Race to the Top. Maryland Report. Year 4: School Year 2013-2014. [State-Specific Summary Report]
Author: Department of Education (ED)
Date: 2015-04-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Academic Achievement,Academic Standards,Accountability,Achievement Gap,Administrator Effectiveness,Alignment (Education),Budgets,Career Readiness,Charter Schools,College Readiness,Core Curriculum,Data,Educational Assessment,Educational Change,Educational Improvement,Elementary Secondary Education,Federal Legislation,Federal Aid,Educational Legislation,Federal Programs,Formative Evaluation,Grants,Higher Education,Language Arts,Leadership Effectiveness,Literacy,Low Achievement,Mathematics Achievement,Measurement Objectives,Models,Outcomes of Education,Partnerships in Education,Poverty,Principals,Professional Development,Program Effectiveness,Program Implementation,School Districts,School Effectiveness,School Turnaround,State Government,State Standards,STEM Education,Teacher Effectiveness,Teacher Evaluation,Student Characteristics,National Competency Tests

This State-specific summary report serves as an assessment of Maryland's Year 4 Race to the Top implementation, highlighting successes and accomplishments, identifying challenges, and providing lessons learned from the implementation process from approximately September 2013 through September 2014. During Year 4, Maryland supported educators as they fully implemented the Maryland College and Career Ready Standards in School Year (SY) 2013-2014 and field tested the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) assessments in preparation for implementation in SY 2014-2015. The State expanded its resources, including unit plans for every grade level in English language arts (ELA) and mathematics aligned to the Maryland College and Career Ready Standards, Maryland High School Assessment (HSA) hybrid/ blended courses, and resources focused on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), and disciplinary literacy for each grade band, available to educators in its joint learning management system (LMS), and curriculum management system (CMS). The State also created a new STEM certification for pre-service and existing teachers. In summer 2014, the State held College and Career Readiness Conferences for educators across the State. The State provided comprehensive professional development to all participating LEAs as they implemented new teacher and principal evaluation systems. Data collected from these sessions helped Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) assess local education agencies (LEA) confidence in implementing the evaluation process and informed subsequent professional development opportunities. Under the new evaluation systems, teachers and principals are evaluated on measures of professional practice, as well as student growth measured by State assessments and Student Learning Objectives (SLOs). Although teachers received a student growth rating based on State assessments in SY 2013-2014 this component was not included in the final rating of record. In order to expand the number of STEM educators in the State, MSDE finalized the requirements for the undergraduate elementary STEM teacher certificate and passed a new regulation for existing teachers to be endorsed as instructional leaders in STEM. While Maryland made progress implementing its Race to the Top initiatives in Year 4, the State continued to struggle with activities related to its technology and IIS projects. In its application, Maryland committed to developing a comprehensive assessment system that helps educators improve classroom instruction. Due to capacity challenges and procurement delays, the State is significantly delayed in the development of formative assessments that will provide educators with a robust item bank to assess student progress, guide instructional planning, and support the transition to PARCC assessments. Although the State has made progress in meeting the goals outlined in its Race to the Top application, additional work remains to fully realize its original vision. Maryland will administer PARCC assessments statewide in SY 2014-2015. The State will continue to provide support to LEAs as they implement their teacher and principal evaluation system, drawing support from Maryland's key education organizations and providing subgrants to LEAs to support LEAs with implementation of teacher and principal evaluation systems during a no-cost extension period of its Race to the Top grant in SY 2014-2015 (e.g., analysis of SY 2013-2014 evaluation data, refinement of local evaluation models, and professional development). In SY 2014-2015, MSDE will focus on aligning communications, streamlining teacher and principal evaluations, and developing the skills of current and future principals. The State will also continue to support new teachers through its Teacher Induction Academy and LEA onsite visits. During Year 5, MSDE will continue to support the work of LEAs across the State. [For &quot;Race to the Top. Maryland Report. Year 3: School Year 2012-2013. [State-Specific Summary Report]&quot;, see ED580333.]