CDE Update - Strategic Priorities

Implementation Resources Available

CDE is using pilot experiences and feedback to inform strategies for S.B. 10-191 statewide implementation. A new implementation brief highlights key ideas and insights from a panel discussion held in January. Recently, a video was also released from the same panel that highlights the benefits pilot districts are seeing from implementing the new evaluation requirements. To access the implementation brief, visit: http://bit.ly/Y1BsXy. To watch the video, visit http://www.cde.state.co.us/EducatorEffectiveness/SMES-Pilot.asp. 

New Drop-in Article Available

The Communications team creates tools to support district leadership as they communicate about education topics such as changes to educator evaluations, new assessments and the transition to the Colorado Academic Standards.  Taking advantage of drop-in articles is like superintendents having their own PR agency with a professional ghost writer. The updates on key initiatives are pre-written thus saving you time and ensuring you’re communicating the most recent, accurate and relevant information. To view the new drop-in article, visit http://bit.ly/WSmgOf.

Early Childhood Educator Evaluations

The new evaluation requirements under S.B. 10-191 provide meaningful evaluations for all state licensed education professionals including licensed positions in early childhood. Learn more about how S.B. 10-191 applies to early childhood educators through this fact sheet: http://www.cde.state.co.us/EducatorEffectiveness/downloads/FactSheets/ECE.pdf.

Determining the 50 percent student learning outcomes/student growth

The Educator Effectiveness team is conducting student learning outcomes/student growth work sessions. This one-day technical guidance work session is focused on the technical guidance to determine the 50 percent portion of teacher and principal evaluations for student learning outcomes/student growth. The sessions are scheduled through area regional BOCES.  If your district is a member of a BOCES, contact your executive director to find your scheduled work session. Not a member of a BOCES and want a work session with your district team?  Just contact Mike Gradoz, director of field services, at (303) 866-5194 or gradoz_m@cde.state.co.us.

Online Performance Management System

CDE is beginning the request for proposal process for an online performance management system to provide an optional performance management technology platform at no cost to districts. This technology infrastructure will help districts organize their data from the state model evaluation system including their educator data, progress tracking, professional development and information from rubrics, for example. This technology support will make data tracking and reporting a much more useful and meaningful process for educators and districts. A vendor is expected to be selected by late May.  

Specialized Service Professionals (Other Licensed Personnel)

New evaluation requirements require annual evaluations for all licensed personnel including principals, teachers and other state-licensed education professionals. The State Council for Educator Effectiveness has identified nine categories of specialized service professionals referred to as "other licensed personnel" (now called specialized service providers) in state rule. After working with workgroups of specialized service professionals from around the state, the Council will give standards and elements recommendations to the State Board of Education in May to guide the creation of evaluation systems. These recommendations will begin the state board rulemaking process on the evaluation system for these professional through 2013.  Evaluation requirements for specialized service providers go into effect in 2014-15. To view the preliminary recommendations, visit http://bit.ly/149YG1d. A webinar will be held on Tuesday, April 9 to provide more information. To register, contact Katy Anthes at anthes_k@cde.state.co.us.

By July 1, all districts must provide CDE an assurance that specifies if they are implementing the Colorado State Model Evaluation System or another evaluation system that is aligned with S.B. 10-191 and state board rules. Based on recent field feedback and to support districts during the planning stages for S.B. 10-191, an “in progress” option has been added to the assurances and checklist.

To view the updated assurances and checklist, visit http://www.cde.state.co.us/EducatorEffectiveness/SB-Assurances.asp. 

If you have additional questions, please contact Toby King at king_t@cde.state.co.us. 

Common Core Questions

Recent news articles have sparked renewed interest in the Common Core State Standards.  To assist superintendents in responding to questions or concerns that may arise, the CDE Communications team has developed a set of communication tools including key messaging on Common Core State Standards; sample response letter; standards events and activities ideas; Colorado Academic Standards drop-in article; and Colorado Academic Standards Fact Sheet.  Find these at http://www.cde.state.co.us/Communications/factsheets.html

It’s important to understand not only the practical implications of using the Colorado Academic Standards, but the statutory standpoint, too. By law, neither districts nor parents can opt out of meeting the state’s standards. Here are the specific statutes:

• Districts are required by law to meet the state’s standards (22-7-1013, C.R.S.).
• Parents cannot opt their children out of meeting the state’s standards or ask to be placed in classes that do not adhere to the state standards.
• In addition, every student enrolled in a public school is required to take the state assessment.  The law does not allow students to “opt out” of the state assessments (22-7-409 (1.2)(d)(I)(A), C.R.S.).

These statutory requirements may prove helpful as superintendents talk more in-depth about the issues with school board members about the district’s obligations regarding state standards and assessments.

School Readiness

A new frequently asked questions document is available with answers to questions related to requirements for school readiness plans and assessment as well as information about the approved menu of school readiness assessments.  Find it at  http://www.cde.state.co.us/schoolreadiness/FAQ.asp. A school readiness fact sheet is available at: http://bit.ly/YtLG2F.   

School Readiness Implementation Meetings:  CDE is hosting five regional meetings to support kindergarten teachers, elementary principals, preschool program directors and district leaders with implementation of the school readiness provisions of S.B. 08-212, Colorado’s Achievement Plan for Kids (CAP4K).  Participants will be provided with (1) an overview of school readiness requirements within CAP4K, (2) information on department supports for implementing school readiness, (3) an opportunity to learn from districts involved in transforming their early childhood programs and kindergarten, and (4) time for school/district team planning for implementation. 

Meetings times are from 4:30 to 7 p.m.  Specific locations will be posted as venues are secured at http://www.cde.state.co.us/schoolreadiness/index.asp. Register at http://bit.ly/Xq63uc.

• Denver metro area, Tuesday, April 16
• Grand Junction, Monday, April 22
• Alamosa, Wednesday, May 1
• Pueblo, Thursday, May 23
• Greeley, Wednesday, May 29

The READ Act

READ Act Rules:  The State Board of Education adopted rules for the READ Act in March.  The rules are posted at:  http://www.cde.state.co.us/coloradoliteracy/ReadAct/index.asp. The READ Act also requires the state board to approve interim, diagnostic and summative reading assessments.  Approved interim assessments for the 2013-14 school year are the same as those approved pursuant to the Colorado Basic Literacy Act (CBLA): DRA2, DIBELS and PALS.  The board will take action in the fall to approve an updated list of interim assessments to align with the READ Act.  The state board has approved a list of diagnostic and summative reading assessments pursuant to the READ Act; the list is posted at: http://www.cde.state.co.us/coloradoliteracy/ReadAct/resourcebank.asp.

A READ Act fact sheet is available at: http://www.cde.state.co.us/Communications/download/FactSheets/READActFactSheet.pdf

READ Act Training:  Through May, the department will provide training sessions for teachers and instructional leaders focused on (1) components of the READ Act, (2) identifying a significant reading deficiency, (3) developing effective READ plans, and (4) the READ Automated Data Exchange (ADE) system collection.  Information about participating in a state sponsored license for the DIBELS Next System will be shared.  For dates and locations, visit http://www.cde.state.co.us/coloradoliteracy/ReadAct/index.asp.

Early Literacy Assessment Licenses:  Applications for the Early Literacy Assessment Program are available on the READ Act webpage and due to CDE on Friday, May 10, by 4 p.m. The Early Literacy Assessment Program will provide licenses for the DIBELS Next system and Burst diagnostic assessment to districts for kindergarten through 3rd-grade reading assessment.

The Legislature and Wireless Generation have come together with funding we anticipate will cover all districts that apply for funding to start their implementation of the READ Act. In particular, the state has allocated $3 million for district license costs for the first year of implementation. In addition, Wireless Generation will also provide funding for licenses above the state’s allocation for district’s choosing to use their product.

Looking ahead, CDE will continue to request funding from the Legislature to support the ongoing implementation of the early literacy assessment program. That request, along with all other education funding requests, will be considered by the Legislature as it determines the rest of the state budget each year.  To download the application and learn more, visit:  http://www.cde.state.co.us/coloradoliteracy/ReadAct/assessmenttool.asp.

The Department is facilitating work groups to develop sample school readiness plan templates and READ plan templates that districts may voluntarily implement or use to inform the design of their own forms.

Applications for DIBELS Next software licenses are due Friday, May 10, by 4 p.m. 

Transitional Colorado Assessment Program (TCAP) Administration

Colorado is currently administering the TCAP.  The administration window closes on April 12.  For more information, contact Jason Clymer at clymer_j@cde.state.co.us.  

TCAP Anchor Review

CDE asked educators interested in reviewing TCAP items to submit their names and qualifications to a reviewer database.  On April 9 and 10, selected Colorado educators may provide guidance for the TCAP constructed response scoring process. 

Field Test for the New Science and Social Studies Assessments

The field test for the new science and social studies summative and alternate assessments is scheduled from April 22 to May 10.  The sample of students from the spring field test will consist of students from across the state in grades 4, 5, 7 and 8. 

Online Assessment Readiness 

As Colorado begins its transition to computer-based assessments, it’s important for districts to participate in the online readiness survey, the Technology Readiness Tool.  Districts were asked to provide initial data by March 31. As of March 22, only 35 percent of districts have participated.  For districts that have not yet submitted data, it is important to provide information as soon as possible so the district’s data is reflected when decisions are made for both the PARCC and the Colorado-developed assessments.  It is most important for districts to provide information about their number of devices meeting minimum requirements and bandwidth capacity.  For the FAQs, click here: http://bit.ly/105BueW.    

The next step in preparing field test districts for online testing is the site readiness training. This training consists of verifying minimum system requirements, running a system check to validate bandwidth, proctor caching and session management. Site readiness trainings have been provided to field test districts and will be expanded to all other districts before the Spring 2014 assessment administration.  For questions about online readiness trainings, contact the Assessment Unit’s technology specialist, Collin Bonner, at bonner_c@cde.state.co.us.

Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers Consortium Update

The Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC), the consortium developing English language arts and mathematics assessments of which Colorado is a governing member, recently released information about technology expectations and administration of the PARCC assessments.  Information about testing time, testing windows and recommended student-to-device ratios was made public. Districts are encouraged to distinguish between the PARCC expectations that were recently released for 2015 and CDE’s expectations for the science and social studies assessments in 2014. CDE will adjust its expectations for student-to-device ratios based on the information submitted by districts through the Technology Readiness Tool. Information about estimated PARCC testing times is available at: http://www.cde.state.co.us/assessment/NewAssess-PARCC.asp.

Educator Recruitment

Educator involvement in the development and review of state assessments is essential to ensuring that the content of items is appropriate for students and that items are not unfairly advantageous or disadvantageous to a particular group of students. The Assessment Unit is recruiting educators for assessment item development meetings. Please distribute the information below to help recruit reviewers. We are especially interested in candidates who represent minority racial/ethnic groups, as well as educators who work with students with special needs and English learners.

For development and review opportunities for the new science and social studies assessments, please visit http://educator.force.com/CO.  For more information, contact Glen Sirakavit (new summative science and social studies assessments) at sirakavit_g@cde.state.co.us or Mira Monroe (new alternate science and social studies assessments) at monroe_m@cde.state.co.us.

Student Biographical Data Review

The Student Biographical Data Review allows districts to verify the accuracy of the demographic data submitted for each student for each assessment. There are three distinct SBD processes: ACCESS for ELLs SBD, TCAP/CoAlt SBD and CO ACT SBD. The ACCESS for ELLs SBD occurred in March. 

The TCAP CoAlt SBD window runs from May 22 – June 6, and the CO ACT SBD window runs from June 21 – July 2. 

For SBD-related questions, contact Jessica Allen at allen_j@cde.state.co.us.     

Third Grade TCAP Reading and Lectura Reports

School districts will receive printed TCAP reports for grade 3 reading and Lectura in early May.  The statewide results will be released at about the same time.

TCAP Content Validity and Alignment Review

CDE asked educators who were interested in reviewing TCAP items to submit their names and qualifications into a reviewer pool database.  From May 14 – 16, selected educators will review new TCAP items to ensure appropriateness for grade and content as well as alignment to the academic standards.

Educator Item Writing for the New Science and Social Studies Assessments

Selected educators can participate in writing items for the elementary and middle school science and social studies summative assessments in May. 

Training for the New Science and Social Studies Assessments

PearsonAccess trainings, trainings related to preparing district assessment coordinators, school assessment coordinators, and others involved in the assessment administration process, began for field test districts in February and will continue in April.  PearsonAccess trainings are open to all districts, with invitations sent to DACs.  Recordings will be available on the PearsonAccess website a few days after the last training event.  A list of PearsonAccess trainings for the 2013 field test is available at: http://www.cde.state.co.us/assessment/NewAssess-PATraining.asp. For more information, contact Mira Monroe at monroe_m@cde.state.co.us.

None at this time.

Unified Improvement Plans: Review and Feedback

Any districts with “required changes” for their district UIP was required to submit their revised plan by April 1 through Tracker. School plans with “required changes” do not need to be resubmitted to CDE this year for another review. The expectation is that the district will work with the school(s) to make the appropriate revisions. All school and district UIPs, whether or not they have required changes, need to be submitted to Tracker by April 15 to be posted on SchoolView. For some districts and schools, this submission is in addition to any previous submissions for review purposes.

Release of TELL Colorado Survey Data

This year 1,083 schools and 91 districts got at least 50 percent of staff to participate in the TELL Colorado survey.  Data will be available by late April. CDE will host a webinar, post guides on how to unpack the data and weave technical assistance into other opportunities. 

A New Era in Grants Management

After reviewing, designing and training, the Competitive Grants and Awards Office is in the final stages of testing the state of Colorado Grant Management System. The new system standardizes the grant application process and is housed on a secure, web-based platform. The system allows applicants to apply and request funds electronically. The Early Literacy Grant will be the first grant to use the system and is scheduled to go live on Thursday, April 4. The Competitive Grants and Awards Office will begin to convert the paper application process into the new system as soon as possible. For more information, contact Lynn Bamberry:  bamberry_l@cde.state.co.us.  

Watch for more information in next months Update.

• April 15 - Deadline for districts to (re)submit district/school UIPs via Tracker
• April 17 - School Improvement Support grant due
• April 17 - Tiered Intervention grant due
• April 19 - Talent Pool Application forms due
• Summer - 2012-2013 district/school UIPs on SchoolView

The 21st Century Community Learning Centers program has received a flexibility waiver as part of our ESEA (Elementary and Secondary Education Act) waiver.  This enables the program the flexibility to support expanded learning opportunities during the school day and extend out-of-school time activities for inclusion in the school day. The waiver does not impact current grants, but will be applied to the next round of cohort funding. The program is piloting expanded learning opportunities through a competitive, summer supplemental grant for current grantees.  Out of 17 applications, 10 supplemental grants were awarded.

Watch for more information in next months Update.

None at this time.

The Graduation Guidelines Council is meeting monthly to draft and refine recommendations. CDE staff attend various constituent meetings statewide to gather feedback and update the State Board periodically. Principles of belief, a calendar of constituent conversations, Graduation Guideline Council members, components on the table being discussed and the Endorsed Diploma criteria already adopted, can be reviewed and responded to at: http://www.cde.state.co.us/SecondaryInitiatives/GraduationGuidelines.htm

At its next meeting, April 10-11, 2013, the State Board will receive recommendations for high school graduation guidelines from the Graduation Guidelines Council.

• The State Board will adopt the final set of guidelines in May.