ACADEMIC RIGOR LEAD 615 – Group Presentation Marcelle Fung, Erin Gehant, Bruce Guttman, Kathryn Stanley, Keisha Warner

Agenda  Bloom’s Taxonomy – Keisha Warner  What is Academic Rigor? – Marcelle Fung  The Politics of Rigor – Accountability Measures – Erin Gehant  Supervision and Rigor – Bruce Guttman  Activity -Thinking as an Administrator – Kathryn Stanley

Bloom’s Taxonomy

02/07/10 When Rigor is Absent… “The Blonke”

In A Supervisory Role…  Knowledge: Define fraction.  Understanding: Identify the numerator and the denominator.  Application: Apply the common denominator rule to add 1/8 + 1/2  Analysis: Compare two versions of an article on the same topic to explain; one that uses fractions and the other that uses percents.  Synthesis: Prepare a survey on a topic of your choice. Represent the information mathematically.  Evaluation: Defend why you would like to represent your mathematical data as a fraction, ratio, percent, or decimal.

Academic Rigor in the News  The National Center for Education Statistics reports that 42 percent of entering students at two-year post secondary institutions enroll in remedial courses.  The Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development ranks the United States just 12th among developed nations in the percentage of 25- to 34-year-olds with college degrees.

What is Academic Rigor?  “Consistent expectation of excellence and the aspiration to significant achievement.”  Excellence is the product and content, while rigor is the process.  Rigor vs. Vigor?

Strategies to Achieve Rigorous Academics Stated Outcomes and Built- In Supports Community standards. Authentic assessments. Curriculum Mapping Topics, skills planned and learned. Cross grade data analysis. Implementation of district and state standards. Teacher collaboration and effective instruction. Cross-Curricular Integration Holistic real-world approach. Students gain problem solving decision making skills. Depth over Breath Broad topics as a framework to develop deeper understanding of complex issues. Set High Standards provide necessary supports to ensure success. Academic Rigor

Politics and the Administrator Politics are unavoidable when one becomes an administrator Your goal is to interpret and carry out policies handed down from district, state and federal governments You must be aware of the impact that these policies will have on the instructional practices within your building

The Race to the Top A federal education grant structure, based on a point system Standards and Assessments represent a significant part of the assessments (70 out of the 500 points) Must be implemented by August, 2010

“The Excellence Gap” Report published February 5th, 2010 discusses the impact of federal legislation (NCLB) on top-performing students “The comparatively small percentage of students scoring at the highest level on achievement tests suggests that children with advanced academic potential are being under-served, with potentially serious consequences for the long-term economic competitiveness of the U.S.” (Plucker, Burroughs and Song, 2010) ‏

Challenge Students to Maximize Academic Potential Assist and help to promote the establishment of essential, quality student learning targets (standards) ‏ Provide students with meaningful opportunities to asses their own academic progress Increase opportunities that maximize academic interactions between students and teachers

Ensure Teachers Promote Learning Experiences for all Students Encourage teachers to use and model a variety of instructional strategies and assessments Facilitate structural leadership that promotes teacher/student curriculum planning Institute on-going staff development that supports educational collaboration

Supervisors that Promote Academic Rigor Place student learning at the core of their school Encourage collaborative opportunities between students, teachers, staff and community Increase the level of pedagogy amongst teachers and all staff members

Summary:  Please visit the website for resources: 

Group Activity You will complete the activity in groups of five You will have a quick eight minutes for discussion When time is called, we will ask for groups to share out