY pointed out that this provision was voted on
by the legislature. He said he was very supportive of the
provision that was included in HB 278 by the governor, and
passed by the legislature.
CHAIR REINBOLD spoke to the controversy surrounding HB 278. She
asked whether all students, including homeschoolers, are
required to take an ACT, SAT, or WorkKeys assessment to get a
diploma.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY said yes.
CHAIR REINBOLD opined homeschoolers are forced to "do Common
Core," and this was of great concern to schools such as IDEA.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY pointed out that there remains the choice to
take WorkKeys, which was previously in statute.
CHAIR REINBOLD asked for confirmation that the legislature is
obligated to pay for all students to take these tests even if a
student has no college plans or post-high school training
aspirations.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY said correct. In further response to Chair
Reinbold, he said this has nothing to do with NCLB or the
waiver, but was the intention of EED, the governor, and the
legislature.
CHAIR REINBOLD restated her opposition to the aforementioned
legislation. She restated her question regarding the total cost
of the ACT, SAT, and WorkKeys assessments to municipalities, the
state, and other agencies.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY answered that the cost was reflected in
Fiscal Note 36 for $525,000. In further response to Chair
Reinbold, he confirmed this is an annual expense.
3:51:40 PM
CHAIR REINBOLD turned attention to the new regulation addressing
the restraint and seclusion of students. House Bill 210 held an
expectation that crisis intervention training programs are to be
evidence-based. However, proposed regulation [4 AAC 06.175 &
177 Restraint & Seclusion of Students], expects the program to
be subject to a peer review process or other scholarly research.
She asked for an explanation of the changes to existing
regulations.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY stated that there are two recognized methods
of determining evidence-based: a peer review process or subject
to scholarly research. These are two identified ways to
determine a solid program.
CHAIR REINBOLD opined evidence is more outcomes-based, is a
proven method, and is very different than a program being looked
at by a peer. Her research found that there are two different
meanings and she asked for clarification. She paraphrased [in
part] from AS 14.33.127 as follows:
Sec. 14.33.127. Crisis intervention training. (a) The
department shall approve crisis intervention training
programs for schools, which shall include training in
(1) evidenced-based techniques that have been shown to
be effective in the prevention of restraint and
seclusion of students;
(2) evidence-based techniques shown to be effective in
keeping school personnel and students safe when
imposing physical restraint or seclusion of students;
(3) evidence-based skills related to positive behavior
supports, safe physical escort, conflict prevention,
understanding antecedents, de-escalation, and conflict
management;
CHAIR REINBOLD restated her question.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY explained that this is the process that
defines evidence-based research. Typically, regulations are
intended to clarify the way to move forward and these are two
ways to get to [and] identify evidenced-based.
CHAIR REINBOLD cautioned "that has brought concern and others
have brought concern in regards to that.
REPRESENTATIVE T. WILSON stated that other educational standards
can only be adopted by school districts if they are more
stringent than those of the Alaska [Academic] Standards. She
asked whether the Common Core Standards that were adopted by ASD
are more stringent than the Alaska [Academic] Standards. Also,
the basic student allocation comes from EED. Representative T.
Wilson stressed the intent of the legislation and asked whether
any funding from EED goes to buy curriculum that is going to the
Common Core Standards.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY said there are no restrictions on the
standards adopted by a local school district, but the district
has an obligation to meet the Alaska [Academic] Standards. For
example, if a district adopted lower standards it would have to
demonstrate that the Alaska [Academic] Standards are being
addressed. He expressed his belief that the Common Core
[Standards] and the Alaska [Academic] Standards are
substantially similar, and there are several areas in which the
Alaska [Academic] Standards are slightly higher. The Anchorage
School District has the responsibility to address the
differences. Regarding paying for curriculum, he explained that
through a funding formula EED supports districts based on their
student count, but does not determine the local decisions of
curriculum. There was no intention to put a restriction on
districts purchasing curriculum, and EED does not purchase
curriculum.
REPRESENTATIVE T. WILSON understood that to have a different set
of standards a district must have approval by EED.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY stated there is no process for a different
set of standards; districts are all obligated to address the
Alaska [Academic] Standards.
3:57:40 PM
REPRESENTATIVE T. WILSON observed her concern is not just about
how close the Alaska [Academic] Standards are to the Common Core
[Standards], but if districts choose their standards, and the
curriculum and testing is aligned, changing standards and
testing still do not support struggling schools. She asked
whether EED will do anything differently than it did during
NCLB, such as helping schools academically, not financially, so
that students have the ability to pass the tests.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY said yes. The department is working more
extensively than in the past; in fact, staff spend more time in
districts - to the greatest extent possible - working with all
levels in districts and with teachers. The department is
switching from an intervention model to supporting low-
performing schools to ensure students and schools are
successful. It is too early to determine success as assessments
will take several years; however, EED will have a new baseline
this year and will be able to build from there.
REPRESENTATIVE T. WILSON asked if the amendment was not right
regarding monies going to support Common Core standards or
curriculum, would it be necessary to make a change in statute so
that the intent is clear. She surmised the commissioner
believes the legislature is talking about teacher support by
EED; however, her constituents do not want to see Common Core
anymore. In addition, she expressed her belief that money
outside the formula could [support Common Core]. She concluded
that the intent was to ensure that the state was not using any
of its funding to keep going forward with the initiative.
CHAIR REINBOLD said that was her understanding as well. She
opined that there's "a bit of trickery with this amendment in
not spending any money to implement this set of standards." Our
[intent] was not to spend any state public funds on any part of
the Common Core Initiative in any fashion. Chair Reinbold
expressed her frustration that she was told the state wasn't
using the Common Core and that it won't have to do with the
curriculum, particularly since the curriculum has to be selected
on the specific standards across the state and the assessments
are the same [as] the Common Core [assessments]. Chair Reinbold
surmised that the result is the state is following the Common
Core Standards, assessments, and curriculum. Therefore, freedom
is being lost by the state, individuals, and homeschoolers.
Chair Reinbold characterized it as a developing monopoly, for
all practical purposes. She related that she would vehemently
fight for the state's rights and the legislature's stamp of
approval rather than the Board of Education being able to move
ahead without legislative approval and her concerns being void
upon arrival. Furthermore, she expressed concern with her
treatment as an elected official.
4:02:08 PM
REPRESENTATIVE KELLER related his understanding from today that
the definition of "evidence-based" is peer review, and asked if
that's a standard definition in the education field. He related
his further understanding that peer review is taking an
unspecified number of people with experience in the same area
and obtaining their input. He opined that it seems to be a
crude tool.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY confirmed that often in research
conversations peer review is how evidence-based is determined.
There is a consensus from people in like fields with like
expertise to determine whether evidence is valid.
REPRESENTATIVE KELLER surmised then that the peer review process
can be described in order to review it and obtain a better
appreciation of it.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY replied yes.
CHAIR REINBOLD announced that Commissioner Hanley will be
receiving a follow-up letter from [the committee] to address
additional concerns, including the costs in their entirety.
4:04:23 PM
TARREN LESLIE began by specifying that she is representing
herself and her family. She then informed the committee that
she homeschools through IDEA and supports the idea of any unused
student allotment being allowed to roll over to the next year.
Therefore, the unused student allotment would be available in
addition to the current year's student allotment. She expressed
her opposition to any students being forced to use state-
standards aligned materials because the State Standards are
Common Core Standards. Ms. Leslie informed the committee that
she has read the Common Core Standards it its entirety and the
Alaska State Standards as well as multiple letters from UAF,
CCSSO, Commissioner Hanley, and others in which it is stated
that the Alaska State Standards and Common Core Standards are
"nearly identical." She then pointed out that the Common Core
Standard adoption regulations includes the "15 percent rule"
under which a state is allowed to adopt the Common Core
Standards and refer to them by another name if up to 15 percent
of the state's own unique standards are added. That is
essentially what Alaska has done, although she questioned
whether Alaska added a full 15 percent of its own unique
standards. She noted that some of the letters she has
delineates the additions Alaska made to the Common Core
Standards.
CHAIR REINBOLD said that Ms. Leslie could email her those
letters as a follow-up to the remarks provided during the
meeting.
MS. LESLIE characterized many of the changes as "minutia" and
were grammatical. For instance, "changing the term to 'explain
why' where the Common Core Standards say 'know that' or 'design'
instead of 'develop.'"
CHAIR REINBOLD, noting that her office has performed a complete
word-for-word comparison of the Common Core standards versus the
Alaska State Standards, stated her agreement with Ms. Leslie.
4:07:16 PM
MS. LESLIE, continuing her testimony, said that since the Common
Core Standards are the Alaska State Standards she opposes any
students, especially correspondence students being forced to use
any State Standards aligned material. She then urged the
committee to uphold a limitation for no funds to be spent on
Common Core implementation to include purchase of Common Core
curriculum by individual districts. She asked for the removal
of limitations on students requiring four fundable or Core
courses for the correspondence program. She also urged that no
legislated action to be taken if a child scores poorly. Most
parents, program contact teachers, and the correspondence
programs themselves would be self-corrected. Others, she
opined, are simply on a different sequence and taking a
different route to the same end although at various points in
time will be ahead or behind the public school sequence. The
art of problem solving in math curriculum is a prime example and
although it's a greatly advanced math curriculum, it doesn't
teach math per the Common Core [curriculum]. Therefore, a
student could fail the Common Core test for not knowing to write
paragraphs describing how they reached their answer or to draw
blocks in the Common Core [curriculum]. Ms. Leslie then asked
for the removal of regulations requiring homeschool programs and
their contact teachers to do anything new, extra, or specific in
their response to low Alaska state test scores. Furthermore,
she requested the removal of limitations on purchasing
nonsectarian items from sectarian vendors and highlighted Mr.
Cline's example of purchasing a calculator from a sectarian.
She also requested the removal of the requirement for the SAT,
ACT, and WorkKeys and if that doesn't pass, she requested the
addition of a clause specifying that no SAT, ACT, or WorkKeys
cut scores are to be implemented at any point in the future. In
conclusion, Ms. Leslie said she agrees with the comments of
Chair Reinbold, Representative T. Wilson, and Mr. Cline. She
added that since AAI, Alaska's new testing company, left SBAC is
a Common Core testing company.
CHAIR REINBOLD stated that she will do what she can to empower
responsible homeschooling parents that are caring enough to give
their life. She further stated, "I don't believe we should
break something that is working." She requested Ms. Leslie
email her testimony to her and invited her to an upcoming
symposium for parents in Anchorage scheduled for December 9th
and 10th.
4:11:06 PM
MS. LESLIE, noting that she has been homeschooling her children
for a long time, said that she homeschools her children to keep
them out of the Common Core system. Prior to the implementation
of the Common Core, she explained that she homeschooled her
children because the overall curriculum in public school, but in
particular the math curriculum. Upon reviewing the Common Core
math problems of a friend's child in second grade, she said she
determined that the Common Core math problems are easier than
the public school curriculum her son had in the early 2000s.
Therefore, she disputed the notion that the Common Core
standards are harder or more rigorous.
CHAIR REINBOLD remarked, "For one, there's a reason IDEA is the
biggest school." She then agreed that the notion that the
Common Core Standards are more rigorous is very debatable.
4:13:05 PM
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the
Administrative Regulation Review Committee meeting was adjourned
at 4:13 p.m.
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