Shift Happens

1. Shift Happens Edwina Howard-Jack, NBCT, English/Language Arts Coordinator

2. “Literacy is not a luxury, it is a right and a responsibility. If our world is to meet the challenges of the twenty-first century we must harness the energy and creativity of all our citizens.” --President Clinton

3. Document: Content Specifications with Content Mapping For the Summative Assessment of the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects with Appendices A-C Appendix A – Content Rigor Matrix and Depth of Knowledge Appendix B – Reading Learning Progression Frameworks Appendix C – Tools for Examining Text Complexity Appendices D-F Appendix D – Interim and Formative Assessment Ideas Appendix E – Guidelines for Performance Task Development Appendix F – Examples of Assessment Types

4. Developed by: • Content Experts • SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium • Work Group Members • Technical Advisory Committee

5. Claim #1: • Students can read closely and critically to comprehend a range of increasingly complex literary and informational texts.

6. Claim #2: • Students can produce effective writing, which is grounded in evidence, for a range of purposes and audiences.

7. Claim #3: • Students can employ effective speaking and listening skills for a range of purposes and audiences.

8. Claim #4: • Students can engage appropriately in collaborative and independent inquiry to investigate and research topics, pose questions, and gather and present information.

9. Your Assignment: Focus Question: What does the sufficient evidence for our claim look like? • Read the claim assigned to your group. Write this claim on your chart paper. • Discuss the evidence description. • Quickly create a poster—through words or pictures—illustrating a summary of the main ideas of the reading. • Prepare to report to the whole group.

10. Driving Question How do these claims support the Next Generation Content Standards and Objectives?

11. Reading

12. Small Group Discussion How do the 5 claims support this standard?

13. Writing

14. Small Group Discussion How do the 5 claims support this standard?

15. Speaking and Listening

16. Small Group Discussion How do the 5 claims support this standard?

17. Small Group Discussion How do the 5 claims support this standard?

18. Creating Professional Development that Counts • WIIFY: WHAT’S IN THIS FOR YOU? • WHAT CAN YOU DO TO PREPARE YOUR TEACHERS AND STUDENTS FOR THESE SHIFTS IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS INSTRUCTION AND ASSESSMENT?

19. Foundational Shifts to ELA: •  1) Your students will be using informational texts for building knowledge Your students will be expected to be literate in all disciplines!!!

21. Creating Professional Development that Counts • WIIFY: WHAT’S IN THIS FOR YOU? • WHAT CAN YOU DO TO PREPARE YOUR TEACHERS AND STUDENTS FOR THESE SHIFTS IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS INSTRUCTION AND ASSESSMENT?

22. 2. Your students will be reading increasingly complex texts to acquire language skills including academic vocabulary

23. The Crisis of Text Complexity • Complexity of texts students are expected to handle K-12 has eroded: • High school textbooks have declined in all subject areas over several decades. • Average length of sentences in K-8 textbooks have declined from 20 to 14 words. • Vocabulary demands have declined, e.g., 8th grade textbooks equivalent to former 5th grade texts; 12th grade anthologies equal to former 7th grade.

24. Complexity of college and careers texts have remained steady or increased: • Lexile scores of college textbooks have not decreased in any block of time since 1962 and in fact have increased. • Vocabulary difficulty of newspapers has remained stable. • Word difficulty of scientific journals and magazines 1930–1990 has increased since 1930.

25. Recap of ACT Findings • Question type (main idea, word meanings, details) is NOT the chief differentiator between students scoring above and below the benchmark. • Question level (higher order vs. lower order; literal vs. inferential) is NOT the chief differentiator between students either. • What students could read, in terms of its complexity--rather than what they could do with what they read--is greatest predictor of success.

26. Too Many Students Reading at Too Low a Level • Only half of high school graduates are meeting the benchmark. • Deficiencies are not equal opportunity. . .

27. What’s wrong with the simplified text approach? • Simplified texts are often synonymous with restricted, limited, and thin in meaning. • Academic vocabulary can only be learned from complex texts––by noticing how it works in texts, engaging with, thinking about, and discussing their more complex meanings with others. • Mature language skills needed for success in school and life can only be gained by working with demanding materials. • No evidence that struggling readers—especially at middle and high school--catch up by gradually increasing the complexity of simpler texts. . .

28. Lexile Alignment to College & Career Readiness to Close the Gap

29. Creating Professional Development that Counts • WIIFY: WHAT’S IN THIS FOR YOU? • WHAT CAN YOU DO TO PREPARE YOUR TEACHERS AND STUDENTS FOR THESE SHIFTS IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS INSTRUCTION AND ASSESSMENT?

30. 3. Your students will be reading, writing and communicating about texts using evidence

31. Creating Professional Development that Counts • WIIFY: WHAT’S IN THIS FOR YOU? • WHAT CAN YOU DO TO PREPARE YOUR TEACHERS AND STUDENTS FOR THESE SHIFTS IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS INSTRUCTION AND ASSESSMENT?

38. Shift has happened.

39. Questions? Edwina Howard-Jack at ehjack@accesslk12.wv.us