District/School Administration Administration
Board in Brief

Friday, December 13, 1996

This is Board in Brief, issued at the request of Commissioner Bob Antonucci, to bring you up to date on Board of Education developments of interest to the Department staff. The following is a report on the Board meeting held on Wednesday, December 11, 1996 at the City View School in Worcester. After the meeting, Board and Department staff toured the Seven Hills Charter School across the street.

GED/Assessment

The Board voted 5 to 3 to reaffirm its November 18 decision to administer the General Educational Development (GED) test next spring to all high school seniors. The Board specified the GED would only be administered to high school students in 1997, and that the results would not be a condition of graduation or reported on a student's record. Board member Abigail Thernstrom praised Chairman John Silber and Governor Weld for using the GED issue to focus attention on the need for accelerating development of statewide assessments to improve accountability in public education.

Chairman Silber said the results on next spring's GED test might serve as a "wake-up" call to parents and schools if students do poorly on the exam. While saying it was never his intention to make the GED a permanent part of high school student assessment, Silber said the GED would provide parents with more information than the MEAP assessment because it measures individual student performance. He also said the GED would give the state a "head start" on a high school exit examination, and would not interfere with development of the statewide assessment to test students on the specific curriculum frameworks.

Board members William Irwin, Jr., Patricia Crutchfield and Alexis Vagianos voted against administering the GED. Student member Vagianos decided against the GED after taking the test and questioning its relevance to her high school coursework. She also doubted whether many high school seniors, many of whom have already been accepted to college, would take the test seriously.

In a related matter, Rep. Harold Lane (D-Holden) told the Board he has filed legislation to block the spring GED exam. Calling the GED a "distraction at best," Lane said he opposed the GED because it does not measure actual coursework and is not tied to higher standards. Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents Executive Director Peter Finn, MFT President Kathy Kelley, and MTA President Meline Kasparian also testified against the GED.

In addition to supporting a one-time administration of the GED, the Board adopted a proposal from Board member Roberta Schaefer to administer an "off-the-shelf" standardized assessment to all 10th graders next spring, provided funds are available in the Board budget this year. Commissioner Robert Antonucci said the Board would probably need a supplemental appropriation for this new test because funds are not available. The Board also voted to accelerate the schedule for the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS). Under the new timetable, the full battery of exams in all core academic areas will now be given in the spring of 1998. Additionally, the Board voted to begin developing standards, based on the Advanced Placement exam, for the Certificate of Advanced Mastery, specified in the Education Reform Act.

Budget

The Board unanimously approved its $2.941 billion budget recommendation for Fiscal Year 1998. The Board also agreed to submit to the Governor's Office an alternative budget format incorporating Board member James Peyser's block grant recommendations. The total funding level for both budgets is the same. Board member Peyser said his proposal would consolidate 13 existing grant programs into a single block grant to permit districts greater flexibility in programming. This approach, Peyser said, allows schools to devote time and staff to achieving outcomes, rather than complying with specific grant requirements.

A motion by Chairman Silber to increase further the Board's request for early childhood education was defeated on a 4 to 4 tie. Last month, the Board agreed to increase its request for early childhood programs to $100 million. Chairman Silber's motion would have raised that amount to $134 million. The Chairman said the unmet need for early childhood programs is $34 million in Boston alone. "There is no question that over a period of time we could use an additional $500 million," said Chairman Silber. He added that every dollar spent on preparing young children for school saves $6 that might otherwise be spent for remedial education and social services.

Time and Learning

Acting on a recommendation by Commissioner Antonucci, the Board voted 7 to 1 to maintain without change the Student Learning Time regulations adopted in 1994, which take full effect in September 1997. The Board agreed to postpone consideration of any changes in the regulations. Included in the vote was a Board resolution encouraging districts to explore alternative scheduling and creative ways to extend the school day within existing budget constraints, during future collective bargaining opportunities.

At the November meeting, Board member Edwin Delattre questioned the current regulations because they reference the more general Common Core of Learning [ HTML | PDF ] rather than the specific core academic subjects enumerated in the Education Reform Act. Board members Roberta Schaefer and Abigail Thernstrom argued, however, that high stakes statewide assessments will provide a powerful incentive for districts to devote adequate structured learning time to those core subjects. Board members concluded that while the term "core subject" should be used according to the meaning in the statute, it would be disruptive to change the Student Learning Time regulations now.

Curriculum Frameworks

The Board gave a strong endorsement to the revised draft curriculum framework for English Language Arts. Several members suggested a number of possible improvements, but said they expected to approve the framework at the January meeting. "This is not only a great improvement; it is a significant document in its own right," said Board member James Peyser. Members made several suggestions for changes, including specifying the skills and works of literature that should be taught at each grade, rather than in broader grade levels. The revised draft has been distributed widely for public comment, and the suggestions from readers will be reviewed and considered for inclusion in the final document.

A Board subcommittee of James Peyser, Roberta Schaefer and Abigail Thernstrom has revised the draft curriculum framework in History/Social Science. Mr. Peyser explained that the subcommittee based its draft on the nationally-acclaimed Virginia learning standards, as well as on the most recent Massachusetts draft. The revised History/Social Science draft is now being distributed for public comment. The Board will discuss it at the January meeting.

By-law Change/New Business

By unanimous vote, the Board adopted a new by-law requiring that except in an emergency, or upon a two-thirds vote, the Board will act on a matter of policy only when the matter has been discussed at the previous meeting.

Mary-Beth Fafard

The Board honored Senior Associate Commissioner Mary-Beth Fafard, who has left the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education for new duties as Director of Programs and Services at the New England Regional LAB at Brown University.