2 Tennessee’s Challenge In Tennessee, only 16 percent of students meet college readiness benchmarks on the ACT in English, math, reading, and science. U.S. Chamber of Commerce gave Tennessee an “F” in “Truth in Advertising”, based on our inability to equip graduates with the skills and knowledge they need to compete in the modern workforce. What we were saying: 90% of students are proficient in math. Reality: Less than 35% were actually proficient High school students entering college unprepared, unable to maintain a passing GPA, and struggling to graduate.

There are about 3 million job openings across the United States that cannot be filled today because of a lack of skilled workers 70% of 25- to 54-year-old black men with no high-school diploma have no job A college graduate makes an average of $1.2 million more during their career than a worker with only a high school diploma 7 of the 10 fastest growing occupations in Tennessee require a post- secondary education Several facts make it clear there is a strong connection between jobs & education Source: BLS November The Economist, April 28, 2011; “The College Payoff”, Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, Complete College America 2011) 3

Source: THEC and TDOE, Despite recent gains, far too few Tennessee ninth graders will eventually graduate from college For every 100 ninth-graders in Tennessee 86 graduate high school Currently, only 51 percent of enrollees will complete a postsecondary credential within six years of high school Of those 86, 49 enroll in a public postsecondary institution 4

5 Higher standards: Standards are the knowledge and skills that students are expected to learn in each grade and subject. Tennessee took the first step to raise standards in 2009 and now we are raising the bar again through an effort called the Common Core State Standards. These standards were adopted in 2010, and Tennessee is now in the 3 rd year of implementation.

6 A Common Cause: Higher Standards in Tennessee

7 Developed by state leaders to ensure that every student graduates high school prepared for the future. Focuses on real world skills like critical thinking and problem solving. Teaches through an authentic learning process. The goal is less memorizing and more understanding. Students will learn important concepts in earlier grades—just as they do in the highest performing schools internationally Eventually, new tests will replace the current TCAP tests in math and English/language arts and measure learning under the standards. Tennessee’s Common Core State Standards

Current: Grade 8 ELA/Literacy Sample Item To save money, your principal is thinking about canceling all field trips for the remainder of the year. Write an essay persuading him or her to allow students to continue attending field trips. Use specific reasons and examples to support your response.

PARCC: Grade 7 ELA/Literacy Sample Item

Math Shifts

Current State Assessment: Grade 7 Math Sample Item

PARCC Assessment Sample Item: Math Grade 7

13 Tennessee’s Role in the Common Core Tennesseans played an important role in the development of the new standards, participating in both the math and English/language arts development teams. Teachers and parents from Tennessee provided feedback on the standards before they were adopted by the State Board of Education. State Board of Education adopted the Common Core State Standards in 2010, which continued to raise Tennessee’s academic expectations. Adopted with support of educators, business and political leaders, parents, and community organizations. Tennessee began implementing the standards in the school year.

14 Why are these higher standards important? Ultimately, the Common Core standards will help better prepare students for success after high school graduation. The skills and knowledge students will learn with the new standards are those needed for success in today’s workforce. “We’ve got to increase our standards to make sure our graduates are equipped to fill the jobs that are available in our state.” – Gregg Morton, Chairman, Tennessee Business Roundtable and President of AT&T Tennessee

15 Tennessee has done significant work to train and prepare educators for the Common Core State Standards over the last two years school year will be final year of implementation school year will see new tests to measure student progress. Starting to see significant gains as a result of raising standards and other reform efforts. Example: 55,000 more students are proficient or advance in math than were just two years ago. Where Are We Now?

16 The Common Core: Fact and Fiction Myth: The Common Core is a “federal mandate.” Fact: The Common Core State Standards are part of a state-led effort to give all students the real world skills and knowledge they need to succeed. The standards were not developed by the federal government, and individual states choose whether or not to adopt these standards.

17 The Common Core: Fact and Fiction Myth: The Common Core is a “dumbing down” of Tennessee’s standards. Fact: The Common Core State Standards are actually much more rigorous than Tennessee’s current standards. Because of this, it is expected that Tennessee’s students will, at least at first, have lower test scores since the bar is being raised in the classroom. Myth: The Common Core is a “threat to academic freedom.” Fact: The Common Core actually provides teachers with more freedom, rather than less. In Tennessee there are fewer standards with Common Core than with the state’s old set of standards.

18 The Common Core: Fact and Fiction Myth: Tennesseans do not support the Common Core State Standards. Fact: In a statewide opinion poll commissioned by the State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE) in May 2013, 76% of voters supported the CCSS after hearing a brief statement about them. To date, more than 250 organizations across TN, representing hundreds of thousands of Tennesseans, have joined the Expect More, Achieve More Coalition. This group believes high expectations for students, through the Common Core State Standards, are critical to our state’s future.

19 What you can do to support the effort: Attend school parent engagement nights to see how your child’s instruction and learning process has improved Awareness that the homework your child brings home will look different than it has in the past. Continue to have discussions at home with your child about their successes and challenges they are experiencing in the instructional process. Write an op-ed or letter to the editor.

20 Questions??

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