The document discusses the Common Core State Standards and their implications for instruction. It notes that the standards emphasize rigorous content, higher-order thinking skills, and preparation for college and careers. They represent a shift towards more non-fiction and informational texts. Teachers will need to focus more on careful text selection and analysis, using both quantitative and qualitative measures. There is also increased emphasis on argumentative writing and having students support claims with evidence from texts. This represents changes for teacher preparation programs and professional development.

1. Common Core State Standards
An Occasion for Change
Eileen Murphy Buckley
May 10, 2012

2. Roles
 Time Cop
 Spokes Person
 Partners

3. What do you know or want to know
about CCSS?
Use post-its to complete a K-W-Now What?
Stick them on the chart papers.
I know, I know, but it is kind of helpful for me
to get a sense of the room 

4. Today’s Key Questions
What are the expectations of the Common Core
State Standards in English Language Arts &
Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and
Technical Subjects? (The Standards and
Assessments)
How can we begin an exploration of the
standards in schools? (Exploring Strategies)
What might the application of standards look like
in practice, particularly in text and task
selection? (Strategies for Supporting the
Common Core Adoption in Teacher Education

5. Why New Standards?
Students are not reading at levels sufficient
for college and career readiness in content
areas.
Only slightly more than half
(53%) of the members of the 47%
2009 high school graduating Not
class were ready for college-Ready
level and workplace training–
level reading.

6. What is “College Readiness?”
The level of preparation a student
needs to be ready to enroll and
succeed without remediation in an
entry-level, credit bearing course
(in each content area) at a two-year
or four-year institution, trade
school, or technical school.

7. Who Should be Worried about
“College Readiness?”
College
readiness
IS for
EVERY ONE!

8. What We Know So Far
New Standards
New Assessments

9. Common Core State Standards Developm
The Common Core State Standards Initiative is a
state-led effort coordinated by the National
Governors Association Center for Best Practices
(NGA Center) and the Council of Chief State School
Officers (CCSSO).
The standards were developed in collaboration with
teachers, school administrators, and experts to
provide a clear and consistent framework to prepare
our children for college and the workforce.

10. 46 States + DC Have Adopted the
Common Core State Standards
*Minnesota adopted the CCSS in ELA/literacy only

11. PARCC
Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College
and Careers
An alliance of made up of states representing
half of the country working to develop a common
set of K–12 assessments in English and Math
(Beginning in 2014)
PARCC Assessment System will include:
Multiple-choice, short answer, open
response, and performance based items

12. PARCC Assessment Design
English Language Arts/Literacy and Mathematics, Grades 3-11
Optional Assessments/Flexible Administration
Diagnostic Assessment Mid-Year Assessment
• Performance-based
Performance-Based End-of-Year
• Early indicator of
student knowledge and • Emphasis on hard-to- Assessment (PBA) Assessment
skills to inform measure standards • Extended tasks • Innovative, computer-
instruction, supports, an • Potentially summative • Applications of concepts based items
d PD and skills
ELA - Speaking And Listening
Assessment
• Locally scored
Summative, • Non-summative, required
Interim, optional
Required
assessment
assessment

13. PARCC Assessment System
PARCC’s computer-based assessments will:
Produce real-time snapshots of students’ knowledge.
Give parents, students and teachers the ability to adjust
accordingly rather than waiting until the end of the
school year when it’s too late to make changes.
PARCC assessments will be scored:
By a combination of artificial intelligence (AI) and
human scoring.
States will individually determine the extent to which
teachers will be involved in scoring.

15. Leading the Discussion: Strengths
of CCSS
Aligned with college and work expectations.
Include rigorous content and application
of knowledge through higher order skills.
Build upon strengths and lessons of current
state standards.
Informed by top-performing countries, so
that all students are prepared to succeed
in our global economy and society; and,
Evidence and/or researched-based.

16. Key Advances:
ELA and Literacy in Content
Areas
Reading: Balance of literature and informational texts + Text
complexity
Writing: Emphasis on argument and informative/explanatory writing
+ Writing about Sources
Speaking and Listening: Inclusion of formal and informal talk
Language: Stress on general academic and domain specific
vocabulary
Standards for reading and writing in history/social
studies, science, and technical subjects: Complement rather
than replace content standards
*Mathematical Practices Standards also include Argument
SHIFTS RESPONSIBILITY for
TEACHING with TEXT to ALL
TEACHERS

17. Structure
Standards for ELA and
Literacy

18. Anchor Standards: Clear Simple
Targets
Anchor standards for Reading and Writing across
genres and subject areas allow students to develop
mutually reinforcing skills, required across a range of
texts and classrooms
Reading and Writing standards are closely tied to
the standards for listening and speaking.
21st Century skills in research and technology,
particularly regarding the interpretation and
production of multi-media texts are also featured.

19. Key Grade Band Features
K-5 Foundational Skills
(Print Concepts, Phonological
Awareness, Phonics and Word
Recognition, and Fluency)
6-12 Literacy in History/Social
Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects

20. How Can This Make More Kids College
Ready?: Sample Assessment Tasks
Explore the sample assessment
items.
What claims can we make about the
differences between current
assessments and CCSS?
Talk with your partner first
Talk with your group

21. Grade-Specific Standards:
A Spiraling Staircase
What students should master by the
end of each grade.
Students are expected to retain and
further develop skills and
understandings mastered in
preceding grades.

22. Leading the Discussion:
Spiraling Standards in Reading and
Writing
CCR Anchor Standard 8 for Reading:
―Delineate and evaluate the argument and
specific claims in a text, including the
validity of the reasoning as well as the
relevance and sufficiency of the evidence.‖
CCR Anchor Standard 1 for Writing:
―Write arguments to support claims in an
analysis of substantive topics or texts
using valid reasoning and relevant and
sufficient evidence.‖

23. Tracking a Spiraling Standard
Complete Tracking
Activity (20-30 minutes)
What variables are used
to increase rigor?

24. Tracking a Spiraling Standard
Reflection:
What aspects of literacy seems to be
valued most throughout these standards?

25. The Staircase of Text
Complexity
Reader &
Task

26. Quantitative Text
Complexity
Standards recommend that multiple quantitative
measures be used whenever possible and that
their results be confirmed or overruled by a
qualitative analysis of the text in question.
Certain texts such as Poetry, Drama and K-1
texts cannot accurately be measured
quantitatively .

27. Partner Activity: Examine Changes
in Lexiles
Text Complexity Old Lexile Ranges Lexile Ranges
Grade Band in the Aligned to CCR
Standards Expectations
K-1 N/A N/A
2-3 450-725 450-790
4-5 645-845 770-980
6-8 860-1010 955-1155
9-10 960-1115 1080-1305
11-CCR 1070-1220 1215-1355

28. Leading the Discussion:
Qualitative Text Complexity
Reader &
Task

29. Lower or Higher End of Grade
Band?
Examine the Text Using the Protocol for
Analyzing the Qualitative Dimensions of
Text Complexity
Would you place this on the lower or higher
end of the 6-8 grade band?
Reflection: How can you as an instructional
leader facilitate these kinds of reflective
discussions?

30. Leading the Discussion:
Task &Text Complexity
Reader &
Task

31. Task Analysis
Douglass’s Narrative
Which of the Grade 8,
ELA Standards would you
practice while completing
this task? Which of the
6-8 Literacy Standards
would you practice
while completing this
task?

32. The Special Place of
Argumentation
(1) Other nations pay equal attention to what students read and how they
read. Explicit expectations for the range, quality, and complexity of what
students read along with more conventional standards describing how
well students must be able to read.
(2) Students are required to write in response to sources. In several
international assessment programs, students are confronted with a text
or texts and asked to gather evidence, analyze readings, and synthesize
content. The Standards likewise require students to ―draw evidence from
literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and
research‖ (Writing CCR standard 9).
(3) Writing arguments and writing informational/explanatory texts are
priorities. The Standards follow international models by making writing
arguments and writing informational/explanatory texts the dominant
modes of writing in high school to demonstrate readiness for college

33. WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS
FOR TEACHER PREPARATION
AND PD?

34. Leading the Discussion:
Reader and Task &Text Complexity
Reader &
Task

35. Teachers and The Reader
Variable
How Can Teachers Influence
These Variables?
Background Knowledge
Motivation
Experience

36. It’s Still about the Text/Task
Tier I Teaching to the Match
Frontload Background Knowledge
School Life/Real Life—The Argumentation
Connection
TEXT TASK

37. It’s Still about the Text/Task
Tier I Teaching to the Match
Frontload Background Knowledge
School Life/Real Life!
TASK TEXT

38. Implications for Instruction
Shift focus from literacy instruction to
center on careful examination of text.
Text selection: complexity, genre, and
quality
Task selection: rigorous tasks
Source: CARRIE HEATH PHILLIPS, COUNCIL OF CHIEF STATE SCHOOL OFFICERS (CCSSO)
CARRIEH@CCSSO.ORG

39. More Non-fiction
Grades 3-5
50% Literature 50% Informational.
Grades 6-12
45% Literature 55% Informational
(More literary non-fiction, particularly texts build on
informational text structures rather than literary non-
fiction that are structured as stories such as memoirs
or biographies.)
Texts must be worthy of close reading.
Source: CARRIE HEATH PHILLIPS, COUNCIL OF CHIEF STATE SCHOOL OFFICERS (CCSSO)
CARRIEH@CCSSO.ORG

40. Literature versus Informational
Texts
Think about grade and subjects levels,
not ELA classes and reading blocks
Slight shift toward more literary
non-fiction in ELA classes
Big shift toward more
text school-wide

41. Scaffold Complexity-Don’t Avoid
It
Lots of opportunities for close reading of short
texts at or beyond the grade level.
Access to lots of accessible texts and time to
choose and read them—Increasing # of pages is
essential to increasing reading ability.
Productive struggle with independent reading.
Challenge students to make claims and support
with evidence from the text.

42. Application:
Instructional Leadership in the Common
Core Era
Collaborate with teacher candidates and teachers to examine
threads of the common core standards as it develops over
grade levels
Collaborate with teacher candidates and teachers to examine
texts through the common core qualitative lens and use more
text in instruction
Collaborate with teacher candidates and teachers to
incorporate elements of argument and other rigorous activities
into the selection of texts and tasks
#1 Common Assessment Recommendation: Collaboratively

43. CCSS Implementation at Your
School
Reflection:
How might this change the focus or
methods
in your teacher preparation courses
or professional development?
CCSS