CCSS and math work

Universities, community colleges, and K-12 districts in 30 states announced plans this week to work together on redesigning secondary mathematics teacher preparation to align to the Common Core State Standards.
The project is being coordinated by a science- and math-focused initiative of the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities, a group that supports states' major public research universities.
Called the Mathematics Teacher Education Partnership, the project has already won a $200,000 grant from the National Science Foundation. Overall, there are 38 partnerships involving some 68 universities, nine community colleges, and 87 school systems involved. (Stephen Sawchuk at Education Week)

Study suggests CCSS will improve math scores

A new research paper offers what amounts to a spirited defense of the Common Core State Standards in mathematics, making the case that the standards are, in fact, consistent with those in high-achieving countries and suggesting their faithful implementation holds considerable promise to improve student learning.
The paper bases that optimism about the new standards' potential on a look at the achievement of states whose prior math standards most closely aligned to the common core.
"The simple translation is that those states with standards that are closest to the Common Core ... did better," based on national test data from 2009, said William Schmidt, an education professor at Michigan State University who coauthored the study.
That said, Schmidt emphasized (repeatedly) that this particular finding is merely suggestive, and does not establish causation. (Erik Robelen at Education Week)

Common Core Standards and implementation

In less than three years, the Common Core State Standards have vaulted over three key hurdles, surprising more than a few naysayers. In June 2009, governors and education chiefs in 46 states pledged their support for the idea. A year later, panels of experts unveiled the completed standards. By last November, all but four states had formally adopted them. (Catherine Gewertz at Education Week)

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Common core's increased demands for nonfiction texts

The common core's vision of informational text includes literary nonfiction, as well as historical documents, scientific journals and technical manuals, biographies and autobiographies, essays, speeches, and information displayed in charts, graphs, or maps, digitally or in print. Helping students tackle complex examples of such genres across the disciplines—from English to engineering—bolsters them for work and higher education by building foundational knowledge, vocabulary, and literacy strategies, common-core advocates contend.
Many states and districts are responding to the new emphasis on nonfiction with new materials and training.
New York City singled out informational text as this year's focus in its work to get ready for the common standards in English/language arts. (Catherine Gewertz at Education Week)

Common Core Resources

Last week, Education Week reported on the frustration teachers are facing as they begin designing lessons around Common Core priorities—teacher resources are either scarce, or hard to find. This week, ASCD convened Colorado educators to discuss Common Core implementation, and classroom teachers in Colorado echoed similar concerns over accessible teaching resources. (from ASCD)

Common core adoption rubric and self-assessment

States and districts are embarking on the work of turning the common standards into curriculum and instruction. But as researchers have documented, (here, here, and here) many don't yet have fully formed, concrete plans for how to do that.
To help move that process along, two groups have created a framework to help states think about what a solid plan should look like. Issued yesterday, the rubric and self-assessment tool defines the ways states can be most effective in bringing common standards into classrooms, offers questions for them to consider when doing that, and looks at exemplary state work in two key implementation areas: curriculum materials and teacher professional development. (from Curriculum Matters at Education Week)

PARCC content frameworks released

The Partnership for the Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) is pleased to provide you with a draft of the PARCC Model Content Frameworks in English Language Arts/Literacy and Mathematics. These frameworks have been developed through a collaborative state-led process between state experts and members of the Common Core State Standards writing teams. The model content frameworks serve several purposes: They help identify the big ideas in the Common Core State Standards for each grade level; help determine the focus for the various PARCC assessment components; and will support the development of the PARCC assessment blueprints.(from the PARCC website)

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Common Core and online learning

The widespread pledge by states to adopt “common core” academic standards could allow online education to truly break down state boundaries for teachers and students for the first time, and reduce the cost of online-course creation, experts in virtual education say.
“Now, for the first time ever, online-learning programs in different states and different programs have a common framework,” said Susan D. Patrick, the president and chief executive officer of the Vienna, Va.-based International Association for K-12 Online Learning, or iNACOL. “Now we can start sharing, collaborating, and really refining what we’re doing.” (Katie Ash at Education Week)

To read more about the Common Core Standards and online learning, click the hyperlinked text above.

Common standards movement

Two treats in one week for common-standards gazers: Idaho becomes the 43rd state to adopt the common standards. But it's provisional, folks; this one still has to go to the state legislature before becoming final.
The board of education adopted the standards on Nov. 17, according to Idaho Department of Education spokeswoman Melissa McGrath. The board first considered them in August, and took the final vote last week after a public comment period in October. Now the standards have to be considered and approved by the education committee of at least one chamber of the legislature, which doesn't reconvene until January, McGrath said. (Catherine Gewertz at Curriculum Matters)

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Webinar on common core standards

New times require new approaches to education and greater attention to building the teaching profession. On July 17, 2010, the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) released new “model core teaching standards” for public comment. The model core teaching standards are an initial effort to articulate—through the lens of the teacher—what effective teaching and learning would look like to ensure all learners are college and career ready. Unlike the original teacher standards, which focus on the assessment and support of beginning teachers, the new core teaching standards are standards of professional practice for all teachers. 

These model core teaching standards represent a new vision of teaching with increased focus on twenty-first-century knowledge and skills, personalized learning, a collaborative professional culture, improved assessment literacy, and new roles for teachers and administrators. In order to deliver a first-rate education to every child, policy leaders and educators must engage in the process of first defining effective teaching practice and then shaping policies based on a consistent vision of quality teaching.   

To learn more about the model core teaching standards and their potential for improving teacher effectiveness, join the Alliance and CCSSO for an interactive webinar on Wednesday, October 6 from 2:00 – 3:00 pm (EST). The webinar will also include a question and answer period to address questions submitted by viewers across the nation.   The draft core teaching standards are open for public comment until October 15, 2010. To download the new standards and submit comments, go to [ http://www.ccsso.org/Resources/Programs/Interstate_Teacher_Assessment_Consortium_(InTASC).html ]http://www.ccsso.org/intasc.

To register for the webinar and/or submit questions, click here.