Minnesota Department of Education Announcement of 2017-2018 Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment Results

A Note to My Readers:

 

Yesterday, Thursday, 30 August, the Minnesota Department of Education announced yet another dismal showing of the state’s students on the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments (MCAs).  In a looming article I will remind you why we get these results year after year.

 

For now, examine carefully the data revealing the wretched academic performance of students in Minnesota:

 

Proficiency in Reading and Math for Minnesota Public School Students

 

2016-2017            2017-2018

 

Reading                    60%                        60%

 

Math                         59%                        57%

 

Proficiency in Reading and Math for Minneapolis Public School (MPS) Students

 

 

2016-2017            2017-2018

 

Reading                    43%                        45%

 

Math                         42%                        42%

 

Proficiency in Reading and Math for St. Paul Public School (MPS) Students

 

2016-2017            2017-2018

 

Reading                     38%        38%

     (37.8%)  (38.4%)

 

Math                          35%        33%

 

Proficiency in Reading and Math for Minnesota Public School Students, by Racial Groups

 

     2017-2018

 

                           Reading           Math                                  

 

African

American              34%              28%

 

American               35%             29%

Indian

 

Hispanic/                38%             33%

Latino

Hispanic/                38%             33%

Latino

 

Pacific                      48%             40%

islander/

Hawaiian

 

Asian                        55%             56%

Two or                     56%             50%

more

races

 

White                      69%             66%

 

All Students          60%             57%

 

Note that the above figures reveal a thirty-five (35) percentage point gap between African American and white students for reading and a thirty-eight (38) percentage point gap for math.  In the St. Paul Public Schools, the gap for reading remained constant for 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 at fifty (50) percentage points and for math increased from forty-five (45) to forty-nine (49).

 

A previously touted charter school, Hiawatha Academy, must face the bracing news revealed by the following  record:

 

Proficiency in Reading and Math for Students at Hiawatha Academy

 

2016-2017            2017-2018

 

Reading                     39%                    31%

 

Math                           42%                   34%

 

                                                               

Minnesota Department of Education North Star Accountability System >>>>> Presentation at the 28 August 2018 Meeting of the Committee of the Whole, Minneapolis Public Schools Board of Education

A Note to My Readers  >>>>>


As you scroll down to the next article on this blog, you will find an update that I received on the afternoon of Wednesday, 29 August from the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE), pertinent to the first report on student progress at Minnesota public schools that will be given tomorrow under the MDE North Star Accountability System.  In that article, I provide an introduction to the various government laws and regulations that have driven school accountability over the course of the last years and decades.


In this article, I give information from the powerpoint presentation of MDE staff members Michael Diedrich and David Duffy at the Tuesday, 28 August 2018, meeting of the Minneapolis Public Schools Board of Education Committee of the Whole.  In this article, I give the factual information from the powerpoint presentation in essentially the same form and using the same language as appeared on screen;  the only difference comes with my use of symbols of categorization and emphasis for the information given.  In a forthcoming article, I will comment on the presentation and on the likelihood that the Every Student Succeeds Act and the North Star Accountability will achieve the fundamental objective of providing equitable public education to students of all demographic descriptors. 


Consider now the presentation  >>>>>
 
Minnesota Department of Education
The North Star Accountability System
Presentation at the
Minneapolis Public Schools
Board of Education meeting,
28 August 2018
 
Identifies Districts for Support under the State’s World Best Workforce Law

>>>>> 

Identifies schools for support under the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), using several indicators grouped into three stages to prioritize schools for different levels of support

 

>>>>> 

Replaces the accountability system from No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and the Minnesota MCLB waiver

 

ESSA Programs of Emphasis and Requirements for States

>>>>> 

ESSA Programs of Emphasis:

Funded Programs:

Academically Disadvantaged Students

English Learners

American Indian Students

Professional Development

 

Requirements for States:

Testing

Reporting

Accountability

School Support

 

Stakeholder Priorities 

>>>>>    Keep indicators separate and simple

>>>>>    Remember prioritization schools for support

>>>>>    Maintain focus on student groups:

 

Categories:

 

Racial Groups

English Learners

Students Eligible for Free and Reduced Price Lunch

Students Receiving Special Education Services

The Three-Stage Decision-Making Process 

>>>>>    Stage 1

Math Achievement

Reading Achievement

Progress Toward Reading Proficiency

>>>>>    Stage 2

(Elementary/Middle School)

Math Progress

Reading Progress

(High School)

Four-Year Graduation Rate

Seven-Year Graduation Rate

>>>>>    Stage 3

Consistent Attendance

 

Example:  Gopherville Elementary School

            (lowest 5% Title I elementary school)

 

>>>>>    Stage 1

Is the school in the lowest 25% of Title I schools for any category?

If “No” >>>>>  not in the lowest of Title I elementary schools  =  34 schools

                Math Achievement

                Reading Achievement

                Progress Toward English Language Proficiency

If “Yes” >>>>>  among the lowest of Title I elementary schools  =  34 schools,

then,

>>>>>    Stage 2

Is the school in the lowest 25%of the remaining schools for either

                Math Progress

                Reading Progress ?

 

Then >>>>>  Support from the Minnesota Department of Education

>>>>>    Stage 3

Is the school in the lowest of the remaining schools for consistent attendance?

If “No,” then >>>>>  Targeted Support

If “Yes,” then >>>>>  Comprehensive Support

 

Categories of School Support

 

Comprehensive Support  >>>>>

Ongoing technical assistance from the Regional Centers of Excellence (RCE)

for all public high schools with a four-year graduation rate below 67% overall and for any student group;   and

for the lowest 5% of Title I schools based on stages 1-3 

Targeted Support   >>>>> 

Mostly district support, with professional development opportunities from the RCEs

for schools where student groups perform below thresholds for at least one indicator in each stage;  and

for Title I schools with overall performance below thresholds in Stage 1 and Stage 2

 

Support from MDE will go to Title I schools with overall performance below thresholds in Stage 1.

 

Timeline

 
2018 ------------------       2021   ---------------------2024

 

Planning &               Planning &             Identification of
Quick Wins              Quick wins             Schools & Districts


Implementation     Implementation
&                                &
Improvement          Improvement        
                                                                                                                                                                                             

Smoke, Not Fire

 

Emphasis will be on

 

>>>>> 

 

Student Experiences and Learning         

 

with well-directed support leading to

academic improvement, graduation, and progress over time

 

Responsibilities of Districts with Comprehesive Support for Improvement (CSI) and

Targeted Support for Improvemernt (TSI) Schools

 

 

>>>>> 

 

providing oversite and leadership for each identified school in four broad areas  >>>>>

1)  communication and engagement with stakeholders

2)  conducting comprehensive needs assessment in the schools

3)  reviewing district and school level resources among and within the schools

4)  in partnership with stakeholders, designing and implementing a support and improvement plan

 

Thank You          

 

Michael Diedrich

michaeldiedrich@state.mn.us

651-582-8332

 

Dennis Duffy

dennis.duffy@state.mn.us

651-582-8304

Be Prepared for the Announcement of Minnesota School Ratings on Thursday, 30 August >>>>> Update from the Minnesota Department of Education

A Note to My Readers  >>>>>

On the afternoon of Wednesday, 29 August, I received an update from the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE), pertaining to the new North Star Accountability System devised by that department so as to meet the strictures of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) passed by the United States Congress in 2016.  The Every Student Succeeds Act replaced No Child Left Behind (NCLB), which had prevailed since 2002.  Both ESSA and NCLB were passed in fulfillment of the provisions, and as the current versions, of another law, the Elementary and Secondary School Act of 1968, the purpose of which was to achieve educational equity by providing resources to schools with large percentages of students from families of low income.  The leading indicator for low income for public school students is now qualification for free or reduced price lunch.  After a second attempt, the Minnesota Department of Education received a waiver from NCLB in 2015, instituting a Multiple Measurement Rating System (MMRS) that, as is the case with the new North Star system, took into account factors that included Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment (MCA) scores, upon which the MDE relied heavily, but also gave considerable weight to graduation rates and improvement over time.  With the passage of ESSA, the requirements of that law superseded those of NCLB and necessitated new plans from state departments of education that had received waivers.

Last evening at a Committee of the Whole Meeting at the Davis Center (Minneapolis Public Schools Central Offices, 1250 West Broadway), MDE staff members Michael Diedrich and Dennis Duffy presented on overview of the North Star Accountability System.  Look for my summary and comment on that presentation in a forthcoming article.

For now, please read this MDE communication and be prepared for the announcement of reference tomorrow that will give the performance statuses of schools according to ESSA and North Star criteria.

ESSA Update: August 29, 2018

---

North Star public release tomorrow

The Minnesota Department of Education is about to publicly release the 2018 North Star accountability results! This is a milestone that you and your colleagues played a crucial role in bringing about, through your participation, feedback and advocacy over the past two years. We have been working with districts and news media over the summer to help them understand how the North Star accountability system differs from the Multiple Measurements Rating under our waiver, and from the days of No Child Left Behind. Of particular importance has been helping them think about accountability as having three important elements: support, recognition and reporting. You may find our growing collection of e-learning modules about North Star interesting as you prepare for our first release of data. 

Tomorrow, we will recognize schools as top performers in the areas of graduation rates, consistent attendance, English language proficiency, and progress on math and reading tests over time. We will also prioritize schools to receive varying levels of support from our MDE and our Regional Centers of Excellence over the next three years. We will add new reports to our Minnesota Report Card to help families see and understand North Star results for their schools. Additional reporting enhancements are coming later this year, and into 2019. 

Below are details about a stakeholder meeting next month. We would like to walk you through the results of our shared work, and hear your thoughts about North Star. We will also continue the important discussion of enhancing and making more transparent the public reporting around school finance.

We all thank you for the work you put in to making this system come to be!

Join us September 24 for an ESSA stakeholder meeting                                                  

The first full year of ESSA implementation has begun, but we still have work to do! Please join us for an ESSA stakeholder meeting, which will include:

• A brief overview of 2018 accountability results.
• Opportunity to provide feedback on school identification and recognition.
• Kickoff of phase 3 of stakeholder engagement, focused on fiscal transparency reporting.

The meeting will be held at 6 p.m. on Monday, September 24 in Rooms 15-16, Conference Center B at the Minnesota Department of Education office in Roseville.

Wretched Academic Results Argue Powerfully for Elimination of the Office of Black Male Achievement and the Overhaul of the Government-Mandated Department of Indian Education at the Minneapolis Public Schools

We are awaiting results at this point on student performance on the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment (MCA) measure of academic achievement for spring 2018;  advanced word is that there is a bit of incremental student academic improvement in a few schools, but for the most part student performance will remain flat and for some categories will actually show continued decline.

 

The pattern for African American males during the period when the Office of Black Male Achievement has been in existence (excepting spring 2014 results, recorded before the creation of the office in autumn 2014) has been generally downward.  This is true for African American females in mathematics;  for reading, the results are essentially flat for the four years indicated:

 

African American Students Demonstrating Grade Level Achievement

 

Math

 

                                                                2014             2015           2016           2017

 

African American 

 

                Male                                     22%               23%            21%            18%

                Female                                 22%               22%            21%            19%

 

Reading

                                                               

African American 

 

                Male                                     19%               19%            19%            18%

                Female                                 25%               24%            23%            25%

 

The staff composition of the Office of Black Male Achievement is as follows:

 

Office of Black Male Achievement Staff Members, August 2018

 

1)  Michael Walker, Director

2)  Office Specialist, Senior – Cierra Burnaugh

3)  Andria Daniel, Family and CommunityInclusion specialist

4)  Corey Yeager, Educational Equity Coordinator 

5 )  Jamil Jackson, Community Expert Classroom

6)  Richard Magembe, Social Studies Teacher
7)  Marjann Sirdar, Social Studies Teacher

 

Director Michael Walker receives $125,468 per annum in salary;  other salaries in the department total approximately $400,000, so that in remuneration alone the Office of Black Male Achievement costs the district over a half-million dollars. 

 

The Office of Black Male Achievement serves only 348 students and four years into its existence is still at the pilot program stage in a school district whose African American males number approximately 7,000.  There is no way, therefore, that this office is going to raise overall achievement levels of African American males throughout the Minneapolis Public Schools.  Office staff researchers cite some gains in grade point averages for participating males, as well as indicators signaling likelihood of high school graduation.  But such measures mean little when objective measures indicate such low academic skills, even for the tiny percentage (5%) of the total African American male student population who participate. 

 

Multi-year figures for academic results and number of students served do not support the continuation of this office.  African American history and culture should be an integral part of a logically sequenced, grade-by-grade, knowledge intensive curriculum throughout the K-12 years.  The functions of this office should be subsumed for now in the Department of Teaching and Learning, which also should be greatly reduced as teachers are trained for the delivery of a knowledge-intensive curriculum.

 

For Native American/ American Indian students, academic results for years ending in 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017 are as follows:

 

American Indian/ Native American Students Demonstrating Grade Level Achievement

 

Math

 

                                                                2014             2015           2016           2017

 

Native American/ American Indian

                               

Male                                     20%               16%            16%            18%

             Female                                 25%               22%            21%            17%

 

Reading

                                                               

Native American/ American Indian

 

Male                                     18%               14%            15%            19%

             Female                                 24%               26%            26%            27%

 

Department of Indian Education Staff Members, August 2018

 

1)  Anna Ross, Director

2)  Terry Bignell, School Success Program Assistant

3)  Jodi Burke, Counselor on Special Assignment

4)  Tracy Burke, Counselor on Special Assignment

5)  Braden Canfield, Social Worker

6)  Miskwa-Kukwa Desjarlait, Youth Engagement Specialist

7)  Ida Downwind, District Program Facilitator

8)  Alicia Garcia, Social Worker

9)  Tami Johnson, Counselor on Special Assignment

10)  Elaine Kopischeke-Trejo,  Office Specialist

11)  Gary Lussier, District Program Facilitator

12)  James Kukelich, School Success Program Assistant

13)  Christine Wilson, Family Engagement Specialist

14)  Odia Wood, District Program Facilitator

 

Department of Indian Education Director Anna Ross receives $116,509 in salary per annum;  salaries for other staff members total approximately $975,000;  thus, in salaries alone this department costs the district over a million dollars.   By state law, this department must be part of the locally centralized school district in Minnesota.  But the department has not been effective in raising American Indian student achievement.  Director Anna Ross should be replaced, the entire staff should be reevaluated,  and staffing for the department should be reduced to a legally acceptable minimum.   American  Indian history and culture should be an integral part of a logically sequenced, grade-by-grade, knowledge-intensive curriculum throughout the K-12 years, and staff reductions should proceed apace as the Department of Teaching and Learning oversees overhaul of curriculum for logically sequenced knowledge intensity and teachers are trained for the delivery of knowledge-intensive curriculum that incorporates diverse ethnic history and culture into curriculum imparted to all students.

 

Superintendent Ed Graff has overseen the elimination of a separate Department of Communications and the jettisoning of much dead weight in the Department of Teaching and Learning and the Department of College and Career Readiness.

 

The Office of Black Male Achievement and the Department of Indian Education should be next in this rationalization of central office staffing at the Davis Center (1250 West Broadway) at the Minneapolis Public Schools.