The Report Card

One federal pot out of reach, another in flux

Betty Adams — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 15:31:00 GMT

While the news that Maine has lost out in its bid for a $75 million award from the federal Race to the Top fund is still fresh, 33 after-school programs in Maine are facing the prospect that their federal source of funds will dry up.

Alyson Klein of Education Week reports that while a Senate panel approved an albeit smaller extension of Race to the Top funds, the panel also took steps to revamp the structure of the 21st Century Community Learning Center program.

Instead of funding after-school programs for academically struggling students, Klein reports that a Senate appropriations subcommittee approved $1.3 billion to fund school-day and school-year extensions through the program.

Maine education observers will recall that the state's 21st Century Community Learning Center after-school programs were subject to an across-the-board 34 percent budget cut earlier this year, after state education officials discovered they had promised more federal grant money than they had available.

Perhaps the budget cuts the programs are implementing this year will be good practice for upcoming fiscal years, when their federal funds might be gone altogether.

Ed Week: Maine's Race to the Top fate will be known tomorrow

Betty Adams — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 17:50:49 GMT

Michele McNeil of Education Week reports that the finalists in the second round of Race to the Top are to be revealed on Tuesday.

That means Maine education officials and observers will know by the end of tomorrow whether the Pine Tree State has a fighting chance at a piece of the $3.4 billion remaining for states in the Race to the Top fund.

McNeil and others at Education Week have a list of their guesses for 20 finalists. (Education Secretary Arne Duncan has said there will be 10 to 15 award winners.) The list doesn't have Maine making the Ed Week cut.

McNeil reports that the guesses are based on scores from Race to the Top's first round, when 40 states and Washington, D.C., applied for the award funds, and their applications and score cards were posted online. What's not clear is how the guesses accounted for states like Maine that applied in the competition's second round, but not the first.

Nonetheless, Steve Bowen of the Maine Heritage Policy Center is likely not surprised that Maine wouldn't make it onto a list of presumed finalists. Bowen just finished a series of exhaustive blog entries assessing Maine's Race to the Top application, its strengths and its weaknesses. Bowen's verdict is that Maine's application doesn't stack up to the finalists' from Race to the Top's first round.

It's "too weak – too cautious where it needed to be bold, too vague where it needed to be detailed, and too content with jargony platitudes when it needed to present a clear, concise, and convincing case for the state’s reform agenda," he writes. "I just don’t think it is good enough to win."

Maine's Department of Education has pledged in the past that its Race to the Top application lays out a vision that the state will pursue regardless of whether it claims a piece of the Race to the Top pie. If the pundits' predictions are to be realized, it's time state education officials start seeking other funding sources for pursuing that vision -- after cleaning up some typo-ridden writing.

New graduation rates released, little gained so far

Betty Adams — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 18:24:29 GMT

The state Department of Education on Monday released the school-by-school and statewide graduation rates for the 2008-09 school year.

So, what did we learn from this data release?

The statewide graduation rate apparently dropped to 80.4 percent from 83.5 percent during the 2007-08 school year.

Does that mean fewer Maine students who start high school are graduating?

Well, we can't exactly conclude that since the method the Department of Education used to calculate the 2008-09 rate changed. The 2008-09 rate is a measure of the percentage of students who began high school as freshman who had received diplomas four years later. The 2007-08 rate counted among graduates those students who took more than four years to earn their diplomas.

What year-to-year conclusions can we draw about Maine's progress in keeping students in school and seeing them through to graduation day? Well, none.

With a changed method of calculation, the 2007-08 rate will have no comparable calculation for the following year.

Of course, the Department of Education changed the way it calculates high school graduation rates in accordance with the No Child Left Behind law that passed in 2002 under President George W. Bush.

So, can we assume that the 2008-09 school year is a starting point for several years of good data about the percentage of students who earn high school degrees in four years or fewer?

Well, maybe not.

The No Child Left Behind law that's ushering in the four-year calculation is actually the latest iteration of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, which is up for reauthorization and most certainly won't be reauthorized in the same NCLB form.

The Obama administration has laid out a reform blueprint (PDF warning) for the reauthorization that's heavy on more far-reaching data collection and meeting the needs of students who might not be expected to complete high school in four years.

Who knows how we'll be calculating graduation rates in just a few years? The blueprint offers no hints.

An updated student-teacher ratio, and updated inconsistencies

Betty Adams — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 19:58:16 GMT

According to the federal government, Maine's student-teacher ratio jumped from 9 to 12.2 between the 2007-08 and 2008-09 school years.

The Maine School Management Association reported the updated numbers this week after the National Center for Education Statistics put out its report based on 2008-09 data.

The latest statistics suggest that class sizes are inching up as student counts stabilize and cash-strapped districts dismiss more teachers and leave retirees' positions unfilled.

(Remember, though, the change isn't as dramatic as it might look. The federal government based the 2007-08 student-teacher ratio on an erroneous number of teachers. An accurate figure, according to Maine School Management, would have been about 11.3 students for each teacher.)

For the Maine Education Association, the higher student-teacher ratio could add credibility to its claims that class sizes are growing. The teachers' union in a May press release said class sizes were "ballooning" as a result of teacher layoffs.

Others, including Maine School Management and Steve Bowen of the Maine Heritage Policy Center, point out that Maine's student-teacher ratio is still among the lowest in the United States. Maine's 2008-09 ratio is well below the 15.8 nationwide average.

The latest statistics likely do point to a legitimately defined trend in Maine schools. The Maine Department of Education's statistics -- through its data reporting system, MEDMS -- show the number of classroom teachers has dropped about 3 percent since the 2004-05 school year while the number of students has dropped, but then begun to stabilize around 190,000.

But how much faith can we put in the federal government's student-teacher ratio?

The confusion over Maine's 2007-08 student-teacher ratio hinged on an erroneous number of teachers employed in the state. But it appeared impossible to nail down the right number. There's also a discrepancy between federal (187,484 for 2008-09) and state (192,286 for 2008-09) numbers regarding the number of public school students in Maine. (A separate federal count reports Maine enrolled more than 196,000 students during the 2007-08 year, while the state reported 190,000).

Jim Rier of the Maine Department of Education told me last month that some of the discrepancy has to do with inconsistencies in tallying those publicly funded students who attend private schools. Since the number of schools counted as public by the federal government didn't change significantly from 2007-08 to 2008-09, it looks like that inconsistency still applies.

Reformist v. status quo, and a tempering force

Betty Adams — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 15:55:40 GMT

The gloves are off in Maine's gubernatorial race, and it's not about household trash this time.

Independent candidate Eliot Cutler and Democrat Libby Mitchell are engaged in a debate on the Bangor Daily News' op ed pages over the Maine Education Association's endorsement of Mitchell last month. On the sidelines, there's a force trying to temper some of the reformists' claims. (More on that later. First, a synopsis.)

Cutler offered the opening salvo on July 1, when he said the questions MEA asked of the five candidates focused more on teachers, and not on boosting the academic achievement of Maine students.

"If you like things the way they are and want to continue paying more for getting less, cast your lot with Libby Mitchell and the MEA," Cutler wrote. "If you want change and reform, I hope that you will join me in creating an education system in Maine that is innovative, affordable and focused on results."

Mitchell fired back on Tuesday with a defense of her record of education reform and her role shepherding through the Maine Learning Results and increased collaboration among Maine's community colleges and universities.

"Maine does a good job of educating our children, but there are things we must do better if our kids are going to compete in the global economy," Mitchell wrote. "There are a lot of ideas out there, but there is no way we will succeed unless we support the amazing teachers that lead our classrooms."

She went on to praise the work of two teachers -- one in Falmouth, the other in Bangor -- and vouch for their role in improving Maine's public schools.

Derek Viger of Pine Tree Politics did some admirable snooping and found out the two teachers, Marta Robbins and Bob McCulley, are closely involved in MEA policymaking. McCulley sits on the union's board of directors and Robbins chairs the union's Human, Civil Rights and Cultural Affairs Committee.

Steve Bowen of the Maine Heritage Policy Center has also weighed in, skewering Mitchell's reform claims and raising questions about what role MEA is playing in her campaign and what role the union ultimately would play in a Mitchell Blaine House.

There's a clearly a reformist v. status quo current running through Maine's gubernatorial campaign.

The MEA has staked out an active role in the gubernatorial race. Then, there's another force trying to temper some of the reformists' claims without taking sides: the Maine School Management Association, which represents Maine's superintendents and school boards.

In the Democratic primary, Rosa Scarcelli made an issue of Maine's student-teacher ratio, arguing that it was unsustainable. It was a claim seeping into Maine political debate. So, Maine School Management responded with a bulletin pointing out that a federal report that showed a 9-to-1 ratio used incorrect data.

Then, in his July 1 op ed, Cutler called out the MEA and Mitchell for succeeding in "driving the costs of public education in Maine higher and higher."

On July 6, Maine School Management was out with another bulletin, pointing out that Maine's per-pupil expenditure is the lowest of the six New England states. The source was a U.S. Census Bureau report issued in June.

To be sure, Maine School Management has an agenda, as evidenced by its constant lobbying presence in Augusta. The organization opposed allowing charter schools, the school boards association it manages opposed school district consolidation, and it's been a voice consistently calling for more funding for the state's public schools.

From the MEA, we can expect overt involvement in the gubernatorial race.

From the Maine School Management Association, we can expect solidly reported facts that indirectly respond to claims frequently made about Maine's public schools that challenge its agenda.

Could Race to the Top shrink?

Betty Adams — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 17:42:37 GMT

Could Maine's chances of claiming a piece of the $3.4 billion Race to the Top pot be getting slimmer?

Alyson Klein of Education Week reports that top House Democrats are contemplating a move that would trim $500 million from the Race to the Top fund to help pay for a $10 billion bill meant to save education jobs considered at risk once federal economic stimulus money dries up.

The Democrats' move would also take $200 million from the Teacher Incentive Fund aimed at spurring experimentation with performance pay for teachers and another $100 million meant to inspire education innovation.

On the Race to the Top front, Klein notes it's unclear whether the $500 million cut would come from the award money for states or the $350 million meant to fund improved assessments. That latter pool of money is what the SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium, the group led by former Maine Education Commissioner Susan Gendron, is competing for.

Klein notes that Republicans, along with the Department of Education, are already critical of the move. The American Federation of Teachers doesn't exactly agree, either, Klein reports. I haven't yet seen the reaction of the National Education Association, the Maine Education Association's umbrella organization.

The Maine Education Association hasn't been a reliable cheerleader for Race to the Top, so news that funds might be redirected from a competitive reform grant program to a job-saving bill might be welcome.

Midcoast project earns "pilot project" designation

Betty Adams — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 00:27:42 GMT

The officials at work planning a consolidated, regional high school for students in the Rockland and Thomaston areas have gotten their way.

Their plan to merge Rockland District High School and Georges Valley High School into Many Flags, One Campus is poised to carry the "pilot project" designation for high school construction projects that propose locating high school, vocational and higher education courses on one campus, according to a press release from Many Flags project coordinator Alan Hinsey.

In a state Department of Education ranking, the Many Flags project outscored a Sanford project that would have partnered high school courses with vocational and community college offerings.

The designation puts Many Flags first in line when construction funding becomes available for regional high school projects that incorporate technical and higher education. The Many Flags project, for example, would incorporate classes from Rockland-area university satellite centers and a center offering boat building, design and engineering courses.

The Many Flags designation is a reversal from a ranking last year that put the Sanford proposal ahead. The state Board of Education was set to make the Sanford project the pilot, but put off a decision at the advice of Assistant Attorney General Sarah Forster. That delay allowed Many Flags to file an appeal with the Department of Education that challenged Sanford's higher score.

The pilot project designation for Many Flags is far from a guarantee of construction funding anytime in the near future. But it's the next step toward building the first-of-its-kind regional high school.

A bill legislators passed unanimously in April 2008 -- sponsored by then Rep. Chris Rector, R-Thomaston -- created the regional high school designation, setting aside construction funding for such projects.

The Many Flags project, according to the project website, responds to demand for college-level classes in the area, and an economic need for higher education options in that region.

What the heck is Maine's student-teacher ratio?

Betty Adams — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 16:56:15 GMT

It's become a hot topic among those calling on Maine to rein in public school spending, or at least get a better return on what is spent (PDF warning). It entered into the gubernatorial campaign as the candidates debated how they could realize more efficiencies in the operation of Maine's public schools.

If Maine were to rein in excessive government spending, the thinking went, the state couldn't continue to support a student-teacher ratio of nine to one, a ratio that many agreed was simply too low. That ratio meant Maine had the lowest in the United States.

In fact, the Maine School Management Association points out, that nine-to-one ratio was too low -- too low in the sense that it was wrong. MSMA estimates that, using the correct figures, the ratio is more like 11.3 to one, more in line with other rural states'.

The figure in question is a calculation by the National Center for Education Statistics that the agency released in October 2009, reflecting ratios during the 2007-08 school year. In a report that shows all states' student-teacher ratios, it turns out that NCES used an inflated number of teachers when calculating Maine's ratio. MSMA reports that 16,826 is the accurate number of full-time equivalent teachers during the 2007-08 year, not 21,183.

Jim Rier, school finance director for the Maine Department of Education, said staff members from the national center contacted Maine to ask about the ratio as they assembled data for a forthcoming report that will show 2008-09 ratios. The nine-to-one ratio was an anomaly, so Maine education officials provided the agency with the correct teacher number. The report still hasn't been corrected; Rier said he expects the forthcoming report to be more accurate.

While NCES' October 2009 report showed a nine-to-one ratio, the same agency's overall Maine profile lists an 11.9-to-one student-teacher ratio for 2007-08 -- a number most agree is too high for Maine. The profile shows 16,558 teachers, more than 250 fewer than what Rier and MSMA say is correct.

Maine's own data show 16,502 teachers for 2007-08. And an Education Week analysis for 2007-08 shows 16,349 teachers.

So, what's going on?

According to Rier, part of the discrepancies could have to do with the point in the school year at which the number of teachers is calculated. In addition, Rier said, the state Department of Education has had difficulty communicating the concept of the 11 private schools in Maine whose student bodies are at least 60 percent public (PDF warning) to the feds. Sometimes, those schools' teachers are counted as public, and other times, they're left out of the count.

Take a look at another discrepancy, as well. The NCES' state profile says Maine has 681 schools. The report from NCES listing Maine's nine-to-one student-teacher ratio says the state has 638.

We're told the forthcoming student-teacher ratio for Maine could be closer to the truth.

What's true? Much of that answer might lie in the answer to these questions: What's public, and what's private?

UPDATED: MEA announces it's Mitchell. Anyone surprised?

Betty Adams — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 14:49:40 GMT

Update: The Portland Press Herald reports that the MEA has indeed chosen Libby Mitchell as its gubernatorial pick for November.

9:47 a.m.

The Maine Education Association this morning is set to announce its pick for governor. The teachers' union has scheduled a press conference for 10 a.m. today at Portland High School.

At the risk of being wrong, I won't make any guesses before the announcement.

I will note, however, that the MEA in May chose Democrat Libby Mitchell -- along with Maine House Speaker Hannah Pingree -- as a "Friend of Education." As I noted two weeks ago, Mitchell and Pingree earned the distinction as "lifesavers in a time of great peril."

"Had it not been for their efforts, school funding would be severely reduced, our health insurance programs would have been threatened, onerous reforms would have been dumped upon the desks of educators, and our students and schools would have suffered mightily," MEA President Chris Galgay said in announcing that award.

During the gubernatorial primary, I was told that none of the Republican candidates made the MEA cut. And independent candidate Eliot Cutler has an education reform agenda that's at odds with MEA's priorities.

On buy-in, below average

Betty Adams — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 21:17:17 GMT

Education Week dives into the second-round Race to the Top applications in an article this week, trying once again to tackle the buy-in question.

The education policy journal found the 35 states that applied for Race to the Top money in the competition's second round secured, on average, more buy-in from local teachers' unions than the set of first-round applicants.

Michele McNeil reports that 68 percent of local teachers' unions signed onto Race to the Top applications for the second round of competition. That's up from 46 percent among first-round applicants. On the school district front, second-round applicants got 61 percent of districts to buy into their Race to the Top proposals, down slightly from 62 percent the first time around.

Since Maine didn't submit a first-round Race to the Top application -- it was ineligible for competition due to the longstanding legal ban on connecting student test scores to teacher evaluations -- it's impossible to rate the Pine Tree State's progress on securing more buy-in.

But we know that Maine had 82 districts sign on, along with 24 local teachers' unions. As both Steve Bowen and I have noted, that buy-in breaks down when you look at exactly which initiatives the districts and unions decided to support. For example, there's much less support for tying teacher evaluations based on student achievement data to tenure and compensation than there is for tying those evaluations to the professional development that's made available to teachers.

So, how does Maine stack up if the level of buy-in figures heavily into the U.S. Department of Education's application evaluations?

That 82 districts signed on (presumably 82 of 215) means 38 percent of Maine's school districts offered their support. By the same measure, that's 11 percent of teachers' unions. Those percentages are well below average, according to the Education Week analysis. Of course, the number of school districts Maine has is continually up for grabs, meaning the level of district buy-in could be as high as 41 percent.

What's important, Maine education officials say, is the percentage of students -- and especially impoverished students -- reached by the Race to the Top reform agenda. That translates to 70 percent of students and 59 percent of students in poverty.

The Education Week analysis doesn't dive into those numbers. But if most states got more of their districts and unions to sign on than Maine did, then it's likely their Race to the Top reforms would reach a greater chunk of their student populations.