Colorado School Finance Project, Education

Commission of the State

8/31/2012

www.cosfp.org 1

Michael Griffith

Senior Finance Analyst

Education Commission of the State

� The only nationwide education interstate compact

� Founded in 1965 to enlighten, equip and engage education

policy makers

� 53 member states, territories and the District of Columbia

� Web Site: www.ecs.org

2

Education Commission of the States

Colorado School Finance Project, Education

Commission of the State

8/31/2012

www.cosfp.org 2

Overview� Current trends in education funding

� Emerging issues

� The Common Core

� Virtual schools

� Blended learning

The Great Recession

The recession officially started in December, 2007 and lasted until June, 2009 (18 months)

It was the longest recession in the post World War II era

The average length of a recession in the modern era is 11 months

Colorado School Finance Project, Education

Commission of the State

8/31/2012

www.cosfp.org 3

-18.0%

-13.0%

-8.0%

-3.0%

2.0%

200

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2nd

Qu

arte

r

3rd

Qu

arte

r

4th

Qu

arte

r

200

9 1

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3rd

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2.6%

5.4%

2.8%

-4.0%

-12.2%

-16.3%

-11.0%

-3.1%

State Tax RevenueChange by Fiscal Quarter

(Source: U.S. Census)

2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12

$282,113

$301,348

$321,551

$328,994 $329,260

$334,669

$328,000

State & Federal Spending on K-12 Education(In millions)

Source: NASBO

Colorado School Finance Project, Education

Commission of the State

8/31/2012

www.cosfp.org 4

2005-062006-07

2007-082008-09

2009-102010-11

$236,769

$256,025

$276,150$272,557

$258,582 $261,708

State Spendingon K-12 Education

(In millions)

$20,000

$30,000

$40,000

$50,000

$60,000

$70,000

$80,000

$45,344 $45,323 $45,401

$56,437

$70,678$72,961

$55,000

$45,500

Federal Funding For K-12 Education

(In millions)

Colorado School Finance Project, Education

Commission of the State

8/31/2012

www.cosfp.org 5

2.6%

5.4%

2.8%

-4.0%

-12.2%

-16.3%

-11.0%

-3.1%

3.3%

1.9%

4.6%

6.9%

9.5%

10.9%

5.5%

3.5%

5.3%

State RevenueChange by Fiscal Quarter

Source: U.S. Census

Things are getting better, but …

� Some states still have budgetary issues (California)

� Student populations continued to grow while budgets shrank

� Health and pension costs are increasing

� Local tax revenues have yet to stabilize

Colorado School Finance Project, Education

Commission of the State

8/31/2012

www.cosfp.org 6

-4.0%

-2.0%

0.0%

2.0%

4.0%

6.0%

8.0%

10.0%

12.0%

14.0%

Local RevenueChange by Fiscal Quarter

School Funding Comparisons

� How does Colorado’s school funding system compare:

� Structure of the funding formula

� High-cost student populations

� Special education

� At-risk

� Gifted and talented

� Full-day Kindergarten and early learning

Colorado School Finance Project, Education

Commission of the State

8/31/2012

www.cosfp.org 7

Upcoming School Funding Issues

� Virtual learning

� Performance pay

� Changing demographics/declining populations

Common Core State StandardsA National Picture

46 states + DC have adopted the standards •*Note: MN adopted ELA only

Non-adopting states: TX, VA, NE, AK*Note: Anchorage, AK - only district to independently adopt standards

Colorado School Finance Project, Education

Commission of the State

8/31/2012

www.cosfp.org 8

Support/Criticism of CCSS� Commonly cited reasons for adopting the Common Core:

• Consistency across states

• Increased rigor

• A common measure for college readiness

• Informed by top-performing countries

� Commonly cited reasons for not adopting the Common Core:

• Perceived as federal overreach

• Perceived loss of local control

• State standards are superior

• Costs

Costs Associated with Implementation

� Instructional materials

� Ongoing [effective] professional development

� Remedial services

� Infrastructure costs for online assessments

� Alignment with early learning and higher ed

� Revising teacher prep programs

Colorado School Finance Project, Education

Commission of the State

8/31/2012

www.cosfp.org 9

Assessment Consortia� SMARTER Balanced – 21 governing/4 participatory states

� PARCC – 19 governing (incl. CO)/4 participatory states

� Utah is the only state that is not a member of either consortia

� Three states are a member of both consortia

� S.B. 172 directed Colorado to become a PARCC governing state , Colorado will now have: � The opportunity to participate in making major policy and operational

decisions

� A voice in the design of the assessment system, the procurement strategy, and the common achievement levels for the assessments

CCSS Implementation Timeline

2012-2013 2013-2014 2014-2015

•Align instructional materials

•Professional development for administrators/educators

•Pilot assessment items from consortia

•Ensure schools are technologically prepared for assessments

•Create reporting systems

•Adopt aligned instructional materials

•Field test assessment items

•Test capabilities of technological infrastructure within schools

•Ongoing professional development for administrators/educators

Full implementation of standards and

assessment!

Colorado School Finance Project, Education

Commission of the State

8/31/2012

www.cosfp.org 10

Colorado Timeline Highlights (CDE)

� Colorado’s Model Curriculum Development Project:

May-July 2012

Curriculum Framework and Process Guides

Aug 2012-May 2013

Curriculum blueprint

June 2013

Final Instructional Units

2012-2013

Schools/Districts expected to

transition to new standards

2013-2014

Full implementation of

standards

2014-2015

Full implementation of PARCC assessment

Virtual Schools� What are virtual schools? They are schools that provide

100% of their education on-line

� Enrollment� 2008-09: 200,000� 2012-13 (est.): 400,000 (just under 1% of all students)

� There is a movement away from state run virtual schools towards schools run by private providers

� K-12, Inc., and Connections Academy together enrolled nearly half of all full-time online students

Colorado School Finance Project, Education

Commission of the State

8/31/2012

www.cosfp.org 11

Blended Learning

� What is it? A program that combines some face to-face courses and some online courses.

� One of the fastest grow areas of K-12

� States are beginning to require that blended learning programs be made available to all students� In 2011 Florida mandate that all students have the option for

blended learning

� Idaho now requires that all students take at least two virtual courses prior to graduation

Blended LearningChallenges to Implementation

� Bandwidth and hardware capacity, especially in rural and urban areas

� Funding systems that take into account the unique structure of blended programs

� AccountabilityNeed for digital formative and summative assessments that provide some measure of course quality and teacher effectiveness through “student learning data.” Need for mechanisms that “hold schools and providers accountable to achievement and growth.”

� Teacher preparation and professional developmentThe Digital Learning Council (DLC) points to the need for states to offer “alternative certification routes, including online instruction and performance-based certification … reciprocity for online instructors certified by another state … [and] the opportunity for multi-location instruction.”