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Oregon State Goals 2000 Plan - January 1995
Review of the Oregon Goals 2000 State Plan
January 26, 1995
The observations that follow describe the evidence that supports the criteria included in the Goals 2000: Educate America Act, sections 306(n) and (q), and areas for continuing attention. Our visit to Oregon confirmed the widely held notion that education reform is a work-in-progress for all concerned. In the interest of trying to learn from and support each other, we share these observations to facilitate an ongoing and constructive dialogue within Oregon, among other states and localities, and between the State and the Department of Education.
CRITERION 1: THE PLAN HOLDS REASONABLE PROMISE OF HELPING ALL STUDENTS ACHIEVE AT HIGH LEVELS.
The following are examples of evidence which we found to support that this criterion has been met:
The plan addresses all components included in Section 306 of the Act in a reasonable manner. Educational reform efforts are well supported by the State's and the Oregon Progress Board's aggressive commitment to defined benchmarks of progress. The Progress Board's third biennial Oregon Benchmarks: Standards for Measuring Statewide Progress and Institutional Performance Report to the 1995 Legislature demonstrates an ongoing commitment to using the benchmarks to achieve the State's strategic vision in numerous areas including education. Use of the benchmarks to hold the State accountable to the public is praiseworthy.
Both the plan and the site visit demonstrated that the education community has internalized the value that all students are expected to be successful in school and reach high standards of performance. High expectations are explicitly noted in the Oregon Education Act for the 21st Century and throughout the Oregon Goals 2000 Plan. During the course of the site visit teachers, business leaders, school administrators, and policymakers, among others, spoke about their involvement in and support for the State's education reform efforts to raise expectations and the performance of all students.
The vision for the future of education within the State is well articulated and understood by a broad spectrum of stakeholders. During the site visit conversations with the State's Work Force Quality Task Force, the head of the Oregon Business Council, policymakers, parents, teachers, community leaders, and administrators from various school districts alI reinforced a widespread commitment to the State's education reform agenda.
Along with promoting the vision, the State has encouraged localities to make choices on how to achieve the desired results. Two examples of bottom-up initiatives are worthy of note. As of January 1995 all school districts are expected to submit to the State plans for implementing and awarding certificates of initial mastery (CIM) and establishing alternative learning environments within their districts. As of September 1995 every school is expected to establish a 21st Century school site council. Each site council, comprised of a majority of teachers, has been given responsibility for developing, administering and assessing programs of school improvement including proposing waivers of existing statutes and rules.
The State is making an impressive commitment to developing the certificate of initial mastery and certificate of advanced mastery (CAM), and linking them to assessments, career paths, and higher education, particularly admissions requirements. To attain a CIM, a student is expected to demonstrate the ability to deliberate on public issues, understand diversity, interpret human experience, apply science and math, and understand positive health habits. The CAM program builds on the CIM foundation skills to prepare students for their individual goals beyond high school. Visits to an elementary and high school highlighted the school-based commitment to integrating the CIM and CAM into the curriculum and the expected outcomes for all students. At a meeting with higher education representatives the panel learned more about Oregon's Board of Higher Education Proficiency-based Admission Standards document and the integration of elementary, secondary, and post-secondary reform agendas.
Content and performance standards are a prominent component of the reform effort. Along with standards, the State is taking a systemic approach to reform, looking at how to align all aspects of the education process--standards, assessment, curriculum, professional development, among other components--to improve student achievement. To advance this effort the State has developed The Curriculum Content Framework for Oregon Public Schools; Certificate of Initial Mastery: Guiding Principles and Outcomes; the Certificate of Advanced Mastery: Working in Progress Planning Document for use by school districts and site councils as they develop and implement local school improvement initiatives. While the process is not yet complete, there is a firm commitment to seeing it through.
There is a tolerance for the flux and ambiguity that inevitably accompanies change. The leadership of the State appears to be committed to learning from the process and continuously making improvements along the way.
Areas for Continuing Attention
The State's commitment to local control and bottom-up reform is highly commendable. With respect to standards, however, it is not clear how local control will assure that comparably high standards will exist among schools throughout the State.
There is a need for greater clarity and the capability to explain to educators and the public how all the pieces fit together. For example:
The role of alternative learning sites in raising the expectations for all students is not clear.
What options exist for students who do not achieve the certificate of initial mastery and certificate of advanced mastery levels?
With high standards so central to the reform agenda, there is a significant need to ensure that an appropriate assessment system(s) is developed to determine if students are reaching those standards. This is another area that needs continuing, expanded clarification for all stakeholders.
As the reform initiative eurpands and implementation progresses there will be a need to continuously review local schools' capacity to take on more responsibility in the areas of curriculum development, instruction, and assessment.
CRITERION 2: THE PLAN REFLECTS WIDESPREAD COMMITMENT WITHIN THE STATE.
The following are examples of evidence which we found to support that this criterion has been met:
The plan and site visit reflect the broad and deep support for reforrn in the State among business leaders, parents and other stakeholders at the community, district, and school levels, and from the higher education community.
Bipartisan and long-term support for education reform was evident across the political leadership of the State including legislators and the leadership of the executive branch.
The creation of the Oregon Progress Board and the widespread public attention paid to the State benchmarks of progress are stunning accomplishments. Both the documentation and the process are noteworthy.
The Work Force Quality Council and its regionalized structure, the school site councils, the Education for the 21st Century panel and task forces all point to the State's strong commitment to supporting and fostering bottom-up reform and facilitating local control.
Area for Continuing Attention
It would be helpful to complete the Oregon Progress Board's benchmarks of progress for interval years under the heading "Success in School," in the areas of academic achievement and international comparative performance.
CRITERION 3: THE PLAN ALLOWS LOCAL SCHOOLS, LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES AND COMMUNITIES THE FLEXIBILITY TO IMPLEMENT PLANS IN A MANNER THAT REFLECTS LOCAL NEEDS AND REQUIREMENTS IN ORDER TO PROMOTE A "BOTTOM-UP" SYSTEM OF REFORM
The following are examples of evidence which we found to support that this criterion has been met:
Reorganization of the Oregon Department of Education into a regional structure to support local reform and change the relationship of the State to the localities from that of a monitor to a facilitator of progress is commendable.
A fundamental precept of the plan is local control and flexibility. Waiver opportunities for localities, the school site councils, the local development of curriculum, the sharing of strategies within and across regions, are just a few of the notable aspects of the State's commitment to supporting reform at the local level.
Flexibility has included encouragement for the sharing of strategies, ideas, and resources among teachers, schools, districts and across regions.
Teacher preparation and continuing staff development include information on how to be a member of a school site council and how to solicit resources from other agencies.
The means by which a student achieves a certificate of initial mastery and a certificate of advanced mastery is clearly a responsibility for the local school district.
Area for Continuing Attention
