Preparing Students for College & Career Readiness

1. The Common Core and Essential Standards: An Overview Preparing Students for College & Career Readiness

2. Key Messages • The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) requires a shift in focus from high school completion to college and career readiness for all students. • The CCSS will radically change curricula, state assessments, school culture and professional development. 2

3. What is the Common Core? • A state-led effort to develop a common set of standards in English language arts and math that: • Align college and workplace expectations • Are rigorous and evidence-based • Incorporates literacy into ALL subject areas • The CCSS have been adopted by 48 states. • The CCSS will affect all public schools in adopted states. • Implementation has already begun! • New state assessments in 2012-2013; Smarter Balance assessments in 2014-15 3

4. Common Core = Major Change and Mindset Shift We need to shift our focus from high school completion to college and career readiness for all students. • The Common Core State Standards: • Are for all students, not just students seeking accelerated learning. • Will impact all teachers, not just ELA and math teachers. • Are happening now.

5. Why Common Core State Standards?Issue #1: Inconsistent State Standards 5

6. Why Common Core State Standards?Issue #2: Low College Completion Rates • Remediation rates and costs are staggering • As much as 40% of all students entering 4-year colleges need remediation in one or more courses • As much as 63% in 2-year colleges • Degree attainment rates are disappointing • Fewer than 42% of adults aged 25-34 hold college degrees 6 Source: The College Completion Agenda 2010 Progress Report, The College Board

7. Why Common Core State Standards?Issue #3: More Students Need a More Rigorous Curriculum • Adelman et al. (2003) • 15% of students in the top quintile in academic rigor required remediation. • 57% of students in the bottom quintile in academic rigor required remediation. • Adelman (2006) • 83% of students whose highest math class was calculus graduated within 8 years. • 40% of students whose highest math class was Algebra II graduated within 8 years.

8. Benefits of Common Core State Standards 8

9. North Carolina State Board of Education (NCSBE) FUTURE-READY STUDENTS for the 21st Century The guiding mission of the NCSBE is that every public school student will graduate from high school, globally competitive for work and postsecondary education and prepared for life in the 21st Century. Goal: NC public schools will produce globally competitive students.

10. Common Core Courses • Use of Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy • Essential Standards: • We’ll all go “bloom!”

11. What about “technology”? • Flexibility & Adaptability • Initiative & Self-Direction • Social & Cross-Cultural Skills • Productivity & Accountability • Leadership & Responsibility • Communication • Collaboration • Critical Thinking & Problem Solving • Creativity & Innovation • Information Literacy • Media Literacy • Technology Literacy

12. Features of the Common Core State Standards – English Language Arts • Balance between informational text and literature • Comprehending complex texts • Writing in response to texts • Conducting and reporting on research • Language and grammar skills • Speaking and listening • Cross-content literacy 12

13. Features of the Common Core State Standards – Math • Emphasis on mathematical practices • Attention to focus and coherence • Increased focus on algebra in middle grades • Problem solving and reasoning • Mathematical modeling • Standards for STEM readiness 13

14. CC & ES Development • 2007 – Blue Ribbon Commission report to SBE with recommendations for improvement in testing and accountability and to take steps toward new generation of standards, assessments and accountability for NC schools

15. Framework for Change • This was the SBE’s response to the recommendations from the Blue Ribbon Commission. • It recommended that the SCOS, assessment and accountability for NC schools be revised.

16. ACRE • The Accountability and Curriculum Reform Effort was DPI’s response to the SBE’s Framework for Change. • Essential Standards • Common Core • New Administrator and Teacher Evaluation • Accountability Changes • Career and College Ready

17. Transitioning to Action Vision Development Action

18. Common Core: A Fast Timeline Implementation is NOW! 2014 - 2015 Participating States Administer New CCSS Assessments Dec. 2011 46 States Have Adopted CCSS

19. What comes next after adoption? 19

20. Understanding Current Alignment Alignment is one of the first steps for states and districts towards implementing the Common Core. 20

21. Changes in Curriculum and Instruction The Common Core will require significant curricular and instructional shifts that will impact all classrooms. 21

22. Common Assessments State consortia are building assessment systems to measure the Common Core State Standards. The assessment systems will: • Provide a common measure of college and career readiness • Be computer-based and include innovative item types • Measure higher order skills and application of knowledge through multiple assessment formats • Include formative assessments and performance tasks • Provide timely data to educators and parents • Ensure comparable expectations regardless of where students live

23. SBAC ITEM SAMPLE http://www.k12.wa.us/SMARTER/ContentSpecs/ELA-LiteracyContentSpecificationsAppend.pdf http://www.k12.wa.us/SMARTER/ContentSpecs/MathContentSpecifications.pdf

25. Measures of Student Learning (MSL) Design Groups All subject areas that are currently not tested Over 700 teachers are currently working on this for their subject areas. They were trained on assessment design, including reliability and validity. They provided feedback on content standards, with recommendations for the best methods to assess their standards. MSLs will go into effect 2012-2013.

26. MSLs Are: • Measures of what students know and are able to do after completing a course or grade • Tightly linked to the instruction that a teacher delivers • One part of how North Carolina will evaluate the effectiveness of its teachers • Similar to the common summative assessments that many districts already have in place

27. MSLs Are NOT: • Multiple-choice standardized exams for all areas of the Standard Course of Study • Assessments that need to be delivered with the same level of security as EOCs and EOGs • Designed without teacher input • The only source of data used to make decisions about a teacher’s effectiveness • Part of the school accountability model

28. DPI Resources • Modules Available and/or Being Developed; Available at http://center.ncsu.edu/nc/ • Only Module Currently Available is “A Call for Change” • Unpacking Standards Documents • Crosswalks Documents: • CC & ES

29. DPI Resources Via NC Education • Call for Change • Understanding the Standards • Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy • NC FALCON • Designing Local Curricula for the 21st Century Learner • NC Professional Teaching Standards

30. NC Online Writing Instruction (OWI) Formerly: Writing Instruction System (WIS) Now: NC Online Writing Instruction (OWI) Content-specific assignments available soon for grades 3 – 12 on the OWI webpage: www.ncpublicschools.org/acre/writing

31. Resources • The Common Core State Standards Initiative: http://www.corestandards.org/ • SMARTER Balanced: http://www.k12.wa.us/smarter/ • More Resources Will be provided in an additional document for Common Core, Essential Standards, and both NC and Smarter Balance assessments

32. Flip Charts • Explanation • and • Use

33. Next Steps