DESE Update: June 21st, 2019

1. Board of Elementary and Secondary Education to Meet:

The Board of Elementary and Secondary Education will meet from 9:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. June 25 at Rumney Marsh Academy, 140 American Legion Highway, Revere. The agenda is posted online, and the meeting will be streamed online at https://livestream.com/accounts/22459134.

Picture of the Week

On June 20, DESE honored 18 award-winning teachers in a ceremony at the State House. Left-right, back row: Teacher of the Year semifinalist Jennifer Ryan; Michael Neagle, Massachusetts History Teacher of the Year and Massachusetts Teacher of the Year semifinalist; Teacher of the Year semifinalist Dominique D. Gilmer; Milken Award winner Jennifer Gordon; Teacher of the Year semifinalists Rachel R.M. Crawford, Roxann Grover, Eamon Cunningham, and Chaitra McCarty Byrd; Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST) finalist David Kujawski. Front row, left-right: PAEMST finalists Tamara Hosford Keough and Melissa Zeitz, Teacher of the Year finalist Jenney Pascarelli, Massachusetts Teacher of the Year Takeru Nagayoshi, Teacher of the Year finalist Marissa Gumas, and PAEMST finalists Karen Walsh Fortin, Alison Pagnani, and Danielle Merdin. Not pictured: Teacher of the Year finalist Kevin Dua. Congratulations to all!

3. Instructional Support Program Offerings:

The Department welcomes educators from across the state to participate in our 2019–2020 Center for Instructional Support program offerings(download), which include a variety of in-person and online networks and workshops. These offerings are designed to support educators as they advance teaching and learning in a variety of areas, including mathematics, literacy, science, digital learning and computer science, history/social science, language acquisition, educator effectiveness, and educator preparation. We are calling on classroom leaders, school leaders, and district leaders to join us and collaborate across districts to learn, to test and refine tools and strategies, and to innovate. The timeline for the program offerings varies widely, with some application deadlines falling in late June and July and others not starting until the fall.

4. 2019 MCAS Early Release Files and Discrepancy Reporting:

On June 18, DESE provided districts with updated early release files for grade 10 English language arts. In addition, DESE tentatively plans to post updated early versions of student results on July 1 for grades 3-8 in English language arts and mathematics and for grades 5 and 8 in science and technology. The Department tentatively plans to post early versions of grade 10 mathematics results on July 8.Please note that the MCAS discrepancy reporting window is scheduled for July 24–August 6. On July 24, DESE will post a file of preliminary results for all grades and subjects in DropBox Central in DESE’s Security Portal; interactive reports will be available in Edwin Analytics approximately one week later. Due to standard setting for the next-generation MCAS tests, scaled scores, achievement levels, and student growth data are scheduled to be available to superintendents, principals, and district test coordinators in late August. Schools are asked to plan now for staff to be available during the July 24–August 6 time period to review preliminary results. As in previous years, discrepancies in student SASIDs, test status, and demographic information can be reported on the MCAS Service Center website. Instructions on how to identify and report discrepancies will be posted on the MCAS Service Center website and in DropBox Central. Discrepancies reported after August 6 will not be included in MCAS Parent/Guardian Reports or in the public release of official school and district MCAS and accountability results.

5. Special Education Leadership Institutes:

The Department’s Special Education Planning and Policy (SEPP) unit is working with four contractors to offer training for district special education leadership staff. Each leadership institute is free to participants and will have at least 62 contact hours over the course of the school year. Highlights of the institutes include opportunities to: network, apply concepts of systemic change to improve student outcomes, better understand legal requirements, and learn about implementing evidence-based practices to create inclusive environments.The four institutes are:

New Special Education Directors (less than five years of experience) will be provided by ACCEPT Collaborative. (Save the date: Cohort begins on August 12.)
Experienced Special Education Directors will be provided by Teachers21.
Special Education Team Leader will be provided by the Collaborative for Educational Services.
Special Education Early Childhood Coordinators will be provided by AnLar.

6. Release of Spring 2019 MCAS Test Questions:

The Department is posting released test questions from spring 2019 as the items become available:

The MCAS Resource Center provides access to ePATs (electronic practice assessment tools) that contain released items from the next-generation computer-based tests.
The MCAS Digital Item Library is a searchable database of all released items from the computer-based tests, 2017 to the present.
Released item documents display items from the next-generation paper-based tests and the legacy tests in PDF format.

The Department has also posted an Overview of Spring 2019 MCAS Item Releases, which shows the percentage of operational items that are being released for each test or grade range.(Note: The grade 10 essay prompt that the commissioner nullified was released earlier this year and is posted at http://www.doe.mass.edu/mcas/testitems.html.)

7. Reminder about MCAS Computer-Based Testing Expectation for 2020:

All schools and districts are expected to administer MCAS tests online in spring 2020 as described in next year’s MCAS testing schedule. In the fall, superintendents may apply for a waiver only if one of the following situations exists in their district:

Circumstances at the school(s) (e.g., technology constraints, construction, or physical plant issues) will preclude computer-based testing in spring 2020.
All of the students at the school(s) either take paper-based tests as an accommodation or take the MCAS-Alt, in accordance with students’ individualized education programs or 504 plans.
Mass IDEAS School Design Institute: Mass IDEAS will hold a School Design Institute November 2-3 in Framingham for Massachusetts-based teams who see a need for change in our schools and are ready to take action. The program is designed to help teams develop the knowledge and skills to design and implement effective, innovative, and high-quality learning models. Meals, lodging, training, and materials are provided at no cost, a stipend is provided to those who complete the institute, and teams may apply for funding to continue their work beyond the School Design Institute weekend. More information is available online, and applications are due at noon on September 13.

8. Important Information about High School STE Tests:

This recently posted memorandum clarifies eligibility for the high school science and technology/engineering tests in 2019–2020.

9. Principals of the Year:

The Massachusetts School Administrators Association recently honored several outstanding principals: Dr. Lindsa McIntyre of Jeremiah E. Burke High School, part of the Boston Public Schools, received the Bertram M. Holland High School Principal of the Year Award; Linda Balfour of the H. Olive Day School, part of the Norfolk Public Schools, was named the Thomas C. Passios Elementary Principal of the Year; Peter Gillen of West Springfield Middle School received the Edmund K. Fanning Middle School Principal of the Year Award; Erin Souza of Tyngsborough Elementary School received the Elementary Assistant Principal of the Year; and Kevin Battle of Kennedy Middle School, part of the Woburn Public Schools, received the Paul J. Hunter Assistant Principal of the Year Award. Congratulations to all!