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The
Senate Education Committee gave SB 212, Governor Bill Ritter's
omnibus education bill, initial approval March 27.
CEA
does not currently have a position on the bill which overhauls
the entire system of standards, curriculum, assessments, graduation
requirements, etc., with no new funding.
This
is one of CEA's major concerns about the bill. We do not believe
that educators and school districts can do this work without significant
new funding. We also want classroom teachers to be directly involved
in the development of the new standards and assessments and in
the implementation of the wide range of changes the bill will
cause.
SB
212 has some new acronyms: PESE: Preschool-Elementary-Secondary
Education; PWR: Postsecondary-Workforce Readiness; IRP: Individual
Readiness Plan. Other acronyms used here are SBE (State Board
of Education) and CCHE (Colorado Commission on Higher Education).
Following
is a basic summary of the process outlined in the bill including
the Senate Education Committee's amendments. Many of the amendments
simply changed the timelines in the original bill. The summary
is divided into three sections: School Readiness, K-12 Standards
and Assessments, and Postsecondary-Workforce Readiness, with a
fourth section at the end that includes other provisions.
SCHOOL READINESS STANDARDS AND ASSESSMENTS
- By
December 2008 - State Board of Education (SBE) adopts a description
of "school readiness"
- By
December 2010 - SBE adopts one or more school readiness assessments
aligned with its school readiness description
- Beginning
in August 2012 (fall semester) - School districts create individual
readiness plans (IRPs) for every preschool student entering
the system
- Beginning
in August 2013 (fall semester) - Districts create or revise
IRPs for every kindergartner
K-12 STANDARDS AND ASSESSMENTS
- By
December 2009 - SBE adopts revised content knowledge and skills
standards for preschool through grade 12 (minimum of reading,
writing, math, science, history, geography, visual and performing
arts, physical education, world languages, economics, civics);
standards must align with the PWR description; take into account
21st century skills; and allow measurable longitudinal growth
data; these standards are called PESE Standards (Preschool,
Elementary, and Secondary Education Standards)
- By
December 2010 - SBE adopts an assessment system aligned with
the PESE standards that measure students' attainment of the
standards and which, at a minimum, provides relevant, timely
data; facilitates longitudinal measurement of academic growth;
provides results that may be used across the P-20 continuum
into higher education; and maintains high accountability levels,
federal compliance, and measurement of school performance (e.g.,
must align with NCLB if the federal law is still in place and
has current requirements)
- By
December 2010 - Teacher preparation programs have to include
training on how to teach to the new PESE standards
- By
December 2011 - School boards review and revise local content
standards to meet/exceed the state standards and ensure PWR
demonstration by the end of grade 12; school districts adopt
curricula aligned with the state standards
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POSTSECONDARY-WORKFORCE
READINESS STANDARDS AND ASSESSMENTS
- By
December 2008 - SBE and the Colorado Commission on Higher Education
(CCHE) adopt a Postsecondary-Workforce Readiness (PWR) description
that includes subject matter and English competency levels that
students must demonstrate; description must align with 100-level
college/university courses and 21st century skills
- By
December 2010 - SBE and CCHE adopt one or more PWR assessments
that include, at a minimum, a standardized, curriculum-based
college entrance exam (e.g., ACT) and ACCUPLACER, the basic
skills placement test administered by Colorado higher ed institutions
- By
July 2011 - SBE adopts criteria that districts can use for endorsements
to high school diplomas that indicate PWR (but allows districts
to choose whether to use these endorsements)
- By
December 2011 - School districts review and align high school
curricula to PWR state standards; districts can move away from
Carnegie units or traditional course numbering; all students
must be included in the PWR programs (special education students
can have goals in IEPs to help them meet the PWR
- By
December 2012 - All high schools administer the PWR assessments
to all students in grades 9-12
OTHER PROVISIONS - The bill provides that students who
get diplomas with PWR endorsements have priority consideration
for admission to some state colleges and universities. The Senate
Education Committee amended the bill to include an independent
study of the costs of implementing SB 212 as each phase of the
bill is adopted. The committee's amendments also include regional
meetings, beginning in the 2008-09 school year, at which educators
will meet to "collaborate in the implementation of the alignment
of the various systems in SB 212: school readiness, PESE, and
PWR standards; instruction in grades P-20; and the assessments
in P-20."
SB 212 now goes to the full Senate.
~ March 31, 2008
SB212
- CAP4k (PDF)
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