ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE  JOINT MEETING  HOUSE EDUCATION STANDING COMMITTEE  SENATE EDUCATION STANDING COMMITTEE  February 19, 2014 8:02 a.m. MEMBERS PRESENT  HOUSE EDUCATION STANDING COMMITTEE Representative Lynn Gattis, Chair Representative Lora Reinbold, Vice Chair Representative Gabrielle LeDoux Representative Paul Seaton Representative Harriet Drummond Representative Peggy Wilson SENATE EDUCATION STANDING COMMITTEE Senator Gary Stevens, Chair Senator Mike Dunleavy, Vice Chair Senator Charlie Huggins Senator Berta Gardner MEMBERS ABSENT  HOUSE EDUCATION STANDING COMMITTEE Representative Dan Saddler SENATE EDUCATION STANDING COMMITTEE Senator Bert Stedman COMMITTEE CALENDAR  PRESENTATION: Report from the University of Alaska Anchorage Center of Alaska Education Policy Research - HEARD PRESENTATION: Report from the State Board of Education and Early Development - HEARD PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION  No previous actions to report WITNESS REGISTER DIANE HIRSHBERG PhD, Director Center for Alaska Education Policy Research (CAEPR) University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) Anchorage, Alaska POSITION STATEMENT: Provided the UAA Center for Alaska Education Policy Research (CAEPR) presentation. TERRI AKEY PhD, Co-Director Center for Research, Evaluation, and Assessment Regional Education Laboratory at Education Northwest Portland, Oregon POSITION STATEMENT: Provided a report on the Alaska State Policy Research Alliance related to the UAA Center for Alaska Education Policy Research (CAEPR) presentation. ESTHER COX, First Vice-Chair State Board of Education and Early Development Department of Education and Early Development Juneau, Alaska POSITION STATEMENT: Delivered the annual State Board of Education and Early Development legislative report. MIKE HANLEY, Commissioner Department of Education and Early Development (EED) Juneau, Alaska POSITION STATEMENT: During the presentation of the annual State Board of Education and Early Development legislative report, answered questions. ACTION NARRATIVE 8:02:40 AM CHAIR GARY STEVENS called the joint meeting of the House Education Standing Committee and the Senate Education Standing Committee to order at 8:02 a.m. Present at the call to order from the House Education Standing Committee were Representatives LeDoux, Reinbold, Seaton, and Gattis; Representatives Drummond and P. Wilson arrived as the meeting was in progress. Present from the Senate Education Standing Committee were Senators Stevens, Dunleavy, Gardner, and Huggins. 8:03:21 AM ^PRESENTATION: Report from the Center of Alaska Education Policy Research PRESENTATION: Report from the Center of Alaska Education Policy  Research (CAEPR)    CHAIR STEVENS announced that the first order of business would be a report from the Center of Alaska Education Policy Research (CAEPR). 8:04:05 AM DIANE HIRSHBERG PhD, Director, Center for Alaska Education Policy Research (CAEPR), University of Alaska Anchorage, noted the report is intended to keep the committees up to date on CAEPR's activities, to solicit suggestions from legislators on possible research projects, and to answer questions regarding appropriations, as last year CAEPR did not receive its anticipated second appropriation. As a result, CAEPR is completely "soft money funded" which means faculty has to bring in funding for projects, even though CAEPR is part of the UAA Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER). In addition, uncertainty regarding long-term funding prevents CAEPR from hiring researchers while it seeks new private or federal research funding. Recently, CAEPR supported University of Alaska (UA) faculty publications, one of which was an overview from a group of school superintendents on quality teacher evaluations. Dr. Hirshberg pointed out that this work is timely as the Department of Education and Early Development (EED) is currently creating a new teacher evaluation system. In addition, ISER is studying teacher supply, demand, and turnover, and CAEPR will issue a comprehensive report as soon as possible. At this time an update has been provided to the committee, because this information is vital to understanding the problem of teacher turnover, especially in rural schools. Also, an update, or interim report, to "Alaska's University for Alaska's Schools" has been submitted to the University of Alaska Board of Regents, studying why UA graduates are not [employed in schools] immediately after finishing educational programs. She indicated that the committee should have hard copies or electronic links to the reports that are posted on CAEPR's web site. 8:08:39 AM DR. HIRSHBERG directed attention to the draft documents provided in the committee packet, one of which was entitled, "Rural and Indigenous Teacher Preparation Programs in Alaska: A Research Brief." The brief has been provided to educators across the state and to participants, and is an overview of the lessons learned from all of the past efforts to increase the number of indigenous and rural teachers. She said the first lesson learned is that the pool of candidates is limited by the low number of graduates who continue to postsecondary education and then into teaching. There have also been efforts to find indigenous adults with bachelor's degrees and to provide them with an alternative teaching certification. Successful programs have involved indigenous communities in encouraging young people to consider education as a career. In addition, it has been found that students need intensive coaching on the basic challenges of attending college, and through the final examinations. Finally, Dr. Hirshberg cautioned that these programs have been dependent on external and federal funding, and programs in support of Alaska Native education are reinvented after each grant is received rather than institutionalized, although UA has attempted to do so. 8:12:13 AM DR. HIRSHBERG said CAEPR's final project is a large statewide survey of teachers' working conditions. However, survey responses have been received from only 280 teachers in rural districts, compared to 900 responses from urban districts. The survey has been re-launched in partnership with a project at the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF), and 160 additional responses have been received, which puts the survey on its way to a target total of 1,500 responses from educators around the state. Dr. Hirshberg said CAEPR also collaborated with the NEA- Alaska survey, the results of which have been presented. CHAIR GATTIS said the House Education Standing Committee has not heard the results of the NEA-Alaska survey. DR. HIRSHBERG conveyed that the surveys are complimentary in that NEA-Alaska focused on challenges in the classroom, and CAEPR focused on other factors of teacher satisfaction, such as concerns about housing, living and working in rural communities, district and school administration, the teacher evaluation system, and retirement. She directed attention to a highlight of the survey entitled, "Selected Preliminary Findings - 2013 Survey of Rural Teachers," that was provided in the committee packet. She first noted that there is a significant difference in responses between rural and urban teachers. For example, on the question of whether families are involved and supportive of the [school], close to 40 percent of rural teachers feel families are not supportive, and 80-90 percent of urban teachers feel families are supportive. 8:16:27 AM DR. HIRSHBERG, in response to Senator Stevens, clarified that closer to 80-90 percent of the teachers in urban schools are feeling supported. Another point that surfaced is that communities and families are interested in education that is culturally responsive, and that reflects the community; however, the school curriculum is very Western, and this creates a conflict for teachers. REPRESENTATIVE LEDOUX questioned whether subjects like math can be culturally responsive. DR. HIRSHBERG cited a program at UAF under the umbrella of Math in a Cultural Context, which works with Yup'ik elders to find and use Yup'ik ways of measuring to teach math. The goal is for the students to successfully pass the required standardized tests by learning math through the study of Native art and all of the skills necessary in village life; for example, physics, biology, nutrition, and chemistry are intuitive to whaling. 8:19:25 AM TERRI AKEY PhD, Co-Director, Center for Research, Evaluation, and Assessment, Regional Education Laboratory (REL) at Education Northwest, said REL is a federally funded program that provides assistance to states, districts, schools, and other stakeholders, using data and research to inform education practice and policy. In fact, the federal government has reserved funds to provide free resources to states on education issues. Her laboratory is one of ten RELs, and serves Alaska, Oregon, Washington, Montana, and Idaho. As part of REL's work in Alaska, it has brought together a group to explore education issues - particularly college and career readiness for Alaska students - from a state policy perspective. The desire is to develop policy that will increase the number of students who graduate [from high school] college, career, and culturally ready to advance to postsecondary education, and to find success as adults. The aforementioned group is the Alaska State Policy Research Alliance (ASPRA), and she described a research alliance as a group of stakeholders who collect data and evidence on a common topic. 8:21:53 AM DR. AKEY explained ASPRA has been working for two years toward the following goals: seek to increase use of research evidence to make policy decisions in general; provide a forum for policymakers, researchers, and other stakeholders in which to examine key education issues; and examine evidence-based solutions to prepare Alaska students for postsecondary career and technical education. Over its five-year contract, ASPRA's desired outcomes include: policymakers in Alaska share research regarding the topic of college, career, and cultural readiness; policymakers have an increased understanding and knowledge of research evidence; increased capacity in providing data to policymakers; and a continued partnership with CAEPR to increase its capacity for policy research. Dr. Akey advised that REL is not doing the research on a chosen topic, but facilitates [researchers], and provides resources to the state. She described ASPRA as a large, open group that allows a wide variety of stakeholders to contribute. The alliance is divided into two groups: a core group of policymakers, researchers, and state agencies; and a stakeholder group of professional organizations, school superintendents, Alaska Native groups, and the university system, which defines the focus of the work. 8:25:21 AM DR. AKEY continued, observing that ASPRA holds four to six events per year so that some or all of its contributors can meet. The first task of ASPRA was to set the following research agenda: 1. Which pathways do Alaska students take into college and career? 2. What policies can best support successful transitions into college and careers for Alaska students? 3. How can Alaska Native students be best served? Turning to ASPRA's work, she said the alliance studied Alaska's data systems at state agencies and educational entities. The elements of data were inventoried and identified with common measurements and definitions, with the goal of having a statewide system of data that can be used to answer policy and research questions. Thus a lot of ASPRA's work included identifying and integrating data to provide consistent information. 8:28:22 AM DR. AKEY further explained that ASPRA developed a codebook with the Alaska Commission on Postsecondary Education (ACPE) to support its Statewide Longitudinal Data System (SLDS) so that its system can be the "hub" of where information is held. Further, working with stakeholders, ASPRA is seeking to define what it means to be college, career, and culturally ready for success. It is important to have a clear meaning of success for a high school graduate moving into postsecondary life and after. In fact, examples of success were gathered from Native elders, educators, and community members, since the resulting draft report will serve as a foundation for some of the outstanding data. Dr. Akey anticipated that final reports will be available next year. Some work is on the pathways study for Alaska's students conducted by the Department of Labor & Workforce Development (DLWD), EED, UA, and ACPE. The alliance is involved in merging the data sets and to answer the aforementioned questions. Results of the study will be distributed in late spring of 2014. She concluded, noting the following ongoing work by ASPRA: evaluating state policies and the consequences thereof; conducting workshops with researchers and policymakers about how to use research and data; conducting workshops on the communication of data; defining and developing indicators; and creating policy briefs on key areas of interest to legislators, the governor's office, and state agencies. She urged the committee to suggest topics for research from which the legislature can benefit. 8:33:17 AM SENATOR GARDNER referred to ASPRA's meeting with elders on the value of education, and asked whether the elders contributed words for the "wordle" [provided in the committee packet] that described college, career, and community readiness and success. DR. AKEY answered that the wordle was created from contributions by all of the groups interviewed. She offered to provide a text definition. SENATOR GARDNER wished to compare responses from the elders to those of educators at the Anchorage School District. DR. AKEY agreed to provide the requested information. REPRESENTATIVE LEDOUX asked whether ASPRA conducts its own research. DR. AKEY answered that ASPRA conducts its own research with support from REL at Education Northwest. REPRESENTATIVE LEDOUX referred to Dr. Akey's earlier testimony, and questioned how the alliance develops education policy related to classrooms, without directly studying what happens in the classroom. 8:35:15 AM DR. AKEY assured the committee that the alliance involves teachers and superintendents to ensure that the policies that are emerging at the state level are relevant for the classroom; therefore, even though ASPRA works directly with those at the systems level, the stakeholder advisory group involves those in the classroom, and students are also interviewed. CHAIR STEVENS expressed his concern that data is not being shared between DLWD, K-12 education, and higher educational systems. DR. AKEY said that one of ASPRA's success stories is that sharing and collaboration are underway between DLWD, EED, UA, and ASPRA. She opined that more trust, better systems, and progress towards a fully integrated system, have emerged from ASPRA's work. In further response to Chair Stevens, she said SLDS is the acronym for the Statewide Longitudinal Data System Grant Program which is funded by the federal government to bring in data from a variety of sources. DR. HIRSHBERG added that UA always had a very good relationship with EED and DLWD to collaborate and provide data on teacher turnover. The alliance has uncovered further information from DLWD regarding vocational training, and students going into the military, that was not otherwise being utilized. The possibilities brought forward by ASPRA and ISER to extend and deepen data sharing are very exciting. 8:39:17 AM SENATOR HUGGINS referred to the aforementioned survey and said he was only surprised that housing, which the legislature has previously addressed, and Internet access remain a problem for rural teachers. He acknowledged that data is necessary, but questioned the lack of an action plan. DR. HIRSHBERG stated that one of CAEPR's interests is how to engage with the legislature and craft action plans. For instance, the CAEPR advisory board includes the chairs of the House and Senate Education Committees, but there may be better ways to communicate, and she encouraged suggestions from the committee. REPRESENTATIVE DRUMMOND directed attention to ACPE's "ANSWERS Alaska's P-20W SLDS" study that was presented to the House Finance Education Subcommittee [document not provided], and asked what would happen to research and data collection if the [SLDS] program were discontinued. She cautioned that the program may not be funded, and expressed her concern. DR. AKEY responded that she would contact the federal liaison to the SLDS program for information. DR. HIRSHBERG stated that the SLDS project has great potential, and if were discontinued UA would try to find new funding with ISER; however, it would be difficult to replace this resource. CHAIR STEVENS informed the committees the aforementioned NEA- Alaska survey would be forwarded to members of each committee. 8:42:23 AM The committee took an at-ease from 8:43 a.m. to 8:46 a.m. 8:46:51 AM ^PRESENTATION: Report from the State Board of Education & Early Development PRESENTATION: Report from the State Board of Education & Early  Development  CHAIR STEVENS announced that the final order of business would be a presentation of the annual report from the State Board of Education and Early Development. 8:47:19 AM ESTHER COX, First Vice-Chair, State Board of Education and Early Development (State Board), Department of Education and Early Development (EED) began the presentation of the annual State Board of Education and Early Development Report to the Alaska Legislature (Report), dated January, 2014, a copy of which was provided in the committee packet. Ms. Cox provided a brief history of [the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, Public Law 107-110] (NCLB) and explained NCLB included a school accountability program known as adequate yearly progress (AYP). In order to attain AYP, schools had to be proficient in 31 categories. Furthermore, NCLB established benchmarks for student proficiency in language arts and math that were raised consistently until 2014, at which time all students were to be proficient. She provided an anecdote which illustrated how difficult it is to attain 100 percent proficiency. Thus the state and the State Board decided to apply for a federal waiver to NCLB, and approval for a waiver required the following: increase rigor to language arts and math standards; tie educator evaluation to student growth; implement a system of accountability for schools; and conduct rigorous assessments. Regarding the state's new standards, the Alaska State Academic Standards (ASAS), she advised that the standards are enthusiastically supported statewide because they were written with the guidance of educators from the University of Alaska (UA), business people, teachers, administrators, and others. Educators from UA were involved due to instances where Alaska's high school graduates needed remedial courses when entering college or a university. In 2012, after the new standards were established, the State Board required that school districts provide a teacher evaluation system that ties teachers' ratings to student growth. Implementation of a teacher evaluation system will begin in 2016 and 2017, when 20 percent of a teacher's rating will be based on student growth; in 2018, 35 percent will be based on student growth, and in 2019, 50 percent will be based on student growth. She observed that EED is assisting districts in their preparations for this change in regulations. 8:53:02 AM MS. COX continued to explain that to implement a system of accountability the State Board developed the Alaska School Performance Index (ASPI), and a rating system of one- to five- star schools. Some of the measures used to rate schools are: student growth in reading, writing, and math; attendance; high school work-ready and college entrance assessments; high school graduation rates; and a reduction of non-proficient students by 50 percent in six years. She stated that the new five-star system will meet the specifics set by the U.S. Department of Education (DOE). The five-star system is not punitive, but provides an incentive, and she cited an example. Ms. Cox turned to the popular topic of early literacy, and extolled the benefits of the Imagination Library program, which supports the known facts that to achieve early literacy, there must be reading materials in the home, and children need to be read to. Regarding the Alaska Performance Scholarship (APS), she said the channels of communication are open and there have been no complaints due to the requirement that scholarship funds have to be spent in Alaska. Ms. Cox reminded the committee that it is the State Board's responsibility to approve teacher preparation programs that are presented by the university system, and University of Alaska Southeast (UAS) appropriately provides the needed coursework for certification; for example, UAS endorsements in distance delivery and e-learning, which use different strategies and pedagogies in teaching. Also approved at UAS is an advanced endorsement in K-8 elementary. At University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA), an advanced endorsement for elementary teachers, and 18 credits in teaching English language learners are offered. She recalled that several years ago the university decided that teachers must have four years [of study] in a content area and two years [of study] to attain a master's degree in teaching; in response, University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) approved a four-year baccalaureate program with two majors in order to qualify teachers within four years. 8:59:04 AM MS. COX turned attention to residential programs, noting that the State Board has aligned the residential programs with state law to accept variable term students, and allows students from rural schools to visit hub communities for exposure to regional opportunities. Turning to the subject of kindergarten screening, she said the State Board has passed regulations that kindergarteners and first, second, and certain third graders are to be screened for literacy skills. Further information on the aforementioned assessments was provided in the Report. Ms. Cox informed the committee that the State Board has reconsidered its position on "70/30," because that funding ratio identified schools which need additional assistance to increase student achievement. In response to Chair Stevens, she explained that 70/30 is a law that requires 70 percent of state education funding is to be spent in the classroom. If other costs exceed 30 percent, a waiver is possible, and 20-24 waivers were approved by the State Board during the 2013-2014 school year. An expected, energy costs most often cause a school's expenses to exceed 30 percent. Ms. Cox then addressed the topic of charter schools, observing that the State Board has never rejected an application for a charter school, although additional information has been requested. Applications or renewals have recently been approved for Anvil City Science Academy, Frontier Charter School, Greatland Adventure Academy, and Highland Tech. The fourth requirement for a waiver to NCLB was for a state system of support (SSOS), which identifies schools that need assistance, and is described on pages 11 and 12 of the Report. Briefly, the SSOS process utilizes 12 coaches in 13 schools who create a plan of service with specific goals, actions, and designated responses in order to assist all students to achieve. Ms. Cox directed attention to pages 13 and 14 of the Report which provided information on Alaska's Learning Network (AKLN), noting the 2013-2014 fall enrollment was 283 students. She pointed out that AKLN coursework meets the APS criteria, and some courses have dual credit; for example, UAA and AKLN offer a statewide mining class and upon completion, students can apply for a paid internship. The class offers three university credits and one semester of high school credit, and is partially funded by industry. The program is now operated by UAS, hand-in-hand with the teacher certification program. 9:04:31 AM MS. COX directed attention to page 15 of the Report, stating that the Alaska Statewide Mentor Project works; in fact, the retention percentage has improved from 67 percent to between 72 percent and 85 percent. To support the program, the state funds mentors in rural Alaska, and the program is augmented by a federal grant for mentors in urban areas. She acknowledged that teachers coming to Alaska face big changes in rural and urban schools alike, thus mentors are needed in urban centers also. The State Board is the official school board for Mt. Edgecumbe High School, and operates the school along with the Mt. Edgecumbe High School Advisory Board. Ms. Cox characterized the school as a "wildly successful" four-star school with a graduation rate of 97 percent and an attendance rate of 96 percent. Included on pages 17 and 18 of the Report is information on the Alaska State Council on the Arts, and she listed some of its activities. Pages 19 and 20 of the Report provided information on the Division of Libraries, Archives and Museums (LAM), EED, and she announced that the vault in the State Libraries, Archives, & Museum (SLAM) building will open in March, 2014, and the grand opening is scheduled for April, 2016. Page 2l of the Report covers student data, and she recalled that in 2010, the computation of the graduation rate was changed to match federal data. Alaska's graduation rate is on the rise: in 2013, the four-year graduation rate was 7l.7 percent, and the five-year graduation rate was 74.6 percent. It has become less uncommon for students to attend five years of high school, and the target graduation rate is 90 percent by 2020. The dropout rate is figured annually; in 2004-2005 it was six percent, and in 2013 it was four percent. 9:08:51 AM MS. COX said the State Board has submitted a resolution to the legislature to retract the high school graduation qualifying exam (HSGQE), as it has outlived its usefulness. The governor has proposed a plan that pays for students' choice of SAT, ACT, or WorkKeys testing; importantly, the state's new assessments are matched with its new standards, and thereby will measure academic competency and growth, and negate the need for a high stakes test. Finally, Ms. Cox relayed that the State Board is receiving three new members in March, 2014: Kathleen Yarr from Ketchikan, Kenneth Gallahorn from Kotzebue, and Barbara Thompson from Juneau. 9:10:43 AM REPRESENTATIVE REINBOLD referred to elements of state funding for education including teacher retirement, pupil transportation, construction debt reimbursement, and the base student allocation (BSA), and pointed out that the state is spending nearly $3 billion per year on K-12 education. She directed attention to page 24 of the Report which showed the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) scores indicating that Alaska's scores for math are significantly lower than those of 40 states, and scores in reading are significantly lower than those of 46 states. She asked Ms. Cox to justify Alaska's low scores in the light of its high funding. MS. COX said she could not "justify anything." She opined that strengthening standards and implementing new assessments, including earlier testing of kindergarteners through third graders, supports the idea of having children reading at grade level by third grade. She pointed out that by eighth grade, Alaska's score are improved. REPRESENTATIVE REINBOLD urged for an action plan to allay alarm that the state is not achieving the outcomes it should. She then recalled that in January, 2014, there was a lot of opposition to the Alaska State Academic Standards voiced by a member of the validating committee. Furthermore, she has been contacted by many teachers who have questioned the use of the "Danielson Model" and asked why it is being implemented in schools. MS. COX expressed her understanding that the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District is using the Charlotte Danielson Group Framework for Teaching Evaluation Instrument, known as the Danielson Model, for teacher evaluation processes. She said she has not personally used the model; moreover, districts have the opportunity to determine how they will approach teacher evaluation and incorporate the new regulations, which tie teacher evaluation to student growth. The Danielson Model utilizes rubrics. She restated that districts are free to utilize "canned" evaluation systems or develop their own. 9:14:35 AM REPRESENTATIVE DRUMMOND referred to the five-star rating system, and expressed her concern that if a school attains a higher ranking, a previously higher-ranked school would have to be displaced. She pointed out that the ranking is determined by the top 10 percent of schools, a limitation which means only 10 percent can attain a five-star rating, even if 100 percent were performing at the highest level. MS. COX deferred to EED. 9:16:07 AM MIKE HANLEY, Commissioner, EED, said EED uses a rubric and a scoring system for ranking one- through five-star schools, and every school has an opportunity to become a five-star school. By a separate ranking, the top 10 percent are recognized as high-performing schools and are rewarded; the lowest performing are recognized so they may be supported by EED. REPRESENTATIVE DRUMMOND was pleased to report that her neighborhood school, North Star Elementary, an [Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965] Title 1 school, which has traditionally failed AYP, was ranked as a four-star school because of its hard work. She asked whether the State Board has any data on the impact of high-quality early childhood education programs on achievements in literacy. MS. COX acknowledged that the State Board has thoroughly discussed early childhood programs; in fact, EED had pilot programs in rural Alaska and at Willow Crest Elementary in Anchorage. These programs are always a matter of funding and "no one wants to mandate ... an early childhood program," although the benefits of having children ready to learn when they go to school are known. In further response to Representative Drummond, she said there have been no suggestions to expand the availability of early childhood education programs on a voluntary basis. REPRESENTATIVE LEDOUX provided a scenario on the effect of dropouts on graduation rates and asked for clarification of how the statistics are compiled. MS. COX deferred to Commissioner Hanley. COMMISSIONER HANLEY explained the four-year graduation rate is compiled from a formula based on the number of students who enter high school at ninth grade and the number [in the same class] who graduate at twelfth grade, with adjustments for those who move away or transfer. However, the dropout rate is an annual description, thus if a student is no longer attending any school, he/she is considered a dropout. Alaska's latest dropout rate was 4 percent for the last year - 16 percent if accumulated over four years - and after that percentage is combined with the graduation rate of 71.7 percent, the remaining percentage of students may have received a certificate of achievement or are fifth-year seniors. 9:21:48 AM CHAIR STEVENS asked Ms. Cox for the title of the new state standards. MS. COX said the Alaska State Academic Standards (ASAS). 9:22:37 AM REPRESENTATIVE SEATON inquired as to whether it is still the State Board policy that all students take the WorkKeys assessment in eleventh grade - and that the assessment is available in twelfth grade - for inclusion in a student's transcript. MS. COX said it is still the policy of the State Board that every eleventh grade student takes WorkKeys. REPRESENTATIVE REINBOLD returned attention to the Danielson Model. She asked whether it is in use due to its link to "the waiver and Common Core Standards implementation." MS. COX further explained that the Danielson Model is a teacher evaluation model that can be accepted in totality, or modified, if a district chooses to use that model in teacher evaluation. If a district were to choose the Danielson Model, the model would have to be modified to meet the state standards and the needs of the district. REPRESENTATIVE REINBOLD restated her question, also asking whether the state received its [NCLB] waiver because of the implementation of the Danielson Model. MS. COX responded that the district she was aware of that is using the Danielson Model, implemented it prior to the state's request for a waiver. 9:25:40 AM REPRESENTATIVE REINBOLD advised that the Anchorage School District is utilizing this model as well. She directed attention to page 23 of the Report and asked why only one-fifth of Alaska's eighth grade students are tested in science. MS. COX offered to provide the requested information. 9:26:58 AM   ADJOURNMENT  There being no further business before the committees, the joint meeting of the House and the Senate Education Standing Committees was adjourned at 9:26 a.m.