September 2016 State Board of Education Review

State Board of Education Review September 2016 Growth Report The North Carolina Performance and Growth Report was approved by the State Board of Education.    

Scores continue to improve in math and science Graduation rate has improved to 85% 17.5% more schools met or exceed growth over last year Under Legislature’s formula for grading schools (20% growth, 80% performance), more schools made A’s, B’s and C’s  Most schools making D’s and F’s are high poverty schools Several State Board of Education (SBE) members made reference to the hard work and dedication of teachers.

Policy Changes Several policy changes were approved based on legislative mandates. They include student teacher (and supervising/cooperating teacher) changes, as well as licensure renewal changes.

Educator Preparation: Student Teaching Clinical Practice Student teacher supervisors – clinical educators who supervise students in residencies or internships – must:  be professionally licensed in the field of licensure sought by the student;  have a minimum of three years of experience in a teaching role;  have been rated, through formal evaluations, at least at the “Accomplished” level as part of the North Carolina Teacher Evaluation System; and  have met expectations as part of student growth in the field of licensure sought by the student.

For the purposes of this policy, “Accomplished” means a teacher has received ratings of accomplished or higher on 3 of the 5 standards (including Standard 4) on the most recent Summative Evaluation, or on Standard 4 for teachers on an Abbreviated Evaluation.

Student teachers must complete clinical practice in the form of residencies or internships in those fields for which they are approved by the State Board of Education. Residencies or internships:  shall be a minimum of 16 weeks.  may be over the course of two semesters  shall, to the extent practicable, provide student experiences at both the beginning and ending of the school year.

Student teachers must also complete either the edTPA (Teacher Performance Assessment) or the Praxis Performance Assessment for Teachers (PPAT), which are nationally normed and validated pedagogy assessments. These assessments will determine practice performance for all candidates for teacher education candidates. All student teachers must meet passing scores and mastery criteria determined by SBE; edTPA and/or PPAT may also replace the Praxis Principles of Learning (PLT) assessments for secondary education teacher candidates.

Student teachers are also required to complete field experiences in every semester prior to the college student’s residency or internship (clinical student teaching). This must include a full semester of field experience in a low-performing school.

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State Board of Education Review September 2016 General Licensure Renewal Requirements Due to changes required by the General Assembly in HB 1030 (the 2016-17 Budget Bill), several changes were required to the SBE Teacher Licensure Renewal policy. To renew a teacher license in North Carolina, the teacher:  must be deemed PROFICIENT on most recent summative evaluation; for the purposes of this policy, “Proficient” means a teacher has received ratings of proficient or higher on 3 of the 5 standards (including Standard 4) on the most recent Summative Evaluation.  will be placed on a Mandatory Improvement Plan and be issued an Initial License (SP1) if not Proficient, according to policy; in this instance:  the Initial License will be for 3 years  the Initial Licensure does not equate to a demotion or dismissal  the MIP would begin in new school year See below for a flow chart that further explains the new requirements for renewing a license.

In Other News…  

North Carolina educators are being asked to provide feedback on the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) as to what components North Carolina should include in the state plan NCAE presidents and NCAE ESSA State Implementation team members have been asked to help seek out input and ensure an NCAE leader is represented on the Local ESSA Implementation plan.