Reporting on the Common Core: Standards and Assessments

7/29/2019 Reporting on the Common Core: Standards and Assessments

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Reporting on the Common Core

Standards and Assessments

Catherine Gewertz

Education WeekAssociate editor, lead common-core reporter


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Common Standards:

What Are They?

High-level outline of K-12 skills in English/language arts and math

Math: content and skills English/language arts: skills only Includes literacy skills unique to science,social studies & technical subjects www.corestandards.org


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Who Wrote the Standards? National Governors Association and Council of

Chief State School Officers led initiative in

2009 NGA/CCSSO set up writing, feedback and

validation panels

Drafts circulated through state depts of ed forfeedback and revision. Final released June2013.


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Strands and Domains: Mapping Backward

From College To Kindergarten

English/language arts 4 sections: Reading,

Writing, Speaking &

Listening, Language

(conventions, vocab)

PLUS a section onliteracy skills unique to

other disciplines

Math 11 domains: incl.

counting & cardinality;

number & operations

in base 10; geometry;

functions; statistics &probability

PLUS math practices


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What The Standards Are NOT

Curriculum (disputed) Required reading list Prescribed pedagogy (disputed) Federally funded


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Six Major Shifts of

Common Core Standards

English/language arts

1) Build knowledge throughcontent-rich nonfiction

2) Reading, writing and speakingbased on evidence in text

3) Mastery of complex text andits academic language

Math

1) Deep focus: reaction to inchdeep, mile wide curricula

2) Coherence: (thinking acrossgrades and linking major topicswithin grades)

3) Rigor: conceptual understanding,procedural skill & fluency,application


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Examples: English/language arts Reading, Literary Text Grade 5: Determine the theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in the

text, including how characters respond to challenges or how the speak in a

poem reflects upon a topic. Summarize the text.

Reading, Informational Text Grade 5: Explain how an author uses reasons and evidence to support

particular points in a text, identifying which reasons and evidence supportwhich point(s).

Writing Grade 5: Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or eventsusing effective technique, descriptive details and clear event sequences.

Grade 5: Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and conveyideas and information clearly.


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Examples/Math From Numbers & Operations in Base 10: Grade 5: Recognize that in a multi-digit number, a digit in one place represents 10 times as

much as it represents in the place to its right and 1/10 of what it represents in the place to itsleft.

From Expressions & Equations: Grade 7: Apply properties of operations as strategies to add, subtract, factor, and expand

linear expressions with rational coefficients.

From High School Geometry, Congruence: Know precise definitions of angle, circle, perpendicular line, parallel line, and line segment,

based on the undefined notions of point, line, distance along a line, and distance around acircular arc.

Math practices: Attend to precision, reason abstractly and quantitatively, Construct viable arguments and

critique the reasoning of others.


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Who Adopted the CCSS?

h"p://visual.ly/speedy-process-common-standards-adop7on


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Whats All the Fuss? Transparency: how panels & content chosen Content-free E/LA Standards (only 4 required readings) Exemplar texts: seen as required reading lists Bluest Eye reaction Nonfiction edges out literature? Fuzzy/watered down math Standards + Tests = de facto curriculum Moneymaking machine for vendors: Common-Core Aligned! Expensive: professl development, instructional shifts, new materials, transitionto new tests Who bankrolled the CCSS? Gates Fdtn: outsized influence? Federal overreach, local control issues: Race to the Top incentives,

conditions of waivers from NCLB, RTT money to fund the assessments


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What Are The Assessment

Consortia?

Partnership for Assessment of Readinessfor College and Careers (PARCC)

20 members = 19 states + DC www.parcconline.org Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium 25 state members

www.smarterbalanced.org

Funded with $360 million in Race to the Top grants development only, notadministration. Grants run out in fall 2014; then states must fund

Field tests in 2013-14, operational in 2014-15


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Whos in the Assessment Consortia?

h"p://visual.ly/common-standards-and-assessment-consor7a-

membership


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Resources: Assessment Consortia

K-12 Center at ETS: http://www.k12center.org/ Summary/outline of consortia tests: http://www.k12center.org/rsc/pdf/

a_step_change_in_k12_testing_august2013.pdf

Race to the Top site:http://www2.ed.gov/programs/racetothetop-assessment/resources.html.

Original requirements: Notice Inviting Applications.http://www2.ed.gov/programs/racetothetop-assessment/awards.html -- 2

consortias winning applications.


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PARCC Test Design


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SmarterBalanced Test Design


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This Is So Mushy. How Can I Crack

Into It? I feel your pain. Some thoughts: Read the standards. (Really.) Are they very different? How? Origin: How involved was your state in development? Or

just along for the ride?

Objections: Who is objecting to the standards, and why? Have they readthem? What, exactly, are their objections & what are they based on?

Capacity: State or districts ability to move standards fully into practice. $$$, human resources, sufficient training How is instruction changing in school? Or is it? Get close.


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More Story Themes Technology. Does your district/state have the technology needed to run these

tests?

Special populations: Are teachers ready to help ELLs & students with disabilitiesreach the new expectations? (hint: answer = no)

Tests. Touchy subject. What tests is your state/district using now? How are theytransitioning to 2014-15? Using PARCC/SBAC? Designing/keeping own? What is on

those tests?Score drop in 2014? Why? Tests harder, or folks just not experienced

enough with the content/tests yet? Anti-testingbacklash, activists.


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Resources/Light ReadingJ www.edweek.org Gewertz + common standards, common assessments,

literacy or English/language arts. State policy/controversy: Ujifusa. Tech: Cavanagh, Davis.Math/science: Robelen. Teachers: Sawchuk.

EdWeek blogs http://www.edweek.org/ew/section/blogs/index.html -- Curriculum Matters,State EdWatch, Politics K12

Early visions of tests --http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2010/02/23/23assessment.h29.html

Early drafts of standards --http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2010/03/10/25common_ep.h29.html

Special report April 2012 common core math & E/LA --http://www.edweek.org/ew/collections/standards-report-2012/index.html -- good overview ofthe issues, plus a look at cross-disciplinary literacy stuff in Ky

The DC series --http://www.edweek.org/ew/collections/common-core-a-steep-climb/index.html


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Resources (contd) Concerns about early childhood application --http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2010/04/07/28common.h29.html

Groups that are pushing the CCSS --http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2010/06/09/33common-

strategy_ep.h29.html

Curric producers start "aligning stuff to CCSS --http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2010/08/20/01curriculum_ep.h30.html

The consortia get supplemental RTT grants to do all sorts of related stuffbesides summative tests --http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2011/02/11/21consortia.h30.html

Calls for shared curriculum guidelines --http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2011/03/09/23curriculum.h30.html


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Resources (contd) Gates & Pearson craft curricula -- makes some people uneasy --http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2011/04/27/30pearson.h30.html

Manifesto on shared curric/local control --http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2011/05/09/31curriculum.h30.html

Technology challenges to the tests --http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2011/04/19/29assess.h30.html 2011 survey showing lagging implementation --

http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2011/09/21/04cep-2.h31.html

2013 study showing teachers not ready --http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2013/02/27/22common_ep.h32.html

Parents dont know about CCSS either --http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2013/08/21/02pdk_ep.h33.html


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Resources (contd) Worries about "close reading" --

http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2012/02/08/20aspen-2.h31.htm

Shift to informational text --http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2012/03/14/24informational_ep.h31.html and

http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2012/11/14/12cc-nonfiction.h32.html Teachers reworking questions in basal readers --

http://www.edweek.org/ew/collections/standards-report-2012/index.html and:basals arent allthat different than older versions --http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2012/11/14/12cc-textbooks.h32.html

Sample consortia items, sense of how the tests will be different Document cloud link to hundredsof pages of items -- http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2012/08/14/01tests_ep.h32.html


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Resources (contd) AFT seeks moratorium on consequences --

http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/curriculum/2013/04/

halt_high_stakes_linked_to_common_core.html -- the start of "slow down" kinds of

reactions

Feds give more time to link teacher evals to test scores --http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/campaign-k-12/2013/06/

arne_duncan_allows_waiver_stat.html

Now extending flexibility on tests because of field testing http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2013/09/19/05doubletest.h33.html

Reporting on the Common Core: Standards and Assessments

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