common core state standards: an opportunity for progress

COMMON CORE STATE STANDARDS:AN OPPORTUNITY FOR PROGRESS

www.dccpta.orgwww.iadvocateforkids.org

www.pta.org

PRESENTATION OVERVIEW

Current Conditions

Common Core

Solutions

Moving Forward

Duval County Council of PTAswww.dccpta.org

www.iadvocateforkids.orgwww.pta.org

THE VALUE OF EDUCATION



Source: College Board’s 2011 “One Year Out” Study.

ARE WE CHALLENGING OUR STUDENTS?



ARE WE CHALLENGING OUR STUDENTS?

Source: http://www.act.org/research/policymakers/pdf/current_standards.pdf



http://www.act.org/research/policymakers/pdf/current_standards.pdf

http://www.act.org/research/policymakers/pdf/current_standards.pdf

ARE OUR CURRENT STANDARDS RIGOROUS?

• 2007: “The state of Georgia declared 88% of 8th graders proficient in reading, even though just 26% scored at or above the proficiency level on the NAEP.”

• 2007: “If you believe those who set the Illinois standards, 82 percent of its 8th graders are proficient in reading, even though the NAEP says only 30 percent are.”

Source: <http://educationnext.org/few-states-set-worldclass-standards



http://educationnext.org/few-states-set-worldclass-standards/

http://educationnext.org/few-states-set-worldclass-standards/


• 2009: “For example, on the 4th-grade math test, West Virginia reported that 60.8 percent of its students had achieved proficiency, but 28.1 percent were proficient on the NAEP.”

• 2009: “Delaware claimed that 77 percent of its 4th-grade students were proficient in math, when NAEP shows that only 36 percent were.”

Source: <http://educationnext.org/state-standards-rising-in-reading-but-not-in-math



http://educationnext.org/state-standards-rising-in-reading-but-not-in-math/


• What type of thinking is involved? Teachers assess by looking at the verb that appears in a standard.

• How deeply do you need to understand a topic to interact with the content being presented?

• What kinds of cognitive tasks are being asked of students? Simply recall a fact? Analyze a complex argument?



WHY DO WE NEED COMMON CORE STANDARDS?

Low Levels of Rigor

• Current standards feature large amounts of knowledge and recall learning targets

• Under-developing critical thinking abilities

• Disadvantaged in college and the workplace



LOW RIGOR STANDARDS

Source: http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/pdf/studies/2011458.pdf



http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/pdf/studies/2011458.pdf

FORDHAM INSTITUTE GRADES STANDARDS

• 25 states have moved backwards in the quality of their standards from 2005 to 2010.

• 21 states’ ELA standards received D or F grades in terms of rigor and clarity.

• 18 states’ Mathematics standards received D or F grades. • The vast majority of states have standards that scored lower

than the Common Core.

WHY DO WE NEED COMMON STANDARDS?

L A C K O F C L A R I T Y

• Write for a variety of purposes.”

• “Respond to variety of literary/informational texts.”

• “Competently use money.”• Are these standards clear

to teachers, students, and parents?

I N C O N S I S T E N C I E S

• Different states set different learning targets

• Different districts set different learning targets

• Different classrooms learning different topics

• We must expect high achievement from all students in all classrooms



WHAT ARE THE RESULTS OF THE INCONSISTENCIES

• States requiring different content• Cut scores for proficiency vary by state• Students being taught and assessed at different levels of rigor based on location

• Students who move may be far ahead or far behind / This especially affects our Military population.

• Large groups of students are disadvantaged in the national and global economies



WHY DO WE NEED COMMON STANDARDS?

Barriers to Collaboration• Educators are not working from the same blueprints• Chilling effect on the sharing of best practices• Curricular materials not applicable to all places• This creates an insular education community where

everyone is doing the same work over and over again



WHAT IS COMMON CORE?

A set of clear, consistent, internationally-benchmarked K-12 standards in English Language Arts and Mathematics that will provide a clear and consistent framework to prepare our students for college and the workplace.

CCSSI Video



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhTfssYu0AE

HOW ARE COMMON CORE STANDARDS BETTER?

• Increased complexity of texts• Focus on foundational math skills and application in

novel real-world situations• A return to depth as opposed to breadth• Increased focus on justifying and presenting results

and methods• Critical reading and writing infused in all curricular

areas• Re-ordering of math content to reflect research-

based path to college and career readiness



OUR CURRENT STANDARDS ARE LOW IN RIGOR AND DO NOT EMPHASIZE THE REASONING SKILLS NECESSARY FOR CAREER AND COLLEGE.

C U R R E N T S T A T E S T A N D A R D C O M M O N C O R E S T A N D A R D

N.MR.04.22 Locate fractions with denominators of 12 or less on the number line; include mixed numbers.

4.NF.2 Compare two fractions with different numerators and different denominators, eg. By creating common denominators or numerators, or by comparing to a benchmark fraction such as ½. Recognize that comparisons are valid only when the two fractions refer to the same whole. Record the results of the comparisons with symbols >, =, or < and justify the conclusions. eg. By using a visual fraction model.



BENEFITS OF COMMON CORE

Preparation:The CCSS will prepare students for both college and the

workplace and emphasizes higher-order skills instead of knowledge and recall.

Competition:The CCSS are internationally-benchmarked,

ensuring that our students are prepared to be competitive in the global job market.



BENEFITS OF COMMON COREEquity:The CC will foster consistent expectations not dependent on

state or zip code. We will hold all students to high academic expectations.

Clarity:The CC are focused, coherent, and clear standards. Everyone

knows what is expected of our students

Collaboration:CCSSI will be a foundation for teachers, states, and districts to

work together from the same blueprints. This will facilitate the sharing of best practices.



IMPLEMENTATION PROGRESS

45 states have voluntarily adopted the Common Core, as well as the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Dept of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA)

To date States and territories who have not yet adopted: Alaska*, Texas, Nebraska, Minnesota, Virginia, Puerto Rico, Guam.



IMPLEMENTATION CURRICULUM

The CCSSO has convened the publishing community to ensure that high-quality instructional materials aligned to the Common Core are being created.

Common Core is also catalyzing teachers in their development of open-source curricular materials. Now that we have a common blueprint, teachers can collaborate more easily and share/refine great materials, raising achievement for all students.



IMPLEMENTATION: ASSESSMENT

Diagnostic and weeks

• Diagnostic and interim assessments (optional)

• Most assessments are traditional pencil and paper

• Results available to schools in two-to-four weeks

• Support for both traditional and integrated math course sequences

• Field testing begins 2012, operational by 2014

• Sample Assessments releases Aug 2012.





Where are Duval County Public Schools in their implementation?

Resources for Parents• Easy to understand guides for parents found at

www.iadvocateforkids.org

http://www.iadvocateforkids.org/

common core state standards: an opportunity for progress

Documents

common standards

common core standards

illinois standards

current standards rigorous

states ela standards

states mathematics standards

common core state standards

low rigor standards