Common Core Learning Standards: Why now?

1. Common Core Learning Standards:Why now? Jackie Brooks Dennis General Manager, East Region Pearson America’s Choice November, 2011 jbrooks-dennis@americaschoice.org

2. Anticipated Outcome • Participants will develop an understanding of the Common Core State Standards by relating their implementation to their past, current and future work.

3. What are the CCSS (CCLS) and why are they important right now?

4. High School GraduateCollege Readiness Percent of ACT- Tested High School Meeting ACT College Readiness Benchmarks.

5. Increase in College Remedial Reading Courses • In 2004, 43% of students in two-year colleges received remedial courses. • In 2004, 29% of students in four-year public colleges received remedial courses. • Across the country, more than one-third of all students enroll in remedial courses. • In 2008, four out of five students in remedial courses had a high school GPA of 3.0 or higher.

6. Career Readiness Over the last twenty years, there has been a marked shift in the skills that employers demand.

7. Employer Needs • Critical thinking and problem solving • Effective communication • Collaboration and team building • Creativity and innovation

8. What is the Common Core State Standards Initiative? • State–led effort to ensure that all students are college and career ready. • International benchmarking to ensure best practices from the top-performing nations. • Cooperation among education and business.

9. What are the Common Core State Standards? • Aligned with college and work expectations • Focused and coherent • Include rigorous content and application of knowledge through high-order skills • Build upon strengths and lessons of current state standards • Internationally benchmarked so that all students are prepared to succeed in our global economy and society • Based on evidence and research • State led – coordinated by NGA Center (The National Governors Association Center for Best Practices) and CCSSO (Council of Chief State School Officers)

10. 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 that content • Ensuring focus and coherence • Organizing and formatting the standards • Determining emphasis on particular topics in standards • Evidence includes: • Standards from high-performing countries, leading 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

11. Common Core State Standards: Evidence Base • For example: Standards from individual high-performing countries and provinces were used to inform content, structure, and language. Writing teams looked for examples of rigor, coherence, and progression. Mathematics Belgium (Flemish) Canada (Alberta) China Chinese Taipei England Finland Hong Kong India Ireland Japan Korea Singapore • English language arts • Australia • New South Wales • Victoria • Canada • Alberta • British Columbia • Ontario • England • Finland • Hong Kong • Ireland • Singapore

12. Standards Development Process College and career readiness standards developed in summer 2009 Based on the college and career readiness standards, K-12 learning progressions developed Multiple rounds of feedback from states, teachers, researchers, higher education, and the general public Final Common Core State Standards released on June 2, 2010

13. Why is it important for schools to engage with the CCSS now? • Important for schools to think of integrating the Common Core State Standards as a multi-year process: • Improving organizational structures • Building teacher capacity • Some students enrolled in our schools now will need to pass CCSS-aligned state assessments to be promoted or graduate • Schools that develop thoughtful multi-year transition plans will be ready to be held accountable for student achievement on CCSS

14. *Minnesota adopted the CCSS in ELA/literacy only 46 States + DC Have Adopted the Common Core State Standards

15. Why is this important? Before this year, every state had its own set of academic standards, meaning public education students in each state were learning to different levels All students must be prepared to compete with not only their American peers in the next state, but with students from around the world

16. Social Justice • Main motive for standards • Get good curriculum to all students • Start each unit with the variety of thinking and knowledge students bring to it • Close each unit with on-grade learning in the cluster of standards • Gives us a clearer understanding of what rigor looks like at each grade level The CCSS require students to “think complexly about complex tasks (rigor)” Sally Hampton, chair of the committee that developed the CCSS ELA standards

17. Six Instructional Shifts in ELA/Literacy Shift 1: PK-5, Balancing Informational & Literary Texts Shift 2: 6-12, Building knowledge in the disciplines Shift 3: Staircase of complexity Shift 4: Text-based answers Shift 5: Writing from sources Shift 6: Academic vocabulary

18. Six Instructional Shifts in Mathematics Shift 1: Focus Shift 2: Coherence Shift 3: Fluency Shift 4: Deep understanding Shift 5: Application Shift 6: Dual Intensity

19. What the Standards do NOT define: How teachers should teach All that can or should be taught The nature of advanced work beyond the core The interventions needed for students well below grade level The full range of support for English language learners and students with special needs Everything needed to be college and career ready

20. Why do we need the Common Core?

21. Reaching Students, Changing Lives: It’s PERSONAL!

22. Overview of the Rest of the Day Three two (2) hour breakout sessions repeated: • CCLS: Assessment • CCLS in Mathematics • CCLS in English Language Arts Please complete a reflection form at the close of the day and leave it with your session facilitator!

23. CCSS: A Look at the Process for Creating a New Type of Assessment Jackie Brooks Dennis General Manager, East Region Pearson America’s Choice November, 2011 jbrooks-dennis@americaschoice.org

24. Anticipated Outcomes • Understand the consortia and the process for development of assessments aligned with the CCSS • Analyze ELA and math sample items to discuss rigor as well as supports students will need to access similar items • Discuss instructional practices to implement now to move students toward success on new assessments aligned with the CCSS

25. A TEST THAT IS WORTH TEACHING TO SHOULD…

26. Requirements within the RTTT Assessment Program: Build upon shared standards for college- and career-readiness; Measure individual growth as well as proficiency; Measure the extent to which each student is on track, at each grade level tested, toward college or career readiness by the time of high school completion and; Provide information that is useful in informing: Teaching, learning, and program improvement; Determinations of school effectiveness; Determinations of principal and teacher effectiveness for use in evaluations and the provision of support to teachers and principals; and Determinations of individual student college and career readiness, such as determinations made for high school exit decisions, college course placement to credit-bearing classes, or college entrance. (US Department of Education, 2009) RTTT Assessment Requirements for Comprehensive Systems

27. Assessment • Teachers will be able to focus their instruction on clear targets • Provide an array of training tools to use the assessment results to inform instructional planning and better understand what CCR student performance looks like. • The Partnership will develop challenging performance tasks and innovative, computer-enhanced items that elicit complex demonstrations of learning and measure the full range of knowledge and skills necessary to succeed in college and 21st-century careers. • The Partnership will make available through-course assessments so that assessment of learning can take place closer in time to when key skills and concepts are taught and states can provide teachers with actionable information more frequently.

28. Consortia • Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, or PARCC, which consists of 26 states. • SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium, which includes 31 states

29. The Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers

30. ELA-1 and ELA-2Focused Literacy Assessments

31. ELA-3. Extended Research/Writing Assessment.

32. Math-1 and Math-2. Focused Assessments of Essential Topics.

33. Math-4. End-of-Year Mathematics Assessment.

34. A Strong Foundation: The Common Core State Standards • Nearly every state in the nation is working individually and collectively to improve its academic standards and assessments to ensure students graduate with the knowledge and skills most demanded by college and careers • The Common Core State Standards in English language arts/literacy and mathematics were created by educators around the nation

35. Key Advances of the Common Core ANCHORED IN COLLEGE AND CAREER READINESS

36. What’s Next?Common Assessments • Common Core State Standards are critical, but it is just the first step • Common assessments aligned to the Common Core will help ensure the new standards truly reach every classroom

37. Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) Governing Board States Participating States

38. K-12 and Postsecondary Roles in PARCC K-12 Educators & Education Leaders • Educators will be involved throughout the development of the PARCC assessments and related instructional and reporting tools to help ensure the system provides the information and resources educators most need Postsecondary Faculty & Leaders • Nearly 200 institutions and systems covering hundreds of campuses across PARCC states have committed to help develop the high school assessments and set the college-ready cut score that will indicate a student is ready for credit-bearing courses

39. The PARCC Goals • Create high-quality assessments • Build a pathway to college and career readiness for all students • Support educators in the classroom • Develop 21st century, technology-based assessments • Advance accountability at all levels

40. Goal #1: Create High Quality Assessments Priority Purposes of PARCC Assessments: • Determine whether students are college- and career-readyor on track • Assess the full range of the Common Core Standards, including standards that are difficult to measure • Measure the full range of student performance, including the performance high and low performing students • Provide data during the academic year to inform instruction, interventions and professional development • Provide data for accountability, including measures of growth • Incorporate innovative approaches throughout the system

41. To address the priority purposes, PARCC will develop an assessment system comprised of four components. Each component will computer-delivered and will leverage technology to incorporate innovations. • Two summative, required assessment components designed to • Make “college- and career-readiness” and “on-track” determinations • Measure the full range of standards and full performance continuum • Provide data for accountability uses, including measures of growth • Two non-summative, optional assessment components designed to • Generate timely information for informing instruction, interventions, and professional development during the school year • An additionalthirdnon-summative component will assess students’ speaking and listening skills

42. Goal #1: Create High Quality Assessments • Summative Assessment Components: • Performance-Based Assessment (PBA) administered as close to the end of the school year as possible. The ELA/literacy PBA will focus on writing effectively when analyzing text. The mathematics PBA will focus on applying skills, concepts, and understandings to solve multi-step problems requiring abstract reasoning, precision, perseverance, and strategic use of tools • End-of-Year Assessment (EOY) administered after approx. 90% of the school year. The ELA/literacy EOY will focus on reading comprehension. The math EOY will be comprised of innovative, machine-scorable items • Non-Summative Assessment Components: • Diagnostic Assessment designed to be an indicator of student knowledge and skills so that instruction, supports and professional development can be tailored to meet student needs • Mid-Year Assessment comprised of performance-based items and tasks, with an emphasis on hard-to-measure standards. After study, individual states may consider including as a summative component

43. Goal #1: Create High Quality Assessments The PARCC assessments will allow us to make important claims about students’ knowledge and skills. • In English Language Arts/Literacy, whether students: • Can Read and Comprehend Complex Literary and Informational Text • Can Write Effectively When Analyzing Text • Have attained overall proficiency in ELA/literacy • In Mathematics, whether students: • Have mastered knowledge and skills in highlighted domains (e.g. domain of highest importance for a particular grade level – number/ fractions in grade 4; proportional reasoning and ratios in grade 6) • Have attained overall proficiency in mathematics

44. Goal #1: Create High Quality Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy and Mathematics, Grades 3-11 Optional & Flexible • End-of-Year • Assessment • Innovative, computer-based items • Mid-Year Assessment • Performance-based • Emphasis on hard-to-measure standards • Potentially summative • Performance-Based • Assessment (PBA) • Extended tasks • Applications of concepts and skills • Diagnostic Assessment • Early indicator of student knowledge and skills to inform instruction, supports, and PD Speaking And Listening Summative, Required assessment Non-summative, optional assessment

45. Goal #2: Build a Pathway to College and Career Readiness for All Students K-2 formative assessment being developed, aligned to the PARCC system Timely student achievement data showing students, parents and educators whether ALL students are on-track to college and career readiness College readiness score to identify who is ready for college-level coursework • Targeted interventions & supports: • 12th-grade bridge courses • PD for educators SUCCESS IN FIRST-YEAR, CREDIT-BEARING, POSTSECOND- ARY COURSEWORK ONGOING STUDENT SUPPORTS/INTERVENTIONS

46. Goal #3: Support Educators in the Classroom INSTRUCTIONAL TOOLS TO SUPPORT IMPLEMENTATION PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT MODULES K-12 Educator TIMELY STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT DATA EDUCATOR-LED TRAINING TO SUPPORT “PEER-TO-PEER” TRAINING

47. Goal #4: Develop 21st Century, Technology-Based Assessments PARCC’s assessment will be computer-based and leverage technology in a range of ways: • Item Development: Develop innovative tasks that engage students in the assessment process • Administration • Reduce paperwork, increase security, reduce shipping/receiving & storage • Increase access to and provision of accommodations for SWDs and ELLs • Scoring: Make scoring more efficient by combining human and automated approaches • Reporting: Produce timely reports of students performance throughout the year to inform instructional, interventions, and professional development

48. Goal #5: Advance Accountability at All Levels • PARCC assessments will be purposefully designed to generate valid, reliable and timely data, including measures of growth,for various accountability uses including: • School and district effectiveness • Educator effectiveness • Student placement into college-credit bearing courses • Comparisons with other state and international benchmarks • PARCC assessments will be designed for other accountability uses as states deem appropriate

49. PARCC Timeline SY 2012-13 First year pilot/field testing and related research and data collection SY 2013-14 Second year pilot/field testing and related research and data collection SY 2014-15 Full administration of PARCC assessments Summer 2015 Set achievement levels, including college-ready performance levels SY 2010-11 Launch and design phase SY 2011-12 Development begins

50. The Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers November 2011 www.PARCConline.org