EDUCATION OVERSIGHT BOARD MEETING MINUTES December 19, 2007 9:00 A.M. Conference Room 512A (5th Floor)br> State Capitol Building Oklahoma City, OK 73105 BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: Susan Field, Patrick Gilmore, Sherry Labyer, Pat Mayes, and Sen. Kathleen Wilcoxson BOARD MEMBERS ABSENT: Ami Shaffer, Penny Williams, Sen. Judy Eason McIntyre, and Rep. Tad Jones OTHER REGULAR ATTENDEES: Office of Accountability Staff: Robert Buswell, Jeff Wallace, Jerry Hsieh, Dan Craig, and Rick Cobb VISITORS: None Call to Order: Mrs. Field called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. Introduction of board members and guests: Mr. Buswell introduced Jeff Wallace to the Board. Roll Call: Mrs. Field called roll and declared a quorum to be present. Approval of Minutes: Mr. Gilmore made a motion to approve the minutes of the November 14, 2007 meeting. Mr. Mayes seconded the motion, and it passed without dissent. Y-T-D Expenditure Report for FY-2008: Mr. Buswell passed out information on year-to-date expenditures. He emphasized that the Office is early in the yearly financial cycle and that much of the encumbered money has not yet been spent. He pointed out that several large expenditures related to the Indicators Program are loaded at the end of the budget. Buswell also discussed the upcoming Mounds review and the bid yet to be awarded for Cement and Tipton. He further said he would annualize the salary and benefits item on the Y-T-D Expenditure Report once the Assistant Director is on board. Mrs. Labyer moved to approve the report. Mr. Gilmore seconded the motion, and it passed without dissent. Executive Session as per O.S. 25-307 Part B, Item 1: Mr. Gilmore moved to convene in executive session at 9:07 a.m. Mrs. Labyer seconded the motion, and it passed without dissent. Mr. Mayes made the motion to reconvene in open session at 9:32 a.m. Mr. Gilmore seconded the motion, and it passed without dissent. Possible Action as a Result of Executive Session: Mr. Gilmore moved to accept Mr. Buswell's recommendation to hire Jeff Wallace as Assistant Director of the Office of Accountability. Mrs. Labyer seconded the motion, and it passed without dissent. Approval of a Proclamation of Appreciation for Mr. Gerald Dickerson: Mr. Mayes moved to issue a proclamation of appreciation for Mr. Dickerson. Mr. Gilmore seconded the motion, and it passed without dissent. Status Report on the Oklahoma Educational Indicators Program: Mr. Buswell discussed the background of the state of Oklahoma's testing program, including the movement from norm-referenced testing to criterion-referenced testing, as well as the expansion of the program to include grades 3-8 and various high school subject areas. Buswell discussed the original development of the 70 percent performance benchmark (indicated by a checkmark) that schools can receive on their School Report Cards. Mr. Buswell reported that, over time, the 70% performance benchmark no longer distinguishes the highest-performing schools. Upon the Board's prior request, the Office of Accountability has developed a proposal to build on that benchmark and develop some form of additional recognition for schools. In addition to schools receiving the checkmark for grades in which all subjects are at or above the 70% satisfactory benchmark, a star will replace the checkmark for grades where a certain percentage of students also score in the advanced category for all subjects tested. Mr. Buswell demonstrated how the benchmark would look at 25 percent and the number of schools that would achieve the benchmark for each grade. Mr. Mayes asked how the scores would compare with information from Kansas and Missouri, and Mr. Buswell indicated that it would yield no comparison. Mrs. Field asked about a national comparison, and Mr. Buswell indicated that there would be little comparison because the tests are criterion-referenced and only administered in Oklahoma, rather than norm-referenced and administered nationally. Mrs. Labyer asked if the benchmarks are for math and reading only, and Mr. Buswell responded that they are for all subjects tested in any given grade. Mr. Buswell demonstrated in the presentation how the number of schools receiving recognition for achieving the star benchmark would change after lowering the threshold to 20 percent of students being advanced in each subject. Mr. Gilmore moved to approve the use of the Education Oversight Board's 25 percent advanced star benchmark. Mrs. Labyer seconded the motion, and it passed without dissent. Additionally, Mr. Buswell indicated that the Office has received the data requested from the State Department of Education (SDE). Mr. Buswell commended the SDE for their timely delivery of the information. Mr. Hsieh indicated that data from other sources are yet to arrive. Mr. Buswell indicated that Mr. Wallace would be able to start working with this information when he starts work the first of January. Status Report on the Oklahoma School Performance Review Program (OSPR): Mr. Craig stated that the Office has presented final reports to Clinton Broken Bow, Idabel, Frederick and Springer in the last year, and that presentations of final reports for Felt and Wynnewood are forthcoming. He said that he and Mr. Cobb are busy editing the second drafts of the Weleetka, Wetumka, Sasakwa, and Justice reviews and that they should be in their superintendents' hands shortly. He also said that he and Mr. Cobb are in the process of editing the first draft of the Okmulgee review. He is expecting presentations for those five districts to be made in the spring. Mr. Cobb talked to the Board about the Mounds proposals and the timeline for that performance review. He also talked about the anticipated timeline for the Cement and Tipton reviews. Finally, he discussed some schools that have shown an initial interest in receiving a performance review but indicated that nothing has been finalized with any of those schools. Legislative Update: None New Business: None Announcements: None Adjournment: At 10:05, Mr. Gilmore made a motion to adjourn. Mr. Mayes seconded the motion, and it passed without dissent. The minutes of the December 19, 2007 meeting of the Education Oversight Board were approved as submitted on February 20, 2008.