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

Board in Brief
Tuesday, December 16, 2008

This is "Board in Brief," issued at the request of Commissioner Mitchell D. Chester to bring you up to date on Board of Elementary and Secondary Education matters. This is a report on the special meeting held on Monday evening, December 15, 2008 and the regular meeting held on Tuesday, December 16, 2008 at the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education in Malden.

Special Meeting

The Board engaged in a discussion about the recommendations of the Task Force on 21st Century Skills, which presented its white paper at the November 18, 2008 Board meeting in Somerville. Chair Maura Banta invited three Board members to start the discussion by offering their reactions to the Task Force's report. Sandra Stotsky presented a review of where and how 21st century skills are included in the Massachusetts curriculum frameworks, and suggested reinforcing the necessary connection between skills and academic content. Beverly Holmes said it is imperative that 21st century skills are made a reality for all children, and also recommended evaluating current school structures before embarking on new models. Tom Fortmann said the Board could dispel misunderstanding about the Task Force's recommendations by affirming that objective assessment of well-defined subject knowledge and skills will remain intact. Dr. Fortmann recommended that the Board invite the Mathematics and Science Advisory Council and the curriculum framework revision panels to advise on how to strengthen 21st century skills in the frameworks and how best to structure local assessments. Dr. Fortmann also said the problem is not getting 21st century skills into the frameworks but rather getting them into the classroom, by recruiting, nurturing, and retaining a 21st century teaching force and providing a highly professional working environment.

Chair Banta welcomed three distinguished panelists to talk about the Task Force's report and to join in discussion with the Board: Michael Cohen, president of Achieve, Inc.; E.D. Hirsch, founder and chair of the Board for the Core Knowledge Foundation; and Richard Murnane, Harvard University professor of education and society. Mr. Cohen said three things are clear: (1) 21st century skills are important; (2) too few young people leave high school having developed skills to ensure their success in college and careers; and (3) the real challenge lies in the classroom rather than the standards. Mr. Cohen said there needs to be a clear image of what 21st century skills look like, and that students must learn and apply these skills in the context of strong content knowledge. He said that Achieve views the Massachusetts academic standards as a benchmark, and skills should be in service of standards. Mr. Cohen recommended that the state accountability system focus on students graduating from high school ready for college and careers.

Dr. Hirsch said that Massachusetts is the bellwether in public education, MCAS has made the difference, but the key is to make good tests that encourage good instructional practices and not test prep. Dr. Hirsch said that MCAS is curriculum based and students who do well on it will also be strong in 21st century skills. He said 21st century skills are domain specific, and warned that testing for these skills through portfolios and projects while ensuring consistent expectations from one district to another is not easily accomplished.

Dr. Murnane said the Task Force's recommendations are extremely sensible, the challenge set forth is appropriate, and there should be no backing off of content. Dr. Murnane said there is no conflict between content and 21st century skills. He added that the real challenge is how to integrate the skills into the teaching of core subjects in every school and classroom.

Board members asked questions of the three panelists and engaged in further discussion about the Task Force report. Commissioner Chester noted general agreement that skills and content are linked to each other, and that the biggest challenge is to ensure that every student experiences curriculum and instruction that imparts high academic standards as well as 21st century skills. He said it is critical to expand the range of indicators for the accountability system to be sure that high school graduates are well prepared for college and careers. The commissioner said he would work with Department staff and come back to the Board with next steps. Chair Banta thanked the three panelists, the members of the Board, and the commissioner for a rich and stimulating discussion.

Regular Meeting

Comments from the Chair

Chair Banta said it was a pleasure to represent the Board at a number of meetings over the past month, including the annual conference of the Mass. Association of School Committees and the Mass. Association of School Superintendents, EDCO, and Mass 2020.

Comments from the Commissioner

Commissioner Chester noted that President-elect Obama selected Chicago Superintendent of Schools Arne Duncan as his nominee for U.S. Secretary of Education. The commissioner said he was interested in learning more about Secretary-designate Duncan's perspective on the role of state education agencies.

Commissioner Chester described the Department's inaugural Curriculum and Instruction summit held in Marlborough, which was attended by 400 people from district teams. The commissioner said there was a tremendous hunger for assistance and support in upgrading curriculum and instruction. He said the goal of the Department's new Curriculum and Instruction unit is to share best practices and curriculum resources, and added that the summit helped to inform the agency's efforts around creating a viable approach to regional efforts and support.

The commissioner said the Department is preparing to move into its new facility at 75 Pleasant Street in Malden in early January. The commissioner also reviewed the additional items for information on the Board's agenda, including an update of the Board's FY 2010 budget recommendation. Commissioner Chester said the budget recommendation as presented is not sufficient to do everything the Department wants to do. The commissioner added that the budget for student assessment is not sufficient to carry the program forward as currently planned. He said he is committed to high standards and to the current components of the MCAS testing program, and that he is contemplating a recommendation to delay implementation of the history component of the high school MCAS graduation requirement in light of budget constraints. The commissioner noted that with local aid also at risk he is exploring the linkage of the start-up dates of proposed new charters to a fiscal trigger, whereby new charter schools would be able to open only when revenue flow has stabilized.

Comments from the Secretary

Secretary Reville said he was sorry to miss the Board's special meeting on 21st century skills the previous evening, noting that he was attending the meeting of the Readiness Finance Committee. The secretary said the Committee's report, which would offer recommendations on school finance and operations, including ways to restructure and reorganize to gain efficiencies and make financial resources available to restore adequacy, would be released in a couple of weeks. The secretary said he would make his final budget request to the Executive Office of Administration and Finance shortly, in anticipation of Governor Patrick presenting his FY10 budget proposal during the third week of January. Secretary Reville said he was reviewing candidate nominations for the commissioners of higher education (Richard Freeland) and early education and care (Sherri Killins), and that the governor has appointed the new chair of the Board of Higher Education, Charles Desmond. The secretary also said he had several days on state college campuses, and noted the dramatic increase in demand for public higher education.

Public Comment

Nine individuals addressed the Board on topics including regional school districts, 21st century skills, school libraries, student voter registration, and charter schools.

Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS)

Commissioner Chester presented an overview of the results of the 2007 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) administration. TIMSS is the world's largest international assessment of math and science achievement. In 2007, 59 countries participated in the assessment, which allows educators the rare opportunity to compare the performance of 4th and 8th grade students in math and science achievement across participating countries. Massachusetts was one of only two U.S. states to participate as its own "nation" and have its results compared to participating countries.

Commissioner Chester said the 2007 TIMSS results are something to celebrate. The results showed that Massachusetts ranked at or near the top in every category. In grade 4 math, Massachusetts ranked third behind Hong Kong SAR and Singapore; in grade 4 science, Massachusetts ranked second behind only Singapore. In grade 8, Massachusetts ranked sixth in math and tied for first in science. The commissioner said the state's aim now is to build on our successes and make a good system even better. Commissioner Chester said there are areas for improvement, including eliminating gender gaps and moving a greater percentage of our students into the top two benchmark categories. The commissioner credited high standards and the hard work of the educators and students of the Commonwealth, and said the 2007 TIMSS results are validation that the past 15 years of education reform are paying off. He said the Department is reviewing the TIMSS data more closely for ideas on best practices to strengthen curriculum and instruction.

Report of the Task Force on 21st Century Skills

Chair Banta said there was much consensus in the Board's discussion the previous evening on 21st century skills. The chair said the discussion has now moved from the Task Force to the Board, and the Board should rely on the commissioner to identify specific areas of focus. Commissioner Chester said he has heard a lot of convergence on a number of issues, including that skills and content are necessarily interconnected; the curriculum frameworks include skills of inquiry, analytical thinking, and communication; and our current standards and assessments are strong. The commissioner said the challenge ahead is how to ensure every classroom is an engaging, intellectually stimulating environment for every youngster, and that all students are able to understand content and apply it. Commissioner Chester proposed that he would come back to the Board with a game plan on how to move forward this agenda and an update on related activities that are already underway at the Department around 21st century skills.

Charter Schools

Five charter school renewals were presented to the Board for initial discussion: Berkshire Arts and Technology (probationary), Conservatory Lab (conditional), Hill View, KIPP, and Robert M. Hughes (conditional). The Board will vote in January on these five renewals.

Commissioner Chester also recommended that the Board vote to revoke the charter for Uphams Corner Charter School in Boston. Uphams Corner Charter School was opened in 2002 and the Board renewed its charter in 2007 with five conditions that the school had to meet by specified dates. The commissioner's recommendation to revoke the school's charter is based on the school's failure to meet critical conditions imposed at renewal, including requirements to make Adequate Yearly Progress in 2008, to make substantial progress toward or meet accountability plan goals, and, by December 2008, to have completed the necessary property acquisition and fundraising to permit a relocation of the school to the Uphams Corner area no later than September 2009 as well as continued low academic achievement. The commissioner noted there is a lack of evidence of sufficient progress on any of these conditions to warrant a recommendation for further conditions or probation. The Board will vote on the commissioner's recommendation at its January 27, 2009 regular meeting.

State Student Advisory Council Trimester Report

Board member Andrew "AJ" Fajnzylber, who chairs the State Student Advisory Council, presented the council's trimester report. Mr. Fajnzylber discussed the council's work on a number of projects and asked the Board to support the On-Campus Student Voter bill, which would expand voter registration to high school and college campuses. The Board voted to support the bill.

Next Meeting

The next regular meeting of the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education is scheduled for Tuesday, January 27, 2009 at the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education in Malden.