Eclectic Technology

As many schools move to Common Core the question of rigor is a key issue. States that have tested with Common Core have seen significant drops in scores. Why? The Common Core tests are more difficult than most local tests.

Grant Wiggins states "to significantly raise local standards of performance seems to mean we have to lower student grades." Most schools do not want to do this (and certainly most parents do not want to see lower grades).

He continues to explore this issue looking at rigor, and noting that rigor is currently defined by 3 elements:

1. The difficulty of the task or questions
2. The difficulty of the criteria, as established by rubrics
3. The level of achievement expected, as set by “anchors” or cut scores.

However, he notes that many schools/districts do not get past #1. Why? "The problem of fair/normed grading!"

Wiggins then goes on to the final section of this post, called "Solution: avoid thoughtless calculations based on false equivalencies."

However, there is one more section that provides two helpful pieces of information that may help you create better assessments. It includes Webb's Depth of Knowledge Wheel as well as audit matrix that looks at the Assessment Format (Task Complexity and Context) and Cognitive Demand (Depth and Fluency of Thinking). (See image above).

Additionally, he has included an appendix that has text from Webb for levels 1, 2, 3 and 4 for Math, Reading and Writing.

These are great resources to share with teachers in your district as we move to Common Core.