NJDOE Offers workshops on Student Growth Objectives   

http://www.state.nj.us/education/AchieveNJ/resources/events.shtml

During the summer of 2013, the Department will offer regional workshops on Student Growth Objectives (SGOs).  These workshops will be interactive and will include significant group work and discussion.  Not only will participants leave the workshops with a clearer understanding of the SGO process, they will take away detailed strategies and materials to use back in their districts to train their staff effectively.

We would like districts to send a group of 3-5 educators, including at least 1 teacher.  District Evaluation Advisory Committee (DEAC) and School Improvement Panel (ScIP) members, directors of curriculum, supervisors and principals, and others who will be involved closely with SGO training are encouraged to attend. Please see times, dates and locations below, and please register for only one of the 16 sessions that will take place (morning and afternoon sessions will be the same content):

*for more detailed directions, location information and parking instructions, please see corresponding registration page.

In addition to bringing a team of 3-5 educators, there is pre-work you will be asked to complete (The SGO Overview, and SGO Guidebook are good places to start) and materials your team will be asked to bring that will greatly enhance the usefulness of training.  Select a session and a registration link will appear. 

If you have any further questions about the workshop, please contact NJDOE at: Educatorevaluation@doe.state.nj.us or call at (609)777-3788.

NJDOE Evaluation Update Memo-Final.pdf

Assistant Commissioner Peter Shulman issued a comprehensive memo on educator evaluation.   IMPORTANT NOTE:  The proposed regulations define teacher as a person employed under an Instructional Certificate.  SLMS are part of the broader group referred to as teaching staff members.  The references to teacher in the NJDOE memo refer to classroom teachers.   The memo discusses:

I. AchieveNJ: Requirements and Resources (p. 2-7)

A. Regulations, Policies, and Communications (p. 2-3)

B. Deadlines and Reporting Requirements (p. 3-4)

C. Educator Practice Evaluation Instruments (p. 4)

D. Course Roster Data Submission (p. 4-5)

E. Flexibility for Initial Implementation (p. 5)

F. Links Between Evaluation and Common Core Implementation (p. 5-7)

II. 2012-13 Evaluation Pilots (p. 7-8)

A. Teacher and Principal Evaluation Pilots (p. 7-8)

B. Evaluation Pilot Advisory Committee (EPAC) Work (p. 8)

2014 School Election Calendar – Change in Date 2014 Election date notification.pdf

Commissioner Cerf has announced that the date of the 2014 school election is being changed to April 23, 2014 to eliminate conflicts with periods of religious observance. 

Free Conference on Using the CCSS, PARCC and Educator Evaluation to Drive Student Achievement

Shifting Gears Flyer Stockton.pdf

NJDOE is presenting a free all-day conference on Using the CCSS, PARCC and Educator Evaluation to Drive Student Achievement.  The program will address the following questions:

Wondering how to implement the initiatives?  The AM Session will answer:

What do I need to know about the reform initiatives and how they work together?

The PM Session will answer:  How do I create Student Growth Objectives that meet the requirements of TEACHNJ, support mastery of the CCSS, prepare students for PARCC and therefore, improve student achievement?

When: June 6, 2013, 8am Registration, 8:30-noon (AM session), 12-1 pm (Lunch), 1:00-3:30pm (PM session)

Where:  Stockton College, Campus Center, 101 Vera King Farris Dr., Galloway, NJ 08205

The Assembly Education Committee approved Assembly bill A-3292 by a unanimous vote on May 13, 2013.  This bill would require school districts to provide instruction on the responsible use of social media as part of the Core Curriculum Content Standards in Technology.  Sponsored by Assemblymen Fuentes and Deignan, the bill would require educators to teach cyber safety, security, and ethics to protect students from the potential negative consequences of failing to use social media platforms responsibility.  NJASL testified in support of the bill, provided the sponsors with information on educational resources, and committed to work with the NJDOE to develop new technology standards for instruction in the responsible use of social media.    A3292  

The Partnership for the Assessment of Readiness for College and Career (PARCC) has published for review, the draft Grade- and Subject-Specific Performance Level Descriptors (PLDs) for ELA/Literacy and mathematics.

According to a recent news release by PARCC, the grade- and subject-specific PLDs are intended to serve several purposes, including the following:

• Function as the basis for PARCC standard setting in summer 2015;

• Communicate expectations to educators, parents, and students about what types of performances will be necessary at the high school-level for students to demonstrate that they are college- and career-ready (CCR) or making adequate progress to become CCR;

• Communicate expectations to educators, parents, and students about what types of performance will be necessary in grades 3-8 for students to demonstrate that they are academically prepared to engage successfully in further studies in each content area;

• Provide information to local educators for use in developing curricular and instructional materials; and

• Inform item development for the PARCC assessments.

The draft PARCC grade- and subject-specific PLDs were developed and reviewed over several months through an iterative process involving several groups of PARCC stakeholders, including:

• Local K-12 educators and curriculum directors

• Higher education faculty

• State agency content experts, including members of the ELA/Literacy and Mathematics Operational Working Groups

• PARCC item development contractors (Educational Testing Service and College Board)

• External experts, including the Center for Assessment and PARCC Technical Advisory Committee

While the grade- and subject-specific PLDs are scheduled for formal adoption in June 2013, they will undergo a number of iterations after that point, as data on student performance is collected during PARCC item development research (being conducted this spring and summer), field-testing in spring 2014, and the first operational year of administration in school year 2014-15. This iterative process will ensure that the performance level scores students receive on PARCC assessments are a valid reflection of what they know and can do and, at the high school level in particular, whether students have attained the knowledge and skills necessary to earn a College- and Career-Ready Determination.

You can view an introductory PowerPoint presentation and review the draft PLDs for each content area on the corresponding pages linked below. Please consult the FAQs for answers to general questions about the PLD development process and next steps.

To provide your feedback, please complete the online survey available on each content area page:

Draft ELA/Literacy PLDs and Draft Mathematics PLDs

PARCC Grade- and Subject-Specific PLDs FAQs (PDF)

In this issue of The Bridge, NJDOE looks at how the Common Core State Standards will be measured through the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) assessments. The PARCC assessments will allow students to demonstrate proficiency through both a performance-based component and an end-of-year assessment. The article compares PARCC to NJ ASK, discusses the technology needed for successful implementation of the on-line assessments, and the performance levels, which will be used to give educators a better idea of their student’s level of command.

The May 2013 issue also provides the latest information on Achieve NJ and the resources and materials available to help educators understand student growth measures and set Student Growth Objectives (SGOs).  May 2013

The Assembly Budget and Senate Budget and Appropriations Committees will continue to conduct budget hearings with each department of state into the month of May.  Commissioner of Education Christopher Cerf will appear before the Senate Committee on May 6 to discuss the Department’s proposed budget request.  In addition, the NJ Office of Legislative Services continues to update the committees on the state’s revenue projections.  Once the hearings are completed, the legislature will draft a budget bill for consideration.     

The NJ Office of Legislative Services analysis of the proposed Education budget is available on-line at http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/legislativepub/budget_2014/DOE_analysis_2014.pdf 

Earlier this month, only 39 school districts in the state submitted their school budgets for voter approval.   This is the second year of the law that allows districts to move school board elections to November and, in turn, do away with budget votes entirely if the budget is at or below the state’s 2% cap.  Of the 39 budgets put to a vote, all but three passed. 

John Mooney, founding editor, NJ Spotlight has posted an interesting article on new Charter School legislation being drafted by Assemblyman Patrick Deignan, chairperson of the Assembly Education Committee.  The bill calls for tighter controls on new charters and expand the number of organizations approving and overseeing the schools. 

http://www.njspotlight.com/stories/13/04/25/draft-charter-bill-calls-for-local-approval-more-reviewers/