Shift in academic priorities greets students in new term

As the new school year kicks off today, more than 180,000 public school students face new, more rigorous academic standards in language arts and math as Hawaii and about 40 other states roll out what’s known as the Common Core standards.

The accelerated standards — already tested in some Hawaii schools — are intended to get schools nationwide to work toward a common set of education goals and boost classroom rigor.

The state Department of Education has been overhauling its curriculum to align with the new standards, which lay out what students in grades kindergarten through 12 are expected to learn at each grade level. The idea is to better prepare America’s students for college courses or a competitive career by emphasizing how the materials relate to real-world scenarios.

Starting with the 2014-15 school year, students will be tested annually on the Common Core standards instead of the existing Hawaii State Assessment.

Ronn Nozoe, deputy superintendent for the DOE, said the move will help ensure students understand the relevance of lessons instead of simply memorizing facts for a test.

"The rigor of the Common Core is pretty steep," he said. "It’s benchmarked against not just college and career readiness, but also against international standards. We’re going to have to work very hard to get our state to that level of success."

While some of Hawaii’s previous learning benchmarks were similar, there are big differences with the switch to the Common Core.

In language arts, for example, there is a greater focus on nonfiction texts and writing. And in math there’s a concentration on fewer concepts while requiring a deeper and better understanding of core ones.

The standards — developed by a consortium of governors and state educators — have drawn some criticism because they seek to give students deeper understanding of a more limited number of topics instead of the so-called "mile-wide, inch-deep" approach to education.

Nozoe said, "It doesn’t mean we’re throwing out the baby with the bath water. Basic computational and functional literacy skills are part of the Common Core. The Common Core builds upon that."

With 45 states and the District of Columbia signing on to use Common Core standards, the effort has also been criticized as an overreach by the federal government to standardize education. Although Common Core wasn’t developed by the federal government, states were given incentives to sign on through Race to the Top funding and waivers from requirements under No Child Left Behind.

While Hawaii benefited from a $75 million Race grant and a waiver from key No Child Left Behind requirements, Nozoe emphasized that the new standards align with targets laid out in the DOE’s strategic plan, which has student success at its core.

The waiver Hawaii received this summer from the U.S. Department of Education allows the DOE to roll out a redesigned school accountability system that largely replaces provisions of the 2001 federal law requiring schools to meet rising annual proficiency goals or face increasing sanctions. (All but five states have applied for the same kind of waiver.)

The state’s new system — dubbed the Strive HI Performance System — focuses more on readiness for college and careers and less on the results of a single annual test. The waiver also relaxes the requirement that by 2014 all students be proficient in math and reading according to their grade level.

Later this month public schools will be rated using data on student achievement; student growth; "readiness" by way of on-time graduation rates, college-going rates and absentee rates; and achievement gaps. Those ratings will result in one of five "steps" for schools, indicating how much administrative intervention or support is needed.

"Strive HI is our measuring stick of how people are doing along the way," Nozoe said. "It’s saying, ‘Here’s the pathway, and here are some benchmarks along the way.’

"The old No Child Left Behind was a ranking with a punishment-minded model. This is a successful trajectory. This is not a ‘gotcha.’"

Under No Child Left Behind, schools that failed to meet adequate yearly prog­ress benchmarks for consecutive years were subject to various sanctions that included state intervention and replacement of staff. For the 2011-12 school year, 51 percent of Hawaii’s 286 public schools did not meet adequate yearly prog­ress targets, according to DOE data.

Nozoe said the Strive HI system addresses both strengths and needs at schools versus a "one-size-fits-all" approach previously.

"If schools are doing well … the recognition and rewards are increased flexibility, and administratively we get out of their way so they can continue their trajectory," he said. "If schools need more help, then we intervene a lot more."