Dr. John D. Barge, State School Superintendent “Making Education Work for All Georgians” C OMMON C ORE G EORGIA P ERFORMANCE S TANDARDS : T EXT C OMPLEXITY AND THE I NTEGRATION OF I NFORMATIONAL T EXT RESA/DOE SUMMER INSTITUTE C OMMON C ORE G EORGIA P ERFORMANCE S TANDARDS : T EXT C OMPLEXITY AND THE I NTEGRATION OF I NFORMATIONAL T EXT Gerald Boyd, Susan Jacobs Georgia Department of Education English Language Arts

Dr. John D. Barge, State School Superintendent “Making Education Work for All Georgians” Complexity: Multi-Dimensional Assessment of Difficulty 3/28/20112

Dr. John D. Barge, State School Superintendent “Making Education Work for All Georgians” For Example: Things that are slightly difficult to say after a few glasses of wine: Indubitably Proliferation Cinnamon Many levels of difficulty: paired consonants, number of syllables, etc. 3/28/20113

Dr. John D. Barge, State School Superintendent “Making Education Work for All Georgians” Things that are quite difficult to say after a few glasses of wine: British Constitution Passive-Aggressive Disorder Loquacious Can you see a qualitative difference in these terms? (Multi-word, more unusual con/vow combo) 3/28/20114

Dr. John D. Barge, State School Superintendent “Making Education Work for All Georgians” Things that are impossible to say after a few glasses of wine: No, no I couldn’t…nobody wants to hear me sing! Good evening officer! Isn’t is a lovely evening? I think I’ve already shared this story with you. Difficulty and complexity entail more than just what meets the eye! 3/28/20115

Dr. John D. Barge, State School Superintendent “Making Education Work for All Georgians” Framers of the Core on: Informational Text in the Lower GradesLower Grades 3/28/20116

Dr. John D. Barge, State School Superintendent “Making Education Work for All Georgians” 50% Informational Text: K-5 PART 1 EXTENDED TEXT (4.5 WEEKS): Lulu and the Brontosaurus - Judith Viorst (910L) FICTION THEMATICALLY CONNECTED SHORT TEXTS: 1. Arthur’s Pet Business – Marc Brown (510L) 2. I Wanna Iguana – Karen Kaufman Orloff (460L) MIX 3. Hey, Little Ant – Philip M. Hoose PART 2 EXTENDED TEXT (4.5 WEEKS): Should We Get a Pet? -Sylvia Lollis NON-FICTION THEMATICALLY CONNECTED SHORT TEXTS: 1. A Home for Dixie: The True Story of a Rescued Puppy – Emma Jackson Where in the Wild? Camouflaged Creatures Concealed… and Revealed (poetry) – David M. Schwartz & Yael Schy 6. Is a Camel a Mammal? - T. Rabe MIX 3/28/20117

Dr. John D. Barge, State School Superintendent “Making Education Work for All Georgians” Framers of the Core on: Informational Text in the Upper GradesUpper Grades 3/28/20118

Dr. John D. Barge, State School Superintendent “Making Education Work for All Georgians” 50% Informational Text: 6-12 ONE EXTENDED TEXT FROM AMERICAN OR WORLD LITERATURE: Night by Elie Wiesel SHORT TEXTS FROM AMERICAN OR WORLD LITERATURE: Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka, novella Antigone by Sophocles “Pride” by Dahlia Ravikovitch, poem Excerpt from Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice, Shylock’s “Hath Not A Jew…” speech (III.i.49–61) 3/28/20119

Dr. John D. Barge, State School Superintendent “Making Education Work for All Georgians” Why Text Complexity Matters K-12 Reading texts have seen a decline in the levels of difficulty over the last half-century The reading demands of college and workforce training have held steady or increased over the past 50 years Only between 7% and 15% of elementary and middle school reading is expository 3/28/201110

Dr. John D. Barge, State School Superintendent “Making Education Work for All Georgians” 3/28/ Qualitative aspects of text complexity best measured by an attentive human reader, such as levels of meaning or purpose; structure; language conventionality and clarity; and knowledge demands Quantitative aspects of text complexity, such as word length or frequency, sentence length, and text cohesion, that are difficult if not impossible for a human reader to evaluate efficiently, especially in long texts, and are thus today typically measured by computer software Reader and task considerations focus on the inherent complexity of text, reader motivation, knowledge, and experience and the purpose and complexity of the task at hand. This kind of assessment is best made by teachers employing their professional judgment.

Dr. John D. Barge, State School Superintendent “Making Education Work for All Georgians” 3/28/201112

Dr. John D. Barge, State School Superintendent “Making Education Work for All Georgians” 3/28/ Text Complexity Rubric Intended to assist educators in evaluating multiple dimensions of a text. The rubric addresses the three aspects of text complexity required for consideration in Common Core Appendix B: qualitative, quantitative, and reader/task match. Each of these three dimensions includes specific relevant categories, each of which is listed with a short explanation to assist users in making the best possible determination.

Dr. John D. Barge, State School Superintendent “Making Education Work for All Georgians” Qualitative Dimensions Levels of meaning. Symbolism, abstract thought, satire, allegory, pun, symbolism, complex motif or nuanced/complicated technical or academic concepts. 10 = excellent, grade- appropriate examples representing multiple categories Structure. Chapters, multiple plot lines, glossaries, headings, footnotes, legal documents, technical manuals, non-traditional uses of time or language (such as magical realism). 10 = multiple, excellent, grade-appropriate structural features. Language conventionality. Complexity of the vocabulary such as colloquialisms, figurative or idiomatic language, dialects, sophisticated technical or academic language, historical language such as Elizabethan or Old English constructions.10 = language that is appropriate and challenging for the target grade but is not so complex as to be incomprehensible. Background knowledge. The subject of the text is one with which your students might reasonably be expected to be acquainted (World War II) or one that might be understood once introduced (photosynthesis). 10 = students will comprehend the text or the subject can be sufficiently understood when explained. A lower score indicates a disconnect serious enough to adversely impact the effectiveness of instruction.

Dr. John D. Barge, State School Superintendent “Making Education Work for All Georgians” Quantitative Dimensions For the purposes of this rubric, we have used a measure familiar to most educators: the Lexile Measure. 10 = high end of Lexile range for grade band 7= lower end of the grade band target range 4-6 = 100 or fewer points below low end of target range 0-3 = mismatches beyond 100 points NOTE! a mismatch of Lexile range ALONE is not enough to disqualify a text choice. Quantitative aspects of text complexity, such as word length or frequency, sentence length, and text cohesion, that are difficult for a human reader to evaluate efficiently, as measured by Lexile. K-1 n/a L - 790L L - 980L L L L L L L Low (1-3) Moderate (4-6) High (7-10)

Dr. John D. Barge, State School Superintendent “Making Education Work for All Georgians” Does this text challenge readers? Aim for 75% comprehension rate. 10 = challenges students within that target range. Does this text match the interests of the students? Cannot always be the primary indicator, but even technical texts can be chosen to provide connection with students. 10 = best choice for the target age and demographic. Is this text ideal for the task? A scientific journal will be a better match for a research project than for a skit depicting the content. 10 = best possible match for the task. Mismatches for which qualitative and quantitative measures cannot easily account. Provides evaluators with a category to bestow or withhold points based on disconnect that may not be addressed in other rubric dimensions. 10 = no mismatch and would be entirely appropriate for the target audience and purpose. Reader and Task

Dr. John D. Barge, State School Superintendent “Making Education Work for All Georgians” Resources for Guiding Students Through Informational and Other More Complex Texts 3/28/201117

Dr. John D. Barge, State School Superintendent “Making Education Work for All Georgians” Strategies 3/28/201118

Dr. John D. Barge, State School Superintendent “Making Education Work for All Georgians” Accessing Unit Planning Resources GeorgiaStandards.Org – Model Unit Frameworks – Blank Planning Template – Curriculum Maps ELA Editable Unit Drop Box Box ELA Reporter NewsletterNewsletter ListServ: 3/9/2016

Dr. John D. Barge, State School Superintendent “Making Education Work for All Georgians” How Can We Help? Gerald BoydSusan Jacobs Kim JeffcoatDaniel Rock DOE ELA HOMEPAGE: 3/9/2016