District/School Administration Administration
Education Reform

Education Fact Sheets: Academic Support Services Program

August 1998

Goal of Program

The goal of the new state Academic Support Services Program is to develop or enhance academic support services for students scoring in level 1 or 2 on the MCAS or who, only in FY99, have been identified as needing improvement based on other standardized assessment measures at any grade level. Grants and assistance provided through this program are to be primarily academic in focus, may include appropriate cultural and recreational activities to encourage student participation and enhance academic performance, and are to supplement currently funded local, state and federal programs.

Examples of Services to Raise Academic Achievement

• Integrated tutoring and mentoring programs
• Extended school day and year
• Weekend and school vacation programs
• Summer programs
• School-to-Work connection activities
• Worksite learning experiences as an extension of the classroom
• Professional development to improve teacher skills and knowledge
• Alignment of local curriculum with state standards and assessment

Application Requirements

To receive funds, districts are to develop a comprehensive district plan to improve student performance. The plan is to include:

• accountability measures for assessing performance and reporting on results,
• a professional development program,
• a coordinated budget that demonstrates how all available local, state, federal, private and other funds will be used to achieve the goals and activities in the plan, and
• any other requirements set by the Department.

Funding Priority

Funding priority is to be given to schools and districts:

• with a high percentage of students scoring in level 1 or 2 on the MCAS or who, only in FY99, have been identified as needing improvement based on other standardized assessment measures at any grade level, and/or
• at risk or determined to be underperforming in accordance with Section 1J and 1K of Chapter 69.

Funds Available/Timeframe

• $20,000,000 for grants and assistance
• Funds may be used through August 31, 1999 to allow for summer academic support services and professional development for educators.

Adult Education

Chapter 69, Section 1H. " … the Department, in coordination with other state agencies, shall develop a comprehensive system, subject to appropriation, for the delivery of adult basic education and literacy services that will ensure opportunities leading to universal basic adult literacy and better employment opportunities… "

The Department shall endeavor to develop the following objectives:

1. A full continuum of services that take an adult from the lowest level of literacy or English language proficiency through high school completion leading to advanced education and training;

2. A network of self-trained, full-time adult literacy and English as a Second Language professional instructors, qualified to provide high quality effective services;

3. A strong documentation and evaluation capacity that will enable the state to determine what methods of instruction and what means of service delivery are most effective in educating adults; and

4. Coordinated accountability mechanisms that simplify existing reporting and refunding processes."

Board of Education Mission Statement on Adult Education, adopted 11/93

"Massachusetts shall provide each and every adult with opportunities to develop literacy skills needed to qualify for further education, job training and better employment and to reach his or her full potential as a family member, productive worker and citizen in our diverse and changing democratic society."

Funding and Services

The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education is the lead state agency for Adult Basic Education (ABE) services. State and federal funding in FY 98 was approximately $29 million, which supported 20,000 students in 200 statewide programs. FY 99 funding will approximate $37 million.

The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education administers the federal Adult Education Act and other federal discretionary adult education programs such as "Even Start," workplace education grant programs, and family literacy grant programs.

F=Federal S=State

* These figures are for students directly funded by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and do not include the substantial number of students served with local matching and other funding. Average hours of instruction per student has doubled since 1991.

**Community based organizations, local school districts, community colleges, homeless shelters and labor management non-profit educational programs.

***Reflects estimated $7M increase for FY99.

Bilingual Education

General Laws Chapter 71A

Whenever a school district has 20 or more students in the same language classification it must provide a Transitional Bilingual Education (TBE) program with instruction in their native language and in English in all mandatory subjects, for a period of three years or until the student is able to perform successfully in English-only classes, whichever occurs first.

Regulations

After four statewide public hearings and review of written comments and testimony from hundreds of people, the Board of Education adopted revisions to the TBE regulations in May, 1997.

*First Language Not English includes:

1. Children born outside the United States whose native tongue is not English, and
2. Children born within the United States of non-English speaking parents (Enrollment as of October 1)

**Limited English Proficient includes children whose first language is not English, who are incapable of performing ordinary classwork in English (Enrollment as of October 1)

***Transitional Bilingual Education includes children incapable of performing ordinary classwork in English

Certification

To teach in a regular public school, educators currently must qualify for one of three certificates granted by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education: A Provisional Certificate requires:

1. Holding a bachelor's degree in arts or sciences with a major in the candidate's teaching field;
2. passing a two-part test; and
3. being of sound moral character.

A Provisional Certificate with Advanced Standing requires these elements plus professional preparation and a practicum. Both certificates are valid for five years of employment. They may not be renewed. A Standard Certificate issued to an educator who has completed the requirements for the Advanced Provisional Certificate, an approved master's degree program or its equivalent, and a clinical experience is valid for five years from the date of issue. Teachers who held certificates prior to the Education Reform Act were automatically awarded Standard Certificates valid until June 1999; they need to be renewed every five years thereafter.

The fee for the initial certificate is $100 and for each additional certificate, $25. These fees were mandated by the Education Reform Act of 1993 but were deferred for four years to keep the former rates in effect. The same fees apply to recertification. Fees for the certification tests are $50 for Communication and Literacy Skills, $80 for each Subject Test, and $20 for each day of testing.

Certificates are granted in forty-two different areas of teaching, administration, and professional support services. This year, 8,486 certificates have been issued to 5,720 people from January through June. Since 1994, each year approximately 16,000 educator certificates have been issued to close to 12,000 individuals.

Massachusetts Teacher Tests

Candidates for the Provisional Certificate or Provisional Certificate with Advanced Standing must "pass a test established by the board which shall consist of two parts: (a) a writing section which shall demonstrate the communication and literacy skills necessary for effective instruction and improved communication between school and parents; and (b) the subject matter knowledge for the certificate."

The purpose of these tests is to measure an entry-level certification candidate's knowledge, not ability to practice. All candidates who applied for initial teacher certification on or after February 21, 1998 are required to meet the qualifying scores on (pass) the tests. As of September 1, 1998, all candidates for initial educator certification as teachers, administrators, and professional support personnel are required to meet the qualifying score on the Communication and Literacy Skills Test, whether or not there is a subject test for the certificate.

Approximately 1,800 teacher certification candidates took the Massachusetts Teacher Tests at the first administration on April 4, 1998 at six locations across the Commonwealth. 51% passed the Communication and Literacy Skills Test, 62% passed one or more subject tests, and 41% passed overall. On July 11 the tests were administered to 2,500 candidates at six locations across the state. Of July first-time test takers, 70% passed the Communication and Literacy Skills Test, 64% passed one or more subject tests, and 53% passed overall.

In developing the testing program, 4,700 Massachusetts certified teachers, teacher educators, and college arts and sciences faculty reviewed the test objectives and rated them on their importance to Massachusetts educators. Over 300 teachers and college faculty reviewed the test questions, including educators who reviewed the materials specifically to eliminate potential bias based on gender, race, and other criteria. After the first test administration, over 300 Massachusetts educators looked at the tests and gave the Commissioner recommendations for setting the qualifying scores. The Board of Education set the qualifying scores.

Testing is scheduled for October 3, 1998 (regular registration deadline is August 21) and January 9, 1999 (regular registration deadline is November 27), again, at locations across the state. Future dates will be announced.

Charter Schools

Origins

The Massachusetts Education Reform Act of 1993 included among its provisions the creation of a small number of new independent public schools: charter schools. These schools are given the freedom to organize their activities around a core mission, curriculum, or teaching method, and they are allowed to set their own budgets as well as manage their own staff. In return for this freedom, a charter school must demonstrate good results within five years or lose its charter.

Current Status

In September 1995, the first fifteen charter schools opened their doors with an enrollment of 2600 students. By 1996, 25 schools were open, serving more than 5300 students. In 1997, the cap on charters increased from 25 to 50 schools, giving the Board of Education the ability to grant 12 additional "Commonwealth" charters and 13 new Horace Mann chartersdistrict schools that convert to charter schools with the approval of the school committee and local teacher's union. In the 1998 school year, 30 Commonwealth and 4 Horace Mann charter schools will be open, enrolling more than 10,000 students from over 180 districts. Five new Commonwealth and 8 new Horace Mann charters remain available for the Board to grant in the next charter application process, which begins in October and ends in February.

Charter schools do not fit a particular mold but rather range from progressive to traditional. While one school focuses on the arts, another's emphasis is on character. Half the schools serve urban areas, with the rest serving suburban and rural areas. Twenty-six of the schools are elementary and/or middle schools, ten are high schools, and one has kindergarten through twelfth grades. The average school size is 307, and almost all the schools expect to expand, which would bring the average to about 400. Fully half the charter schools serve predominantly disadvantaged or at-risk youth; charter schools statewide have double the state average of minority students and bilingual students; and charter schools are serving about the same proportion of special needs students as district public schools.

Charter School Accountability

These new public schools set their own high standards, demonstrate performance against those standards, andmost importantlyface the consequence of being shut down if they fail to demonstrate success in helping children learn the core academic subjects. At the end of five years, the Commonwealth will use the accountability contract, annual progress reports, financial audits, and site visit reports in deciding whether to renew a charter. The decision to renew a charter will be based on a straightforward evaluation guided by three central questions: Is the academic program a success? Is the school a viable organization? Is the school faithful to the terms of its charter? Each charter school develops an accountability contract that describes clear, concrete, and measurable school and student performance objectives. Charters will be renewed only for schools that have demonstrated good results.

Funding of Charter Schools

For each child a Commonwealth charter school enrolls, it receives a sum from the state equal to the average cost per student in the school district in which that child resides. The state then deducts the same amount from the sending district's state aid account. (School districts, however, receive additional state funds in order to partially or fully "reimburse" them for losses to charter schools). Funding for a Horace Mann charter school comes directly from the school district in which the school is located. Under the law, a Horace Mann charter school cannot receive less than it would have under the district's standard budgetary allocation rules. Like other public schools, Commonwealth charter schools are eligible to receive federal and state program funds.

Curriculum Frameworks

The Massachusetts Education Reform Act of 1993 called for statewide curriculum frameworks and learning standards for all public school students. Prior to 1993, the only subjects specifically required in state law to be taught were history and physical education.

The curriculum frameworks are broad academic guidelines for teachers to use along with their local curricula. The frameworks and the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS), the required new statewide exam, will demonstrate student, school and district achievement in math, science/technology, English, history/social science, and foreign languages.

Below is a chronology of the development of the curriculum frameworks

March 1, 1995 - May 23, 1995: The Board of Education received initial public comment on the first drafts of the curriculum frameworks. On the following dates, the Commissioner presented the curriculum frameworks to the Board of Education:

March 1: Common chapters and world languages

March 21: Arts and social studies

April 24: English language arts and health

May 23: Mathematics and science/technology

During this period, over 10,000 educators and others commented on the drafts.

December 12, 1995: The Board of Education voted, "to accept and endorse the revised curriculum frameworks in the arts, health, mathematics, science and technology, world languages, and the common chapters."

January 15, 1997: The Board of Education accepted the revised English language arts curriculum framework.

June 1997: The Board of Education voted to approve the revised history and social science curriculum framework.

Summer 1998: Curriculum Framework Review Panels were appointed by the Commissioner to revise and update the world languages, arts, comprehensive health, Mathematics and Science and technology education frameworks.

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