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About Appeal tribune. (Silverton, Or.) 1999-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 28, 2020)
SILVERTONAPPEAL.COM | WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2020 | 3B Data gap doesn’t worry school districts Jordyn Brown Register-Guard USA TODAY NETWORK In contrast to previous years, the at- a-glance school and district report cards released last week by the Oregon Department of Education are slim on in- formation. When COVID-19 prompted schools to shut down in March, Oregon students also skipped a year of standardized test- ing. The testing results, usually the bulk of the information released annually in the report cards, provide a consistent way of tracking student groups’ pro- gress toward proficiency and other key indicators such as attendance. But this year’s report cards still have valuable data, including 2018-2019 graduation rates (which were reported in January) and teacher experience. Local district leaders say they’re not concerned with the gap in testing data and still are tracking student progress in their own ways as students are distance learning this school year. And with tests required again this year, ODE is starting to make plans for how to do testing with safety precautions in mind. Districts track progress in other ways The largest portion of data that’s missing this year is the proficiency lev- els and progress of individual student groups, such as homeless students, stu- dents with disabilities and low-income students. It also groups students who are Black, Native American, white and so on. The purpose of tracking proficiency and progress is to show which student groups are being served well and which groups need additional resources or care to ensure they’re getting an equita- ble education. The state testing data helps parents, individual schools and districts get a feel year-to-year how student groups are progressing. Because it’s a snapshot in time during the year, it’s not always the most representative measure for districts as it is for the state. One year gone is not considered a major issue. Salem-Keizer Public Schools is rely- ing on formative, or real-time, assess- ments. “While we look to our performance on those tests, when it comes to a report card that we get from the state, often- times, especially for older students, those numbers are what we call post- mortem because it doesn’t give us the Recent graduates throw their caps in the air during the graduation ceremony at Sprague High School in Salem, Oregon, on Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2020. BRIAN HAYES / STATESMAN JOURNAL information we need in the moment, to make adjustments to help support stu- dents and put in interventions,” said Iton Udosenata, Salem-Keizer assistant superintendent. One way districts are keeping track of students is through attendance. ODE’s definition of attendance amid distance learning is much broader, allowing for teacher check-ins or any engagement by the student on that day to count as hav- ing attended. School districts are getting more cre- ative in ways they ensure students at- tend. Bethel School District, for example, uses auto-dialers, or a teacher will call a family to check in if a student hasn’t logged on and if they can connect they will mark the student as attending. “We’re not willing to lose anybody during this time. So we are obviously working with our … systems to keep stu- dents engaged,” Kee Zublin, curriculum director in Bethel, said. “We are making a concerted effort to identify students who are starting to go off track before they even have a chance to really go off track and organizing data teams around supporting those students and con- ducting outreach on a regular basis.” Salem-Keizer is paying close atten- tion to schools with lower attendance rates than others, and keeping a no- show list to make sure they check on students who consistently don’t log on. “What you have is very little gray area, where kids are either completely engaging or they’re really not engaging at all,” Udosenata said. “So we’re seeing a high number of kids that aren’t engag- ing and there’s no real physical way to connect with them.” To help combat this, some staff are trained to do home visits called “knock and connects” to be in touch with these students if other means of outreach don’t work. Springfield Assistant Superinten- dent for Instruction David Collins said the district feels confident that after its detailed community outreach for new money coming from the Student Suc- cess Act, and they have a better under- standing of community needs and where they should be putting resources. Springfield is continuing to use its data analytic system, which gives the district a comprehensive report on en- rollment trends, attendance, disciplin- ary data (which Collins noted isn’t evi- dent in a distance learning setting) and student benchmark data. “We haven’t started our benchmark- ing for this year, but it gives us the in- formation from the two datasets we had prior to the spring shift to a virtual dis- tance learning model,” Collins said. Springfield’s system also tracks whether students are on-track to gradu- ate. “We’re able to monitor how our stu- dents are doing in their classes, in their courses. Once we get through a grading credit-granting period, we’re able to as- sess how credit has been earned and where deficiencies might be.” Annual tests tied to federal funding When COVID-10 prompted the shut- down of schools in March, the U.S. De- partment of Education gave states the option to have federal standardized testing requirements waived. Oregon took advantage and didn’t conduct the Smarter Balance reading and math pro- ficiency tests for the 2019-2020 school year. However, in a Sept. 3 letter penned by U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, she said these waivers will not be of- fered again this year. “It is now our expectation that states will, in the interest of students, admin- ister summative (or long-term) assess- ments during the 2020-2021 school year, consistent with the requirements of the law and following the guidance of local health officials,” she stated. “As a result, you should not anticipate such waivers being granted again.” States must have students take these standardized tests each year or risk los- ing funding for other important areas of education. The U.S. Education Department has asserted that it could take actions against states that don’t comply with the federal assessment and account- ability requirements. The funding affected is part of the Ti- tle I, Part A program, which provides grant funding to schools with high per- centages of students from low-income families to ensure they are supported academically, and Title VI program, which pertains to “Indian, Native Ha- waiian, and Alaska Native education,” according to the education department. The federal government could with- hold Title I, Part A administrative funds; place the state’s Title I, Part A grant on high-risk status and make the state use a portion of its Title I funds to address this; or withhold or redirect Title VI state assessment funds, according to ODE spokesperson Marc Siegel. For the 2018-2019 school year ODE got about $5.4 million in federal funding to conduct the statewide assessments. “It typically accounts for approximately 40% of our annual statewide assess- ment budget,” Siegel said in an email. What about this year’s tests? ODE has started the process of figur- ing out what standardized tests would look like in a distance learning world or an in-person operation that has to ac- count for COVID-19 safety procedures. ODE has changed its summative test blueprints in English language arts and mathematics for this year to “reduce the impact upon instructional time,” Siegel said. “The possibility of remote admini- stration of our secure summative as- sessments is under discussion at pre- sent. There are several challenges to re- mote administration, including privacy, item security, and test validity.” Giving the tests remotely could mean online, or just outside of the school setting. Salem-Keizer has the ability to bring students on campus for testing, though conducting the Smarter Balance tests would be a bigger feat. Udosenata said the district may have to get creative and partner with some of the surrounding community colleges for space to proctor the exams with students physically dis- tanced, if that’s what ODE says needs to be done. Contact reporter Jordyn Brown at jbrown@registerguard.com or 541-338- 2203, and follow her on Twitter @thejor- dynbrown and Instagram @register- guard. Obituaries Alice Miriam Kinnaird SILVERTON - Alice Miriam Kinnaird, 91, for- merly of Silverton, passed away October 17th. She was born to parents Frank Howard and Jennie Eicher Howard on May 29th, 1929 in Medford, Oregon. Alice graduated from Medford High School in 1948, and received a Bachelors degree in Elementary Education from Southern Oregon College in 1952. She married the late Fred Kin- naird in 1954, and they lived together in Silverton for more than 50 years. Alice is survived by three children: Lynn Nickelson, Kathryn Slate, and Cindy Humphreys (Mark) all living in Eugene, Oregon. She is also survived by 11 grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. Alice was predeceased by her loving husband in 1999. Alice was a woman of God and dedicated much of her time as a steward of the Methodist Church. As a youth she went on Methodist Caravans representing her faith. She remained active in the church through her adult life, as a leader, preacher and teacher. Alice’s profes- sional life was dedicated to educating children. She taught mostly 4th grade, in and around Marion County. In the last years of her teaching career she taught Title 1, focusing on children with learning disabilities, and teaching them how to read - this was the most rewarding time of her career. Alice and her husband Fred spent their retirement years creating beautiful hand-crafted and hand-painted woodwork together and attending various holiday markets to sell their creations. She was a loving mother, grandmother and wife. A blessing to all who met her. An angel on earth. A memorial is be- ing held Thursday, October 29th, at 1:00pm at Un- ger Funeral Chapel in Silverton. Due to Covid-19 restrictions, the number allowed in attendance will be reserved for family members. Graveside service to follow. You are welcome to join via Zoom and will need to register in advance for the service https://greaternw.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJck- cOChqD0iH9cgiCLx8nFuJJ59Oj2J7ALE In Lieu of sending flowers please make donations in support of Silverton Together, Lane County Signature Hospice, or a charity of your choosing. Assisting the family is Unger Funeral Chapel - Silverton. Lisa Espe SILVERTON - Lisa was born on June 15, 1963 in Silverton to Gary and Carolyn Espe. Lisa passed away on October 10, 2020 at home sur- rounded by family and friends. After high school graduation Lisa worked at Safeway in the Pro- duce Department and she loved working there. She found her true call- ing as a volunteer at Sil- verton Hospital in the Recycling Department. She made many friends and loved every minute there. When Lisa was 5 years old, she overcame great odds and survived her first brain tumor. She had to re-learn to do ev- erything again and she was not expected to live another 5 years. Just 3 short weeks ago she was diagnosed with yet another brain tumor. She amazed us one last time and peacefully and gracefully passed from this life. Lisa will be remem- bered for her love of people and of animals, especially cats! Lisa is survived by her parents, Gary and Carolyn Espe, sisters Sandy Chinn of Eugene and Bren- da (Dan) Qualey and brother Tom (Becky) Espe of Silverton as well as many nieces and nephews. Lisa will be dearly missed but due to the current pandemic a service will not be held at this time. Arrange- ments are by Unger Fu- neral Chapel - Silverton Simple Cremation $795 Simple Direct Burial $995 Church Funeral $2965 SALEM 275 Lancaster Drive SE (503) 581-6265 TUALATIN 8970 SW Tualatin Sherwood Rd (503) 885-7800 PORTLAND 832 NE Broadway (503) 783-3393 TIGARD 12995 SW Pacifi c Hwy (503) 783-6869 EASTSIDE 1433 SE 122nd Ave (503) 783-6865 MILWAUKIE 16475 SE McLoughlin Blvd (503) 653-7076 Privately owned cremation facility. A Family Owned Oregon Business. “Easy Online Arrangements” www.CrownCremationBurial.com OR-GCI0348841-02
