CCSS News Curated by Core2Class

In this post, we suggest asking Who is doing the work? as one lens for analyzing and evaluating Common Core lessons.

If you are a regular reader of my blog, you know that I posted a blog several days ago entitled Six Text Type Pairings for Critical Thinking & Common Core Success. However, among the documents published April 30, 2013 on thePARCC website is a PowerPoint entitled “PARCC ELA Passage Selection Guidelines” within which is a entitled “Standards Call for Seven Types of Paired Passages” (slide 14) that are demanded in adherence to the Common Core ELA/Literacy Standards.

Last month in this column, we introduced some of the ways in which writers for young people model the substance of their “big picture” thinking, how they sift and shape new ideas and evidence from their research to create a particular lens for their readers. In addition to offering insight into the different ways authors approach a particular subject, writers also model specific styles and techniques that demonstrate a command of the written word, connect with and hook readers, and explain and contextualize important concepts.

Use your head when evaluating curriculum. Just because it doesn't specifically say "Egypt" or "China" doesn't mean you have to cut those from your curriculum. You can incorporate standards into such studies.

Most straight jackets worn in education are fabrications of the mind.

While some are wearing straight jackets, my students are collaborating globally. They aren't wearing straight jackets, they have wings. And that, my friends will make all the difference.

Here's five PD essentials to support teachers in transitioning to close reading and the Common Core.

Teachers everywhere are concerned about the impact of Common Core. But they won't benefit from lecture-style PD that itemizes specific strands and standards of Common Core. Promoting curricular "checklists" doesn't build capacity, it fosters either resistance or mindless compliance. Don't talk about "close reading" - do it!

Indiana is the first state to withdraw from the common core state standards. Previously, there were four states that had not adopted the standards, but of those that had done so, Indiana is the first to back down. Technically, they have only “suspended” their CCSS efforts for further study so it is possible that this will just be a delay and not an actual withdrawal, but the politics around this in Indiana suggest that this may be the beginning of the end of CCSS there.

The students in Preston's class are part of an effort in Maryland to create a new era in early-childhood education. The city's advanced introduction of rigorous academic standards, the "common core" that will be introduced in all state public schools this fall, targets its youngest learners.

Some educators nationwide have cautioned that the new emphasis could lead teachers to ignore other important lessons, including social development. And in Baltimore, some teachers were anxious about the change, fearing that "rigor" meant limiting the traditionally nurturing environments in which young children develop.

But that strategy has shown results in the city. In 2012, Baltimore kindergartners showed an unprecedented rise on the state's standardized "readiness" assessment — even as scores in the highest-performing districts were stagnant or declined. The performance of those students, among the first pre-kindergartners introduced to the revamped curriculum, also allowed the city to close in on the statewide average

Gov. Jerry Brown proposed Tuesday to direct all of the extra $2.8 billion in revenue that the state expects to receive this year to K-12 schools and community colleges, mostly for one-time uses, including $1 billion to implement the Common Core standards.

There had been projections of even more money this year, but in a news conference releasing hisMay budget revise, Gov. Jerry Brown tempered expectations; the drag of federal tax changes, sequestration of federal spending and new payroll projections had led the administration to lower its bottom-line estimates in the May revision of the state budget. Administration officials warned that the minimum guarantee for school spending, after rising to $56.5 billion in 2012-13, is projected to fall nearly $1 billion next year.

Where are you with the Common Core Standards? Are all stakeholders on board or is there a civil war going on in your school or community? Is school leadership supporting instructional change in your building or your district? Are teachers working independently to keep up on change without focused systematic support by educational leadership? Are teachers fighting change, asserting “this too shall pass?”

Williamson County school officials are going through hundreds of questions submitted at a Common Core Standards presentation at the end of April and posting the answers online.

Mary Jo Groeneveld asked: What are some tools teachers can use to address new common core standards while developing creative thinking?

Checker and Kathleen consider Randi Weingarten’s call to suspend testing, pre-K finance jitters, and the fate of the testing consortia. Amber worries about wayward sons.

PARCC states are working closely with two sets of contractors to develop the items and tasks for the PARCC mid-year, performance-based and end-of-year assessments. 

Item development has two phases:

• The first phase of item development contracts were awarded to ETS and Pearson. ETS' proposal can be found here and Pearson's can be found here.  Phase I of Item Development began in the fall of 2012 and will be complete in late summer 2013.
• The second phase will begin as soon as Phase II is complete in late summer 2013 and run through late summer 2014.  The contracts for Phase II will be awarded to one or more of the Phase I contractors, based on the quality of work in the first year.

For as long as I can remember I have been an advocate for helping teachers understand the stages of technology integration in order to effectively use tech as a tool for learning.

I've adopted a few different tech integration models over the years, discussed the ideas with administrators for use as a starting point for tech integration, and kept the ideas front of mind as I invent and discover new ways for using technology as a tool for learning.  
  
With increasing expectations to implement the CCSS, I decided to create samples of student projects that weave digital tools into the Common Core to demonstrate the flexibility of ThingLink as an effective and efficient tool for constructing knowledge. To create the samples, I had to dig deeper into the Common Core myself and embrace it. 

WASHINGTON, D.C. - April 30, 2013 - The Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) today released assessment blueprints and test specifications for both the English language arts/literacy and mathematics assessments set to debut in 2014-15. These blueprints and test specifications will help educators better prepare students for the new online assessments that are aligned to the more rigorous Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and designed to measure college and career readiness.
 
"These tools will help educators assist staff in both teaching the CCSS and in designing common classroom-based assessments that will help students become college- and career-ready and to succeed on the PARCC assessments," said Cindy Journell-Hoch, an Elementary Teacher Specialist for School Administration and Leadership for Frederick County Public Schools in Maryland.

"The release of the blueprint and test specification materials comes at a time when teachers are eager to understand how PARCC will assess the CCSS," said Wendi Anderson, Director for PARCC/Innovative Assessment at the Arizona Department of Education. "These materials allow teachers to see 'under the hood' of the assessment, to understand how the different elements work together to assess student mastery of the CCSS."

The website, which the AFT launched in partnership with the British publishing company TSL Education last year, is part of a growing online ecosystem that has emerged in recent years as educators across the country confront the challenge of transitioning to new Common Core standards. Existing curriculum materials are not aligned to the new standards, which emphasis text skills, non-fiction, and critical thinking.