A report released today by the Editorial Projects in Education Research Center and Education First concludes that states "have a long way to go" before they have solid plans to implement the standards.
In the three key areas the researchers asked about—
curriculum and instructional resources
teacher professional development
teacher-evaluation systems
7 states reported having completed plans in all three.
18 states reported no completed plans in any of those three areas.
"Notably, and disturbingly, with all the attention paid to educational reform, there has been little, if any, focus on curriculum as part of the problem," writes Beverlee Jobrack, who retired in 2007 as editorial director for McGraw-Hill. "
"It has become clear to me that student achievement will at best remain static unless educational reform includes re-evaluating and improving how curriculum is developed, assessed, and selected."
The book, Tyranny of the Textbook: An Insider Exposes How Educational Materials Undermine Reforms:
Problems
The curriculum used in most classrooms is mediocre and typically fails to reflect best practices.
The core problem, as she sees it, is a system that has failed to create the right conditions and incentives to ensure that high-quality curricula designed to optimize learning are developed and reach classrooms around the nation.
This system is "perpetuating mediocrity in instructional materials and in American education."
School and district committees for curriculum selection filled with teachers and others who lack the appropriate expertise, motivation, and time to make the best choices;
State textbook adoptions focused on whether curricular materials meet state standards, line by line, with little or no attention to whether they actually are of high quality and represent a coherent and well-designed instructional approach
A radically consolidated publishing industry, driven by sales and marketing teams, that has "resulted in a dearth of customer choice, a reluctance to innovate, and huge [curricular] programs that are barely distinguishable from one another."
Re-lableling - "They are simply relabeling. ... If there's anything missing in a textbook series, the publishers will simply add a paragraph or add a lesson to address that particular standard."
Solutions
transform the curriculum-selection process by schools and districts, as well as the state textbook-adoption process, to focus intensively on the quality of materials
"implement that new curriculum with fidelity." This does not mean a scripted approach, but that teachers not simply skip around and cherry-pick the elements they like and dismiss those they prefer not to teach.
The quality of teachers is absolutely critical. In a nutshell, as she writes, "Quality curriculum taught by quality teachers has the most potential to improve student achievement."
"The standards are not the curriculum. The curriculum is what teachers do every day, introduce a concept, check for understanding, have students practice, and assess it."
Common Core State Standards
Jobrack cautions that the common standards may not amount to much without real and meaningful changes in the curriculum.
See an introduction to the new Common Core state standards for ELA and Literacy including background on the design process, key features, and major differences.
We've reported a lot here about the challenges teachers and school districts face in turning the common standards into curriculum and instruction. Less attention has been paid to the best ways for principals to lead their schools through the transition.
That area will be the focus of a partnership between the National Association of Secondary School Principals and the College Board. They've teamed up to create a new online community where principals can connect and discuss common-core issues they're facing in their schools.
The two groups will also host a series of six webinars that explore the most effective roles principals can play to oversee curriculum and instruction for the common core.
Mel Riddile, the NASSP's associate director for high school services, told me last week that in talking with members, the group found that principals' unique needs were being overlooked as common-core information made its way to states, districts, and teachers.
"We didn't find anything that matched the needs of school leaders, and we want to avoid bypassing them," Riddile said. "There are dramatic changes in these new standards, and much of the responsibility for putting those into practice will fall on the shoulders of school leaders. They need to understand the standards themselves, but also their implications for operating a school."
A lack on interest might be at least partially contributing to current low writing proficiency among American students. According to the Association of American Colleges and Universities' report, "Liberal Education Outcomes," only 11 percent of high school seniors reach the “proficient” level in writing.
Writing is a pivotal skill, as it remains one of the primary forms of communication, stressed Jacob Lewis, CEO of the young adult writing community Figment, in a recent Business Insider article. The annual cost to re-train American employees to write well is $3.1 billion.
Many students may not see this need for writing well when they are only trying to write for their teacher. Lewis wrote that students need to have a bigger audience for writing’s importance to be impressed upon them.
An "innovation is only as good as its implementation is strong. And strong implementation requires constantly evaluating and reevaluating what’s happening, what’s going wrong, and how it can be improved."
Unfortunately, "Version 1.0 of NCLB sparked some initial changes. Student achievement improved, particularly for our most struggling students and particularly in math. But then we saw a plateau. Version 2.0 was debated for a decade and never released. And we wonder why the impact was so small?"
"It’s not what students are being asked to do with a text that presents the difficulty, but the complexity level of the text itself." - Tim Shanahan
Dr. Timothy Shanahan discusses the ELA Common Core State Standards and their emphasis on complex text. Dr. Shanahan, a member of the CCSS development team, has some particularly interesting insights into the thinking behind the standards. In the video above, he addresses the shift from a skills-focused approach in state standards to the emphasis on complex text in the Common Core State Standards.
The two consortia(PARCC and SmarterBalanced)—which are working with federal Race to the Top money—have released documents that shed a bit more light on what the tests might look like when they're fully operational in 2014-15.
What's in PARCC's newest ITN (RFP)?
Timing - It covers development of the group's summative, end-of-year test, as well as its midyear formative assessments. It doesn't include the consortium's planned early-year diagnostic assessment or its assessment for speaking and listening skills.
ELA - On the English/language arts assessment, for instance, it seeks "enhanced comprehension" reading items that can measure deeper, more nuanced types of understanding and require students to read complex passages and cite evidence to support their answers. There will also be a focus on measuring students' "academic vocabulary."
Real World Tasks - It gives some hints of what test items might look like as it describes the "task generation models" that winning vendors will use to design items. In a section of the English/language arts test probing students' research skills, for instance, they could be asked to draw on a speech from a historical figure and several related informational texts about the speech. Another task could ask them to do something similar in science, since the standards' literacy skills reach across disciplines.
Performance-based assessment in English/language arts, for instance, one of the two components of its summative test, is envisioned as three sessions over two days, one focusing on a research simulation and another on a literary analysis.
Reading - The end-of-year, computer-based test will ask students to read about six passages and respond to machine-scorable items, including pairs of readings that enable comparison and synthesis, and "innovative" items that are designed to deepen students text analysis as they move through the test. Reading passages for grades 3-5 will be 200-800 words long, and those for students in grades 6-8 will be 400-1,000 words long. Passages for high school students will be 500-1,500 words long.
Math - The math test will include items with single or multiple prompts. Some will be machine-scorable, and some will require hand scoring. The performance-based assessment in math will include tasks that demand written arguments or justifications of students' answers, or critiques of reasoning. They will also include problems that involve real-world scenarios. The number of tasks is, at least at this point, pretty broad: between 11 and 66 in grades 3-8 on the end-of-year assessment and the first section of the performance-based assessment, for instance, with an additional 2-4 tasks in each of the second and third sections of the performance-based assessment.
With California schools preparing to move to the new Common Core State Standards (CCSS) that will redefine what students learn, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson announced today the publication of a new book to help teachers and administrators make the transition.
The new hard-copy publication, A Look at Kindergarten Through Grade Six in California Public Schools: Transitioning to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts and Mathematics, provides information for educators on curriculum planning and professional development in the new standards, which were formally adopted last year.
“The new Common Core standards will truly move what California students learn into the 21st century, with an emphasis on critical thinking and problem-solving,” Torlakson said. “That makes it an exciting time in education, but a challenging time as well. We’ve created this book—and its online counterpart—to give teachers a helping hand.”
As part of the Common Core Curriculum that will take over 45 states and the District of Columbia by 2014, Ohio plans to ditch the traditional pencil and paper test method.
It will be replaced by technology, whether that be computerized tests or an assessment distributed via an electronic tablet. Either way, the switch to online testing is coming by 2015.
Details of the upgrades, including technology requirements and financial responsibility, are fuzzy at the moment, but state education officials hope to have more information by spring.
Local district officials are uncertain of who will pay for any necessary upgrades should the schools’ current technology not live up to the new use.
There are several problems with state crosswalks and their findings.
crosswalk comparisons too often lose the forest for the trees, focusing on narrow and sometimes insignificant differences between state and Common Core standards, rather than working to identify major differences in prioritization and focus.
Nowhere in this (OR) overly simplistic analysis does the state even mention the focus in the CCSS on engaging in close reading of grade appropriate texts.
the importance of ensuring that all students engage in reading sufficiently rigorous texts is at the heart of the Common Core standards—and represents a significant shift for classrooms across the country.
glosses over the most significant difference between the CCSS and the Oregon standards. Namely, that the Common Core rather deliberately focuses on using details drawn from the text itself to support student understanding, rather than on using reading skills and strategies as a way to improve reading comprehension.
States are using these crosswalk exercises as way of identifying the areas where they should focus teacher professional development.
The Bottom Line
State crosswalks should focus on the most significant differences, not similarities. Therfore, it is unlikely that teachers will receive the training they need to make the instructional changes the CCSS demand.
In a blog post from this summer, Dr. Timothy Shanahan writes,
So why is the common core making such a big deal out of having kids read hard text?
One of the most persuasive pieces of evidence they considered was a report, Reading: Between the Lines, published by American College Testing (ACT; 2006).
You can view the summary or download the full ACT report right here.
In Reading: Between the Lines, ACT demonstrates that student performance cannot be differentiated in any meaningful way by question type. Students do not perform differently if they are answering literal recall items or inferential items (or other question types like main idea or vocabulary, either). Test performance, according to ACT, is driven by text rather than questions. Thus, if students are asked to read a hard passage, they may only answer a few questions correctly, no matter what types of questions they may be. On the other hand, with an easy enough text, students may answer almost any questions right, again with no differences by question type.
Dr. Shanahan, a member of the CCSS development team, has some particularly interesting insights into the thinking behind the standards. In the video above, watch him speak about the shift from a skills-focused approach in state standards to the emphasis on complex text in the Common Core State Standards.
Consortia documents outline tests that use computers in innovative ways and capture data about student knowledge that multiple-choice tests can't.
Documents issued by the two groups of states (PARCC, SMARTER Balanced) that are designing the tests show that they seek to harness the power of computers in new ways and assess skills that multiple-choice tests cannot.
Those plans are very fluid, however, since several years of design, dialogue, revision, piloting, and reworking lie ahead before the assessments are ready in 2014-15. But early documents offer glimpses of the groups' thinking.
Very Big Deal
"This stuff is a very big deal, and it's a huge departure from the kinds of tests most kids currently take," said Chuck Pack, a national-board-certified math teacher at Tahlequah High School, in Tahlequah, Okla., a small town outside Tulsa.
PARCC's Plan
development of the two pieces of the test that will yield students' summative scores in mathematics and English/language arts and be used for accountability purposes:
a computer-based end-of-year test and a performance-based assessment given toward the end of the year.
midyear formative assessments that are part of PARCC's system but are optional for states.
PARCC's English/language arts exam shows that the performance-based assessment, spread over two days, would involve a "research simulation" that asks students to read a suite of texts, including an "anchor" text such as a speech by a prominent historical figure. They would have to answer questions that require them to cite evidence from the text for their answers and write an essay. Another aspect of the performance-based test would require students to "engage" with literature (grades 3-5) or conduct literary analysis (grades 6-11) using a combination of shorter and longer texts.
Summative Assessments ELA
The end-of-year exam would employ six literary and informational texts and ask students to respond to machine-scorable questions, including ones that demand comparison and synthesis of the readings. The end-of-year test in English/language arts would yield at least half of a student's points in that topic. One-third to one-half would come from the performance-based test, according to the preliminary blueprint.
Summative Assessments Math
PARCC's math test will include three types of questions: "innovative," machine-scorable, computer-based items; items that call for written arguments or justifications; critiques of mathematical reasoning, or proof that students "attended to precision" in math; and items involving real-world scenarios. The performance-based assessment in math will count for 40 percent to 50 percent of a student's points in that subject, and the end-of-course exam will yield 50 percent to 60 percent of the points. The math exams will focus on solving problems in the "major content areas" at each grade level, as well as demonstrating conceptual understanding, fluency and mathematical reasoning, and applying knowledge to real-world problems.
Two Types Math Assessments
At the high school level, PARCC will develop two series of end-of-course math tests: a traditional one—Algebra 1, geometry, and Algebra 2—and one that integrates those topics. Those parallel pathways reflect choices educators can make about how to design math courses from the common standards. The solicitation document answers a question that had been circulating among some educators of young children. PARCC said that its tests will be given by computer to students in grades 6-11, but those in grades 3-5 will answer questions with pencil and paper because of concerns about younger children's keyboarding skills.
Delaware made sure everyone knew that it had reached 79 percent of its teachers with that training.) The Ed Department noted the sample units and lesson plans Delaware posted online for teachers. And it noted the state's progress transitioning to new assessments, such as its plans to embed common-core-like items in its own state tests soon, and its decision to require all 11th graders to take the SAT as a college-readiness exam.
MA
Massachusetts comes out pretty rosy in the federal report. It gets pats for curriculum frameworks and model units for the common core, and for proceeding with professional development on the new standards even though it struggled with a delay hiring a PD coordinator. The department also noted that Massachusetts' statewide assessments will be based on the common core in 2012-13, which, I'm guessing, is far earlier than most states.
HI
Content specialists are working with all its principals across the state, who then pass along their knowledge through "tri-level" professional development, the report says. It provided training to teachers in grades K-2, and 11-12, with plans to move to all the other grades within the next two years. It also moved to online, computer-adaptive assessments, the report says.
NY
The department mentioned its training of "network teams" to get this job done, and its plan to "build sequenced, spiraled, content-rich statewide curriculum modules."
These are my notes from Karen Robertson‘s presentation on January 9, 2012, for the school board of Yukon Public Schools providing an introduction to the Common Core State Standards. Karen is the Executive Director of Curriculum and Assessment at Yukon Public Schools in Oklahoma.
Common Core state standards initiative
state-led and developed common core standards for K12 in ELA and math
initiative led by Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) and National Governors Association (NGA)
What are educational standards and why do they matter?
standards define what the outcomes will be for our students?
the create shared understanding for our student of what they need to know and be able to do at each grade level when they leave our schools
by Amy Benjamin, author of Math In Plain English, Teaching Grammar, Vocabulary at the Center
Building literacy and reasoning skills amplifies the learning capacity of students, strengthening their ability to learn, remember and process information.
"Building skills in literacy and reasoning doesn't subtract from skills and content in subjects that are not called English language arts and mathematics. In fact, building literacy and reasoning skills amplify the learning capacity of students, thereby strengthening their ability to learn, remember, access, and process information throughout the school day and beyond."
Rather than seeing the Common Core as leeching time away from other subjects, we need to acknowledge and respond to the central importance that language and reasoning play in every subject. By infusing writing-to-learn activities, reinforcing academic vocabulary, and expecting students to access knowledge through content area independent reading (and helping them do so), we are enriching education, not diluting it. The accurate use of language sharpens, almost defines, and even creates thinking skills.
Writing
The real value of writing is to increase and refine knowledge for the writer, not the teacher. Writing does more than just express what you know. Writing actually creates what you know and allows you to see it.
Real Problem
The real problem is poor reading comprehension that results from
1) too slow a reading pace, the result of lack of practice; and
2) insufficient academic vocabulary, also the result of lack of practice. In the absence of practice, we are stuck in a vicious cycle of having to teach around the fact that students are not up to the task of reading and using writing as a means for learning.
Remedial Classes vs. Electives
"Rather than exacerbating the need for remedial classes that take away from electives, let’s come at it another way. Let’s have the electives provide the literacy supports that are inherent in learning those subjects. That would be much more motivating and effective than having students doing worksheets and practice tests in a remedial class."
The Bottom Line
"Reading comprehension, vocabulary, and writing-to-learn affect all academic subjects."
Brainchild Corporation announced today that it will launch Achiever! for iPad at FETC in Florida later this month. Achiever! for iPad is designed for elementary and middle school students and has state specific and Common Core content available. Achiever! will be the first iPad application to deliver a full range of standards-based instruction and assessment on the iPad for Math and Language arts.
The Achiever! application for iPad marks the latest innovation from Brainchild.
For each standard, students will take a pretest to establish their baseline scores.
If scores are low, students can watch instructional videos and work through the program's study mode to improve proficiency.
Study mode provides immediate feedback for incorrect answers and allows students to work through problems until they get the answer correct.
Brainchild's patented GlobalSYNC technology allows student's work to be synced with online reports for data-driven instruction.
OK--maybe "terrified" isn't quite the word. How about nervous? Apprehensive? Uncertain? Stop right there. After all, you teach writing well, don't you? Maybe brilliantly!
What’s really embedded in those standards? Something that has been overlooked amidst all the hoopla of the past several years is that the standards are not all that demanding. Really? Yes, really. They’re basically common sense expectations about writing that in fact have been around for years.
Important Link . . . Current research supports what most of us have long believed: that writing directly improves reading skills. In other words, one of the best ways to teach reading is through direct instruction in writing. To learn more, check out Marshall Memo 417, January 3, 2012:
Look for an article titled “The road to writing proficiency,” a summary from the recent Harvard Educational Review. Thanks for dropping by–and do bring friends! We’ll be reviewing a new book by Richard Peck, right here on Gurus, early next week.
Washington Teaching Ambassador Fellow Greg Mullenholz answers teachers’ burning questions about education policy. In this issue, he takes up the Common Core State Standards (CCSS).
Teacher Question: What is the Common Core of State Standards? Is it a US Department of Education Program?
Governing Board voted to add three representatives from the PARCC Advisory Committee on College Readiness (ACCR).
The Board will also form a committee to strengthen the partnership between the K-12 and higher education leaders in the PARCC states. They will work on the key matters related to college readiness.
There were a number of issues on the Governing Board’s agenda, which included:
- "Game-Changing Assessments"- Voting unanimously to approve the solicitation for PARCC Item Development. There was consensus voiced on the game-changing nature of the assessments that will result from the innovations in PARCC design and procurement.
- Technology - Discussing the need for states to continue making strides on technology infrastructure and implementation including the transition to computer-based assessments; and
- Teacher Engagement - Continuing the discussion on PARCC’s work to engage teachers through the Educator Leader Cadres
– Design Assessments - working groups to help guide design and implementation of the PARCC assessments.
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