SDE: State Aid Allocations; PARCC Prototypes and More

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State Aid Allocation Increased

As indicated this summer, now that August enrollment counts have been completed for public charter schools, the State Department of Education has adjusted initial state aid allocations and will be allocating an additional $9 million to all Oklahoma public school districts. Several public charter schools had lower enrollment numbers than initially anticipated, and several of the schools that applied for new charters this year will not open this semester. Calculation sheets for each school district will be posted on the State Department of Education's Website today. Districts also can go to the School District Reporting Website to see their notice of allocation. 

PARCC Prototypes Released

The Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC), a 23-state consortium working together to create next generation assessments, today released its first set of item and task prototypes for both English language arts/literacy and mathematics. The prototypes are illustrative of how the critical content and skills found in the Oklahoma C3 Standards, which include Common Core State Standards, may be measured by the PARCC assessments set to be administered for the first time in 2014-2015. The prototype items are early samples or models that may be helpful in building the actual assessment items. They also give educators and the public an early look at what next generation assessment items may look like.

View the item and task prototypes and the Model Content Frameworks at http://www.parcconline.org

The primary purpose of sharing item and task prototypes is to provide information and to support educators as they transition to the Oklahoma C3 Standards and the PARCC assessments.  The dynamic, online prototypes presented on the PARCC website demonstrate that core shifts at the heart of the CCSS are also integrated into the design of PARCC’s technology-based assessments.

Additional prototypes and rubrics will be added over the next two years to paint a more complete picture of the PARCC assessment design in each content area and grade level.

Though not a focus in the first round of prototype work, PARCC will ensure accessible test administration as well as accessible assessment design through its commitment to use the principles of Universal Design and embed supports that will increase access to the greatest number of students taking the assessments.  

Educators also will find more than just the prototypes on the PARCC website. Every item and task prototype is annotated with information about the standard being measured, the type of assessment on which it would appear, and a link to the revised PARCC Model Content Frameworks.

The PARCC Leadership Team directed the development and review of this collaborative effort through Achieve and contracts with Student Achievement Partners, which includes Common Core State Standards writers; PARCC’s item development contractors, ETS and Pearson; the University of Pittsburgh’s Institute for Learning; and the University of Texas at Austin’s Dana Center, which produced five math items linked to the PARCC website. Illustrative Mathematics and Bill McCallum of the University of Arizona also provided support to the development of the math prototypes. 

In addition to the release of item and task prototypes, PARCC is also releasing updated versions of the Model Content Frameworks for ELA/Literacy and Mathematics. PARCC held a public comment period in June 2012 asking educators and other stakeholders to provide suggestions on areas in the frameworks that needed additional specificity or clarity. The Model Content Frameworks for Mathematics now include a revised high school section that provides assessment guidance for Algebra I, Geometry, and Algebra II and Mathematics I, Math II, Math III.  

The funding for making the prototypes accessible on the PARCC website, as well as support for developing the prototypes was made possible by a grant to Achieve from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.

In order to make the Model Content Frameworks more accessible and user friendly, with the support of the GE Foundation, PARCC developed a searchable online version of the Model Content Frameworks, which includes a search browser, an online glossary, and direct references back to the standards. 

A-F Webinar Set

The State Department of Education has set up a WebEx for 10:00 a.m. Friday, Aug. 24 to give districts an additional opportunity to review the timeline for the upcoming statewide public release of A-F School Grading System report cards. There is space for 100 participants in the WebEx. It will later be available on the State Department of Education's website. Go to https://oksdetraining.webex.com
and go to the list of upcoming conferences.

ESEA Flexibility Request Approved

The US Department of Education (ED) approved Oklahoma’s amended ESEA Flexibility Request on Thursday, Aug. 16, 2012.  After receiving many comments from local district superintendents and their staff members, the Oklahoma State Department of Education submitted an amendment that further explains the details of Oklahoma's A-F School Grading System, distinguishes the criteria for becoming a Focus School as separate from the A-F School Grading System, clarifies the requirements of schools designated as Focus Schools, and provides an opportunity for districts to review/appeal their designation prior to public release. While the amendments were all in Principle 2: State-Developed Differentiated Recognition, Accountability, and Support System, the entire ESEA Flexibility Request was resubmitted. The approval of the amended request changes Oklahoma’s status from “conditional approval” to “approval.”
 
Principle 3: Supporting Effective Instruction and Leadership will continue to be revised and updated as the Teacher and Leader Effectiveness (TLE) Commission and the Oklahoma State Board of Education continue to finalize components of the TLE Evaluation System for full implementation in the 2013-2014 school year.
 
The entire approved application can be found here.
 

OK College Savings Plan

The Oklahoma College Savings Plan has partnered with Gap Stores in Oklahoma for the Kids on College Survey Sweepstakes. Families who participate immediately receive a 25% off coupon to Gap Stores in Oklahoma and are entered to win $529 toward an Oklahoma College Savings plan, as well as a chance for their school to win $529 for the art/music program. Sign up here