Policy Pulse: HQIM Enhancements in Texas, Our Presidential Transition Memo, and Education R&D in the Senate
November 18, 2024
Policy Pulse — Fall 2024
This fall edition of The Pulse highlights some important developments that could impact federal and state policy. Texas’ groundbreaking work enhancing the High Quality Instructional Materials (HQIM) process to include reviews of personalized supplemental supports is a must-read for state policymakers. The recent state elections brought both new and familiar faces to education policy, and we’re here to introduce the newly elected governors and chief state school officers who will shape educational priorities in the coming year. Additionally, our memo to President-Elect Trump advocates for student-centered innovation in K-12 education. Finally, we celebrate the introduction of the New Essential Education Discoveries (NEED) Act in the Senate, which supports the development of innovative models and cutting-edge tools, along with the needed educational research to back them.
As 2024 draws to a close over the next six weeks, we look forward to sharing exciting updates at the start of 2025, including state pre-filed bills, our 2025 policy agenda, and new federal legislation supporting personalized, competency-based education. In the meantime, I wish you and your family a joyous holiday season.
Warmly,
Michael Watson
HQIM in Texas Supports the Science of Learning for Math
The Texas Education Agency (TEA) and the State Board of Education (SBOE) recently launched an instructional review process for supplemental math materials to unlock personalized pathways to proficiency. Recognizing that math is cumulative—where mastery in one year forms the foundation for future learning—the state identified the need for a multi-tiered system of support using high quality supplemental materials. The proposed Instructional Materials Review and Adoption (IRMA) Supplemental Mathematics K-12 Quality Rubric has several important features including:
– Evaluating materials on a subset of state standards that can span multiple grade levels and/or select grade bands
– Acknowledging the importance of students mastering predecessor skills to help teachers differentiate instruction and address key knowledge gaps for students that have not yet reached proficiency
– Emphasizing the use of embedded assessments to provide personalized, tailored instruction to students.
The TEA and SBOE recently solicited feedback on how the supplemental math rubric could be strengthened. Our additional ideas include requiring:
– Skill-level assessments, which provide more precise diagnostics and can be used as daily exit tickets for core materials
– Integration with multiple core curricula
– Outcome-based contracting
The SBOE will meet November 18-22 to discuss and approve final changes to the rubric. You can read our supportive comments here.
Our Transition Memo to President-Elect Trump
How can the White House advance student-centered innovation in the first 100 days of a Trump administration? The policy team at New Classrooms penned a memo to President Trump’s transition team that outlines the most important actions the administration can deliver by the Spring of 2025. By working with Congress, the new executive branch should support specific policies and initiatives that invest in new approaches to teaching and learning, reduce barriers which inhibit progress, and create space for innovation. Our letter to the incoming president and team can be found here.
One-Size-Fits-None: How Federal Testing Policies Undermine Student Learning
Abby Andres and I co-authored an op-ed for Next Generation Learning Challenges which highlights the shortcomings of the current one-size-fits-all testing model. We also discuss the potential of a new structure through a revised Innovative Assessment Demonstration Authority (IADA) under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) to offer new flexibility. You can read the piece here.
Senate Introduction of the New Essential Education Discoveries (NEED) Act
We are excited to share that there is now a Senate companion to H.R. 6691, the NEED Act, which we have written about extensively in previous newsletters. The introduction of S. 4841 by Senators Michael Bennet (D-CO) and John Cornyn (R-TX) is an important step towards establishing the National Center for Advanced Development in Education (NCADE) at the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) and investing in the development of breakthrough technologies such as innovative learning models. You can read Senator Bennet’s press release here.
To understand more about why New Classrooms strongly supports the Senate introduction of the NEED Act and its potential to help redesign the education system to serve all students, you can read the following interview from the Learning Agency with our co-founder and CEO Joel Rose.
2024 State Election Roundup
The November 5th elections provided us with new insight on who will be leading state education policy in the coming years. Here are the players:
Gubernatorial Elections:
Four governors will appoint or retain their Chief State School Officer in January:
– Current County Executive, Delaware’s Matt Meyer (D) will be serving his first term.
– Current US Senator, Indiana’s Mike Braun (R) will be serving his first term.
– Former US Senator, New Hampshire’s Kelly Ayotte (R) will be serving her first term.
– Current Governor of Vermont, Phil Scott (R) has been the incumbent since 2017.
New governors from this year’s elections:
– Current Lieutenant Governor, Missouri’s Mike Kehoe (R)
– Current Attorney General, North Carolina’s Josh Stein (D)
– Current US House Member, North Dakota’s Kelly Armstrong (R)
– Current Attorney General, Washington’s Bob Ferguson (D)
– Current Attorney General, West Virginia’s Partrick Morrisey (R)
Incumbent governors reelected:
– Current Governor of Montana, Greg Gianforte (R)
– Current Governor of Utah, Spencer Cox (R)
Chief State School Officers:
Four states held Chief State School Officers through direct election on November 5th:
New Chiefs include:
– Former school Superintendent, Montana’s Susie Hedalen (R)
– Former school Superintendent, North Carolina’s Mo Green (D)
Incumbents include:
– North Dakota’s Kirsten Baesler (R)
– Washington State’s Chris Reykdal (D)
Education Commission of the States (ECS) put out this nice one page infographic this week summarizing changes as well.
What We’re Reading
- Innovation for All Education research and development is increasingly elevated as a missing piece of the puzzle to create the solutions students want, need, and deserve (Alliance for Learning Coalition)
- The Opportunity Makers How a Diverse Group of Public Schools Helps Students Catch Up — and How Far More Can (TNTP)
- America Risks Losing a Whole Generation of Kids. Today’s Schools Can’t Help Them New data finds COVID learning loss, absenteeism, teacher burnout put the most vulnerable students at risk — & could leave an indelible mark (The74)
- All States Allow Competency-Based Learning. Will It Become a Reality in Schools? Every state now allows schools to embrace competency-based learning—an education model that allows students to advance and graduate based on their mastery of academic concepts rather than the amount of time they spend in class (EdWeek)
- Ours to Solve, Once — and for All: Securing the outcomes our students need Hoover Institution at Stanford University convened a group of innovation leaders to take stock of K–12 public education in the United States (Hoover Institution)
- Trump has won a second term Here’s what that means for schools (Chalkbeat)
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