January 2016 State Board of Education Review

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Student Perception Surveys and Educator Evaluation The State Board of Education will begin discussing the Academic Standards Commission Report & Recommendations regarding Common Core State Standards in February.

Welcome to the newest State Board of Education Advisor: Dr. Christine Fitch, the 2016 Dingman Award winner. She is the chairperson of the Wilson County Local School Board and will be an advisor to the SBE for one year.

This year the Student Perception Survey will be administered through Home

Base. The survey is not a mandated process, it is voluntary. The data will be one tool to assist in professional conversations with the teacher and his/her administrator. The data will become an artifact and will not be connected to a specific rubric of the NCEES. There are two survey administration windows for public school students: January 2016 April 2016 

Districts will be assigned survey windows to ensure smooth system operation

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Principals will assign a survey coordinator to monitor completion at each school site

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Surveys can be taken on any computer or mobile device

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Each survey takes 10-15 minutes to complete and the questions are based on cognitive/grade level of students

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Students will be sampled to complete no more than two surveys during each survey administration

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Each district and school site will have a survey coordinator

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Survey coordinators have access to completion reports in the online platform

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Teachers will have access to aggregate results for each survey question in June

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Principals will receive indexed construct ratings aligned to NCEES Standards 1-4 to be shared with teachers The Webinar power point presentation on Student Perception Surveys can be found at http://www.ncdpi.wikispaces.net/ or http://ncstudentsurveys.ncdpi.wikispaces.net/

NCAE SBE Review January 2016

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Actions and Policy Issues 1. Approved the Low-Performing Schools and Improvement Planning report going to the General Assembly Education Oversight Committee. All schools and districts with LPS plans can be found here: http://www.ncpublicschools.org/schooltransformation/low-performing/.

2. Approved the School Connectivity Initiative Report. Superintendent Advisor to the SBE, Dr. Shotwell asked, “ When would school buses have wireless connections so students could work on homework during bus rides home? “ 3. Discussed the proposed policy changes regarding how students with specific learning disabilities are identified and supported. The issues have been discussed since May and will be voted on in February.

The proposed changes align with the amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 2004 which permit the use of a process based on a child’s response to scientific-research based intervention and provides that states may not require LEAs to use only a discrepancy model. North Carolina has intentionally paired the RtI-based approach to evaluation and identification of students with SLD with a multi-tiered system of support (MTSS); defined as a framework that promotes school improvement through engaging, research-based academic and behavioral practices. RtI, as an approach to a comprehensive evaluation for identification of students with SLD, provides a consistent methodology for evaluating the effectiveness and success of a multi-tiered system of support, as well as measuring a student’s response to the instruction and intervention received. Both share the common element of data -based problem solving to inform instruction and intervention. In an RtI-based approach to a comprehensive evaluation, a multi-tiered system of support is critical in ensuring that a lack of appropriate instruction is not a determinant factor for a student’s low achievement and insufficient response to instruction and intervention. Consistent with the State Board of Education goal that every student in the North Carolina Public School System graduates from high school prepared for work, further education and citizenship, the proposed policy changes will effectively support our highest percentage of students identified for special education and related services.

4. Approved as an interim report, Pilot Program to Raise the High School Dropout Age from 16 to 18.

Hickory Public Schools and Newton-Conover City Schools have worked collaboratively on this pilot, sharing resources and best practices.

5. Received an update on Read to Achieve (R2A). There is a LIveBinder with tools for K-3 literacy that ranks the 4th highest use in the nation. http://www.livebinders.com/play/play?id=850102 6. Discussed many charter school issues and proposed policies.

7. Received as information an update on the enrollment of the two pilot virtual charter schools: Connections 3rd month enrollment is 1,445 students with 73 student withdrawals since September, and NCVA 3rd month enrollment is 1,377 students with 117 student withdrawals since September.

8. Received the annual report on Charter Schools and instead of approving the report, it was discussed.

More work is needed on the report noted Lt. Governor Forrest. The public can provide feedback over the next three weeks.

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College Board Advance Placement Course News for North Carolina Students Over the last few years the SBE, as well as many local school boards have implemented a strategic focus on getting more minority and at-risk students to take Advance Placement courses. Currently the state covers the assessment fees of the various exams for students who complete an AP course. Around $11 million was spent last year to cover assessment fees for 67,000 students taking 125,547 AP tests.

Over the last three years there has been an 11 percent increase of students enrolled in at least one AP course. Elizabeth City/Pasquotank and Union Public Schools school districts have received the College Board AP Honor Roll recognition for the work in getting more students to participate in AP courses, and receiving at least a score of 3 on the assessment. The College Board has targeted 23 districts in N.C. to assist teachers with professional development on how to introduce rigor to all classes, not just AP courses. In these 23 districts, students enrolled in an AP course and taking the assessment have seen an increase of 9 percent over three years (scoring 3 points or higher).

Across the state there has been a 4 percent increase in students taking an AP course.

Opportunities for Member Engagement 

NCAE MLK Scholarship Luncheon will be January 23, 2016, at the NCAE Center in Raleigh. Ticket information can be found: http://ncfpsc.org/dr-martinluther-king-jr-scholarship-event/

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Region 6 members there is still time to register for the Issues Forum for

Teachers of Exceptional Children being held January 30 at Methodist University. Registration Link: http://goo.gl/forms/0GiYejxpoG 

Next NCAE NBCT Boot Camp will be held at the NCAE Center in Raleigh February 4-6, 2016. Registration: https://ncae.wufoo.com/forms/ncae-national-boardboot-camp-all-hands-on-deck/

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NCAE ESP Statewide Conference Embassy Suites in Greensboro March 4-6, 2016. http://www.ncae.org/whats-new/educationsupport-professionals-conference/

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