Guiding Questions

1. Common Core State Standards: Alignment and ImplicationsDanielle Luisier, Beth Hart, and Elaine CarmanResearch & DevelopmentThe College Board

2. Guiding Questions • What is the Common Core State Standards Initiative? • Why were common standards developed? • What role did the College Board play in developing these standards? • What are the defining features of the English Language Arts and Mathematics standards? • How does our methodology differ when aligning different College Board materials and assessments to the Common Core? • What are some potential implications for states and districts that will implement these new standards?

3. What is the Common Core State Standards Initiative? • A state-led effort to develop a common set of college and career readiness standards in English Language Arts and Mathematics that • Align with college and workplace expectations • Include rigorous content and applications of knowledge • Are based on evidence • Build upon strengths and lessons of current state standards • Are informed by frameworks from top performing countries

4. Why Common Core State Standards?

5. What role did the College Board play? • The College Board, one of the original partner organizations, has been part of the Common Core effort since the launch of this initiative in the spring of 2009. • Writing Team: College Board staff served on the original College and Career Readiness Standards writing team • Feedback Group: College Board staff provided ongoing feedback and reviews of the K-12 standards • Advisory Group: Member of the 5-organization advisory group guiding the initiative • Alignment Data: Supporting the development of research and data to assist in the implementation of the standards

6. College Board Alignment Studies

7. What comes next after the standards are adopted?

8. Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts Overview, Alignment Methodologies, and Potential Implications

9. Overview of the English Language Arts Standards • College and Career Readiness (CCR) Standards • Overarching standards for each strand that are further defined by grade-specific standards • Grade-Level Standards in English Language Arts • K-8, grade-by-grade • 9-10 and 11-12 grade bands for high school • Four strands: Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening, and Language • Standards for Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects • Standards are embedded at grades K-5 • Content-specific literacy standards are provided for grades 6-8, 9-10, and 11-12

10. Defining Features of the Reading and Writing Standards

11. Alignment to College Board Products

12. The CBSCS to the CCSS Methodology • Standard-to-standard alignment • Grade levels • All strands of the ELA CCSS • Overall coverage, rigor, and rationale for gaps • Alignment metric: • Strong: ≥ 75% • Good: 50%-74% • Partial: < 50%

13. Common Core – CBSCS Alignment ELA Key Findings • Overall strong alignment • 80% of the CCSS are addressed by the CBSCS • 46% of the CBSCS are addressed by the CCSS • Generally comparable in terms of rigor • Variation in terms of specificity • Required achievements vs. process and strategy

14. Example of Strong Alignment CCSS CBSCS W.9-10.2d (informative/explanatory texts) Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to manage the complexity of the topic. W3.2-1.5R Selects precise vocabulary…figurative language…rhetorical questions, and detailed images and examples to develop credibility of voice, to support findings, and to communicate information clearly.

15. SAT, PSAT/NMSQT, and ReadiStep to CCSS Methodology • Assessment framework-to-standard alignment • Grades 8, 9-10, 11-12, and CCR • Aligned to Reading, Writing, and Language strands • Overall coverage and rationale for gaps

16. Skill Categories

17. Example of Strong Alignment CCSS SAT/PSAT/ReadiStep Skill Category L.11-12.4a Use context (e.g., the overall meaning of a sentence, paragraph, or text; a word’s position or function in a sentence) as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase. Determining the meaning of words

18. ACCUPLACER to CCSS Methodology • Item-to-standard alignment • Grades 9-10, 11-12, and CCR • Reading Comprehension, Sentence Skills, and WritePlacer • Aligned to CCSS Reading, Writing, and Language Standards • Overall coverage and rationale for gaps

19. Example of Strong Alignment CCSS ACCUPLACER Sentence Skills and WritePlacer Item Descriptions W.11-12.1d Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone while attending to the norms and conventions of the discipline in which they are writing. Sentence Variety and Style Mechanical Conventions Agreement Modifiers Diction/Logic Sentence Structure Sentence Boundaries

20. Implications • Standards and Curricula • States will have to consider gaps and how filling those gaps will affect curricula and instruction • Informational Text • Specific Texts in Reading CCSS • Language Standards • Text Complexity

21. Implications • Assessment • ACCUPLACER and SAT, PSAT/NMSQT, and ReadiStep remain relevant to states • Skills tested by the College Board assessments are covered by the CCSS • State Tests • Assessment Consortia • CCSS that may be measured only through local classroom and performance assessments

22. Common Core State Standards for Mathematics

23. Overview of the Mathematics Standards • Grade Level Standards • K-8 grade-by-grade standards organized by domain • 9-12 high school standards organized by conceptual categories • Standards for Mathematical Practice • Describe mathematical “habits of mind” • Standards for mathematical proficiency: • reasoning, problem solving, modeling, decision making, and engagement • Connect with content standards in each grade

24. Organizational Structure The K-8 standards: • K-5 standards provide students with a solid foundation in whole numbers, addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, fractions and decimals • The 6-8 standards focus learning on geometry, algebra, and probability and statistics • Modeled after the focus of standards from high-performing nations, the standards for grades 7 and 8 include significant algebra and geometry content • Students who have completed 7th grade and mastered the content and skills will be prepared for algebra, in 8th grade or after

25. Organizational Structure The High School Standards: • Expect 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 to do • Emphasize mathematical modeling, the use of mathematics and statistics to analyze empirical situations, understand them better, and improve decisions • Identify the mathematics that all students should study in order to be college and career ready

26. Format of the High School Standards

27. What alignment methodology was used to align the Common Core State Standards to the College Board Standards in math? Methodology

28. MethodologyAlignment Considerations: • Content of the CCSS and of the CB standard • Level of rigor of the standards being compared • Clarity (ambiguity) of the standards being compared • Vertical alignment across multiple grades or conceptual categories

29. How do Common Core State Standards Align to …

32. State Perspective • How might a state or school district look at alignment to CCSS? • What else might a state or school district need to consider in the alignment process?

35. Contact Information Elaine Carman Director, Mathematics Curriculum and Standards ecarman@collegboard.org Beth Hart Director, ELA Curriculum and Standards bhart@collegeboard.org Danielle Luisier Director, Standards and Curriculum Alignment Services dluisier@collegeboard.org