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.
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.
CHEYENNE – The Wyoming Department of Education (WDE) is offering multiple ways for the public to give more input on the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). A statewide listening tour and an online survey have been launched to continue stakeholder engagement on the implementation of ESSA in Wyoming.
“This really is an effort to continue the stakeholder engagement we began this summer with the virtual town halls,” said State Superintendent Jillian Balow. “We know that in order to build the best plan for Wyoming, we must hear from the people in our state about what they want from their public education system.”
The listening tour kicks off with a Community Roundtable at Community Roundtable at Casper College on October 26 with officials from the U.S. Department of Education. It will continue with WDE staff holding listening sessions in five locations:
Nov. 3: Central Wyoming College, Student Center 103, Riverton
Dec. 8: Laramie County Community College, Center for Conferences and Institutes Room 121, Cheyenne
All listening sessions are scheduled for 6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
The online survey is available at edu.wyoming.gov/essa through December 31, 2016 to gather further input, as is a link to volunteer to be on an ESSA Work Group, and information on the transition timeline and public input gathered so far.
– END –
Media Contact:
Kari Eakins, Communications Director
kari.eakins@wyo.gov
307-777-2053
CHEYENNE – U.S. Senator Mike Enzi and State Superintendent Jillian Balow announced today that officials from the U.S. Department of Education (USED) will participate in a Community Roundtable on implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) at Casper College on October 26.
“Due to Senator Enzi’s major role in overhauling No Child Left Behind and getting us to ESSA, Wyoming is one of a handful of states that the USED is visiting in person to hold a discussion on what it will look like in practice. We appreciate their willingness to travel to Casper and listen to our concerns related to federal education policy and how it affects rural states like Wyoming.” said Superintendent Balow.
Senator Enzi will be unable to attend the roundtable, but adds, “When Congress passed this new education law, our intent was clear – we want authority of education policy to rest with the states. The U.S. Department of Education needs to heed this directive in its implementation process. I am pleased that the department chose Wyoming as a state to visit, we have a lot of insight to share.”
USED officials will participate in a listening session in which the public is invited to share ideas and provide meaningful input on how ESSA affects Wyoming and rural states. In addition, staff from the Wyoming Department of Education will collect input specific to the development of Wyoming’s plan for implementation of ESSA.
The Community Roundtable will go from 9:00 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. in CS-160 Nichols Auditorium at Casper College.
– END –
Media Contact:
Kari Eakins, Communications Director
kari.eakins@wyo.gov
307-777-2053
CHEYENNE – The Wyoming Department of Education (WDE) released school performance ratings today. The state accountability measure shows that over half of Wyoming schools are meeting or exceeding expectations.
School Performance Data 2016 – pie
“This year we have more schools meeting or exceeding expectations than ever before,” said State Superintendent Jillian Balow. “We’ve seen schools and communities focus their efforts on proven practices and take advantage of what is working in our top districts. These improvements are something to be very proud of as we look to create opportunities for students to keep Wyoming strong.”
School Performance Data 2016 – table
This data does not include school performance ratings for Wyoming’s 21 alternative high schools. An alternative high school accountability model is being piloted during the 2016-17 school year.
School Performance Data 2016 (1)
Under the Wyoming Accountability in Education Act, schools serving grades 3-8 are rated on achievement, growth, and equity indicators. Indicators for high schools also include graduation rates, 9th grade credits earned, and Hathaway Scholarship eligibility. Before the next legislative session, the Advisory Committee to the Select Committee on Statewide Education Accountability will recommend an additional indicator for the state accountability model as part of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).
“Wyoming has a strong accountability system and ESSA gives us a chance to make it even better,” said former State Superintendent Judy Catchpole. “As chair of the Advisory Committee, we are working diligently to ensure that Wyoming students remain our first priority as we transition into this new federal law.”
As part of Wyoming’s transition to ESSA, the WDE did not make federal accountability determinations this year. Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) does not exist under ESSA. For the 2016-17 transition year, schools and districts identified as being in improvement under No Child Left Behind will remain in their current improvement status for the next year. Once ESSA is fully implemented, Wyoming will use its state accountability model to make both state and federal accountability determinations.
