CCSS Resources

We’ve observed several practices in schools that thrive through stages of flat performance: (1) They expect the flat periods and persist through them (2) they have a theory about how what they’re doing will result in improved student performance (3) they develop finer-grained measures for detecting improvement (4) they make adjustments when evidence suggests that their efforts really aren’t working.

The Road to School Improvement It's hard, it's bumpy, and it takes as long as it takes by Richard F. Elmore and Elizabeth City

Welcome to the Smarter Balanced Practice and Training Tests The Smarter Balanced Practice and Training Tests are available to schools and districts for practice and training purposes, professional development activities, and for discussions with parents, policymakers, and other interested stakeholders.

Each of the PARCC practice tests has the following examples of question types and technology usages.

PARCC Question Types by Subject

“Ten Arguments Against Common Core Presidential Hopefuls Should Avoid” by Tim Shanahan in The Education Gadfly, March 18, 2015 (Vol. 15, #11), http://bit.ly/19fhf8J

The Common Core isn’t research-based. Standards are aspirational goals, says Shanahan. “Standards aren’t teaching methods; they aren’t approaches to instruction. When the critics say that some states should have tried these out first to find out if they’re any good, it’s like saying that some states should aim for 4 percent unemployment and others for 8 percent – so that we can know whether we want people to find jobs.”

Course Outlines and Professional Learning Workshop Guides for a Selection of Classroom Challenges for Grades 6 Through Algebra 2 These course outlines are provided to help teachers place the Classroom Challenges in their math courses. The Course Outlines illustrate how the mathematics of the California Core State Standards (CCSS) flows from Grade 6 to Algebra 2 in rigorous, focused, and coherent units of study. Classroom Challenges are allocated to various units within a Course Outline. For more information on the Classroom Challenges, please see the Math Assessment Project's website. The workshop guides are developed as a resource for workshop facilitators preparing to rollout Professional Learning around the Classroom Challenges. Professional Learning workshop guides have been developed for a selection of the Classroom Challenges allocated to Grades 6 through Algebra 2. These guides link supplemental materials such as Student Work, Criteria for Feedback, Growth Analysis Spreadsheets, and videos (if videos are available).

What tests are available? High School Currently, 6 prototype tests are available aimed at College and Career Readiness at High School - typically suitable for grades 9-10. The test forms and scoring rubrics can be downloaded from the links on the left. We have provided 3 types of High School test forms: 40 minute forms are the easiest for teachers to use for periodic assessments without disrupting the timetable, but are limited in the amount of curriculum they can assess. 3 hour forms offer a model for more comprehensive end-of-grade or end-of-term assessments. 90 minute forms offer a compromise between time and breadth of content. Middle School We have produced six 80-minute forms, each divided into two 40-minute sections. These tests involve content from the Standards for grades 7 and 8. The Task Bank These are only examples of how balanced tests can be assembled. If you require more flexibility, the complete bank of tasks, individually cross-referenced to the standards, is available here.

The Mathematics Assessment Program (MAP) aims to bring to life the Common Core State Standards (CCSSM) in a way that will help teachers and their students turn their aspirations for achieving them into classroom realities. MAP is a collaboration between the University of California, Berkeley and the Shell Center team at the University of Nottingham, with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The team works with the Silicon Valley Mathematics Initiative and school systems across the US and UK to develop improved assessment.

What material is MAP developing? MAP materials are of two complementary kinds: Summative tests or tasks exemplify the performance targets that the standards imply. The tests show the kinds of performance that students in rich math programs will achieve, with the range and balance that the standards describe. The tasks, with the associated guidance, equip teachers to monitor overall progress in their students’ mathematics. Classroom Challenges are lessons that support teachers in formative assessment. They both reveal and develop students’ understanding of key mathematical ideas and applications. These lessons enable teachers and students to monitor in more detail their progress towards the targets of the standards. They assay students’ understanding of important concepts and problem solving performance, and help teachers and their students to work effectively together to move each student’s mathematical reasoning forward. In addition, because formative assessment involves a wider range of classroom strategies and skills than many traditional curricula, the professional development modules will help teachers with the pedagogical and mathematical challenges that this approach involves. Built around the Classroom Challenges, these modules are designed for use by groups of teachers, working together in a supportive school to improve the effectiveness of their program. These materials have been developed in classrooms across the US, using the research-based design and development methods that the MARS Shell Center team has advanced over the last three decades. MAP is grateful to the teachers and students who took part in the development process. They, in turn, are helping to lead the way toward preparing students across the nation with the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in college and careers.

The following list of resources was developed as part of the NBC News Education Nation Common Core Teacher Institute, in partnership with leading non-profits and teachers unions focused on implementing the Common Core: America Achieves, American Federation of Teachers, National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, National Education Association, Student Achievement Partners, and the Teaching Channel. The Common Core Teacher Institute features workshops with demonstrations of Common Core-aligned lessons. These demonstrations show teachers how to teach toward specific standards, as well as how to use model lessons and videos to inform their own practices. Videos of the NBC News Education Nation Teacher Institute, as well as the materials and tools used in each video, are available online at www.educationnation.com/teacherinstitute.

The basic LDC building block is a module—two to four weeks of instruction comprising a “teaching task,” standards, “mini-tasks,” and other instructional elements described below. Using LDC’s Framework and tools, teachers develop a literacy-rich task and design instruction to help students complete that task. LDC puts educators in the lead by providing a common framework upon which teachers can individually or collaboratively build literacy-saturated curricula within their content area and for their focus topics.