NH EDUCATIONAL NEWS
NH DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION WAIVER & RESTRUCTURING - The NHDOE is seeking a flexibility waiver for Elementary and Secondary Education Act requirements (No Child Left Behind). One of the issues is that NH law requires a two-part accountability system. One is input-based in alignment with the state’s minimum public school standards. Two is performance-based which assesses school’s demonstration of student achievement to receive adequacy. Neither one of these systems aligns with the federal accountability system.
The waiver is based on “four pillars of a high quality education system” including standards, assessments, and instruction; data collection and use; teacher and leader effectiveness evaluation; and transforming struggling schools. The following principles and action steps have been identified in the waiver.
- College and career-ready expectations for all students – districts will adopt and transition to college and career-ready standards such as Common Core State Standards. State will develop and administer assessments that measure student growth, skills, and depositions such as the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium for language arts and mathematics and NECAP for science and alternative assessments.
- State developed differentiated recognition, accountability, and support – state will develop and adopt new model that measures student growth and eventual proficiency of learning. The state will develop more realistic measurements for schools and focus on schools that need the most assistance. This would entail identifying the lowest 5% as priority schools and additional 10% as focus schools. The NH Department of Education is also reorganizing its structure, staffing, and resources into a network of supports in the areas of innovation, knowledge, and technical assistance. These networks would be administered through a regional network such as Southeast Region.
- Supporting effective instruction and leadership – state task force is working on a principal effectiveness and evaluation model. Another state task force is working on effective teaching.
- Reducing duplication and unnecessary burden – stakeholder team will be organized to determine action steps.
Please click here for more information on the NH Department of Education website.
STATE ASSESSMENT SCHEDULE - As part of the Common Core State Standards Implementation Framework, the NH Department of Education released the following state assessment schedule.
- 2012-2013 - Fall 2012 NECAP based on NH GLEs/GSEs for reading, writing and mathematics.
- 2013-2014 - Fall 2013 NECAP based on NH GLEs/GSEs for reading and writing. In mathematics some GLEs will not be tested.
- 2014-2015 - Spring 2015 SMARTER Balance Summative Assessment based on Common Core State Standards.