Science Education Updates from the Council of Chief State School Officers March 8, 2011 David Heil CCSSO Senior Science Advisor, CCSSO Math and Science Collaborative Advisor and President, David Heil & Associates, Inc.

CSSS Annual Conference. March 7-9, David Heil, CCSSO Senior Science Advisor. CCSSO’s Four Initiatives 1.Next Generation Learners – Creating a personalized system of education that engages and motivates every student, regardless of his or her circumstance. 2.Standards, Assessment & Accountability – Approaching the next wave of standards, assessments, and accountability with a united and collaborative approach. 3.Education Workforce – Examining and creating aligned, coherent, and outstanding state systems of educator development and support. 4.Information Systems & Research – Designing and developing comprehensive, high-quality resources for education leaders, researchers, and policy makers to assist them in short- and long-term decision making.

CSSS Annual Conference. March 7-9, David Heil, CCSSO Senior Science Advisor. Surveys of Enacted Curriculum The Surveys of Enacted Curriculum (SEC) are a practical, reliable set of data collection tools being used with teachers of math, English, language arts, science, and social studies to collect and report consistent data on current instructional practices and content being taught in classrooms. The SEC State Collaborative on Assessment and Student Standards (SCASS): Obtains reliable indicators of alignment and evaluates improvement initiatives for state education agency leaders and specialists. Uses a data-driven improvement tool that combines instructional data and achievement data and facilitates discussion of effective practices for district leaders and teachers. Assesses needs of teachers and schools and targets assistance to educators for evaluators of programs.

CSSS Annual Conference. March 7-9, David Heil, CCSSO Senior Science Advisor. SEC SCASS Member States Arizona Arkansas Georgia Indiana Kansas Michigan Mississippi Montana North Carolina Ohio Oklahoma Oregon South Carolina California Florida Iowa Idaho Illinois Delaware Maine Minnesota Massachusetts New Hampshire New York Pennsylvania Vermont Virginia Wisconsin States with Data in SEC System

CSSS Annual Conference. March 7-9, David Heil, CCSSO Senior Science Advisor. SEC SCASS Activities and Initiatives Analysis of Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in Math and ELA Grade level analysis of SEC content frameworks Comparing CCSS with prior state standards, curricula, and instructional practices Facilitating State Level Curricular and Instructional Change To Meet CCSS Using SEC online tools to analyze gaps between current standards and CCSS Identifying what will need to change in curriculum, instruction, and professional development to implement CCSS SEC Professional Development Portfolio Organizing SEC resources to support state-level professional development

CSSS Annual Conference. March 7-9, David Heil, CCSSO Senior Science Advisor. SEC SCASS Future Priorities Linking the Common Core Standards for literacy to teaching in other subjects, including science Revising the SEC survey and framework for Science Education and content analysis of Next Generation Science Standards (2012) Building ties between SEC tools and the state and local systems of support for low-performing schools.

CSSS Annual Conference. March 7-9, David Heil, CCSSO Senior Science Advisor. CCSSO Science SCASS The Science State Collaborative on Assessment and Student Standards (SCASS) is dedicated to ensuring that state and local education agencies have the resources and professional development they need to evaluate, revise, or maintain high quality standards, instructional materials and practices, and assessments in science. The Science State Collaborative on Assessment and Student Standards:  Maintains a Science Assessment Item Bank with over 1400 individual items.  State representatives include science content, assessment, and career and technical education specialists.  Holds regular joint meetings with CCSSO’s Math SCASS, providing opportunities for leadership and multi-state collaboration in STEM education.  Conducted a national needs assessment survey in 2009 detailing the current status of science standards, instruction, and assessment in all U. S. states and five extra- state jurisdictions.

CSSS Annual Conference. March 7-9, David Heil, CCSSO Senior Science Advisor. Science SCASS Member States Arkansas Connecticut Georgia Hawaii Illinois Iowa Maine Maryland Michigan Nebraska North Carolina Washington Wisconsin

CSSS Annual Conference. March 7-9, David Heil, CCSSO Senior Science Advisor. Needs Assessment Highlights Professional development for SEA science and assessment personnel96% Enhancing assessments for inquiry knowledge, skills, abilities94% Cross referencing current standards to integrate STEM90% Developing test items that assess integrated knowledge, skills, abilities85% Providing science test items for formative, end-of-course, and comprehensive statewide assessments 82% Developing exemplar authentic science simulations79% Incorporating 21 st Century Skills74% Revising standards for increased rigor and international benchmarking73% Improving science teaching and learning for early learners69% Percent Reporting “Interested” or “Very Interested” in the Following:

CSSS Annual Conference. March 7-9, David Heil, CCSSO Senior Science Advisor. CCSSO Science SCASS Initiatives Next Generation Science Standards (2011) Partnership with Achieve, Inc. to provide regular input and review of the NGSS drafts during development. Provide combined Science Content and Assessment expertise to the development and implementation of the NGSS document. Pending NSF Discovery Research K-12 Proposal ( ) Research, design, and field test an exemplary set of authentic simulations to enhance science assessments for all students. Project team includes experienced gaming programmers to introduce advances in computer imaging and interaction into science assessments. SCASS member states providing content and assessment expertise as well as coordinating early beta and field testing of simulations and assessment items associated with the simulations.

CSSS Annual Conference. March 7-9, David Heil, CCSSO Senior Science Advisor. CCSSO Science SCASS Initiatives STEM Education Initiative ( ) Meet with select Chief State School Officers to explore current state-level STEM education interests, needs, and expectations. Conduct national survey to identify state-level goals, resources, progress and challenges related to STEM education. Compile and synthesize research findings, reports, evaluation studies, and recent ED competitive grant proposals documenting STEM education activities nationally. Convene appropriate stakeholders to develop a unified definition/vision for STEM Education in America. Develop and implement national STEM education professional development programs, products and services to actualize and operationalize the vision.

CSSS Annual Conference. March 7-9, David Heil, CCSSO Senior Science Advisor. CCSSO Math SCASS Initiatives Common Core State Standards Implementation Initiative ( ) Partnering with major Math Education professional Associations – National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) National Council of Supervisors of Mathematics (NCSM) Association of State Supervisors of Mathematics (ASSM) Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators (AMTE) Comprehensive review and interpretation of the Math CCSS Develop and disseminate a Math CCSS Implementation Tool Kit Policy and public relations recommendations and guidelines Robust Math CCSS professional development at state and local levels Research and evaluation Foundational groundwork and opportunity to prove successful models for similar initiative with Next Generation Science Standards

Science Education Updates from the Council of Chief State School Officers March 8, 2011 David Heil CCSSO Senior Science Advisor, CCSSO Math and Science Collaborative Advisor and President, David Heil & Associates, Inc.