Introduction to the California Common Core State Standards, Next Generation Science Smarter

Balanced Assessments

“Students need to shift toward ‘sense-making’ rather than answer-getting. So what

about the rest of us? This is not an event, but a journey.”

Deb Sigman, Deputy Superintendent, CA Department of Education

Lang Ranch Elementary School

Conejo Valley Unified School District

21st Century Skills: Rigor and Relevance

+ Career & College Readiness

= enhanced Instructional Practices

Reading, Writing (Literacy) & Math

Critical Thinking

Communication

Creative Thinking

Collaboration/Problem Solving

Demonstration of Depth of

Knowledge and Ability to Apply to

New Situations

CVUSD Implementation Timeline for The

New Standards and Assessments

In all content areas, first come the standards, then come the frameworks,

followed by new instructional materials and assessments:

Awareness Phase 2012-2014

• First among district staff / leadership and second among students and parent

community

Transition Phase 2013-2015

Implementation Phase 2015-2017

Continuous Improvement Phase 2016 - ongoing

CCSS Overarching Goals

Ensure that our students are:

Meeting college and work expectations

Provided with a vision of what it means to be a literate person in the 21st

Century

Prepared to succeed in our global economy and society, and

Provided with rigorous content and applications of higher knowledge

through higher order thinking skills.

Now 46 States, Washington DC and one

U.S. Territory* have adopted the

Common Core State Standards

* U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa Islands, Northern Mariana Islands are not shown above;

** Minnesota adopted the CCSS in ELA only having already implemented new math standards in prior year.

What the Standards DO NOT define:

Curriculum or teaching methods

All that can or should be taught

The nature of advanced work beyond the core

The interventions needed for students well below grade level

The full range of support for English language learners and students with

special needs

Everything needed to be college and career ready

CCSS Diving Deeper

across Content Disciplines

Critical Analysis/Use of Evidence

Increased Student Collaboration

Vocabulary Acquisition and Use

Increased Use of Multimedia and Technology

Work in reading and writing (as well as speaking and listening) centers on the text

Developing students’ prowess at drawing knowledge from the text itself is the

point of teaching

CCSS foster Best Practices* for Instruction

and Differentiated Learning

Driving Questions: Who’s doing the talking & who’s doing the thinking?

Direct Instruction

The Socratic Method & Paideia Seminars

The Inquiry Model or Problem-based Learning (PBL)

Universal Design for Learning (UDL)

* For clear definitions of each method, please see appendix.

The CCSS Requires Three Shifts

in English Language Arts and Literacy

1. Building knowledge through content-rich nonfiction

2. Reading, writing, and speaking grounded in evidence from text, both literary

and informational

3. Regular practice with complex text and its academic language

Mindset for ELA CCSS

Shift to: In order to:

Information/Literacy Balance Greater emphasis on informational text

Knowledge in Disciplines Emphasis on language literacy outside of

English classrooms

Complexity Staircase Time for close and careful reading and

scaffolding for those with reading levels

below grade level

Text-based Answers Students make evidentiary arguments in

both conversation and writing

Writing from Sources Writing that emphasizes the use of ideas,

events, facts and arguments

Academic Vocabulary Building vocabulary by focusing on pivotal

and commonly found words

Will there be a true shift from

Fiction to Non-Fiction/ Informational Text

* Mimics current percentages for the school day across content areas

Fiction Non-fiction

Elementary*: 50% 50%

Middle Grades*: 45% 55%

High School*: 30% 70%

RL.CCR.3

CCR Anchor Standard Reading 3:

Analyze how and why individuals, events, and ideas develop and interact over the

course of a text.

=

RL.11-12.3

Grade 11-12 students:

Analyze the impact of the author’s choices regarding how to develop and relate elements of a story

or drama (e.g., where a story is set, how the action is ordered, how the characters/archetypes are

introduced and developed).

+

RL.9-10.3

Grade 9-10 students:

Analyze how complex characters (e.g., those with multiple or conflicting motivations) develop over the

course of a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot or develop the theme. +

RL.8.3

Grade 8 students:

Analyze how particular lines of dialogue or incidents in a story or drama propel the action, reveal

aspects of a character, or provoke a decision. +

RL.7.3

Grade 7 students:

Analyze how particular elements of a story or drama interact (e.g., how setting shapes the characters

or plot). +

RL.6.3

Grade 6 students:

Describe how a particular story’s or drama’s plot unfolds in a series of episodes as well as how the

characters respond or change as the plot moves toward a resolution. +

RL.5.3

Grade 5 students:

Compare and contrast two or more characters, settings, or events in a story or drama,

drawing on specific details in the text (e.g., how characters interact). +

RL.4.3

Grade 4 students:

Describe in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific

details in the text (e.g., a character’s thoughts, words, or actions). +

RL.3.3

Grade 3 students:

Describe characters in a story (e.g., their traits, motivations, or feelings) and explain how

their actions contribute to the sequence of events. +

RL.2.3

Grade 2 students: Describe how characters in a story respond to major events and challenges. +

RL.1.3

Grade 1 students: Describe characters, settings, and major events in a story, using key details. +

RL.K.3

Kindergarten

students:

With prompting and support, identify characters, settings, and major events in a story. +

Mindset for Math CCSS

Shift to: In order to:

Focus Focus on strong foundational knowledge and deep

conceptual understanding

Coherence Each standard is connected to previous learning

Fluency Expectation of speed and accuracy with simple calculations

Deep Understanding Access concepts by being able to apply them to new

situations

Application Opportunities to apply math in “real world” situations at all

grade levels

Dual Intensity Both practice and understanding are emphasized

Standards for Mathematical Practice

1. Make sense of complex problems and persevere in solving them.

2. Reason abstractly and quantitatively

3. Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others.

4. Model with mathematics.

5. Use appropriate tools strategically.

6. Attend to precision

7. Look for and make use of structure

8. Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning.

College and Career Readiness Standards for Mathematics

Thinking & Literacy through

Primary and Secondary Resources

Science and Social Science: Thinking Like a Historian… Investigating Like a

Scientist…

Supporting Literacy in the Common Core:

The Goal of 21st Century Literacy Learning:

Students applying questions to develop and

demonstrate new learning.

Using visual images for students to comprehend science/social science

concepts—require students to find evidence in the image using primary

and secondary sources

Allow students to demonstrate their knowledge using visual

representations

Inspiring new levels of inquiry and investigations

CCSS Student Performance Tasks

Measure complex assessment targets

Demonstrate ability to think and reason

Higher-order skills

Produce fully developed writing or speeches

Provide evidence of college and career readiness

Sample Performance Tasks

8th grade or higher:

Were the achievements and growth of the Industrial Revolution Era worth the cost to society? After reading secondary and primary sources pertaining to the

British Industrial Revolution, write an argumentation essay that addresses the

question and support your position with evidence from the texts. Be sure to

acknowledge competing views.

4th grade or higher:

Should animals be kept in zoos? After reading the information texts provided,

write an essay that addresses the question and support your position

with evidence from the texts. Be sure to acknowledge competing views.

Literacy in Science…

Hurricane Galveston

Of all the catastrophic natural disasters that the United States has faced, Hurricane Galveston holds the highest death toll in American history thus far. The hurricane struck the town of Galveston like a hammer in the early morning hours of September 8th, 1900. Without a seawall to protect the town fifteen foot waves crashed ashore unchecked. Along with the 135 miles per hour winds the entire town was decimated by the afternoon and an estimated eight thousand lives were lost.

Sample for Grades 4-11

Literacy in History… DULCE ET DECORUM EST(1)

Bent double, like old beggars under sacks,

Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge,

Till on the haunting flares(2) we turned our backs

And towards our distant rest(3) began to trudge.

Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots

But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind;

Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots(4)

Of tired, outstripped(5) Five-Nines(6) that dropped behind.

Gas!(7) Gas! Quick, boys! – An ecstasy of fumbling,

Fitting the clumsy helmets(8) just in time;

But someone still was yelling out and stumbling,

And flound'ring like a man in fire or lime(9) . . .

Dim, through the misty panes(10) and thick green light,

As under a green sea, I saw him drowning.

In all my dreams, before my helpless sight,

He plunges at me, guttering,(11) choking, drowning.

If in some smothering dreams you too could pace

Behind the wagon that we flung him in,

And watch the white eyes writhing in his face,

His hanging face, like a devil's sick of sin;

If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood

Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs,

Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud(12)

Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,

My friend, you would not tell with such high zest(13)

To children ardent(14) for some desperate glory,

The old Lie; Dulce et Decorum est

Pro patria mori.(15)

Wilfred Owen 1917

Sample for grades 10-12

In Math…

Sample for 3rd Grade

Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)

The NGSS are based on the idea that K-12 science education should reflect

real-world interconnections in science.

STEM teacher preparation programs are already training teacher-candidates

using NGSS standards and methods.

Implementation likely to occur in 2016-2017 in California

http://vimeo.com/64246763

Copy link into you browser for viewing as Vimeo.com does not permit this to be embedded.

Key Dimensions of the K-12 NGSS Scientific and Engineering STEM Practices*:

• from asking questions to planning and carrying out investigations, building

models, providing evidence-based argumentation, using computational

thinking, and communicating thinking.

Four (4) Disciplinary Core Ideas Higher-order skills:

• Life Science, Earth and Space Science, Physical Science (chemistry & physics),

Engineering* (technology and the application of science) Seven (7) Crosscutting Concepts

Seven (7) Crosscutting Concepts:

• Includes patterns, scale, cause & effect, energy & matter to structure and

function

NGSS and the CCSS in Math and English/Language Arts are closely

aligned.*

Student Performance Expectations (PEs) represent the product which

defines what students should know and be able to do.

* Key shifts

Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium

25 member states educating over 19 million public K–

12 students

What about a shift in testing?

From paper and pencil Technology Integration with expedited results

• Computer-based

• Computer-enhanced

• Computer adaptive *

The College Entrance SAT and Advanced Placement exams are already

shifting to the CCSS formats and SBAC assessment models.

Rigor and Depth of Knowledge

* Similar to K-8 SuccessMaker, ACT, and numerous post baccalaureate & professional

exams including: GRE, LSAT, MCAT, GMAT, CAST (CPA), ASVAB, NCLEX, & USMSLE

Webb's

Depth of Knowledge

What’s the Difference, Anyway?

Depth of

Knowledge

Level

Approximate % of CST

or Other Typical

Standardized Testing, K-12

Approximate % of

SMARTER Balanced

Assessment

Level 1 55-60% 15-20%

Level 2 25% 40%

Level 3 15-20% 30%

Level 4 0% 10-15%

Math then…

(Gr. 5)

Math Now…

(Gr. 5)

Webb's

Depth of Knowledge

Math Now…

(Gr. 5)

Math Now…

(Gr. 3)

Webb's

Depth of Knowledge

Math Now…

(Gr. 3)

Math Now…

(Gr. 3)

Webb's

Depth of Knowledge

Math Now…

(Gr. 3)

Math Now…

(Gr. 4)

Webb's

Depth of Knowledge

Math Now…

(Gr. 4)

Math Now…

(Gr. 5)

Webb's

Depth of Knowledge

Math Now…

(Gr. 5)

More about the shift in testing

From multiple choice and essay* primarily focusing on recall level questions to:

Selective Response

• Selected response assessment items include options such as multiple choice, matching, and true/false questions.

Constructed Response

• With constructed response assessments the answer is not visible -- the student must recall or construct it. Constructed response assessments are conducive to higher level thinking skills.

Performance Tasks

• Performance tasks challenge students to apply their knowledge and skills to respond to real-world problems.

(*grades 4, 7, and 11)

Visit smarterbalanced.org for examples of each by grade level and content areas

Smarter Balanced Assessment System:

The Relationship of CCSS to Teaching,

Learning and Assessment

CCSESA 2013

Smarter Balanced 2014 Field Test

Each participating student (95%) will take both the ELA and math field test.

The remaining 5% will take one or the other (ELA or Math) and constitute a

strategic scientific sample.

All CVUSD participants in grades 3-8 and 11 will take on performance task in

ELA or Math

Total test time will be approximately 3.5 hours long.

No paper-and-pencil version will be available.

No student, school, or district score reports will be produced.

Results will not be factored into any state or federal accountability

calculations.

Appendices

CC Instructional Best Practices Defined

Performance Tasks Defined

Recommended Websites

Best Practices for Instruction and

Differentiated Learning

Direct Instruction is an essential skills-oriented approach, and the instructional practices it

implies are teacher-directed.

The Socratic style is probably the oldest method of teaching, and it aims at fostering

critical thinking among students. Students are trained to inquire, probe, and seek more

questions in the answers they receive. Paideia seminars – a refinement of the Socratic

seminar – requires students to focus on evidence, speaking and listening as core skills, and

the need for students to engage texts actively and independently.

The Inquiry Model, or Problem-based Learning (PBL), starts with a big idea or overarching

concept. It is guided by a teacher, but learning is mediated, student – centered with

questions generated by the students themselves of the teacher and each other,

engaging students by investigating real world questions that they choose within a broad

thematic framework.

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) makes instruction and assessment accessible for all

learners utilizing multiple means of presentation and allows the learner to work and

respond in a format that meets their needs for learning and expression.

Performance Tasks defined:

Performance tasks challenge students to apply their knowledge and skills to respond to real-world problems. They can best be described as collections of questions and activities that are coherently connected to a single theme or scenario. These activities are meant to measure capacities such as depth of understanding, research skills, and complex analysis, which cannot be adequately assessed with selected- or constructed-response items.

Performance tasks in reading, writing, and mathematics will be part of the Smarter Balanced summative, year-end assessment. Performance tasks can also be administered as part of the optional interim assessments throughout the year. The performance tasks will be delivered by computer (but will not be computer adaptive) and will take one to two class periods to complete.

Recommended Websites:

http://www.cde.ca.gov/re/cc/

http://www.smarterbalanced.org/

http://www.nextgenscience.org/

http://www.cde.ca.gov/pd/ca/sc/ngssstandards.asp

http://www.conejousd.org/instruction/CurriculumAssessment/

CommonCoreStateStandards.aspx