Virginia Board of Education

July 25-26, 2018

 

Work Session – July 25, 2018

 

Resource Equity

 

The Board conducted an extended discussion about resource equity in Virginia.  The discussion focused on three areas: what does resource equity mean; what are the dimensions of resource equity, with a focus on funding, teacher quality, and school leadership quality; and the possible levers that can be used to improve resource equity.

 

The definition of resource equity that framed the Board’s discussion was as follows:

 

“Resource equity is the allocation and use of resources (people, time, money) to create student experiences that enable all children to reach empowering, rigorous learning outcomes – no matter their race or income.”

 

A couple of their key research findings as discussed by the Board include:

 

“Students in high poverty schools have less experienced instructors, less access to high level science, math, and advanced placement courses, and lower levels of state and local spending on instructors and instructional materials.  High poverty divisions in Virginia get 86 cents for every dollar compared to low poverty divisions.  Additionally, the average teacher salary during the 2013-2014 school year in high poverty schools was over $11,000 less than in low poverty schools.”

 

“After adjusting for differences in geography (cost of living differences), Virginia has the lowest average teacher salary in the nation.”

 

Potential funding changes to improve equity may include:

 

• Raising overall school funding
• Revising Virginia’s funding system so that dollars are better allocated based on student need (e.g. allocations for concentrations of poverty)
• Increasing flexibility over categorical funds
• Supporting divisions with high needs schools to conduct ESSA resource reviews and create action plans (note, resource allocation reviews, as mandated by the Every Student Succeeds Act, were seen as a key lever, at least in terms of highlighting inequities between divisions and between schools within divisions)
• In the same vein, creating reports that improve transparency around resource levels across and within divisions, including the reasons for such differences
• Providing access for deep principal support to create strategic school designs

 

 

Procedural Guidelines for Conducting Licensure Hearings

 

The Board continued its discussion of proposed Procedural Guidelines for Conducting Licensure Hearings.  The guidelines were developed because of the Board’s stated commitment to providing an equitable and fair process that affords a license holder who is seeking license renewal or reinstatement or whose license is the subject of a petition for suspension or revocation adequate and timely notice of the proceedings and a meaningful opportunity to be heard.  Proposed guidelines are intended to assist the parties and the decision makers in that process.

 

An extended summary of all of the proposed revisions, clarifications, and remaining decision points for the Board’s guidance on licensure hearings can be found here:

http://www.doe.virginia.gov/boe/meetings/2018/work-session/07-jul/072618-procedural-guidelines.pptx

 

 

 

Business Meeting – July 26, 2018

 

Use of the Praxis Computer Science Test for the Computer Science Endorsement

 

The Board approved the recommendation of the Advisory Board on Teacher Education and Licensure (ABTEL) to use the Praxis Computer Science (5652) test as a professional teacher’s assessment for the Computer Science endorsement.  The Board also set a passing score of 142 for the test; and set a date to implement the assessment requirement on September 1, 2018, with the exception of individuals applying for a license with an endorsement in Computer Science through Virginia approved programs who would become subject to the requirement effective January 1, 2020.

 

 

Use of the Praxis School Leader Licensure Assessment for the Administration and Supervision Endorsement

 

The Board approved the recommendation of the Advisory Board on Teacher Education and Licensure (ABTEL) to use the School Leader Licensure Assessment (6990) as a professional administrator’s assessment for the Administration and Supervision PreK-12 endorsement.  The Board also set a passing score of 146 for the test; and allowed for the acceptance of passing scores for either the current SLLA (6011) or the revised SLLA (6990) for the period of September 1, 2018 to January 1, 2020; and effective January 1, 2020, require a passing score for the Praxis School Leader Licensure Assessment (6990) or a passing score on the SLLA (6011) if taken prior to January 1, 2020.

 

 

Proposed Procedural Guidelines for Conducting Licensure Hearings

Following their discussion on Wednesday in Work Session (see above), the Board received for second review proposed procedural guidelines for conducting licensure hearings.

 

Further changes were made to the draft as result of the Board’s Wednesday Work Session discussions, including changes in the participation of the Superintendent of Public Instruction and staff in final Board deliberations and actions.  A current draft of these guidelines can be found under the Guidelines header on Board Agenda Item D, found at:

 http://www.doe.virginia.gov/boe/meetings/2018/07-jul/agenda.shtml

 

Final action on this proposal is scheduled for the Board’s September 30, 2018 meeting.

 

Proposed Guidelines for the Use of Local Performance Assessments to Verify Credits in Writing

The Board received for first review proposed guidelines for the use of local performance assessments for verifying credits in writing. The proposed guidelines differentiate between students who are in grade 11 or beyond in the 2018-2019 school year, and students in grade 10 or below. 

 

Students who are in grade 11 or beyond in the 2018-2019 school year have been instructed under the 2010 English SOL.  Local performance assessments used to verify credits in writing for these students must measure the SOL included in the test blueprint for the end-of-course writing test found at

http://doe.virginia.gov/testing/sol/blueprints/english_blueprints/2010/2010_blueprint_eoc_writing.pdf and must include a persuasive writing sample.  School divisions will score such writing samples using readers trained and qualified through the rubric and accompanying materials available at

http://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/sol/standards_docs/english/2010/online_writing/index.shtml#understandscoring.

 

The student writing samples and the results of any other assessment used by the school division to determine student proficiency in the writing skills included in the 2010 English SOL for grades 9-11 constitute a body of evidence.  School divisions will review the body of evidence against the current performance level descriptors found at http://doe.virginia.gov/testing/scoring/performance_level_descriptors/index.shtml to determine students’ level of achievement in high school writing.  Performance levels for high school writing are advanced, proficient, or does not meet the standard (fails).

 

Students who are enrolled in grade 10 English or below in the 2018-2019 school year will be instructed primarily using the 2017 English SOL.  School divisions that choose to award verified credits to these students in writing using authentic performance assessments must administer assessments that cover each of the writing standards included in the English Standards of Learning (SOL) for grades 9-11.

 

Performance assessments used to award verified credits must be evaluated using the quality criteria tool found at

 http://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/local_assessments/index.shtml and must include the three types of writing covered by the English Standards of Learning for grades 9-11: persuasive, analytic, and argumentative.  School divisions are encouraged to develop writing assessments that require students to read a passage and respond to what they have read.  Because the verified credit in writing covers content from the English SOL for grades 9-11, writing samples should be collected throughout the student’s high school career.

 

Student writing samples must be scored using the state-developed high school writing rubric by readers who have been trained on the application of the rubric.  A draft of the high school writing rubric may be found in Appendix B. Materials to be used in training scorers on the application of the rubric will be available in the late summer or early fall of 2019.

 

The student writing samples and the results of any other assessment used by the school division to determine student proficiency in the writing skills included in the English SOL for grades 9-11 constitute a body of evidence.  School divisions will review the body of evidence against the performance level descriptors that describe the student’s level of achievement in high school writing and will determine if the student’s achievement is advanced, proficient, or does not meet the standard (fails).  More information on performance level descriptors for student achievement in high school writing based on the SOL for grades 9, 10, and 11 will be available in early fall 2019.

 

The full draft guidelines are available at:

 http://www.doe.virginia.gov/boe/meetings/2018/07-jul/item-e.docx

 

 

Addition of Special Permission Credit Accommodations to the Guidelines for Standard Diploma Credit Accommodations for Students with Disabilities

The Board received on first review the proposed addition of special credit accommodations to the Board’s existing Guidelines for Standard Diploma Credit Accommodations for Students with Disabilities. The Department is recommending these changes based on feedback received from the United States Department of Education’s Peer Review Process on State Assessments, notifying Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) that the Virginia Substitute Evaluation Program (VSEP) would no longer be permissible for use in Virginia’s federal accountability system. Students with disabilities who would potentially use this assessment option would not be counted as participants and their scores would not counted. Due to this new interpretation, VDOE is proposing the use of Special Permission Credit Accommodations to provide those students with disabilities who previously might have used the VSEP with a pathway to earn the necessary locally awarded verified credits to obtain an standard diploma.

 

The proposed special permission credit accommodation would permit local school boards to award locally awarded verified credits in reading, writing, mathematics, science and history, to certain students with disabilities.  Eligible students would have to:

1. pass the high school course based on a non-modified curriculum,
2. score below 375 on the SOL test,
3. have a documented disability that presents a unique or significant challenge to the degree that the student is unable to demonstrate knowledge of the course content on the SOL test using available accommodations, and
4. demonstrate achievement in the academic content through an appeal process administered at the local level.

 

The decision to consider a special permission credit accommodation would be made through the IEP and/or 504 review process.  School divisions would have to submit a Special Permission Credit Accommodation Form to the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) for each student being considered for a locally awarded verified credit with an SOL scaled score below 375.  Documentation regarding the disability that prevents the student from fully demonstrating their knowledge of the course content on the SOL test even with accommodations would be required. This documentation would have to include evidence of the use or consideration of other credit accommodations and other substitute assessment options. VDOE staff would then review the submitted documentation and return forms that do not meet the requirements included in these guidelines to the school division for additional work.

 

Final action on this proposal is scheduled for the Board’s September 30, 2018 meeting.

 

 

Reports

 

The Board received a report summarizing education funding in Virginia compared to other states, reviewing the literature on the relationship between reforms in education funding and student achievement, and describing the funding needed to raise student achievement in Virginia.

 

The powerpoint of the report can be accessed here:

http://www.doe.virginia.gov/boe/meetings/2018/07-jul/item-g-attachment-a.pptx

 

 

 

Committee on Evidence-Based Policymaking – July 26, 2018

 

The Committee received an overview of the Committee’s progress to date, as well as an update of the Committee’s work on diversifying the teacher workforce.  The teacher workforce presentation included possible policy recommendations for consideration, including:

 

• Service scholarships and loan forgiveness programs
• Teacher residency programs
• Grow Your Own programs
• Course articulation agreements and “2+2” partnerships
• Teacher preparation accreditation and licensure policies
• Ongoing mentoring and support

 

Full meeting materials from the session are available under the July 26, 2018 header at: http://www.doe.virginia.gov/boe/committees_standing/evidence-based-policy/index.shtml