Getting to the Core of the Common Core

Getting to the Core of the Common Core State Standards What they are! & How they came to be! Implications for Policy and Practice Advanced Literacy Panel Princeton University Dorothy S. Strickland. Ph. D. Professor Emerita Rutgers. The State University of New Jersey 2. 22. 13 1

Overview Why Common Core State Standards? Issues! Concerns! Goals! Implications for: Curriculum; Assessment; Educator Evaluation; Professional Development Challenges & Cautions: Do No Harm! 2

Why Standards? Why Common Core State Standards? Standards provide a shared vision of what students, teachers, and policy makers responsible for supporting educational infrastructures should know and be able to do. Common Core State Standards establish consistency across the states 3

Concerns about “current” standards Equity n Efficiency n Expectations n International standing in student achievement n 4

The Goals n n n State initiated and developed; Voluntary Research-based Address knowledge and skills necessary for college and careers Benchmarked against standards from high performing nations Rigorous! Clear! Focused 5

Anchor Standards Students Who are College and Career Ready in Reading, Writing, Speaking, Listening, and Language Characteristics n They demonstrate independence. n They build strong content knowledge. n They respond to the varying demands of audience, task, purpose, and discipline. n They comprehend as well as critique. n They value evidence. n They use technology and digital media strategically and capably. n They come to understand other perspectives and cultures. 6

The CCSS do not define -n n n How teachers should teach The entire spectrum of instructional content The nature of advanced work beyond the core The interventions needed for students who may need them* The full range of support for English language learners and students with special needs* *supplementary materials now available in these areas Shared vision! Multiple pathways! 7

The CCSS for English Language Arts/Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, & Technical Subjects Implications for Curriculum CCSS design considerations for curriculum include: n n n An integrated model of literacy. A cumulative model of expectations. Shared responsibility for students’ literacy development. Research and media skills blended into the standards as a whole. Greater use of on-grade-level texts. 8

The CCSS for English Language Arts/Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, & Technical Subjects Assessment - Enter the Federal Government Two CCSS-based Assessment Consortia (funded by Fed. Gov. ): • n The Partnership for the Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC)* The SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium (SMARTER) Implementation begins 2014 -2015 school year *New Jersey has adopted PARCC & is a Governing State PARCC and SMARTER focus on the application of skills and strategies. 9

Implications: Linking Instruction to Assessment n n Instructional activities should be designed to provide information about students’ knowledge and application of what they are learning. Periodic, formative assessments patterned after prototypes available from the assessment consortia as an integral part of curriculum planning and instruction is an important component of an effective CCSSbased curriculum. 10

Example: PARCC, Grade 10 Evidence-Based Selected-Response Item Part A What does the word vanity mean in these lines from the text “Daedalus and Icarus”? “Proud of his success, the foolish Icarus forsook his guide, and, bold in vanity, began to soar” (lines 345 -349) a. arrogance* b. fear c. heroism d. enthusiasm Part B Which word from the lines from the text in Part A best helps the reader understand the meaning of vanity? a. proud* b. success c. foolish d. soar 11 11

The CCSS for English Language Arts/Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, & Technical Subjects Implications for Educator Evaluation n n The CCSS will influence the evaluation of Teachers and Principals Concerns: n n n Accountability measures; weights Non-tested grades and subjects Training of observers 12

The CCSS for English Language Arts/Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, & Technical Subjects Implications for Professional Development should: n be linked to CCSS-based curriculum & grounded in children’s learning processes; n reflect a school’s vision for reform; shared by all in the school community; encourage the formation of study groups in which educators discuss their goals, needs, and perceptions of student needs; n n be designed to attend to individual teacher/educator needs and encourage reflection on practice; outcomes of educator evaluation; be long-term; embedded; focused. 13

Challenges to Implementation: Applications & Misapplications of Research Common Core State Standards require Effective applications - Research to Practice! Too often, the findings of major research reports have been distilled and disseminated in ways that foster teaching and learning that is devoid of meaningful application to situations where students must retrieve and successfully apply the appropriate skills and/or strategies from a repertoire of those they have learned. 14

Do No Harm! Harm is done when: n Students, including our youngest learners, are not taught in ways that encourage independent application of skills and strategies. n Students are not taught to think analytically and critically with oral and written texts, whether traditional print or technology-based. 15

Do No Harm! Harm is done when: n Students are not provided with opportunities to build the background knowledge required to understand apply literacy skills to a variety of content, both known and new. Harm is done when: n Students are denied opportunities to engage in reading and writing that emphasizes thinking as a way of learning, because of their socio-economic or linguistic backgrounds. 16

Warning: Do No Harm! Keep in mind that the choice is not about whether or not to teach skills and strategies, but how to teach and assess them to insure that they are truly learned and applied effectively by the learner. Warning! Literacy learning and teaching that is devoid of thinking may do harm and that harm may be both grave and cumulative for ALL students, especially those considered at risk. 17

The Vision -an unprecedented opportunity Policy makers and Educators at the state, district, and school levels -will provide the leadership and guidance needed for the successful implementation of the ELA Common Core State Standards. This effort has the potential to serve as catalyst for reform, leading to a more coherent and highly effective system of literacy education for all children. 18