ESSA - State of Michigan seeks comments on proposed educational changes

The Michigan Department of Education is seeking public comment on the new proposed ESSA standards that gives schools letter grades (A-F) for success.

http://www.freep.com/story/news/education/2017/03/01/michigan-schools-grading-system/98500568/

On December 10, 2015, President Obama signed the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), reauthorizing the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) and replacing the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), the 2001 reauthorization of ESEA.

Michigan’s ESSA plan is drafted and open for public comment through March 16, 2017. 

http://www.michigan.gov/mde/0,4615,7-140-37818_76731---,00.html

Here is my Email and Comments:

Thank you for asking for Public Comments to the new ESSA Legislation proposed for the state of Michigan.

I have commented over the years on various initiatives the state has proposed but never heard back from one source. Perhaps my comments are not worthy but I will try again from and end-to-end perspective. Basically this means from a "Systems Thinker Perspective." 

My background is both in business and education. I retired from the telecommunications industry where I held a number of Quality related positions. I have been a national director for quality and process improvement, certified auditor, manager and instructor. I have also been a part-time instructor in college as well as an administrator and mentor in a K-12 school.

qualityg says ...

qualityg says ... Comments on the state of affairs in business, organizations, academics, process improvement, quality, education,...

With so much high level detail in the 153 page document which I have read twice a couple if things jump out at me that I would like to comment (2) on that I hope will be taken in to account.

Overall, I like the concept but implementation is the key and the who and the what are identified but the "How (By What Method)" is where success will lead to failure if not done properly. There is much written about results but not process. Explained below.

I am pleased by the the amount of detail written about the needs of having good teachers and the on-going support required to keep them skilled, excited and hopefully retained for a long period of time.

Concern # 1 -  There is no mention of how are teachers are trained - by this I mean - Who trains/create our teachers? Michigan creates an  "Educator Preparation Institution (EPI) Performance Score Report" - http://www.michigan.gov/documents/mde/2016_EPI_Overall_Score_536193_7.PDF

but I see no mention of it as it relates to this study.

How can there not be a correlation to the suppliers of our most needed resource (Teachers/Principals) to the success of our educational system. Clearly, the number of schools that exceed the "Met Score (Results)" do not translate in to the number of ineffective schools/teachers we have according to the numbers in the state's reports/findings. Nobody wants to take on and really hold the colleges/universities to a higher standard - What a shame.Colleges should not be telling K-12 schools how and what to train. It should be K-12 telling colleges what they need and them doing it or they will no longer higher any of their teachers (Products).

I propose giving the higher level institutions letter grades too as a means to rate their effectiveness for preparing/supplying educators. If you do not correct the upstream process the results will remain the same regardless of the changes you propose in grades K-12. Would you like verification? Survey a number of teachers and ask them if they were prepared for what the classroom is really like?

Concern # 2 - This will be short - I ddi not see much about the people who will rate the schools - I have great concern about the way assessment/accreditation are done.

http://www.michigan.gov/mde/0,4615,7-140-5234_5704-24878--,00.html

I have been involved in a number of AdvancED and MANS accreditation and I must say the people conducting them are not trained enough or have the fortitude to make an honest assessment. They are not given the skills and the tools to make good judgments in a 2-3 day period. They follow standards they do not understand. There is no true follow-up and they change their methods so often the previous assessment can not be taken in to account to create a systemic measure to establish trends for proper measurements.

These assessments are much needed but should be done by a team of professional experts and just educators (Many on team are 1st time auditors who are there because their school will soon be audited so they are there to learn). Most teachers/administrators will not criticize their own because they bring in their own feelings and experiences as to what is wrong and are afraid it reflects on them.

 Thank you,

It's Oscar Night - I would rather watch the "Walking Dead" than listen to the Talking Assholes!

 

I would rather watch the "Walking Dead" than listen to the Talking Assholes!

I will admit I used to watch the major shows and enjoy seeing the celebrities and stars. I especially liked the Oscars when Bob Hope, Johnny Carson and Billy Crystal were the hosts.

For about the past ten years I have watched occasionally but for the past five years I have not tuned in a single show. I want to be entertained, not pontificated to by someone who makes millions of dollars to "PLAY" a part and pretend they are an expert.

To say they have become a parade for political and social views is an understatement. I am for anyone expressing their views in the proper environment done with respect.

Celebrities are in professions that gives a medium to attack issues and some of the songs, movies, shows and articles are wonderful. The movie "Spotlight" was so powerful and done in a way that will forever bring a much need light to an evil that continues to exist. I'm so gad it won the academy award. I'm not complaining about Democrats or Republicans or anyone else's views I just don't want it crammed down my throat. One of my all time favorite songs (Fortunate Son) by Creedence Clearwater Revival would be considered a protest song and I would love to hear it on the Grammy's but I don't need a celebrity to force it on me - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7qkQewyubs

What really concerns me is there are so many people (Lemmings) that believe just because a celebrity says something it must be true. Do you really think people turn in to learn anything from you? They tune in to see if you can bad mouth someone or something and have the forum where you are at stand and cheer and hoot and holler.

Well - the majority of the mainstream (People who vote) really laugh at you when they see the headlines the next day (Like me many have not tuned in or turned off the show after the first speech bashing some person or issue).

Thank God for Patty Duke! - http://mentalfloss.com/article/55134/10-oscar-winners-whose-speeches-were-under-11-words

Competitive Televised Awards Shows

• Emmys (Rotating: Fox, NBC, CBS)
• Daytime Emmys (Pop)
• Creative Arts Emmys (FXX, starting in 2015)
• Oscars (ABC)
• Golden Globes (NBC)
• SAG Awards (Turner)
• BAFTAs (BBC America)
• Grammys (CBS)
• Tonys (CBS)
• Critics' Choice Movie Awards (A&E)
• Critics' Choice TV Awards (A&E)
• Independent Spirit Awards (IFC)
• MTV Movie Awards (MTV)
• MTV VMAs (MTV)
• MTVu Woodie Awards (MTVu)
• BET Awards (BET)
• BET Hip-Hop Awards (BET)
• Soul Train Awards (BET)
• CMT Music Awards (CMT)
• CMA Awards (ABC)
• Academy of Country Music Awards (CBS)
• American Country Countdown Awards (Fox)
• American Music Awards (ABC)
• iHeartRadio Music Awards (NBC)
• Billboard Music Awards (ABC)
• Kids' Choice Awards (Nickelodeon)
• Kids' Choice Sports Awards (Nickelodeon)
• People's Choice Awards (CBS)
• Teen Choice Awards (Fox)
• TV Land Awards (TV Land)
• Radio Disney Music Awards (Disney Channel)
• NewNowNext Awards (Logo)
• ESPYs (ESPN)
• Young Hollywood Awards (The CW)
• Latin Grammys (Univision)

Secretary DeVos - "What Gets Planned, and Measured, Gets Done" - Time for Transformation

Updated 2/7/17,

Secretary DeVos,

https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/four-reasons-why-betsy-devos-will-be-a-welcome-remedy-for-our-nations-education-woes

It is now time for a Transformation - Not just Change.

What is the difference?

http://qualityg.blogspot.com/search?q=transformation

http://qualityg.blogspot.com/2016/09/michigans-education-system-for.html

1/23/17,

Mrs. DeVos,

Please make sure you support yourself with team leaders who understand systems thinking.

http://qualityg.blogspot.com/2014/08/educational-team-leader.html

http://qualityg.blogspot.com/2010/07/empolyee-goals-objectives-again-big.html

Dr. Deming said, “ No One has to Change. Survival is Optional.”

                             CHANGE AND BALANCE MEAN EVERYTHING

The hardest part about change is when a time comes and a decision has to be made as to accept and absorb it or remain in your present state of expertise or stupidity.

Dr. Deming said, “ No one has to change.

Survival is optional.”

Sources:

http://www.langfordlearning.com/about-us/

http://maaw.info/DemingMain.htm

http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/w/w_edwards_deming.html

http://www.transformationforum.org/Quotes.html

With change comes a balance that must be measured and monitored to make sure too much or too little affects your being in a negative manner.

Change and balance are on going in a continual manner that must be a condition through out your life.

Three examples can prove this theory best. Our Body, Our Educational System and Business Expertise.

Our body goes through a continual change through out our lifetime. As we age and grow wiser we must balance our internal system (i.e., organs) with that of our lifestyle (i.e., health and eating). What one organ does affects the whole body. If one organ is too stressed (positive or negative) or out of balance then negative changes occur. Simply put our body is a system with many interdependent processes that must be aligned.

Evolution is key, one can admit when the times are changing and move along or stay put and sit in park and be miserable as the world goes by.

Science proves this over and over again. Why did the cockroach survive and the dinosaurs did not? The cockroach is a master of adaptation and flexibility.

Dr. Deming said, “ No one has to change.

Survival is optional.”

Our educational system in the United States has not changed since the 19th century. We still have the basic foundational agricultural system (no school in late spring/summer (planting time) and get home early before it gets dark or no chores can be done on the farm) in place today. What we have done is add layer of layer of singular changes that conflict with the previous layers. Simply put the system is not in balance.

Click on Pic to Enlarge

Dr. Deming said, “ No one has to change.

Survival is optional.”

Our business expertise gets stagnated when those with current knowledge refuse to change for fear of losing authority, power and self-worth. I will use my own are of expertise – Quality. Since I first started in Quality in 1980 in the service industry I have gone through every change that has come down the pike from Quality of Work Life (QWL) to the current Six Sigma. Instead of debating which is system is better I have tried to learn the best from each and move forward through test and theory as my basis continual knowledge.

Unfortunately I have seen individuals who have become experts in many of the singular movements like Total Quality Management (TQM), Statistical Process Control (SPC), Six Sigma to name just a few. These folks will debate why there system is better than the rest and will not budge from their platform because they fear loss of power or authority or worse yet their job. If they would just put forth the time they spend not wanting to move on and use that energy toward learning the new method or knowledge they would evolve and be successful.

Dr. Deming said, “ No one has to change.

Survival is optional.”

Click on Pic to Enlarge

President Trump - Please be careful about Bottom Line" decision making.

The Post below was written in 2011 when then newly elected Governor Snyder from Michigan began his so-called customer focus and leading by the numbers and facts decision making process (bottom line end results). Without understanding systems thinking and the impact it has on the whole system, is a very dangerous way to lead. 

I'm re-posting this because there will be a large number of CEO business type people moving in to key government positions. Too many of these people rely on accountants and financial honchos for making decisions. This is the same path that Michael Hammer took with "Reengineering" in the early 90s. I attended his seminar and all he did was talk about faster and cheaper and saving money. During a break I asked him "What about the People" and he responded "What about them". I said there would be no long lasting positive change without considering all the people involved. He laughed and said that is the problem with the Total Quality movement.

Unfortunately, too many businesses and education systems today still are managed by Bottom Line (I call them Bottom Feeders) Leaders who are steeped in the financials but have no idea or understanding on where and how people, variation, knowledge and systems thinking must fit in to the equation. Without the ability to determine if your processes or systems are capable and/or in control financials will only serve as result measures that provide information on a particular function or unit NOT the system as a whole which is critical to the success of any organization, company or school system.

For example - Flint Water Problem

"They don't listen to nobody," longtime Flint City Councilman Scott Kincaid said of emergency managers. "They don't care about the community. They just care about fixing the finances." Kincaid and others said the managers' tendency to ignore local complaints played a role in the water fiasco, since residents had complained about taste and color of the water.

For example - Michigan Unemployment Debacle
"The system is flawed, claimants allege (and the state's response to such criticism has seemed to acknowledge) sometimes pursuing penalties from Michiganders who were entitled to the unemployment benefits they’d received."

http://www.freep.com/story/opinion/editorials/2016/04/27/michigan-unemployment-fraud/83545186/

2011 - Governor Snyder of Michigan - "Dashboard Metrics" - HUH!

“The data collection process must be driven by the question that we formulate based on our needs. In short, know what the question is to be answered before collecting the data.” - Dr. J. M. Juran

Governor Snyder of Michigan is implementing "Dashboard Metrics" across the state of Michigan to measure progress. Great idea. However, do the people know what dashboard metrics are and what do they represent. Do the people collecting this data know what to collect. 

Are the data being collected going to be shown as "Results" measures as opposed to also including Process Measures? 

CRITICAL POINT 1: I suggest and hope the governor is aware of the difference between Common and Special Cause Variation. And, Dr. Deming's System of Profound Knowledge. If you really want to improve Governor Snyder please study and adopt the System of Profound Knowledge.

https://deming.org/management-system/sopk

Do any of you reading this know what I am talking about? Some of you will, the majority will not. We are all more concerned if the changes being introduced by the governor will affect us personally. Heck, we like change as long as it is not happening to us. 

I would recommend all officials read and digest this book.

https://deming.org/store/books/the-new-economics

CRITICAL POINT 2: Before implementing these type of measure you must make sure you are using a systems thinking approach and by that I mean include all your principal people from each step of the process/system. By not including front-line/customer facing employees (Especially in the design stages) you are doomed to failure. Why? Because you will ultimately be a "Results Oriented" Leader which happens when you are surrounded by business/government bureaucratic who manage by the "Bottom Line" and do not take people in to consideration when making systemic changes be them small or large.

Dashboard Metrics 
Perhaps the picture below will give the best example of what they are and what they look like if done correctly. The pictorial illustrates a company that needs to respond to a customer inquiry for service or repair. While the charts below show bar graphs I would also add control charts when the proper amount of data are collected to make sure the process is in control (Control can be good or bad).

Click on Pic to Enlarge 

The following provides a method for setting up effective measures: 
METHODOLOGY FOR DEFINING AND ESTABLISHING CUSTOMER 

FOCUSED MEASUREMENTS

Measurements should track how well our processes are performing according to:
• Customer Expectations (including customer perception) and Organization Objectives
• Customer Satisfaction • Value Drivers
• Competitive Benchmarking • Employee Satisfaction The above stated types of measurements will help determine the overall quality, efficiency, and effectiveness of all processes.
The activities involved in defining and establishing measures include:
1. Determining effective measures
2. Reviewing and validating existing measures
3. Implementing new measurements
4. Install a measurement and reporting system
5. Establish a feedback and monitoring system
6. Monitor measurements

1. DETERMINING EFFECTIVE MEASURES
Purpose:

Effective measures provide an insightful means about the efficiency of a process. Measures of this type are meant to track and align performance (process) and results (quality) indicators of a business process. 

Establishing Effective Measurements:

Create effective measurements based upon the following:
• Customer expectations/requirements
• Practical to implement
• Easy to comprehend
• Consensus of agreement by group
• Able to help drive culture change

What to Measure:

Establish measurements based upon customer expectations and business objectives. These measurements should measure what our customers care about and what will drive our Value Drivers toward exceeding Operational business objectives.

Develop objective measures of customer satisfaction. Without measures, we have no means by objectively assessing the magnitude by which our processes are performing to customer and business requirements, and whether or not our improvement efforts and newly implemented systems have improved the process.

These types of measurements should provide objective data that will drive decisions that will produce long-term customer preference. 

If suppliers are included, be sure to measure input characteristics and services.

How to Measure:

Implement simple, easy to understand measurements whenever possible. Measurements that are complex will not be used.

It is vital that our measurements be easily defined, understood and communicated to assure common understanding.

A small amount of meaningful measures are worth 10 times more than a large amount of nice to know measures (non-value added).

It's OK to experiment with measures, if they don't tell you what you need, stop measuring and create new ones.

If at the beginning measured identification is difficult, start with customer satisfaction, every major process has a customer.

Don't just measure one aspect of a process. Your measurements should be balanced with variable, attribute and some subjective characteristics like time, cost, quantity and customer perception.

Evaluating Measures:

In the beginning it might be best to implement a few strategically based measurements. As stated before, it's best to experiment and monitor the effectiveness of few, rather than implementing a large amount and never monitor.

2. REVIEWING AND VALIDATING EXISTING MEASUREMENTS

Purpose:

Once we've identified and understood what makes effective measurement, it is necessary to assess measurements that are already in place. Effective measurements provide input data that drive motivation for continuous improvement. Those that do not measure up should be changed or eliminated.

Measurement Balance:

If current measurements are only measuring internal business objectives, move to measure the effectiveness of our processes or solutions from a customer perspective.

Measure Behavior:

Implement measures that level to desired behavioral results. Verify the measures do not drive undesired behavior by our workers or to your customers. For example, many companies have found that they speculated "speed of answer" as a desirable measurement for customer satisfaction. Customer survey and interviews found that quality of service provided was more important than speed of answer.

3. IMPLEMENTING NEW MEASUREMENTS 
Purpose:

It is vital that any new measurements implemented are effective and efficient and that it is collected, analyzed, and used in a way that motivates positive behavior and not punitive threats to workers.

Data Collection:

Make sure those responsible for collecting or installing new measurements are familiar with data and are part of the implementation plan.

4. INSTALL A MEASUREMENT AND REPORTING SYSTEM
Purpose:

Installing a measurement and reporting system requires an action plan of implementation that identifies the roles and responsibilities of the Process Owner and Sub-Process Owners who will be accountable for the measures.

This also requires agreement on what measures will be reported and that method and system support is available. The Action Plan must include trend analysis and plans of who will respond to them in a timely basis.

Automation:

Whenever possible and cost effective, automate as many measurements as possible. The advantage is more accurate and timely data collection and analysis. 

Share Measurements:

Post measurements data in visible places, so that results can be shared by workers in the process. It's also a good idea to keep everyone in the process informed from end-to-end.

5. ESTABLISH A FEEDBACK SYSTEM 
Purpose:

By establishing a feedback system, employees will keep abreast of changing expectations and update the current process as required.

Sharing Feedback:

Corporate Quality, Marketing, Sales and Front Line customer facing employees must keep upper management aware of changing customer needs so that business objectives and measurements may be changed accordingly.
It's also important to share feedback with workers in the process as well as customers and suppliers.

6. MONITOR MEASUREMENTS

Purpose: 

Employees identified as measurement owners must constantly evaluate their measurements, reassess customer needs, and continuously search for new ways to use data for continuous improvement.

Evaluate Measurements:

If your measurements are not accurately reflecting process performance or drive undesirable behavior, they should be removed. Update or install new measures as needed.

Benchmark Measures:

Benchmarking your process measurement performance relative to your competitors will be vital to competition. Benchmarking provides information to leaders that helps establish performance targets based on data from the marketplace. Benchmarking is a useful method to supply additional data and information but not to be used exclusively for changes or measurements. It's also important reminder that if you want to use Benchmarking as a means to be the best please realize you will not obtain that goal by simply Benchmarking another company (They will always be better than you).

Race for the White House or OUTHOUSE!!

Is it me or has this been the stinkiest presidential race in the history of the United States? I have never seen two candidates so disliked and not trusted.

American's are looking for someone to take charge and lead our country in a new direction. We are looking for someone to serve the people (All the people) and represent what is best for our families and nation. Not once have I heard any discussion about Social Security and the fact our seniors have not got an increase in two years. The only thing you hear is the scare tactic it is going away. People can not be expected to be able to sympathize and give their money and time to others if they can't take care of their own families first.

All we have are people who are so self-serving and self-centered who boast "crap" each and everyday.

This is a race to the bottom not the top! And the Loser is US!!!

So who will I vote for?  A wise man once said "Changes that Results in Improvement comes from Application of Knowledge." I would also add "Changes that results in a Transformation comes from outside the system."