The Challenge of the CCSS ELA Update Michelle Marko Holland Public Schools 2012

“Despite all the money and effort devoted to developing the Common Core State Standards- … -the study forsees little to no impact on student learning.” The Brown Center Report on American Education (2012)

How will this experience be different? The time is ripe for improvement… …to consider ways to shift and alter our practices, and to weed out practices that are not conducive to meaningful learning. Setting the Course to Maximize the Potential of CCSS by Gretchen Owocki

Common Core State Standards The goal is clear. The pathway is not.

Guiding Questions What do we want each student to learn? How will we teach in a way that supports students’ achievement of the standards? How will we know when each student has learned it? How will we respond when a student experiences difficulty in learning?

What do we want each student to learn? We are creating Learning Targets in student friendly language. We are deepening our understanding of the CCSS and supporting research. We are examining the expectations of performance samples as they are developed.

How will we teach in a way that supports students’ achievement of the standards?

“…research has confirmed that the teacher- not the program- is the most important variable in student achievement.” Setting a Course to maximize the Potential of CCSS by Gretchen Owocki

~Within state variation is 4 to 5 times larger than the variation between states. ~ Difference in variation within a building vs. across several buildings is even greater! How will we teach in a way that supports students’ achievement of the standards?

How will we teach in a way that supports students’ achievement of the standards? ….profound impact will come largely from all teachers applying them consistently and reasonably well. Then, as teachers continue to work in teams to practice and refine their implementation, even better results will ensue. p. 10 Focus by Mike Schmoker

How will we know when each student has learned it?

2012 CCSS Test Items Written by Teacher Teams Fall 2013 Field Test of Items/ Performance Tasks Spring 2014 Field Test of Summative and Interim Items & Performance Tasks Fall 2014 Assessments Ready for States to Use How will we know when each student has learned it? Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium

Students will read… closely and analytically to comprehend a range of increasingly complex literary and informational texts. Performance Task Constructed Response

Students will analyze within or across texts: Interpret, specify, or compare how information is presented across texts. Performance Task Constructed Response

Sample Constructed Response From From “How the Leaves Came Down” Excerpt from Excerpt from The Little Captive Stimulus Text: Below is a part of a poem about leaves and a story about a robin. Read the two texts and think about how they are similar and then answer the question that follows.

Item Prompt: Item Prompt: Compare how the actions of the leaves are similar to the actions of the little robin. Use details from both the texts to explain similarities. What grade do you think this Constructed Response represents?

Score Point 4 Sample: The poem and the story are similar in how the presentations of the actions of the leaves are similar to those of the little robin. First the Tree tells the leaves that they are getting sleepy and will need to go to bed. Similar to this is Bessie’s mother telling her to let the robin out its cage. Next, the leaves beg the Tree for one more day to enjoy swinging in the breeze, hoping the Tree will forget and allow them to stay on the Tree until spring. This is similar to Bessie, who at first disobeys and does not let the robin out its cage. Finally, though, she does let the robin out because she does not want to disobey her mother. Finally, although not described, the leaves fall. In “The Little Captive” the robin stays in the cage at first, and then Bessie takes it out and holds it out an open window. Finally the robin flies off but not without returning several times and eating crumbs off the table. The story of the leaves is similar to the story of the robin in both characters’ desire to stay where they are.

How will we respond when a student experiences difficulty in learning?

How will we respond when a student achieves above grade level expectations?

“ As challenging as it must have been to write this document… that work is nothing compared to the work of teaching in ways that bring all students to these ambitious expectations.” Explore the Common Core by Lucy Calkins

Risk can lead to beauty! Canyonlands National Park Mesa Arch Summer 2008