Conference Call with US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan

Each day when I open my inbox it is a new adventure!  "We would like to invite you to participate in a conference call with US Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan." Now that would be a new experience for me.  I am thankful that Secretary Duncan is making good on his promise to include educators in the process of reauthorization of The Elementary and Secondary Education Act.  So here I was at 5:00 p.m. tonight sitting on the couch in my family room listening and talking to Secretary Duncan as well as some of my fellow STOYS.  Those of you who know me know that I am never at a loss for words but it was clear I would only get a chance to ask one question so it was a no brainer.  I appreciate the emphasis towards a growth model as we move towards greater accountability and of course rewarding a teacher who helps a fifth grader reading on the first grade level to move to third is a lovely thought and appreciated, but how will this correlate to the standardized tests this child will also be required to endure when it is clear that she will never meet the standards for fifth grade? How will we report the remarkable progress this student has made?  Duncan made it clear that standardized multiple choice tests can only be one indicator of success.  He felt that we need to acknowledge that we have a range of populations and we may need to look at a range in outcomes.  Perhaps we need to measure ELLs or special education students against a like pool.  ESEA has earmarked 35 billion dollars to develop better assessments that will lead to increased college and career readiness - the ultimate goal. I was encouraged by his feeling that testing is a "lag indicator" or in other words testing looks at what has already happened, while things like school culture, graduation rates and college readiness are "leading indicators" looking at what is happening that could insure or derail success. There were some other highlights: Duncan indicated a real desire to improve the learning in schools of ed around the nation.  He feels that all education students should be proficient in their ability to gather, use and interpret data, beginning in their freshmen year.  He also feels that today all teachers must be special education teachers.   I hope he is right that money from ESEA will give us opportunities for more flexibility to innovate and that we can indeed move away from prescriptiveness and be empowered to look outside the box while still being held accountable for excellence. Duncan said the administration is looking for coverage, capacity and commitment.  He vowed to call RTTT finalists in, look them straight in the face and ask them what they have done and what they are committed to do for the children of America.  Arne, I hope you are true to your word and should Massachusetts be a finalist for RTTT I hope we are courageous, bold and forward thinking in our plans to provide excellence for the students of our state.