Testimony to the Tennessee Senate Education Committee in Support of. of the Common Core State Standards.

Transcription

1 Testimony to the Tennessee Senate Education Committee in Support of The Common Core State Standards Patricia Levesque, Chief Executive Officer, Foundation for Excellence in Education September 20, 2013 Chairwoman Gresham, Vice Chairmen Tate and Dickerson and Members of the Committee, Thank you for the opportunity to submit written testimony in support of Tennessee s adoption of the Common Core State Standards. Governor Jeb Bush and The Foundation For Excellence in Education Support High Standards As its Chief Executive Officer, I am testifying today on behalf of the Foundation for Excellence in Education. Founded by former Florida Governor Jeb Bush in 2008, our national non profit foundation works with policymakers across the country to improve education for all students. We know that strong education is the single best vehicle of opportunity to help students succeed in life. Education can be the key to success in college and beyond, and it can be the key ending the cycle of poverty and ensuring every child has the right to rise up and overcome hurdles in life. This makes education extraordinarily powerful and the quality of education we deliver extraordinarily important. If we can get education right, all of the other challenges we face poverty, unemployment, crime, incarceration rates, quality of health and life become easier to solve. More highly educated people are less likely to spend time in prison, less likely to need government aid, are more likely to hold higher paying jobs, are in generally better health, and add to economies of states and our country. The challenge exceeds our borders. Internationally, the United States ranks 14 th in reading and 25 th in mathematics compared to students in other industrialized countries, according to the 2009 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). i Over the past generation, our competitors have not just caught up to American excellence, they have surpassed us. The Foundation for Excellence in Education shares this Committee s belief that high standards, strong accountability, and great teachers are the key to driving student achievement, improving education, and ultimately our economy. We believe that students will rise to meet high expectations if we require it of them and support them along their journey. Most importantly, we believe that all students, regardless of socioeconomic status, can learn. To ensure Tennessee students succeed in college and the workforce and to keep the state economically competitive, we support Tennessee s adoption of stronger academic standards in English and mathematics, known as the Common Core State Standards.

2 The Costs of Low Expectations With just 25 percent of high school graduates in America truly ready for college work or a good career, it is no surprise that so many students must go on to take remedial courses. What is taught in high school is largely disconnected from what is required beyond high school. ACT s recent National Curriculum Survey highlighted this misalignment. ii The low and misaligned standards currently used in K 12 education leave students along with their parents and teachers under the false impression they are ready for college. This gives students the hope of college success, only to be placed in demoralizing and stigmatizing remedial courses. States and families cannot afford to waste more taxpayer money on ineffective and misaligned standards. According to Complete College America, more than half of all first year students in two year institutions require remedial education. In four year colleges, one fifth of students require at least one remedial course. iii The majority of students in remedial courses do not graduate. Nationally, it s estimated that less than 10 percent of remedial education students in two year colleges graduate after three years. In four year colleges, 35 percent graduate in six years. In Tennessee, more than seven out of every 10 students entering a two year college enroll in at least one remedial course. That number itself should warn you that our K 12 system isn t adequately preparing students for the next step. But this number is just the tip of the iceberg. Fewer than half of those students even complete their remedial education. And fewer than 13 percent of those in remedial courses go on to earn a two year degree after three years. iv Annually, low standards are costing Tennessee residents millions of dollars both in actual expenses as well as lost benefits to the economy: Cost of remediation: $19,648,932 Lost economic benefit: $27,196,457 Total lost benefit to economy: $46,845,389 v Higher Standards Shed Light on Low Preparedness of Students The sad truth is education systems across the nation are deceiving students, their families and constituents. Low standards have led to a false sense of confidence in the quality of education delivered to American students. Thankfully, higher standards embraced by almost every state across the nation hold the key to greater transparency on how prepared our students are to succeed in life and compete with their peers around the world. Students in Kentucky took a rigorous Common Core aligned test for the first time last year. The results shouldn t have surprised anyone who has followed Kentucky s results on the National Assessment for Educational progress (NAEP). Unfortunately, to thousands of students who had previously been told they were proficient at English and math and to their parents, the results were sobering.

3 Under the old state exam, students were largely considered well educated. An impressive 76 percent of 4 th graders were identified Proficient or higher in reading, and 74 percent were identified Proficient or higher in math. At the same time, NAEP was indicating only 36 percent vi vii of students were proficient in reading and 39 percent in math. After adopting the Common Core State Standards, Kentucky s state test which was aligned to these stronger standards was given to the next class of 4 th graders. Forty seven percent of reading and 40 percent of math students were considered proficient. These new results closely track to what has been shown on the Nation s Report Card for years. The most recent NAEP for Tennessee shows 26 percent of 4 th graders are Proficient or higher viii ix in reading and 30 percent are Proficient or higher in math. Tennessee has already responded to the challenge of schools misrepresenting the success of students and has done a tremendous job of raising proficiency standards. Tennessee recognized that proficiency levels were exceedingly low, falsely telling poor performing students they were prepared to compete in the job market or succeed in college. State leaders led an effort to adjust these proficiency levels, creating more realistic expectations for students and teachers alike. This was a hard move, but the right one. The old perception of inflated proficiency rates has been brought closer in line with reality. The Common Core State Standards will build upon this and not only ensure students are told the truth of their academic success, but will prepare students to succeed in this environment of raised expectations. The Common Core State Standards: More Rigorous Academic Standards The Common Core State Standards define a set of expectations of what students should know, understand and be able to explain in the areas of English and math at each grade level, Kindergarten through 12 th grade. The Common Core State Standards for math require greater focus by teachers and deeper knowledge by students than many previous state standards. Students will need to accurately calculate equations, understand concepts not just memorize answers, and accurately select the best mathematical concept or equation to solve real world problems, while demonstrating why the method or equation they selected is accurate. The Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts are designed to ensure students fully understand what they read, and can effectively talk and write about it. These are the fundamental reading comprehension skills needed to succeed throughout all levels of education and beyond regardless of career path. Students are asked to show a deeper understanding of this material than has previously been required of them, demonstrating greater critical thinking and analytic skills. These new

4 standards make sure students are learning and absorbing the critical information they need to succeed at higher levels. Strong Accountability Requires Transparent, Quality Data To have a system of education that holds schools and teachers accountable for student achievement, quality data is key. Parents need data to see how their children are doing in school. Teachers need data to know how their classes are performing and to identify and close knowledge gaps. Principals and school leaders need data to make informed decisions. However, data collection is not part of Common Core State Standards. The new standards in no way change current local, state and federal laws protecting student data and privacy. The two testing consortia, Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) which you re a member of and Smarter Balanced, along with any vendor or contracted company, still must follow all federal and state privacy laws, such as the Federal Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). x No student level data is sent to the federal government. In fact, there are four federal laws that prohibit a federal database with personally identifiable information of students: the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008 (HEOA), xi No Child Left Behind (NCLB), xii the Education Reform Sciences Act of 2002, xiii and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). xiv Opponents of higher standards have raised this issue to deter support for this initiative, but it is time to separate fact from fiction. It is also time to learn what measures states currently are taking to strengthen the security of student data, along with further steps they can take. With the adoption of Common Core State Standards, no relationships between the federal government, states, and schools public or private have changed. This is true as it applies to school choice, homeschooling, and data privacy. And the fact remains that the federal government will still have no access to personal information on individual students. While the Common Core State Standards are separate from student data privacy concerns, policymakers should not ignore those concerns. Schools are charged with protecting children while in their care. This includes more than just physical protection, but also privacy protections. Setting the Record Straight on Common Core It is the unfortunate reality that much of the debate around Common Core State Standards across the country has been dominated by misinformation and unrelated issues. Reading the standards themselves should comfort you in recognizing the quality of this policy initiative, as well as confirm what these standards don t do. First, these standards are not to be confused with curriculum. States, local districts and educators in the classroom remain in complete control of how and what they teach their students. There has been much talk about federal intrusion, but the truth is Tennessee retains

5 complete control to choose the academic standards best for its students. That we re even having this discussion shows you have the power to control Tennessee s academic standards. These academic standards also do not alter the relationship between the federal government and Tennessee schools. States came together to develop these standards and each state remains autonomous in their authority to adopt them or opt out of the initiative. These standards don t affect homeschoolers. These standards don t change how the state deals with private schools. These standards don t create a national database of student data. One of the most fundamental components of a high quality education system is ensuring basic standards are met. This isn t a bold reform. This is the bare minimum that must be done to transform the quality of education across this country. A Model for Reform: Florida s Path to Excellence In closing, I want to share what can be accomplished in improving education when standards are raised and schools and educators are held accountable for helping students achieve these higher expectations. With the underlying principle that all students can learn, Florida sought to improve our dismal situation in the late 1990s. Our educational achievement was at the bottom of the country. In 1998, a year before our reforms, nearly half of Florida s 4 th graders were functionally illiterate. Today, Florida s 4 th graders are reading above the national average. In fact, Florida s 4 th graders scored second in the world on the 2011 Progress in International Reading Literacy Study. xv The number of students taking AP exams has increased nearly 400 percent, while Florida s graduation rate has increased 22.5 percent. Then Governor Jeb Bush knew education was the key to economic success both as a state, but more importantly, on the individual level. It wasn t an easy task, and we experienced many challenges and presented at hearings just like this one. But in the end, the children of Florida benefited from these reforms. There wasn t one single policy we implemented that brought about the drastic improvements we saw. Rather, it was improving multiple aspects of the system of education in the state: school accountability, early literacy, parental choice, recognition of effective teachers and schools, school and teacher accountability, and high academic standards. We have seen these components work together to create a vibrant and effective education system that reflects the individual needs of students and prepares them to lead a successful life beyond high school, whatever that path may be. Tennessee is fortunate to have the leadership of education reformers like Governor Bill Haslam, Education Commissioner Kevin Huffman, and indeed many of you serving on this Committee who are passionate about continuing to raise the bar for Volunteer State schools and students.

6 Under your direction, I know the Common Core State Standards will be an important next step to greater student learning and college and career readiness. i ii policy/national curriculum survey/ iii Remediation final.pdf iv v vi vii viii ix x xi xii xiii 107publ279/pdf/PLAW 107publ279.pdf xiv 108hr1350enr/pdf/BILLS 108hr1350enr.pdf xv