SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah State Board of Education Career and Technical Education (CTE) section announced that the Bear River Region is the winner of the 2018 Utah Excellence in Action award. The AM STEM (Automated Manufacturing STEM) program in Bear River Region was selected based on their uniquely inventive and effective approaches to stimulating student learning, offering extensive work- based learning experiences, maintaining strong partnerships with industry and community organizations, and preparing students for postsecondary and career success.
The AM STEM program represents the best CTE program in the state of Utah. While the program is unique, it offers a rigorous sequence of courses beginning with foundational skills to subject-matter, real-world hands-on experiences in the classroom led by dedicated educators, and meaningful work- based experiences facilitated by industry partners.
Bear River Region, in collaboration with industry partners, higher education, and secondary education, has created a career pipeline for high school students by offering a program that meets industry needs. Students involved in the program take courses at their high school that align with the requirements found in industry. The AM STEM program combines coursework with work-based learning experiences to support student exploration and skill development.
Highlights of this month’s Board meeting include: The Utah State Board of Education will meet on Thursday, June 7 beginning at 8 a.m. The Board will hold Finance Committee, Law and Legislation Committee, and Standards and Assessment Committee meetings on Friday, June 8 beginning at 9 a.m. The Board will also meet as the Governing Board of the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind on Friday, June 8 at 12:30 p.m. and meet in a study session that same day at 1:45 p.m. All meetings will be held the Board’s office, 250 E 500 South, Salt Lake City.
Consideration of a contract with Pearson for a hybrid statewide test for grades 9-10 that combines items from ACT Aspire and SAGE.
Review of the state’s grades 3-8 statewide test changes.
Consideration of next steps following the U.S. Department of Education rejection of Utah’s Every Student Succeeds Act waiver request.
Consideration of a proposal to move forward with a statewide school safety plan.
U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos has given the thumbs up to two more state Every Student Succeeds Act plans: Alaska and Iowa.
That brings the total number of states with approved plans to 44, plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Still waiting for the OK: California, Florida, Nebraska, North Carolina, Oklahoma, and Utah.
Alaska is working local interim tests into its accountability system, as a measure of school quality or student success for elementary schools. The state will also consider chronic absenteeism and literacy by 3rd grade. High schools will be measured on chronic absenteeism, “on track” freshmen, and how many students are eligible for “Alaska Performance Scholarships,” which are based on GPA, completion of a certain curriculum, and achieving a certain score on tests such as the ACT. The state also makes it clear it can’t ‘”coerce” a parent to make a child take standardized tests…
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U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos is a big cheerleader for school choice. And way before she came into office, states around the country were adopting tax-credit scholarships, education savings accounts, and more.
So has all that translated into a big bonanza for school choice in states’ Every Student Succeeds Act plans? Not really.
To be sure, ESSA isn’t a school choice law. School choice fans in Congress weren’t able to persuade their colleagues to include Title I portability in the law, which would have allowed federal funding to follow students to the public school of their choice.
However, the law does has some limited avenues for states to champion various types of school choice options. But only a handful of states are taking advantage of those opportunities, according to reviews of the plans by Education Week and the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools.
School Improvement: At least 12 states say they want schools that are perennially low-performing to consider reopening as charter schools to boost student achievement. Those states are Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, Minnesota, New Mexico, Nevada, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, and Utah.
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In its February 1, 2018 meeting the Utah State Board of Education:
Voted to seek a waiver from the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) provision that requires states to count non-tested students as zeros for school accountability purposes.
Voted to seek additional funding to provide teacher training on restorative justice.
Reviewed the state’s first Kindergarten Entry and Exit Profile (KEEP) report showing kindergarten student literacy and numeracy readiness.
The USBE Finance, Law and Licensing, and Standards and Assessment standing committees will meet on Friday, February 2, 2018.
Committee items approved Friday will be heard by the full Board during its March 15, 2018 meeting.
Those who wish to comment on pending administrative rules or rule changes or existing rules are invited to contact us via e-mail at rule.comments@schools.utah.gov.
One thing we’ll keep stressing again and again this week: how far federal policy has moved since the days of the No Child Left Behind Act (ESSA’s predecessor). Read on.
So, what kinds of goals are states setting?
Some states chose fixed goals that aim for all students, and all subgroups of vulnerable students, such as those qualifying for subsidized school lunches or English-language learners, to reach the same target (such as 80 percent proficiency). What’s nice about this kind of goal is that it sets the same endpoint, making it easier to see over time how achievement gaps are expected to close. States in this category include: Arkansas, Hawaii, Kansas, Mississippi, (grades 3-8 only), Ohio, Minnesota, New York, Rhode island, South Dakota, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming.
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EDUCATION WEEK — Minnesota, New York, Virginia, and West Virginia have some work to do on their plans to implement the Every Student Succeeds Act, according to the U.S. Department of Education.
All four states, who were among the 34 that turned in their plans this fall, were flagged for issues with accountability, helping low-performing schools improve, and other areas. So far, ten other states that turned in their plans this fall — Alabama, Alaska, Georgia, Kansas, Maryland, Montana, North Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming—have received feedback from the feds. Puerto Rico has also gotten a response on its plan. (Check out our summaries of their feedback here and here.)
Plus, sixteen states and the District of Columbia, all of which submitted plans in the spring, have gotten the all-clear from U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos. Colorado, which asked for extra time on its application, is the only spring state still waiting for approval.
So what problems did the department find in this latest round of states? Here’s a quick look. Click on the state’s name for a link to the feds’ letter…
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SALT LAKE CITY – Scores on annual end-of-level Student Assessment of Growth and Excellence (SAGE) tests in language arts, mathematics and science dipped slightly in 2017 for the first time in four years, the Utah State Board of Education (USBE) reported today.
The Board reported declining scores among most student groups with the notable exceptions of increases in:
All subjects from students with limited-English proficiency and students with disabilities.
Language arts testing for students who are Hispanic and of multiple races.
Mathematics scores among students who identify with multiple races.
Overall, language arts proficiency rates decreased from 44.1 percent in 2016 to 43.6 percent in 2017; mathematics proficiency rates decreased from 46.5 percent to 45.7 percent; and science proficiency rates decreased from 48.7 percent to 47.5 percent.
Utah students have been taking state SAGE since 2014. Despite the decrease between 2016 and 2017, overall scores are still higher than in 2014.
“We will be looking deeper into the numbers to understand reasons behind the slight decline,” said State Superintendent of Public Instruction Sydnee Dickson. “One year of decrease does not annul three years of growth, particularly when we also have 2017 data from ACT that shows an increase in Utah high school student scores. The Utah State Board of Education will continue to focus on improving academic achievement for each student.”
Utah students take SAGE in language arts in grades 3 – 11, in math in grades 3 – 8 plus students who take Secondary Math I, II, and III, and in science in grades 4 – 8 and in Earth Science, Biology, Chemistry, and Physics. Utah law allows parents to opt their students out of tests. In 2017, 5.9 percent of tests (69,685 tests in all) were opted out compared to 2 percent (or 22,077 tests) in 2014.
USBE will use data from student scores to calculate school grading reports in accordance with Utah law. School grading information will be released later this month.
Student data from 2017 SAGE, and all previous years, are available on the Utah State Board of Education website.
U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos has given the thumbs up to two more state Every Student Succeeds Act plans: Alaska and Iowa.
