September 3, 2015

Delaware News

Newsworks
Delaware Smarter Balanced: new scores send mixed signals
The much-anticipated results from Delaware’s new, tougher state test are in, and, well, they’re mixed. As expected, the number of students deemed proficient on the first ever Smarter Balanced assessment was significantly lower than the number deemed proficient on its predecessor, known as DCAS. Delaware students, did, however, outperform projections based on a 2014 field test of Smarter Balanced.

Delaware’s Smarter Balanced Scores: explained in 8 charts
On Wednesday, Delaware released preliminary results from its new, statewide test – known as Smarter Balanced. In other words, we just got hit with a hurricane of data. But the 8 charts and tables below should help you make sense of what these early results indicate – and what they don’t.

The News Journal
As expected, scores plunge on tough new test
Only half of Delaware students are proficient in English and fewer than four in 10 are proficient in math, according to results of the state’s tough new standardized test, the Smarter Balanced Assessment. That’s a far bleaker picture than parents have been given in previous years, but state leaders say it’s not surprising because the test asks far more of kids.

Business leaders to Dover: Get your act together
A new report from the Delaware Business Roundtable, a coalition of CEOs, says Delaware could face widening budget gaps in coming years — caused by stagnant tax sources, rising healthcare costs and slow economic growth. Business leaders now say Delaware should consider hiring freezes, targeted program reductions, efficiencies in the Medicaid program, and ways to slow down education spending.

Dover Post
Markell: Student Smarter Balanced scores better than anticipated
Preliminary results of the first Smarter Balanced Assessment Test, released Sept. 2, show the majority of students performed better than the state had projected. The exception was high school juniors, who underperformed on the math section. Final scores are expected to be released and mailed to families on Sept. 17.

Associated Press
Results show students struggle with new standardized test
There’s good news and bad news in Delaware students’ performance on a new standardized test linked to Common Core academic standards.

Cape Gazette
Cape students excel on new statewide test
Cape Henlopen School District students beat state expectations and were among the highest-scoring students in the state on the latest statewide test, for which results were released Sept. 2.

UDaily
UD Mandela Washington Fellows gain insight from Delaware education system
Delaware education experts, administrators, teachers, and students came together last month with the University of Delaware’s Mandela Washington Fellows for an in-depth tour of education in the First State.

National News

Education Week
How long do waiver states have to get teacher-evaluation systems in place?
How long do states with No Child Left Behind Act waivers have to get teacher-evaluation systems up and running? Maybe longer than you think.

Classroom assignments fail to meet Common-Core’s higher bar, study says
There have been several notable efforts recently to determine whether textbooks are aligned to the Common Core State Standards—most of which have had fairly negative findings. A new report looks at whether individual classroom assignments meet the common-core criteria for literacy. And it, too, finds that alignment, for the most part, is lacking.

NPR
One-third of schools are using this app you’ve never heard of
“Clever does two things,” explains Tyler Bosmeny, co-founder and CEO. “It helps apps integrate with student information systems and gives students and teachers a single sign-on for all of them.” The single sign-on brings convenience; the integration part addresses issues of security and privacy.

Governing
Assessing the nation’s most ambitious education reforms in Memphis, Tennessee
As states around the country embrace Tennessee’s turnaround model, the experience of one Memphis high school shows policymakers about its potential and perils.

Orlando Sentinel
FSA is valid, but new state test had problematic debut, study finds
Florida’s new standardized test is valid, but its debut was “problematic” and schools should not make “critical decisions” about students based solely on results of its computer-based exams, a study found.