This annotated bibliography is reformatted and customized by the Center for Positive Practices. Some of the authors featured on this page include Daniel Bugler, Jill A. Newton, Actuarial Foundation, David A. Farbman, Mirah J. Dow, David J. Goldberg, Robert Rothman, Becca Klarin, Susan Mundry, and Tiffany D. Miller.
(2013). The Power of Probability: Poster/Teaching Guide for Grades 6-8. Expect the Unexpected with Math[R]. "The Power of Probability" is a new math program aligned with the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) and Common Core State Standards, which gives students opportunities to practice their skills and knowledge of the mathematics of probability. Developed by The Actuarial Foundation, the program's lessons and worksheets motivate students through activities that use mathematics for real purposes. [A poster that accompanies this teaching guide can be viewed and/or retrieved at: www.actuarialfoundation.org/pdf/poster-c… [More] Descriptors: State Standards, Assignments, Probability, Teaching Guides
(2014). Core to College Evaluation: Statewide Networks. Connecting Education Systems and Stakeholders to Support College Readiness, WestEd. The Core to College initiative aims to facilitate greater coordination between K-12 and postsecondary education systems around implementation of the Common Core State Standards and aligned assessments. Core to College grants have been awarded to teams in Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Oregon, Tennessee, and Washington. The grant model places one individual–the alignment director–at the hub of a statewide reform effort. This report examines the strategies alignment directors have used to inform and engage others in the state, particularly around their states' top priority goals for Core to College. The report focuses on the depth and breadth of the social networks that have been developed or leveraged as a result of the alignment directors' work. Researchers sought to answer several driving questions: (1) What does the current social network in each state tell us about how the Core to College initiative has spread across the state?; (2) What does this network suggest about the probability of sustained activity for Core to College efforts?; (3) What strategies have the alignment directors in each state used to engage stakeholders?; and (4) How have those strategies contributed to the development of a connected social network in the state? The report also offers considerations for Core to College states and other states looking to ensure that their higher education systems are engaged alongside their K-12 systems to prepare for the changes coming with the new Common Core State Standards. Survey responses are appended. [More] Descriptors: Elementary Secondary Education, Postsecondary Education, College School Cooperation, Alignment (Education)
(2013). The Common Core: New Standards, New Teaching, Phi Delta Kappan. The good news about the Common Core State Standards: They emphasize writing convincing arguments about issues that matter, clear and comprehensive informational texts that can do meaningful work in the world, and compelling narratives. The bad news: Traditional approaches to teaching writing aren't enough to meet these new standards. The problem: Traditional instruction does not develop all of the kinds of knowledge writers need. The authors' solution: Writing teachers should seek to develop the five kinds of knowledge that expert writers need by regularly engaging their students in five kinds of composing. [More] Descriptors: State Standards, Academic Standards, Writing Skills, Expertise
(2013). Two Models for Evaluating Alignment of State Standards and Assessments: Competing or Complementary Perspectives?, Journal for Research in Mathematics Education. The release of the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics and their adoption across the United States calls for careful attention to the alignment between mathematics standards and assessments. This study investigates 2 models that measure alignment between standards and assessments, the Surveys of Enacted Curriculum (SEC) and the Webb Alignment Tool (WAT), by examining the use of these models in 3 grade levels in 3 states. Findings indicate affordances and limitations of both models and suggest that, when taken together, the criteria of the WAT coupled with the alignment index and tile charts of the SEC provide a variety of perspectives on the alignment between standards and assessments. [More] Descriptors: Academic Standards, State Standards, Alignment (Education), Educational Assessment
(2014). Portfolio Assessment and Quality Teaching, Theory Into Practice. Our article focuses on using portfolio assessment to craft quality teaching. Extant research literature on portfolio assessment suggests that the primary purpose of assessment is to serve learning, and portfolio assessments facilitate the process of making linkages among assessment, curriculum, and student learning (Asp, 2000; Bergeron, Wermuth, & Hammar, 1997; Cohen & Wiener, 2003; Neill & Mitchell, 1995; O'Malley & Pierce, 1996; Smith & Ylvisaker, 1993; Yancey, 1996). Because a learning portfolio is a collection of student work samples over time, it provides teachers with opportunities to understand the process of student learning. This is especially important in the current educational context where teachers are expected to teach all students, including English language learners, to develop high-level thinking and content knowledge aligned with Common Core State Standards. To support teachers to provide quality teaching that meets Common Core State Standards for diverse English language learners, we begin our article with 3 important reasons for using portfolio assessment. We then describe procedures for implementing portfolio assessment in individual classrooms. [More] Descriptors: Portfolio Assessment, Instructional Effectiveness, Educational Quality, State Standards
(2011). Building on the Common Core, Educational Leadership. The Common Core State Standards, released in June 2010, offer an opportunity to shift education away from shallow, test-prep instruction and toward a focus on key cognitive skills, writes Conley. Two consortia of states are now developing common assessments to measure these standards–assessments that will be designed to capture deeper, more complex learning than current state tests do. Conley describes the cognitive skills that students need for college and career success (problem formulation, research, interpretation, communication, and precision and accuracy) and asserts that the Common Core State Standards are written in a way that promotes these skills. Educators now need to follow up by keeping the skills in mind as they develop curriculum and instruction to teach to the standards. [More] Descriptors: Curriculum Development, State Standards, Thinking Skills, Educational Needs
(2013). Rigor Is Not a Four-Letter Word. Second Edition, Eye on Education. Learn how to increase rigor so that all students can reach higher levels of learning! With this new edition of a teacher-tested best seller, you get practical ideas for increasing text complexity, providing scaffolding during reading instruction, creating open-ended projects, and much more. The enhanced second edition provides important connections to the Common Core State Standards, plus new sections on problem-based learning, implementation of high standards, and working with special-needs students. [For the first edition, see ED527934.] [More] Descriptors: State Standards, Problem Based Learning, Reading Instruction, Teaching Methods
(2013). The Art of Questions: Inquiry, the CCSS, and School Librarians, School Library Monthly. This article examines the association among inquiry, the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and school librarians. It explains the significance of asking questions, and describes the characteristics of the questions that are central to inquiry learning. The role of school librarians in inquiry learning and the implementation of CCSS is also discussed. It notes particularly that, looking at the CCSS Anchor Standards, the skills necessary to address questions–citing, analyzing, interpreting, assessing, integrating, supporting, producing, researching, gathering, integrating, and evaluating–are librarian skills. Expertise in these questioning skills helps librarians support their colleagues in their teaching endeavors. [More] Descriptors: State Standards, Academic Standards, Inquiry, Active Learning
(2013). Learning to Look for the Standards for Mathematical Practice, SRATE Journal. This article describes how the Common Core Look-fors application for the iPad was used to help preservice early childhood education and elementary/special education teachers learn to look for and recognize student enactment of the Common Core State Standards in Mathematics' Standards for Mathematical Practice. After using the iPad application for one semester in their college course and in their internships, the pre-service teachers reported that the application helped them to understand and identify the Standards for Mathematical Practice. [More] Descriptors: State Standards, Mathematical Applications, Mathematics Education, Educational Practices
(2014). Keeping Kids Safe and Supported in the Hours After School. MetLife Foundation Afterschool Alert. Issue Brief No. 65. The Afterschool Alliance, in partnership with MetLife Foundation, is proud to present the third issue brief in their latest series of four issue briefs examining critical issues facing middle school youth and the vital role afterschool programs play in addressing these issues. This series explores afterschool and: the Common Core State Standards, students with disabilities and other special needs, data utilization to improve programming, and keeping children safe and supported. More than 15 million students are alone and unsupervised between 3 and 6 p.m, the peak hours for juvenile crime and a time of concern for working parents. Afterschool programs are giving working parents peace of mind and providing an environment where students can go to feel safe, find staff and mentors who they trust, learn to tackle challenging circumstances, avoid risky behaviors, and work on communicating effectively with their peers and interacting positively with others. This MetLife Foundation issue brief explores the variety of ways afterschool programs are helping keep middle schoolers safe, keep them engaged in learning, and help them take advantage of their full potential as they navigate school, peers and their surroundings. [For the related reports, see "Afterschool and the Common Core State Standards. MetLife Foundation Afterschool Alert. Issue Brief No. 63" (ED546845); "Afterschool Supporting Students with Disabilities and Other Special Needs. MetLife Foundation Afterschool Alert. Issue Brief No. 64" (ED546847).] [More] Descriptors: After School Programs, Child Safety, Middle School Students, State Standards
(2013). Creating Coherence: Common Core State Standards, Teacher Evaluation, and Professional Learning. Special Issues Brief. Revised, Center on Great Teachers and Leaders. This Special Issues Brief from the "Center on Great Teachers and Leaders" (GTL Center) introduces an approach to creating coherence among three potentially transformative instructional reforms: implementation of the Common Core State Standards for student learning, new standards-based teacher evaluation systems, and job-embedded professional learning designs. State, district, and school practitioners are requesting guidance on fitting these pieces together into a coherent plan for improving instruction. This brief aims to begin addressing this request by helping state education agency (SEA) staff guide practitioners through a coherence-building process. The brief is also intended for use by regional centers, SEA policymakers and staff, and regional support providers who aid districts in their local implementation of the Common Core State Standards, teacher evaluation systems, and professional learning. It is hoped the approach described in this brief can be useful to guide the policies, processes, and supports to districts to help them build an understanding of the connections between the Common Core, teacher evaluation, and professional learning. The following are appended: (1) Creating the Core Instructional Practices; and (2) Glossary of Key Terms. [More] Descriptors: Academic Standards, State Standards, Alignment (Education), Core Curriculum
(2014). Redesigning and Expanding School Time to Support Common Core Implementation, Center for American Progress. With the widespread adoption of the Common Core State Standards, public education in the United States is poised to take a major step forward in readying the next generation of Americans for success in higher education and the workforce. Gaining a realistic understanding of students' performance levels, meeting students where they currently are, and raising them to new heights are the tasks at hand and will require more intensive and time-consuming teaching and learning than schools commonly provide now. Fortunately, federal and state policies that support efforts to increase the amount of time students spend in school are resulting in new resources–and freeing up formerly restricted resources–to fund the creation of more expanded-time schools. The Center for American Progress and the National Center on Time & Learning believe that "expanded learning time" provides both teachers and students with one of the critical tools that they need to meet the demands of the Common Core State Standards. Of course, the additional learning time must be well planned and intentional, therefore, in this report, the authors offer seven recommendations that should help with meeting the demands associated with the Common Core for teachers and students. High-quality expanded learning time is one of the most far-reaching implementation strategies and can enable students to successfully meet these higher expectations. In addition to an introduction and summary, this report also provides information on the authors, a section on acknowledgments, and a list of endnotes. [More] Descriptors: School Schedules, State Standards, Program Implementation, Extended School Day
(2013). Meeting Needs: Effective Use of First Principles of Instruction, School Library Monthly. For schools to be successful in providing current and future students with the right support to rise to the level of expectations embodied by the Common Core State Standards (CCSS 2010), school librarians must lead the way to improving school environments using effective, theory-based design of problem-based instruction that includes acquisition of content knowledge and information literacy skills (Dow 2013). What is effective design of problem-based instruction? What does integration of instructional components in problem-centered instruction look like when school librarians and classroom teachers work together? This article answers both these questions in depth. [More] Descriptors: State Standards, Academic Standards, Problem Based Learning, School Libraries
(2013). Putting the Pieces in Place, Educational Leadership. Forty-six states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Department of Defense schools have adopted the Common Core State Standards. Adoption was only the first step. Ensuring that the standards will improve student learning will require new assessments, curriculums, instructional materials and resources, and professional development. Implementation will likely be expensive–a particular challenge at a time when state budgets are still climbing back from their recession-era lows. States and districts, however, are moving ahead with implementation efforts. A recent report by the Center on Education Policy (2012), based on a survey of officials from 37 states that have adopted the Common Core State Standards, found that all surveyed states have developed plans to fully implement the standards by 2014, the year that assessments tied to the standards are expected to be operational. While state efforts are underway, national organizations and companies are developing materials and preparing educators to revamp instruction and supervision around the new standards. The fact that the standards have been adopted by so many states opens the door for cross-state partnerships that could not have taken place when each state developed its own standards. Because of these efforts and others, there is some cause for optimism that the outcome of this round of standards setting might produce better results than previous rounds did. The level of activity that states are engaged in, the possibilities offered by technology and cross-state collaborations, and the extraordinary effort to develop new assessments suggest that the Common Core State Standards might generate some real changes in instruction. [More] Descriptors: Academic Achievement, State Standards, Instructional Materials, Academic Standards
(2013). Assessing Critical Thinking in Middle and High Schools: Meeting the Common Core, Eye on Education. This practical, very effective resource helps middle and high school teachers and curriculum leaders develop the skills to design instructional tasks and assessments that engage students in higher-level critical thinking, as recommended by the Common Core State Standards. Real examples of formative and summative assessments from a variety of content areas are included and demonstrate how to successfully increase the level of critical thinking in every classroom! This book is also an excellent resource for higher education faculty to use in undergraduate and graduate courses on assessment and lesson planning. [More] Descriptors: College Faculty, State Standards, Critical Thinking, Secondary School Teachers