For a moment, let’s take a look back in time using a virtual time-travel machine and go back to your days in elementary, middle or high school.  

(Bonus points for anyone who remembers Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure!)

Your time-travel assignment: Recall your time as a student.

• What was the environment like when you were a student in school?
• How did your teacher teach?
• Were you offered options that were different from others in your room?
• Did you know what you wanted to be when you grew up?  Were there resources to help you figure it out?
• How did you learn best?
• How many textbooks did you have?  Were there computers at your school?
• Did you feel safe?
• Did you have lockdown drills?
• Did you have to make choices for not only yourself but for your family as well?
• Were you or your friends bullied at school?
• How were you taught about health, wellness, and personal safety?
• Did school foster academic and social-emotional growth?

Now let’s bring ourselves back to the present moment in time. Think about your classroom, school, or district as a whole, and ask yourself the following questions:

• How did your classroom experience differ from classrooms of today?
• Is the way we teach different?
• Do we prepare our students to be strong individuals and give them each their own personalized attention? How about a personalized learning path?
• How do we prepare our students for the careers of tomorrow?
• How do we teach them about health, wellness, and personal safety?
• How do you think technology (as a whole) plays a role in academic and social-emotional growth?
• Are we fostering academic and social-emotional growth?
• What are the overall differences and similarities of schools today vs. yesterday?

I think it is safe to say that during our time-traveling experience we recognized similarities and differences of how it was when we were in school vs the classrooms of today. And that’s not a bad thing at all! With advances in technology and research, we are better at serving our students.

However, as educators, we are also aware that the challenges we face are much different today than they were years ago. The circumstances we face today when meeting the needs of each of our students are not necessarily less challenging than they were years past, but the types of challenges tend to be different – and the stakes are exponentially higher. Today, planning and teaching for the health, wellness, and social-emotional learning of our students have just as much importance as it does when it comes to planning lessons for core curricula.

Today, we pay closer attention to the whole learner and embrace the idea of providing a more well-rounded curriculum, blended and personalized learning, with student-centered classrooms that include more ‘voice and choice’, while fostering a healthy, safe environment.

While teaching beyond core curriculum is common sense, it’s not always commonly followed. Sometimes this is due to extrinsic factors that are harder to control, such as teacher shortage and budget cuts. The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) seeks to provide state and local education agencies opportunities to better support the academic, developmental, and social-emotional learning aspects that best prepare our students for college and careers.

Odysseyware is excited to be able to meet these 21st-century expectations by offering a diverse set of new tools to help educators support the whole learner!

As a company that’s comprised of many current or former teachers and administrators or have families who work in K-12 schools, we’re passionate about education and providing innovative digital tools that support educators in helping all students discover their unique skills, talents, and interests to ensure success in school, college, career, and life!

Pause and think about your classroom for a minute longer. I bet you are picturing a highly diverse setting, correct?

Every student has a different journey.  And we know that education cannot take a one-size-fits all approach.

We have students that learn and progress at different speeds. We have students that need extra scaffolded support and vocabulary support tools. Each classroom includes students with different learning strengths, different challenges, different reading levels, different interests, and different career goals.

While some students may struggle in math, they may be quite accomplished in science. Some students may not be able to make a correlation between the math concept they’re learning to real-world application. What if instead, we could teach our Algebra 1 students the concept of slope through a CTE Science, Technology, Engineering, & Mathematics (STEM) course? What if we could offer our students personalized and targeted learning through stations tailored just for their needs – either getting caught up in a subject or concept or advancing them to the next level?

Supporting the whole learner has become more than just a thought or practice. It’s become a way of educating our students individually, and to understand that it is more than just academia. Ultimately that means moving beyond core subjects and ensuring we are creating a healthy, safe, engaged, supported, and challenged learning environment for our students.  The whole learner approach embraces and values our students as unique individuals – and recognizes the importance of letting them know that.

Literacy is essential for work, learning, and life. It’s how we interact and communicate with the world around us. It’s so important that in the United States we dedicate an entire month of awareness to the written word!

But reading isn’t easy for all kids – or adults for that matter. Reading is a complex cognitive process that takes place in our brains. We decode symbols and derive meaning. Our brains may do this process differently, which means we may sometimes have problems with decoding, interpreting, and comprehending these symbols. In fact, it was found that nearly 32 million adults in the United States can’t read above a fifth-grade level, and 19% of high school graduates can’t read.

Odysseyware recognizes that reading has a profound impact on people’s lives. This is why we include built-in instructional support and literacy tools to give our students the support they need when they need it – any time, any place.

TRANSLATE IT!

You don’t have to be an English Language Learner (ELL) to be able to tap into the power of having all text translated into 23 different languages! Students can have any text they wish – from a single word to a full-page – translated for them.

Fun March is Reading Month Activity: Challenge students to choose a word each day from a lesson to translate into a language they’d like to learn.

UNDERSTAND IT!

It doesn’t matter what grade a student is in, they often come across words that fly over their heads. Let’s face it – we experience the same as adults! It’s part of learning and life! However, not understanding words can change the context of what we’re reading. We also sometimes try to insert or substitute words that we think are correct, when they’re really not. (When I was teaching, one of the Words of the Day was malaprop. Wow, did my kids come up with some doozies! It was kind of like Mad Libs.)

Because it’s common for us to come across words we don’t understand, another valuable literacy tool available to students is the “Vocabulary/Reference” button in Odysseyware. This allows students to get point of use access to definitions, correct pronunciation, and even background information on any words or phrases.

Fun March is Reading Month Activity: Have students pick a word or phrase they’re struggling to understand or pronounce and look it up using the ‘Reference’ tool. Then have students create a “Note” in the side margin using the word or phrase in a different sentence. (Or have fun exploring malaprop!)

HEAR IT!

In addition to a lesson’s key vocabulary being read aloud, students can also choose any words from a lesson, unit, quiz, or test, to be read to them through text-to-speech audio support. We take it a step further by allowing students to choose the voice type (male, female, dialect or not) of the narrator! (I think we all have certain voice pitches that just don’t sit well with our middle ear.) While the text is being read out loud, students are able to follow along with automated highlighting and tracking of words.

Fun March is Reading Month Activity: Have students pick a word to be read aloud to them via the literacy tools. Students will listen to this same word using a couple of different narrators. Have students make a “Note” (see below) about what sound (pitch) they most enjoyed and which one they did not. Ask them to hypothesize why. Assign one or both of the lessons titled “Sound” (from Science 700, Unit ‘Energy & Motion’) or “Ear Training #3: Pitch” (from Music Theory, ‘Unit 2: Notion & Pitch’) to further explore why we hear sounds differently. Don’t forget that you can create your own lesson from scratch if you want to take this to an Epic Level!

DISCUSS IT!

Now to the feature I’ve been hinting at: The Note tool. Students have the ability to take notes within the context of the lesson. These notes can be color-coded (teaching them great organization skills) which promotes informal writing and annotating text. Another amazing feature of ‘Notes’ is that all the notes a student, or teacher, has created can be printed and used as a study guide, or turned in to the teacher as an extra part of an assignment.

Fun March is Reading Month Activity: After students have made a few notes using any of the activities above, have them print them and do a round-table discussion with other peers about what they found interesting or something new they learned. After all, we know that when we teach someone else something, we remember it best!

First and foremost, you are not alone in facing the changes with the new Federal ESSA graduation requirements. To date, nearly all states have submitted their plans on how they intend to hold districts and schools accountable for ESSA compliance. Districts and schools across the nation are having to evaluate whether their school is adhering to the new graduation requirements by:

• asking the tough questions about whether they are in compliance with their state’s requirements around graduation rates,
• building strategies to address requirements and convey school data to stakeholders,
• and, creating and executing a plan of action to be in compliance.

ESSA is multi-faceted in regard to the different bylaws that make it up. However, with the submission of state plans for approval, many states (more than 30) have taken a clear interest in topics of Chronic Absenteeism and College-and Career Readiness – which includes graduation requirements.

Let’s get down to it and ask some of the most common, tough questions as they pertain to making sure districts adhere to new ESSA requirements for graduation.

If yes, great! That must mean you’ve evaluated the expectations required of your high school students in order for them to graduate – and determined that your district’s/school’s plans are in compliance with new federal ESSA graduation requirements! See where your state ranks on the U.S. Graduation Rate list.

If no, you’re not alone in trying to sift through the bylaws of ESSA graduation requirements. The biggest takeaway is that each state must establish a long-term goal for all students and each subgroup of students for improved high school graduation rates including the four-year adjusted cohort graduation rate and at the state’s discretion, the extended-year adjusted cohort graduation rate.

Build a Strategy & Execute: What is your 2018/19 school year goal? 

What does this mean for schools? The first thing to do is get yourself familiar with your state’s plans for meeting ESSA requirements. Visit your state’s education website and view the plan that was submitted to the Department of Education. For example, Louisiana has submitted a goal of reaching a graduation rate of 90% by 2025 for all students and student subgroups. Connecticut has set forth a goal of 94% of students will graduate high school in four-years by 2029/30.

• What is your state’s graduation goal?
• What goals and timelines did they define on their ESSA plan?
• Do the goals and timelines for your state’s ESSA plan create a need for adjustment in your 2018/19 plan for your school or district?

If yes, you are amongst other states that offer more than one ‘track’ for high school students to attain a diploma. In 2015, Achieve found 95 different graduation optionsacross the nation and evaluated how each expected students to take courses that best prepared them for life after high school.

If no, you are one of the many states that only offer a single pathway a high school student can take towards a diploma. However, it’s still an opportunity to evaluate how your school and district is best preparing students for college, career, and job opportunities of the future.

Build a Strategy & Execute: What is your 2018/19 school year goal?

The tough question that needs to be asked is how do each of these tracks provide a rigorous pathway that best prepares students for college and career? Ask yourself:

• What diploma options does your state offer? Are college and career ready (CCR) courses in English language arts (ELA)/literacy and math mandatory in your state? If so, what does that mean for the course offerings you provide students? How will you make this information transparent to stakeholders at your district?
• Does one diploma option tend to cater to a sub-population of students? What data do you have that supports your answer? How is this data made transparent to stakeholders?
• Are you preparing students with ACT and SAT prep options? Do you offer CTE and Advanced Placement options to support students that are college and career ready (CCR)?

If yes, you’re finding that your school may have a higher percentage of one or more subgroups on a specific graduation track.

If no, this could potentially mean a couple of different things: 1.) your school doesn’t offer different graduation ‘tracks,’ 2.) your school population as a whole may not have a high diversity of subgroups, or 3.) you have an equal distribution of subgroups on different graduation pathways (which is great).

Build a Strategy & Execute: What is your 2018/19 school year goal?

Despite the fact that the national high school graduation rate has increased over the past five-years (now up to 84%), graduation rates within student population groups are still inconsistent. In the 2014/15 school year, it was found that White students (88%) had a thirteen-point lead in the national ACGR over Black students (75%). Subgroups of students are additionally still displaying gaps in graduation rates. Of the 84% national graduation rate, the graduation rate for English-learners is sitting at roughly 67%.

Additionally, attrition rates, obviously, play a huge role in determining on-time, graduation rates. The Intercultural Development Research Association (Johnson, 2017) found in a Texas Public School Attrition Study that schools are still losing 1 in 3 Hispanic students and 1 in 4 Black students to dropping out of high school. Child Trends® found that Black and Hispanic youth are more likely than Whites or Asians to have dropped out of high school.

Closing the graduation rate gaps amongst subgroups is a challenge for many schools. Ask yourself:

• How will your school aim to increase graduation rates amongst different population groups?
• Could providing students different instructional models or alternative classroom settings lend to your school closing subgroup gaps within graduation rates?
• Could providing students with different instructional models contribute to reducing attrition rates?

GET IN TOUCH!

Engage with one of Odysseyware’s experts today, on addressing graduation rates in your state. Odysseyware can help you establish instructional plans that benefit students, teachers, and administrators and make sure you’re on the right path for executing your required graduation goals.

JOIN US!

Want to learn more? Register today for one of our upcoming webinars on this topic.

Wed, Apr 3
How to Support Your State’s Unique ESSA Graduation Requirements Using Odysseyware
1:00 PM – 1:30 PM EST

Let’s face it; the mere mention of summer school can send some students – and some teachers – running down the hall to escape!

As a former teacher who taught summer school (and summer camp) every summer, I understand the conflicting feeling of knowing the importance of Summer School and the positive effects for everyone involved, yet simultaneously feeling a little overwhelmed thinking about the resources that go along with planning and implementation. I also know my principal always had a hard time finding teachers who had the availability to take on the full-time commitment. Finding and leveraging resources to put together a great summer school program can be daunting.

But what if I could help you rethink your summer school plan?

What if instead of spending time and extra money researching, or creating group or personalized curriculum for students, you could leverage Odysseyware through different strategies that are both beneficial and cost-effective?

Let’s talk about five Odysseyware solutions to knock out summer school barriers.

1. Barrier: Identifying remediation for each student.

Solution: SPARK

Take out the guessing game of what skills and concepts to provide for each student who is needing to get back on track. No need to spend hours digging through previous data and interviewing each student’s previous teacher(s). SPARK is a rich set of assessment tools and instructional materials for K-8 math and English Language Arts. By leveraging Odysseyware, we can help you pinpoint skill and content gaps and provide a personalized learning path for each kid. On top of that, the built-in scaffolded instructional supports in every lesson provide students immediate feedback and guidance when they need it.

2. Barrier: Identifying resources to accelerate learning.

Solution: Enrichment opportunities.

Some students take advantage of Summer School because they’re looking for something that will help propel them to the next level – including getting access to courses that may not be typically offered during the ‘normal’ school year. By leveraging Odysseyware, you can meet the individual wants of each student looking for something more. Students have access to over 300 courses, including AP® courses, a variety of elective courses, and over 80 CTE courses aligned to all 16 national career clusters. A license of odysseyware gives you access to the entire library of courses making this an easy option.

3. Barrier: The ‘typical’ summer school schedule.

Solution: Student agency and anytime, any place learning.

Teachers and students alike often times have crazy summer schedules. The power of providing Odysseyware as a Summer School solution is that you are creating an environment of student agency over the pace and place in which your kids learn. This offers ultimate flexibility and buy-in for students and parents (who may be struggling with figuring out how to drive them to school). Students can complete their work at their own pace and virtually on any device, anywhere – as long as they have internet.

4. Barrier: Identifying the concepts needed for credit recovery.

Solution: Credit recovery mode (CRx).

Odysseyware’s Credit Recovery Mode (CRx) is exceptionally powerful when it comes to determining what concepts students have already mastered, versus those they need to complete for credit recovery. Students are assigned a pre-test at the start of every unit, and if they demonstrate competency on certain concepts and skills, then those lessons are skipped. No more boredom of going through repeat skills your students already know. Instead, Odysseyware keeps them engaged with the content they really need to work on – giving them more time to master those challenging skills and concepts. Additionally, teachers can opt to use Flex CRx Mode that can further personalize each student’s learning path. This is the ultimate tool for efficiency!

5. Barrier: Finding highly qualified staff.

Solution: Odysseyware Academic Services.

Sometimes the best thing for districts is simply to offer a turnkey solution for their Summer School programs. Odysseyware Academic Services acts as your partner and can become an extension of your district team by providing staff and certified teachers. Our teachers work virtually with district students over the summer, offering opportunities for students to catch up, attain missing foundational skills, and get ahead–-without the challenges of running a full brick-and-mortar program.

How are District Partnership Program Works:

1. Academic Services support staff enrolls students, monitors their progress, and communicates with a designated school official.
2. Certified teachers provide feedback to students, hold office hours, and are available via an academic hotline.
3. Communications between the student and certified teacher are available in real-time, as well as student progress and attendance, through our Student Information System.
4. Upon completion of the course, the school can award the credits or request official transcripts from Odysseyware Academy.

Want to learn more about Solution #5?

Odysseyware webinars are free and designed to be 30 minutes or less to fit into your schedule. Can’t make either of the following times? No worries! Registrants will receive an email after the event with a link to a recorded session.

Wed, Apr 4
How to Rethink Summer School Within Your District
4:00 PM – 4:30 PM EST

Wed, Apr 11
How to Rethink Summer School Within Your District
1:00 PM – 1:30 PM EST

Get in Touch!

Engage with one of Odysseyware’s experts today to discuss how we can be a partner for your Summer School program. Odysseyware can help you establish targeted, cost-effective instructional plans that support students, teachers, and administrators.  Let’s work together to make sure you’re on the right path for executing your Summer School goals.

A staggering 7 million students across the nation miss so much school that they are considered academically at risk.

No matter what grade you are affiliated with – and whether you’re a teacher, administrator, or superintendent – chronic absenteeism affects you.

Much like graduation (and dropout) rates, chronic absenteeism is not confined to a single state or geographic region. And while subgroups of students are disproportionality affected, chronic absenteeism is not confined to one population of students either.

This is a topic that affects people across the spectrum: from student to state.

What is Chronic Absenteeism?

The word “chronic absence” was coined in 2008 by Hedy Chang, who published research on whether or not missing school in early grades correlated to low reading proficiency by the end of third grade. Hedy needed a way to distinguish between truancy and when a child missed too much school regardless of it being excused or not.

          The Avoidable and Unavoidable: Truancy vs Chronic Absenteeism

When a student skips school, or misses school without permission (unexcused), they are considered truant. Truancy is often times associated with behavioral issues on the student’s part because these are absences that are not excused. (States vary in their definition and consequences, so make sure to check your school’s handbook of policy and procedures to determine what these are for your school.)

However, there can be numerous reasons why students may be absent from school with excused reasons. In fact, some of the most common excused reasons for a student being absent from school can include:

• Chronic illness such as asthma
• Extended/severe illness
• Hospitalization
• Medical appointments that can only be scheduled during school hours
• Mental health issues
• Religious holiday observances
• Family emergencies (including death in the family)
• Natural disasters
• Homelessness
• Foster care situations
• Pregnancy
• Suspension
• And so many more!

According to Attendance Works, “Chronic absence refers to students who are repeatedly absent during the school year.” Repeatedly, in this case, is defined as students missing 10 percent or more of school days for any reason; both excused and unexcused absences. This is equivalent to 18 days out of a 180-day school year (or 2 days per month).

          How was Chronic Absenteeism Overlooked for So Long?

Schools have [always] taken roll (attendance) at the start of class; even in the time of one-room schoolhouses. Schools and districts have taken this daily attendance as information to determine their Average Daily Attendance (ATD). The problem is that schools often assume that if they have over a 90% ADA they must be doing a pretty good job at keeping kids in school. However, what is being overlooked is the interpretation of the data and not identifying if there are patterns to the same students missing school repeatedly. Edweek.org posed the example: “Even if a school of 200 students with 95 percent average daily attendance, 30 percent (or 60) of the students could be missing nearly a month of school (i.e. chronically absent) over the course of a school year.”

What Repercussions does Chronic Absenteeism Pose for Students?

Chronic absenteeism is a critical early indicator of poor student performance. All educators are fully aware that when kids miss school they are missing out on learning opportunities. And when they miss out on a lot of these learning opportunities – especially in the foundational and basic skills taught in elementary school – students are ultimately at increased risk of falling behind and dropping out of school.

Nationwide, nearly 10 percent of kindergartners and 1st graders are chronically absent. A recent study in California found that 17 percent of students who were chronically absent in 1st grade were proficient readers by the end of 3rd grade. This is compared to the 64 percent who were not chronically absent.

Children living in poverty tending to be at higher risk of being chronically absent.  These students are four times more likely to be chronically absent than their peers who are not living in poverty.

What Repercussions does Chronic Absenteeism Pose for Schools?

First and foremost, the federal Every Student Succeeds Act requires states and districts to report their chronic absenteeism data publicly. This is an important legal obligation that districts are held accountable for, and further allows districts to analyze causes and implement possible approaches to address and combat chronic absence.

When students chronically miss school, not only does it hurt the student, but it also disrupts and affects classrooms, schools, and districts. And districts across the nation are fighting back against chronic absenteeism. As Charlene Russell-Tucker, chief operating officer for the Connecticut Department of Education put it, “You can’t close the opportunity and achievement gap without students being in schools.”

Connecticut has become a prime example of leading this fight. In addition to adding chronic absenteeism data to their ESSA plans, the state is going above and beyond the law by getting creative, working collaboratively (including through community outreach), training staff on recognizing chronic absenteeism, and thinking about possible solutions to reduce it. This multi-pronged approach has been connected to the state seeing a drop from 11.5 percent rate of chronic absenteeism in 2012/13 to 9.6 percent rate in 2015/16.

ESSA Compliance: The Fifth Indicator

The federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) requires states to include five indicators for school performance in their State Education Policy (SEP).  The first set of these plans was submitted to the Department of Education in the Fall of 2017. Four indicators focus on school academic achievement, and the fifth indicator requires states to indicate a “non-academic” measure to calculate school quality and success. With the plans now defined by the states, schools and districts rely on their State Education Policy to specify how key topics are defined (including chronic absence) and how these policies will be carried out – and how states will hold schools accountable.

For many states, measuring chronic absence was an easy one to include because schools were already measuring attendance. Tracking, measuring, and reporting chronic absence is also objective. Students are either in class or they’re not. Because of the objectivity of using chronic absence as a measure, it’s a popular choice for states to use as their fifth indicator. Under their SEP, each state decides how to define and address both truancy and attendance. States also decide whether or not attendance is used to allocate funding.

How is your state handling chronic absenteeism? Because every state is handling chronic absence differently, make sure to check out your state goals and school handbook for absence requirements and repercussions.

Could Online Learning be a Solution for Your School?

In addition to finding ways schools, parents, and community partners can work together to overcome chronic absence, many schools are betting on ‘going digital.’

Schools are finding that the flexibility, customization, and personalization of online learning with Odysseyware can help students who may be having a hard time staying in class.  For example, when schools encounter an unforeseen natural disaster with a large gap in instructional time from a hurricane or flooding, students can often continue their learning from home.   It can also help students stay on track when they are coping with a social or emotional situation that prevents them from going to class.  Odysseyware can help schools manage a large variety of issues such as illnesses, family emergencies, living situations, pregnancy, behavior issues, and so much more!

Conclusion

Chronic absenteeism affects all states, districts, and even schools. When students aren’t able to continue learning, it affects us all. As districts start thinking creatively about how they plan to combat the issue, schools are looking at digital solutions as a possible resource. Online Learning is a proven solution that provides flexibility, customization, and personalization. Schools can leverage online learning to better support students who are missing too much school and may even be on the verge of dropping out.

Get in Touch!

Engage with one of Odysseyware’s experts today, on addressing chronic absenteeism in your district through the use of online learning. Odysseyware can help you establish instructional plans that benefit students, teachers, and administrators and make sure you’re on the right path for executing your chronic absenteeism goals.

Ensuring high school completion is not just a school or regional priority.  It’s a national priority.

Although the overall high school completion rates have increased over the past century, schools still face the challenge of how to prevent students from deciding to leave. The most challenging aspect when determining prevention strategies is the fact that there is not a singular precedent for determining what that ‘red flag,’ deciding factor is. This is largely due to many factors that determine why a student may elect to not complete school.

While the number of low-grad-rate high schools has declined considerably over the past decade, the number is still high in some states. With the new Federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) graduation requirements going into effect, many districts are faced with asking themselves the tough questions surrounding accountability for ESSA compliance. This, of course, includes increasing graduation rates and decreasing dropout rates.

Understanding Dropout Factors

As educators, we know that many internal and external factors affect our student’s decision-making on a daily basis.

Two groups of authors (Jordan, et al. and Watt and Roessingh, 1994) created a framework to explain reasons that could lead to a student’s decision. They found that dropout factors can be categorized as being a ‘push,’ ‘pull,’ or ‘falling out.’

1. Push factors are defined as situations that push a student out of school. They are circumstances that result in consequences within the school environment. These could be discipline and behavioral issues, attendance problems, and assessments.
2. Pull factors are defined as internal situations or struggles that pull a student away from school.  They are circumstances such as family needs (including military-related relocation), demands, or changes, after-school employment and financial distress, pregnancy, illness, and even marriage.
3. The third factor of ‘falling out’ of school was proposed by Watt and Roessingh (1994).    Falling out “occurs when a student does not show significant academic progress in schoolwork and becomes apathetic or even disillusioned with school completion.” With these circumstances, a lack of connection with school arises, and students simply don’t like school.

Preventing Dropout through Online Learning

As discussed, many different factors offer reasons for a student to choose to drop out of school. And because of that, there is no one-size-fits-all solution to preventing dropout. However, what if we could provide opportunities and solutions that increase our chances of retaining students in school? What if we could negate some of the ‘push’ and ‘pull’ factors? Could we stop just one more student from making the life-changing decision to leave school?

We can through the use of online learning.

Three aspects of online learning that address the needs of individual students and prepare students for graduation are flexibility, customization, and personalization.

Flexibility

Sometimes our students are faced with obligations (such as work, illness, sports, pregnancy, etc.) that ‘pull’ them away from a traditional school setting.

Online learning provides:

• anywhere, anytime learning.
• learning that fits into various schedules.
• student opportunities for in-house suspension, recovery from illness, credit recovery, summer school, and afterschool.
• the ability for students to move at their own pace.
• part-time or full-time learning solutions.
• students with a reason not to drop out!

Customization

With an online learning solution, teachers can differentiate the learning experience for each student, meeting the needs of all. Teachers and administrators can:

• Customize instructional sequence to align with state, district, or school scope and sequence.
• Individualize units, lessons, and projects.
• Create a custom course, including adding your own teacher-created or district-created lessons, projects, assessments, and quizzes.
• Customize prescriptive learning paths for each student.

Personalization

Our classrooms are diverse, filled with students at varying levels of competency and mastery of skills. By providing students with personalized learning opportunities, we increase their level of success. A few highlights of how to personalize instruction are:

• Provide prescriptive learning paths based on diagnostic assessments.
• Provide rich and meaningful support tools for ELL students.
• Leverage standard-based reporting to make meaningful data-driven decisions for each student.
• Provide scaffolded, embedded instructional support at point-of-use for each student.
• Tailor lessons, projects, and units to match their interests

Conclusion

Students drop out or fall behind in school for a variety of reasons. Online Learning is a proven solution to increase graduation rates, and provide flexibility, customization, and personalization. Schools can leverage online learning to better support students who may be on the verge of dropping out and retain our students until the day they graduate from high school.

Get in Touch!

Engage with one of Odysseyware’s experts today, on addressing decreasing dropout rates in your district through the use of online learning. Odysseyware can help you establish instructional plans that benefit students, teachers, and administrators and make sure you’re on the right path for executing your required graduation goals.

This article is Part 1 of our ESSA: Evidence of Effectiveness series. Part 2 (Understanding the different tiers of Evidence of Effectiveness) is coming soon.

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I know what you could be thinking: tomato/tamato, right?

For so long we, as educators, have used the words evidence and research somewhat interchangeably. Sure, we know there’s a difference. But often when we reviewed curriculum in our classrooms, set-up pilots, and ultimately decided on an instructional purchase, we sought out ‘research-based’ options to guide our choices and decisions – and assumed strong research-based curriculum meant strong evidence of effectiveness.

But does it?

Do research-based programs still have a place in our classrooms? Do they still have merit? And, more importantly, do they still hold a stake in the accountability measures under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and meet the requirements for Evidence of Effectiveness?

Let’s take it from the top.

HOW DID WE GET TO ‘EVIDENCE-BASED’ IN THE FIRST PLACE?

Under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), schools were told to implement programs that were grounded in research. When the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) came along, policymakers told schools to make sure that the intervention programs they implemented were grounded in “scientifically-based research.” Now, with NCLB being replaced by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), ‘scientifically-based research’ is being replaced by the need to implement ‘evidence-based interventions.’

DEFINING RESEARCH-BASED VS. EVIDENCE-BASED

Now you’re probably thinking, ‘Wow, that’s a lot of subtle shifts in a short period.’ And secondly, you might be thinking, ‘Why the shift to evidence-based? Are they so different?’

Today, there are clear delineations between the words research-based and evidence-based in education. These simple, hyphenated words become even more weighty (both figuratively and literally) when schools are required to demonstrate Evidence of Effectiveness of their instructional programs. To best set the stage for understanding these distinctions, I’d like to introduce you to John.

          The Analogy

Let’s imagine a student, John, who struggles with finding restaurants that he and his family can go to that cater to his specific nutritional needs and allergies. His parents are planning a big family reunion but are torn on where to have it. They thought about having it at the house due to John’s food restrictions, but don’t have the room to entertain everyone. A restaurant or catering venue is the best option. John decides to help his family out by doing research. He visits Yelp!® to find restaurants in his local area that are of high-quality, recommended by others, and are assumed will cater to his special needs. John sees a lot of great recommendations for restaurants that he knows his family will love, but whether or not they could actually cater to his needs is up for debate. Despite the great research, there’s no evidence stating they can meet John’s needs.

Just like John, schools face similar challenges when evaluating instructional programs.

          Research-Based

When we get to the bottom of it, research-based curriculum can still hold some merit. In fact, proven-effective research-based programs give us a starting point to evaluate whether a program is of sound practice and grounded in research or not. Does it have merit? Is it a high-quality program? How do I know it’s worthy to put in front of my kids’ day-in and day-out?

NCLB referred to programs of merit to be “based on scientifically-based research.” The problem with this vague phrase is that it left too much to be open to interpretation. It allowed for the subjectivity that a lot of different programs could argue that they were “based on research.” In contrast, ESSA lays out four standards and makes the use of one of the top three of four levels of evidence as a requirement for specific funded activities.   In a nutshell, ESSA now requires demonstration that the program actually works in practice in a similar environment, and that schools continue to demonstrate evidence each year that it is working based on a defined study in order to receive continued funding for implementing it.

Drawing on our analogy, research-based information would be when John received good feedback and supportive arguments, which would be similar to testimonials and case studies that schools relied on for making purchasing decisions.

          Evidence-Based

ESSA seeks to hold programs to higher standards through the use of its four tier-levels of effectiveness. ESSA requires programs to have undergone testing and systemic evaluation, demonstrating significantly higher levels of program effectiveness than was a standard practice of the past.

School leaders can no longer rely on using research-based programs that have been highly recommended, despite them being recognized as being high-quality. The shift – from research-based to evidence-based – was designed to increase the successful impact programs had on students and increase the return on educational investment for schools – at the local level. It’s requiring and focusing on the need that programs being implemented are proven to be effective. Once the needs have been identified, SEAs, LEAs, schools, and other stakeholders will determine the interventions that best serve their needs, implementing rigorous and relevant evidence of effectiveness at the local level.

Circling back to the analogy, John can do all the research he wants on restaurants (and find some promising ones too!), but how does he know that a particular restaurant meets his dietary needs without evidence? In evidence-based, John would actually have to go to each of the restaurants several times to test the menus. He would need to learn which dishes would be safe, and then using actual evidence gathered through personal experience, he could safely pick the venue. Likewise, once we use reviews to choose to pilot a product, we need evidence that it works in our classrooms.

Schools have special needs too. Therefore, seeking evidence that a program can meet needs based on similar demographics, structure, etc., is a step closer to improving the outcomes for students. Some programs may be cost-effective, and appear strong in abstract terms, but may make little sense for implementation in a particular district or school.

          ESSA: Evidence of Effectiveness

ESSA defines strong, moderate, and promising evidence of effectiveness. A fourth category is also listed, indicating programs lacking evidence of effectiveness, though they may be under evaluation currently. Strong, moderate, and promising categories are defined as follows (in brief):

1. Tier 1 = Strong: At least one randomized, well-conducted study showing significant positive student outcomes.
2. Tier 2 = Moderate: At least one quasi-experimental (i.e., matched), well-conducted study showing significant positive student outcomes.
3. Tier 3 = Promising: At least one correlational, well-conducted study with controls for inputs showing significant positive student outcomes.
4. Tier 4 = Demonstrates a Rationale: Practices that have a well-defined logic model or theory of action, are supported by research and have some effort underway by an SEA, LEA, or outside research organization to determine their effectiveness.

Based on ESSA’s Evidence of Effectiveness, it is now clear that research-based programs fall under Tier 4 – the ‘lowest’ tier that demonstrates the effectiveness of programs. (We will explore these levels, and what they mean at the local level, more in-depth in a subsequent blog.)

ESSA RAISES THE BAR ON RESEARCH AND EVIDENCE

The bar has been raised and the stakes have changed in how we define (and draw a line) between evidence-based and research-based – and ultimately what we (schools and districts) are now being held accountable for. With (ESSA), we can’t use the words as interchangeably as we may have been.

For school leaders, this is important on a few different levels.

• First, and foremost, with ESSA being the law of the land, that also means that implementing programs that demonstrate strong, moderate, or promising evidence of effectiveness (Tiers 1 -3) are mandatory – and the timeline for implementing programs and demonstrating a higher level of effectiveness is just around the corner (2019).
• Second, I know that your students are always in the forefront of your mind, and your commitment to their success and your teachers’ is what probably keeps you up at night. I know you seek the best solutions with the limited funds you have, making sure that the programs you have in place demonstrates high levels of effectiveness and have a strong impact on student achievement outcomes. When it comes to funding, interventions applied under Title I, Section 1003 (School Improvement) are required to have strong, moderate, or promising evidence (Tiers 1–3) to support them. All other programs under Titles I–IV can rely on Tiers 1–4.
• Third, implementing programs that you’ve proven are of the highest tier of effectiveness (Tier 1: Strong Evidence) will additionally demonstrate a statistically significant effect on improving outcomes for students, and save the school money in the long run.
• Fourth, demonstrating adherence to ESSA’s Evidence of Effectiveness is what will get you those funds. Like I mentioned previously, ESSA states that instead of using research-based, we need to use evidence-based programs. Some ESSA programs – including some competitive grants and Title I, Section 1003 – require the use of “evidence-based” programs that meet higher levels of evidence. Hence, this is why it becomes so important for schools to start making sure that their programs hit the top requirements set forth by ESSA. It is recommended that you look through the “Non-Regulatory Guidance: Using Evidence to Strengthen Education Investments” to understand best practices and recommendations that your school is adhering to ESSA accountability.
• Fifth, implementing programs that have a strong Evidence of Effectiveness can be politically advantageous. After all, programs that have strong evidence are more defensible and can be used more fluidly within then district.

WHAT ARE THE NEXT STEPS?

First, make sure to read our upcoming article on what evidence requirements mean to local schools and exploring more in-depth the different levels of Evidence of Effectiveness. Second, I highly recommend exploring what your state’s ESSA plans are, and keep informed through your state and national administrator organizations.

GET IN TOUCH!

Engage with one of Odysseyware’s experts today on how we can help you establish instructional plans that benefit students, teachers, and administrators and make sure you’re on the right path for executing your Evidence of Effectiveness goals.

The struggle is real: Being a teenager (and pre-teen) is hard.

Think back to when you were a teenager. Do remember the battle of trying to figure out who you were (the self-discovery stage) and how you felt like no one around you could understand you (i.e., adults just don’t get it)? Then there’s the issue of the onset of acne, the invasion of the hormone body snatchers, and just being self-conscious about your body in general. Many of us were in the battle of trying to convince peers of how braces and glasses were cool. The overall awkwardness alone was enough to make you feel like you could die from embarrassing moments.

And these were just the personal struggles.

What about the struggles at school? The many different teachers, the challenges of learning new skills and concepts (especially when some subjects didn’t ‘click’ with you), the due dates, the tests (and the anxiety that came with them), and the dread and fear of failure and judgment. All of these struggles can be compounded with being picked on and bullied.

What about FOMO – or the fear of missing out? Teenagers and tweens can develop social stress if they’ve missed something due to not having their phones by them and staying connected at all times (even sleep with their phones). Or worse still, develop self-esteem problems if they are left out purposely by their peers.

And now with Generation Z being true digital natives: growing up digitally while finding themselves (self-awareness), and learning communication skills, digital citizenship, and positive decision-making skills, kids of this generation need social emotional learning more now than ever before!

SEL and the Impact on Students

Students are faced with difficult challenges and feelings more so now than ever before. And many of our students are hesitant to talk about their problems let alone knowing how to handle them.

SEL can be compounded by the challenges of technology that teens and tweens face. Technology and media consumption adds a complex layer to dealing with social emotional learning.

A recent study by University of California, Dominguez Hills, of middle school, high school, and university age students, “found that the average student studied for fewer than six minutes before switching tasks, often distracted by technology including social media or texting.”

When we talk about social emotional learning in conjunction with a well-rounded education that adheres to addressing the whole learner, we also think about critical thinking skills, problem-solving, and decision making. How is the abundance of (and dare I say addiction to) media consumption (including social media) allowing for our students to learn how to think deeply and critically? How can they develop strong reasoning and positive decision-making skills? “Most adolescent brains aren’t ready to think about the consequences of their actions, plan for the future, or manage their impulses.” Therefore, it’s reasonable to believe that some of our kids could be growing up without the skills needed to think critically because they don’t have the attention span to stay on a task long enough to develop problem-solving and critical thinking skills.

However, technology doesn’t just affect critical thinking skills and problem-solving. It also plays a major role in bullying, digital citizenship, communication skills, and more. According to stopbullying.gov, “Between 1 in 4 and 1 in 3 U.S. students say they have been bullied at school. Many fewer have been cyberbullied.”

An even more staggering and jarring statistic: “Only about 20 to 30% of students who are bullied notify adults about the bullying.”

How can we – the adults – provide a safe and healthy and productive environment for our kids to come to us and share when they feel unsafe, confused, scared, concerned, cornered, or worried? (The answer is at the bottom if you can’t wait to find out!)

This is a challenging question that many schools face.

The Struggle for Schools

In a 2015 Edweek.org random survey of 500 respondents, “compared with 2012 survey respondents, educators in 2015 had more negative perceptions of student behavior and the safety of students and staff.”

An additional complexity added to this struggle is like I mentioned, our students not knowing how to talk about their feelings or problems, or not feeling comfortable doing so.

Many students are scared to tell adults about personal or social problems for fear of being labeled a ‘snitch’ or being ‘blacklisted’ by peers if they are found ‘telling on’ them. Our digital native students are used to ‘talking’ digitally, and this is why giving them a platform to communicate their feelings, fears, and peer/social problems through a technology medium are the key to identifying problematic indicators before it becomes too late.

What if a student wanted to talk to someone but didn’t want to alert peers to them seeking help? What if we could provide a “HELP” button that alerted skilled adults who could help immediately or just schedule a chat? What if there was a system that was designed to be highly interactive and inviting for kids to tell their true thoughts and feelings?

Adults also need to be able to get instant feedback to negate any situations that need immediate attention. How can this be done with paper and pencil responses? Just like our digital natives, schools can leverage technology to get immediate feedback alerting them to potentially harmful situations with no delay. What if there was a system that had “FIREWORD” alerts that lets adults immediately know when students are writing potentially dangerous thoughts, allowing adults to quickly intervene?

Some of the most common challenges faced by schools today (middle/high school) are around the following key areas:

• Cyberbullying/bullying
• Coping strategies
• Healthy communications
• Anger management
• Digital citizenship
• Impulsive Decision-making

Teachers, parents, district and state leaders, and community members alike are increasing their demands on the shared desire for resources and support to help keep schools healthy and safe, and our students provided with a well-rounded education.

“If students were equipped with social-emotional skills to help them navigate often-challenging personal lives, students would be in a better position to learn.”

Over the past years, states across the nation have steadily increased their goals, policies, competencies, and in some cases funding, to provide a well-rounded education that includes social and emotional learning. And with the federal, Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) making SEL a priority, there’s good news for schools looking for funding to support their SEL initiatives!

SEL Supported Through the Whole Learner

While working with schools across the nation, Odysseyware has recognized the need and importance of supporting the whole learner through well-rounded curriculum and social emotional learning.

We help schools answer questions such as:

• How can we provide students a well-rounded curriculum through core courses, CTE, and advanced placement?
• How can we best support our students through a powerful and innovative solution that meets kids where they are?
• How can we provide an interactive and inviting platform that allows kids to share their true feelings and thoughts?
• How can we provide students a “Help” tool that immediately alerts adults that a student needs to talk about something, but doesn’t want to alert their peers?
• How can we alert adults immediately to potentially harmful situations or dialogue, in order for them to take immediate action?
• How can we support parents and guardians with knowing how to talk to their kids about sensitive topics?
• And to revisit the question I posed earlier: how can we – the adults – provide a safe and healthy and effective environment for our kids to come to us and share when they feel unsafe, confused, scared, concerned, cornered, or worried?

THE ANSWER IS BASE EDUCATION!

BASE Education is a research-proven online solution that helps students navigate challenging topics such as:

This revolutionary tool prevented 56 student suicides, and 81% of students opened up about difficult issues using BASE Education!

As students interact with the content and the program design, they internalize the impact of their actions and learn methods and reasons for making better choices.

BASE extends the reach of skilled professionals to avert crises and support positive direction and even offers adult courses for parents, guardians, teachers, and school support staff.

BASE was designed to be interactive and inviting, allowing kids to want to share their true thoughts and feelings. When kids want to talk to an adult, but don’t want to draw the attention of their peers, BASE has them covered by offering kids a “HELP” button that allows them to alert an adult that they need to talk immediately or schedule a chat. Additionally, adults are immediately notified of “FIREWORDS” – or written words that could signal dangerous thoughts or feelings that need immediate attention and intervention.

At a glance, BASE Education offers:

And as an SEL program, BASE Education qualifies for multiple funding sources and is aligned with ESSA.

Get in Touch!

Engage with one of Odysseyware’s experts today, on addressing the implementation of your well-rounded education and social emotion learning initiatives in your district through the use of Odysseyware’s Online Learning and BASE Education. Odysseyware can help you establish instructional plans that benefit students, teachers, and administrators and make sure you’re on the right path for executing your SEL goals.

This article is Part 2 of our ESSA: Evidence of Effectiveness series. Make sure to check out Part 1: Understanding the Difference between Research-based and Evidence-based.

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As we shift our focus from research-based to evidence-based, we raise the bar on the level of rigorous support schools need to adopt, support, and scale instructional programming across the classrooms and schools in their district or state.  First came approval of state ESSA plans, and now the next phase of identifying and implementing Evidence of Effectiveness is underway.

But what does that mean? What roles do the State Education Agency (SEA) and the Local Education Agency (LEA) play in establishing and demonstrating evidence? What’s expected of each? And, more importantly, what is at stake in terms of accountability?

Like always, let’s start at the beginning.

THE IMPACT OF EVIDENCE OF EFFECTIVENESS ON SCHOOLS

If you were an administrator and you were eye-level deep in the bylaws of NCLB, back when it was the law of the land, you probably remember the numerous times you saw the words “scientifically-based research.” In fact, this phrase shows up 110 times in the NCLB law!

In a nutshell, NCLB was narrower in focus, was less rigorous, and indicated that a program had merit if it was “based on scientifically-based research,” which left far too much open for interpretation. NCLB tried to implement a data-driven system, but it fell drastically short.  Because of this, it became exceptionally difficult for schools to define the evidence needed.

In contrast, ESSA seeks data-driven accountability too, but through the use of clearly defined Evidence of Effectiveness criteria. ESSA seeks to hold programs to higher standards by clearly outlining these four-levels of effectiveness. It calls for programs to incorporate systemic evaluation, demonstrating considerable higher levels of program effectiveness, than we have in the past.

ESSA encourages the use of strategies for evaluating Evidence of Effectiveness for programs schools use. Ultimately, ESSA effectively raises the bar on the level of rigorous support schools need to adopt, support, and scale instructional programming across the classrooms and schools in their district and state.

ESSA incentivizes states to work more closely with their schools and districts to use evidence-based programs. The goal is to attain stronger positive student outcomes and reduce spending on programs that lack research and Evidence of Effectiveness.

ESSA: EVIDENCE OF EFFECTIVENESS STANDARDS

ESSA defines strong, moderate, and promising Evidence of Effectiveness. In addition, a fourth category defines an opportunity for program implementations that use approaches that demonstrate a research-based rationale for effectiveness.  The four categories are defined as follows (in brief):

1. Tier 1 = Strong: At least one randomized, well-conducted study showing significant positive student outcomes.
2. Tier 2 = Moderate: At least one quasi-experimental (i.e., matched), well-conducted study showing significant positive student outcomes.
3. Tier 3 = Promising: At least one correlational, well-conducted study with controls for inputs showing significant positive student outcomes.
4. Tier 4 = Demonstrates a Rationale: Practices that have a well-defined logic model or theory of action, are supported by research and have some effort underway by an SEA, LEA, or outside research organization to determine their effectiveness.

Based on ESSA’s Evidence of Effectiveness, it is now clear that research-based programs fall under Tier 4 in demonstrating effectiveness.

WHAT DO EVIDENCE REQUIREMENTS MEAN FOR SEAS, LEAS, AND ADMINISTRATORS?

First, and foremost, it’s important to keep in mind that at every level of accountability – school, district, and state – the level of ‘Evidence’ being sought is that of individual student growth. Additionally, keep in mind that all references to evidence eventually filter to effectiveness of use in the classroom.

When ESSA shifted the power from federal to state levels, it essentially allowed states to create their own ESSA accountability plans based on the law. The same is true for how the Department of Education provided guidelines on evidence-based interventions and programs and allowed each State Education Agency (SEA) to interpret the guidance for their specific requirements around rigor and study design. It’s also worth noting that states are yet to announce the full role that evidence will have in their funding decisions.

Once the SEA has determined their guidance around evidence-based interventions, it is up to the Local Education Agency (or district) and the schools for executing and establishing the evidence of impact.

Under ESSA, district and school leaders are responsible for selecting effective, sustainable, scalable instructional approaches that will meet the unique needs of their students. Local evidence supplemented by evidence of comparable schools is imperative to achieving positive student outcomes.

Think of it as an inverted triangle.

The broad upper-level, the Department of Education (DOE), is responsible for making sure that states adhere to their ESSA plans. State Education Agencies make sure they maintain adherence to the plans they laid out and sent to the DOE in 2017 and hold Local Education Agencies (LEAs) accountable. These plans submitted to the DOE also included a definition of guidance to districts regarding levels of effectiveness. Schools then report their data (including that of their Evidence of Effectiveness) to the LEA. School administrators are, therefore, responsible for the data and evidence for their classrooms – and ultimately every student.

IT STARTS AT THE CLASSROOM & SCHOOL LEVEL

Take a moment and really think about your school. Think about the classrooms and each of your students.  Think of the demographics, the structure, and your teachers and support staff. Can you think of all the ways that your school could be different from another school? What kind of school would be similar to yours? How are the groups of students similar and different?

Schools vary in so many different ways.  Therefore, seeking evidence that a program can meet needs based on similar demographics, structure, etc., is a step closer to improving outcomes for students. Once the needs have been identified, SEAs, LEAs, schools, and other stakeholders will determine the interventions that best serve their needs, implementing rigorous and relevant Evidence of Effectiveness at the local level.

Implementation planning begins with classroom educators and other school stakeholders understanding their local needs and establishing plans to meet them. We use strategies and programs collectively to put an implementation plan in place and then gather the Evidence of Effectiveness in the form of data.

STRATEGIES, DATA, AND IMPLEMENTATIONS

Do you ever feel like part of your job as an administrator is to be part psychometrician? Who would have thought that there could be so much data! At present, ESSA and SEA guidelines are clear that effectiveness results must be determined by a third party that is neutral to any vendors or suppliers involved in an implementation. This means that it is up to the schools to implement and evaluate research efforts towards determining intervention or program effectiveness

Rigorous data must be gathered to identify the strategies and tools that best meet the school’s objectives. After all, how you will be able to decide whether or not a strategy or program is effective if you don’t have data to prove it? The rigor of the data collected determines the eligibility for sustaining and scaling effective solutions. What this means is, the more effective a program is proven to be in your school (Tier 1–3), the more merit it has to be upheld within the school and with stakeholders, as well as implemented throughout the district.

BUT DATA IS ONLY HALF THE EQUATION.

An effective planning process precedes and defines the data collection process. Like I mentioned, planning starts at the classroom level. First, identify what the needs are for the school, then execute a plan for implementation.

Think of your plan and execution like a formula for success:

[Implementations] = [Strategies] + [Tools/Programs]

Once you’ve put that process in place (implementation), you’ll be able to collect data and determine Evidence of Effectiveness.

WHAT ARE THE STAKES OF ACCOUNTABILITY FOR ADMINISTRATORS?

Like I mentioned in the previous blog, the bar has been raised by ESSA. In addition to being the law, there are so many reasons why it is important to put a strong plan in place on how you will meet the different levels of Evidence of Effectiveness:

• The time for Implementing programs that demonstrate strong, moderate, or promising evidence of effectiveness (Tiers 1 -3) are mandatory and is just around the corner (2019).
• The most important funding that is impacted by these provisions is the 7% Title 1, Part A, funds set aside by each state to assist the lowest-performing schools. If schools do not demonstrate that the top three tiers of evidence support the interventions (programs) they are using, then these funds cannot be made accessible to the school.
• Programs that you’ve proven to be of the highest tier of effectiveness (Tier 1: Strong Evidence) will ultimately demonstrate the most significant, positive outcomes on your students, and ultimately be considered effective, both as cost-effective and achievement-effective programs.
• Some ESSA programs – including some competitive grants and Title I, Section 1003 – require the use of “evidence-based” programs that meet higher levels of evidence. It is recommended that you look through the “Non-Regulatory Guidance: Using Evidence to Strengthen Education Investments” to understand best practices and recommendations that your school needs to adhere to for ESSA accountability in using these funds.
• Implementing programs that have been proven to be of high Evidence of Effectiveness are more defensible and hold more weight with stakeholders. Additionally, these are more scalable and sustainable within the district.

WHAT ARE THE NEXT STEPS?

First, make sure to read our previous blog about the difference between Research-based and Evidence-based research. Second, I highly recommend exploring your state’s ESSA plans and how your SEA further established outlines for how evidence would apply to local districts and the schools in their state accountability plans.

Join us for our How to Prepare for the New Evidence of Effectiveness Requirements webinar on May 2, 2018 at 1:00 PM EDT. Register today for this 30-minute webinar that explores key questions to the federal and state level requirements around Evidence and how they will affect schools in the 2018/19 school year

GET IN TOUCH!

Odysseyware is committed to partnering with educators in helping every student succeed. District and school leaders are not alone in the battle for attaining evidence. Odysseyware is your partner in establishing compelling local evidence. Engage with one of Odysseyware’s experts today on how we connect educators and strategies all working toward a common goal – student success. We can help demystify the transition to ESSA’s new Evidence of Effectiveness requirements.

The Flipped Classroom model has been a popular buzzword/concept over the past few years and its approach can have many definitions. What makes it so interesting and why are we still hearing about it? The teachers who have adopted this model are reaping the benefits and wishing they’d tried this approach sooner!

Using a Flipped Classroom approach has many benefits that not only help your students and parents/guardians but YOU as teachers, too.

Using the Flipped Classroom approach allows you to:

• give students time to digest a concept at home spending as long as they need to develop the foundational knowledge necessary to go deeper on the learning
• make homework more engaging as we can avoid the traditional paper and pencil worksheets
• provide built-in support tools so that students don’t have to scour the internet, a textbook, their backpack, or phone-a-friend to get what they need
• give parents quality time with their children rather than a night full of frustrating arguments about getting their homework done
• avoid hunting down students to turn in their homework assignments
• see what/when students have completed their homework so you know they’re on task
• escape the countless hours of entering the homework grades into the student/parent portal/grade book
• go home without a load of homework paperwork to grade so you can have a life!

In the Flipped Classroom model using ClassPace™, you’ll be able to see a dashboard view of the lesson(s) you assigned your class or classes and determine where your students struggled most so you can go deeper on the learning and increase higher-order thinking skills. You’ll be able to develop small group instruction teams based on what you’ve learned from those reports so you can cover several different concepts more efficiently and effectively with your students. This makes differentiation and personalization more easily accessible for you as an educator!

You’ll find by using ClassPace as a homework assignment, your students won’t dread their homework and they’ll be excited to go further in their learning with you at school.

Let’s discuss what a Flipped Classroom is and how ClassPace can support this implementation model.

FLIPPING THE CLASSROOM

We hear a lot about Flipped Classroom and Blended Learning, so what is the difference? Simply put, implementing a Flipped Classroom Model IS a Blended Learning approach. For this blog, I will be focusing on the Flipped Classroom model only, but it’s important to highlight that the Flipped Classroom model resides within the bigger umbrella of Blended Learning.

Just like the phrase implies, we’re doing something different in our classrooms when we implement a Flipped Classroom Model. We’re breaking away from the ‘traditional’ and ‘flipping’ our instruction around. What we would normally be teaching as direct instruction in class would be given to students to watch/review outside of our core classroom. Students can then take notes and jot down questions that this new concept provokes. What would then be considered ‘typical’ homework would be completed in class, allowing for learning through activity and teacher scaffolded support.

SOME BENEFITS OF A FLIPPED MODEL:

• Put student-centered learning in the forefront.
• Provides more opportunity for effective learning through activity.
• Minimizes homework frustration for students and parents.
• Allowing more quality time with family at home.
• Allows students to get instant feedback due to teachers having more time to work in small groups or 1:1 during core class time.
• Allows for more student collaboration and discussion with peers, therefore increasing higher-order thinking.
• Encourages student accountability, motivation, and engagement.
• Teachers can spend more time revisiting and working with students on concepts they may be having trouble understanding.

It’s worth noting that a flipped classroom is not necessarily a one-size-fits-all model. Just like our students are unique, so are our classrooms, schools, and districts – and therefore, teachers may need to ‘tweak’ their flipped classroom model. However, one thing is consistent with a flipped classroom model: moving the introduction to new content to outside core classroom time.

THE FLIPPED CLASSROOM AND BLOOM’S TAXONOMY

Think about how we typically teach in a gradual release of responsibility model, and where the different phases of the model can be applied to the different levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy.

A gradual release model starts with direct instruction. This is typically on the ‘lower end’ of the higher-order thinking spectrum. As students are ‘released’ to engage in the application, analysis, evaluation, and creation stages, they move into more complex higher-order thinking skills. This is where we want our students to be. We want them to think deeper about the content they are interacting with. These are also the stages within Bloom’s Taxonomy that we want our students to spend most of their time on. In a Flipped classroom, teachers can spend more time working with students in small groups or 1:1 which lends to opportunities for higher-order thinking activities.

Another benefit to a Flipped Classroom is allowing students to have more time to develop those higher-order thinking skills!

INTRODUCING CLASSPACE!

One of Odysseyware’s newest features is the addition of ClassPace. ClassPace is a personalized, flexible, and engaging digital tool that allows teachers to create ‘playlists’ for students to have voice and choice of assigned content. ClassPace is an instructional tool for Blended Learning implementations, including the Flipped Classroom model. ClassPace is exceptionally powerful for teachers and schools looking to offer highly flexible, differentiated, and personalized learning for their students. In ClassPace:

• Teachers create ‘classes’ of students. These classes can consist of the whole class or differentiated groups of students all working towards the same goal.
• Learning playlists offering flexibility and student agency.
• Content consisting of individual lessons and projects, rather than moving sequentially through an entire course.

CLASSPACE IN A FLIPPED MODEL CLASSROOM

Below is an example of how some teachers are leveraging ClassPace for their Flipped classroom.

Teachers first create ‘classes’ of students. These classes can consist of your whole class or differentiated groups of students.

Students spend typically 5–10 minutes outside of class viewing the new content, making notes, and jotting down questions.

Students have embedded support and literacy tools to help them while away from the teacher, making content accessible to all learners. Such supports include:

• Text to speech (including male vs female voices, and three different speeds).
• Highlighting and tracking features.
• Translation of content in 23 languages with audio support for ELL or dual language immersion program students.
• Built-in vocabulary support that includes text to speech for words and definitions.

During core class time, students work in peer collaboration groups on learning activities, or 1:1 with teachers for scaffolded support on questions.

Follow-up extends the opportunity for student evaluation through application, projects, and more.

Teachers will always know how each student is understanding concepts and making progress through the content by means of the color-coded, teacher dashboard and item analysis report.

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Ready to learn more on how Odysseyware and ClassPace can enhance your academic goals or Flipped Classroom Model initiatives? Engage with an Odysseyware expert today who can help you establish instructional plans that benefit students, teachers, and administrators and make sure you’re on the right path for executing your district’s offerings for a Flipped Classroom Model.

As we continue to dive into the ESSA discussion, we might all agree that the new federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) can be complex. There are many facets to the new[ish] federal law that allows states to dictate more of their accountability than under the previous No Child Left Behind (NCLB) law. ESSA provides states with broad discretion in establishing their own terms regarding accountability for how their schools spend federal funds.  Despite this surprising level of autonomy, ESSA does require states to establish their federal accountabilities along with similar parameters.

For example, each state must determine how they will meet the same four or more Implementation Indicators (or benchmarks by which they will be held accountable in demonstrating student achievement). The first four are generally the same for each state and the 5^th or more give more flexibility. All of the states sent their proposed federal accountability plans in for comment and approval throughout 2017 and early 2018.

Schools and districts will be held accountable for adhering to their state’s approved accountability plans that include these indicators.

Before we explore these questions, we need to take a step back and discuss what an accountability plan is to better understand how indicators play a crucial role in the daily life of administrators.

HOW DO ESSA STATE ACCOUNTABILITY PLANS & INDICATORS WORK TOGETHER?

Federal education dollars comprise anywhere from 5% to 25% of a school’s operating budget and often account for a majority of the school’s discretionary spending.  Under NCLB, schools reported directly to the Federal DOE regarding how they spent their federal dollars. ESSA shifted the responsibility of student achievement fully back into the hands of the state bringing all accountability for the spending of state and federal funding under state DOEs. States are now responsible for submitting yearly ESSA State accountability reports and updated plans that demonstrate “ambitious state-designed long-term goals … [and] annual meaningful differentiation.”

This means that ultimately, each state designs its own accountability plan for both state and federal funding and holds schools and districts accountable for the student gain achieved using both forms of funding.

As you can imagine, with states beating the drum of what they want to be held accountable for, there are a lot of variances among the plans being submitted by each state. States are determining what and how they will be holding schools and districts within their state accountable for student performance and academic growth (beyond test scores), and how they will develop turn-around plans for schools and districts that are considered low-performing.  The states then determine how funding from both federal and state coffers will be used to achieve these plans.

Allowing states to create their own plans for federal funding opens the door for a lot of diverse and subjective ideas of what student growth and performance is.

How does each state define achievement?

What does that look like to them?

How does a state like Connecticut determine student achievement compared to another state like Ohio?

Because of this transfer of discretion and accountability for federal funding back to the states, as well as the unavoidable subjectivity, ESSA has established indicators that each state-created accountability plan must include.  They must also demonstrate how each of these indicators will be ‘weighed’ in their final analysis.  While states can determine how much weight to give these accountability components, ESSA is explicit in stating that academic indicators (in contrast to non-academic indicators) must be provided a more “substantial weight” towards the total aggregated achievement scores.

WHAT ARE ESSA INDICATORS?

All ESSA state accountability plans must include a similar set of indicators that describe how they will be held accountable for student achievement. That means that there is a minimum number of indicators that every accountability plan must incorporate. This minimum includes:

1. Proficiency in reading and math;
2. Graduation rates for high schools;
3. English language proficiency;
4. Student growth or another indicator that is valid, reliable, and statewide (*For elementary and middle schools.);
5. At least one other indicator of school quality or success.

This last (or fifth) indicator is the most flexible when it comes to states defining what represents ‘school quality’ or ‘school success.’ For example, a vast amount of states have chosen to address chronic absenteeism at the elementary and secondary levels as one factor demonstrating school quality and success. Connecticut has elected to demonstrate school quality by adding a few supplementary criteria including Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), CTE, and other options for students. Contrast how Ohio has implemented ideas that are both similar and different for their fifth indicator using the table below:

As you can see, Connecticut and Ohio both have embraced the fifth ESSA indicator requirement but took a different approach to what would be measured, what they would be held accountable for, and how each aspect would be weighted.

We strongly recommend that you check out what your state is doing by visiting Achieve.org’s Accountability in State ESSA Plans breakdown.

WHAT DO ESSA INDICATORS OFFER SCHOOLS, DISTRICTS, AND STATES?

While each state is responsible for tracking, compiling, and submitting its own state ESSA accountability reports and plan updates, ESSA’s use of Key Indicators allows for consistency across states when comparing or researching student success.

Transparency & Accountability related to Indicators

Building upon the Connecticut/Ohio example, it is difficult to argue that differences in the indicators make state-to-state comparisons impossible. It’s really just an issue of doing the math.  Each state’s ESSA accountability plans demonstrate what is being measured and how much it is being weighed towards the aggregated student achievement score. States are required to share this data publicly at a level of granularity previously unavailable. This transparency reaches deeper than the district report cards and opens data at the school and grade levels. Under ESSA, state report cards demonstrate:

• An explanation of state accountability systems.
• The student achievement goal.
• Population (number) of students that make up a subgroup and how those students are included in the plan.
• How low-performing schools will be identified as needing extra support – and steps of how schools will move away from being identified as needing improvement.
• The indicators and their associated weights.
• Subgroup identification, such as foster kids, homeless kids, military kids, low-income families, special education, racial minorities, etc.
• Per-pupil expenditures.
• Post-secondary enrollment.
• Long-term English-language learners.
• Cross-tabulated test scores and participation rates.

State & Federal Alignment of Indicators

States have always set goals for what they hoped to achieve using state and local funding sources.  Under ESSA, these states now have additional power to align plans using federal funding as long as they adhere to the indicators as outlined. Most states have used this opportunity to close the gap between state and federal goals by adapting state indicators to more closely align with federal indicators. Not only does this make for much easier management of goals, but it works in favor of schools and districts (and the state) bringing all initiatives into closer alignment which, in turn, creates easier management and adherence across the board. This streamlined approach will also assist in helping all teachers, administrators, and the staff knows what is required and expected. Take a look at your state goals and how they are similar (or dissimilar) to the ESSA accountability plan indicator goals that were submitted by your state.

Budget Management easier with streamlined Indicators

The changes associated with ESSA’s funding shift to state control provide for a more efficient alignment of funding sources.  Traditionally, school funding is broken into three buckets: local (taxes, etc.), state (salaries, benefits, curriculum, etc.), and federal (flexible funding for programs, etc.). Under the newly aligned funding models most states are adopting, schools are able to utilize similar data to report on the use of all funds regardless of source.  This data is rolled up to the states and published generally through financial report cards that break the data out by location.  This transparency is not just a facet of budget management. Because of the granularity of demonstrating where the funding is being routed, it can be matched with performance against the state and federal indicators.  This subsequently circles back to the goals and benefits of greater transparency and accountability. School districts will have greater power to compare and understand spending across school buildings within the district and across their state. It will also help schools to build trust within the community and with their parents.

Districts will need to be conscious about where money is going, why, and how it is making an impact. For example, if a district were to purchase Odysseyware and/or Odysseyware professional development at the central district level, districts would identify the impact these purchases have at each school using Odysseyware.

GET IN TOUCH!

Odysseyware is committed to helping schools and districts achieve academic and performance success with their ESSA goals. Therefore, we invite you to engage with an Odysseyware expert today to learn more about our offerings and how they are helping schools and districts across the nation stay in adherence to their state plans while providing high student achievement and success!

As we continue to dive into the ESSA discussion, we might all agree that the new federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) can be complex. There are many facets to the new[ish] federal law that allows states to dictate more of their accountability than under the previous No Child Left Behind (NCLB) law. ESSA provides states with broad discretion in establishing their own terms regarding accountability for how their schools spend federal funds.  Despite this surprising level of autonomy, ESSA does require states to establish their federal accountabilities along with similar parameters.

For example, each state must determine how they will meet the same four or more Implementation Indicators (or benchmarks by which they will be held accountable in demonstrating student achievement). The first four are generally the same for each state and the 5^th or more give more flexibility. All of the states sent their proposed federal accountability plans in for comment and approval throughout 2017 and early 2018.

Schools and districts will be held accountable for adhering to their state’s approved accountability plans that include these indicators.

Before we explore these questions, we need to take a step back and discuss what an accountability plan is to better understand how indicators play a crucial role in the daily life of administrators.

HOW DO ESSA STATE ACCOUNTABILITY PLANS & INDICATORS WORK TOGETHER?

Federal education dollars comprise anywhere from 5% to 25% of a school’s operating budget and often account for a majority of the school’s discretionary spending.  Under NCLB, schools reported directly to the Federal DOE regarding how they spent their federal dollars. ESSA shifted the responsibility of student achievement fully back into the hands of the state bringing all accountability for the spending of state and federal funding under state DOEs. States are now responsible for submitting yearly ESSA State accountability reports and updated plans that demonstrate “ambitious state-designed long-term goals … [and] annual meaningful differentiation.”

This means that ultimately, each state designs its own accountability plan for both state and federal funding and holds schools and districts accountable for the student gain achieved using both forms of funding.

As you can imagine, with states beating the drum of what they want to be held accountable for, there are a lot of variances among the plans being submitted by each state. States are determining what and how they will be holding schools and districts within their state accountable for student performance and academic growth (beyond test scores), and how they will develop turn-around plans for schools and districts that are considered low-performing.  The states then determine how funding from both federal and state coffers will be used to achieve these plans.

Allowing states to create their own plans for federal funding opens the door for a lot of diverse and subjective ideas of what student growth and performance is.

How does each state define achievement?

What does that look like to them?

How does a state like Connecticut determine student achievement compared to another state like Ohio?

Because of this transfer of discretion and accountability for federal funding back to the states, as well as the unavoidable subjectivity, ESSA has established indicators that each state-created accountability plan must include.  They must also demonstrate how each of these indicators will be ‘weighed’ in their final analysis.  While states can determine how much weight to give these accountability components, ESSA is explicit in stating that academic indicators (in contrast to non-academic indicators) must be provided a more “substantial weight” towards the total aggregated achievement scores.

WHAT ARE ESSA INDICATORS?

All ESSA state accountability plans must include a similar set of indicators that describe how they will be held accountable for student achievement. That means that there is a minimum number of indicators that every accountability plan must incorporate. This minimum includes:

1. Proficiency in reading and math;
2. Graduation rates for high schools;
3. English language proficiency;
4. Student growth or another indicator that is valid, reliable, and statewide (*For elementary and middle schools.);
5. At least one other indicator of school quality or success.

This last (or fifth) indicator is the most flexible when it comes to states defining what represents ‘school quality’ or ‘school success.’ For example, a vast amount of states have chosen to address chronic absenteeism at the elementary and secondary levels as one factor demonstrating school quality and success. Connecticut has elected to demonstrate school quality by adding a few supplementary criteria including Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), CTE, and other options for students. Contrast how Ohio has implemented ideas that are both similar and different for their fifth indicator using the table below:

As you can see, Connecticut and Ohio both have embraced the fifth ESSA indicator requirement but took a different approach to what would be measured, what they would be held accountable for, and how each aspect would be weighted.

We strongly recommend that you check out what your state is doing by visiting Achieve.org’s Accountability in State ESSA Plans breakdown.

WHAT DO ESSA INDICATORS OFFER SCHOOLS, DISTRICTS, AND STATES?

While each state is responsible for tracking, compiling, and submitting its own state ESSA accountability reports and plan updates, ESSA’s use of Key Indicators allows for consistency across states when comparing or researching student success.

Transparency & Accountability related to Indicators

Building upon the Connecticut/Ohio example, it is difficult to argue that differences in the indicators make state-to-state comparisons impossible. It’s really just an issue of doing the math.  Each state’s ESSA accountability plans demonstrate what is being measured and how much it is being weighed towards the aggregated student achievement score. States are required to share this data publicly at a level of granularity previously unavailable. This transparency reaches deeper than the district report cards and opens data at the school and grade levels. Under ESSA, state report cards demonstrate:

• An explanation of state accountability systems.
• The student achievement goal.
• Population (number) of students that make up a subgroup and how those students are included in the plan.
• How low-performing schools will be identified as needing extra support – and steps of how schools will move away from being identified as needing improvement.
• The indicators and their associated weights.
• Subgroup identification, such as foster kids, homeless kids, military kids, low-income families, special education, racial minorities, etc.
• Per-pupil expenditures.
• Post-secondary enrollment.
• Long-term English-language learners.
• Cross-tabulated test scores and participation rates.

State & Federal Alignment of Indicators

States have always set goals for what they hoped to achieve using state and local funding sources.  Under ESSA, these states now have additional power to align plans using federal funding as long as they adhere to the indicators as outlined. Most states have used this opportunity to close the gap between state and federal goals by adapting state indicators to more closely align with federal indicators. Not only does this make for much easier management of goals, but it works in favor of schools and districts (and the state) bringing all initiatives into closer alignment which, in turn, creates easier management and adherence across the board. This streamlined approach will also assist in helping all teachers, administrators, and the staff knows what is required and expected. Take a look at your state goals and how they are similar (or dissimilar) to the ESSA accountability plan indicator goals that were submitted by your state.

Budget Management easier with streamlined Indicators

The changes associated with ESSA’s funding shift to state control provide for a more efficient alignment of funding sources.  Traditionally, school funding is broken into three buckets: local (taxes, etc.), state (salaries, benefits, curriculum, etc.), and federal (flexible funding for programs, etc.). Under the newly aligned funding models most states are adopting, schools are able to utilize similar data to report on the use of all funds regardless of source.  This data is rolled up to the states and published generally through financial report cards that break the data out by location.  This transparency is not just a facet of budget management. Because of the granularity of demonstrating where the funding is being routed, it can be matched with performance against the state and federal indicators.  This subsequently circles back to the goals and benefits of greater transparency and accountability. School districts will have greater power to compare and understand spending across school buildings within the district and across their state. It will also help schools to build trust within the community and with their parents.

Districts will need to be conscious about where money is going, why, and how it is making an impact. For example, if a district were to purchase Odysseyware and/or Odysseyware professional development at the central district level, districts would identify the impact these purchases have at each school using Odysseyware.

GET IN TOUCH!

Odysseyware is committed to helping schools and districts achieve academic and performance success with their ESSA goals. Therefore, we invite you to engage with an Odysseyware expert today to learn more about our offerings and how they are helping schools and districts across the nation stay in adherence to their state plans while providing high student achievement and success!