Common Core State Standards (CCSS) Overview

1. Common Core State Standards (CCSS) Overview September, 2013

2. What are the Common Core State Standards (CCSS)? K-12 academic standards in mathematics and English language arts/literacy adopted by the CT State Board of Education and by states across the country in 2010. • Establish what students should understand, know, and be able to do as they progress through grades K-12 • Will be implemented in both mathematics and English-language arts in grades K-5 this year

3. The Common Core State Standards: • Are clear, consistent, and high-level based on research and evidence • Align with college and career expectations • Include rigorous content and application of knowledge through higher order thinking skills • Build upon strengths and lessons of current state standards • Are informed by other top-performing countries so that all students are prepared to succeed in our global economy and society

4. How will the Common Core Standards impact what your child is learning this year? Our revised English-Language Arts curriculum provides: • Balance of literature and literary non-fiction • More time reading increasingly complex text • Opportunities for discussion/academic discourse • Wide range of writing tasks appropriate to purpose and audience (opinion, narrative, and informational) • Writing to inform or share opinions using text evidence • Literacy as part of science and social studies/history with increased focus on academic vocabulary

5. Organization of Common Core for English-Language Arts: Anchor Standards Reading Writing Speaking and Listening Language • Refer to Curriculum in a Nutshell documents • for grade-specific standards *

6. How will the Common Core Standards impact what your child is learning this year? Our revised mathematics curriculum provides: • Greater focus and coherence based on learning progressions • Solid foundation in both concepts and skills/procedures with: • Whole numbers (K-5) • Addition/subtraction (K-5) • Multiplication/division (3-5) • Fractions (3-5) • Decimals (5) • Focus on understanding and fluency = efficiency, accuracy, flexibility

7. How will the Common Core Standards impact what your child is learning this year? Components of a Balanced Mathematical Approach • Experience with varied mathematical practices in which students develop expertise at all grade levels

8. Organization of Common Core for Mathematics • Standards for Mathematical Practice • Describe mathematical habits of mind & proficiencies at all grade levels • Support student progress toward mastery of content standards at all grade levels • Grade Level Standards for Mathematical Content • Grade K-8 standards organized by domain (e.g. Geometry) • Refer to Curriculum in a Nutshell documents • for grade-specific standards

9. How will the Common Core impact how your child’s progress will be assessed? Student progress will be assessed through • unit-based assessments and checkpoints • classwork • teacher observation • other classroom-based performance measures Report cards for language arts and mathematics will reflect the new standards

10. Will your child take the Connecticut Mastery Test (CMT) this year? • Grade 5 – Science CMT • Grades 3-5 – Math, Reading, Writing (format for state testing to be determined) • Districts are awaiting information from the CT State Dept of Education regarding plan for state-mandated assessments for spring 2014, whether CMT or computer-based assessments aligned with Common Core. • State testing will move to a computer-based format in in 2014-2015

11. Where can you find out more about the Common Core State Standards? • Curriculum in an Nutshell documents at each grade level highlight CCSS-aligned curriculum revisions • Link on West Hartford Public Schools website www.whps.org (under “For Parents” tab) http://whps.org/for_parents/the_common_core/ • www.corestandards.org