The Role of the Common Core Standards to Ensure Career & College Readiness for All K-12 Students Bob Bardwell Monson

1. The Role of the Common Core Standards to Ensure Career & College Readiness for All K-12 Students Bob Bardwell Monson High School Monson, MA With Thanks to Steve Kappler & ACT for slide sharing

2. Who Is Here? • Secondary school counselors • Guidance directors • Graduate students • Community Based Organizations • Independent counselors • College Admission Counselors • Other

3. Why Are You Here? • Professional development • Your school made you come • Nothing else to do • Didn’t like the other sessions during this time slot

4. What Can I Offer? • 20 year School Counselor and K-12 Director of School Counseling • Leader – local, state, regional & national • Advocate for students, school counselors and our profession • Not an expert on Common Core but I know enough that Common Core is my ticket to ensure that I have a job in the years to come

5. What are the Common Core State Standards (CCSS)? • Beginning in the spring of 2009, Governors and state commissioners of education from 46 states, 2 territories and the District of Columbia committed to the process of developing a common core of state K-12 English-language arts (ELA) and mathematics standards. • The Common Core State Standards Initiative (CCSSI) is a state-led effort coordinated by the National Governors Association (NGA) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO). • www.corestandards.org

6. How did we get here? The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) align U.S. K-12 education with a uniformly higher standard – college and career readiness 45 states and DC have adopted the CCSS for English language arts and mathematics. ACT research on college and career readiness lies at the heart of the CCSS Achieve and the College Board (SAT) were members of the CCSS Development Team

7. How did we get here? (continued) CCSS were developed using a backward design model – start with the end goal and then figure out how to get there Identified the college & career standards being sought and worked backwards through each grade resulting in grade level shifts in content throughout the grades Economic pressure and the continuous decline of the United States regarding high school graduates and lackluster success of college bound students when compared to other nations was the driving force behind the creation of the CCSS Race to the Top (RTTT) pushed states to voluntarily make the choice to join the CCSSI

8. Common Core State Standards Design • Building on the strength of current state standards, the Common Core State Standards are designed to be: • Focused, coherent, clear and rigorous • Internationally benchmarked • Linked to college and career readiness* • Evidence and research based * Ready for first-year credit-bearing, postsecondary coursework without the need for remediation.

9. Common Core State Standards Evidence Base • Evidence was used to guide critical decisions in the following areas: • Inclusion of particular content • Timing of when content should be introduced and the progression of content • Ensuring focus and coherence • Organizing and formatting the standards • Determining emphasis on particular topics in standards • Evidence includes: • Standards from high-performing countries, states, and nationally-regarded frameworks • Research on adolescent literacy, text complexity, mathematics instruction, quantitative literacy • Lists of works consulted and research base included in standards’ appendices

10. Higher Education and Employers Want Students Who Can Identify areas for research, evaluate and synthesize resources and develop & draw conclusions Conduct research and apply that research to solve problems Apply skills and knowledge across the content areas to solve problems Model real world situations and solving problems

11. What does this mean for School & College Counselors? We Must: 1. Understand the Standards 2. Support the Standards implementation 3. Act on the Standards

12. ELA Writing Standards • Expect students to compose arguments and opinions, informative- explanatory pieces, and narrative texts • Focus on the use of reason and evidence to substantiate an argument or claim • Emphasize ability to conduct research – short projects and sustained inquiry • Require students to incorporate technology as they create, refine, and collaborate on writing

13. The ELA Reading Standards • Text Complexity • Range of Reading – not just text books and literary works • Exemplar Texts (Shakespeare, Hemmingway – U.S. Constitution, MLK Letter from Birmingham Jail) • Reading Comprehension • Standards for Reading Foundational Skills (K-5) • Reading Standards for Literature (K-12) • Reading Standards for Literacy in History/Social Studies (6-12) • Reading Standards for Literacy in Science and Technical Subjects (6-12) • Reading Standards for Informational Text (K-12)

14. The Mathematics Standards • Call on students to practice applying mathematical ways of thinking to real world issues and challenges • Require students to develop a depth of understanding and ability to apply mathematics to novel situations, as college students and employees regularly are called on to do • Emphasize mathematical modeling, using mathematics and statistics to analyze problems, understand them better, and improve decisions • Identify the mathematics that all students should study in order to be college and career ready.

15. The Other Standards • Science: In a process managed by Achieve, with the help of the National Research Council, the National Science Teachers Association, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, states are developing the Next Generation Science Standards. http://www.nextgenscience.org/ • World Languages: The American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages published an alignment of the National Standards for Learning Languages with the ELA Common Core State Standards. http://www.actfl.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/Aligning_CCSS_Language_Standards_v6.pdf • Arts: The National Coalition for Core Arts Standards is leading the revision of the National Standards for Arts Education. http://www.arteducators.org/research/national-coalition-for-core-arts-standards

16. Successful Implementation Requires Leaders build a culture of success Changes in attitudes Changes in practice Embraced by all educators, including counselors Instructional and systemic leadership All staff buy-in and implementation

17. How can School Counselors Support the Implementation? Think & work across the K-12 grade span Develop comprehensive school counseling plans utilizing the ASCA national standards Create standards based college and career focused classroom lessons and programs Design clearer processes for course sequencing and credit articulation

18. How can School Counselors Support the Implementation? (continued) Familiarize yourself with the standards Become part of the leadership team which is charged with overseeing the CCSSI implementation Ensure that your school counseling program statement of philosophy aligns with the school and district’s vision and mission statements Formulate and distribute an agreed upon set of beliefs and expectations that every student achieve at high levels

19. Turn to a neighbor Have you begun to have conversation in your school counseling program about how to get on the Common Core bandwagon? If so, what is your role with the CCSSI movement? (in other words, how do you do it?

20. Action Steps: Literacy instruction Gather & analyze relevant literacy standardized test data to share with colleagues and invested constituents Gather & analyze relevant Response to Intervention (RTI) Tier 2 & 3 data with colleagues and invested constituents Monitor and share student literacy related progress reports Identify students with literacy needs and plan with staff appropriate interventions Integrate literacy standards into your lesson plans

21. Action Steps: Mathematics instruction Gather & analyze relevant math standardized test data to share with colleagues and invested constituents Gather & analyze relevant RTI Tier 2 & 3 data with colleagues and invested constituents Monitor and share student math related progress reports Identify students with math needs and plan with staff appropriate interventions Advocate for four years of high school math requirement if it is not already in place

22. Action Steps: Mathematics instruction (continued) • Analyze data regarding • Students who are not on track for early math grade level achievement (elementary level data analysis) • Number of students repeating math courses – what grade do they begin to fall behind and with which teacher(s) • Students who do not minimally complete the college prep math track – Algebra I, Geometry & Algebra II or integrated math levels I-III • Student achievement on state or national standardized tests (I.e.: Accuplacer, SAT/ACT, AP, IB)

23. Action Steps: Mathematics instruction (continued) Provide math faculty the opportunity to collaborate with college math faculty to review scope and sequence of course syllabi Review (and change if necessary) the school’s policy regarding course selection, offerings & sequencing to ensure all students have access to higher level math courses

24. Action Steps: Systemic Approaches • Participate in discussions about rigor in your school • Assist in the gathering of data on the # of students on target to be career/college ready • Explore, Plan, ACT, PSAT, SAT, Accuplacer, AP, IB • Provide data analysis regarding the # of students taking rigorous courses of study

25. Action Steps: Systemic Approaches(continued) Provide data analysis about the # of students who attain the ACT/SAT college readiness benchmarks Explore & provide dual/concurrent enrollment opportunities with local colleges Explore & provide early college programs and opportunities for students who show potential and ability to participate in such activities

26. Action Steps: Instructional Time Help identify ways to extend learning time for students, including those in Tier 2 interventions Monitor participation and progress of students involved with Tier 2 and 3 interventions Share results & impact of such interventions Identify students and interventions for accelerated/ enriched extended learning opportunities

27. Action Steps: Instructional Practices Determine impact of the CCSS on the development and implementation of educational plans for all students Develop & annually update 6 year individual learning plans which contain necessary career & college readiness elements Develop career & college readiness lesson plans aligned with CCSS standards Develop school counselor classroom lesson calendar and distribute to all staff

28. Action Steps: Professional Learning Be part of the discussions with school leadership team, data team and/or literacy council based on assessed needs of students and observed needs of staff as they relate to CCSS implementation Be an active participant in school wide PD activities Include PD goals in your Comprehensive School Counseling program and your individual evaluation Reference ASCA’s tools when creating PD plans

29. Action Steps: Assessment Ensure that students understand how to interpret current standardized assessments and the implications of the results relating to their level of career and college readiness Begin learning about and communicating about upcoming common assessments Use data to identify student needs and monitor progress

30. Action Steps: Visuals Display college poster and pennants Post college information, scholarships and student acceptances* Post achievement and accomplishments of students – I.e.: NMSQT Semi-finalists & finalists, AP scholars, Honor Roll, NHS

31. Action Steps: Visuals (continued) Proudly display pennants or articles of clothing from their alma mater(s) Provide relevant and current information on your counseling office website Create bulletin boards/special displays with important career/college information or data

32. Action Steps: Auditory Make frequent announcements about student accomplishments, deadlines, reminders, programs, field trips Engage in routine conversations with students and parents about career and college research, selection and the application process Have counselors, teachers and other educators engage in frequent discussions with all students about careers and college Bring in alumni (high school or college) and business people to speak to students about colleges and careers

33. Action Steps: Practices/Rituals School wide celebrations for academic achievement (Honor roll breakfast, National Honor Society induction) Incentives for academic achievement (I.e.: Renaissance program, special privileges for honors students; scholarship recognitions) Community activities that highlight academic successes (I.e.: newspaper articles, bulletin boards in local businesses) Advisory – incorporate career/college activities within the small group advisory curriculum (if applicable)

34. Questions & Conversations What is not clear? What more do you need? How can we help each other? Who wants to share a success with CCSSI?

35. My contact information Bob Bardwell School Counselor & Director of School Counseling Monson Innovation High School 55 Margaret Street Monson, MA 01057 413.267.4589x1109 www.bobbardwell.com bardwellr@monsonschools.com