In Fall 2018, the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) announced the first accountability designations based on the new system required under
Category: The Policy Minute
“Turnaround” Plans & School Rankings #DataVizDay
Since 2010, 65 schools have been designated as “underperforming.” After at least three years of implementing a “turnaround plan”, a school is eligible to
Do Turnaround Schools actually Turn Around? #DataVizDay
The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has been identifying “underperforming” (formerly Level Four) and “chronically underperforming” (formerly Level Five) schools since 2010. Sixty-five
Teacher Turnover in “Broad/Comprehensive Support” Schools #DataVizDay
The schools may need help, but what happens to the teachers? The teacher turnover rate represents the percentage of teachers who were working at the
Real Examples – Accountability #DataVizDay
How can five students sink the ranking for an entire school? Our Real School is in the 59th percentile of all schools, met 75 percent
Schools Requiring Support by the Numbers #DataVizDay
The 2018 district accountability system identified 233 Massachusetts public schools as falling into the category of “Requiring Focused/Targeted Support.” Schools may be labeled as “Requiring
Assistance and Intervention Designations (Not Levels!) -Accountability 2018 #DataVizDay
Requiring Assistance or Intervention Designations The 2018 school accountability designations are based on the new system created to meet requirements of both ESSA and Massachusetts
Local School Spending #DataVizDay
Net school spending is the amount districts actually spend on local public schools. The foundation budget is the minimum amount districts are required to spend
BESE September Meeting
BESE kicks off the 2018-2019 school year on Sept. 22. The Board of Elementary and Secondary Education will meet for the first time this (school)
MCAS Test Items Committees – Action Alert
Applications are open for educators to serve on English, math, science and bias committees. This is your chance to shape MCAS test questions and content.
Teacher Leadership Institute – Last Call!
Applications are closing soon for the next cohort of Massachusetts TLI educators! The Massachusetts Teachers Association and the National Education Association is accepting applications from
2018 MCAS + Accountability Results
2018 State test results and school/district accountability reports are coming! The school and district results from the spring 2018 MCAS administration will start to trickle
Model Evaluation Rubric -Changes
DESE made some edits to model educator evaluation rubrics in August. Here is what you need to do now. On August 10, 2018, the Department
Input Needed – School & District Report Cards
Ever look for school info on the DESE website? Did you find it easy to navigate and full of useful information? We haven’t either. Here
#DataVizDay is Coming!
The Policy Minute is beyond excited to announce the launch of our own #DataVizDay! Every Tuesday we will share an education data visualization from our
2018-19 Charter Season- Applications!
The field narrows to three applications for new Massachusetts charter schools and five schools seek to add more seats. The out-of-pocket costs to districts for
