Third internal ED report faults federal charter program administration
A disturbing Department of Education (ED) audit by its Office of the Inspector General concludes that "charter school relationships with CMOs [Charter Management Organizations] posed a significant risk to Department program objectives." CMOs are organizations that operate one or more charter schools. The audit, released on September 29, 2016, found that 22 of the 33 charter schools it examined in six states, covering the period from July 1, 2011 to March 31, 2013, had 36 examples of internal control weaknesses. These posed risks in the areas of: waste, fraud, and abuse; inadequate stakeholder (charter authorizer, state education agency and ED) capacity to ensure compliance with federal requirements; and possible lack of stakeholder assurance that charter schools are complying with federal requirements.
The federal Charter Schools Program is a major source of charter expansion, having funded 57 percent of charter schools opened nationally between school years 2006-07 and 2013-14. The program provides funding directly to CMOs as well as to state-level entities to award to prospective charter operators. Controversy over ED's management of the charter program is not a new development. A 2010 OIG report noted significant vulnerability of the program to fraud, citing over $4.3 million in criminal restitution for federal charter program funds that had been embezzled. A 2012 OIG report on the federal charter program "determined that OII [ED's Office of Innovation and Improvement] did not effectively oversee and monitor the SEA and non-SEA grants and did not have an adequate process to ensure SEAs effectively oversaw and monitored their subgrantees." In a series of reports, the Center for Popular Democracy has documentedover $200 million in fraud in the nation's charter sectors.
ED announces $245 million in new charter program grants
Eight states and fifteen Charter Management Organizations were awarded $245 million in federal Charter School Program grant funds by ED on September 30, 2016. In the wake of ongoing internal and external criticism of ED's administration of the program, NEA President Lily Eskelsen García issued a response to the grants expressing concern about the lack of adequate accountability for over $3 billion taxpayer dollars spent at the federal level since 1995 to expand charter schools. Eskelsen García urged adoption of "new standards for the charter industry for financial transparency, including regular audits and published budgets, and new standards for equal opportunity, including admissions and discipline." NEA was joined in its call for greater charter oversight by other organizations that have pressed for stronger charter standards. The Center for Media and Democracy has identified accountability concerns in each of the eight states awarded grants, noting that "these awards continue to fund a program that has been plagued by significant fraud and waste."
FairTest provides model for ESSA assessment pilots
FairTest has released a model assessment system to help states and stakeholders take advantage of the innovative assessment pilot program in ESSA. The proposed system departs from NCLB's punitive reliance on standardized tests and instead focuses on using classroom- based evidence derived from student work to improve learning:
Teachers and their students gather examples of learning throughout the school year, including from any major projects. Teachers prepare a summative evaluation of each pupil. This includes a determination of the student's level of proficiency in line with state standards, as required by federal law. This data is aggregated and then broken out by demographic groups to shed light on the success or failure of efforts to close gaps in achievement.
FairTest's model system focuses on both practitioner-designed assessments and student control, with multiple options to demonstrate learning. The model also describes ways to achieve comparability across districts, another ESSA requirement.
FairTest's model, described in a paper titled Assessment Matters: Constructing Model State Systems to Replace Testing Overkill, is based on evidence from existing efforts to improve assessments. FairTest details the work of New Hampshire's Performance Assessment for Competency Education (PACE) pilot program, and also explores the New York Performance Standards Consortium, the Learning Record, the Work Sampling System, Big Picture Learning, and the International Baccalaureate program.
Book looks at failures of NCLB for ESSA lessons
Education researchers William J. Mathis (University of Colorado Boulder) and Tina M. Trujillo (University of California Berkeley) recently edited a collection of essays from leading scholars that examines the failures of the NCLB test-and-punish era in order to find a more solid path forward. Writing in the Washington Post, Mathis and Trujillo highlight several consistent findings in the National Education Policy Center collection, Learning from the Federal Market-Based Reforms: Lessons for the Every Student Succeeds Act, including:
- Achievement gaps will not be closed until opportunity gaps are closed, which will require compensatory social services for disadvantaged students and full funding of ESEA.
- Test-based accountability does not improve learning.
- The past punitive approaches prescribed by the federal government failed, with mass staff replacements leading to chaotic school settings.
- Market reforms did not work. For example, charter schools do not perform better than traditional public schools and also lead to increased segregation.
Mathis and Trujillo also summarize some of the solutions advanced in the essays, including reducing testing, supporting schools rather than punishing them, and revisiting and reconstructing qualitative school review teams. But they conclude with an even broader vision: "Public schools can only succeed . . . with all-around accountability. This means holding state and federal governments accountable for ensuring that children have legitimate, adequate and equitable opportunities to learn. Ultimately, a child denied opportunities will arrive at school with high needs, and a school without adequate capacity cannot effectively address those needs. No amount of testing and improvement plans can succeed absent a strong support system."
White House task force calls for K-12 sexual misconduct policies
Sexual misconduct in higher education settings has been receiving significant coverage in the press as ED's Office of Civil Rights encourages colleges and universities to address this long-standing problem through prevention and prompt remedies under Title IX. The problem of peer-to-peer sexual misconduct in a K-12 setting was also recently highlighted as the White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault released suggestions for model district K-12 sexual misconduct policies. The recommendations cover both the process for developing these policies and topics that should be covered, such as the role of the Title IX coordinator, options for assistance following an incident, reporting policies, grievance procedures, and prevention. With support from the Task Force, ED also recently released Safe Place to Learn, an online collection of resources that districts and schools can use to prevent and respond to sexual harassment and violence in schools.
ED releases evidence-based strategies for redesigning high schools
According to a new ED resource, the following evidence-based strategies are helpful in creating more individualized and engaging learning environments for high school students: 1) participation in rigorous curriculum; 2) small learning communities/small schools of choice; 3) career academies; 4) dual enrollment; 5) early college high schools; and 6) college and career counseling. In its policy brief, "Using Evidence to Create Next Generation High Schools," the administration provides an inventory for each strategy that includes research citations and related links to publications. While ED believes that these approaches are promising ways to enhance the high school experience, it also acknowledges that "additional strategies can change instructional approaches and student supports, such as access to educators with strong content knowledge in all subjects, including science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM); as well as needed academic, wrap-around, and college and career counseling services." As part of its advocacy for increasing graduation rates, NEA supports policies that increase student engagement and provides students with educational options.
Take Action
Comment on ED's proposed rules on "supplement, not supplant" before the November 7 deadline. This fiscal provision under Title I requires federal dollars be added to and not replace state and local dollars to help students most in need. Tell ED to issue final rules that ensure local flexibility to pursue the best approaches for our most vulnerable students.
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