One More Peek at the Smarter Balanced Assessment System

2. One More Peek at the Smarter Balanced Assessment System http://www.smarterbalanced.org/

3. Ripe Figs • Read through the passage. Then use what you know to answer the questions. • Find the others with the same book cover as you and discuss your responses.

4. Text Complexity Defining Rigor through Research and the Common Core Standards

5. Outcomes • Definetext complexity and describe why it matters • Practice reading complex text and using text-based evidence in discussion • Evaluatetext complexity of a non-fiction passage • Identify implications for our work as school and district leaders

6. Myths about CCSS Myth #3 The Common Core standards represent a modest change from current practice. “…several states conducted analyses that found considerable alignment between them and their current standards. Yet while the content of the two sets of standards is similar, the level of knowledge and skills the Common Core calls for is in many respects quite different from what current standards expect and what schools currently practice.” Five Myths About the Common Core State Standards ByRobert Rothman

7. Protocol – part 1 • Read Appendix A, pages 2, 3 and top half of 4 • Identify a passage that you feel has implications for your work • Identify a back up passage

8. Three Levels of Text Protocol • Form a group of three people • Identify a time keeper and a facilitator • One person has up to three minutes to: Level 1- read aloud the passage they selected Level 2 – tell about what he/she thinks about the passage Level 3 – Tell about the implications for their work • The group responds for up to two minutes • Repeat steps 3 and 4 until everyone has shared their passage.

9. Break http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vo0Cazxj_yc

10. Text Complexity • “The Common Core Standards hinge on students encountering appropriately complex texts at each grade level in order to develop the mature language skills and the conceptual knowledge they need for success in school and life.”

11. Career Readiness “A survey by the National Association of Manufacturers, Anderson, and the Center for Workforce Success (2001) found that 80 percent of businesses had a moderate to serious shortage of qualified candidates, citing poor reading as a key concern.” “Another survey, published in 2000, found that 38 percent of job applicants taking employer-administered tests lacked the reading skills needed for the jobs for which they applied; this percentage had doubled in four years, not just because applicants lacked basic skills but also because the reading requirements for these jobs had increased so rapidly (Center for Workforce Prevention, 2002).”

12. College Readiness • “Based on 2005 ACT-tested high school graduates, it appears that only about half of our nation’s ACT-tested high school students are ready for college-level reading. Unfortunately, the percentage…is substantially smaller in some groups.” • “Since 1999, readiness has declined – the current figure of 51 percent is the lowest of the past 12 years.”

13. Key requirement for college and career readiness All students must be able to comprehend texts of steadily increasing complexity as they progress through school. What are the current realities in college and career readiness? ACT, INC. Report (2006)

14. Comprehension Level As performance on one level increases, so does the performance on the other and to the same degree.

15. Textual Elements • As performance on one level increases, so does the performance on the other and to the same degree.

16. Text Complexity • “Performance on complex texts is the clearest differentiator in reading between students who are more likely to be ready for college and those who are less likely to be ready.”

17. Summary of Findings:

18. Hunt Institute Video Segment 2 • The balance between Informational and Literary Texts in K-5 • Turn to your elbow partner and discuss what the implications might be. What new things might be required of students?

19. Overviewof Text Complexity • Text complexity is defined by: Quantitative measures – readability and other scores of text complexity often best measured by computer software. Qualitative measures – levels of meaning, structure, language conventionality and clarity, and knowledge demands often best measured by an attentive human reader. Qualitative Quantitative Reader and Task considerations – background knowledge of reader, motivation, interests, and complexity generated by tasks assigned often best made by educators employing their professional judgment. Reader and Task

20. Where do we find texts in the appropriate text complexity band? We could... Choose an excerpt of text from Appendix B: Use available resources to determine the text complexity of other materials on our own. or…

21. Determining Text Complexity • A Four-step Process: Determine the quantitative measures of the text. Quantitative Qualitative Analyze the qualitative measures of the text. Reader and Task Reflect upon the reader and task considerations. Recommend placement in the appropriate text complexity band.

22. Step 1: Quantitative Measures Step 1: Quantitative Measures • Measures such as: • Word length • Word frequency • Word difficulty • Sentence length • Text length • Text cohesion

23. Lexiles The Quantitative Measures Ranges for Text Complexity

24. Step 1: Quantitative Measures Let’s imagine we want to see where a text falls on the quantitative measures “leg” of the text complexity triangle, using the Lexile text measures. For illustrative purposes, let’s choose Harper Lee’s 1960 novel To Kill a Mockingbird.

25. Step 1: Quantitative Measures • Finding a Lexile Measure for Text: http://www.lexile.com/findabook/

26. Step 1: Quantitative Measures

27. Kansas Common Core Standards Quantitative Measures Ranges for Text Complexity Grade Bands * The K-1 suggested Lexile range was not identified by the Common Core State Standards and was added by Kansas. ** Taken from Accelerated Reader and the Common Core State Standards, available at the following URL: http://doc.renlearn.com/KMNet/R004572117GKC46B.pdf

28. Step 1: Quantitative Measures 870L Lexile Text Measure: ATOS Book Level 5.6

29. Step 1: Quantitative Measures For texts not in the Lexile database, consider using the Lexile Analyzer: http://www.lexile.com/analyzer/ • Registration is required (free) http://www.lexile.com/account/register/ • Allows user to receive an “estimated” Lexile score • Accommodates texts up to 1000 words in length • Texts of any length can be evaluated using the Professional Lexile Analyzer—educators can upgrade to this tool for free by requesting access http://www.lexile.com/account/profile/access/

30. Step 2: Qualitative Measures • Measures such as: • Levels of meaning • Levels of purpose • Structure • Organization • Language conventionality • Language clarity • Prior knowledge demands

31. Step 2: Qualitative Measures The Qualitative Measures Rubrics for Literary and Informational Text: The rubric for literary text and the rubric for informational text allow educators to evaluate the important elements of text that are often missed by computer software that tends to focus on more easily measured factors.

32. Partner Share • How do the demands for text complexity increase from low to high?

33. Step 2: Qualitative Measures

34. Step 2: Qualitative Measures From examining the quantitative measures, we knew: 870L Lexile Text Measure: 5.6 ATOS Book Level: But after reflecting upon the qualitative measures, we believed:

35. Step 3:Reader and Task Considerations • Considerations such as: • Motivation • Knowledge and experience • Purpose for reading • Complexity of task assigned regarding text • Complexity of questions asked regarding text

36. Step 3:Reader and Task Considerations Reader & Task “Texts can be difficult or easy, depending on factors inherent in the text, on the relationship between the text and the knowledge abilities of the reader, and on the activities in which the reader is engaged…When too many of these factors are not matched to a reader’s knowledge and experience, the text may be too difficult for optimal comprehension to occur.”

37. Step 3:Reader and Task Considerations The questions included here are largely open-ended questions without single, correct answers, but help educators to think through the implications of using a particular text in the classroom.

39. Step 4: Recommended Placement Based upon all the information—all three legs of the model—the final recommendation for To Kill a Mockingbird is….

40. Step 4: Recommended Placement In this instance, Appendix B confirms our evaluation of the novel. To Kill a Mockingbird is placed within the grade 9-10 text complexity band.

41. Tim Shanahan “To succeed, we will need to…strive to identify what makes a book hard and then to provide the scaffolding and motivation that would sustain students’ efforts to learn from such challenging texts.” Common Core Standards: Are We Going to Lower the Fences or Teach Kids to Climb? Thursday, October 13, 2011

42. Step 4: Recommended Placement Template for Text Complexity Analysis and Recommended Placement Form:

43. Appendix B: Text Exemplars • Go to pages 4-13 in Appendix B. Locate where to find Informational Text exemplars for your grade level/content area. • Then, take a look at those exemplars.

44. Hunt Institute Video Segment 3 Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects • Peruse through pages 60-66 of your ELA CCSS. • What are your observations? • What are the implications for Social Studies and Science Teachers?

45. Wrap Up • Exit Slip – Readiness to Implement Survey • Clock Hours Feedback Form • Clock Hours

46. Research Base • ACT, INC. Report (2006) • Common Core State Standards (2010) • National Reading Panel Report (2000) • Publishers’ Criteria for the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts and Literacy Grades K-2 and Grades 3-12 (2011) • RAND Report: Reading for Understanding: Toward an R&D Program in Reading Comprehension (Snow, 2002) • Reading in the Disciplines: The Challenge of Adolescent Literacy (Lee & Spratley, 2010)