CCSSO State f the States Speech March 23, 2015 These are prepared remarks and subject t change upn delivery. Gd afternn. It is a pleasure t be here tday. One f the privileges I have enjyed s far in serving as president f the CCSSO is that I have been able t share in the prgress and successes we have achieved in public educatin, nt just in Nrth Carlina, but in many ther states acrss the natin. I see resiliency and determinatin amng teachers, principals and schl leaders. I have never been mre prud f ur natin s public schls than I am tday. Public educatin is better than it was 10, 20 and even 30 years ag. Yet we cntinue t suffer frm the vantage pint f When I was yur age Despite all the memries f the perfect public schls f decades ag, there is an abundance f prf that tday s public schls and public schl students are perfrming better than ever befre. Fr example: Last mnth, the U.S. Department f Educatin's Natinal Center fr Educatin Statistics released data that shw that U.S. students are graduating frm high schl at a higher rate than ever befre. The natin's high schl graduatin rate hit 81 percent in 2012-13, the highest level since states began recrding fur-year chrt graduatin rates five years ag. At the same time, the natinal drput rate, particularly amng minrity states, has cntinued t fall. Mre students are taking Advanced Placement curses and are earning clleges credit by scring a 3 r better n these exams. The natin s NAEP scres in reading and math als have been n an upward trajectry since the 1970s. U.S. scres n the TIMMS and PIRLS internatinal assessments als are mving in the right directin. States are using technlgy t level the playing field and change when, where and hw ur students learn. Technlgy als is changing hw teachers learn and hw parents receive infrmatin abut their child s educatin. In Nrth Carlina, fr example, we have a statewide technlgy platfrm called Hme Base. This cmprehensive technlgy system incrprates student infrmatin, a parent prtal, instructinal imprvement, educatr evaluatin and prfessinal develpment tls all in ne place. Hw many f yu have smething similar in place in yur states? The Utah Educatin Netwrk was established ver 20 years ag by the Utah State Legislature t crdinate telecmmunicatins technlgy fr public and higher educatin. UEN is ne f Utah s greatest assets and has becme ne f the natin s premier research and educatin netwrks. UEN infrastructure serves public educatin, higher educatin, applied technlgy, libraries, gvernment, and ther public entities in three main categries: Netwrking Services, Applicatin Services and Supprt
Services. The UEN stretches every dllar t benefit the citizens served by prviding fast, reliable bradband service and quality resurces t meet the educatinal needs f the state. Hw many f yu have smething similar in place in yur states? Speaking f prgress, it is imprtant nte that fr the first time in ur natin s histry, we have a shared set f rigrus and relevant learning standards. Originally, 45 states and the District f Clumbia adpted the Cmmn Cre State Standards. Tw states have since chsen t mve t different standards and three additinal states are keeping the Cmmn Cre in place during a standards review prcesses. Other states, such as Virginia, Texas, and Nebraska, chse nt t adpt these standards, and instead created their wn cllege- and career-ready standards t accmplish the same gal. Whether yu are fr r against the Cmmn Cre, we can agree that mst states and students are better ff than they were befre. The intrductin f the Cmmn Cre pushed states t mre clsely examine the standards that they had in place and t ask, Are these standards truly aligned with what graduates will be expected t knw and d in the 21 st century? Fr many, the answer was n. Even fr the states that have mved t anther set f standards whether it was Cmmn Cre r a similar set f standards their new standards are still higher and better aligned with cllege and career readiness than the standards they had befre. The majrity f states are nw hlding all students t a higher learning standard, and this is a victry fr public educatin in ur cuntry. And we are beginning t see encuraging results. Amng the Department f Defense Schls, which began phasing in the Cmmn Cre standards in in the fall f 2012 (althugh sn the DOD schls will refer t them as the Cllege and Career Readiness Standards) we have seen sme interesting trends. Despite the fact that DOD schls are nt held t testing requirements under NCLB, this diverse ppulatin f students hlds its wn against public schl peers n several academic measures including standardized assessments and in many cases utperfrm them. Racial achievement gaps fund at public schls with similar student demgraphics aren t typical at DOD campuses. On the mst recent Schlastic Aptitude Test (SAT), African-American and Hispanic DDEA students scred significantly abve the natinal average fr their subgrups. S we are mving in right directin, but where d we g frm here?
I recently visited Charlestn, Suth Carlina. While I was there, I was in a pet stre and verhead a little by and a girl discussing a new puppy. They gazed at the puppy with s much lve and the by tld his little sister, When I grw up, I am cming back t buy this puppy! Nw we all knw that this puppy will be lng gne by the time this little by grws up, but I think this shuld remind us that we dn t have a secnd chance t start ur yungest learners n the path t success. We wn t be able t g back in time and give ur 4-year lds all the tls they need t help them excel in schl, graduate and g n t be prductive emplyees and citizens. The time t prvide universal access t pre-k educatin is nw. We already knw that the states that currently prvide widespread access t pre-k prgrams are sme f the highest perfrmers n the NAEP. Studies have shwn that prviding children with an academic pre-kindergarten experience has been prven t help clse achievement gaps, reduce the need fr Exceptinal Children s services and bst academic success thrugh at least the third grade, particularly amng at-risk students. Pre-k educatin als has been cnnected t lwer teen pregnancy, crime and drput rates and increased cllege-ging rates amng students served. Other states will nt be able t catch up t these high perfrmers withut ding mre t increase access t quality pre-kindergarten educatin. Pre-k educatin in a lng-term investment in ur natin s future wrkfrce. And it is an investment that states cannt affrd t delay. Our yungest learners are s imprtant and that is why pre-k educatin will help get us where we want t g in the future. That reminds me f anther stry abut my nephew Jhn Rbert. When Jhn was abut pre-k age, he lved snakes. He lved bks abut snakes, ty snakes and even lking fr real snakes. One day, his mther said, Jhn Rbert, I bet yu are ging t be a herpetlgist when yu grw up. I was putting him t bed later that evening and he seemed s upset. I asked him what was wrng and he lked at me with tears in his eyes and said, Aunt June, I dn t want t be a herpetlgist, I just want t g t preschl! The mral f the stry is that it is never t early t encurage children t explre future careers. They begin this type f career explratin as sn as they start pre-schl. As they get lder, Career and Technical Educatin plays a critical rle in helping them make decisins abut their futures. Last year, students in Nrth Carlina earned 115,000 prfessinal career credentials thrugh CTE curses. This is up frm just 24,000 just three years ag. And the graduatin rate amng high schlers
wh tk fur r mre CTE curses is at 94.1 percent. The demand fr this type f real-wrld jb preparedness instructin is there. And the students wh take these curses are mre likely t graduate. Many ther states are ding an excellent jb in ffering students strng CTE pprtunities. In Califrnia, the statewide Linked Learning prgram cmbines rigrus academics with career pathways and real-wrld jb experience thrugh partnerships with business. In Ohi, a graduate f a Kettering career-tech digital design prgram is nw cmpeting at a glbal design cmpetitin as a representative f the US s best design wrk. In Kentucky, the statewide Kentucky Federatin fr Advanced Manufacturing Educatin (KY FAME) is addressing the shrtage f technically skilled wrkers that are needed in the advanced manufacturing industry. Participants in the prgram attend classes tw days per week at their lcal cmmunity cllege and wrk an additinal 24 hurs per week fr a spnsring emplyer. Tyta funded the prgram, and ther manufactures since have becme invlved. Upn cmpletin f the prgram, students receive an assciate degree in applied sciences, as well as the practical skills gained during their paid wrk experience. Mst students begin full-time emplyment with the spnsr, but thers may decide t further their technical educatin and btain an engineering degree. And in Nashville, Tennessee, the district encurages every student t take three career and technical educatin classes befre they graduate ptins include cmputer integrated manufacturing, healthcare administratin, and web design. At the cmpletin f these prgrams, students can take certificatin tests right ut f high schl that wuld prvide access t emplyment. As we mve frward, I encurage all states t strengthen and grw CTE prgrams and prvide mre pprtunities fr students t plan fr a future career. Ways t accmplish this include: Pulling in mre business and cmmunity supprt fr schls; Offering students the pprtunity t earn prfessinal credentials in additin t diplmas; Develping many different Career Pathways ptins students can fllw t graduatin instead f just tw r three tracks; and Giving schls the resurces t ffer mre career cunseling fr students. Anther big issue n the natinal radar is ESEA re-authrizatin. We will hear mre abut this in just a little bit. The first thing yu shuld knw is that the CCSSO has put tgether a list f pririties fr members f Cngress t cnsider as they lk at updating this law. The gd news is that ur pririties have played a critical rle in guiding the discussin thus far.
In Nvember and December, we heard a lt f talk abut what the reauthrizatin f ESEA might lk like. Outside grups were questining whether we shuld still measure the prgress f every student every year. I am prud t say we have changed all f these cnversatins. In January, the CCSSO Bard f Directrs utlined fur key pririties fr hw Cngress can reauthrize ESEA and finally create a lng-term, stable federal plicy that gives states additinal flexibility while at the same time hlding us accuntable fr results and fstering innvatin. We have std strng n assessments, cntinuing t supprt measuring student prgress at least nce a year because we believe every parent shuld have the right t knw hw their child is perfrming academically while in schl. At the same time, we are encuraging innvatin in ur states s they can explre new and pssibly better ways fr measuring hw students are perfrming in the future. I am excited t see, fr example, what my friends in New Hampshire learn thrugh their new accuntability pilt. As states, we remain cmmitted t making annual determinatins f student prgress tward cllegeand career-ready standards and reprting this data publicly fr schls in ur states. We als have taken a strng stance n teacher and leader effectiveness systems. States are leading the way in develping these systems. We believe these systems must be develped by states, wrking clsely with educatrs and ther critical stakehlders. And the timeline cannt be dictated by the federal gvernment. That is why we supprt a federal law that recgnizes each state s unique cntext, and allws, but des nt require the use f federal funds t supprt these systems. We strngly believe states shuld have flexibility t better crdinate federal funding streams and hw they are used t serve disadvantaged students in the schls acrss ur state. This will help us innvate and serve all students better. Nw is a critical time in the reauthrizatin f ESEA. We have seen ur pririties change the language that was put frth in the Huse and in the Senate. Nw, we need the vice f all state chiefs t make sure this language becmes federal law. Public pinin plls shw that cnfidence in the natin s public schls is drpping. The interesting thing is that, at the same time, public cnfidence in lcal schls is high. I believe that is because peple can see fr themselves the wnderful things happening in the schls in their wn neighbrhds and cmmunities. They see creative and talented teachers, cmmitted principals and students wh are learning and grwing. Perhaps this issue with public perceptin is really a failure t cnnect the dts. Many dn t recgnize that the teachers and principals s many peple frequently interact with n the lcal levels are the very same peple wh have enabled public schls acrss the natin t make s much prgress.
When yu lk at the natinal graduatin and drput rates, perfrmance n natinal and internatinal assessments, and the innvative things states are ding with technlgy, CTE, and mre, it is clear that public schls, as a whle, are mving in the right directin. Let s wrk tgether t make sure mre peple knw it. S, this is where we are tday. We have made incredible prgress but there is still mre wrk t d. N natin has ever put frth the gal f career and cllege readiness fr ALL students. Public schls tday are shaping the future f ur states and the entire cuntry. S yes, career and cllege readiness fr all students is an ambitius gal, and it is imperative that we d whatever it takes t reach it. My hpe is that ne day, when the children wh are in schl nw are talking t their children and grandchildren they will say, When I was yur age, I had a quality educatin. Our teachers were creative and innvative. We did things that had never been dne befre. We learned in new ways. We used technlgy. Our schls prepared EVERYONE fr cllege and careers. I hpe these children will say, Our schls are the schls that paved the way fr success fr future generatins.