Massachusetts Teaching and Learning System

Last week's Commissioner's Update shared information about a RTTT project focused on the development of a comprehensive teaching and learning system that will provide educators an integrated suite of tools and resources, including:

• data dashboards and reports,
• an expanded early warning indicator system,
• a "test builder" for formative and interim assessments,
• model curriculum units and lesson plans, and
• compelling multi-media and print resources to support instructional lesson design and delivery.

The folks at ESE are seeking input and feedback from school and district representatives as they develop this system over the next few years, which has a major focus on timely and easy-to-access information that can be used to improve teaching and learning.. Please visit the Teaching and Learning System page on the ESE Web site for further details and information about how you can get involved.

Data Update from the Curriculum Summit

This week, I had the opportunity to attend the state's Third Annual Summit on Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment in Marlborough, so I thought I'd share what I heard and learned here on the blog.

Commissioner Mitchell Chester kicked off the Summit with an overview of successes and challenges in Massachusetts' public schools. He spoke with excitement about the opportunities that lie ahead for us in terms of funding (RTTT and other sources), next-generation assessments (the multi-state PARCC group), and new ways of looking at student performance (the growth model).

I attended a morning session focused on the Massachusetts System of Tiered Instruction - "a data driven prevention, early detection, and support system with the aim of providing high-quality core educational experiences for all students and targeted interventions to struggling students who experience learning and/or behavioral challenges." We heard from two school districts (Pittsfield and Winchendon) who have implemented this model for math and literacy, respectively. Even in these "best-practice" examples, the ongoing challenges related to data were evident - WHAT data to examine, HOW to utilize it (and by WHOM), and WHERE to keep it. But the more we can share and collaborate on these challenges, the closer we can come to addressing them.

Our lunch speaker was Julia Phelps, Executive Director for Curriculum and Instruction at the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. She spoke about the new Common Core State Standards and engaged the audience in thinking about the process for transitioning to these new standards over the next few years. In terms of changes to MCAS, her main points were that the spring 2011 MCAS will be based on the existing Frameworks, and the spring 2012 MCAS will be based primarily on the intersection between the existing Frameworks and the new Common Core. It is clear that MUCH more information will be coming out to support districts during this transition, so stay tuned.

The final session I attended was Creating Formative Assessments for Mathematics using Released MCAS Items which reminded us of the wealth of test questions available through ESE, and provided some ideas for using these as a "dipstick" for measuring student understanding.

Please note that the PowerPoint presentations and other materials from the Summit will be posted on the ESE's Summit Web page in the upcoming weeks.