Implementing the Common Core Standards: The School Counselor's Role in College Readiness

1. Implementing the Common Core Standards: The School Counselor’s Role to Ensure All K-12 Students Graduate Career & College Ready All Ohio Counselor Conference November 5, 2014 Bob Bardwell Monson High School Monson, MA

2. Who Is Here? • Secondary school counselors • School Counseling directors • Graduate students • Community Based Organizations • Mental health counselors • College Admission Counselors • Other

3. Why Are You Here? • Professional development • Your school made you come • Nothing else to do • Didn’t like the other sessions during this time slot

4. What Can I Offer? • 21 year School Counselor and K-12 Director of School Counseling • Leader – local, state, regional & national • Advocate for students, school counselors and our profession • Not an expert on Common Core but I know enough that Common Core is my ticket to ensure that I have a job in the years to come

5. Whately MA Map

9. Goals of this session • Participants will • Gain a deeper understanding of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) • Explore the role of the school counselor in career and college readiness as it relates to the CCSS • Develop a school counselor action plan for your school/school district in order to meet the objectives of the CCSS and ensure all students graduate career and college ready

10. What do you know about CCSS? • Get out your smart or iphone • Open your text messaging function and follow the directions

11. Understanding the Common Core in 3 minutes • http://www.corestandards.org/about-the-standards/frequently-asked-questions/#faq-2320

12. Let’s SWOT the CCSS? • Individually you will identify the following in relation to the CCSS • Strengths • Weaknesses • Opportunities • Threats • Each of the four groups will be assigned one of the aspects of SWOT. You will discuss your responses and record your answers as a group on the chart paper. • Each group will then rotate to the other three components adding items not already recorded.

13. What are the Common Core State Standards (CCSS)? • Beginning in the spring of 2009, Governors and state commissioners of education from 46 states, 2 territories and the District of Columbia committed to the process of developing a common core of state K-12 English-language arts (ELA) and mathematics standards. • The Common Core State Standards Initiative (CCSSI) is a state-led effort coordinated by the National Governors Association (NGA) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO). • www.corestandards.org

14. How did we get here? • The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) align U.S. K-12 education with a uniformly higher standard – college and career readiness • 45 states and DC initially adopted the CCSS for English language arts and mathematics. Currently there are 43 states • ACT research on college and career readiness lies at the heart of the CCSS • Achieve and the College Board (SAT) were members of the CCSS Development Team

15. How did we get here? (continued) • CCSS were developed using a backward design model – start with the end goal and then figure out how to get there • Identified the college & career standards being sought and worked backwards through each grade resulting in grade level shifts in content throughout the grades • Economic pressure and the continuous decline of the United States regarding high school graduates and lackluster success of college bound students when compared to other nations was the driving force behind the creation of the CCSS • Race to the Top (RTTT) pushed states to voluntarily make the choice to join the CCSSI

16. Common Core State Standards Design • Building on the strength of current state standards, the Common Core State Standards are designed to be: • Focused, coherent, clear and rigorous • Shared goals and expectations for what K-12 students should understand and be able to do • Internationally benchmarked • Linked to college and career readiness* • Evidence and research based • Reduce remediation in college and increase college success • Allow similar comparisons across schools, districts and states * Ready for first-year credit-bearing, postsecondary coursework without the need for remediation.

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

18. Higher Education and Employers Want Students Who Can • Identify areas for research, evaluate and synthesize resources and develop & draw conclusions • Conduct research and apply that research to solve problems • Apply skills and knowledge across the content areas to solve problems • Model real world situations and solving problems

19. What does this mean for School & College Counselors? We Must: 1. Understand the Standards 2. Support the Standards implementation 3. Act on the Standards

20. ELA Writing Standards • Expect students to compose arguments and opinions, informative- explanatory pieces, and narrative texts • Focus on the use of reason and evidence to substantiate an argument or claim • Emphasize ability to conduct research – short projects and sustained inquiry • Require students to incorporate technology as they create, refine, and collaborate on writing

21. The Mathematics Standards • Call on students to practice applying mathematical ways of thinking to real world issues and challenges • Require students to develop a depth of understanding and ability to apply mathematics to novel situations, as college students and employees regularly are called on to do • Emphasize mathematical modeling, using mathematics and statistics to analyze problems, understand them better, and improve decisions • Identify the mathematics that all students should study in order to be college and career ready.

22. The Other Standards • Science: In a process managed by Achieve, with the help of the National Research Council, the National Science Teachers Association, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, states are developing the Next Generation Science Standards. http://www.nextgenscience.org/ • World Languages: The American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages published an alignment of the National Standards for Learning Languages with the ELA Common Core State Standards. http://www.actfl.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/Aligning_CCSS_Language_Standards_v6.pdf • Arts: The National Coalition for Core Arts Standards is leading the revision of the National Standards for Arts Education. http://www.arteducators.org/research/national-coalition-for-core-arts-standards

23. What is College Readiness?

24. PARCC Performance Levels

25. Costs • No cost to individual school districts to score; states will pay • RTTT awarded $360 million to PARCC & Smarter Balanced • Majority of that funding has been awarded to vendors • McGraw-Hill - $72.5 Million • ETS - $42.6 Million • Pearson - $63 Million • States are also awarding contracts to vendors independently of consortia contracts • PARCC estimates a scoring cost of $24-$25 per test but could drop to $19-$20 if volume increases • Smarter Balanced - $22.50 - $27.30 per test

26. Timing • PARCC • Grade 3 – 9:45 hours • Grades 4&5 – 10 hours • Grades 6-8 – 10:45 hours • Grades 9-11 – 11- 11:15 hours • 75% of students in field tests finished in 6.5-7.5 hours

27. Let’s practice Practice items http://epat-parcc.testnav.com/client/index.html#getitem/8197

28. Benefits of CCSS to Higher Education • Better information about the preparation of incoming students • Better use of the 12th grade Improved preparation of incoming students – from all states • Increased academic rigor in entry-level, credit-bearing courses • Reduced remediation rates • Increased funding may be redirected to support credit-bearing courses • Increased degree attainment rates • Increased capacity – colleges can admit more students • Betteroptions for academic interventions to ensure students remain on-track to college readiness

29. Successful Implementation Requires • Leaders build a culture of success • Changes in attitudes • Changes in practice • Embraced by all educators, including counselors • Instructional and systemic leadership • All staff buy-in and implementation

30. How can School Counselors Support the Implementation? • Think & work across the K-12 grade span • Develop comprehensive school counseling plans utilizing the ASCA national standards • Create standards based college and career focused classroom lessons and programs • Design clearer processes for course sequencing and credit articulation

31. How can School Counselors Support the Implementation? (continued) • Familiarize yourself with the standards • Become part of the leadership team which is charged with overseeing the CCSSI implementation • Ensure that your school counseling program statement of philosophy aligns with the school and district’s vision and mission statements • Formulate and distribute an agreed upon set of beliefs and expectations that every student achieve at high levels

32. Turn to a neighbor Have you begun to have conversation in your school counseling program about how to get on the Common Core bandwagon? If so, what is your role with the CCSSI movement? (in other words, how do you do it?

33. Action Steps: Literacy instruction • Gather & analyze relevant literacy standardized test data to share with colleagues and invested constituents • Gather & analyze relevant Response to Intervention (RTI) Tier 2 & 3 data with colleagues and invested constituents • Monitor and share student literacy related progress reports • Identify students with literacy needs and plan with staff appropriate interventions • Integrate literacy standards into your lesson plans

34. Action Steps: Mathematics instruction • Gather & analyze relevant math standardized test data to share with colleagues and invested constituents • Gather & analyze relevant RTI Tier 2 & 3 data with colleagues and invested constituents • Monitor and share student math related progress reports • Identify students with math needs and plan with staff appropriate interventions • Advocate for four years of high school math requirement if it is not already in place

35. Action Steps: Mathematics instruction (continued) • Analyze data regarding • Students who are not on track for early math grade level achievement (elementary level data analysis) • Number of students repeating math courses – what grade do they begin to fall behind and with which teacher(s) • Students who do not minimally complete the college prep math track – Algebra I, Geometry & Algebra II or integrated math levels I-III • Student achievement on state or national standardized tests (I.e.: Accuplacer, SAT/ACT, AP, IB)

36. Action Steps: Mathematics instruction (continued) • Provide math faculty the opportunity to collaborate with college math faculty to review scope and sequence of course syllabi • Review (and change if necessary) the school’s policy regarding course selection, offerings & sequencing to ensure all students have access to higher level math courses

37. Action Steps: Systemic Approaches • Participate in discussions about rigor in your school • Assist in the gathering of data on the # of students on target to be career/college ready • Explore, Plan, ACT, PSAT, SAT, Accuplacer, AP, IB • Provide data analysis regarding the # of students taking rigorous courses of study

38. Action Steps: Systemic Approaches(continued) • Provide data analysis about the # of students who attain the ACT/SAT college readiness benchmarks • Explore & provide dual/concurrent enrollment opportunities with local colleges • Explore & provide early college programs and opportunities for students who show potential and ability to participate in such activities

39. Action Steps: Instructional Time • Help identify ways to extend learning time for students, including those in Tier 2 interventions • Monitor participation and progress of students involved with Tier 2 and 3 interventions • Share results & impact of such interventions • Identify students and interventions for accelerated/ enriched extended learning opportunities

40. Action Steps: Instructional Practices • Determine impact of the CCSS on the development and implementation of educational plans for all students • Develop & annually update 6 year individual learning plans which contain necessary career & college readiness elements • Develop career & college readiness lesson plans aligned with CCSS standards • Develop school counselor classroom lesson calendar and distribute to all staff

41. Action Steps: Professional Learning • Be part of the discussions with school leadership team, data team and/or literacy council based on assessed needs of students and observed needs of staff as they relate to CCSS implementation • Be an active participant in school wide PD activities • Include PD goals in your Comprehensive School Counseling program and your individual evaluation • Reference ASCA’s tools when creating PD plans

42. Action Steps: Assessment • Ensure that students understand how to interpret current standardized assessments and the implications of the results relating to their level of career and college readiness • Begin learning about and communicating about upcoming common assessments • Use data to identify student needs and monitor progress • Create pre/post assessments which measure CCSS in your lesson plans and activities

43. Action Steps: Visuals • Display college poster and pennants • Post college information, scholarships and student acceptances* • Post achievement and accomplishments of students – I.e.: NMSQT Semi-finalists & finalists, AP scholars, Honor Roll, NHS

44. Action Steps: Visuals (continued) • Proudly display pennants or articles of clothing from their alma mater(s) • Provide relevant and current information on your counseling office website • Create bulletin boards/special displays with important career/college information or data

45. Action Steps: Auditory • Make frequent announcements about student accomplishments, deadlines, reminders, programs, field trips • Engage in routine conversations with students and parents about career and college research, selection and the application process • Have counselors, teachers and other educators engage in frequent discussions with all students about careers and college • Bring in alumni (high school or college) and business people to speak to students about colleges and careers

46. Action Steps: Practices/Rituals • School wide celebrations for academic achievement (Honor roll breakfast, National Honor Society induction) • Incentives for academic achievement (I.e.: Renaissance program, special privileges for honors students; scholarship recognitions) • Community activities that highlight academic successes (I.e.: newspaper articles, bulletin boards in local businesses) • Advisory – incorporate career/college activities within the small group advisory curriculum (if applicable)

47. Political updates • Ohio’s New Learning Standards • HR 597 would repeal adoption of Common Core in Ohio • 76% of public school teachers support the goal of CCSS • 51% of teachers believe that the ELA standards are more rigorous; 60% believe math standards • 89% believe that linking teacher evaluation to test results is unfair • 78% believe the tests take away too much time from teaching • 63% believe the tests reduce creativity • 64% believe the tests take away too much control from the teacher • In 2013 65% of the general public supported CCSS; in 2014 only 53%; more pressure from the outside to move away from CCSS

48. Challenges • Political pressures • Lack of funding for professional development and curriculum alignment • Lack of infrastructure for computer based testing • Lack of staff expertise in implementing CCSS adequately • Lack of time for curriculum implementation and appropriate professional development • What training that is provided is ineffective

49. Future graduation implications • Connecting CCSS to exit exams • 24 states currently have exam tied to graduation • At least 10 states are considering using the new tests as part of the graduation requirement • New Jersey – considering PARCC, SAT/ACT or portfolio review • Maryland – will use PARCC English 10 and Algebra I; considering two scores – HS graduation and CCR • Washington state – Smarter Balanced scores will impact college placement testing

50. Successful Implementation Requires • Leaders build a culture of success • Changes in attitudes • Changes in practice • Embraced by all educators, including counselors • Instructional and systemic leadership • All staff buy-in and implementation