The Tri-State Rubric: A Tool To Align Lesson Plans and Units to the Common Core State Standards Illinois State Board of Education English Language Arts Content Specialists Hosted by Kathi Rhodus, June 2012 Content contained is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

Today’s Target Gain knowledge about the Tri-State Rubric - a tool to help teachers and district personnel know if a lesson plan/unit is aligned to the Common Core State Standards. Lesson Plan or Unit Content contained is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

The History Behind the Tool The Tri-State Collaborative (comprised of educational leaders from Massachusetts, New York, and Rhode Island and facilitated by Achieve) has developed criterion-based rubrics and review processes to evaluate the quality of lessons and units intended to address the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics and ELA/Literacy. Now representatives from more than 25 states regularly convene to fine-tune the rubric. This presentation will focus on the ELA/Literacy rubric. Presently representatives from the PARCC states are meeting quarterly in Washington D.C. to continue to provide ACHIEVE with feedback to improve the rubric. ACHIEVE is asking the states to use the rubric “as is” for now. Improvements will most likely be minor and the current rubric will be sufficient to determine alignment. Content contained is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License Content contained is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

Purpose The primary purpose of this process: To provide specific input for improvement of instruction, so teaching and learning are aligned with the Common Core State Standards. Content contained is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License Content contained is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

Tri-State Quality Review Rubric is designed to evaluate: Lessons that include instructional activities and assessments aligned to CCSS, extending over a few class periods or days. Units that include integrated and focused lessons aligned to CCSS extending over a longer period of time. The rubric is NOT designed to evaluate a single task or activity. Content contained is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License Content contained is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

The Tri-State Rubric Consists of Four Dimensions Dimension #1 Alignment to the Rigors of CCSS Dimension #2 Key Areas of Focus in the CCSS Dimension #3 Instructional Supports Dimension #4 Assessment Each dimension is a column on the Tri-State rubric. These dimensions will not change as the states meet to determine changes. Content contained is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License Content contained is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

Step #1 Understand the Rubric Identify the following components on the Tri-State Rubric. The criteria that define the rubric are organized as a checklist describing quality in four dimensions. The most critical criteria are considered “must haves” for a quality CCSS lesson/unit and are marked with **. There is a rating scale for each dimension using 3, 2, 1, or 0. There is an “overall” rating scale using E,E/I,R or N. Provide participants a copy of Handout #1 as they look at the next 3 slides. Content contained is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License Content contained is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

Step #2 Use the Rubric & Criteria to Evaluate a Lesson/Unit Record the grade and title of the lesson/unit at the top of the rubric. Scan the lesson/unit. Identify the grade-level CCSS that the lesson/unit targets. Do a close reading of text that serves as the centerpiece for the lesson/unit. Analyze the lesson unit for evidence of Dimension One. Check the criteria for which there is clear and substantial evidence of meeting the descriptors. Determine a rating for Dimension One. Circle the rating at the bottom of the column. Use the criteria to make observations and recommendations about this lesson/unit. Continue the same process with each dimension. Content contained is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

Step #3 Determine an Overall Rating The four dimensional ratings for a particular lesson or unit can tell a lot about its current status as an exemplar of CCSS instruction. For example: A lesson rated 3-3-2-1 might be seen as well aligned with the CCSS and its Areas of Focus, but needs some additional thinking about Instructional Supports and some significant revision in its approach to Assessment. Review the patterns of the checked criteria and the ratings for each of the four dimensions. Make a summary judgment about the overall quality using E, E/I, R or N. Record the Overall Rating on the top right of the Rubric. Content contained is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

Feedback Format The two page format is used during the review process and includes columns for recording observations, comments, and suggestions for improvement. The one page format contains the entire rubric including dimensions, criteria, and ratings. With this slide, distribute Handout #2. This rubric is designed so specific feedback can be given. Educators can use this to provide feedback to their own lessons/units or to provide feedback to a colleague’s lesson plans/unit plans. Content contained is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License Content contained is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

Resources Tri-State Rubric http://engageny.org/resource/tri-state-quality-review-rubric-and-rating-process/ Currently, the Tri-State rubric can be found at this site. As revisions are made to the rubric, it may be posted to additional sites. Content contained is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

Contact Information Sarah McCusker,100 N. First Street, Springfield, Illinois smccuske@isbe.net (217) 524-4832 Erik Iwersen, Area I-A,B,D eiwersen@s-cook.org (708) 544-4891 Amy Robinson, Area I-C arobinson@dupage.k12.il.us (630) 495-6080 Jill Brown, Area II jbrown@kidsroe.org (815) 636-3060 Katy Sykes, Area III and IV ksykes@i-kan.org (815) 937-2950 Kathi Rhodus, Area V and VI krhodus@stclair.k12.il.us (618) 825-3900 Content contained is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License Content contained is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License