Current News
National and Local News
K12 Voucher Funds
04/10/13
CETPA recently began discussions with CTAP and the California School Boards Association (CSBA) regarding the remaining Microsoft K12 Voucher funds. There is another round of funding available and we are working to get information about their release.
Here is the latest information and we will continue to distribute updates as received. Thank you to CTAP for this information.
· The date or amount of the final allocation for the first cy pres (legal term) has not been confirmed. During the last discussion with the Parties it was revealed that the Parties are 30-60 days away from the determination of the total funds available for distribution. CDE will announce the release of these funds as soon as they become available.
· The parties have agreed to seek an extension of the September 25, 2013 deadline for the K-12 voucher program.
· A total of $242,893,344 was awarded for the first cy pres to 1012 districts. 88 percent of the funds awarded have been distributed to date. Of the 1,012 districts that were awarded the first cy pres, 601 districts have a zero balance for both General Purpose Vouchers (GPV) and Specific Category Vouchers (SCSV). 840 districts have a zero balance for GPV and 627 districts have a zero balance for SCSV.
Districts should check the information on the Settlement Claims Administrator site at https://edtechk12vp.com/. If your balance sheet appears to be incorrect, contact the Settlement Claims Administrator. 1-800-419-5286 – many of you may have already done this more than once but we want to be sure that all funds spent are reported.
SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC)
Update from the California Department of Education (CDE)
Issue 56—Week of Monday, April 29, 2013
The California Department of Education (CDE) Smarter Balanced update is a bimonthly e-mail that reports on current and upcoming Smarter Balanced development activities. To join the CDE Smarter Balanced e-mail list, send a blank e-mail to: subscribe-sbac@mlist.cde.ca.gov.
In this issue:
· Upcoming May 1 Hearing for Assembly Bill 484
· Initial College Content Readiness Policy Approved by Governing States
· Development of Criteria for Digital Library Resources
Upcoming May 1 Hearing for Assembly Bill 484
Assembly Bill (AB) 484 (Bonilla) seeks legislative authority to implement recommendations made by the State Superintendent of Public Instruction (SSPI) for the reauthorization of California’s statewide student assessment system. AB 484 proposes the establishment of the California Measurement of Academic Performance and Progress for the 21st Century (CALMAPP21), which would succeed the existing Standardized Testing and Reporting Program (STAR). AB 484 makes amendments and additions to establish and implement CALMAPP21. This system is based on the SSPI’s recommendations for bold and innovative changes to the way California assesses learning and monitors accountability. The foremost purpose of the proposed changes called for by AB 484 is for the new assessment system to model and promote high-quality teaching and learning activities across the entire curriculum to ensure that California students are well prepared for success in college and the workplace in today’s competitive global economy.
AB 484 will be heard May 1, 2013, at 1:30 p.m. in the Policy Committee. A live Webcast of the hearing will be available online at http://www.calchannel.com/live-webcast/. For information on specific bill language or the current status of AB 484, visit the California Legislative Information Web page at http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml.
Initial College Content Readiness Policy Approved by Governing States
The governing states of the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium have approved the initial College Content Readiness Policy. The College Content Readiness Policy will guide the interpretation of test scores from the grade eleven Smarter Balanced assessments for course placement in grade twelve and in higher education. Smarter Balanced state representatives, including those from K–12 and higher education, worked to develop College Content Readiness Policy to determine levels of high school students’ readiness for entry-level, credit-bearing coursework at a college or university or entry into the high-skill workforce. The complete English–language arts/literacy and mathematics initial ALDs and revised college content readiness policy are available on the Smarter Balanced Achievement Level Descriptors and College Content Readiness Web page at http://www.smarterbalanced.org/achievement-level-descriptors-and -college-readiness/.
Development of Criteria for Digital Library Resources
Smarter Balanced has established a Formative Assessment Advisory Panel to oversee the resources included in the consortium’s Digital Library. Smarter Balanced staff met with the advisory panel and contractor staff on April 17 and 18 to begin the process of creating the quality criteria for resources housed in the Digital Library. The Digital Library will provide educators exemplary resources, tools, and professional learning necessary to transform classroom instructional practices to support student success. The Digital Library will be user-friendly, searchable, and collaborative.
The Formative Assessment Advisory Panel will have two more meetings in May. During those meetings the quality criteria will be finalized and sent to the Smarter Balanced Executive Committee for approval.
More Information
Additional information about Smarter Balanced is available on the CDE Smarter Balanced Web page at http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/sa/smarterbalanced.asp. General questions about the Smarter Balanced assessments should be directed to the CDE Statewide Assessment Transition Office by phone at 916-445-8517 or by e-mail at sbac@cde.ca.gov.
_______________________________________________________________________
EducationSuperHighway, a non-profit organization, is focused on ensuring that all K-12 schools have at least 100MB+ of bandwidth. Currently, an average school has only 20MB, the same connection most have in their homes. It’s just not enough when you want to show 30 simultaneous videos in one classroom. Their first step is to take a national inventory of the Internet speed at every K-12 school in America. EducationSuperHighway is calling on 1 million teachers, librarians, and administrators to take the 1 minute School Speed Test by simply clicking a button while they are logged into their school network.
