Race to the Top. Massachusetts Report. Year 1: School Year 2010-2011. [State-Specific Summary Report]
Author: Department of Education (ED)
Date: 2012-01-10
Type: Numerical/Quantitative Data
Subjects: Academic Achievement,Academic Standards,Accountability,Achievement Gains,Administrator Effectiveness,Administrator Evaluation,Best Practices,Budgets,Charter Schools,Competition,Data,Data Collection,Disabilities,Educational Assessment,Educational Change,Educational Improvement,Elementary Secondary Education,English Curriculum,Enrollment,Federal Legislation,Federal State Relationship,Graduation Rate,Grants,Higher Education,Language Arts,Leadership Effectiveness,Mathematics,Measurement Objectives,Models,Outcomes of Education,Performance Based Assessment,Poverty,Principals,Professional Development,Program Evaluation,Program Implementation,Reliability,School Districts,School Effectiveness,School Turnaround,State Government,STEM Education,Systems Approach,Teacher Effectiveness

The State-specific summary report serves as an assessment of Massachusetts' Year 1 Race to the Top implementation, highlighting successes and accomplishments, identifying challenges, and providing lessons learned from implementation to date. Massachusetts' Year 1 accomplishments include: capacity building within its Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (ESE) to support the effective implementation of its Race to the Top reform projects, efforts to promote the transition to new college- and career-ready standards, development of a new educator evaluation framework, the initiation of school intervention models, and the provision of support to educators. In the process of strengthening its data systems, Massachusetts faced difficulty hiring for some positions due to the short-term nature of the work and the need for highly specialized staff. It has addressed these challenges by making use of temporary employees and vendor support. The State also faced delays in the implementation of its new grants management systems due to a slower than expected pace of development. However, the State has proceeded with implementation of the grant using its current system. Massachusetts was unable to hire a professional development coordinator until October 2011. This delay did not prevent the State from implementing priority initiatives related to ensuring high-quality professional development that aligns with the CCSS. However, the State believes that its professional development efforts will be even more successful now that the position has been filled. Massachusetts is building capacity to make its implementation approach even more effective and is working to fill its last few positions. The State plans to continue identifying innovative ways to support LEAs in their planning and implementation of Race to the Top projects, which the State has identified as a priority, given the number and diversity of participating LEAs. Across the core education reform areas, Massachusetts plans to continue to seek stakeholder and expert feedback and make adjustments based on its findings. A glossary is included. (Contains 7 footnotes.) [For the parent document, &quot;Race to the Top Annual Performance Report,&quot; see ED529267. For the full report, &quot;Race to the Top. Massachusetts. State-Reported APR: Year One,&quot; see ED529317.]