2. One More Peek at the Smarter Balanced Assessment System
Washington is one of 31 state members of the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium.

3. Ripe Figs
Read through the passage. Then use what you know to answer the questions.
Find the others with the same book cover as you and discuss your responses.
Dan
1:00 to 1:15
[HO] Ripe Figs
The purpose of the exercise is to tap into prior knowledge and to emphasize the need for criteria and tools for analyzing text complexity.

4. Defining Rigor through Research and the Common Core Standards
Text Complexity
Defining Rigor through Research and the Common Core Standards
Dan
Slides 3 thru 5, 1:15 – 1:20
Audience should have had a general overview of the ELA standards.

5. Outcomes Define text complexity and describe why it matters
Practice reading complex text and using text-based evidence in discussion
Evaluate text complexity of a non-fiction passage
Identify implications for our work as school and district leaders
Dan
By the time you leave today, you will know and be able to
Define text complexity and describe why it matters
Practice reading complex text and using text-based evidence in discussion
Evaluate text complexity of a non-fiction passage
Identify implications for our work as school and district leadersDevelop a plan for next steps in your district

6. Myths about CCSS
Myth #3 The Common Core standards represent a modest change from current practice. “…several states conducted analyses that found considerable alignment between them and their current standards. Yet while the content of the two sets of standards is similar, the level of knowledge and skills the Common Core calls for is in many respects quite different from what current standards expect and what schools currently practice.” Five Myths About the Common Core State Standards By Robert Rothman
Dan
One of the major shifts represented in the CCSS is that of increased text complexity.

7. Protocol – part 1 Read Appendix A, pages 2, 3 and top half of 4
Identify a passage that you feel has implications for your work
Identify a back up passage
Dan
1:30 – 2:00
The purpose of the next activity we are about to launch is to examine why text complexity matters and to give you a chance to experience using text based evidence in discussions about reading, one of the six major shifts which are called for in the CCSS. I’d like for your to read Appendix A, pages 2, 3 and the top half of page four. As you read, select one passage and a back up passage in case someone else in your groups comes up with the same idea, that you think has implications for your work.

8. Three Levels of Text Protocol
Form a group of three people
Identify a time keeper and a facilitator
One person has up to three minutes to:
Level 1- read aloud the passage they selected Level 2 – tell about what he/she thinks about the passage
Level 3 – Tell about the implications for their work
The group responds for up to two minutes
Repeat steps 3 and 4 until everyone has shared their passage.
Dan
The structure that we will use to help facilitate a discussion based on evidence from the text is the Three Levels of text protocol. Given the short amount of time we have, it will be important to work in groups of three. I have found that this protocol is most successful when there is a time keeper who helps the group work within the suggested timeframe and a facilitator to ensure that everyone has a chance to speak. We will have 15 minutes for this protocol. 3 minutes for each person to talk about their passage, and 2 minutes for group members to respond. So if there are three people in each group, this will take us 15 minutes.

9. Hunt Institute Video Segment 1
Literary Non-fiction in the ELA Classroom
Turn to an elbow partner and discuss what literary non-fiction in the ELA Classroom might look like at your grade level/at different grade levels.
Dan
1:20-1:30
[HO] Introduction to Bearing Witness: Portraits of Americans Dreaming.
Literary non-fiction in the ELA classroom includes providing students opportunities to delve more deeply into more varied texts. • Addresses student engagement with many sources: e.g. the Preamble to the Constitution, Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, and King's Letter from a Birmingham Jail.

10. Break
2: 10 – 2:20

11. Text Complexity
“The Common Core Standards hinge on students encountering appropriately complex texts at each grade level in order to develop the mature language skills and the conceptual knowledge they need for success in school and life.”
Kathleen
Slides 10 thru 17, 2:00 – 2:10
Page 3 Publisher’s Criteria

12. Career Readiness
“A survey by the National Association of Manufacturers, Anderson, and the Center for Workforce Success (2001) found that 80 percent of businesses had a moderate to serious shortage of qualified candidates, citing poor reading as a key concern.” “Another survey, published in 2000, found that 38 percent of job applicants taking employer-administered tests lacked the reading skills needed for the jobs for which they applied; this percentage had doubled in four years, not just because applicants lacked basic skills but also because the reading requirements for these jobs had increased so rapidly (Center for Workforce Prevention, 2002).”
Kathleen
Why students who are to be considered career ready must be able to read complex texts.

13. College Readiness
“Based on 2005 ACT-tested high school graduates, it appears that only about half of our nation’s ACT-tested high school students are ready for college-level reading. Unfortunately, the percentage…is substantially smaller in some groups.”
“Since 1999, readiness has declined – the current figure of 51 percent is the lowest of the past 12 years.”
Kathleen
From 2006 ACT Report: Reading Between the Lines page 7
Table illustrates the number of students by ethnic and socio economic groups meeting college readiness benchmark for reading.

14. What are the current realities in college and career readiness?
Key requirement for college and career readiness
All students must be able to comprehend texts of steadily increasing complexity as they progress through school.
What are the current realities in college and career readiness?
ACT, INC. Report (2006)
Kathleen

15. Comprehension Level
Kathleen
From 2006 ACT Report: Reading Between the Lines (p. 13)
As performance on one level increases, so does the performance on the other and to the same degree.

16. Textual Elements
Kathleen
From 2006 ACT Report: Reading Between the Lines (p. 15)
As performance on one level increases, so does the performance on the other and to the same degree.

17. Text Complexity
Kathleen
From 2006 ACT Report: Reading Between the Lines (p. 15)
“Performance on complex texts is the clearest differentiator in reading between students who are more likely to be ready for college and those who are less likely to be ready.”

18. Summary of Findings: Literal and inferential questions
No clear differentiator of readiness for college
Textual elements
Performance with complex text
Clear differentiator of readiness for college
Kathleen
Small groups or partners discuss the implications of this information for instruction at their level.

19. Hunt Institute Video Segment 2
The balance between Informational and Literary Texts in K-5
Turn to your elbow partner and discuss what the implications might be. What new things might be required of students?
Kathleen
2:20 – 2:30
[HO]
Beginner’s Guide to Text Complexity
Article: A Discussion of Increasing Text Complexity by Hess & Biggam
Article: A Guide for Working with Difficult Texts by McMillan
ACT Reading Test Report Summary

20. Overview of Text Complexity
Text complexity is defined by:
Quantitative
Quantitative measures – readability and other scores of text complexity often best measured by computer software.
Qualitative
Qualitative measures – levels of meaning, structure, language conventionality and clarity, and knowledge demands often best measured by an attentive human reader.
Reader and Task
Reader and Task considerations – background knowledge of reader, motivation, interests, and complexity generated by tasks assigned often best made by educators employing their professional judgment.
Kathleen
Slides 19 thru 29, 2:30 – 2:40
There are three equally important considerations when measuring text complexity. The qualitative, the quantitative, and the reader and task considerations. We will look at each of these considerations individually

21. Where do we find texts in the appropriate text complexity band?
We could...
Choose an excerpt of text from Appendix B:
Use available resources to determine the text complexity of other materials on our own.
or…
Kathleen
To determine text complexity we might consider the exemplar texts from Appendix B of the standards. Of course, excerpts from Appendix B which of course consider the qualitative and quantitative aspects of the equation but not the reader and task considerations from the equation or alternatively, we might use a few of the tools and make a determination ourselves.
Take a moment to check out Appendix B. Select a grade level that you are familiar with. What texts do you see that you currently use, which texts represent a different level of rigor?
This texts are not an exhaustive list, simply a few examples to give us an understanding of the levels of complexity for the grade level.

22. Determining Text Complexity
A Four-step Process:
Determine the quantitative measures of the text.
Qualitative
Quantitative
Analyze the qualitative measures of the text.
Reflect upon the reader and task considerations.
Reader and Task
Kathleen
Overview of the protocol. Determining text complexity is a four step process. We will go through each of these steps with an example.
Recommend placement in the appropriate text complexity band.

23. Step 1: Quantitative Measures
Measures such as:
Word length
Word frequency
Word difficulty
Sentence length
Text length
Text cohesion
Kathleen
Let’s look first at the quantitative measure. We are familiar with a number of quantitative measures such as lexiles, AR levels and others. Quantitative measures consider things such as word length, frequency of word use, difficult of words, sentence length, text length.

24. Lexile Rangle Aligned to the CC Standards
Lexiles
The Quantitative Measures Ranges for Text Complexity
Gr. Band
Old Lexile
Lexile Rangle Aligned to the CC Standards
K - 1
N/A
2 – 3
450 – 790
4 – 5
770 – 980
6 – 8
860 – 1010
955 – 1155
9 – 10
1080 – 1305
11 - CCR
1070 – 1220
Kathleen
One important note is that the Common Core Standards have called for higher levels of rigor. You will see slight upward changes in the ranges for each grade level. Where do we see the greatest upward shift?

25. Step 1: Quantitative Measures
Let’s imagine we want to see where a text falls on the quantitative measures “leg” of the text complexity triangle, using the Lexile text measures.
For illustrative purposes, let’s choose Harper Lee’s 1960 novel To Kill a Mockingbird.
Kathleen
As we consider text complexity, we will use a popular novel used in many ELA courses as an example.

26. Step 1: Quantitative Measures
Finding a Lexile Measure for Text:
Kathleen
One tool that is available at Lexile.com is a look up feature where you can search a database for texts.

27. Step 1: Quantitative Measures
Kathleen
After entering the title, we see that To Kill A Mockingbird is at a 870 lexile level.

28. Quantitative Measures Ranges for Text Complexity Grade Bands
Kansas Common Core Standards
Quantitative Measures Ranges for
Text Complexity Grade Bands
Text Complexity
Grade Bands
Suggested
Lexile Range
Suggested ATOS
Book Level Range**
K-1
100L – 500L*
1.0 – 2.5
2-3
450L – 790L
2.0 – 4.0
4-5
770L – 980L
3.0 – 5.7
6-8
955L – 1155L
4.0 – 8.0
9-10
1080L – 1305L
4.6 – 10.0
11-CCR
1215L – 1355L
4.8 – 12.0
Kathleen
In which grade band does the 870 lexile for To Kill A Mockingbird Fall?
* The K-1 suggested Lexile range was not identified by the Common Core State Standards and was added by Kansas.
** Taken from Accelerated Reader and the Common Core State Standards, available at the following URL:

29. Step 1: Quantitative Measures
870L
Lexile Text Measure:
ATOS Book Level
5.6
Kathleen
Looking at another quantitative metric, AR, we see that the level is 5.6. Do continue to use the tool that you are familiar with or your district uses. A recent study found there was no one tool that was superior.

30. Step 1: Quantitative Measures
For texts not in the Lexile database, consider using the Lexile Analyzer:
Registration is required (free)
Allows user to receive an “estimated” Lexile score
Accommodates texts up to 1000 words in length
Texts of any length can be evaluated using the Professional Lexile Analyzer—educators can upgrade to this tool for free by requesting access
Kathleen
For texts that are not in the Lexile Database, there is a text analyzer tool in which you can take any document saved in .txt format and determine the lexile level. This is a free application and is available online.

31. Step 2: Qualitative Measures
Measures such as:
Levels of meaning
Levels of purpose
Structure
Organization
Language conventionality
Language clarity
Prior knowledge demands
Kathleen
Slides 30 thru 34, 2:40 – 2:50
Now that we have looked at the quantitative considerations, let’s turn to the qualitative measures. In the past, we have attended to this, but not necessarily in the structured manner in which the CCSS suggest.

32. Step 2: Qualitative Measures
The Qualitative Measures Rubrics
for Literary and Informational Text:
The rubric for literary text and the rubric for informational text allow educators to evaluate the important elements of text that are often missed by computer software that tends to focus on more easily measured factors.
Kathleen
[HO]
Literary and Informational Qualitative Analysis Rubrics
Gradients in Complexity Rubrics for Literary and Informational Texts
Qualitative measures look at important elements of the tests that are often missed by computer software which focus on the sorts of things that are quantifiable such as levels of meaning or purpose, the structure, language, prior knowledge, experiences, references to other cultures or texts, and content. We have included for you a rubric for both literary and informational texts that helps us to analyze the qualitative measures. Take a moment to peruse these tools.
Because the factors for literary texts are different from information texts, these two rubrics contain different content. However, the formatting of each document is exactly the same.
And because these factors represent continua rather than discrete stages or levels, numeric values are not associated with these rubrics. Instead, four points along each continuum are identified: high, middle high, middle low, and low.

33. Partner Share
How do the demands for text complexity increase from low to high?
Kathleen
Take a moment to peruse these tools. What are some of the key differences from low to high text complexity?

34. Step 2: Qualitative Measures
Kathleen
Users read across the four columns for each row of checkboxes on the rubric, identifying which descriptors best match the text by marking a particular checkbox.
As Appendix A states, “Few, if any, authentic texts will be low or high on all of these measures.” The goal is not for all of the checkmarks to be in a single column; the goal is to accurately reflect these factors of the text.
The marked rubric can then serve as a guide as educators re-evaluate the initial placement of the work into a text complexity band. Such reflection may validate the text’s placement or may suggest that the placement needs to be changed.
In fact, this marked rubric represents the evaluation of To Kill a Mockingbird completed by a committee of teachers.

35. Step 2: Qualitative Measures
From examining the quantitative measures, we knew:
870L
Lexile Text Measure:
5.6
ATOS Book Level:
But after reflecting upon the qualitative measures, we believed:
Kathleen
After reflecting on qualitative measures, we find that the 9th and 10th grade band is probably where To Kill a Mockingbird falls. Our initial placement of To Kill a Mockingbird into a text complexity band changed when we examined the qualitative measures. Remember, however, that we have completed only the first two legs of the text complexity triangle.
The reader and task considerations still remain.

36. Step 3:Reader and Task Considerations Considerations such as:
Motivation
Knowledge and experience
Purpose for reading
Complexity of task assigned regarding text
Complexity of questions asked regarding text
Kathleen
Slides 35 thru 42, 2:50 – 3:00
The third consideration is the reader and task. By this we mean, the motivation level, knowledge and experience, purpose for reading, complexity of the task and the questions a student might be required to respond to.

37. Step 3:Reader and Task Considerations Reader & Task
“Texts can be difficult or easy, depending on factors inherent in the text, on the relationship between the text and the knowledge abilities of the reader, and on the activities in which the reader is engaged…When too many of these factors are not matched to a reader’s knowledge and experience, the text may be too difficult for optimal comprehension to occur.”
Kathleen
From the 2002 Rand Report.

38. Step 3:Reader and Task Considerations
The questions included here are largely open-ended questions without single, correct answers, but help educators to think through the implications of using a particular text in the classroom.
Kathleen
[HO] Questions for Reflection on Reader and Task Considerations
In your packet is a handout on Reader and Task Considerations. The questions included here are largely open-ended questions without single, correct answers, but help educators to think through the implications of using a particular text in the classroom. Take a moment to read the handout on Reader and Task Considers. I’d like for you to practice Anchor Standard 2 – Summarize key ideas that need to be considered.

39. Kathleen
An example of a completed template for To Kill a Mockingbird from Kansas. Let’s read what was said about to Kill a Mockingbird.

40. Step 4: Recommended Placement
Based upon all the information—all three legs of the model—the final recommendation for To Kill a Mockingbird is….
Kathleen
Based upon all three legs of the model, the most appropriate placement for the novel was grades 9-10.

41. Step 4: Recommended Placement
In this instance, Appendix B
confirms our evaluation of the novel. To Kill a Mockingbird is placed within the grade 9-10 text complexity band.
Kathleen
Validating our analysis, the Common Core Standards List of Exemplar Texts (Appendix B) came to this same conclusion.

42. Tim Shanahan
“To succeed, we will need to…strive to identify what makes a book hard and then to provide the scaffolding and motivation that would sustain students’ efforts to learn from such challenging texts.”
Common Core Standards: Are We Going to Lower the Fences or Teach Kids to Climb?
Thursday, October 13, 2011

43. Step 4: Recommended Placement
Template for Text Complexity Analysis and Recommended Placement Form:
[HO]
Blank Text Complexity Analysis Template
Hunger Games and Separate Peace Text Complexity Analyses
The one-page template provides an opportunity to record the thinking involved in recommending the placement of a specific text into a text complexity band.
Keeping a record of such analysis and thinking might be useful documentation in the case that any questions arise in the future.
Once the recommended placement has been decided upon, educators might also find it useful to document some the thinking that led them to their conclusion.

44. Appendix B: Text Exemplars
Go to pages 4-13 in Appendix B. Locate where to find Informational Text exemplars for your grade level/content area.
Then, take a look at those exemplars.

45. Hunt Institute Video Segment 3
Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects
Peruse through pages of your ELA CCSS.
What are your observations?
What are the implications for Social Studies and Science Teachers?
3:00 to 3:15

46. Break
3:15-3:20

47. CCSS Implementation Readiness Assessment
Essential to statewide implementation is prioritization of instructional support or professional learning systems and the pivotal role of district and building leaders to set a strong course for implementation throughout schools and districts.
Use the Assessment Tool and other resources to help in your planning for implementation.
Be prepared to share a “Next Step” with the whole group.
Dan
Kathleen assists with groups.
3:20 to 4:45
[HO]
Implementation of the CCSS Professional Learning System Readiness Assessment
Article: Explore the Common Core by Calkins
5 Things Every Teacher Should be Doing to Meet the CCSS
Revised Publishers Criteria for ELA CCSS (K-2, 3-12)
Time for groups to work together and plan using the resources provided and the Readiness Assessment.

48. Wrap Up Exit Slip – Readiness to Implement Survey
Clock Hours Feedback Form
Clock Hours
Dan
4:45 – 5:00
[HO] Readiness to Implement Survey

49. Research Base ACT, INC. Report (2006)
Common Core State Standards (2010)
National Reading Panel Report (2000)
Publishers’ Criteria for the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts and Literacy Grades K-2 and Grades 3-12 (2011)
RAND Report: Reading for Understanding: Toward an R&D Program in Reading Comprehension (Snow, 2002)
Reading in the Disciplines: The Challenge of Adolescent Literacy (Lee & Spratley, 2010)