The document outlines a strategic approach to coherence in education, emphasizing the importance of aligning goals, measures, and instructional practices to enhance student learning. It highlights the shift from traditional methods to more engaged, evidence-based instructional strategies and incorporates the use of assessments to gauge effectiveness. Additionally, it includes resources and frameworks for educators to improve performance and ensure that educational practices align with high leverage student skills and standards.

1. Hartland School
Strategic Coherence
Jonathan P. Costa, Sr.
May 15th, 2015
http://digitallearningforallnow.com
http://www.slideshare.net/jpcostasr
costa@educationconnection.org
Principles of Coherence & Assessment
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2. Building Coherence
Resources & Links
1. Go to http://www.slideshare.net/jpcostasr and look for….
• Hartland Share
• Four Highest Leverage Student Skills
• Common Core Venn Diagram
• 21st Century Skills Crosswalk
2. My contact information - costa@educationconnection.org
3. My book about the end of books - http://digitallearningforallnow.com
4. Other formative supporting resources – the “classics.”
• The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement, by Eliyahu M. Goldratt and Jeff Cox
• Results: The Key to Continuous School Improvement, by Mike Schmoker
• Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap...And Others Don’t, by Jim Collins
Jonathan P. Costa

3. This would be nice:

4. Our Mission
To prepare
EVERY student
for learning, life,
and work
beyond school.

5. In less
than
ONE
generation:
From going
out of your
way to
communicate..
...to going
out of
your way
not to.

6. From making
an effort to
get into the
information
stream…
In less
than
ONE
generation:
…to having
to make an
effort to get
out of it.

7. Job ONE
is getting
to
1:1

8. No Surprises - We Know How This Works
1
Rethink
Reengineer
Retrofit

9. Consider the Shift from Retrofit to Rethink
Retrofit
“Read the part of
Chapter 6 online the
describes the Boston
Massacre and be
prepared to answer
the review questions.”
Rethink
1. Team One find 5 historical
narratives by different authors
2. Team Two find 5 primary source
documents from the trial
3. Team Three find 5 British history
references and opinions
4. Team Four find 5
contemporaneous editorials.

10. What Are The Shifts Involved?
Retrofit
1. What are the goals of this lesson (student learning)?
2. How would you measure its success?
3. What is happening in the learning environment
where this work is being completed?
– What are the students doing – what skills do they need to be
successful?
– What is the teacher doing – what skills does he/she need to
be successful?
Rethink
1. What are the goals of this lesson (student learning)?
2. How would you measure its success?
3. What is happening in the learning environment
where this work is being completed?
– What are the students doing – what skills do they need to be
successful?
– What is the teacher doing – what skills does he/she need to be
successful?

11. The Pareto
Leverage Principle
Vital
Few

12. Mission
Leadership
Focus
Goals
MeasuresPractices
Things That Matter

13. High Leverage Focus on Student Learning
Critical & Creative
Problem Solving
“Making sure the Main Thing remains the Main Thing”
Analyze &
Construct
Arguments Based
on Evidence
Meaningful &
Purposeful
Communication
Digital Literacy
& Information
Fluency

14. Align Your Systems With Your Goals for Learning
Type of
Assessment
Required
Subject Area
Responsibilities
Everyone’s
Responsibility
Content
(Declarative)
Facts
Content Skills
(Procedural)
Discrete Skills
4 High Leverage Goals
(Contextual)
CCSS/Digital Learning
Type of
Knowledge
Desired
Type of
Instruction
Required
Lecture, video,
films, assigned
readings and
memory activities.
Classroom or textbook
problems, experiments,
discussions, practice and
repetition.
Complex projects,
real time explorations,
authentic and relevant
skill applications.
Amount of
Time
Required
Discrete units,
spiraled and
predictable.
Ongoing, systemic and
without a finite
or predictable end.
Discrete units,
spiraled and
predictable.
Recall & recognition
based quizzes, tests,
and activities. Multiple
choice, matching, etc.
(SAT/AP/Exams)
Checklists,
analytic rubrics,
or other agreed upon
skill standards
(AP/SB/CAPT/Exams)
Holistic and,
analytic rubrics,
or other agreed upon
standards of rigor
(Portfolios, Exhibitions, SB)

15. Coherence
Begins With
Student
Learning
Focus
Finding Focus
Aligning Goals for Learning
1. Universal Goals
(engage everyone)
• Construct and defend
arguments based on
evidence.
2. Content Area or
Grade Level Goals
(engage the
group)
• Construct and defend
historical arguments based
on evidence.
3. Personal Goals
(engage the class)
• Create and present
a critical stance
based on evidence
from specific
historical events.
Jonathan P. Costa

16. The More You DO,
The More You Learn
Passive
Superficial
Active Involvement
Engaged & Empowered
*Adapted from National Training Laboratories, Bethel, Maine

17. D
a
t
a
S
c
a
n
Costa - Strategic Coherence Planning Focus – Measure - Connect

18. Coherence Is Supported
by Assessment
Value
Reliability

19. Align Assessments With Goals for Learning
Appropriate
Assessment
Instruments
Recall & recognition
based quizzes, tests,
and activities. Multiple
choice, matching, fill
In the blanks, etc.
(SAT/AP/Exams)
Checklists,
analytic rubrics,
or other agreed upon
skill standards
(AP/Smarter B/Exams)
Holistic and,
analytic rubrics,
or other agreed upon
skill standards
(Portfolios, Demonstrations,
Exhibitions, Etc)
Content
(Declarative)
Facts
“Define this term”
Content Skills
(Procedural)
Discrete Skills
“Factor this equation”
Universal Skills
(Contextual)
Applied Understandings
“Problem Solver”
Type of
Knowledge
Desired
Appropriate
Assessment
Standards/Scales
Take this quiz, test,
or other appropriate
content focused
assessment instrument.
Answering/responding to
classroom or text based
problems, experiments, and
writing assignments.
Complex projects,
real time explorations,
authentic problem based
skill applications.
Appropriate
Assessment
Tasks
Percentages of
right and wrong
answers on an agreed
upon numeric or letter
grade scale.
1-100/A-B-C-D
Specific criteria tied
to an agreed upon
numeric or
descriptive scale.
1-100/Pass-Fail
Insufficient-Excellent
Specific criteria tied
to an agreed upon
descriptive scale.
Insufficient-Sufficient
Proficient-Excellent
Overlap between columns can and does occur.

20. Costa - Strategic Coherence Planning Focus – Measure - Connect
Measure What You Value…1st Level

21. Costa - Strategic Coherence Planning Focus – Measure - Connect
Item Insufficient – 1 Sufficient - 2 Proficient - 3 Excellent - 4
Use a variety of
thoughtfully selected
communication tools
for a range of
purposes (e.g. to
inform, instruct,
motivate and
persuade) messages,
and audiences.
Is unable to apply media
and techniques that
incorporate the basic
elements and/or principles
of design.
Applies media and
techniques that
incorporate the basic
elements and principles of
design in an attempt to
communicate personal,
cultural, and aesthetic
values.
Applies media and
techniques that
incorporate elements and
principles of design to
communicate personal,
cultural, and aesthetic
values.
Applies media and
techniques that
incorporate sophisticated
elements and principles of
design to effectively or
originally communicate
personal, cultural, and
aesthetic values.
No connection between
communication actions
and/purpose, audience
comments or needs.
Attempts to align some
communication actions
and purpose with
audience.
Most actions are aligned
with purpose/audience
and needs. There is
evidence of response and
adjustment based on
audience feedback.
Highly aligned with
purpose and needs and
very responsive to
audience comments and
feedback
Audience may be
unresponsive to speaker
and message.
There may be some
audience response to
either the communication
or the message.
Some evidence that the
audience relates/connects
to the communication
method and message.
It is clear that the
audience relates to the
communication method
and message.
Measure What You Value…2nd Level

22. Explicitly Connect Foundational Systems
Mission
Leadership
Focus
Goals
MeasuresPractices

23. Three Domains, Three Levels
G = Goals P = Practices M= Measures
Mission
Every child
successful in life,
learning and work.
Theory of Action
Focus
Measure
Connect

24. Student
Goals
- Common
Core/21st
Century Skills
& Content
Professional
Goals
Evaluation & support
goals, SLOs, focus
goals & other
Organizational
Goals
Improvement targets
related to DPI,
SPI or other goals
Instructional
Strategies
CC/21CS goal
aligned
teaching
methods
& strategies
Assessing
Learning
SB &
other valued
summative,
formative,
standardized and
non-
standardized
measures
Professional
Growth
Aligned with
high leverage
student goals
and
PL Standards
Professional
Measurement
45
40
Organizational
Plans
District or
building
level plans
or strategies
aligned with PL
Standards
Organizational
Measures
DPI
SPI
5
10
Other…
Connect the Levels

25. Student
Goals
- High
Leverage
Student Skill
Goal
Professional
Goals
SLOs and Instructional
Practice Goals
Organizational
Goals
Improvement targets
related to High
Leverage Goals
Instructional
Strategies
Using
Performance
Tasks to improve
engagement with
appropriate rigor
and depth of
knowledge
Assessing
Learning
Formative, non-
standardized SBA
aligned measures
of High Leverage
Student Skill Goal
Professional
Growth
Learning to use
Performance Tasks
to improve
student engagement
with rigor and DOK
Professional
Measurement
Data for
45%
& 40%
Organizational
Plans
District or
building
level plans
or strategies
aligned with PL
Standards
Organizational
Measures
DPI
SPI
5
10
Other…
Connect the Levels in Hartland

26. Five Essential Alignments for Coherence
1. Goals for Learning
Focus
2. Student Measures
Measure
3. Instructional Practices
Connect
4. Professional Components
(F, M, C)
5. Organizational Components
(F, M, C)
What are your most important,
high leverage goals for learning?
How will you know if you are
improving?
What instructional improvements
will have the greatest impact on
our performance?
How will our professional
components connect with and
reflect these priorities?
How will our organizational
components reflect and support
these priorities?
Priority Improvement Goals from
Common Core/21st Century
Aligned Assessment Data to Measure
Growth over Time
Aligned instructional Improvement
Grounded in TVAL Rubric
Aligned Goals and Data Tied to Student
Measures and Reflected in DPI/SPI
Aligned District and Building Plans That
Facilitate Alignment of Resources
Goals
Measures
Practices
Goals
Measures
Practices

27. Glossary of Terms
Beliefs – statements that describe unassailable guidelines for doing the work of the district.
Community Expectations for Learning – goals for learning (usually related to very important skills like problem solving or communication)
that are generally regarded as the most important attributes that students should be able to master as a result of attending the Canton
Public Schools.
Computer Based Adaptive Assessments – an assessment (test) such as the Smarter Balance which personalizes the test as the student
takes it. This means that each student has questions or an order of questions that is personalized just for them based on the answers they
have given. This means that every student takes a slightly different test but ends up with a more accurate measure of their own
performance than a non-personalized test could have identified.
Connecticut Core State Standards – the Connecticut’s globally benchmarked academic standards (based on the Common Core State
Standards) in language arts and math that the Connecticut State Board of Education endorsed as Connecticut’s official academic standards
in July of 2010 (joining 43 other states that had done the same). These standards are more rigorous than Connecticut’s previous standards
and will require extensive curriculum and instruction adjustments to help students achieve proficiency.
Curriculum and instructional alignment – degree to which the materials and teaching used to educate students are focused on the same
things from grade level to grade level, year to year, and school to school.
Formative Assessment – an assessment of student progress that is done as part of a regular lesson so that it does not interrupt instruction
and can guide teacher action in the moment to improve student performance.
Indicators of Success: The data or measures that will be used as evidence that the plan has been successfully implemented.
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28. Glossary of Terms
Mission – a statement of who we are, what we do and why.
Multiple Measures – When gauging a student’s performance in an important area, more than indicator or measure are used to ensure that
the report is fair and representative of what the student is actually doing.
Reform Bill 458 (PA12-116)– the educational reform legislation passed in Connecticut in May of 2012 that creates new expectations for
testing, teacher evaluation, professional learning, supervisory practices, certification, and a variety of other new educational mandates.
Rubrics – descriptors that show students and parents how well a skill must be performed to meet the district’s expectations
Smarter Balance Assessment Consortia – a 36 state consortia that has committed to a new generation of tests that gauge student’s ability
to meet the new Common Core State Standards.
Summative Assessment – a measurement of learning that is designed to gauge where a group of students are in comparison to other
students. These assessments are completed apart from instruction and serve as accountability measures for both students and teachers.
Vision – a description of what it would be like if the district mastered it’s Mission
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