Suder Coffee: Literacy and PARCC

Introduction High School English teacher English teacher/Literacy Coach Interventionist/Reading Teacher Literacy Coach/Interventionist

Objectives Understand CCSS Understand PARCC Learn about literacy and some at-home practices

The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) grew out of an effort to develop a set of educational standards that are consistent across the country. The Common Core State Standards replace individual state standards for education which determine what is going to be taught and when it will be covered. 4 What are the CCSS?

The standards provide a set of learning skills that all American students should achieve in order to be successful in a career or college. What the STUDENTS are doing! The standards are more rigorous than state standards have been in the past. The standards are written for ELA and Math and progress from kindergarten through high school. What are the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) ? 5

The Common Core State Standards were developed by the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) and the NGA Center (National Governor’s Association) working with parents, teachers, school administrators, and educational experts. They have been adopted by 43 states. What are the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) ? 6

In ELA, there are 3 major shifts or changes in instruction. English/Language Arts/(ELA) CCSS 7

1.More complex text will be used. 2.Evidence from the text will be used to support both reading and writing. 3.There will be a much greater emphasis gaining knowledge from non-fiction text. Common Core State Standards in ELA 8

What is PARCC? Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) 20 States working together to develop CCSS aligned assessments PARCC is one of 2 consortia developing assessments through the federal Race to the Top Assessment grant $186 Million dollars Computer-based 3 rd Grade – 11 th Grade

What is PARCC? Uses multiple passages Compares multiple texts Written Audio Video Deep level of analysis with each text

What is PARCC? Based on early research on the PARCC test items, PARCC released information about estimated testing times for each grade. These include the estimated time it will take students to complete all of the sessions of the performance-based and end-of- year components in both ELA/literacy and mathematics at each grade level. The estimated times for both components and both subject areas are as follows: 8 hours on performance-based and end-of-year assessments in ELA/literacy and math annually in 3rd grade Just over 9 hours to assess those subjects in grades 4–5 A little less than 9 1⁄2 hours in middle school A little more than 9 1⁄2 hours in high school

Reality Researchers and educators have conflicting views of CCSS Text complexity Montessori – development of the child (whole child) Little/no-implementation plan Competition over testing NWEA, ISAT, ACT, PARCC Have not been reviewed by outside agencies PARCC to replace NWEA or ACT?

Implications Radical shift in expectations Increase in “struggling” students Decrease in “proficiency” Shift towards digital literacy knowledge Give national standings and comparisons More students ready for college and careers

Relevance to Your Child Selective Enrollment schools Potential high school and/or college placement Determine readiness for grade-level expectations

At-home Practices Choice in independent level reading of texts Introduction of non-fiction texts on topics of interest Magazines Websites Discussion of reading/learning What makes you think that? Are there specific pictures/words/sentences/pages that make you think that way? How do you know?

At-home Practices Discussion as argument Not defiance, but reasoning Claim, thesis, argument – state what you want or what you think Reasons why Evidence

At-home Practices Claim - I should be able to move my bedtime up an hour Reasons I’m older and have had the same bedtime for two years I’m getting more to do throughout the day and need more time HW Extra curricular activities Social life Evidence I spoke with 5 friends and 4 of them have bedtimes that are later than mine Homework took 45 minutes, I had karate, then dinner, and I didn’t get any time for reading before bed

PARCC Prep Getting students used to the computer Mouse Clicking Drag and drop Copy and paste Navigation Arrows Text manipulation (Microsoft Word) highlight, right click, etc. Familiarize yourself with ELA CCSS Reading literature, non-fiction literature, and writing

Encourage Reading for Pleasure! Children choose their own books Let them read what they like Read aloud to your child (K-12 th ) Build up a good library at home Visit library and book stores Minimize screen time Or utilize screen as a tool – eReaders, online texts, online subscriptions, comic books, etc.

Resources language/reading-activities/ language/reading-activities/ reading reading resources/ resources/