Demand Accountability

Strengthen state leadership and drive accountability for educational change.

Why This Recommendation Is Necessary

Closing Connecticut’s widest-in-the-nation achievement gap will require us to demand accountability from all stakeholders. This means insisting that Connecticut’s decisions are driven by what the data tell us about the successes and failings of our policies. All branches and levels of government should take responsibility for these results, and Connecticut’s State Department of Education must be led by a strong, reform-minded leadership team. In order to build and sustain sufficient momentum for reform, Connecticut needs an outside entity to hold all stakeholders accountable by monitoring reform progress, sharing best practices, and reporting to the public.

To these ends, our recommendations call for:

Significantly improving data collection and analysis to drive decisions;
The Governor’s appointment of a strong education leadership team; and
Public accountability through an entity outside of government.

Check out pages 11-12 of our report to learn more!

2014 Policy Progress Report

Our 2014 Policy Progress Report uses a rubric, based on our policy recommendations, to track our state’s progress in effecting the changes needed to narrow Connecticut’s widest-in-the-nation achievement gap. While tremendous progress has been made over the last few years, comparatively little progress was made in 2014. You can read the entire 2014 Policy Progress Report here, or learn about our state’s progress in promoting policies that Demand Accountability below.

1(a) Leadership Matters

Connecticut receives 4 out of 4 points for leadership. Between 2011 and 2013, the Governor appointed or reappointed all of the members to the State Board of Education (CSBE). In 2012, Governor Malloy and Commissioner of Education Stefan Pryor made education reform a top priority. They oversaw the passage of a landmark education reform bill that called for greater accountability in the education system, supported teachers’ professional development, increased preschool slots for low-income children, established a requirement for a statewide common chart of accounts, and built a framework for intervening in the lowest-performing schools and districts.1 The following year, education reform continued to be a priority for Malloy’s administration, with the passage of a budget bill that expanded upon the interventions passed in 2012.2 In 2014, many of these reforms came under attack; however, Governor Malloy’s administration collaborated with other stakeholders to successfully defend the Common Core State Standards3 and the teacher evaluation system4. Furthermore, Malloy led a successful campaign to establish an Office of Early Childhood5 and increase preschool slots for low-income students6. Towards the end of session, although the Office of Fiscal Analysis reported that tax revenues had been lower than expected, the General Assembly sustained funding for these education reforms-despite a tight budget. Additionally, the Connecticut State Department of Education (CSDE) has been reorganized since the passage of the education reform legislation in 2012, with key positions established to lead academic affairs, talent, performance, and turning around schools.7 However, despite the fact that the General Assembly agreed to fund many new positions to move education reforms forward, several key positions have remained unfilled.8	1(a) LEADERSHIP MATTERS RUBRIC
	4 out of 4 Available Points
		The Governor endorses an education reform agenda.
		The Governor appoints at least half of the members of the State Board of Education (CSBE).
		The CSDE is reorganized and staffed with specific offices that oversee early childhood education, school turnaround, and teacher and school leadership development.13
		The new CSDE offices report hierarchically to the Commissioner and the Governor.

1. P.A. 12-116.
2. The 2013 budget bill expanded the intervention framework in the lowest-performing schools and districts; funded implementation of the new teacher evaluation and support system; increased the number of state-funded charter schools; funded the piloting of a K-3 reading program in five schools over the biennium; and funded the statewide implementation of the Common Core State Standards. (P.A. 13-184, as amended by P.A. 13-247.)
3. There were five bills in the 2014 legislative session that would have negatively affected the funding and/or implementation of the Common Core; none of these bills passed. (See H.B. No. 5078; H.B. 5114; H.B. 5168; H.B. 5154; S.B. 53.)
4. H.B. 5331, An Act Concerning the Implementation of the Revisions to the PEAC Guidelines, was referred to the Joint Committee on Education on March 6, 2014. However, following a public hearing, no action was taken to further its progress through the 2014 legislative session. (See H.B. No. 5331.)
5. P.A. 14-39.
6. Ibid.
7. Connecticut State Department of Education (2014). Organization Chart for the Connecticut State Department of Education. Retrieved June 2014 at http://www.sde.ct.gov/sde/lib/sde/pdf/aboutus/csde_organizational_chart.pdf.
8. Ibid.
13. In Connecticut’s reorganization, the Office of Early Childhood actually reports directly to the Governor and is not part of the Connecticut State Department of Education (CSDE). However, the creation of the Office, in combination with the reorganization of the CSDE, sufficiently meets the spirit of this point in the rubric.

1(b) Provide The Data to Inform and Drive Decisions

Connecticut receives 0 out of 4 points for its efforts to significantly improve data collection, analysis, and reporting. Before leaders can make data-driven decisions, Connecticut must develop a comprehensive, longitudinal data system that tracks student progress from preschool to the workforce and that is linked to the effectiveness of teachers, principals, and teacher preparation programs. Establishing such a system involves both accurate data collection and a framework within which to house the data. Starting with the 2013-2014 school year, the CSDE is required to collect data connecting teachers, courses, and students by marking period, attendance, and academic outcome.9 In addition, the newly established Office of Early Childhood10 has been tasked with beginning a longitudinal analysis of the state’s school readiness program, based upon data from preschool through the fourth grade.11 However, each of these projects represents only a portion of the data that will need to be collected in order to create a truly useful longitudinal data system. Furthermore, the Board of Regents for Higher Education—in partnership with the Departments of Education and Labor—has been charged with developing a Preschool through Twenty and Workforce Information Network (P20 WIN) for the state.12 Although, P20 WIN has begun to establish this framework and initiate a pilot of data exchange, this comprehensive longitudinal data system is still a long way from completion.	1(b) PROVIDE THE DATA TO INFORM AND DRIVE DECISIONS RUBRIC
	0 out of 4 Available Points
		CT develops a longitudinal data system for tracking student progress from Pre-K to post-secondary school.
		CT links the longitudinal student data system to teacher and principal effectiveness.
		CT links the longitudinal data systems to the effectiveness of teacher preparation programs.
		CT makes information in the longitudinal data system publicly available.

9. C.G.S. 10-10a.
10. P.A. 14-39.
11. P.A. 14-39, Section 4.
12. Board of Regents for Higher Education (n.d.). P20 Win Data Sharing. Retrieved June 2014 at http://www.ct.edu/initiatives/p20win#data.