#melody schopp

[sodakliberty]

SD SBAC lawsuit revolves around the compact clause

SD SBAC lawsuit revolves around the compact clause

Sauer spoke of three pillars of the compact clause. Earlier this week there was a hearing for the case against the State of South Dakota for its entry into the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC). Previously I looked at the participants of this hearing. Also, about half a year ago I looked briefly at the complaint.  This post will look at the compact clause and why the plaintiff’s argue…

View On WordPress

[sodakliberty]

South Dakota being sued over SBAC in the battle against Common Core

South Dakota being sued over SBAC in the battle against Common Core

Common Core new math © Gregory Johnston | Dreamstime.com The State of South Dakota is being sued by two SD taxpayers, Shelli Grinager and Amber Mauricio, for the state’s entry into the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC). Thomas More Law Center (TMLC), a firm out of MI, filed the lawsuit in Hughes County on November 10, 2015. The complaint filed can be read here; and the press release…

View On WordPress

[sodakliberty]

Rep Lance Russell requests SD Ed Sec Melody Schopp step down

Rep Lance Russell requests SD Ed Sec Melody Schopp step down

Rep Lance Russel speaking on the SD House floor. Photo by Ken Santema 03/10/15. South Dakota State Representative Lance Russell (R, Dist 30) has sent a letter to Melody Schopp asking her to step down as the SD Secretary of Education. This is in response to the growing GEAR UP scandal and Schopp’s lack of oversight being provided to taxpayer dollars. Soundbites of an interview with Russell about…

View On WordPress

[notdistrictdialogue]

Common Core confusion

Much was said Friday in the House Education Committee about the Common Core Standards.

Much of it was wrong.

Education Secretary Melody Schopp obviously understands CCS. I can say with confidence that Reps. Jim Bolin and Ray Ring understand them too. As for the rest of them, well, are we sure this was the House Education Committee?

“What is wrong with having a standard that makes it so that we don’t pass kids that can’t read because we have to get them to the next grade?” - Rep. Scott Ecklund, R-Brandon

He seems to be confusing standards with proficiency benchmarks. The CCS say what students should know and be able to do. They are what a teacher’s curriculum is based upon. They are not cut scores on standardized tests.

“If we don’t have these Common Core Standards, who will set the standard?” - Rep. Burt Tulson, R-Lake Norden

I can’t be sure, but he seems to think what Ecklund thinks.

“I’d like to reiterate what Dr. Shoop said. Common Core Standards do not dictate what the children are going to be taught, nor does it tell us how they’re going to be taught. It only measures their performance, where they stand at any one time.”  - Rep. Timothy Johns, R-Lead

Her name is Schopp, and she didn’t say that the CCS measure student performance. The CCS-aligned tests will do that, of course, but that’s a separate matter.

“It’s so jargon-filled that parents will never again be able to help their kids with homework.” - Art Marmorstein, NSU professor who called in

Sure, some of the tasks described in CCS are hard to read. But the “jargon” in the CCS is not what’s going to be on a kid’s homework assignment.

"It’s dumbed down, what I’ve read. I’ve read that, for instance, what is taught in 8th grade now will be taught in 9th.” - Linda Schauer, Concerned Women for America

The opposite is true.

“The Common Core’s here. Math and reading, period. OK, so that’s past the fact. It was adopted in 2010 by the Board of Education. We took an entire year of public comment. We had educators from across the state who weighed in on the pros and the cons of the Common Core. We had no opposition to the Common Core. We didn’t have people who came out and testified in that public hearing.” - Melody Schopp

I think she’s right that no educator spoke against CCS, but Steve “Sibby” Sibson did testify against them in Mitchell.

“If the bill becomes law, it’s almost certain to have no consequence. The Common Core initiative was limited to math and English language arts, and there are no plans to expand into other subjects. Other groups are working on standards for science, world languages and arts, but Bolin’s bill is specific to the Common Core initiative.” - Josh Verges, Argus Leader

I’m confident this part of my story today is accurate, but Rep. Bolin doesn’t think so. He wrote in an email to me: “There are new standards coming. They may change the names but the whole whole think is designed to have national standards and national control over schools in the country.” [sic]

The CCS website says otherwise: “CCSSO and NGA are not leading the development of standards in other academic content areas. Below is information on efforts of other organizations to develop standards in other academic subjects. …” http://www.corestandards.org/resources/frequently-asked-questions

-------------------------------------------

I’ll leave you with another quote from Friday’s hearing, which I will not attempt to fact-check:

“Government’s been running education in South Dakota since 1889 with minimal or low standards, and as I look around the room, I see a bunch of intelligent, apt individuals who are able to take care of themselves and be successful. I would argue that we’re searching for a solution to a problem that doesn’t exist.” - Rep. Dan Kaiser, R-Aberdeen

[notdistrictdialogue]

When students grade the teachers

At the end of every college course you took, you probably completed an evaluation of your instructor. You imagined your scathing review held the power to help your prof see the error of his ways or - better yet - get him fired.

So, why don't K-12 public schools do that? Are teens, tweens and toddlers incapable of providing valuable feedback about their teachers' strengths and weaknesses? (Don't answer just yet.)

EdWeek says student surveys are getting a serious look as one piece of teacher evaluation:

The search for reliable methods of gauging teacher effectiveness—a dominant education policy issue over the last several years—has centered on classroom observation tools and value-added measures. But another potential indicator has emerged and is starting to pick up momentum: student surveys.

...

Tiffany Francis, a Pittsburgh teacher whose school just used the surveys for the first time, said she was initially "very pessimistic" about administering them to her 2nd graders, but that the process was ultimately "enlightening."

Upon getting her results, she was pleased to see that 100 percent of her students rated her highly on "care," a point of pride in her teaching. But lower scores in the area of "control," and on the statement, "to help us remember, my teacher talks about things we already learned." These responses gave her insight on where she should consider making changes.

"I definitely took this as something I'm going to incorporate in my planning," she said.

How about it, South Dakota?

The uber-controversial HB1234 mentions student surveys as one option schools could use in their own teacher evaluations, even if it isn't included in the statewide tool now being developed by the Teacher Evaluation Work Group:

            (b)    Fifty percent of the evaluation of a teacher shall be based on qualitative, observable, evidence-based characteristics of good teaching and classroom practices as further defined in the model evaluation instrument referenced in section 40 of this Act. Districts may collect additional evidence using any of the following if not required by the model evaluation instrument:

            (i)    Classroom drop-ins;

            (ii)    Parent surveys;

            (iii)    Student surveys;

            (iv)    Portfolios; or

            (v)    Peer review;

In working on a story about teacher evaluation, I spoke with Education Secretary Melody Schopp, who mentioned some states are using student surveys.

“I think we need to think differently about evaluation," she said.

Teacher evaluation is one of the big education issues Bill Gates is studying too.

Among the elements of a good teacher evaluation system, some of the "most surprising" results can come from what students say about their teachers on surveys, said Microsoft founder Bill Gates, speaking at the Education Commission of the States' National Forum on Education Policy in Atlanta today.

[notdistrictdialogue]

Why HB1234 referral doesn't affect the NCLB waiver

The Obama administration last week rejected Iowa’s request for a waiver from No Child Left Behind because their state legislature insisted on keeping its grubby hands on teacher evaluations.

The waiver rules have some specific requirements about teacher evaluations, and Iowa’s law didn’t stack up.

When that happened, some South Dakota observers – OK, it was one guy who called the newsroom – wondered if the prospect of HB1234 being overturned at ballot boxes in November could kill our chances at a waiver.

After all, HB1234 contains a lot of language about a mandatory statewide teacher evaluation system.

Well, South Dakota got the OK for its waiver today.

I asked state Education Secretary Melody Schopp why HB1234 referral did not pose a problem. She said the authority for the state to change the rules on teacher evaluation actually comes from a different bill, SB25.

The teachers union didn’t like SB25 either. But unlike HB1234, they aren’t referring it to voters.

“Regardless of what happens, our authority comes from SB25,” Schopp said. “So we actually knew what we were doing.”

[notdistrictdialogue]

HB1234 work group members named

The members have been chosen for three of the six work groups created under HB1234, the education reform bill signed in March by Gov. Dennis Daugaard.

Education Secretary Melody Schopp was tasked with choosing the people to serve on the teacher evaluation work group, principal evaluation work group and the local teacher reward plan advisory council.

All important committees, no doubt, but the most interesting is the last of the three.

The local teacher reward plan advisory council will develop one or more models for rewarding good teachers financially. School boards will be able to choose one of the model plans, Gov. Daugaard’s plan or one of their own.

Under the law:

"The local teacher reward plan shall reward certified teachers in the district based upon one or more of the following criteria:

(1) Demonstrating an impact on student achievement;

(2) Demonstrating teacher leadership; or

(3) Market based needs of the school district based upon critical teaching area needs of the school district.

Have any suggestions? Call these folks:

Nick Gottlob, Lead-Deadwood 6-12 principal

Tami Hummel, Dakota Valley elementary principal

Tim Mitchell, Rapid City superintendent

David Pappone, Brandon Valley superintendent

Jarod Larson, Timber Lake superintendent

Tim Pflanz, Tri-Valley 7-12 principal

Tanya Czepull, Brandon Valley teacher

Brett Distel, Douglas teacher

Becky Lockwood, Brookings teacher

Mary Schneider, Armour teacher

Joann Stephens, Belle Fourche teacher

Amber Stout, Pierre teacher

David Haagenson, Baltic school board

Neil Putnam, Mitchell school board

Mary Williams, Wall school board

Find a full list of all work group members here.

[notdistrictdialogue]

Wanted: 93 people for education boards, work groups, advisory councils

Fifty-eight elected officials voted for the final version of HB1234 – 59 if you count Gov. Dennis Daugaard, who is sure to sign it into law soon.

But perhaps the more important work will be done by the 93 (!) members of the six work groups, boards and advisory councils created by HB1234.

Here’s how the membership of those groups breaks down:

28 school administrators

25 teachers

13 school board members

8 parents of K-12 students

8 lawmakers

2 business people

2 Melody Schopps

1 Board of Regents

1 from the technical institute

0 journalists

5 not specified

  Interested? Here’s who you’ll need to lobby for an appointment and what each group will do (the last one sounds like the most fun):

  Critical Teaching Needs Scholarship Board

Task: Choose up to 100 college students each year to receive free junior- and senior-year tuition for teaching in a critical teaching needs area

Appointed by: Gov. Dennis Daugaard

Five members: Anyone can apply

    Local Teacher Reward Plan Advisory Council

Task: Develop one or more model plans that school boards might use in rewarding teachers

Appointed by: Secretary of Education Melody Schopp

15 members:

Six principals or superintendents representing two elementary, two middle and two high schools

Six teachers, two from each grade grouping

Three school board members from districts of varying sizes

    Local Teachers Reward Plan Oversight Board

Task: Approve and deny local teacher reward plans

Appointed by: Senate president pro tempore Bob Gray, House speaker Val Rausch, Gov. Dennis Daugaard

Seven members:

Education Secretary Melody Schopp

A state senator (appointed by Gray)

A state representative (Rausch)

Two business people (Daugaard)

An educational association representative (Daugaard)

A current or former teacher (Daugaard)

  Teacher rating system work group

Task: Develop standards and a model evaluation tool for the four-tier teacher rating system

Appointed by: Education Secretary Melody Schopp

20 members:

Six teachers, two from each grade grouping

Three principals, one from each grade grouping

Two superintendents

Two school board members

Four parents of K-12 students

One representative of the South Dakota Education Association (presumably president Sandy Arseneault)

One representative of the School Administrators of South Dakota (presumably director John Pedersen)

One representative of the Associated School Boards of South Dakota (presumably director Wade Pogany)

  Principal rating system work group

Task: Develop standards and a model evaluation tool for the four-tier principal rating system

Appointed by: Education Secretary Melody Schopp

20 members:

Six principals, two from each grade grouping

Three teachers, one from each grade grouping

Two superintendents

Two school board members

Four parents of K-12 students

One representative of the South Dakota Education Association (presumably president Sandy Arseneault)

One representative of the School Administrators of South Dakota (presumably director John Pedersen)

One representative of the Associated School Boards of South Dakota (presumably director Wade Pogany)

  The work group that could end all work groups (aka South Dakota Education Reform Advisory Council)

Task: Tell the Legislature how they screwed up in HB1234 and further examine education reform issues including teacher compensation; recruiting, retaining and training teachers; and other ideas for improving student achievement

Appointed by: Senate president pro tempore Bob Gray, House speaker Val Rausch, Gov. Dennis Daugaard, Board of Regents, technical college presidents, SASD, SDEA and ASBSD

26 members:

Education Secretary Melody Schopp

Three state senators, including one from each political party (appointed by Gray)

Three state representatives, including one from each political party (Rausch)

Three superintendents (Gray and Rausch)

Three principals, one from each grade grouping (Gray and Rausch)

Five teachers (Gray and Rausch)

Three school board members (Gray and Rausch)

One member of Board of Regents (the board)

One representative of the technical colleges (tech school presidents)

Somebody selected by SASD (presumably John Pedersen)

Somebody selected by SDEA (presumably Sandy Arseneault)

Somebody selected by ASBSD (presumably Wade Pogany)