PARCC assessment: DC’s new student assessments are now being administered for the first time. For basic information on the tests, questions and answers, and helpful, interesting links (including links to sample questions!), see my new PARCC page by clicking here or on the PARCC button on the top navigation. How is it going in your school? As part of its work, the board will be reviewing the PARCC and its administration. Please let me know your impressions. —ruth4schools@yahoo.com.
Next Public Meeting of State Board of Education: Wednesday, March 18, 5:30 PM at 1 Judiciary Square. The Board meetings are regularly held on the 4th Wednesday of each month at the same time and place
A key piece of Board business will be to discuss the bureaucratically named “ESEA waiver.” Despite its bureaucratic name, this waiver is the main current opportunity for DC to reconsider certain aspects of how it holds schools (and, to a lesser extent, staff) accountable. For more on what the waiver is and does, see the blog post on the right, which also includes links to other sites relevant to the waiver. Among the issues that the Board will consider as it reviews the waiver renewal:
–a one-year pause on using the scores from the new PARCC test for high stakes decisions such as the classification of schools and the evaluation of staff.
–a new formula for judging school progress and effectiveness, which would put greater weight on how much student achievement improves over a given year and less weight to students’ performance status (meaning whether a student scores at a “basic,” “proficient,” or other level).
–adding additional information to school report cards, including such information as the availability of a school nurse and the existence of extracurricular activities.
Comments? Please email me at ruth4schools@yahoo.com.
