Discussion Questions
What is the school environment needed for a quality education?
Proposed: schools should help students keep their options open by maintaining common programs and expectations for all.
How can an assessment system help target resources to the students who need them most?
Background for the Discussion
Access to high quality education is one of the four themes of the draft Master Plan ("Access..." section). The Plan describes a quality education environment in terms of qualified and inspiring teachers; a rigorous curriculum; participation in California's public universities; current textbooks, technology and instructional materials; learning support services; quality administrators; an educational culture that is inviting, safe, and places a high value on student achievement and teaching excellence; and a safe, well-maintained physical plant. The plan also addresses the importance of conditions that help young children become "ready learners." (This will be discussed on day 6.)
Students generally have two options at high school graduation: either work or college. However, "it is inaccurate to say that many have a genuine choice ... the choice ... is usually made far before high school graduation, typically via course choices made by students with incomplete information." To help students keep a postsecondary education option open, "California's education system must change the common perception that less is expected of students bound for the workplace or community college than of those who intend to go to a baccalaureate degree-granting college or university." The Plan says "all schools must offer academic programs and coursework that provide every student an equitable opportunity to qualify for admission to, and succeed in, any of California's public postsecondary institutions, and that simultaneously qualify them for an array of jobs in today's workforce and the continually emerging information economy." Recommendation 12 is accordingly "The State shall set ambitious learning goals and provide all students a challenging K-12 curriculum, including preparation for postsecondary education." Recommendations 24 and 25 discuss guidance on the transitions from high school and college and from school to employment. Recommendation 12.3 would provide students the opportunity to "opt out" of this curriculum and work under a personalized learning plan.
The draft Plan includes a number of recommendations related to assessing learning needs and student achievement. The Assessment section, for example, spells out critical transition points for students as they move through school, and Recommendation 21 relates to classroom-level assessment. Recommendation 4 relates to assessment of teacher preparedness.
Recommendation 28 focuses more broadly on state assessment: "The State should establish a system of regularly reported indicators for K-12 accountability and improvement." Sub-recommendations 28.1-28.7 suggest other indicators that should be added to the K-12 Academic Performance Index (API) including an "Opportunities for Teaching and Learning Index" to report on the resources available to schools and evaluate the effectiveness of programs for young children. They also suggest evaluation, planning, and intervention activities that could help the state to promote greater accountability.
The draft Plan asserts that the state should monitor all levels of the educational system (student, education personnel, school, district, state education agencies, legislature, and governor), using indicators that measure the effectiveness of each level (PreK-16) in meeting its responsibilities. This should enable the public to "hold policymakers and governing bodies accountable for providing the commitment, policy mechanisms, resources, and conditions necessary to a high-quality system of education, as well as to hold schools, educators, and students accountable for the outcomes that result." Information is needed about all schools, not just those that are low-performing.
Related Issues
Student learning is related to most of the cross-cutting issues; the links below lead to pages on this site that give more information in selected areas.
Working Group Report and Recommendations
Student Learning is the focus of the entire Draft Master Plan and the topic of one Working Group convened by the Joint Committee to develop a Master Plan for Education. The Committee charged this Group with making recommendations to "allow the State to attain two major objectives: guarantee that all students who participate in the public education system receive a high quality education; and establish a more cohesive system of education that will be responsive to students' increasingly diverse needs."
Links
Results
Major recommendations of the Working Group include:Goals
The principle that guided the work of the group: California's Pre K-University Master Plan must result in education policies that ensure quality and choice for all.