Committee of the Whole Performance Oversight Hearing: Literacy and the NAEP and PARCC Assessments

Jessica Giles

State Director

Education Reform Now D.C.

December 7, 2022

Good afternoon Chairman Mendelson, members, and staff of the Committee of the Whole; my name is Jessica Giles. I am a Ward Seven resident and the State Director of Education Reform Now D.C., a non-profit organization fighting for a just and equitable public education system for all D.C. students. With limited time here, I am providing testimony on improving PARCC, NAEP, and academic achievement in the District of Columbia. My colleague Joshua Hodge will recommend ways to improve literacy.

D.C. NEEDS A BOLD VISION FOR EDUCATIONAL EXCELLENCE. Either we believe all students can learn, and we set high standards for them, and schools, or we do not, and we keep getting the same results – or worse – year after year. A bold vision for educational excellence means the District must:

1. Assess student learning across the District of Columbia;

2. Equip families with timely, relevant, easily understandable, and actionable information about these assessments; and

3. Hold our schools accountable for ensuring every student receives a high-quality education.

(FIRST) We must assess student learning across the District of Columbia. Why is the PARCC and NAEP exam important?

The Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) exam provides key information about how D.C. students are performing against grade-level academic standards. The PARCC exam is specifically designed to measure whether D.C. students are reading and doing math on grade level, and it is the only assessment we have to compare the academic achievement of students across D.C. Public Schools and public charter schools. Knowing how students are performing toward grade-level standards helps everyone understand where schools and students are excelling, and where they are not so we can identify struggling schools and drive additional support to them. The PARCC exam can also give families a fuller understanding of their child’s academic performance beyond grades which is critical for ensuring students are on track for graduation, identifying potential areas for growth, and advocating for any needed academic supports.

On the otherhand, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), often called the Nation’s report card, is the largest continuing and nationally representative exam. It is considered the “gold standard” of exams because it provides “high level of academic rigor” and acts as a “neutral referee” in comparing states to one another.More often than not, states vary widely in how closely their proficiency rates on state tests track with those on NAEP. This is called the “honesty gap.” D.C. has a very small honesty gap, which is a good sign of academic rigor. For example in 4th grade reading, there is a 4% honesty gap (PARCC – 30%, NAEP 26%). Only two states have a smaller honesty gap.2In 4th grade math, D.C. has a 1% honesty gap. Only one other state has a smaller honesty gap, at zero.3

(SECOND) We must equip families with timely, relevant, easily understandable, and actionable information about these assessments. 

How can OSSE ensure the PARCC exam is timely and relevant?

While the PARCC exam is not designed to directly influence educators’ daily practice, the District can provide initial results sooner to schools, district leaders, and educators in early summer to allow results to influence plans for the coming year. Parents need scores early so they can advocate for their learners. For example, when parents receive comparable statewide data earlier it allows them the opportunity to evaluate whether or not their student is being served which could lead to school choice decisions or early advocacy with new classroom teachers.

How can OSSE release data earlier?

If D.C. is considering revisiting RFP language or is open to a contract amendment following the RFP decision, the following should be included:

• Test earlier. OSSE administered the PARCC exam in April/May this year. D.C. could commit to testing earlier (a few weeks) to ensure reports come back before the end of the year. Design decisions can be made to where schools volunteer for early testing so initial analyses for the review process can be run with a sample to speed up that part of the process.

• Ensure timeliness of reports. This can be assigned points and prioritized through the overall weight of the points in the RFP scoring process. Any time after August should be seen as unacceptable. Vendor penalties can be written into the contract to double down on prioritizing the timeliness of reports.

• Compile school accountability results later in the process. Multiple states wait to publicly release data until they’ve compiled school accountability results, but this is a policy decision that adds more time between testing and parents getting results.

How can OSSE ensure the PARCC exam results are accessible and actionable?

Currently, it is unclear if families are receiving their PARCC exam results, and if they are it is also unclear whether they are given guidance to understand what the results mean or take action on them. OSSE must proactively release PARCC exam results to every family, and provide resources to families for understanding their child’s score and what to do about it. For the last two election cycles, the D.C. Board of Elections ensured every registered D.C. voter received their ballot before the election, and provided detailed instructions on how to vote by mail, drop box, or in person. There is no reason why we can’t apply this same strategy and practice in public education to all assessments, including MAP, iReady, and DIBELS. 

(THIRD) We must hold our schools accountable for ensuring every student receives a high-quality education. 

Student PARCC and NAEP scores plummeted in English Language Arts/Reading and Math and opportunity gaps widened.45 Much of this decline was predicted due to the pandemic. Still, there were schools who made leaps and those who sunk.

1. The District needs to share lessons-learned from the pandemic6 and transparently scale solutions for schools that are struggling.

2. Deepen engagement with families to improve student attendance. 3. Implement a city-wide plan that eliminates systemic inequities for students with disabilities.

3. Require all K-5 educators to be trained in the science of reading.

Educational excellence requires political courage, the innate belief that every student can learn, and the commitment to treat parents as partners. Only then will we be able to ensure students can reach their full potential in the District of Columbia.

B24-0232 – “Student and Minor Access to Records and Transcripts (SMART) Act of 2021”

Kyle Myers

Community Organizer

Education Reform Now DC

Good morning, my name is Kyle Myers. I am a Ward 5 resident, equity advocate, and a Community Organizer for Education Reform Now DC (ERN DC). We are a non-profit organization focused on providing a more equitable public education system for all students. I am testifying today in support of B24-0232, the Student and Minor Access to Records and Transcripts (SMART) Act of 2021. I believe the DC Council should also consider amending it.

Students must have access to all of their documentation during the school year and post-graduation. Students need these records for a multitude of reasons: transferring to a different school, applying for college, or seeking admissions to trade schools or vocational programs. Despite everyone knowing the significance of having these documents, our students and adults, in some cases, still face challenges when attempting to retrieve them. 

Lower the age of those able to request records from 18 to 16 

The (SMART) Act will lower the age required for minors to request their records from 18 to 16 years old, which I support. Lowering the age will make it easier for students to act independently who are in foster care, victims of neglectful parenting, or experiencing homelessness. Please note that the Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP) requires a transcript for students as young as 14 years old. The DC Council may want to review if sixteen is the right age cutoff.

Shorten the time to process record requests from 15 to 5 days

The amount of time it takes for a student to receive their transcripts can hinder their decision-making process when applying to colleges and put them at a disadvantage. As I recall my own personal experience, it took weeks for me to receive my documents (2016). I was 18 when I graduated high school. After several attempts of contacting the school, and getting the same response, I physically went to the campus and pleaded with one of the councilors, who then sent me my transcripts the following day. By this time, my options for colleges were limited because I had to submit the documents so late and I fell short of certain deadlines, which also resorted in fees from the colleges. There needs to be a considerably faster turnaround when students request these documents so they do not face the same issues when applying to colleges. These are crucial decisions, so students need all their documents to be returned quickly and made easily accessible. I recommend that this process is shortened from 15 to five days. 

Improve record keeping and sharing

Tyrik Williams, a ward five resident, DC voter, and a friend who attended a High School in DC faced a different challenge after graduating in 2016 at 17. He was, unfortunately, incarcerated for 18 months. After being released in 2017, he attempted to retrieve his transcripts and other documents necessary to pursue new opportunities, such as finding a job and enrolling in a vocational education program. Again it took multiple attempts to contact the school administration just for them to reach a dead end. The administrators informed him that they could not locate his transcript. This was a major hindrance to his goals due to the misplacement of his records and the time it took to retrieve them. It also served as a mental deterrent for a young Black man trying to recover and succeed. 

Additionally, The DCist published a story about how a student named Aaliyah Jones was told she had to take additional classes after she graduated from National Collegiate Prep. The DC Council should continue to push the Office of the State Superintendent of Education to quickly build the student data warehouse so all local education agencies (LEAs), students, and families have easily accessible records. 

Educate students on this new policy

If passed, the DC Council should also require all LEAs to include this policy on their websites and in student handbooks along with information on student privacy. 

Thank you for introducing this legislation and holding a hearing on it. This is the first step of ensuring more strategic thought, planning, and execution goes into sharing student records. Thank you for allowing me to testify. 

Joshua Hodge State Board of Education SR22-4 ESSA Amendment Testimony

Thank you and good evening President Sutter, Vice President Thompson, and Representatives of the D.C. State Board of Education. 

My name is Joshua Hodge, and I am a Ward 6 resident and public education advocate. I am testifying on behalf of Education Reform Now D.C. (ERN D.C.) on the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) State Accountability Plan Amendment. For those who may be unfamiliar with our work, ERN D.C. is a non-profit organization fighting for a just and equitable public education system in Washington, D.C. 

While there are many positive changes to the State Accountability plan that we support, we believe the plan can be strengthened. On July 7, we submitted a public comment to the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) urging the adoption of eight recommendations to ensure the plan is equitable, accessible, and transparent so that all students receive the high-quality education they deserve. The eight recommendations are the following:

1. Increase the weight of the “students with disabilities” student group

2. Increase the weight of students of color within the race/ethnicity student group, while holding them to high standards 

3. Remove median growth percentile

4. Ensure D.C. has an effective statewide annual assessment

5. Incentivize the expansion of dual enrollment and dual credit as a school quality & student success indicator

6. Include structured literacy training for all educators in elementary schools

7. Provide clear information on school quality 

8. Harness the accountability system to support schools

The Covid-19 pandemic has been hard on us all, but especially on our students and schools. The last two years has changed the way our students have learned and the way classes are taught. Because of this, we think it is best to modernize our D.C. school accountability system to better reflect this change and include additional equity measures so that all students, especially those furthest away from opportunity, receive a just, equitable, and high-quality education. Thank you for allowing me to testify. 

Why I’m one of the many parents who want the PARCC exam this year - DCLine

When their schools reopened for in-person learning, my five boys were excited to return. They’ve been happy to be back in the classroom as a more normal school year has progressed, though their enthusiasm has occasionally waned — like when I mentioned the PARCC exam would be returning this spring. 

Personally, I am very excited for my sons to take the exams in math and English language arts as the results show me what my children are learning in their schools. As a parent, understanding my child’s strengths and weaknesses is very important to me; it means I’m able to go over practice sessions with them and help create individualized, manageable goals for their educational success. 

Parents, guardians and families need to know whether our children are college- and career-ready. Statewide assessments such as PARCC — shorthand for the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers — expose harsh opportunity gaps and racial disparities in education, which existed long before the pandemic. A survey of DC parents commissioned last year by Education Reform Now DC found an overwhelming majority (87%) agreed that “end-of-year assessments used to evaluate student learning, skills and academic achievement are important.”

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