Draft- For your use at the Roundtable Meetings- not for distribution as the
minutes from which these talking points were developed have will not be
considered for approval until October 17th. Thank you.
Talking Points
Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents (M.A.S.S.) Executive Committee Retreat
Saturday September 7, 2013
Educator Evaluation Update and Discussion- District Determined Measures (DDMs) and Educator
Evaluation Rating System- Meeting with Samantha Wharburton Educator Evaluation Project Co-Lead
at DESE
Commissioner’s Memo August 15, 2013
 The key adjustments are the deferral of the Year 1 Collection Data from the 2013-2014 school
year to the 2014-2015 school year and the extension for the submission of the final plan for
determining Impact Ratings using DDMs to June 2014.

District will still be required to complete and submit the Student Impact Rating District DDM
Piloting Plan by September 30, 2013.
Developing DDMs – Guidance from Samantha
 She informed the members that DESE will host three technical assistance sessions across the
State on September 19, 2013

Districts should develop curriculum based measures with district developed norms

The measures need to reflect fair assessment practice and should be consistent across each
grade/subject

DESE will provide(week of September 9th) a compendium of over 600 exemplars to provide
districts with a wide array of assessment samples including both commercial and noncommercial measures

The Technical Guide B, issued last week and co-authored by Samantha, provides examples
around measuring growth, pre and post testing and running records

She reminded the members that the ultimate decision regarding teacher employment is not
determined by DDMs rather it is the judgment of the evaluator

The two ratings – impact on student learning and the summative performance are separate
ratings
Talking Points (2)

She informed the members that DESE has recently hired an assessment specialist to provide
technical assistance to the districts

She also reminded members that the timelines for the September 2013 (submission of the pilot
plan) and June 2014 (submission of the final plan for determining Impact Ratings based on
DDMs for all educators) will remain in effect as any further alteration of these dates could put
the Race To The Top (RTTT) monies in jeopardy

She identified the five (5) key areas for the 2013-2014 pilot measures. These include;
o Early grade (K-3) literacy
o Early grade (K-3) math
o Middle grade (5-8) math
o High school writing to text
o Traditionally non-tested grades/subjects or courses
Samantha informed the members that DESE will not collect EPIMS data in October 2013. They will
defer the collection of this data until the end of the 2013-2014 school year.
Status of DDM Negotiations
 Attorney Mike Long informed the members of certain conflicts between the language in Chapter
71 Section 150E Collective Bargaining Statute and Chapter 71 Section 38 G Educator Evaluation.

Steve Finnegan, Counsel for the Massachusetts Association of School Committees (MASC), will
extend an invitation to the Council of School Attorneys to discuss the best way to proceed.

It was agreed that Tom Scott and Mike Long will draft a position paper for review by the
Executive Committee.
Partnership for the Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) - note this item was not
on the original agenda.

Tom Scott informed the members that the number of districts that were selected to field test
PARCC had been increased due to the withdrawal of certain other states from participation in
PARCC and the need to increase the number of students within the remaining States.
Massachusetts has not yet formerly adopted PARCC.
Talking Points (3)

The field testing will include both digital and paper and pencil test administrations.

Members requested that the Association advocate for a broad range of testing accommodations
once PARCC is adopted.
Report on the Status of Public Education Financing System in Massachusetts
Dave Tobin, M.A.S.S Financial Consultant, highlighted the following recommendations;

The need for an upward adjustment in the foundation budget for employee benefits

Any allowance for the inclusion of retiree health insurance in net school spending should be
phased in and not result in a reduction in net school spending

The need for an increase in the foundation rate for out-of-district special education students

The need for the elimination on the cap for pre-school enrollment
It was the consensus of the Committee that the MASS School Finance Task Force be re-convened.
Superintendent Evaluation
 The group discussed many of the challenges inherent in the implementation of the new
educator evaluation tool for superintendents. Some of these challenges included;

It was the consensus of the group that we need to work with the School Committee Association
to provide support and assistance to both superintendents with this process. It was further
agreed that members would receive the most recent MASC Guide for Superintendent Evaluation
and that we would use the session at the November MASC/MASS Joint Conference to begin to
provide this support.
Association Updates
 Tom Scott informed the Members that the next meeting of the Officers and the Commissioner
will take place on Monday September 30th.

Chris McGrath provided the Members with the feedback from the members concerning the
upcoming TELL Mass survey.

Paul Andrews distributed the Executive Leadership Forum Booklet and emphasized the
importance of supporting these Forums through the Roundtables.