PRESS RELEASE: Maine’s reading and mathematics test scores at or above national average on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)

Augusta – Maine’s fourth and eighth graders scored at the national average or higher on the recently released 2017 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) tests of Reading and Mathematics.

NAEP highlights the statewide academic performance for all students, as well as demographic groups including race, ethnicity, gender and socioeconomic status. The test is administered every other year to students in all 50 states, and does not include results for individual students, schools, or classrooms.

Maine’s scores and key information:

Maine students scored at the national average or higher, consistent with previous years.
Maine students did not show any significant change in performance in either mathematics or reading in grades four and eight when compared to the results in 2015.
Reading scores indicate a gender gap at the 4^th and 8^th grade levels with boys performing lower. The gender achievement gap appears to be increasing as students get older.
Math scores did not indicate a gender achievement gap.

Average Scale Scores
	NAEP Scores				National Public 2017
Assessment Area and Grade	2011	2013	2015	2017	National Public 2017
Math Grade 04	244	246	242	240	239
Math Grade 08	289	289	285	284	282
Reading Grade 04	222	225	224	221	221
Reading Grade 08	270	269	268	269	265

(Scores are rounded to the nearest whole number.)

For a detailed look at the each of the state’s scores including Maine, visit NAEP’s website.

“Maine students face unique challenges today that can have an impact on their learning. While I am pleased that our students are maintaining performance, the Department will continue to focus on effective strategies to improve achievement of mathematics and literacy in all grades,” said Maine Department of Education Commissioner Robert G. Hasson, Jr.

“In addition to the Department’s MoMEntum Literacy Pilot program, we are also embarking on a similar strategy called Numeracy4ME to support schools in their efforts to improve student achievement in math. It is my hope that we can expand these programs as we continue to develop them,” he added.

More information about the MoMEntum and Numeracy for ME pilot programs can be found at the following links:

NAEP scores are only one of many measures of the achievement level of Maine’s students and should not be used in isolation from other data. The Maine Educational Assessments, such as the eMPowerME, Multi-State Alternate Assessment, and SAT, also provide valuable information about the knowledge and skills of Maine’s students. Additionally, formative assessments and locally developed academic measurements are essential parts of a school’s instructional program.

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is the largest nationally representative and continuing assessment of what America’s students know and can do in various subject areas. Since NAEP assessments are administered uniformly using the same sets of test booklets across the nation, NAEP results serve as a common metric for all states and selected urban districts. The assessment stays essentially the same from year to year, with only carefully documented changes. This permits NAEP to provide a clear picture of student academic progress over time with respect to a specific set of learning goals. As noted above, however, as standards and goals for learning evolve and teachers emphasize new content, and perhaps deemphasize other content, this stability means NAEP may not be able to adequately capture learning with respect to new standards. NAEP does provide results on subject-matter achievement, instructional experiences, and school environment for populations of students (e.g., all fourth-graders) and groups within those populations (e.g., female students, Hispanic students).

The contents of this paragraph were retrieved from the U.S. Department of Education, National Center of Education Statistics website http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/about/

Media contact:

Rachel Paling, Director of Communications, Maine Department of Education
Rachel.paling@maine.gov

Outstanding educators sought for Maine talent pool

The Maine Department of Education is accepting recommendations through April 27, 2018 for the 2018 Maine Educator Talent Pool. These distinguished educators may be considered for membership on local and state advisory boards and task forces, as well as be candidates for special recognition through the Department.

The Department is currently seeking elementary educators (grades K-5), relatively new to the profession, with five to 18 years of experience, who show unusual instructional ability; inspire their students, colleagues and community members; have strong leadership potential; and are comparable to the nation’s best educators. Candidates are typically certified classroom teachers holding a bachelor’s degree. Previous recognition is not required. Of special interest are educators who are outstanding but have not received other recognition.

Recommendation forms can be accessed here: Talent Pool Recommendation Form. Please provide confidential, succinct, compelling, and specific information regarding the candidate on the recommendation form. All questions must be answered, preferably typewritten. Your recommendation packet must include a one-page narrative that addresses how the candidate meets the talent pool criteria, a completed recommendation form, and a resume from his or her personnel file.

School districts are strongly urged to take the time to recommend candidates. If necessary, assign the request to an associate. Please note though, this recommendation must remain confidential and not shared with the individual.

For more information, contact Educator Effectiveness Coordinator Emily Gribben at (207) 624-6748 or Emily.gribben@maine.gov.

Powered By Maine Teach to Lead Summit

Maine Teach to Lead is pleased to announce Powered By Maine Teach to Lead Summit, Monday, April 9th, 8:30-3:30pm at Husson University, in Bangor.

Do you have a vision for your school or district? Do you need time and support to make your vision a reality? Then the Powered By Maine Teach to Lead Summit is for YOU!

This is a FREE event for teachers where you will be able to network with other teachers from across Maine, collaborate with teaching peers to cultivate an idea, and develop an action plan to accomplish your goals.

Join us and make your idea a reality!

Apply today (Applications are due by February 8th at 5pm.)

Learning Through Technology Update

The Learning Through Technology Team at the Maine Department of Education is committed to helping teachers integrate technology into their classrooms in a way that improves student learning outcomes and achievement. We have three new ways to engage with educators this year that are designed to gather input and build capacity.

Professional Learning Survey

We are looking for input from all Maine educators as we develop a schedule of offerings for professional learning during the 2017 – 2018 school year. We want to know which topics are of most interest to you and the format in which you’d like to see the professional learning offered. The survey should take 5 – 10 minutes to complete. We’ll begin reviewing responses on September 18th! Please complete the survey today and share the link with any other educators in Maine that you know!

Link to survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/LTTPL2017

School Visits

We have a new model for school visits. The goal has shifted from looking at MLTI implementation to recognizing the positive efforts of educators who are integrating technology into their learning environments and providing support to schools as they continue to leverage their technology for better student outcomes. Please reach out to Amanda Nguyen, Digital Learning Specialist at the Maine Department of Education (Amanda.Nguyen@maine.gov) if you’d like to schedule a school visit.

Link to school visit information: http://maine.gov/doe/mlti/schoolvisit/index.html

Learning Narratives Blog

We have a new blog that captures the stories of Maine educators who are leveraging technology for learning. Stories come from individual educators and also from our new school visits. The goal is to share models with other schools and educators. If you want to share your story, or recommend educators who we could contact to share their stories, please reach out to Amanda Nguyen, Digital Learning Specialist at the Maine Department of Education (Amanda.Nguyen@maine.gov).

Link to Learning Narratives blog: https://learningnarratives.wordpress.com

Fostering Music and Movement in Early Childhood Classrooms

The Maine Department of Education invites you to be part of a brand new professional development opportunity, “Fostering Music and Movement in Early Childhood Classrooms”. Early Childhood Specialist, Sue Reed, and Visual and Performing Arts Specialist, Beth Lambert, are looking for teachers who want to energize their teaching and learning through focusing on music and movement in the public preschool classroom. Applicants must apply in teams of two: one Public Preschool teacher and one music or performing arts teacher from the same district. The music/performing arts teacher must currently teach at the elementary level.

Under the expertise of Early Childhood facilitator, Ellie Libby, and Early Childhood Arts facilitator, Judy Fricke, teams will work on building a collaborative partnership to ensure that preschool students receive a musical and movement filled learning experience. Public preschool teachers will learn the research as to why music and movement is important in a preschool classroom and how it encompasses Maine’s Early Learning and Development Standards and how to include music and movement into their daily routines. Music and performing arts teachers will learn developmentally appropriate pedagogical approaches to teaching music and movement to our youngest learners. Teams will be expected to practice new pedagogy in between sessions and document their experience. As a culmination of their work, participants will create a presentation to share with their school community.

The training is free and each team selected will receive $650 worth of equipment and supplies for their classroom. The cohort will meet at Educare in Waterville on October 17^th, January 10^th, March 6^th, and May 15^th 8:30-3pm.

If you are interested in participating fill out an application. Only one application is necessary per team. If you have any questions contact Visual and Performing Arts Specialist, Beth Lambert at beth.lambert@maine.gov or Early Childhood Specialist, Sue Reed at susan.d.reed@maine.gov.

Educational programing on Constitution Day

On September 17, the nation celebrates Constitution Day. Per Constitution and Citizenship Day legislation passed by the United States Congress in 2005, “Each educational institution that receives Federal funds for a fiscal year shall hold an educational program on the United States Constitution on September 17 of such year for the students served by the educational institution.”

This year, September 17 falls on a Sunday, so the Constitutional programming should take place on Monday, September 18, as it is the “adjacent weekday”.

For more information about the history of Constitution and Citizenship Day check visit the Library of Congress website. For additional resources visit the Maine DOE – Social Studies resources page or contact Joe Schmidt, Social Studies Specialist for the Maine Department of Education at (207) 624-6828 or joe.schmidt@maine.gov.

Maine DOE Literacy Links newsletter is now available as a blog

As the dog days of summer come to an end and the new school year begins, we look forward to continuing what we have begun and making a few changes.

Perhaps one of the biggest changes for the Maine DOE English Language Arts (ELA) team is moving their newsletter, Literacy Links, from a static document to a blog format. We will still provide the same essential elements: a feature article, relative resources, suggestions for children’s and adolescent literature, as well as a link to news and events. The blog format allows for discussion to continue in the form of comments. It also gives us some flexibility in presentation as it is easier to embed video or other media.

Please check out the Literacy Links Blog at https://maineliteracylinks.wordpress.com/. You can still access the archives of all the past newsletters at this site as well.

Topics we will address this year include;

Text complexity: why it matters
Assessment: reading, evidence, complexity
Assessment: writing, evidence, language
Language standards and disciplinary literacy
Text Sets: why and how to use multiple texts

For further questions about Literacy Links please contact, Morgan Dunton English Language Arts Specialist morgan.dunton@maine.gov or Lee Anne Larsen Literacy Specialist leeann.larsen@maine.gov.

Workshops to support SAT

The Maine Department of Education and College Board are pleased to provide Maine educators with three opportunities to learn more about the updated SAT and tools available to inform instruction. College Board will present its annual Fall Counselor Workshop to share updates, tools, tips and resources to support students as they move along the college and career path.

Maine DOE and College Board will present half day workshops for administrators to explore tools that inform instruction and curriculum. Maine DOE and College Board will also present full day workshops for teachers to better understand SAT data, analysis tools, and instructional responses relative to implementing Maine’s ELA and math standards.

Annual Fall Counselor Workshops, Presented by the College Board

The College Board will present Annual Fall Counselor Workshop in five locations. These sessions will focus on enhancements to programs and changes to protocols in ordering and administering the SAT Suite of Assessments. Sessions begin at 8:30 and will end at 11:00.

Date	Site	City	Registration
Sept.12	University of Maine at Presque Isle	Presque Isle	UMPI
Sept. 13	University of Southern Maine	Portland	USM
Sept. 19	Husson University	Bangor	HUSSON
Sept. 20	University of Maine Farmington	Farmington	UMF
Sept. 26	Thomas College	Waterville	THOMAS

Do More With Your SAT Scores! Presented by The Maine Department of Education and College Board

Making meaning of assessment data is a critical component of providing support for teachers, for students, and for families. Perhaps the most powerful tool available to teachers is the Question Analysis tool. This digital tool includes every question on the annual common form and allows sorting by a variety of options. In this session, we will explore methods of making effective use of the College Board’s Assessment Reporting for K12 Educators. Sessions will begin at noon and end at 2:30. Please plan lunch on your own as lunch will not be provided.

You will need a user name and password for the K12 Score Reports portal at College Board.

(Please note that you must register even if you have already registered for the morning session)

Date	Site	City	Registration
Sept.12	University of Maine at Presque Isle	Presque Isle	UMPI
Sept. 13	University of Southern Maine	Portland	USM
Sept. 19	Husson University	Bangor	HUSSON
Sept. 26	Thomas College	Waterville	THOMAS

SAT: Standards, Instruction, and Responding to SAT Data

During full day workshops, teachers will take a deep dive into either ELA (Evidence-based Reading and Writing along with the essay) or math to better understand how the SAT measures our learning standards, how to use data from the SAT results to inform instruction, and what instructional moves reflect the deeper learning necessary to demonstrate achievement on the Updated SAT. Participants in this day-long workshop will learn about the updated SAT and how to use the system of supports to benefit student learning and teacher instructional strategies.

The ELA (ERW) session will include strategies for identifying instructional priorities based on data, a deeper understanding of the standards and how they are assessed, and an exploration of essay data and instructional strategies for on-demand writing.
The participants in the math session will identify common errors and misconceptions in student responses and will experience instructional strategies to support student learning.

Participants will have to register for either ELA or math sessions for the full day. Schools are encouraged to send teams consisting of content teacher leaders at grades 9/10 and 11/12 as well as a building administrator or curriculum coordinator.

Please note that you will have to enter each person separately.

Date	Site	City	Registration
10/17/2017	University of Maine at Farmington	Farmington	UMF
10/18/2017	University of Southern Maine	Portland	USM
10/20/2017	Black Bear Inn & Conference Center	Orono	BLACK BEAR INN
11/14/2017	University of Maine at Presque Isle	Presque Isle	UMPI

For more information about these workshops, contact Michele.r.mailhot@maine.gov, math specialist, or morgan.dunton@maine.gov, ELA specialist.

Maine DOE’s Early Childhood Education Conference

Registration is now open for the Maine DOE’s Early Childhood Education Conference. The conference will be held at the Augusta Civic Center on August 14-16, 2017 and is intended for PreK and Kindergarten early childhood staff and administrators.

There are two training tracks to choose from and space is limited:

1. Building Blocks PreK Curriculum Training Track ($250.00) 3 days – this training session is appropriate for PreK teachers and Ed Techs and also for Kindergarten teachers that may be interested in understanding the PreK math curriculum for building alignment.
2. STEAM Training Track ($50.00) 2 days – This track is appropriate for any PreK or Kindergarten teacher.

Continental breakfast and lunch are provided each day as part of the conference registration.

Financial Aid is available.

For more information contact Maine DOE’s Early Childhood Specialist Sue Reed at susan.d.reed@maine.gov or 624-6632.

Maine DOE issues reminder to complete survey on the identification and exit criteria for English learners

This notice is a reminder asking everyone in the education community to take a few minutes to complete a survey on how to identify English learners and when to exit English learners from service. Take the Survey Now

Under the Every Student Succeeds Act, states are required to establish a uniform method of identifying and reclassifying English learners. Although Maine currently has these uniform procedures, it has been more than a decade since Maine has made any amendments to its Home Language Survey, and it was in 2013 that Maine underwent its latest data study to review English learners’ performance on academic assessments and their correlating WIDA ACCESS for ELLs scores. With the administration of the new ACCESS for ELLs 2.0 and changes in academic assessments, the Maine Department of Education is taking this opportunity to elicit public input, along with data, to determine the best methods to ensure a valid and reliable identification procedure as well as fair and appropriate exit criteria. To begin the process, here is a brief survey to help guide the Department. Take the Survey Now

In addition, please feel free to reach out directly to Maine DOE’s ESL Consultant April Perkins at april.perkins@maine.gov or 441-9043 to share additional thoughts, comments and suggestions not captured by the survey.

For more information about educational or English language acquisition services for English learners to ESL/Bilingual Programs, contact Maine DOE’s Director of ESL/Bilingual Programs Nancy Mullins at nancy.mullins@maine.gov or 624-6788.