TENNESSEE SUCCEEDS: READ TO BE READY Tennessee Reading Association Annual Conference Dr. Candice McQueen, Commissioner of Education 2

THE CURRENT READING LANDSCAPE IN TENNESSEE: TCAP AND NAEP RESULTS 3

Where are we now? Over the past several years, we have seen steady gains in math performance on TCAP; however, English language arts performance has remained stagnant or declined. Less than half of all students in grades 3-8 are proficient or above in reading on the TCAP assessment. Historically underserved subgroups are struggling even more; only one-third of economically disadvantaged students and 11 percent of students with disabilities are proficient or above in reading on the TCAP assessment. Most students’ reading proficiency stays the same between grades 3-8. Less than 3 percent of students classified as Below Basic in grade 3 reading achieve proficiency by the end of grade 5. 4

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GOAL 1 MATH

GOAL 1 READING We improved our ranking among states in grade 8 reading but went backward in grade 4 reading. Tennessee still ranks in the bottom half of all states on the Nation’s Report Card or NAEP in grades 4 and 8 reading.

9 Approximately 20 percent of non- proficient third grade ELA students were proficient by the end of fifth grade. Approximately 15 percent of proficient third grade ELA students backslid to non-proficient by the end of fifth grade. Changes in ELA proficiency from grade 3 to 5

WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT CLASSSROOM INSTRUCTION? 10

Qualitative Literacy Diagnostic 11 The Tennessee Department of Education contracted The New Teacher Project (TNTP) to conduct a statewide literacy diagnostic in October of 2015 to understand the instructional practices and student learning that influence current reading achievement. The department selected schools with careful attention to the diversity of schools, districts, and regions across the state. The classroom sample represents each region of the state, a range in district-size, and a range of growth levels. The team who conducted the diagnostic are all former teachers and literacy experts who lead a range of projects with states and districts around the country related to implementation of postsecondary readiness standards, including curriculum, assessment, and educator development Classrooms observedStudent work samples analyzed

FINDING 1: Students in early grades are not making the jump from foundational skills to understanding. 12

FINDING 1: Students in early grades are not making the jump from foundational skills to understanding. 13 Early grades lessons include very little practice actually listening to or reading text, which is necessary for success with comprehension in the future. Average Percent of Time Spent Listening to or Reading Text Per Lesson

FINDING 1: Students in early grades are not making the jump from foundational skills to understanding. 14 Most lessons do not translate student skills into comprehension. Only 37% of lessons included instruction on reading comprehension.

FINDING 2: Students are not receiving regular practice with appropriately complex texts or aligned instructional tasks. 15

FINDING 2: Students are not receiving regular practice with appropriately complex texts or aligned instructional tasks. 16 Many lessons do not require students to engage with complex texts or to use evidence from text to demonstrate understanding and support their ideas. Lessons in Reading Comprehension

17 Strong Alignment Student A 1 st Grade Weak Alignment Student B 1 st Grade 1.W.2: Write informative/explanatory texts in which they name a topic, supply some facts about the topic, and provide some sense of closure. 1.RL.3: Describe characters, settings, and major events in a story, using key details. FINDING 2: Students are not receiving regular practice with appropriately complex texts or aligned instructional tasks.

18 Strong Alignment Student A 1 st Grade 1.W.2: Write informative/explanatory texts in which they name a topic, supply some facts about the topic, and provide some sense of closure.

Weak Alignment Student B 1 st Grade 1.RL.3: Describe characters, settings, and major events in a story, using key details. 19

FINDING 3: Reading comprehension lessons are mostly focused on isolated skills rather than building content knowledge. 20

FINDING 3: Reading comprehension lessons are mostly focused on isolated skills rather than building content knowledge. 21 Few reading comprehension lessons are designed to build students’ knowledge or vocabulary.

WHAT CAN WE DO? 22

23 Most teachers in Tennessee are not yet making those shifts. Only 4 percent of lessons fully demonstrated the instructional shifts required by the standards. Successful implementation of Tennessee’s ELA standards requires teachers to make shifts in instructional practice.

Evidence Reading and writing grounded in evidence from text. Knowledge Building knowledge through content- rich nonfiction. Vocabulary Regular practice with complex text and its academic language. Instructional Shifts for ELA

Why It Matters Students are required to read very little informational text in elementary and middle school, yet, non-fiction makes up the vast majority of required reading in college and the workplace. SHIFT #1 KNOWLEDGE: Build knowledge through content-rich nonfiction. 25

SHIFT #1 KNOWLEDGE: Build knowledge through content-rich nonfiction. 26 What Should We Do? In grades K-5, 50/50 balance for the entire school day. In grades 9-12, 70/30 balance for the entire school day. Read texts aloud that are well-above grade level. Incorporate literacy in social studies/history, science, technical subjects, and the arts.

SHIFT #2 EVIDENCE: Reading, writing, and speaking grounded in evidence from text. 27 Why It Matters Being able to locate and deploy evidence are hallmarks of strong readers and writers. Most college and workplace writing requires evidence.

SHIFT #2 EVIDENCE: Reading, writing, and speaking grounded in evidence from text. 28 What Should We Do? Give students text-dependent questions or writing prompts. Ensure that answers to text dependent questions have text-based answers (i.e., evidence).

Not Text-Dependent In “Casey at the Bat,” Casey strikes out. Describe a time when you failed at something. In “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” Dr. King discusses nonviolent protest. Discuss, in writing, a time when you wanted to fight against something that you felt was unfair. In “The Gettysburg Address” Lincoln says the nation is dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Why is equality an important value to promote? What makes Casey’s experiences at bat humorous? What can you infer from King’s letter about the letter that he received? “The Gettysburg Address” mentions the year According to Lincoln’s speech, why is this year significant to the events described in the speech? Text-Dependent SHIFT #2 EVIDENCE: Reading, writing, and speaking grounded in evidence from text. 29

Shift #3 VOCABULARY: Provide regular practice with complex text and its academic language. 30 Why It Matters What students can read, in terms of complexity, is the greatest predictor of success in college (ACT study). Less than 50 percent of graduates can read complex texts sufficiently. Gap between complexity of college and high school texts is huge.

What Should We Do? Scaffold complex text Multiple readings Read aloud Chunking text (a little at a time) Provide support while reading rather than before. Focus on close analytic reading, which involves prompting students with questions to unpack unique complexity of any text so students learn to read complex text independently and proficiently. This is not a teacher “think aloud.” Shift #3 VOCABULARY: Provide regular practice with complex text and its academic language. 31

Shift #3 VOCABULARY: Provide regular practice with complex text and its academic language. 32 Lon Po Po: A Red Riding Hood Story from China, by Ed Young But an old wolf lived nearby and saw the good mother leave. At dusk, disguised as an old woman, he came up to the house of the children and knocked on the door twice: bang, bang. Shang, who was the eldest, said through the latched door, “Who is it?” “My little jewels,” said the wolf, “This is your grandmother, your Po Po.” “Po Po!” Shang said. “Our mother has gone to visit you!” Suitable for grades 1-3 Examples of Tier II vocabulary: dusk, disguised, eldest, latched, jewels “the house of the children” is an example of alternative syntax (we would typically say “the children’s house”)

Evidence Reading and writing grounded in evidence from text. Knowledge Building knowledge through content- rich nonfiction. Vocabulary Regular practice with complex text and its academic language. Instructional Shifts for ELA

Rather than focusing on short-cycle improvements, we have a long-term plan to confront lack of progress in early grades reading and writing across the state. Implementing effective screening and high-quality interventions in early grades Continued trainings to target teacher knowledge of best practices Developing an academic coach network across the state to share effective strategies and provide on-the-job teacher training EARLY FOUNDATIONS & LITERACY 34

HOW WILL YOU LEAD THIS VISION? How will you align? How will you communicate? How will you inspire? 35

QUESTIONS?