SENATE HEALTH, EDUCATION AND SOCIAL SERVICES COMMITTEE March 23, 1998 9:06 a.m. MEMBERS PRESENT Senator Gary Wilken, Chairman Senator Lyda Green Senator Jerry Ward MEMBERS ABSENT Senator Loren Leman, Vice-Chairman Senator Johnny Ellis COMMITTEE CALENDAR SPONSOR SUBSTITUTE FOR SENATE BILL NO. 203 "An Act relating to phonemic awareness, letter-sound correspondence, word-attack skills, spelling, vocabulary, use of decodable text, reading comprehension strategies, and testing for basic reading and reading comprehension skills in the public school system." HEARD AND HELD SENATE BILL NO. 246 "An Act amending the definition of correctional facility to include a therapeutic treatment center; providing for the conveyance of the Harborview Developmental Center and appurtenant land to the City of Valdez for the purpose of conversion and lease of a part of the center for a therapeutic treatment center for the Department of Corrections; providing that such a land conveyance counts toward the general grant land entitlement of the City of Valdez; and providing for an effective date." PASSED SB 246 OUT OF COMMITTEE PREVIOUS SENATE COMMITTEE ACTION SB 203 - See HESS minutes dated 2/20/98, 2/23/98 and 3/23/98. SB 246 - See Senate Community & Regional Affairs minutes dated 2/2/98 and HESS minutes dated 2/27/98. WITNESS REGISTER Mel Krogseng Legislative Aide to Senator Taylor Alaska State Capitol Juneau, Alaska 99801-1182 POSITION STATEMENT: Testified for the sponsor of SB 203 Dr. Nick Stayrook Fairbanks North Star Borough School District 520 Fifth Avenue Fairbanks, Alaska 99701 POSITION STATEMENT: Commented on SSSB 203 Jean Ann Alter Alaska State Literacy Association 319 Distin Avenue Juneau, Alaska 99801 POSITION STATEMENT: Commented on SSSB 203 Jaqueline Tagaban National Assn. for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) 320 West Willoughby Juneau, Alaska 98901 POSITION STATEMENT: Commented on SSSB 203 Nila Rinehart Tlingit & Haida Head Start 3211 Tongass Boulevard Juneau, Alaska 99801 POSITION STATEMENT: Commented on SSSB 203 Bridget Smith Even Start 137 Sixth Street Juneau, Alaska 99801 POSITION STATEMENT: Commented on SSSB 203 Dennis Early Tlingit & Haida Head Start 3211 Tongass Boulevard Juneau, Alaska 99801 POSITION STATEMENT: Commented on SSSB 203 John Cyr National Education Association 114 Second Street Juneau, Alaska 99801 POSITION STATEMENT: Commented on SSSB 203 Sue Oliphant 2155 Fritz Cove Road Juneau, Alaska 99801 POSITION STATEMENT: Commented on SSSB 203 ACTION NARRATIVE TAPE 98-26, SIDE A Number 001 CHAIRMAN WILKEN called the Senate Health, Education and Social Services (HESS) Committee to order at 9:06 a.m. Present were Senators Wilken, Ward and Green. SB 203 was before the committee. SB 203 - PHONICS CURRICULUM CHAIRMAN WILKEN announced the committee would be addressing the sponsor substitute for SB 203 and that committee packets contained a new fiscal note and copies of various e-mail notes sent to the committee. MEL KROGSENG, legislative aide to Senator Robin Taylor, sponsor of SSSB 203, explained the measure as follows. SSSB 203 was drafted as a compromise to the original legislation after a great deal of testimony was heard in opposition to a provision that mandated that every public school system include phonics instruction in its curriculum. SSSB 203 requires students to be tested in first, second, and third grades using a nationally normed test. The bill encourages school districts to include systematic intensive phonics in their curricula and only mandates its inclusion if a majority of the students in any particular grade level scores below the 25th percentile on a nationally normed test for three consecutive school years. Senator Taylor would prefer to have the committee address the percentage amount, on page 2, line 13, rather than wait until a majority, or 51 percent, of students score in the lower 25th percentile before districts are forced to take action to reverse that trend. MS. KROGSENG informed committee members that Senator Taylor was approached on Friday by a representative of the Department of Education (DOE) with a proposed amendment to change the content of the bill and tie it to the draft DOE standards. Senator Taylor opposes the amendment because DOE's standards remain in draft form at this time. Second, the Fordham Foundation evaluation of 46 states criticized the Alaska DOE's math standards for being very vague. MS. KROGSENG stated that Senator Taylor believes SSSB 203 contains a very reasonable approach to ensuring that elementary students receive adequate language education. She pointed out the United Kingdom is now mandating the use of systematic intensive phonics instruction in its school systems, according to the London Telegraph. Also, a Wall Street Journal editorial, dated March 23, 1998, stated the process of teaching young children to read has been a notable disaster throughout this country in recent years. She concluded by saying Senator Taylor preferred the approach set out in CSSB 203, previously reviewed by the committee, but in light of trying to get legislation to address this problem passed, he is offering the sponsor substitute. Number 121 DR. NICK STAYROOK, staff to the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District (FNSBSD) and a consultant to the Alaska DOE, gave the following testimony. He informed committee members he is not a reading expert, but is very familiar with the issue of phonics and whole language instruction in the FNSBSD. His area of specialty is in assessment and evaluation. In 1989 the FNSBSD adopted a whole language curriculum and the use of a Holt Impressions Reading Series which resulted in a lot of controversy over the whole language approach and the selected reading materials. This approach de-emphasizes the use of phonics instruction and emphasizes learning to read in context, using real literature as opposed to "Dick and Jane" type primers. While that curriculum has been in place during the last eight years, a number of concerns were raised regarding significant decreases in elementary students' spelling scores on the California Achievement Test (CAT). Those scores dropped to about the 30th to 35th percentile districtwide during the first three years. As a result, the school board took action and instituted the use of spelling textbooks and curricula. CAT spelling scores increased over the last four or five years up to the national average. DR. STAYROOK indicated the FNSBSD is in the process of revising its entire curriculum. The draft curriculum has undergone extensive review by teachers, parents, and other groups, and will be before the school board in the next month. The draft contains a balanced approach to the teaching of reading and language arts in the elementary schools. The balanced approach includes both phonics instruction, as proposed in SSSB 203, and the whole language approach. The district found that elementary students must be provided with a range of different instructional methods because students come to school with various backgrounds in reading: some read well when they enter kindergarten, others do not know the alphabet. The FNSBSD believes a balanced approach is the only way to go. Recent research on reading instruction favors a balanced approach as well. He urged the committee to look closely at a bill that will require not only phonics, but also the whole language approach because no one method is good for all students. DR. STAYROOK stated the FNSBSD did use the CAT to assess first, second, and third graders, but discontinued its use with first graders for a number of reasons. First, classroom teachers felt it was not developmentally appropriate to have students, who were instructed using open-ended assessment tasks that allowed them to read orally and demonstrate their reading abilities in other ways, take a test that required them to focus in on one correct answer on an answer sheet. A standardized test, like the CAT or the Metropolitan or Stanford Achievement Tests, only gives half the story about reading performance of students in the early grades. Those tests measure the basic skills listed in SSSB 203, such as phonemic awareness, but they do not measure a child's ability to read orally and then explain the meaning of what was read. Number 205 SENATOR GREEN asked Dr. Stayrook to suggest an appropriate measure to use to assess the reading abilities of young children. DR. STAYROOK replied there are many individually administered reading tests available for teachers to use. SSSB 203 calls for the use of individual tests only for the students who are scoring below a certain level on a group administered, norm referenced test. SENATOR GREEN asked Dr. Stayrook whether he thought individually administered tests are preferable for all young students. DR. STAYROOK answered the FNSBSD Title 1 programs assess young students using an individually administered reading test the result of politics which allows students to provide both verbal and written responses. He added many other good tests are available that do the same. Number 239 SENATOR GREEN questioned whether she is correct in assuming that most teachers do not need a nationally normed test to evaluate a student. DR. STAYROOK said he believes that is true. Teachers usually know what the test results will be before the test is administered, because teachers work with students 180 days over the school year. SENATOR GREEN commented that many teachers use a check-off sheet to determine which phonics principles a student is aware of, and that exercise becomes part of the student evaluation process. She questioned whether that approach could be tied in to determining which students need to be tested. DR. STAYROOK stated he met with Senator Taylor and his staff during the past week to come up with a compromise bill that will emphasize the balanced approach to reading instruction as opposed to a bill that simply talks about phonics. DOE believes a balanced approach is necessary. He suggested amending the bill to require districts to use a balanced approach and to require students to meet the Alaska student performance standards in reading and language arts. He incorporated, into proposed amendments, the contents of the standards which include such things as phonics, spelling, instruction, word meaning in context, structure of the English language, and other whole language concepts. DOE recommends the use of an assessment system based on performance standards set for very young students; one age group being 5 to 7 year olds. The assessment will contain test items much like those in an individually administered diagnostic reading test. SENATOR GREEN asked whether DOE's plan involves creating a new test. DR. STAYROOK said it does. SENATOR GREEN remarked she does not think creating a new test is necessary because measurements already exist to determine whether first graders can recognize certain sounds for reading. Existing tests can fulfill what both DOE and Senator Taylor have in mind. DR. STAYROOK clarified that DOE does not plan to develop a completely brand new set of test questions to measure the portion of the standards that deal with phonics. Other parts of the standards, such as listening, speaking, and writing skills, cannot be measured using existing tests. DOE proposes to work with a test contractor to ensure that the assessment is comprehensive. DOE believes a balanced assessment program will be necessary to measure all aspects of the balanced approach to reading. Number 295 SENATOR GREEN pointed out the problem with the Quality Schools Initiative is the incredibly high cost of creating the assessment piece. She repeated her belief that an appropriate measurement already exists to assess all of the components of a balanced approach. She suggested that the legislation should be broadened to require schools to do something other than provide special education classes for students who measure below a certain percentile on a nationally normed test. She stated that is the direction in which the Legislature is headed. She asked Dr. Stayrook to help the Legislature get there with this bill without creating a new test. DR. STAYROOK spoke to the "normed" part of a nationally normed test. The definition of what represents norming is the average score of a nationally representative group of students of the same age who took the test. When students in Alaska are compared against the national norm, they are being compared against the average of all students in the norm group upon which this test was standardized. He noted if one looks at the achievement of students over the last five or ten years, when the normed tests were created, one should ask whether the standards are high enough. The CAT was normed in 1992 so we are comparing students today to a representative group of students who took the same test in 1992. DOE is arguing that nationally normed tests do not provide a high enough standard for Alaska students. If Alaska creates its own set of standards and assessments for students, the assessments could be benchmarked against other states with much higher standards than the nationally normed test. For example, the State of Virginia is viewed as a state with an extremely good standards and assessment system; Virginia's students score well above the national average. He proposed amending SSSB 203 to require that any standards and assessment system that DOE devises for students ages 5 to 7 be compared against other states to ensure that Alaska holds the same high expectations for its students as other states do. Number 341 SENATOR GREEN asked Dr. Stayrook if he could change the words "nationally normed test" to another phrase, what that would be. DR. STAYROOK replied "to a set of criterion referenced tests that have high standards." SENATOR GREEN asked whether such tests already exist. DR. STAYROOK replied many of the tests that exist are norm- referenced, not criterion referenced, because a criterion referenced test cannot be created without first determining the criteria. SENATOR GREEN asked whether the State of Virginia has such a test. DR. STAYROOK said it does but that test is based on performance standards set by the State of Virginia, not on a nationally-normed reference test. SENATOR GREEN questioned whether the Alaska DOE could borrow from the State of Virginia. DR. STAYROOK said DOE could, if that information is not privileged or copyrighted. DOE would benchmark Alaska's standards and assessments against Virginia's standards, as well as other selected states. SENATOR GREEN questioned whether any well known, criterion- referenced tests are commercially available. DR. STAYROOK said none are commercially available because a criterion referenced test relates to the criteria set up for a specific school, school district, or state, hence commercial publishing companies do not create criterion referenced tests unless requested. DOE is proposing to have a test created that will emphasize a balanced approach to reading instruction. Number 365 CHAIRMAN WILKEN asked Senator Green if her concern is, that while she supports using a test, she does not see the need to create a new test. SENATOR GREEN responded that she cannot imagine that creating a new test is necessary for first, second, and third grade student assessments. She repeated that although teachers do a wonderful job with day-to-day assessments, some students in every classroom do not succeed and it is those students that SB 203 is geared to. She said she cannot believe, after so many years of testing, an appropriate test does not already exist. DR. STAYROOK answered assessments exist in pieces. DOE is proposing to put the pieces together to create a comprehensive assessment for young children. SENATOR GREEN asked how much DOE estimates the creation of a new test will cost. DR. STAYROOK said DOE is using the same estimate it used for the high school exit qualifying exam which is about $2 to $3 million and it will take two to three years to develop. Number 388 CHAIRMAN WILKEN maintained that any test of first, second, and third graders would be a test of basic skills. He suggested the language on page 2, line 2 is problematic and needs to be further developed. He asked Dr. Stayrook if he planned to offer any amendments at this time. DR. STAYROOK stated he presented a series of amendments that are acceptable to DOE to Senator Taylor's staff. CHAIRMAN WILKEN noted the committee will consider those amendments as it continues to work on this bill. SENATOR GREEN asked what the phrase "If a majority of the students..." means on page 2, line 13. DR. STAYROOK explained that would apply if over 50 percent of the students score in the bottom quartile on a nationally normed test. Nationally normed tests have percentile ranks of students. It is conceivable that all, or a majority, of the students within a school or school district could score below the 25th percentile. SENATOR GREEN asked what percent is typical, or what DOE would hope for. DR. STAYROOK answered the national standard is to have 25 percent of the students score within each quartile on the test. In a good school district, less than 25 percent of the students would score in the bottom quartile. Number 411 SENATOR GREEN stated that if a majority of students in a grade tested below the 25th percentile, the situation would be ominous. She asked what would be a reasonable standard to expect statewide. DR. STAYROOK replied it is very difficult to say. Anytime the percentile is over 25, those scores indicate that problems exist, but the same holds true when even one student scores below the 25th percentile. SENATOR GREEN asked if the word "majority" on line 13 would set a false standard. DR. STAYROOK replied DOE has reviewed the fourth grade CAT results by district across the state. 11 out of 53 districts have greater than 50 percent of their students scoring in the lowest quartile in reading. Those districts need help getting their students up to grade level. That information is not available for first, second, and third graders because they are not tested. He cautioned that the content of these tests tell only part of the story about the reading achievement level of students. SENATOR GREEN asked whether this might not only indicate the delivery method is in question, but also that the child needs further testing and that special assistance will be required for more than just reading skills. DR. STAYROOK said it does. He believes any child scoring below the 25th percentile needs additional assistance. DOE does not oppose having classroom teachers administer diagnostic reading tests to students who have deficiencies in order to determine where those deficiencies are. A group administered achievement test, such as the CAT, is not a diagnostic test. It gives a broad picture of how students score across a number of subjects. SENATOR GREEN questioned whether a diagnostic test is completely different from a criterion referenced test. DR. STAYROOK said yes, a diagnostic test is individually administered to determine specific kinds of reading and language arts deficiencies. A criterion referenced test measures a student's performance against a set of standards or a set of criteria. SENATOR GREEN questioned whether a diagnostic test is the piece that is needed for this type of bill. DR. STAYROOK answered certainly students who perform low should be given a diagnostic test. He pointed out SSSB 203 does call for diagnostic testing if a majority of students are scoring in the bottom quartile on the group administered test. SENATOR GREEN questioned whether it would be appropriate to initially administer a diagnostic test. DR. STAYROOK thought that would be a good idea and noted that is the direction the FNSBSD is going in. The FNSBSD is not satisfied with the assessments it currently has for first graders so it plans to pilot more individualized assessments. SENATOR GREEN questioned whether any existing test might complement a diagnostic test to get the results the sponsor is aiming at. DR. STAYROOK said such a test would be a criterion referenced test based on the Alaska standards. Number 457 CHAIRMAN WILKEN asked whether the FNSBSD tests first graders now. DR. STAYROOK said first graders have not been tested for the last three years. The FNSBSD has substituted a performance assessment. Teachers read students a three page story and allow them to answer open-ended questions regarding the reading. The FNSBSD has found the performance assessment is rather easy and only measures the students' ability to comprehend a story read to them. Test results show that the average first grader scores at the 90th percentile. The FNSBSD is now looking at other types of reading assessments to substitute. CHAIRMAN WILKEN asked whether some districts in this state would benefit from this legislation, while others would not benefit at all. DR. STAYROOK said that would be fair to say. He thought one reason the bill was introduced is that curriculum specification is the responsibility of each school district, and many districts have instituted curricula that largely emphasize whole language instruction and de-emphasize phonics and basic skills instruction in reading. If the bill was written to include a balanced approach, it would preclude districts from adopting curricula that do not have either phonics or whole language instruction. CHAIRMAN WILKEN questioned whether that would become transparent if SSSB 203 passed. DR. STAYROOK stated he believes that is true. The draft FNSBSD curriculum would match this bill in its entirety in terms of what is emphasized. Number 482 JEAN ANN ALTER, legislative chair of the Alaska State Literacy Association, former DOE Title 1 coordinator, and a reading teacher, gave the following testimony. She complimented the committee for addressing the issue of assessing students who are not learning to read and requiring schools to provide additional instruction and support for those struggling readers. She suggested dropping the mandate for norm-referenced testing in at least the first two grade levels and replacing it with language in the bill requiring DOE to approve every schools' reading assessment plan for the early grades. Any reading assessment plan should assess phonetic awareness, word attack, fluency, etc. She expressed concern about reinstating the use of norm-referenced tests in the first two grades because in the last five to 10 years Alaska schools have found more effective kinds of assessments to use in the early grades. All of the schools in the state that receive any federal money in the way of Title 1, Migrant, Title 6, or Title 2 funds report their assessment methods of primary grade students to DOE. Many school districts use informal assessments, such as the Dural (ph) Qualitative Reading Assessment, while more and more school districts are combining that with the Clay Observation Survey, used on all primary grade children. The Clay Observation Survey includes an alphabet screen that tests a student's ability to recognize letters and sounds to determine the level of phonetic awareness, tests dictation skills, familiarity with word lists, writing skills, and oral reading skills. That approach is much more effective than using a norm-referenced test. Norm-referenced tests tempt teachers to teach directly to the test which limits instruction. Ms. Alter said norm-referenced tests are not particularly accurate in the primary grades; one could get a better view of a student's achievement level by looking at the parent's income level. Students in the primary grades guess at answers in norm-referenced tests, and using the test as a screen does not provide accurate results. She pointed out in rural Alaska, the students she works with are very good at phonics but have more difficulty with comprehension, which is why she agrees a balanced approach is necessary. SENATOR GREEN asked Ms. Alter if she could recommend language to replace the phrase "... using a nationally normed group- administered test" on page 2, line 2. MS. ALTER said she would recommend language requiring DOE approval of each district's assessment plan for students in primary grades. Most districts are already required to report to DOE how they are assessing student literacy for their federal programs and a majority of the districts already have a solid plan in place. At this point DOE is understaffed so staff cannot travel to, and assist, districts in developing good assessment plans, and smaller districts cannot hire consultants like Dr. Stayrook. Number 561 SENATOR GREEN commented if a statewide standard is set in statute and DOE has oversight, the onus will be put on the classroom. MS. ALTER suggested requiring districts to have assessment measures in place to assess reading, including phonetics, comprehension, writing skills, etc., for younger children, and then, if the Legislature so desires, use norm-referenced measures beginning in third grade because those tests are more accurate at that level. SENATOR GREEN asked Ms. Alter if she believes an ongoing assessment of children is already occurring. MS. ALTER said she does. Some school districts use standardized materials to do so, for example, the Clay Observation Survey is a standardized measure but it is not norm-referenced. Many schools use informal surveys that are effective in gathering the kind of information desired. TAPE 98-27, SIDE B JAQUELINE TAGABAN, Tlingit and Haida Central Council Project Director for the Family Education Center, a Native parent, and the Chairperson for the Southeast Alaska Affiliate of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), expressed the following concerns about viewing phonics as the one and only way to teach reading to children. She believes that children learn to read in many ways, phonics being one, and they learn to read when exposed to authentic literature that is meaningful to them and their environment, rather than with books that lose meaning when attempting to provide a phonics lesson. NAEYC believes it is extremely important to capitalize on the active and social nature of children's learning. Early instruction must provide rich demonstrations and models of literacy in the course of activities that make sense to young children. As a member of the Native community, Ms. Tagaban stated her concerns are at the targeted group for whom this bill is addressing. If nationally-normed standardized tests are used to identify students considered at risk for learning, Native children will be targeted because they do not score well on such tests. Such tests do not appropriately reflect what all children know, and are even more inaccurate for Alaska Native children whose learning environment is nothing like the national norm. Ms. Tagaban did not believe it is necessary to create a new assessment piece if we can trust in individual teachers who are doing authentic assessment on a daily basis. If Native children continue to be labeled "at risk" and are given less of a variety of ways to learn to read, we are taking steps backward rather than forward. SENATOR WARD commented that he is an Alaska Native and went through the public school system. In the seventh grade, his family moved to Florida for a short period of time. He left the Anchorage school system with a below average grade but was a straight A student in Florida. He believes the handicap that is put on Native children is a joke and as a grandfather, he will not allow his grandchildren to be involved in the Johnson O'Malley program but he insists that they get good grades. He said Alaska's schools were far ahead of the rest of the nation, but no longer are as something has changed drastically, but the decline in school systems has nothing to do with race. MS. TAGABAN said she was in no way saying it has to do with race, her point was there are many inequities in this state already, and that many children do not have grandparents who can support them to learn to read, or even parents who can be there on a daily basis. The problem is not that the children are not able to learn to read, it is due to all of the inequities they must battle on a daily basis. SENATOR WARD stated they will battle, and will end up being leaders. MS. TAGABAN stated as long as we can think of Native students as individuals who can learn to read using whatever method is best for them and materials appropriate in their environment, they will learn. SENATOR WARD said he does not disagree with Ms. Tagaban, but he needs to make sure that Native students have all of the tools they need to compete, and that is what SSSB 203 is about. MS. TAGABAN said she had to disagree because she does not believe SSSB 203 will provide the tools necessary to learn to read. Number 523 NILA RINEHART, manager of Tlingit and Haida Head Start, Tlingit and Haida Central Council Indian Tribes of Alaska, and a national board member of NAEYC, made the following statements. NAEYC and the Reading Association are in the process of developing a position paper on how young children learn to read. Children learn to read and write in a variety of ways. Children are from varied backgrounds and are put in groups of children who may or may not be like them when they enter an educational institutional setting. Because the early years are such important learning years, teachers must be well prepared and trained on how to help young children develop reading and writing skills. Children need to have a good learning environment, teacher-pupil ratios need to be adequate. Children learn best in small group settings, especially in the younger years. In addition, schools need sufficient resources to bring books into the hands of children. Many libraries need to be upgraded to include good children's literature and high quality learning materials so that all children have access to a print-rich environment. Children who do not meet national ranges for literacy need individualized instruction. Parents, teachers, and schools need to be involved in determining what the individualized approach should be. She agreed that phonics needs to be a part of the curriculum, but it is not the only part. Teachers should use multiple indicators to assess whether or not children are reading at the appropriate level, including daily observations. Group administered, multiple choice, standardized tests in reading and writing are not appropriate for the younger children. Standardized testing leads to standardized ways of teaching which is not acceptable for young children. Children learn to love or hate learning in their younger years. Also, every child needs to have appropriate health care. Whether a child can adequately hear, see, and has enough nutrition to carry him/her throughout the day is essential. She commended the sponsor for recognizing the importance of learning to read but she stated she believes in a balanced approach and that there are many different aspects that contribute to a child's ability to learn. CHAIRMAN WILKEN asked Ms. Rinehart how the Head Start Program introduces three year old children to reading. Number 472 MS. RINEHART said at age three they are provided with a print rich environment and they are read to daily. Children learn to write their names and to recognize symbols. Books are provided in the classroom and to parents to read at home. They have found the best way to teach children to love to read is to be read to by parents and teachers. Providing books that talk about their cultures and communities, as well as the broader world, is very important. DENNIS EARLY, a Head Start preschool teacher and parent of two children, made the following comments. Both of his children thoroughly enjoy reading and writing and both were presented with a basal type approach to reading when they began which they struggled with. He believes it is very important to get children hooked on reading at the preschool level. He cautioned against testing children at a young age because they are unlikely to score well. CHAIRMAN WILKEN asked what the basal approach is. MR. EARLY responded he thinks of it as a "Dick and Jane" approach which emphasizes words rather than meaning. Number 436 BRIDGET SMITH from the Even Start program explained that program is a federal education program which focusses on family literacy. She assured committee members it is not the absence or presence of phonics instruction that leads to childrens' success in learning to read. Many factors are at play, the most important being whether parents provide a literate environment at home. She appreciated the committee's concern but said she is wary of a bill that prescribes a program of intensive systematic phonics because she believes children need a balanced approach to language instruction. JOHN CYR, National Education Association (NEA) President, stated that previous testimony has almost been unanimous in the belief that the curriculum change that takes place must be broad based. He commended the Legislature for looking at education in the in- depth way that it has over the last couple of years but he stated he does not believe SB 203 is necessary. Mandating norm-referenced tests moves the state backward. He remembered giving norm- referenced tests to young students in Kipnuk, which was a waste of one week's worth of school. If the goal is to make schools better, the teacher-pupil ratio must be smaller, schools need more books and libraries, and students need to come to school healthy. Requiring another nationally normed, artificial test, and mandating a prescriptive program for all children will hurt as many students as it helps. Alaska needs to set rigorous state standards and let professionals in school districts and classrooms make sure that students meet them. Micromanaging individual classrooms is the wrong approach. SENATOR GREEN stated what prompted this legislation is the fact that some students end up with a degree but can neither read, write, or spell. She stated assessing students at an early age could prevent such situations. MR. CYR said he thinks we need to set criterion referenced standards in place and to ensure that those standards are very clear to teachers and parents. We also need to set up a system of testing. He was unsure whether DOE needs to spends millions of dollars to do so. He thought that setting standards will obligate school districts to find a way to ensure students meet them. He said such a system will be expensive and it will fall to the legislative body to provide funding. Number 333 SENATOR GREEN asked whether the problem is that school districts are inconsistent in their grade level standards. MR. CYR replied that question is better asked of reading specialists, but he assumed textbook companies still sell reading textbooks and that there is some basic understanding of what skills a six year old child should have. He thought most basal programs follow a prescribed method of teaching reading. Every good first and second grade teacher should be able to assess each student in the classroom and know what level the student is at. SENATOR GREEN said that is not happening in every school. She asked how the Legislature can raise the standards and criteria for each grade, without offending districts that already have programs in place. MR. CYR said the Legislature could set the standard. If he was teaching U.S. history, he could be told what all students should know when completing the class. Teachers should be able to decide which textbooks and materials to use, but teachers should be held responsible for ensuring that the students meet the standard. SENATOR GREEN asked whether that is currently happening. MR. CYR said there are no statewide standards. Number 287 SENATOR GREEN commented no statewide standards have been set after all of the curriculum committees have met for so many years. She stated she would like to think that the purpose of the legislation is not to offend anyone, but to say that assessments for reading, writing, and spelling skills in first, second and third graders are very important, and that the Legislature wants to know what students can do and what to do when students have problems. Number 274 MS. KROGSENG noted that previous speakers made numerous references to using a balanced approach. She clarified language on page 1, lines 7-10, speaks to the use of intensive systematic phonics along with other methods of instruction. She emphasized there is nothing in the original bill or the proposed committee substitute that mandates that phonics is to be the only thing taught, nor is there a reference to any particular program, because Senator Taylor believes it is the teachers' responsibility to incorporate phonics instruction in with the other methods they use. MS. KROGSENG said, regarding the use of nationally normed tests, Senator Taylor's intent is not necessarily to accept the mid-norm; Alaska can require scores to be in the 80th percentile. Senator Taylor's concern is that when Alaskan children graduate from our schools, they should be able to compete with students from the other 49 states. The bill focuses on first, second and third graders because students' problems must be determined at an early age in order for school districts to address them. If problems are not assessed until the tenth or eleventh grades, the student has lost years of opportunities. In addition, children cannot learn history or other subject material without knowing how to read. Regarding the fiscal note, MS. KROGSENG remarked it is Senator Taylor's belief that if this bill passes, and deficient school systems begin using phonics instruction in addition to other methods of instruction in their language arts programs, special education costs will decreaes far more than any costs incurred as the result of requiring nationally normed tests to be given. MS. KROGSENG referred to page 2 of the Wall Street Journal editorial, dated March 23, 1998, which reads: The report just released by the National Research Council (sponsored by the Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services) concludes that no single method has all of the answers and recommends a mix of the two. Well, that's a start. So is the report's recognition that the debate over methods has diverted too much attention from the problem of actually getting kids to read. For proof, there are the embarrassing statistics: a 1992 National Adult Literacy Survey showed that 21% of Americans are functionally illiterate. On top of that, a December study by the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development found the United States to be among the few developed nations that has failed to improve literacy over the past generation. MS. KROGSENG questioned why, if teachers are already assessing students on a daily basis and attacking the problem, we are in the situation we are today. She urged committee members to amend SSSB 203 on page 2, line 13, to replace the words "a majority" with "25 percent or more." CHAIRMAN WILKEN asked that the sponsor work with the Administration on the amendments discussed today and on the language on page 2, line 2, which pertains to testing. The committee will schedule the bill when that work is done. Number 192 SUE OLIPHANT, the Tlingit and Haida Head Start Disabilities and Education Coordinator, commented throughout her career she has learned that young children learn at very different rates and they learn different things at different times. While one child may be focusing on physical development, another child is working on language development. She cautioned against using standardized tests on young children. As a third grade teacher, she noted that the students who were achieving best academically scored lower than she would have expected on a standardized test. She thought that occurred because those students were thinkers and could see several options to the questions on a standardized test. She also warned that no standardized tests are appropriate for our geographic area. She discussed the difficulty her own children had with standardized testing and that expectations were key to whether they were successful or not. She suggested that if the Legislature wants to address the problem of student underachievement, it should address the problem of large class sizes. CHAIRMAN WILKEN requested that a representative from DOE address the fiscal note when SSSB 203 is rescheduled. CHAIRMAN WILKEN announced that there will be a 3:00 presentation to the House and Senate HESS committees on Thursday on early brain development. SB 246 - HARBORVIEW DEVELOPMENTAL CENTER SENATOR WARD moved SB 246 out of committee with individual recommendations and its accompanying fiscal notes. There being no objection, the motion carried. There being no further business to come before the committee, CHAIRMAN WILKEN adjourned the meeting at 10:33 a.m.