Text Complexity and the College and Career Readiness Standards

1. Text Complexity and the College and Career Readiness Standards Source: Kansas Common Core Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects

2. Common Core State Standards (CCSS) • Developed in 2010for K-12 English-language arts (ELA) and mathematics standards

3. College and Career Readiness Standards (CCRS) • Came from the CCSS • developed by OVAE for ABE in April 2013 • Provides alladult learners the opportunity to be prepared for post secondary training without the need for remediation.

4. NV Department of Education • ALL NV Dep. of Education’s AEFLA-funded programs are formally adopting the CCRS on January 2, 2013.

6. Advantages to the CCRS: A focus on college and career readiness

7. Inclusion of the four strands of English Language Arts: • Reading • Writing • Listening and speaking • Language

8. The benefits of an integrated literacy approach – all educators have a shared responsibility for literacy instruction, regardless of discipline or content area.

9. A focus on results rather than means

10. Collaboration among states • Professional development • Resource development • Teaching tools

11. Did you know…? The greatest predictor of success and careers is not a graduate’s SAT scores, GPA, or even their critical thinking skills, but rather the ability to read complex text. Source: Williamson 2006

12. Did you know…? The complexity of texts that students read in their classes has eroded significantly over the past 50 years. Source: Williamson 2006

13. Did you know…? The average student graduates roughly four grade levels behind where they need to be in order to succeed in the 21st century. Source: Williamson 2006

14. Text Complexity: What Does This Mean? more challenging texts of increasing difficulty cover a broad range of genres and topics.

15. Video Break! Analyzing Texts: Overview of a Lesson Series Grade 5 ( (ESL HI, ABE LI)

16. CCRS Anchor 10 Read and comprehend complex literary and informational texts independently and proficiently. (This standard applies to all levels)

17. Guiding Questions So… What is text complexity? How do we measure it? What does it look like? Where do we find resources for it?

18. Overview of Text Complexity • Text complexity is defined by: • Quantitative measures – readability and other scores of text complexity often best measured by computer software. (i.e., Lexile, ATOS)

19. Qualitative measures – levels of meaning, structure, language conventionality and clarity, and knowledge demands often best measured by an attentive human reader.

20. Reader and Task considerations – background knowledge of reader, motivation, interests, and complexity generated by tasks assigned often best made by educators employing their professional judgment.

21. Quantitative Measures Ranges for Text Complexity

22. Where do we find texts in the appropriate text complexity band? • We could…. • Choose an excerpt of text from Appendix B: • Use available resources to determine the text complexity of other materials on our own. • or…

23. Determining Text Complexity • Determine the quantitative measures of the text. • Analyze the qualitative measures of the text. • Reflect upon the reader and task considerations. • Recommend placement in the appropriate text complexity band (level). A Four-step Process:

24. Video Break! The Art of Questioning: Content, Meaning and Style Grades 9 – 12 ESL Adv, ASE Adv

25. Step 1: Quantitative Measures • Measures such as: • Word length • Word frequency • Word difficulty • Sentence length • Text length • Text cohesion

26. Step 1: Quantitative Measures

27. Finding a Lexile Book for Text Complexity Go to www.lexile.com/findabook

28. Step 1: Quantitative Measures • For texts not in the Lexile database, consider using the Lexile Analyzer: http://www.lexile.com/analyzer/ • Registration is required (free) http://www.lexile.com/account/register/ • Allows user to receive an “estimated” Lexile score • Accommodates texts up to 1000 words in length • Texts of any length can be evaluated using the Professional Lexile Analyzer—educators can upgrade to this tool for free by requesting access http://www.lexile.com/account/profile/access/

29. Step 1: Quantitative Measures • Additional Resources for Lexile Measures: • Overview video • http://www.lexile.com/about-lexile/lexile-video/ • “What Does the Lexile Measure Mean?” • http://lexile.com/m/uploads/downloadablepdfs/WhatDoestheLexileMe • sureMean.pdf • “Lexile Measures and the Common Core State Standards” • http://www.lexile.com/using-lexile/lexile-measures-and-the-ccssi/

30. Finding an ATOS Book for Text Complexity Go to www.arbookfind.com

31. Step 1: Quantitative Measures • For texts not in the AR Bookfinder database, consider using The ATOS Analyzer: http://www.renlearn.com/ar/overview/atos/ • No registration required • Three methods of analysis are available: • ATOS for Books – for submitting complete text of a book • ATOS for Books with Estimated Word Count – does not require full text, just three 150-word passages • ATOS for Text– works well for short, full-text submissions (short stories, magazine/newspaper articles, etc.)

32. Step 1: Quantitative Measures • Additional Resources for ATOS Book Level Measures: • Accelerated Reader Website • http://www.renlearn.com/ar/ • “Accelerated Reader and the Common Core State Standards” • http://doc.renlearn.com/KMNet/R004572117GKC46B.pdf • Kansas All Books Connect Website • http://kansas.bookconnect.com/default.aspx

33. Step 1: Quantitative Measures • 870L • Lexile Text Measure: • 5.6 • ATOS Book Level: • In which of the text complexity bands would this novel fall?

34. Quantitative Measures Ranges for Text Complexity Grade Bands * Taken from Accelerated Reader and the Common Core State Standards, available at the following URL: http://doc.renlearn.com/KMNet/R004572117GKC46B.pdf

35. Step 1: Quantitative Measures • Remember, however, that the quantitative measure is only the first of three “legs” of the text complexity triangle. • Our final recommendation may be validated, influenced, or even over-ruled by our examination of qualitative measuresand the reader and task considerations.

36. Video Break! College Talk: Improving Students’ Vocabulary Grade 2 ESL LI, ABE Beg. Basic

37. Step 2: Qualitative Measures • Step 2: Qualitative Measures • Measures such as: • Levels of meaning • Levels of purpose • Organization • Language clarity • Prior knowledge demands

38. Step 2: Qualitative Measures • The Qualitative Measures Rubrics • for Literary and Informational Text: • http://www.ksde.org/Default.aspx?tabid=4605

39. Step 2: Qualitative Measures • So… • How is the rubric used? • And how would To Kill a Mockingbird fair when analyzed through the lens of the Literary Text Rubric?

40. Step 2: Qualitative Measures

41. Step 2: Qualitative Measures • From examining the quantitative measures, we know: • Lexile Text Measure: • 870L • ATOS Book Level: • 5.6

42. Step 2: Qualitative Measures • Our initial placement of To Kill a Mockingbird into a text complexity band changed when we examined the qualitative measures. • Quantitative • Qualitative Reader and Task • The reader and task considerations still remain.

43. Video Break! Getting Ready to Write: Citing Textual Evidence Grade 6-8 ESL Adv, ABE HI

44. Step 3: Reader and Task • Considerations such as: • Motivation • Knowledge and experience • Purpose for reading • Complexity of questions asked regarding text

45. Step 3:Reader and Task Considerations • Questions for Professional Reflection on Reader and Task Considerations: • http://www.ksde.org/Default.aspx?tabid=4605

46. Step 3: Reader and Task Considerations • We’ve completed the third leg of the text complexity model and are now ready to recommend a final placement for this book.

47. Step 4: Recommended Placement • Based upon all the information—all three legs of the model—the final recommendation for To Kill a Mockingbird is….

48. Where Do We Find Resources? • Use parts of your program textbooks using Lexile and ATOS • Use online resources (provided by David) • State Leadership will be developing curriculum as an option to use – coming soon! • Get volunteer teachers to develop curriculum

49. More Resources Source: • Some states have already begun to write lessons and units – will share • Publishers like McGraw Hill are developing materials – promise to be made available soon

50. Text-Dependent Questions... Using evidence from the text Can be literal (checking for understanding) but must also involve analysis, synthesis, evaluation. Focus on word, sentence, and paragraph, as well as larger ideas, themes, or events. Focus on difficult portions of text in order to enhance reading proficiency. Can also include prompts for writing and discussion questions.