High Expectations

Set high expectations for all students. Provide high-quality curricula andsupport so all students can reach them. Expand high-quality preschool and full-day kindergarten to ensure school readiness.

Continue the efforts of Governor Rell on behalf of early education. Provide sufficient funding for all low-income three- and four-year olds statewide to attend a high- quality preschool program, with new funding structured as “scholarships.” Require all-day kindergarten for all students in districts that have the lowest-achieving 5% of elementary schools.

The SDE will assess and report annually to the public on the quality and effectiveness of all preschool programs receiving government funding and those not receiving funding that request a rating. Programs rated as ineffective will not be eligible for further funding until satisfactory improvements are made.  

Why This Recommendation Is Necessary

A robust body of research reveals solid short- and long-term benefits from high-quality preschool and all-day kindergarten.⁴⁸ Preschool is especially critical for low-income children, because they are often not exposed to the same early stimuli that enable early-age cognitive and social development. While all students benefit from high-quality preschool, it is essential for low-income students and provides the largest fiscal return on investment.⁴⁹ With roughly 40% of Connecticut’s entering kindergarteners demonstrating full readiness for school,⁵⁰ there is a demonstrable need for high-quality preschool and a more substantial kindergarten experience.

Low-income children who attend preschool are less likely to need remedial help, less likely to be held back, and more likely to graduate from high school.⁵¹ Recent estimates suggest that about 9,000 low-income three- and four-year olds statewide do not yet have access to preschool.⁵² To help parents choose high-quality preschool programs, the state has proposed—but has not implemented—a quality rating system for programs providing early care and early education.⁵³ In addition to quality, however, program effectiveness is also important. At the present time, little information is available about how effective specific programs are in preparing preschoolers for kindergarten. Further evaluation of current preschool programs is required to identify those that are most effective at helping low-income students become fully school-ready.⁵⁴

Research similarly finds positive advantages for full-day kindergarten, especially for low-income and other disadvantaged students. Students in full-day programs show greater progress in reading and mathematics and greater gains in social skills, independent learning and productivity. In addition, effective full-day kindergarten programs enable students who enter behind to make up a significant amount of learning as compared to students who attend half-day programs.⁵⁵

Actions Required

Maximize the power of parental involvement.

Establish an SDE program, with philanthropic aid, to provide small competitive grants for low-achieving school districts to develop innovative, effective strategies for involving parents in the education of their children, and publicize what works.⁵⁶

Why This Recommendation Is Necessary

Parents are children’s first teachers and their early actions and expectations set the framework for school attitudes, behavior and skill development.⁵⁷ In addition, research has shown that parental involvement leads to better academic achievement. It also promotes more positive attitudes about school and learning, lowers special education placements and increases graduation rates.⁵⁸ The state currently funds many programs that aim to support the expansion of parental involvement but with little coordination to determine what works best in obtaining high levels of parent participation. Recent legislation authorizes parent-teacher governance councils in low-achieving schools, in which parents will play a much larger and more powerful role in school decision-making.⁵⁹ In addition, the philanthropic sector has made substantial investments in supporting parental engagement in the state’s lowest-income districts,⁶⁰ but there is no SDE competitive small grant program for low-achieving districts.

 Action Required

Align statewide curricula to high standards.

Accelerate the process by which curricula, aligned with the national Common Core Standards and new high school graduation requirements, are available to all districts. Require curricula to be aligned for the lowest- achieving 5% of schools.

Why This Recommendation Is Necessary

Connecticut K–12 curriculum frameworks now in use are aligned to old standards, and school districts can choose any curriculum from any source,⁶¹ leading to substantial variation. The national Common Core Standards were adopted by the SBOE in July 2010. In order to teach content aligned to the newly adopted standards, all districts should employ the most effective curricula available. Connecticut will be able to benefit from curriculum materials aligned to the Common Core Standards that are expected to become rapidly available nationwide.⁶² Attention must be paid to curricula in use in low-achieving schools. At the present time, these schools are not subject to a standardized review of their curricula by SDE to ensure that students are receiving the best available learning tools. The SDE website can serve as a gateway to model curricula that have been reviewed by the department to ensure quality and alignment.

Actions Required

Identify and support low-achieving students early in their academic careers.

Require academic remediation for every student who is far behind academically. These opportunities may include summer school, extended day programs, in-school tutoring or Saturday academies. Partnerships with the private sector, including philanthropic and community organizations, are encouraged to help develop and implement these programs.

1 | Require that all students in grades 1 and 2 with assessment scores that indicate they are far behind in reading or math and in grades 3 through 5 with CMT scores below basic in reading or mathematics participate in a customized learning experience inclusive of summer school options.

2 | Require students in grades 6 through 11 with any two risk factors, including scoring below basic on the CMT or CAPT in reading or math, excessive absences, very low GPA or course failure participate in a customized learning experience inclusive of summer school options.

3 | Align extended learning time with the school-year academic curriculum, require measurement of student progress and ensure that summer school teachers are effective.

Why This Recommendation Is Necessary

Research shows that low-achieving students can be helped through early intervention and maximizing learning time. Effective programs are tied to students’ schoolwork and supplement rather than repeat classroom instruction. They are also offered as early as possible when it is clear that students are losing ground, and are paced to accelerate learning. Effective extended learning programs are regularly monitored to ensure that “extra time and help are working.”⁶⁴

Summer school programs can themselves make up for much of the low-income students’ predictable summer learning losses.⁶⁵ Summer school and academic enrichment are authorized by statute already and are provided by some districts for certain students;⁶⁶ however, student participation in these programs is not generally required. In addition, there is no consolidated reporting on total funding, number of students enrolled, or the effectiveness of current extended learning time, after-school programs or partnerships with outside community organizations that support learning.

Action Required

Measure student progress frequently.

Ensure multiple opportunities for assessment and that students and parents know about progress and challenges on an ongoing basis.

1 | Support teachers in the use of Connecticut’s Benchmark Assessment System (CBAS).

2 | Align state-developed English and mathematics benchmark assessments⁶⁷ to the Common Core Standards and develop assessments for additional grades and subjects.

3 | Require the lowest-achieving 5% of schools to administer these state-developed assessments three times per year.

4 | Make student CMT and CAPT scores available to school districts and teachers within 45 days of the assessment date.

Why This Recommendation Is Necessary

Data from ongoing assessments can provide educators and parents with valuable information on student growth several times a year. Teachers can then tailor instruction and student support quickly and effectively. Connecticut’s Benchmark Assessment System (CBAS) has been developed for mathematics and reading in grades 3 through 8 and is freely available to local school districts⁶⁸ but has not yet been widely used to monitor student growth.⁶⁹

Currently, individual student CMT and CAPT results are typically not available to districts and parents until the end of the school year. Because assessment data should be used for making instructional decisions, timely release of CMT and CAPT scores would allow teachers and principals to act on the information while students are still enrolled.

Actions Required

Set high expectations for what students should know and be able to do.

Require all high school students to pass the CAPT before being awarded a high school diploma.

1 | Identify students early who may not pass the CAPT and provide remedial help.

2 | Students who do not achieve a passing score as determined by the SBOE will be supported with in-school remediation and extended learning opportunities to successfully retake these assessments.

Why This Recommendation Is Necessary

In order to be sure that high school graduates are well prepared for college and the workforce, we need to know they have mastered the skills and content necessary for success. With over 50% of high school graduates who enroll in Connecticut’s two- and four-year state college system requiring remedial courses in mathematics and/or English, this is clearly not the case.⁷²

Currently, Connecticut administers a 10th grade assessment (the CAPT) in mathematics, reading, science and writing to all public school students annually. There is no statewide requirement that students score at a certain level on the CAPT to graduate. A high-quality, rigorous set of assessments required for graduation, coupled with support and multiple options to retake the assessments as needed, will ensure that Connecticut students who graduate will possess a high degree of college and career readiness.

Actions Required