A Sneak Pee k at the New ELA

A Sneak Pee k at the New ELA St andards And Other Upda tes from ND E Tricia Parke r-Siemers Director of Language A rts Educatio n

Timeline What’s happened so far? When will they be finished? How long do we have to implement?

What’s happened so far? 0 March – June 2013 Alignment study between the Common Core State Standards and the Nebraska Language Arts and Mathematics Standards conducted by MCREL 0 June – October 2013 Reviewed the results of the alignment study-- report for the State Board 0 December 2013 Convened Higher Education representatives from all Nebraska universities, state colleges, and community colleges to review 2009 standards for college and career readiness & identify areas for improvement

0 November 2013– January 2014 Convened writing groups to review all data collected to this point and revise standards as needed to for college and career readiness, including an examination of: 0 Results of HE readiness study 0 Results of the MCREL alignment study 0 Standards for ACT, SAT and the NAEP frameworks for changes that have been made since 2009 0 Ne. SA results to identify gaps in the current standards 0 Standards from other states

When will they be finished? 0 Spring 2014 - Present 1 st draft of College and Career Ready Language Arts Standards to the State Board. 0 30 day public input period 0 Revisions based upon public and board input 0 Vetted by higher education representatives 0 Final draft approved by the State Board of Education

How long do we have to implement? 0 School districts have one year after the standards are approved to adopt the new standards or to create standards that are equal or greater in rigor to the newly adopted standards.

Let’s just go ahead and talk about it…

So, why not just adopt the Common Core? 0 The Nebraska State Board of Education gave the Curriculum and Instruction Team the following charge: 0 Simply adopting the Common Core is not an option 0 Begin with the existing Nebraska standards- revise as needed for College and Career Readiness 0 Guarantee Nebraska Students have the same opportunity to learn 0 Allow for ESEA Flexibility Waiver

Higher Education Meetings November 19 -20, 2013 0 Representatives from: 0 0 University System State College System Community College System Private Post Secondary Institutions 0 Participants were nominated by the heads of their institutions and submitted by the heads of their systems 0 Expertise 0 Authority to sign off for their system

Emphasis on College and Career Readiness (& are they different? ) 0 ACT Definition 0 “The level of achievement a student needs to be ready to enroll and succeed—without remediation—in credit‐ bearing first‐year postsecondary courses. ” 0 Discussions surrounding the Nebraska Career Readiness Standards 0 Envisioning the role of technology

Higher Ed Take-Aways 0 More in-depth analysis of text is a must 0 Need to move beyond main idea/supporting details only model 0 A broader variety of writing types need to be mastered 0 Technology must be integrated usefully, not as an afterthought 0 Appropriate register in reading and writing must be taught explicitly

Standards Revision Committee 0 25 member committee, with representation from: 0 K-12 Schools (teachers and administrators) 0 Nebraska’s Literacy Stakeholders, including: 0 0 0 0 NSRA (State Reading Association) NELAC (Nebraska English Language Arts Council) NSLA (Nebraska School Librarians) NSEA (Nebraska State Education Association) NDE (Assessment, Early Childhood, Curriculum) NE Chapter of the American Dyslexia Association Higher Education NCSA (Nebraska Council of School Administrators)

Requirements for Committee 0 At least one, and in most cases, 2 representatives from each State Board District 0 Multiple Lenses: 0 0 0 English as a Second Language Special Education High-Ability Learners Cross-Curricular Areas Career & Technical Education Connections

So, what next?

Next Steps 0 Continue with revisions 0 Looking at revisions across K-12 0 Integration of multiple literacy standards 0 Matching language to Career Readiness Standards 0 January-March 2014: Revision committee to finish drafts 0 April/May: Final Edits and Send to Higher Education Representatives for sign-off 0 Spring/Early Summer Final Draft to State Board 0 Public Comment 0 Final Edits and State Board Approval

Beyond Revision So, then what can we expect?

Support for the Standards 0 Create cross-curricular frameworks 0 Demonstrate integration within units for elementary to make better use of time 0 Middle and high school cross-curricular integration 0 Build resources into Safari Montage and on state site 0 Glossary 0 Crosswalk to CTE 0 Sample Lessons/Units 0 Create model for others, based on CTE Integration

Questions? Tricia Parker-Siemers Director of Language Arts Education Nebraska Department of Education 301 Centennial Mall South OR PO Box 94987 Lincoln, NE 68509 @Literacy. Lady 89 (402)471 -4336 http: //www. education. ne. gov/read