What Do My Children Need to Learn?

1. What Do My Children Need to Learn? Understanding the State Standards Presented by Joan Haig Ogden Elementary School Fall, 2007

2. Standards-Based Reform • 1983 National Commission on Excellence in Education recommends higher standards to increase student achievement • 1900’s states begin to develop standards • 2001 No Child Left Behind Legislation • All children will be proficient in Math and Reading by the year 2014

3. What are Standards? • What students should know and are expected to do • Define achievement very specifically • Describe what is to be taught from grade to grade

4. Why are Standards Important for My Child? • Ensure high expectations for every student • Focus what teachers teach and what students should do • Performance is compared to a standard not to another student • Best way to provide specific feedback to parents

5. Let’s Take a Look at Content Standards

6. What are Performance Standards? • How well a child is doing in relationship to mastery of a particular standard • Standard assessed / performance measured • Rubric / scoring guide provided • Performance indicators: • 4 Exceeds grade level standards • 3 Meets grade level standards • 2 Progressing towards grade level standards • 1 Experiencing difficulty meeting grade level standards

7. What are Rubrics / Scoring Guides? • Different from the traditional way of scoring student work • Set clear goals for mastery • Describe different levels of understanding and performance • Provide more information to student and to parent than a percentage or letter grade

8. Global Warming Here is a Student’s Vocabulary Picture Work: • The sun is making the earth hot. • The earth is losing its water because it is sweating. • No plants can grow anymore.

9. Vocabulary Picture Rubric: • 4 = Picture communicates insightful understanding of definition; Error free; Labeled correctly • 3 = Picture communicates good understanding of definition; Minor errors, if any; Labeled correctly • 2 = Picture communicates some understanding of definition; Some errors; Labels mostly correct • 1 = Picture unclear, communicates little understanding of definition; Many errors; Not always labeled correctly

10. Let’s Stop a Minute and Practice!

11. Standards in Everyday Life! • Haig Household Standard: • Every child in my house understands how to correctly make a bed • Content Standard • Each child will be able to make their own bed. • Performance Standard (test)

12. My Child’s Idea of a Well Made Bed!

13. My Idea of a Well Made Bed!

14. Sample Bed Making Rubric: • 4 = Bed exceeds parent expectation. Child attempts to make other beds also. • 3 = Bed is made without assistance. Sheets and blankets are smoothed and tucked. Pillows are fluffed and put in place. • 2 = Bed is made with some assistance. Sheets and blankets are not tucked completely. Pillows are not placed correctly. • 1 = Bed is mostly unmade.

15. What score would you give this one?

16. How about this?

17. Standards in the Classroom Grade 5 Language Arts Standard • Content Standard: • Students will draw conclusions about text and support them with textual evidence. • Performance Standard: • Students will read a story and write two or more conclusions with supporting evidence.

18. A Standards-Based Report Card Grades 2 - 5

19. History and Process: • What were the limitations of the previous reporting system? • Lack of alignment • Lack of consistency • Lack of specificity

22. What was the purpose in creating a Standards-Based Report Card? • To align reporting procedures to NYS Standards • To provide consistency • To provide more detailed feedback to parents regarding the progress their children are making towards specific learning standards at their grade level.

23. How will the new system improve communication between & among constituent groups?

24. What was the process used to create the new Standards-Based Report Card? • Collaborative • Consensus driven • Articulated vertically and laterally • Grades • Special Areas • Buildings • Special Education

25. The Classroom Teacher’s Perspective

26. Why is the Standards-Based Report Card Valuable? • Gives important information to parents regarding specific strengths and weaknesses • Provides feedback to parents about the quality of the student work compared to the standard • Allows for consistency within the grade, across the grades, and schools

27. Special Education

28. How will the new report card benefit students with disabilities? • Serves as a valuable tool to parents as they participate in CSE meetings • Helps parents understand why specific goals were chosen for their child’s IEP • Allows students to be more aware of what is expected

29. Special Areas • Music • Art • Physical Education

30. How will the new report card system benefit students in Special Areas? • Provides a more accurate assessment of student performance • Provides multi-faceted views of student achievement • Reflects NYS Standards

31. What is the Implementation Plan? • Develop a Parent Guide • Build the framework for teachers • Develop scoring guides with clear descriptors for proficient student work • Collect and utilize student exemplars • Gather feedback for possible upgrades

32. Audrey Bellovin Christie Chalupa Melissa Duhl Fran Goldenberg Joan Haig Hope Hoolan Liz Hunt Virginia Levine Alison Linehan Kathi Marchetti Bob Martorana Michelle Mazzitelli Joanna Partamian Sandy Pensak Estelle Shafran Miriam Steinberg Sarah Wise The Elementary Standards-Based Report Card Committee:

33. Any Questions? Comments?Please feel free to email me questions and/or comments at jbirringer-haig@hewlett-woodmere.net