common core state standards

Ten Race to the Top Winners Announced

Tuesday, August 24th, 2010

Today Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced the round two winners of the $3.4 billion in Race to the Top grants. These winners are:

Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Massachusetts
Maryland
New York
North Carolina
Ohio
Rhode Island
Washington, D.C.

The 10 winning States have adopted rigorous common, college- and career-ready standards in reading and math, created pipelines and incentives to put the most effective teachers in high-need schools, and have alternative pathways to teacher and principal certification.

There was no immediate word on how much money each winner will receive, but awards will be based on States’ student population. In the first round of grants, Delaware was awarded $100 million and Tennessee received $500 million. In a statement, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said that this round of finalists was very competitive and that the Department hopes to have a round three of grants, using $1.35 billion requested in the President’s FY11 budget.

By Nancy in News, Public Policy
Tags: Alternative Certification, budget, college and career readiness, common core state standards, federal grants, funding, Public Policy, race to the top, Secondary, Secretary Duncan, Standards, teachers

Fordham Institute Rates Common Core Against State Standards

Tuesday, August 24th, 2010

In their latest assessment of state English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics standards, the Thomas B. Fordham Institute compares states’ standards not just to each other, but to the Common Core State Standards developed by the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers. Fordham graded each state and the Common Core standards on an “A” through “F” scale, giving the Common Core math standards a grade of A-minus and the Common Core ELA standards a B-plus.

Among the other findings in The State of State Standards – and the Common Core – in 2010 report:

The Common Core standards are clearer and more rigorous than the ELA and math standards presently used by the vast majority of states.
The Common Core standards are superior to standards currently in use in 39 states in math and 37 states in English. For 33 states, the Common Core is superior in both math and reading.
Three states have ELA standards that are superior to the Common Core: California, the District of Columbia, and Indiana.
Eleven more states have ELA standards that are at least as clear and rigorous as the Common Core (or “too close to call”).
Eleven states and the District of Columbia have math standards in the “too close to call” category, compared with the Common Core standards.

To date, 36 states and the District of Columbia have adopted the Common Core State Standards. One of the factors that these states and those that have not adopted thus far must take into account is the comparison of their state standards with the Common Core. What Fordham’s analysis shows is that for many states that choose to adopt the Common Core Standards, the bar will be raised for student achievement.

By Nancy in Public Policy
Tags: common core state standards, Public Policy, Secondary, Standards

Achieve, Inc. Releases Common Core Standards Implementation Guide

Monday, August 9th, 2010

As more and more states adopt the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), the next logical question is “How do we implement them?” Achieve, Inc., which helped the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers draft the standards, has just released a guide to answer that very question. On the Road to Implementation: Achieving the Promise of the Common Core State Standards aims to help states align instructional materials, assessments, and graduation requirements with the common standards, leverage state funding to support the standards, and conduct “gap analyses” to see how a state’s standards differ from the common core standards.

There is also a section in the guide on “Implementing the Common Core Literacy Standards in History/Social Studies, Science and Technical Subjects.” The CCSS include literacy standards in grades 6 to 12 that are specific to history/social studies, science and technical subjects. Since current state standards in history/social studies, science and technical subjects may not include literacy standards, this could represent a significant change for teachers in those fields, including CTE teachers. The guide suggests that states assemble relevant teams of history/social studies, science and technical subject teachers and content experts to consider implications for implementation:

Include representatives from relevant state organizations (National Science Teacher Association and National Council for Social Studies state affiliates, for example), department of education content staff, middle and high school teachers, administrators, and higher education faculty;
Determine how the expectations in the Common Core State Standards already in practice, but perhaps not explicit in the state standards, can be formalized in the state’s standards, assessments, teacher preparation and professional development, and instructional materials;
Discuss and make recommendations to state policymakers concerning how to assign responsibility for teaching and assessing the disciplinary literacy skills in the CCSS; and
Develop communications and outreach strategies on suggested professional development for history/social studies, science and technical subject teachers.

By Nancy in Public Policy
Tags: common core state standards, Public Policy, Secondary, Standards

Common Core Standards: Opportunities Rise for CTE

Thursday, June 24th, 2010

As the education community dissects the details of the recently-released Common Core State Standards, leaders of the initiative remind the education community that these standards do not address all of what students need to be college and career ready. In fact, career technical education (CTE) has its own distinct role to play in outlining the career skills that students should acquire to achieve readiness, said Gene Wilhoit, Council of Chief State School Officers Executive Director and a leader in the standards movement.

At a NASDCTEc webinar just days before the Common Core released its math and language arts standards this month, Wilhoit said “these are academic standards that need to be mastered by a CTE or college student. They are essential but not necessarily sufficient…..they are not everything that a student would need.” He added that CTE has a “tremendous opportunity” to step forward and fill in the gaps of the nation’s college and career ready agenda. The Common Core Standards allow room for curriculum that integrates rigorous academic standards with relevant career training, Wilhoit said.

Further, he noted the significant advantages a CTE student would have in an obtaining an educational experience that was aligned to core academic standards and enhanced by a career-focused curriculum. He added that CTE programs that provide students access to earn credentials or certifications would certainly put students at a greater advantage in the competitive workplace.

Wilhoit’s statement should put to ease the concerns some over what impact the Common Core may have on CTE’s approach to college and career readiness. In a previous blog, we noted comments of Dane Linn, Education Division Director of the NGA Center for Best Practices, who said that the Common Core Initiative had CTE specifically in mind when adding exemplars of technical writing and technical manuals in their common core document.

NASDCTEc is working to identify how the Common Core aligns with the Career Clusters Knowledge and Skills Statements, which will begin a re-validation process this fall. A designated committee will assess the Knowledge and Skills Statements, which identify the core career and academic competencies a student needs, and implement any relevant alignment with the Common Core initiative. Further, the Knowledge and Skills Statements will also have to be recalibrated to reflect NASDCTEc’s new vision, which calls for all students to be college and career ready.

By Erin in Career Clusters®, News, Public Policy
Tags: Career Clusters®, common core state standards, Knowledge and Skills Statements

CTE Can be a Partner in Common Core Standards Initiative, Officials Say

Friday, June 4th, 2010

The Common Core State Standards released Wednesday focus on the academic content of English Language Arts and Math, but those leading the initiative say that career technical education (CTE) can play a distinct role in how students are educated to those standards.

While NASDCTEc staff is still examining the details of the document, remarks made by the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers at a NASDCTEc webinar last week clue in that CTE has a notable presence. Those standards focus on the academic content needed to prepare students to be college and career ready, but officials say there are significant opportunities for CTE to demonstrate the unique role it can play in helping students meet those standards.

“There are tremendous opportunities for CTE to be a true and integral partner in making these standards come to life,” Gene Wilhoit, CCSSO Executive Director, said at the webinar last week.

For instance, Wilhoit said that a close look at schools’ assigned reading lists for students revealed that literature books dominated the curriculum. Schools fell short of including texts that are relative to what students would have to read and interpret in the real world at work. Hence, the Common Core standards document includes manuals and other publications more commonly found in CTE courses as examples of what students should read to succeed under the common core standards.

Dane Linn, Education Division Director of the NGA Center for Best Practices, said that the Common Core Initiative had CTE specifically in mind when adding exemplars of technical writing and technical manuals in their common core document.

And there was no concern that such work-related documents were less rigorous. In fact, Wilhoit said that through the Common Core Initiative, they discovered that some workforce entry standards for jobs that provide a middle class wage or better are just as high, or in many cases more rigorous than the standards for a liberal arts college program.

While the education community is still unfolding the details of the newly released standards, it is clear that the CTE community will have an opportunity to seize an important role in preparing students to be college and career ready.

By Erin in News
Tags: college and career readiness, common core state standards

The Case to Adopt Common College- and Career-Ready Standards

Tuesday, May 18th, 2010

The Alliance for Excellent Education has developed “state cards” for each of the fifty states that include some of the data and information relevant making the case for improved standards and assessments in the states, as well as the potential benefits of educating all students to meet common core standards. The state profiles include some of the following information:

When the state last revised its standards
College graduation rates
Percentage of ACT-tested graduates ready for college-level course work
Eighth-grade proficiency on state tests and the NAEP test
Unemployment status by education in the state
Number of students who moved in and out of the state
Amount of yearly savings in community college remediation costs and lost earnings if students graduated from high school ready for college

By Nancy in Public Policy
Tags: college and career readiness, common core state standards, Secondary

Webinar to Focus on Common Core Standards

Tuesday, May 11th, 2010

NASDCTEc Webinar: CTE and Common Core Standards

We all know that today’s jobs require different skills, our society is more mobile than ever, and we need to remain globally competitive.

Gene Wilhoit, Executive Director of the Council of Chief State School Officers, and Dane Linn, Director, Education Division of the National Governor’s Association Center for Best Practices, will share a way to address these challenges: for states to adopt common core standards. When common core standards are combined with career technical education, students are prepared to succeed in college and work, where their expectations are consistent across states, and stakeholders such as parents, educators are provided with clear focused guideposts.

Attendees: registration now When: May 27 at 3 p.m. Eastern time

Event number is: 204 936 185 Password is: core

This event will be recorded and available on our website after the webinar.

An additional resource to this webinar is NASDCTE’s one-pager, “CTE and Common Core Standards”, now available at www.careertech.org/show/publications.

By Ramona in NASDCTEc Resources
Tags: common core state standards, Webinars

CTE and Common Core Standards

Monday, May 10th, 2010

Forty-eight states, two territories and the District of Columbia have signed onto the Common Core State Standards Initiative, which has been developed by NGA and CCSSO. These standards define the knowledge and skills students should have to be ready to succeed in entry-level, credit-bearing, academic college courses and in workforce training programs.

Check out our latest publication about the common standards and the role that CTE could play in implementation. You can access a copy of it here. This leave behind explains the process NGA, CCSSO, and states have gone through to develop the standards, how and when states are expected to adopt the standards, and how states could align CTE to the common core standards.

Please feel free to use this document to inform and educate teachers and administrators in your state about the common core standards and the intersection with CTE.

By Nancy in Publications
Tags: common core state standards

ESEA Reauthorization Hearing: Standards and Assessments

Thursday, April 29th, 2010

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At yesterday’s Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing, “ESEA Reauthorization: Standards and Assessments,” much of the focus was on common core standards, college and career readiness, computer adaptive testing and multiple measures.

In his opening statement, Chairman Tom Harkin (IA) stressed the need for high standards in part because the cost of remediation for students entering postsecondary is in the billions, and more than 50 percent of high school students entering the workforce do not have the skills they need to do their jobs. Ranking member Michael Enzi (WY) agreed that students need to be held to high standards that prepare them for college and careers. He also stated that it is important for states to use various assessment models that measure higher order skills and 21^st century skills that employers value.

Regarding college and career readiness, Dr. Cynthia Schmeiser of ACT told the committee that they believe that college readiness and career readiness are one in the same – the math and reading skills that students need to enter their first year of postsecondary are identical to the math and reading skills high school graduates need to enter the workforce. This definition differs from NASDCTEc’s. We believe that while there is overlap between the knowledge and skills individuals need to successfully transition into postsecondary education and into the workforce, additional competency will be needed depending on the path a student chooses.

During the question and answer portion of the hearing, much of the dialogue was related to CTE:

Sen. Enzi asked how the WorkKeys assessment system relates to the career ready standards. Dr. Schmeiser, whose group worked with CCSSO and NGA on the Common Core Standards, said that data from WorkKeys assessments were used as an evidentiary base to determine what skills students need in the workplace.
Sen. Enzi was concerned that students do not value tests, so scores may be lower, and he wanted to know how this can be changed. Dr. Steven Paine, Superintendent of Schools in West Virginia, responded that students take college entrance exams such as ACT more seriously, so would be important to “merge purposes” of the state tests and make them count for something. He also shared with the committee that in his state CTE programs are moving towards a 50 percent performance based component. Students will be judged by real people on their skills competencies. Doing so has better engaged students than pencil and paper tests.
Sen. Patty Murray (WA) asked for the panelists’ take on the difference between college readiness and career readiness, and how they are the same. Dr. Schmeiser stated that under the Common Core Standards college readiness and career readiness are the same, but the standards can be contextualized for career formats.
Sen. Lamar Alexander (TN) wanted to know whether the focus of the common standards as on “college and career” or “college or career.” Dr. Schmeiser stated that not every student will go to college, but whether a student goes to college or workforce they will be educated to the same standards.
Sen. Kay Hagan (NC) asked panelists how the federal government can encourage states to promote 21^st century skills. Dr. Paine said that one of the consortia, Smarter Balanced, formed to apply for Race to the Top assessments grants is focused to the adaptive testing process along with other types of measures.

By Nancy in Legislation
Tags: college and career readiness, common core state standards, Congress, federal legislation, NCLB/ESEA, postsecondary, Public Policy, race to the top, Standards, technical skills assessments

Understanding the Common Core State Standards

Thursday, April 22nd, 2010

This morning the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, Achieve and the Hunt Institute hosted an event to discuss the Common Core Standards Initiative (CCSI), “Understanding the Common Core State Standards.” The panelists were members of the CCSI English Language Arts and Mathematics teams:

Jason Zimba, Professor of Mathematics and Physics, Bennington College, Student Achievement Partners and member of the CCSI mathematics work team, and
David Coleman, President, Student Achievement Partners and member of the CCSI English Language Arts work team.

In general, the standards allow for progression flexibility and allow states to cover topics that matter most for college and career readiness.

Jason Zimba discussed the Mathematics standards stating that they chart a path for college and career readiness on an international level. They also focus on conceptual understanding and procedural skills in a way that current state standards do not. This deeper rigor will make it hard for students to avoid mastery of math concepts.

David Coleman said that the English Language Arts standards balance historical and scientific texts with literature, however, they are not meant to address content, but rather reading skills required for those disciplines. These standards should also show students that mastering reading skills opens them up to learning other subjects and prepares them for college and career. This is important because the ability to communicate is increasingly important in the workplace.

Regarding the “15 percent more” component of the standards that allows states to alter 15 percent of the standards, Coleman said that it compensates for areas of disagreement and allows states to add content that is missing from the standards but it important to their state.

There was one question from a community college stakeholder in the audience that asked whether any thought had been given to expanding the standards to postsecondary. The panelists said that in developing the current standards they looked at what colleges require of students, but they would not elaborate further.

Finally, in response to another question, Coleman said that it is essential to improve data systems so that we can know where students go when they leave school. Having this information could inform future revisions of the standards.

By Nancy in Public Policy
Tags: common core state standards, Public Policy

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