Friday, March 31, 2023

AV #258 - Superintendents' letter: for local control, or against accountability?

 

The Adams 14 Debacle

“Accountability is dead.” 


A small problem with my lungs has me huffing and puffing as never before, which makes me sound like the Big Bad Wolf, which gets me thinking about the Colorado State Board of Education. Because one story going around is that the Board has been the Big Bad Wolf to the little piggies in the Adams 14 School District.      

"Then I'll huff, and I'll puff, and I'll blow your house in."    

Remember the story? Grim at first. The Big Bad Wolf blows down the first two fragile houses and devours the first two little piggies. We cheer for piggy number 3. We hope he can outwit the Big Bad Wolf. Boo the big Bad Wolf!                                

Is this the popular version of the story, regarding the Adams 14 debacle of 2022?

“A dozen metro Denver district superintendents condemn Board of Education’s order to reorganize Adams 14,”  Jenny Brundin, Colorado Public Radio, June 8, 2023.[i]

       And is this the narrative as seen by 13 school superintendents who signed a letter[ii] faulting the Colorado State Board of Education for its order last May regarding the Adams 14 School District? 

I will offer ANOTHER VIEW. First, let’s try to understand why so many superintendents were willing to sign this letter.

They were glad to stand up for a colleague—especially for Dr. Karla Loria, Adams 14’s newest superintendent; she was still new to the state in 2022, and perhaps shell-shocked to find herself in such a precarious position. So sure, band together. Stick up for your teammate when she is in a tough spot. We get that.

Standing up, too, for the beleaguered district next door. We get that too. 

I see another, more important reason these superintendents might have signed the letter. They did not know the facts. Who can blame them? Why should they know the specifics about Adams 14’s performance since 2010.  These superintendents are responsible for so much. A multitude of groups to try to please: their board, principals, teachers, staff, students, the parents - the entire community. More responsibility than most of us can handle. Perhaps as a result, from what I have seen, is that some superintendents are not up to speed about student performance in their own district, let alone another district. Just not enough time.

The 13 who protested the state board’s action had surely read news stories about Adams 14’s struggles over many years. At CASE meetings they may have heard updates about its travails. But we can’t expect these superintendents to have had an in-depth knowledge of how the district was falling short of meeting the needs of its 6,000-plus students.

ANOTHER VIEW has had the luxury (I have been retired for years) to track the school performance of Adams 14 and other low-performing districts. Addendum A shows some of the achievement results in Adams 14 since 2012, as reported in my newsletters. (CDE’s own five-page summary of Adams 14’s academic performance was also available last April.[iii]) My guess: the 13 superintendents had no idea results were this bad. Had they known, they would have seen why the Adams 14 School District has remained on the state’s accountability clock since 2010.

Why bring up academic achievement? After all, that is not what the superintendents’ letter was about. It portrayed Adams 14 as the innocent victim. So not one word about the achievement results in the district. The thrust of their protest: local control. They wrote:

We believe collectively in locally elected school boards of education and their Colorado constitutional right to the local control of the instruction of their students.[iv] 

This was a clever diversion. After all, why was the State Board of Education so focused on Adams 14? Academic achievement. No reorganization would have been called for if, using its local control wisely, the district had served its students well. Superintendents (Pat Sanchez, 2012-2016; Kandy Steele, then Sandy Rolla – interim superintendents, 2016-19; Javier Abrego, 2019-21) and their school boards had a responsibility to see improvement. They failed. Adams 14 collapsed on their watch. No Big Bad Wolf involved.

Speaking of huffing and puffing, the superintendents’ letter referred, no less than five times, to the Sword of Damocles threatening to come down on Adams 14’s leaders. Who knew you could turn “the accreditation process into a sword to hang above their head”?

Why so irate? ANOTHER VIEW is that local control was merely the symptom. The cause, never mentioned in the letter, was accountability. Anger at the Colorado Education Accountability Act of 2009. Fury at how the State Board and CDE had handled the Adams 14 situation, even if they were taking steps allowed for in the Accountability Act.


Overview of Accountability System (CDE)[v]

“Colorado’s education accountability system is based on the belief that every student should receive an excellent education and graduate ready to succeed…

“The accountability system is designed to describe performance of schools and districts and direct attention to areas of promise and areas of need.”

            In this light, the superintendents’ letter is more than disappointing. It is distressing. The signatories are important leaders in our state. Between the 13 of them, they are responsible for the education of over 300,000 students. Last year I wrote “School accountability is not punishment” (AV #248). Do these superintendents see it differently? If so, what message does that send? To be sure, we can and should improve our approach to accountability. The recent audit[vi] and the legislature’s call for a Task Force to Study K-12 Accountability System[vii] means we intend to do just that.

I have heard that “accountability is dead.” But the public won’t allow this. At its heart, as the state’s own language shows (Addendum B), accountability is about responsibility.

The public understands this word well. Be responsible. Every district accepts this. True?

**

        Addendum A

Adams 14 - Keeping track of academic outcomes, school performance since 2009

 

From Another View (I have cut references to other districts and schools in the original newsletters.)

1)     Another View #136 -  “Local control” not enough; the state still has a key role in accountability  - High schools in low-performing districts need help (Sept. 16, 2015) 

2012-2015

   ACT scores – 2012-2015 - high schools in 5 districts on year 4 or 5 of accountability “clock” 

 

2012

2013

2014

2015

2014-15

STATE

20.0

20.14

20.31

20.1

down

ADAMS COUNTY 14

15.31

15.9

15.99

15.6

down

Adams City High School *

15.55

16.15

16.12

15.9

down – 2nd straight year

 

Adams 14 - March 2014: Members of the state board applauded the district’s efforts but wondered if the district, which self-admittedly has much more room to improve, would beat the clock. “We’ll be sliding in sideways,” said (superintendent Pat) Sanchez, who has been a vocal critic of (the) state’s accountability clock.

**

 

2)     Another View # 144 – Fulfilling the Colorado READ Act: a steep climb ahead (March 6, 2016)

2015

 

2015 - 3rd grade - PARC English: 38.6% well below meeting expectations -   vs.  -  16.1% SRD   

PARCC results – grades 3: % in lowest two categories – 7 districts below state average – vs. SRD

 

 

PARCC – English Language Arts–2014-15

SRD – 2014-15

 

Did not yet meet expectations

Partially met expectations

TOTAL % in bottom 2 categories

 

STATE of Colorado

19.6

19.0

38.6

16.1%

Adams 14

39.9

26.1

66.0

38.9%

**


3)     Another View #222 - The PSAT and SAT do not work well for perhaps 25% of our high schools

(Jan. 12, 2021)

2018-19

ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT (9TH/10TH GRADES) 

Seven high schools where their PSAT/SAT scores earned a rating of DOES NOT MEET

in every category for which enough students took the test, in both 2018 and 2019. 


ACADEMIC GROWTH

SPF Rating*

PSAT/SAT – Evidenced Based Reading & Writing Growth

PSAT/SAT

Math Growth

STATE AVERAGE ON ACADEMIC GROWTH

 

50

51

Adams City H.S.

PI  - yr 9

42

36

 9th grade to 11th grade, PSAT to SAT - FRL students – nearly 100 pts. “below average” 

 

 

 

State of Colorado

 

PSAT

All 9th graders

Average - 906

 

 

 

PSAT

benchmark

for 9th grade

860*

SAT

All 11th graders

Average - 1001

 

 

 

SAT

benchmark

 for 11th grade

970

FRL students

Average - 816

FRL students

Average -898

Denver Public Schools

804

902

Aurora Public Schools

780

859

Adams 14

779

830

 **

4)     Another View #248 - School accountability is not punishment (June 2022)

2009-2019

School Performance Framework in several Adams 14 schools

What if this were your child, attending these schools from 2009-10 (3rd grade) to graduation (2018-19)

A look at the School Performance Framework over 10 years.

What if your son or daughter were in 3rd grade at Central Elementary in the fall of 2009? And he or she attended Central for three years, in grades 3,4, and 5.

School Performance Framework

Attending

 

Performance Indicator

Rating/Plan

% of Points earned out of points Eligible

Grade 3

2009-2010

Academic Achievement

Does Not Meet

25% (6.3 pts out of 25 pts)

Grade 4

2010-2011

Academic Achievement

Does Not Meet

31.3% (7.8 / 25 pts)

Grade 5

2011-2012

Academic Achievement

Does Not Meet

31.3% (7.8 / 25 pts)

 

What if he or she then attended Adams City Middle School for the next three years, in grade 6,7, and 8.

Attending

 

Performance Indicator

Rating/Plan

% of Points earned out of points Eligible

Grade 6

2012-2013

Academic Achievement

Approaching

43.8% (11.0 pts out of 25 pts)

Grade 7

2013-2014

Academic Achievement

Does Not Meet

33.3% (8.3 / 25 pts)

Grade 8

2014-2015

No SPF – Pause in Accountability during shift to CMAS, etc.


What if he or she then went on to the district’s high school, Adams City High School, for grades 9-12?

Attending

 

Performance Indicator

Rating/Plan

% of Points earned out of points Eligible

Grade 9

2015-2016

Academic Achievement

Does Not Meet

32.6% (9.8 pts out of 30 pts)

Grade 10

2016-2017

Academic Achievement

Does Not Meet

31.3% (9.4 / 30 pts)

Grade 11

2017-2018

Academic Achievement

Does Not Meet

25.0% (7.5 / 30 pts)

Grade 12

2018-2019

Academic Achievement

Does Not Meet

25.0% (7.5 / 30 pts)

 2016-2019

Adams City High School – from School Performance Framework 2016-2019

DNM = Does Not Meet - for each of these academic achievement categories, each year

 

2016 - CMAS

2017- CMAS

2018 - PSAT

2019 - PSAT

 

English

Math

English

Math

English

Math

English

Math

All students –

Percentile Rank

DNM

11

DNM

10

DNM

9

DNM

5

DNM

3

DNM

3

DNM

5

DNM

4

English Learners

DNM

DNM

DNM

DNM

DNM

DNM

DNM

DNM

F/R Lunch Eligible

DNM

DNM

DNM

DNM

DNM

DNM

DNM

DNM

Minority Students

DNM

DNM

DNM

DNM

DNM

DNM

DNM

DNM

Students w/ Disabilities

DNM

DNM

DNM

DNM

DNM

DNM

DNM

DNM

 **

5)     Another View #251 – Adams 14 - In 2022 a Colorado school district does not offer choice. What if it had done so?

2004                                   Scores at Adams City High School

    Anyone paying attention has known for decades that Adams 14’s main high school has struggled. In the summer of 2004 the high school’s results on CSAP, the state’s assessment, for grades 9 and 10, were among the lowest in Colorado (see below).

Percentage of students Proficient or Advanced on CSAP high school tests - 2004

2004 – CSAP

Adams City High School

State of Colorado

9th grade   -   Reading

30

66

-        Writing

15

53

-        Math

11

32

10th grade  -     Reading

30

65

                    -     Writing

16

50

                    -     Math

8

27

 ACT scores – college admissions exam taken by all 11th graders


2004 – ACT

Adams City High School

State of Colorado

Total

14.0

18.8

2010 to 2019

Comparing SPF ratings and achievement scores

 

ADAMS CITY HIGH SCHOOL

2010

Turnaround Plan

2011

Priority Improvement

2012

Priority Improvement

2013

Priority Improvement

2014

Priority Improvement

(Year 5 on accountability clock)

2016

Priority Improvement

2017

Turnaround Plan

2018

Priority Improvement

2019

Priority Improvement

(Year 9 on accountability clock)

2019

Total % pts earned - 35.5%

2022

                                                 2022 UPDATE

 2022[viii]

ADAMS CITY HIGH SCHOOL

State of Colorado Average

PSAT - 9

735

885

PSAT - 10

785

935

PSAT - 11

821

986

2010-2017

“Requests from State Board of Education Members for Additional Information in Advance of the Nov. 14, 2018 Accountability Hearing for Adams 14 School District and Adams City High School.”

 

Year

2021-22 K-12 Enrollment

Total Resident Students

% Adams 14 Resident Students Enrolling Out of District

2010

1,577

7,549

17.3%

2011

2,566

7,321

26%

2012

2,434

7,500

24.5%

2013

2,780

7,598

26.8%

2014

2,792

7,584

26.9%

2015

3,061

7,577

28.8%

2016

3,043

7,467

29%

2017

3,155

7,400

29.9%

 

 

Addendum B - The principle central to Colorado’s Accountability Act: Responsibility

From CDE’s “District Accountability Handbook” (August 2022)

Stakeholder Roles

Colorado’s system of accountability and support requires the coordinated efforts of several key stakeholder groups:

The Colorado Department of Education (Department) is responsible for providing high-quality information to a variety of stakeholders about school and district performance…. 

The Colorado State Board of Education (state board) is responsible for entering into

accreditation contracts with local school boards and directing local school boards regarding

the types of plans the district’s schools implement…. 

Local school boards are responsible for accrediting their schools and ensuring that the

academic programs offered by their schools meet or exceed state and local performance

expectations for attainment on the state’s key Performance Indicators (i.e., achievement,

growth, and postsecondary/workforce readiness). Local school boards also are responsible

for creating, adopting and implementing a Performance, Improvement, Priority

Improvement, or Turnaround district plan, whichever is required by the Department, and

ensuring that their schools create, adopt and implement their assigned plan type. 

District leaders are responsible for overseeing that [sic] the academic programs offered by

district schools meet or exceed state and local performance expectations on the state’s key

Performance Indicators. (i.e., achievement, growth, and postsecondary/workforce

readiness)… Further, districts have the responsibility to review, approve, and monitor Targeted Support and Improvement (TS) school improvement plan…. 

District Accountability Committees (DACs) are responsible for

School leaders are responsible for overseeing that [sic] the academic programs offered by their school meet or exceed state and local performance expectations for of attainment on the

state’s three key Performance Indicators (i.e., achievement, growth, and postsecondary/workforce readiness) …. 

School Accountability Committees (SACs) are responsible for... 

https://www.cde.state.co.us/accountability/accountabilityhandbookpdf

 

 

Endnotes



[iii] “Adams 14 History - A look at the district’s academic performance, enrollment, graduation and leadership,” Colorado Department of Education, https://www.cde.state.co.us/communications/factsheeta14accountabilityhistory.

[v] “Overview of Accountability System,” District Accountability Handbook (August 2022), page 4.

https://www.cde.state.co.us/accountability/accountabilityhandbookpdf

[vi] Audit: Colorado school accountability system ‘reasonable and appropriate,’” bErica Meltzer and Yesenia Robles, Chalkbeat Colorado, Dec 12, 2022. https://co.chalkbeat.org/2022/12/12/23506460/colorado-accountability-audit-school-performance-rating-reviews

[vii]HB23-1241- Task Force To Study K-12 Accountability System. Concerning creating a task force to study the statewide K-12 education accountability system in order to address resource inequities contributing to student performance.” https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/hb23-1241

 

 

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