Great Teaching . Great Learning . Every Student . Every Day .

1. The Common Core: College and Career Readiness Great Teaching. Great Learning. Every Student. Every Day. The Greater Cumberland Committee November 7, 2013 www.acpsmd.org www.garrettcountyschools.org

2. We have to prepare all students for college or other postsecondary opportunities: Why New Assessments Now? • A high school diploma isn’t enough in our 21st century economy • The U.S. PK–12 system is not adequately preparing students for college 1/3 of college freshmen need remedial courses 81% of today’s jobs require college or career training

3. Review of the CC State Standards • Educational standards for Pre-K through 12th grade in English/language arts and mathematics that states voluntarily adopted. The standards are designed to ensure that students graduating from high school are prepared to enter credit bearing entry courses in two or four year college programs or enter the workforce. • The CCSS promote equity by ensuring all students, no matter if they live in Maryland, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, or another participating state, are well prepared with the skills and knowledge necessary to collaborate and compete with their peers in the U.S. and abroad. More than any other standards that preceded them, the CCSS are relevant to the real world focusing on the knowledge and skills that students will need to be successful after high school. • Examples: technology use, speaking and listening skills, argumentative and informational reading and writing, Mathematical Practices, and the STEM Standards of Practice.

4. The Standards have more demanding requirements and increased rigor by raising the expectations for math, reading, writing, and critical thinking; • Demanding new analytical and evidence-based argument skills particularly for reading and writing; • Requiring an increase in reading informational texts as well as multimedia and using text-dependent questions that require evidence-based skills and; • Increasing the use of technology through viewing and analyzing multimedia that includes text, audio, animation, video, as well as manipulating a variety of tech tools. • For example, there is much greater emphasis on informational reading across all content areas than there has been in the past. • 50-50 split between literary and informational reading by 4th grade • 55% in favor of informational reading by eighth grade and • Continuing the trend until twelfth grade when 70% informational reading is specified

5. How will the shift to CCSS increase skills on a national and global level? • The Standards were informed by the best in the country, the highest international standards, and evidence and expertise about educational outcomes. International benchmarking played a significant role in both sets of standards. The Standards have made careful use of a large and growing body of evidence. The evidence base includes scholarly research; surveys on what skills are required of students entering college and workforce training programs; assessment data identifying college‐and career‐ready performance; and comparisons to standards from high‐performing states and nations. • In English Language Arts, the Standards build on the firm foundation of the NAEP frameworks in Reading and Writing, which draw on extensive scholarly research and evidence. In Mathematics, the Standards draw on conclusions from TIMSS and other studies of high‐performing countries that the traditional US mathematics curriculum must become substantially more coherent and focused in order to improve student achievement.

6. Personal Benefits: Higher Earnings and Higher Employment Rates Source: U.S. Census Bureau (2011). Current Population Survey. Figures are based on the total persons in the civilian labor force. http://www.census.gov/cps/data/cpstablecreator.html

7. What types of training did teachers receive? • For the transition to the Common Core, teachers, administrators, and supervisors received the following training or professional development: • From MSDE • Educator Effectiveness Academies (2011, 2012, 2013) • Follow-up Webinars (Fall/Spring of 2012) • MSDE monthly webinars (Fall 2013 through Spring 2014) • From District/School Level • District-level Staff Development • School-based Staff Development • MSDE Blackboard/Curriculum Management System • Upcoming • Virtual Academies and Face-to-Face Academies (Summer of 2014)

8. Who was involved in the training? • Supervisors, principals, and teachers were involved in the training at the MSDE Academies. • Each school took a team to the Educator Effectiveness Academy each summer. • The team consisted of the principal, an ELA teacher, math teacher, and science teacher at the 2011 and 2012 academies. • In 2013, the team also included a disciplinary literacy representative and/or special education teacher. • The teams participated in the follow-up webinars and provided the information to the rest of the staff during school-based staff development. • During the 2013-14 year, principals, assistant principals, and all teachers are encouraged to participate in the monthly webinars and use the resources on the Maryland Blackboard System.

9. Is there a certification process in place for teachers? • Our school systems always seek to hire highly qualified teachers. Currently, there is not a Common Core endorsement on the teacher’s certificate. However, MSDE is discussing the possibility of adding two endorsements to the teacher certificate: a STEM endorsement and a Common Core endorsement. • Teachers would possibly receive these endorsements after successfully completing a specific number of MSDE courses, webinars, and/or by attending the academies and completing a number of courses or webinars.

10. What is the timeframe for full implementation to the Common Core? • Since 2010, our school systems have blended the voluntary state curriculum with the Common Core. This is the first full year of implementation of the Common Core in the areas of English Language Arts and mathematics within most classrooms in the state of Maryland. All districts in Maryland have created transition plans to guide school staff in the transition to the Common Core. • In the Spring of 2015, students will take the first PARCC (Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers) assessments in ELA and mathematics. At this time, only sample prototype questions have been released. A sample test will be released in the spring. • Some students will participate in a field test in the spring of 2014.

11. What is the timeframe for full implementation to the Common Core? • Part of being fully entrenched in the Common Core involves identifying and incorporating the interdisciplinary connections of the CCSS with the Next Generation Science Standards, the College, Career, and Civic Life Framework in social studies, and the STEM Standards of Practice across all disciplines. • Full Common Core implementation will be achieved when all lessons and units across all content areas align with the rigors and the key areas of focus outlined by the standards. Since the Next Generation Science Standards were recently released, the anticipated timeframe to be fully entrenched in every area of the Common Core is 2017.

12. Getting All Students College and Career Ready Ongoing student support/interventions Success In first-year, credit-bearing, postsecondary coursework Voluntary K–2 assessment being developed, aligned to the Common Core State Standards Timely data showing whether ALL students are on track for college and career readiness College readiness score to identify who is ready for college-level coursework • Targeted interventions and supports: • State-developed 12th-grade bridge courses Professional development for educators

13. Procedural Skill Assessment Drag into the box exactly three unique expressions whose sum is less than 10. Drag into the box exactly three unique expressions whose sum is between 10 and 20. Drag into the box exactly three unique expressions whose sum is greater than 20. Three unique expressions whose sum is less than 10 Three unique items whose sum is between 10 and 20 Three unique items whose sum is greater than 20

14. Conceptual Understanding Assessment

15. Key Takeaway for the Business Community • The results of a regional education and workforce survey identify several weaknesses in employee skills including the following: • Communication/Interpersonal Skills • Problem Solving • Critical and Analytical Thinking • Basic Skills (reading, writing, math) • Teamwork • Common Core Standards do far more than shift curriculum topics around from grade to grade; they aspire to enable the next generation of U.S. students to encounter greater success in college and in the workforce. The Standards have more demanding requirements and increased rigor by raising the expectations for math, reading, writing, critical thinking, collaboration, and problem solving which should positively impact college and career readiness.

17. Closing Remarks and • Additional Questions

18. The Common Core www.marylandpublicschoools.org www.pde.state.pa.us www.wvde.state.us www.acpsmd.org www.garrettcountyschools.org www.parcconline.org www.smarterbalanced.org www.corestandards.org www.msde.blackboard.com www.achievethecore.org