District/School Administration Administration
Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education

Board in Brief
Tuesday, June 25, 2002

This is "Board in Brief," issued at the request of Commissioner David Driscoll to bring you up to date on Board of Education matters. This is a report on the regular meeting held on Tuesday, June 25, 2002 at the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education in Malden.

Board member James Madden, the 2001-02 student Board member and outgoing Chair of the Student Advisory Council, reported on the SAC's activities this year, and introduced the 2002-03 student Board member, Jeff DeFlavio, who is entering his junior year at Belmont High School.

Commissioner Driscoll updated the Board on the Department's recent and ongoing work with the U.S. Department of Education and Massachusetts school leaders to implement the federal No Child Left Behind/Elementary and Secondary Education Act in the Commonwealth. The Department has submitted a consolidated grant application to the U.S. Department of Education, which the Commissioner expects will be approved this week. The Commissioner thanked Carole Thomson, Mark McQuillan, and Juliane Dow for their ongoing work on this important initiative.

Commissioner Driscoll also updated the Board on the Grade 3 MCAS Reading Test results. More than two-thirds of third graders scored at the proficient level on the 2002 MCAS exam, up from just 62 percent last year. The Department released the student results before the end of the school year to allow teachers to identify students who would benefit from extra help over the summer vacation. In all, more than 90 percent of students scored at the Needs Improvement level or higher.

The Commissioner also reported that the Department has made available to all public schools at no cost a new computer program called TestWiz: Massachusetts. Using this program, educators will be able to print individual student reports with MCAS scores in each academic area that is tested, generate student-level classroom reports, and create item analysis reports for any subgroup of students. The program will also allow educators to create an immediate testing database by importing MCAS files from 1998 through 2001.

Certificate of Occupational Proficiency: Proposed Standards for Four Additional Occupational Clusters

The Board voted to solicit public comment on the proposed standards for four additional occupational clusters for the Certificate of Occupational Proficiency. The Certificate of Occupational Proficiency is one of the three state certificates for students (along with the competency determination and the certificate of mastery) authorized under General Laws Chapter 69, § 1D. Under that law, the Certificate of Occupational Proficiency is to be awarded to students who have acquired a competency determination (that is, who have met the state standards in English Language Arts and Mathematics on the grade 10 MCAS) and who "successfully complete a comprehensive education and training program in a particular trade or professional skill area."

At the June 2001 Board meeting, the Board adopted standards for the Certificate of Occupational Proficiency in four areas: automotive service technology, cosmetology, culinary arts and horticulture. The Board is now soliciting public comment on the proposed standards in four additional areas: carpentry/cabinetmaking, electronics, graphic communications and marketing. As with the first set, these proposed standards were developed by committees of educators, practitioners and representatives of business and industry. After the public comment period, the Commissioner will bring the proposed standards back to the Board for a vote in the fall. Once these standards are approved by the Board, the Department will use them along with the four that the Board adopted in 2001 as the basis for developing occupational assessments for the Certificate of Occupational Proficiency.

Charter Schools: Proposed Renewal of Charters for Mystic Valley Regional Charter School and Sturgis Charter School

The Board had an initial discussion regarding the charter renewal applications from Mystic Valley Regional Charter School in Malden and Sturgis Charter School in Hyannis. The charter renewal applications will be on the agenda for further discussion and action at a future Board meeting.

Schedule for Regular Board Meetings through June 2003

The Board approved its schedule for regular Board meetings through June 2003. The schedule of meetings will be posted on the Department's website.

Progress Report on School Performance Reviews

Commissioner Driscoll and Associate Commissioner Juliane Dow presented an update on the Department's 2001-2002 school performance review and targeted assistance activities. The Department conducted 12 panel reviews in the winter of 2002 to identify under-performing schools. As a result, six schools were declared under-performing this spring. The Department will be working with and conducting fact-finding reviews in each of the six schools, which will be expected to develop improvement plans by November.

The Department also reviewed and selected 15 schools with exemplary improvement to serve during the coming school year as Commonwealth Compass Schools. These schools will be honored at an event at the State House on September 25. In addition, the Department provided technical assistance and follow-up reviews for three schools that were found not to have sound improvement plans when they underwent panel review in the winter of 2001. Over the past year these schools have been engaged in continuing efforts to address deficiencies in their improvement plans and establish the conditions for successful implementation of improvement initiatives. The Department also provided oversight and assistance to the four schools that were declared to be under-performing as a result of panel reviews conducted in 2000.

Approval of Grants and Other Matters

The Board approved $7.3 million in grants for Comprehensive School Reform (federal), Exploring Options for Children with Autism (federal) and Early Literacy Intervention (state), subject to appropriation. The Board voted to authorize the Commissioner, in consultation with the Chairman and members of the Board, to approve grants and any other matters that require action between June 26 and the August Board meeting. The Commissioner will report to the Board on any such approvals. The Board also approved requests from 22 small towns that will tuition their students to public schools in other towns rather than operating their own public schools.

Next Meeting

The next regularly scheduled meeting of the Board of Education will be held on Tuesday, August 27, 2002 at the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education in Malden.