Standards and Disciplines

Introduction to Multimedia ... An important re when considering the CCSS ELA and the term 'multimedia' beginning in Grade 5: RL.5.7 Analyze how visual and multimedia elements contribute to the meaning, tone, or beauty of a text (e.g., graphic novel, multimedia presentation of fiction, folktale, myth, poem)."

"PARCC Assessment Administration Guidance"

"New tests being designed for students in nearly half the states in the country will take eight to 10 hours, depending on grade level, and schools will have a testing window of up to 20 days to administer them, according to guidance released today. The new information comes from the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, or PARCC, one of the two big groups of states that are building tests in mathematics and English/language arts for the common standards. It answers one of the big, dangling questions that's attended the process of making these new tests: Given their promises to measure students' skills in a deeper, more nuanced way, partly through the use of extended performance tasks, just how long will these tests take?"

"Recently, I had a conversation with a group of math coaches who are working with elementary teachers on implementation of the Common Core Standards for Mathematics. The discussion turned to a description of rigor in the classroom. The coaches commented that many of their teachers were confused by exactly what was meant by teaching and learning with rigor. The coaches weren't sure how to respond."

In a process managed by Achieve, 26 states are leading the development of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). The science education community got a first glimpse of the NGSS draft when it was released during the first public comment period from May 11 through June 1. According to Achieve, the writers are now working to review all of the comments and develop a second draft to be released for public comment in the fall 2012. Achieve has removed the first draft from the web while it undergoes revision.

"From our beginning in 2000, TextProject has supported teachers with research and practical advice about how to provide readers the right kinds of texts, with special focus on text complexity. Now, the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) represents the first time that a standards document has paid special attention to text complexity, as Standard 10 is devoted specifically to increasing students' capacity with complex text from grades 2 through 12. To support reading skills needed for college and career success as of high school graduation, the CCSS proposes a staircase of text complexity."

SLO Guidelines for the State of Indiana

"Results from new state tests in Kentucky-the first in the nation explicitly tied to the Common Core State Standards-show that the share of students scoring "proficient" or better in reading and math dropped by roughly a third or more in both elementary and middle school the first year the tests were given."

"A few weeks ago, I wrote an article for TheAtlantic.com describing some of the problems with how math is currently being taught. Specifically, some math programs strive to teach students to think like "little mathematicians" before giving them the analytic tools they need to actually solve problems. Some of us had hoped the situation would improve this school year, as 45 states and the District Columbia adopted the new Common Core Standards. But here are two discouraging emails I received recently. The first was from a parent:"

"he implementation of Common Core State Standards is intended to create change in our nation's public education system ... not put change in the pockets of the American publishing industry. "

"As states across the country implement broad changes in curriculum from kindergarten through high school, English teachers worry that they will have to replace the dog-eared novels they love with historical documents and nonfiction texts."

"When I was a student, watching a movie in class meant watching documentaries, literary adaptations, or informational filmstrips. " RL.4.8 / RL.5.8

"As districts nationwide scramble to translate the Common Core State Standards into concrete curricula and lesson plans, Principal Sue DeVicariis of Kate Sessions Elementary School in San Diego considers herself ahead of the game. Her school is one of 342 nationwide to follow the Primary Years Program of the Swiss-based International Baccalaureate organization. Earlier this school year, Ms. DeVicariis and teachers met with colleagues across grades throughout the district to use IB inquiry-style units to create mathematics and English/language arts common-core curriculum units for San Diego."

"Math instructors at the Downers Grove high schools are developing a new curriculum based on the state's more difficult learning standards, one that will introduce some new courses. The Common Core Standards, which Illinois adopted in 2010, revamp learning expectations for students in English Language Arts and in Mathematics. Community High School District 99 officials plan to implement new curricula in the 2013-14 school year, while the statewide testing based on Common Core will start the following year"

"As the common core is brought to life in classrooms this year, some English/language arts teachers are finding themselves caught in a swirl of debate about whether the new standards require them to cut back on prized pieces of the literary canon to make room for nonfiction."

"The massacre of children at a Connecticut elementary school by a deranged young man using an assault weapon riveted the attention of Americans on a subject that they never leave alone for very long, and that their legislators have found no endurable solution for: finding a balance between the protection of the putative right to own guns, and the protection of life, liberty, and happiness that is threatened by the very people who own those guns. The challenge is to craft laws that will adequately protect the public while remaining consistent with the second amendment of the US Constitution, which is now specifically interpreted to mean that individuals have a right to possess a firearm for traditionally legal purposes, such as self-defense."

"The decision about whether students are "college-ready" in mathematics will be based only on the exams students take at the end of a math sequence, rather than on a combination of results from all the courses in the sequence, a state assessment group decided today."

"In this thoughtful article in Kappa Delta Pi Record, consultant/authors Mike Schmoker and Carol Jago say, "Done right, the ELA Common Core has the potential to right the ship of literacy, to facilitate, at long last, the creation of coherent curriculum in every course, and to rescue us from the fads and pseudo-literacies of recent decades." They believe the CCSS appendices and ancillary documents are the "true strength" of the document, providing resources for students "to engage in close reading of large amounts of high-quality, complex text, combined with opportunities to engage in discussion and writing grounded in text." "

"'We must reimagine middle school science and math not as a way to prepare students for high school, but as a place where students are inventors, scientists, and mathematicians today.' So say Sylvia Martinez and Gary Stager in this exciting guest article about the Maker Movement and its implications for kids, schools and STEM studies. Martinez and Stager are the authors of a must-read book, Invent To Learn: Making, Tinkering, and Engineering in the Classroom. In this informative post, they encourage STEM educators, school leaders and teachers across the curriculum to transform our classrooms into centers of innovative thinking and experimenting. ~ Anne Jolly"