First to the Top Coalition, Uncertainty about value-added, Other news

Many apologies for not updating this blog in quite a while.  There are so many things happening in my world, so many things that are up in the air with the new standards, and so many things to give updates on. 

First to the Top Coalition
Across the state of Tennessee, there is a "First to the Top" coalition made up of groups from the Hospital Alliance to the TN School Board Association to the United Ways to the Chambers of Commerce to the Broadcast Association that have come together to think of how to support the changes happening under Race to the Top (supporting the schools as test scores drop, making changes to TN's education system that are long-lasting, and making sure the public knows what's happening).  After a meeting in Nashville, a few things have become clear...
- Helping the public understand that school-wide scores will likely be lower on the aggregate (and that's OK because we're all in the same boat)
- Parent and Teacher Engagement needs to remain at the forefront of our minds (ESPECIALLY as it relates to the release of school-wide scores AND concrete strategies that will help students do better as the standards went up)
- Accountability for Race to the Top spending and impact
If anyone reading this has an interest in getting your organization involved, let me know. 

Uncertainty about value-added
I saw this article about value-added metrics last week. 
You're seeing some serious uncertainty about what value-added scores mean and what they don't mean.  If you read the comments, you'll get an even better sense of how passionate people get about this area.
This concern around value-added data seems, in large part, to go back to a fear of the limits of standardized testing.  Recently, a book was written called Don't Shoot the Messenger: The War on Standardized Testing.  By no means am I promoting that everyone go out and read this book, but the preface offers an insight into how heated the argument gets. 
There are other sources who weigh in on this... Like THIS from Illinois, THIS from California, and THIS most recently from Boston.
After exchanging many e-mails with some close colleagues, it seems like there should be a serious conversation around the terms that surround value-added.  The Department of Education, in conjunction with groups like TEA, SCORE, etc, should be leading this effort to make sure everyone's clear about value-added scores. 

In other news...
- What will it look like for TCAPs to be counted as 15-25% of a student's final grade? Murfreesboro struggles to make this a reality.
- What are TN colleges doing to try and prepare teachers better? They're adjusting licensure requirements. 
- What if teachers ran schools? Nashville weighs its options.
- In terms of AYP (a calculation of schools "on the list"), the state of Tennessee is struggling with how to keep the Feds happy without losing major resources.
- If you're a teacher and want input on the new teacher evaluation system, check this out.