IASB District Meetings June 2009 State Policy and ISBF Research on State Standards, Assessments and the Iowa Core Curriculum (ICC)

Standards in Iowa (Past, present, and future) Districts must have local standards. Iowa Standards adopted. The Iowa Core Curriculum (ICC) Essential Concepts and Skills must be learned by all students.

Iowa Standards Requirements 1.Requires local school boards to adopt clear, rigorous, and challenging content standards and benchmarks in (at a minimum) reading, mathematics, and science. 2.Change to Iowa Code in 2007, included in the local standards and benchmarks shall be the core content standards from Iowa's approved standards. 3.The Department has received assurances from each district that the Core Content Standards and Benchmarks corresponding to the Iowa Tests have been incorporated into local standards and benchmarks, and serve as the basis for the accountability assessment for No Child Left Behind. Source: Iowa Department of Education

Why Did IASB Advocate for Higher Expectations? Excellence and Equity is our mission work. Initial study of Iowa’s achievement status in relation to other states. Member and district feedback regarding the difficulty in creating standards and assessments. First study related to state standards. Study of Iowa district standards.

The ISBF Study of Local Standards 1.Many districts had trouble finding their standards. 2.Many district standards were missing significant content. 3.There was wide variation in the rigor of district standards.

Why Did IASB Advocate for Higher Expectations? Where do we look for help? -- Looked for states making more progress with achievement. Studied standards/assessments/policies in those states – compared to Iowa standards and assessments. Finally, studied ICC and compared to Iowa standards and the other states.

The ISBF Study of State Standards 1.There is considerable variability in the quality of state standards, assessment, and accountability. 2.Iowa’s state standards and assessment are less rigorous than most states. 3.There is a significant relationship between states’ standards, assessment, and accountability and student achievement gains and gap closure on NAEP.

The Iowa Core Curriculum (ICC) “Essential Concepts and Skills” Levels: Primary, Intermediate, Middle, and High Literacy, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, and 21 st Century Skills

Iowa Code on the ICC The board of directors of each public school district shall: “Adopt an implementation plan by July 1, 2010, which provides for the adoption of at least one core curriculum subject area each year as established by the state board of education for grades nine through twelve. The core curriculum established for grades nine through twelve by the state board of education shall be fully implemented by each school district and school by July 1, 2012.” “Adopt an implementation plan, by July 1, 2012, which provides for the full implementation of the core curriculum established for kindergarten through grade eight by the school year.”

The ISBF Study of the ICC 1.We focused on the rigor and comprehensiveness of the ICC. 2.Rigor requires a mix of levels of cognitive demand (Bloom’s Taxonomy, rev. 2001). 3.Comprehensiveness requires strands specified in national standards/reports. 4.Structured review process.

ICC Examples Essential Concepts and Skills Read with fluency (accuracy) silently and aloud (K-12 Reading) Predict the probability of simple experiments and test the predictions (3-5 math)

Findings on the ICC In general, the ICC is significantly more rigorous than the Iowa Standards. ICC is roughly as rigorous as the state standards of the states we identified as strong in improving achievement and closing gaps. Other observations related to the findings (e.g. differences by content and level).

Questions?

ICC Roles and Responsibilities: Board Members Learn what you need to learn and support superintendent’s learning (resources in your packet) Set expectation: schools will implement well Change is hard: expect push back as a sign that something real is happening Champion the needs of students and keep the main thing the main thing Provide support: invest in time, materials, professional development, assessment

ICC Roles and Responsibilities: Board Members Integrate the Iowa Core into current improvement efforts Monitor progress of classroom implementation: ask for regular reports at the board table about how it’s going, how you know instruction is improving, and make mid-course corrections if necessary. Celebrate successes along the way.

ICC Roles and Responsibilities: Superintendents Support system learning; monitoring, professional development, assessment and advocacy (board, administrators, teachers). Champion the needs of students and keep the main thing the main thing. Expect and support principals in insuring classroom implementation of curriculum, instruction, and assessment.

ICC Roles and Responsibilities: Superintendents Integrate the Iowa Core into current improvement efforts. Model commitment – be present and focused. Expect pushback but stay the course. Monitor progress. Celebrate successes along the way.

ICC Roles and Responsibilities: Business Managers Learn and communicate reporting requirements. Must be done timely. Dissect possible uses of federal resources. Advise district on expenses that won’t create a long-term obligation. Plan for replacement funds if they will. Closely monitor expenditures. Look for ways to generate and communicate urgency for improvement. Find resources to support implementation. Find resources to support system learning.

Resources to Help Comprehensive School-Improvement Assessment Service I-GROWTH Raising the Bar – ICC issue DE Guidance on Stimulus funds uses ASCD publication “Planning the Possible”

More Resources Coming Soon IASB Compass -The Iowa Core in Depth November 2009: IASB Convention sessions Winter/Spring 2010: Regional Workshops for Board Teams

Contacts: Mary Delagardelle, Executive Director Iowa School Boards Foundation Tony VanderZyl, Assessment Consultant Iowa School Boards Foundation