Legislature(2017 - 2018)CAPITOL 106
02/14/2018 08:00 AM Senate EDUCATION
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| Audio | Topic |
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| Presentation: State Board of Education and Early Development Annual Report to the Legislature | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
JOINT MEETING
SENATE EDUCATION STANDING COMMITTEE
HOUSE EDUCATION STANDING COMMITTEE
February 14, 2018
8:01 a.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
SENATE EDUCATION STANDING COMMITTEE
Senator Gary Stevens, Chair
Senator Cathy Giessel
Senator John Coghill
Senator Tom Begich
Senator Shelley Hughes
HOUSE EDUCATION STANDING COMMITTEE
Representative Harriet Drummond, Chair
Representative Justin Parish, Vice Chair
Representative Jennifer Johnston
Representative Chuck Kopp
Representative David Talerico
MEMBERS ABSENT
SENATE EDUCATION STANDING COMMITTEE
All members present
HOUSE EDUCATION STANDING COMMITTEE
Representative Ivy Spohnholz
Representative Lora Reinbold
Representative Geran Tarr
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
PRESENTATION: STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION AND EARLY DEVELOPMENT
ANNUAL REPORT TO THE LEGISLATURE
- HEARD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
No previous action to record
WITNESS REGISTER
JAMES FIELDS, Chair
Alaska State Board of Education and Early Development
Glennallen, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented the State Board of Education and
Early Development Report to the Alaska State Legislature.
MICHAEL JOHNSON, Ph.D., Commissioner
Department of Education and Early Development (DEED)
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Answered questions about the presentation.
ACTION NARRATIVE
8:01:39 AM
CHAIR GARY STEVENS called the joint meeting of the Senate and
House Education Standing Committees to order at 8:01 a.m.
Present at the call to order were Senators Begich, Coghill,
Giessel, and Chair Stevens and Representatives Talerico, Parish,
Johnston, and Chair Drummond. Representative Kopp and Senator
Hughes joined shortly thereafter.
8:02:33 AM
^Presentation: State Board of Education and Early Development
Annual Report to the Legislature
PRESENTATION: STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION AND EARLY DEVELOPMENT
ANNUAL REPORT TO THE LEGISLATURE
CHAIR STEVENS announced the presentation State Board of
Education and Early Development Annual Report to the
Legislature.
8:03:08 AM
JAMES FIELDS, Chair, Alaska State Board of Education and Early
Development, presented the State Board of Education and Early
Development Report to the Alaska State Legislature. He said he
is the coach of the Glennallen boys' basketball team and they
just got back from Nome late Sunday and have games Thursday,
Friday, Saturday, and Tuesday. Considering his busy schedule, he
thanked the committee for allowing him to testify via telephone.
He pointed out that in previous testimony, he has reviewed the
three commitments--increase student success, support responsible
and reflective learners, and cultivate safety and well-being--in
the Alaska Education Challenge (AEC). He thanked legislators for
their support and involvement in the AEC. DEED continues to have
conversations with stakeholders to move students forward toward
better achievement and success throughout the state. In 2018
several districts have passed resolutions supporting the AEC.
8:05:26 AM
MR. FIELDS highlighted some Resolutions, beginning on page four
of the report.
In March, the State Board adopted a resolution
supporting the efforts of the University of Alaska and
its Board of Regents to streamline transfer credit
policies among Alaska's postsecondary institutions to
help facilitate college completion.
MR. FIELDS noted the continuing collaboration between the State
Board of Education and University of Alaska Board of Regents
through a joint subcommittee that meets quarterly.
In September, the State Board approved the UAA early
childhood special education endorsement program,
thereby allowing the endorsement to appear on Alaska
teaching certificates.
In November, the State Board reviewed and discussed
the department's progress on a plan for how to move
the Alaska's Education Challenge work forward. Board
members provided positive feedback on the department's
efforts, and their excitement for the action planning
work with stakeholders as part of the next steps.
MR. FIELDS highlighted these portions of Significant Steps
beginning on page 7 of the report.
Alaska successfully administered the statewide English
language arts, math, and science assessments during
the 2016-17 school year.
MR. FIELDS said the department is working on making sure the
second year is administered successfully. The Performance
Evaluation for Alaska's Schools (PEAKS) is Alaska's new
statewide summative assessment and was first administered to
students in grades three to ten in spring 2017.
8:07:32 AM
DEED's extensive eLearning library now offers over 50
eLearning courses available for educators in Alaska.
MR. FIELDS said the growth in this service shows that DEED is
moving more toward assisting and supporting school districts
rather than focusing on compliance.
MR. FIELDS highlighted these portions of the Implementing the
Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) beginning on page 11 of the
report.
On September 18, 2017, DEED submitted its state plan
to the U.S. Department of Education for how it intends
to implement ESSA. Alaska's state plan represents over
a year's worth of stakeholder engagement and
department preparation in creating a plan to implement
ESSA requirements within the unique context of Alaskan
education. The elements of Alaska's ESSA state plan
are designed to support the broader work of improving
Alaska's education system to meet the mission of
public education in Alaska: An excellent education for
every student every day.
Alaska's ESSA plan is a description of the system to
help schools and districts measure their performance
on key indicators, identify solutions for improvement,
and target resources and support for all students to
receive an excellent education and be prepared for
college or career after high school.
In developing its state plan, DEED consulted with the
Governor, members of the state legislature and state
board of education, local educational agencies, Native
representatives, teachers, principals, other school
leaders, charter school leaders, specialized
instructional support personnel, paraprofessionals,
administrators, other staff, and parents. DEED
received more than 4,000 stakeholder comments
submitted through online surveys, its ESSA Advisory
Committee, discussion groups and webinars, and
community conversations.
On December 15, 2017, the U.S. Department of Education
provided feedback based on its initial review of the
plan submitted in September 2017.
DEED anticipates resubmitting Alaska's plan by the end
of February 2018.
8:10:18 AM
MR. FIELDS called attention to this note in the School and
Student Data section on page 15 of the report.
In 2017, the preliminary five-year graduation rate was
81.3%. This refers to a cohort of students who were
9th-graders five school years previously. Many of the
students graduated in four years, but others needed
all or part of a fifth year.
MR. FIELDS said the graduation rate is moving in the right
direction.
8:10:49 AM
CHAIR STEVENS asked for his insight on ESSA vs No Child Left
Behind (NCLB).
8:11:08 AM
MR. FIELDS said the state is more in the driver's seat with
ESSA. ESSA allows the state to tailor the law to what the state
can do. It is not a generalized national plan. It gives the
state more leeway on how it complies with national regulations.
8:11:37 AM
SENATOR HUGHES asked him to repeat the 2017 graduation rate and
whether that includes students who needed a fifth year.
MR. FIELDS said 81.3 percent, and yes, it does include a fifth
year.
8:12:11 AM
REPRESENTATIVE JOHNSTON asked when the graduation exam, the High
School Qualifying Exam, was no longer required.
MR. FIELDS said he thought it ended three years ago.
REPRESENTATIVE JOHNSTON said 2014, then.
MR. FIELDS said yes, probably.
REPRESENTATIVE JOHNSTON asked whether the state provides a
catalog of eLearning opportunities outside the state of Alaska
for districts to use.
8:13:45 AM
MICHAEL JOHNSON, Ph.D., Commissioner, Department of Education
and Early Development (DEED), answered questions about the
presentation. He replied that eLearning is for training for
teachers for state or federal requirements, not for eLearning
for students. DEED does not have a repository for student
learning but is in conversations with other legislators and
partners for creating some kind repository for eLearning for
students.
8:14:34 AM
CHAIR DRUMMOND asked if the department will draw on the
experiences and catalogs of districts who are already using
eLearning.
COMMISSIONER JOHNSON said DEED is in the early stages of a
conception for a repository. The idea is that any family in the
state could go to website and see what districts are using and
perhaps see which are rated most effective.
CHAIR DRUMMOND said she found it fascinating that the eLibrary's
most heavily trafficked courses are the ones that provide
instruction on foundational health and safety topics. This tells
the state that teachers are being required to deliver more and
more topics to their students. Teachers need support in those
areas.
8:16:11 AM
CHAIR STEVENS asked if technical problems with computer-based
tests would no longer be an issue.
COMMISSIONER JOHNSON said last year, with the first
administration of PEAKS, districts could choose between
computer-based tests or paper-based tests. The conversations
around that choice were enlightening. DEED plans to continue
that option. DEED does not want to force schools to administer
computer-based tests if they do not have the capacity to do it
well. The primary objective is to get credible, reliable data on
how well the public education system is working. Reasons exist
for why it would be attractive to have more computer-based
tests, such as a faster return of scores, but the state is just
not there yet. DEED is just trying to remain vigilant and not
assume there will be no technical problems.
8:18:13 AM
CHAIR STEVENS asked what the statistics are on computer-based
tests vs paper and pencil.
COMMISSIONER JOHNSON said he will get the numbers.
CHAIR STEVENS said he is not interested in the exact numbers but
would like to see the progression. He assumes in the future it
would be more and more computer based.
8:18:56 AM
REPRESENTATIVE JOHNSTON said a number of school districts came
to her office suggesting they were spending a lot of time on
Bree's Law and coming up with a curriculum. She asked if the
training for Bree's Law, or soon to-be-called Bree's Law, is on
eLearning.
COMMISSIONER JOHNSON said DEED has incorporated topics in what
may become Bree's Law in current training. There is no brand-new
training on dating violence, but that can be incorporated into
existing training
REPRESENTATIVE JOHNSTON noted, for the record, that there seems
to be $200,000 in the budget for developing that further.
CHAIR STEVENS said he had volunteered the Senate Finance
Committee to participate in DEED's online teacher training
program. He said perhaps the House Education members would also
like to participate.
8:20:29 AM
CHAIR DRUMMOND asked how the graduation data on page 15 of the
report would be affected if the years 2011 to 2016 also included
a fifth year, like 2017.
COMMISSIONER JOHNSON said DEED's data, which he would get to
her, shows that including a fifth year in those years increases
the graduation rate.
8:21:46 AM
REPRESENTATIVE PARISH said he might have the distinction of
being the only committee member who has completed eLearning
training. He supports alternative deliveries for mandated
training, but he found DEED's eLearning delivery less than
optimal. He spent a lot of time waiting for each new slide to
upload. He hopes the department will look at ways to make it
less wasteful as far as time. He is interested if DEED has had
that feedback from others. He asked if there are any statutory
remedy to make that program as useful as possible and if there
are too many mandates.
8:23:43 AM
COMMISSIONER JOHNSON said over the Christmas break he went
through several hours of training because he needed to renew his
certificate. The ones he took he found very engaging with video
and lots of images. He was impressed with the latest versions of
the training. DEED often gets positive feedback on the latest
versions. He would be happy to review them with Representative
Parish. The department is always very receptive on how to make
trainings as relevant and efficient as possible.
8:25:12 AM
CHAIR STEVENS said the legislature has spoken a lot about
mandated training and unfunded mandates. They have asked for a
list of those.
SENATOR HUGHES said she is pleased to see the ten percent
increase in graduation since 2011. She asked why the rate
increased and whether it was a steady increase across all
districts or are just a few doing very well.
8:26:05 AM
COMMISSIONER JOHNSON responded that all that she said is
probably accurate. He would not attribute the increase to any
one factor. The legislature, the department, school districts,
and boards have made a concerted effort to address low
graduation rates. He is excited because there is a renewed
interest in increasing the graduation rate. The department's
ESSA response due at the end of the month has goals and metrics
to increase the graduation rate. DEED will work with districts
to achieve the specific goals in the ESSA plan. There is not a
consistent increased rate of graduation in each district. Some
districts have ups and downs and others have a steady growth. He
will get data to her.
8:27:41 AM
SENATOR HUGHES asked whether the expectations are different for
what a graduate knows upon graduation.
COMMISSIONER JOHNSON said one point to note is the state did
stop requiring a graduation exam. Within those ten years the
rigor of standards increased. The current Alaska Standards are
more rigorous than the former standards, the Grade Level
Expectations.
SENATOR HUGHES said she is happy to hear that because they had
heard concern from employers over the years about the readiness
of graduates.
8:28:57 AM
CHAIR STEVENS asked the commissioner to reflect on NCLB vs.
ESSA.
COMMISSIONER JOHNSON said the changes between laws represent an
exciting opportunity for the state. DEED's ESSA plan had the
input of thousands of Alaskans. DEED had the good fortune to
develop its ESSA plan while working on the Alaska Education
Challenge, so they are not two separate plans. Connecting those
two efforts created documents that reflect a shared vision.
He said the state has opportunities with ESSA to include more
than test scores on academics as metrics in its accountability
plan. He welcomes the opportunity for it to be so much more than
that. DEED wants to include attendance as a metric. DEED wants
to include other elements but is cautious about additional
bureaucracy and the burden on districts for data. The question
is how to nourish an accountability system that reflects the
reality in schools and give families an accurate picture of how
their schools are doing.
CHAIR STEVENS said he is glad to hear the state and federal
governments are moving forward.
8:32:01 AM
REPRESENTATIVE KOPP commended Commissioner Johnson for
courageously leading the department and confronting hard truths
in a gentle way that is building powerful coalitions. He has not
seen that before. On one hand it is easy to be discouraged when
looking at the state's fourth grade National Assessment of
Educational Progress (NAEP) reading scores. Low reading
proficiency is linked to the likelihood of imprisonment and
other dysfunctions. Alaska is only ahead of one state,
statistically the same as nine, and all the other states are
ahead of Alaska. The commissioner is giving a vision of how to
get past that. The Alaska Education Challenge was his brainchild
and showed people how to move forward.
8:33:46 AM
CHAIR DRUMMOND said she remembers when NCLB attendance
requirements would eliminate any progress a school had made if
only a few children were absent on examination days. She is
glad, though, that he will continue to focus on improving
attendance. Speaking of mandates, Cordova School District
representatives brought in a six-page spreadsheet of state-
required programs. They need to look at what schools are
required to do. They are somewhat frustrated about additional
requirements, including the Alaska Safe Children's Act, part of
which may soon be known as Bree's Law.
8:35:29 AM
COMMISSIONER JOHNSON said now that they are through the
development phase, he hopes that in the next 12 to 18 months
there will be a thorough review of regulations to identify what
is purposeful and supports districts and students and what does
not. He appreciates Representative Kopp's remarks. It has been
his good fortune to be commissioner when many good folks have
decided they wanted to sit down and share a vision for the
public education system that recognizes students are getting a
great education, but it is not working for enough of Alaska's
students. He commended the legislators on the joint committee
for their participation in the Alaska Education Challenge, which
meant a lot to other participants. In terms of fourth grade
reading, the ESSA plan includes third grade reading proficiency
as a metric. They know that if a student can be reading by third
grade, the rest of school will be easier. The student will
thrive and require fewer resources. He noted that there is a
bill on dyslexia and reading proficiency. He appreciated the
legislators' attention to how important it is to pay attention
to reading proficiency as soon as possible.
8:38:09 AM
SENATOR GIESSEL mentioned how critical reading is and asked if
there are reading specialists in schools and what is the plan to
have those kinds of skilled teachers in schools.
COMMISSIONER JOHNSON said some schools and districts have
reading specialists, but many are without because of their size.
He noted that many librarians invest hours in nourishing a
child's desire and wish to read. He does not know that data
exists about the number. No initiative exists to increase that
number, although there are many other types of initiatives to
improve reading
8:40:31 AM
CHAIR STEVENS said that spending time in classrooms is a great
opportunity. He urged legislators to make it a goal to do that
this year.
REPRESENTATIVE JOHNSTON said so many school districts are
looking at their strategic plans linked to the Alaska Education
Challenge and are proud of the benchmarks they are already
meeting. It is thrilling to see the cross-fertilization between
districts. DEED in some respect is standing out of the way to
let local efforts be the driving force.
8:42:15 AM
CHAIR STEVENS asked Mr. Fields if he had any closing comments.
MR. FIELDS said the commissioner's leadership has made the
chair's job easier. He thanked all the committee members for
their willingness to be part of education in the state.
8:43:23 AM
COMMISSIONER JOHNSON said he values the accountability that the
legislature provides. It is meaningful to every student in the
state. He assured the committee that the partners have rallied
around a shared vision to improve the education system.
8:44:05 AM
CHAIR DRUMMOND described how energizing it had been to attend
the Education Commission of the States event in June with
Senator Stevens, the commissioner, the Alaska 2017 Teacher of
Year (James Harris of Soldotna), and board president Mr. Fields
and to spend time with similar contingents of folks from every
state who are so committed to improvement in schools.
8:45:00 AM
There being no further business to come before the committee,
Chair Stevens adjourned the Senate Education Standing Committee
at 8:45 a.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| 2018_State Board of Education and Early Development - Annual Report.PDF |
SEDC 2/14/2018 8:00:00 AM |
State Board of Education & Early Development - Annual Report 2018 |