StudentsMatter
C a m p a i g n O ve r v i e w
March 2012
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StudentsMatter
Students Matter is committed to ensuring
that the policies embodied in the California Code
of Education place the interests of students first
and promote the goal of having an effective
teacher in every classroom.
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StudentsMatter
The Challenge
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StudentsMatter
Presentation Overview
I.
Challenge - California’s Current Educational System
• The Data
II. Solution - Focus on Teacher Effectiveness
• Key Findings from Latest Research
• Current U.S. Landscape for Education Reform
III. Students Matter’s Approach
• Legal Challenge to State’s Education Code
IV. Timeline
V. Team
VI. How You Can Help
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StudentsMatter
California’s Schools – Data
More Than Half of Students Test Below Proficiency
• Only 34% of 4th graders and 25% of 8th graders are proficient in Math
• Only 25% of of 4th graders and 24% of 8th graders are proficient in Reading
• Source: U.S. Department of Education: National Assessment of Educational Progress
A Majority of California’s Students are Unprepared for College
• Early Assessment of Readiness for College Reading: only 23% ready
• Early Assessment of Readiness for College Math: only 58% ready
• Source: California State University Early Assessment Program 2010
California Schools are Underperforming Compared to Other States
• CA is Ranked 46th in 4th grade Reading
• CA is Ranked 47th in 8th grade Math
• Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Assessment of Educational Progress
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StudentsMatter
Education Reform – National Picture
NY
• Teacher Evaluation: Feb. 2012, Gov. Cuomo agreed to allow school
districts to base up to 40% of annual teacher reviews on student
performance on state tests; subjective measurements to form
remaining 60%
• 18,000 teacher evaluations were publically released on 2/24/2012
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ID
• Tenure Reform: March 2011, Superintendent Luna passed legislation
to phase out tenure and base retention on performance – not
seniority; new teachers offered one to two-year rolling contracts
• Teacher Evaluation: 50% of a teacher’s evaluation will depend on
student progress; performance bonus structure also instituted
IL
• Tenure Reform: Summer 2011, Gov. Quinn passed legislation to
reward teacher effectiveness; bill expedites tenure for effective
teachers, expedites dismissal process for those who underperform
and empowers school leaders with greater autonomy to make
employment decisions
StudentsMatter
Education Reform – National Picture
MN
IN
FL
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• Tenure Reform: Feb. 2012, House and Senate passed bill to end
seniority-based layoff system. The bill now awaits the Governor’s
approval.
• Teacher Evaluation: April 2011, Gov. Daniels signed bill to require
staff evaluations; students may not be consecutively instructed by
two ineffective teachers
• Probationary teachers can be dismissed after one ineffective rating, IN
Department of Education testing new merit-based method of payment for
teachers based in part on performance evaluations
• Teacher Evaluation: Fall 2011, legislation passed requiring the
evaluation of teachers based on student test scores by 2014. Bill also
mandates merit-based pay and forces teachers with poor ratings for
two consecutive years to be terminated
StudentsMatter
Education Reform – National Picture
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MI
• Tenure Reform: July 2011, Gov. Snyder signed legislation to end
seniority-based layoffs; new system requires administrators to
consider demonstrated effectiveness in the classroom; qualification
for tenure also increased from four to five years, those granted
tenure must continue to earn effective ratings in order to keep it
IA
• Education Reform: Jan. 2012, Gov. Branstad introduced reform bill
calling for major changes to student testing and teacher hiring, firing
and evaluation
NV
• Teacher Evaluation: June 2011, Gov. Sandoval signed two bills: (1)
Placed post-probationary teachers back on probation if they receive
negative evaluations for two consecutive years (2) Established pay for
performance, prohibit seniority-based layoffs
StudentsMatter
Education Reform – National Picture
MO
• Teacher Evaluation: Jan. 2012, House introduced bill addressing
several areas of reform: replace permanent contracts with contracts
based on teacher evaluation, remove prohibition on performancebased pay – leaving it to districts to set policy, remove required
seniority-based layoffs
TN
• Tenure Reform: April 2011, Gov. Haslam signed bill to increase
probationary period from three to five years, bill also mandates that
tenure status be based on evaluation – half of which is tied to
student performance
OH
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• Teacher Evaluation: Nov. 2011, Ohio Board of Education established
teacher evaluation framework; teachers to be graded on 4-level
efficiency scale based on an in-class assessment by administration
• An additional mandate, which is still being finalized, will require that some
measure of student academic growth constitute 50% of a teacher’s rating
StudentsMatter
Education Reform – National Picture
NJ
• Teacher Evaluation: Feb 2012, Sen. Ruiz introduced a bill that
teachers be classified into one of four efficiency categories. Said bill
also mandates that teacher ratings play a significant role in layoff
decisions and that those rated in bottom two categories will have
tenure revoked if they don’t improve within following year
AL
• Education Reform: Jan 2012, Gov. Bentley passed four education
reform bills; teacher evaluation is the subject of one of these bills
CT
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• Teacher Evaluation: Feb 2012, CT Board of Education approved
adoption of teacher evaluation system by July 2013
• Assessment compiled as follows: 45% tied to student advancement with
half of this based on standardized tests, 40% based on observation, 10%
based on peer or parent feedback surveys, 5% based on student feedback
StudentsMatter
Our Approach
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StudentsMatter
Teachers = Greatest Impact on
Outcomes
Teacher competence is the
‘single biggest factor
influencing gains in
achievement, trumping
race, poverty, parent’s
education, and all other
excuses for a child’s failure
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to learn.’
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“The most effective
teachers can improve
student learning by a full
grade level.” 2
1. (Source: W L Sanders and J C Rivers, ‘Cumulative and Residual Effects of Teachers on Future Student Academic Achievement’,
University of Tennessee, Value-Added Research and Assessment Center, 1996)
2.
(Source: Steven G.Rivkin, Eric A. Hanushek, and John F. Kain, “Teachers, Schools and
Academic Achievement,”)
StudentsMatter
Studies Prove Importance of Effective
Teachers
Authors
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Questions
Methods
Findings
Chetty,
Friedman
and Rockoff
(2011)
Are ”value-added” evaluations
fair assessments of teacher
impact?
Analyzed school district data
from 1989-2009 for 2.5
million children in grades 3-8
YES –fair measure of teacher
impact
Do high “value-added”
teachers improve student’s
long term-outcomes?
Correlated school data v.
adult outcomes (taxes,
college attendance, teen
pregnancy)
YES- students with high “valueadded” teachers have positive
adult outcomes
EdTrustWest
Is LAUSD ensuring underserved
minority and low-income
students have equal access to
effective teachers?
Analyzed student and
teacher data to generate
“value-added” scores, used
scores to assess student
progress
Highest need students do not
have access to high valueadded teachers; senioritybased layoffs exacerbate issue
Kane &
Staiger
(2008)
Is it valid to use “value added”
methods for determining
teacher impact on student test
scores?
Analyzed 78 pairs of
elementary school
classrooms in LAUSD over 2
year period; compared to
test scores
“Value added “methods are
accurate prediction of shortterm impact on student test
scores
StudentsMatter
Our Case
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StudentsMatter
CA Constitutional Guarantee
The California
Constitution creates
a fundamental right
to a quality
education.
Source: California Supreme Court: Butt v. State of California, 4 Cal. 4th 668 (1992); Serrano v. Priest, 5 Cal. 3d 584 (1971)
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StudentsMatter
Legal Theory
CA Constitution
guarantees quality
education.
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State laws force
retention of
ineffective teachers
and prevent
retention of
effective teachers
at the expense of
CA students.
Statutes infringe on
constitutional right
and therefore are
unconstitutional.
StudentsMatter
Systemic Barriers to Effective Teacher
Workforce
Tenure

Dismissal
Granted after
cursory review;
after an average
of 15 months.
Process is so
cumbersome it is
effectively impossible to
satisfy.
De facto - Fewer
than 2% of
LAUSD teachers
denied tenure,
indicative of all
Districts. 1
From 2000-2010, LAUSD
spent $3.5 million to fire
seven of the district's
33,000 teachers - only
four were fired (average
of five years and
$500,000 each); two
were paid large
settlements; one was
reinstated.2
1. Felt, Jason; Jessica Garrison and Jason Song. “Bar Set Low for Lifetime Job in L.A. Schools.” Los Angeles Times
December 20, 2009. http://articles.latimes.com/2009/dec/20/local/la-me-teacher-tenure20-2009dec20
Senioritybased
Layoffs
No
consideration of
teacher
effectiveness.
Barrier for
retaining/recrui
ting young
effective
teachers.
Disproportionat
ely minority and
low-income
schools.
StudentsMatter
17 2 Beth Barrett. “Dance of the Lemons.” Los Angeles Weekly, February 11, 2010, http://www.laweekly.com/2010-02-11/news/lausd-s-dance-of-the-lemons/
Our Team
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StudentsMatter
Students Matter Team
Legal Team
Griffin|Schein
Dave Welch
Advisory Council
Political/Community
Support
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• Gibson Dunn– Ted Olson and Ted Boutrous
• Strategic communications, cause branding and political
consulting firm
• Leading Proposition 8 challenge with legal team of David
Boies & Ted Olson
• Founder, Chief Strategy Officer, EVP Infinera, Inc.
• Investment Partner – New Schools Venture Fund
• New Schools Venture Fund
• Students First
• Democrats for Education Reform
• Coalition of Mayors, Superintendents, Teachers, Advocates
StudentsMatter
Our Ask
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StudentsMatter
Advantages of Our Approach
Traditional
Approach
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Our
Approach
StudentsMatter
Why We Will Win
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Proven track record of
legal team
Data centric: strong
correlation between
permanence statutes
and poor quality as
measured by state
proficiency tests
Strong, broad based
bi-partisan public
support
Strong backing of
educational experts
Constitutional
challenge is not
subject to the
vagaries of legislative
initiatives
Favorable public and
political environment
for action
StudentsMatter
How You Can Help
Introduce us to potential supporters/advocates
Join us in our media campaign – letters to the
editor, op-eds, etc.
Contribute by check or via our website
(Students Matter is a 501 (c)(3) organization)
Sign up on our website: www.studentsmatter.org
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StudentsMatter
Thank You !
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StudentsMatter