1. THE CHALLENGE OF BRINGING THE FLORIDA STANDARDS TO LIFE IN EVERY CLASSROOM
A summary of findings from TNTP’s comprehensive diagnostic in four Florida districts
May 28, 2015

2. BUILDING A CLEAR VISION FOR EXCELLENT INSTRUCTION
The Florida Standards, teacher evaluations and professional development share a common goal--better instructional practice--and are more powerful when they fit together instead of implemented separately…
FLORIDA
STANDARDS
TEACHER
EVALUATIONS
PROFESSIONAL
DEVELOPMENT
Provide much-needed clarity for academic standards. Define rigor and content kids should be working to master.
Our best lever to change teacher practice at scale. Gives teachers clear expectations, feedback and supports.
Timely, job-embedded, delivered by peers, driven by data and aligned to the standards in content and pedagogy.
BETTER INSTRUCTION FOR STUDENTS
…but when they are misaligned, it causes great confusion and a lack of focus for both principals and teachers.

3. TNTP SET OUT TO ANSWER A CORE QUESTION
To what extent are current practices at the classroom, school and district levels supporting or hindering efforts to ensure rigorous, standards-aligned instruction for all students?

4. DATA COLLECTED Classroom School District
455 lesson observations across 31 schools
Almost 2,000 samples of student work
School
Surveys of 17,000 teachers, 1,576 school leaders and 200 coaches
Focus groups with 94 coaches and 300 teachers
Interviews with 31 principals
Observations of 25 PLC meetings and 12 coaching sessions
District
Over 70 district leadership interviews
Teacher performance and human capital data
ELA and Math curricular resources in grades 1, 3, 6, 7, 8 and 10
Hundreds of pages of teacher, coach and school leader development materials and trainings

5. FINDING 1
Florida teachers are not yet adjusting their instructional practices to meet the demands of the Florida Standards.

6. MOST CLASSROOMS SHOW NO EVIDENCE OF CHANGE

7. ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS ARE DOING BETTER

8. STUDENTS ARE NOT EXPOSED TO ENOUGH RIGOR

9. MOST STUDENTS ARE MEETING LOW EXPECTATIONS

10. SAMPLE 8th GRADE MATH ASSIGNMENT
Pay particular attention to the expectations of the assignment
(-1,4)
(0,2)
(1,0)
(2,-2) 1
Find the slope 2 3 4
Plot the ordered pairs on the graph
Find the Y-intercept
Write the function as a linear equation

11. COMPARE THAT WITH WHAT THE STANDARDS REQUIRE
What should 8th graders know and do?
MAFS.8.F Construct a function to model a linear relationship between two quantities. Determine the rate of change and initial value of the function from a description of a relationship or from two (x,y) values, including reading these from a table or from a graph.
MAFS.8.F Describe qualitatively the functional relationship between two quantities by analyzing a graph (e.g., where the function is increasing or decreasing, linear or nonlinear). Sketch a graph that exhibits the qualitative features of a function that has been described verbally.
Sample FSA
Assessment
Item

12. HOW DOES THE ASSIGNMENT FALL SHORT?1
Find the slope 2 3 4
Plot the ordered pairs on the graph
Find the Y-intercept
Write the function as a linear equation
This question is aligned to the 8th grade standard MAFS.8.F.2.4 : “Construct a function to model a linear relationship between two quantities.”
Assignment asks students to do work that requires less thinking and interpretation (less conceptual understanding and real world application, more procedural fluency) than is required by the standards.
The assignment misses a key shift in the new standards by failing to use the opportunity to reinforce the concept and application
The assignment lays out the steps so clearly that it does not prepare students to work as independently as the standards and the assessment requires. 1 2 3 4

13. SAMPLE 3rd GRADE ELA ASSIGNMENT
Again, pay attention to the expectations of the assignment 1 2 3
Read the text
Answer the questions to identify the characters’ point of view
Write a statement about your own point of view

14. COMPARE THAT TO A SAMPLE FSA QUESTION

15. WHAT IS MISSING IN THE ASSIGNMENT?1 2 3
Read the text
Answer the questions to identify the characters’ point of view
Write a statement about your own point of view
Rather than writing about a high-quality, grade-level text for comprehension, the
assignment includes a low-quality text.
Assignment focuses on identifying point of view as an isolated skill, rather than as a
strategy to more deeply understand a text. 1 2

16. FINDING 2
Teacher and leader confidence in their ability to teach the Florida Standards doesn’t match up with reality observed at schools.

17. STUDENTS ARE NOT EXPOSED TO ENOUGH RIGOR

18. FINDING 3
Teacher instructional materials, evaluations and professional development opportunities are not well-aligned, and do not help teachers raise the rigor of their instruction

19. VERY FEW TEXTBOOKS ALIGNED TO THE STANDARDS
District Adopted Textbooks
Not aligned
Fully-aligned
K-5 ELA
6-12 ELA
K-5 Math
6-12 Math
Journeys
Collections
Go Math
Core Math
ReadyGen
Yet despite this uneven alignment to the standards
>70% of teachers
believe they implement a rigorous curriculum.

20. EVALUATION SYSTEMS NOT SENDING CLEAR SIGNALS
RUBRIC CHALLENGES
RUBRIC MUST-HAVES
Assess what’s being taught, not just how it’s being taught
Put observation rubrics on a diet
Clearly signal to principals and teachers what evidence they should see in student work (artifacts, engagement and ownership)
Too many competencies and overly complex rubrics
Inflated ratings
Not enough focus on standards- aligned feedback
Overemphasis on teacher “moves” rather than student

21. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT HAS LIMITED IMPACT

22. WHAT’S MISSING IN PD Instructional coaching
Variability in coach skill and understanding of the standards
Coaching not always consistently applied across the district
Professional Learning Communities (PLCs)
Focused more on logistics and planning, rather than on standards alignment and implementation
Not focused on highest leverage activities in PLC time
PD workshops
Content missing key elements of the FL Standards
Lack of PD for all levels of the system

23. WHAT WE HEARD FROM TEACHERS
Curriculum & Instruction: Curriculum materials and pacing guides seem to constrain teachers more than help. It forces them to cover to much breadth rather than depth, which is the exact opposite of what the Florida Standards is trying to accomplish.
Instructional leadership: Principals and coaches often unable to provide feedback that meets the level of rigor teachers need.
Professional development: Workshops and resources generally focus on basic elements or competencies, not the higher order ones. In addition, they focus too much on teacher “moves” rather than being clear about what kids should know and be able to do as a result of teaching practices.

24. THE RESULTS WHEN SYSTEMS ARE MISALIGNED
TEACHER
EVALUATIONS
FLORIDA
STANDARDS
PROFESSIONAL
DEVELOPMENT
Principals and teachers are making progress understand what the standards are (what to teach), but not
The instructional shifts required (how to teach)
What learning looks like to show that students have mastered the standards (student artifacts, skills and behaviors)
Misalignment creates a guessing game for teachers and principals
Curricular materials not helping teachers and principals to understand the instructional shifts
No distinction between elements that are “necessary but insufficient” vs. “strong aligned” to the new standards
Professional development is not helping to change instructional practice
Teacher quote: “Most of the coaches and district staff coming in to provide training have never taught the standards.”

25. GUIDING PRINCIPLES FOR THE WORK AHEAD
Focus and simplify: Make it less complex for principals and teachers
Align curriculum
In the absence of well-aligned textbooks and curricular materials, how might you leverage free tools like LDC, MDC/Illustrative Math to make the most of existing materials
Align evaluation systems, including changes to meet the requirements of HB 7069
Hone in on components/elements most aligned to your vision of highly effective instruction aligned to the FL standards
Incorporate surveys or peer evaluations as additional forms of feedback, especially for teachers in non-tested grades and subjects
Yield more accurate and reliable data, checks and balances with student outcomes
Align PD
Build capacity, but generally not directly support PD (stipends, sub pay)

26. GUIDING PRINCIPLES (CONT.)
Less is more
What things will you stop doing in order to focus and simplify?
Funds disbursed contingent on districts demonstrating concrete efforts to reallocate existing resources
Commitment to collaboration
Convergence around common approaches or solutions
Invest in solutions that help multiple districts
Stop reinventing the wheel
Provide shared learnings and political cover
Teacher leadership as a major lever
Support ECET2 and other teacher leadership efforts to focus on the following guiding question: How do we develop, support and leverage teacher leadership to drive and deepen instructional improvement aligned to the Florida Standards?