1. Dealing with the Common Core K-12
Northeast Consortium for Staff Development
January 16, 2013

2. THANK YOU Melrose North Reading Reading Stoneham Wakefield Wilmington
Woburn
Seem Collaborative

3. Understanding by Design (UbD)
“Tool” used for planning
“Teaching for Understanding”
Three stages of development
Stage 1: Desired Outcomes
Stage 2: Evidence
Stage 3: Learning Plan

4. Powerful Practices to Improve Student Achievement
Priority
Standards
End-of-Course
Assessments
Common Formative
Post-Assessments
Data Teams &
Effective Teaching Strategies
District Benchmark
Assessments
Performance Tasks
& Scoring Guides
“Unwrapped” Standards,
Big Ideas and Essential Questions
Common
Formative
Pre-Assessments

6. Stage 1: Desired Outcomes
What students should know and be able to do
MA State frameworks incorporating the Common Core State Standards
Priority/Power Standards
The standards that students must know and be able to do to enter the next grade level

7. Priority and Supporting Standards Defined
Priority or Essential Standards are a carefully selected subset of the total list of the grade-specific standards within each content area that students must know and be able to do by the end of each school year in order to be prepared to enter the next grade level or course.
Supporting:
Supporting Standards are those standards that support, connect to, or enhance the Priority Standards. They are taught within the context of the Priority Standards, but do not receive the same degree of instruction and assessment emphasis as do the Priority Standards.

8. Like fence posts, Priority Standards provide curricular focus in which teachers need to “dig deeper” and assure student competency.
Like fence rails, Supporting Standards are curricular standards that connect to and support Priority Standards
Priority Standards
Supporting Standards

9. Post or Rail? How to Decide?
When considering whether to select one similar standard over another, determine which one is the more comprehensive or rigorous– not the one that is more foundational.
“For students to be able to do this one, they would first have to be able to do this other one.”

10. Sharing What did you notice about the standards you picked?
What did you notice about the standards others picked?
What is the benefit of doing this work across grade districts?

11. SEEM Math Collaboration
Three districts had begun work identifying power standards K-4, PARCC Model Content Frameworks Gr. 3-8
Standards based unit design- Connecticut resources
One district had begun developing math curriculum maps aligned with the common core
Developed standard-based units by grade level
1. Woburn, North Reading, and Wakefield- determining priority standards
2. Discuss research of models used in other states and building standards based units- that ANY resource could be aligned to

12. Standards-based Units
Units developed around connected standards and math progressions
MA Frameworks
Focus, Rigor, Clarity, Coherence
PARCC Model Curriculum Frameworks
“Within-grade dependencies”
In-depth focus

14. Stage 2: Evidence
Assessments (formative, summative, checks for understanding) provide valid information about the desired results
Assessments provide sufficient opportunities for students to reveal their attainment of Stage 1 results
Assessment of learning, assessment for learning

15. Assessment of and for learning
SEEM Math group…
Identified needs for formative assessments
Identified need for benchmark assessments
End result
Using Backwards Design- developed summer work to create formative test banks and summative benchmark assessments

16. Why Common Assessments?
Benefits of having data across multiple districts
Melrose, North Reading, Reading, Stoneham, Wakefield, Wilmington, Woburn
Shift to standards, not programs
Everyday Math, Math in Focus,
Trailblazers, Investigations, etc.

17. The Charge
DSAC- Train participants on Coherence, Rigor, Focus and Clarity of the new Massachusetts state frameworks incorporating the Common Core.
Work to build a test bank of multiple choice, short answer, and open response questions.
Complete Trimester one assessments by grade level.

18. Results
K-8 formative assessment banks for teachers to use to guide instruction (for learning)
Trimester 1 and 2 assessments complete for all grade levels
Collaboration between seven districts
Common benchmark assessment to compare among districts

20. Stage 3: Learning Plan Next steps…
Identify effective instruction, differentiation, and learning strategies
Share best practices
Data team to analyze

21. Benefits Teachers Administration
First in-depth work with MA frameworks inc./CCSS
Redevelopment of curriculum
Standards-based units vs. curriculum resources
Reenergized to continue to work together
Networking and collaboration
Sharing of resources (ie/ OnCore)
Smarter, not harder
Data across districts
Curriculum resources implications
Financial resource implications
Human resource implications
Instructional implications

22. Lessons learned Don’t reinvent the wheel Small groups (3-4 people)
Teams available for vertical consultation
Test generator software
Vehicle for collection of work
Set dates early!

23. Resources
Connecticut resources-
North Carolina- unpacked standards
North Carolina- assessments
Elementary-
Middle School-
High School-

24. Questions