This annotated bibliography is reformatted and customized by the Center for Positive Practices. Some of the authors featured on this page include Aaron Rouby, Chris R. Cain, James E. Tarr, Inc. Achieve, Patricia C. Baltzley, Deborah Loewenberg Ball, Penny J. Gilmer, Chris Rasmussen, Diana V. Lambdin, and Shelby Dietz.
(2011). Affirming the Goal: Is College and Career Readiness an Internationally Competitive Standard? Executive Summary. ACT examined the international competitiveness of college and career ready standards in the policy research report, Affirming the Goal: Is College and Career Readiness an Internationally Competitive Standard? In this study, ACT performed a linking analysis to identify the PISA (Program for International Student Assessment) scores in reading and mathematics that are equivalent to the college and career readiness benchmark scores on PLAN[R], ACT's tenth-grade college and career readiness assessment. These benchmark scores represent being on target for readiness. The linking analysis was based on 2,248 US tenth-grade students from 77 high schools across the US who tested under standardized conditions with both PLAN and a special administration of PISA. By linking the tenth-grade college and career readiness benchmarks to the PISA scale, ACT determined if the college and career readiness performance standards for US students in these two subjects was competitive with the performance of students in other countries. The linking analysis affirms that the performance standards of college and career readiness–and therefore the new Common Core State Standards–are competitive with the highest performing nations in the world. (Contains 2 figures.) [For the full report, "Affirming the Goal: Is College and Career Readiness an Internationally Competitive Standard?," see ED520009. For the advance brief, "Affirming the Goal: Is College and Career Readiness an Internationally Competitive Standard? Advance Brief for State Policymakers," see ED520013.] [More] Descriptors: State Standards, Career Development, School Readiness, College Preparation
(2011). Trends and Issues in High School Mathematics: Research Insights and Needs, Journal for Research in Mathematics Education. The recent publication of two important documents, "Focus in High School Mathematics: Reasoning and Sense Making" and the "Common Core State Standards for Mathematics" (CCSSM), provides a timely opportunity to take stock of the various recommendations and policies aimed at improving the quality of students' high school mathematics education in the United States. In this article, the authors capitalize on this opportunity to reflect on national trends in high school mathematics, to highlight current calls and efforts for improving high school mathematics and research on which these recommendations are based, and to suggest areas for which further research is needed. They first present data that provide an overview of the current state of high school mathematics in the United States–data that also underscore concerns about issues of equity as well as the transition from high school to college. Next, they use this overview as the background against which they consider recent recommendations, policies, and reform efforts aimed at improving high school mathematics and research cited to support these efforts. Finally, they propose an agenda for research that is needed to further explore the prospects and possibilities for improving the success of all students in high school mathematics. [More] Descriptors: High Schools, Mathematics Education, State Standards, Secondary School Mathematics
(2010). Perspective, June 2010. "Perspective" is a monthly e-newsletter presenting news and views from Achieve. This month's issue commences with a report stating how the number of states that ensure the college and career readiness of their students has increased since Achieve first started tracking progress on the college- and career-ready policy agenda five years ago. This issue also reports that: (1) on June 23 it was announced that twenty-six states have formed the Partnership for the Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC or Partnership) to create a next-generation assessment system that will ensure students across the country are expected to meet common, high standards that will prepare them for their futures. On behalf of the Partnership, Florida submitted an application to the U.S. Department of Education (USED) as part of the $350 million "Race to the Top" comprehensive assessment grant competition; (2) on June 2, 2010, the final K-12 Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in English and mathematics were released by the National Governors Association (NGA) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO); (3) 35 states plus the District of Columbia met the June 1 application deadline for the second round of Race to the Top competition, in which $3.4 billion in economic stimulus funds are available; (4) on September 13-14, Sir Michael Barber and Michael Fullan are co-chairing an international education summit in Toronto, Canada designed to stimulate ideas, invoke creativity and foster innovation. The Building Blocks for Education: Whole System Reform international summit will examine four key areas related to creating successful reform in education systems: standards and targets; assessments and use of data; capacity building and the development of the teaching profession; and, leadership development and sustainability; and (5) the K-12 Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts (ELA) and mathematics are the result of nearly a year's worth of work by numerous individuals and groups. Their collective efforts resulted in a well- received set of standards that have already been adopted by 16 states. CCSSO and NGA provided the overall leadership, but the unsung heroes of this unprecedented effort are the lead writers and their teams who worked closely with the participating states every step of the way, through multiple rounds of feedback and thousands of public comments and ultimately drafted the final standards that states are now adopting. Brief news clips and descriptions of new resources are also included. [More] Descriptors: Feedback (Response), State Schools, Teaching (Occupation), International Education
(2011). Science Competencies That Go Unassessed, Online Submission. Present large-scale assessments require the use of item formats, such as multiple choice, that can be administered and scored efficiently. This limits competencies that can be measured by these assessments. An alternative approach to large-scale assessments is being investigated that would include the use of complex performance assessments. As part of this research, a set of essential middle-school science competencies that go unassessed by large-scale assessments was identified, based on Florida's current Sunshine State Standards. Each competency then becomes a starting point to establish observable evidence that is appropriate for determining competence and, in turn, tasks students can be asked to perform that are consistent with the needed evidence. Competencies are grouped within categories–Nature of Science, Earth and Space Science, Physical Science, and Life Science–that correspond to the four disciplinary areas used, for instance, in formulating the Common Core State Standards in science. The present paper lists and also describes the process used to identify these unassessed competencies. [Contains 1 footnote. This paper was prepared by the Center for Advancement of Learning and Assessment, Florida State University.] [More] Descriptors: Evidence, Space Sciences, State Standards, Scientific Principles
(2011). A View from the Inside: Teachers' Perceptions of the MDC Initiative and Their Use of the Formative Assessment Lessons. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has invested in the development and dissemination of instructional tools to support teachers' incorporation of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) into their classroom instruction. Math experts have developed formative assessment lessons (FALs) that teachers can incorporate throughout the year's curriculum. The Foundation has asked RFA to study teachers' early adoption of the FALs, focusing particularly on their response to and use of the lessons. The lessons were piloted in urban, rural, and suburban school districts in four states and two national networks of schools during the 2010-11 school year, which is referred to as Year 1 in this booklet. This booklet is a synthesis of what the authors learned from practitioners over the course of the pilot year, 2010-11. It highlights how Math Design Collaborative (MDC) worked in schools and includes what teachers can expect when using the formative assessment lessons (FALs), points out promising practices, as well as teachers' early impressions about MDC's impact on their teaching and student learning. [More] Descriptors: State Standards, Formative Evaluation, Suburban Schools, Urban Schools
(2011). The Road to Rigor, District Administration. In a major address on educational policy last March, President Barack Obama underscored his priorities for the pending reauthorization of the federal No Child Left Behind Act. He promised that the government will spur a race to the top by encouraging better standards and assessments. But Obama's concerns over rigor and the promise of the Common Core State Standards come against a backdrop of sobering data questioning whether earlier efforts to increase rigor have made a difference. In June, the City University of New York released information that more than half of the students from 46 of the 70 high schools that had received an "A" rating on the city's latest progress report needed remedial courses when they attended CUNY. In Danbury High School, former principal Robert Rossi said there has been a complete redesign of their 17 core courses and has launched the Freshman Academy for the 700 incoming ninth-graders last fall. He reported that the academy's first year made a positive difference for at-risk students, despite Danbury High's new course requirements. Meanwhile, Superintendent Jerry Weast of the Montgomery County Public School District pursued a larger-scale and long-running overhaul and saw an impressive results. Other districts nationwide have tapped outside organizations for expertise and training to improve results. [More] Descriptors: Expertise, Federal Legislation, State Standards, At Risk Students
(2011). Teaching Number in the Early Elementary Years, Teaching Children Mathematics. The widely adopted Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM) are designed to deepen instruction of number sense and will demand that elementary school teachers have a strong understanding of number. These changes arrive at a time when it is still understood that teachers and the curriculum in the United States have not been fundamentally driven by number sense connections. Teachers, therefore, are faced with the need to reflect on their own instructional choices and to make changes in their classrooms–changes that encourage the development of number sense in their students in keeping with the demands of the CCSSM and that go beyond what they have formerly thought about number. For teachers of young students, the critical components of number sense are quantity, magnitude, numeration, different forms of a number, equality, and the language used to describe them. In this article, the authors discuss concepts that connect to the curriculum and process goals of the CCSSM and also tie directly to the Number and Operations Focal Points for prekindergartners (who should understand that number words refer to quantity) and for kindergartners (who should use numbers, including written numerals, to represent quantities). To help children understand the concrete concept that an abstract orthographic symbol represents, the authors suggest that teachers apply the same strategies they use for teaching background knowledge in reading. [More] Descriptors: Orthographic Symbols, State Standards, Number Concepts, Elementary School Teachers
(2011). A View from the Inside: Teachers' Perceptions and Use of the LDC Framework. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has invested in the development and dissemination of instructional tools to support teachers' incorporation of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) into their classroom instruction. Literacy experts have developed a framework and a set of templates that teachers and other educators can use to develop content area modules focused on high-quality writing tasks closely tied to subject area texts. The Foundation has asked Research for Action (RFA) to study the early adoption of the framework, focusing particularly on teachers' response to and use of the framework. The framework was piloted in urban, rural and suburban school districts in six states and two national networks of schools/teachers during the 2010-11 school year. This booklet is a synthesis of what RFA learned from practitioners over the course of the first pilot year, 2010-11. It highlights how Literacy Design Collaborative (LDC) worked in schools, including what to expect when using the framework and promising practices, as well as teachers' early impressions about LDC's impact on their teaching and student learning. [More] Descriptors: State Standards, Suburban Schools, Urban Schools, Rural Schools
(2010). Comparison of Virginia's 2010 English Standards of Learning with the Common Core State Standards for English and Literacy. The "Comparison of Virginia's 2010 English Standards of Learning (SOL) with the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for English Language Arts and Literacy (ELAL)" provides a side-by-side overview demonstrating how the 2010 English SOL are aligned to the CCSS for ELAL. The comparison was made using Virginia's complete standards program for supporting teaching and learning in the Commonwealth's public schools and school divisions, including both the 2010 "English Standards of Learning" and the "Curriculum Framework for 2010 English Standards of Learning." Using the format provided in the CCSS for ELAL, the comparison is completed by individual grade levels in kindergarten through grade 8 and by two-year grade bands (9-10, 11-12) in grades 9-12. As the SOL and Curriculum Framework components were reviewed and aligned to the CCSS for ELAL, they were placed in the right column of the table adjacent to the similar standard in the CCSS for ELAL. SOL listed as correlated to CCSS content may include correlations from the Curriculum Framework for 2010 English Standards of Learning and are denoted with "CF" following the SOL number. While there is a matching SOL or CF for each of the CCSS, a number of SOL in each grade level are not addressed in the CCSS at any grade level; this list follows the correlation at each grade level. [More] Descriptors: State Standards, Core Curriculum, Alignment (Education), Academic Standards
(2014). Common Core English and Language Arts K-1 Exemplar Text Set: A Critical Content Analysis of Cultural Representations, ProQuest LLC. With the implementation of Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in over forty states, teachers are putting into practice the CCSS text exemplars of text complexity. Of particular concern for the purpose of this research are the kindergarten and first grade (K-1) read aloud and independent text exemplar lists. While not intended as core reading lists, many schools are using these lists as mandated texts. A fundamental goal of primary school education is to help facilitate readers and one way is through the use of interesting and engaging books to motivate students as readers. At the initial stage of the reading process, selecting quality books for a specific group of students or an individual student constitutes an important aspect in engaging young readers. When a story provides a young reader with a material that encourages connections, their motivation to read increases. Research shows that motivation to read increases if a student identifies with elements of the story such as the characters or the setting. This research takes a close look at the kindergarten and first grade read aloud and independent texts through both a descriptive and a critical analysis to evaluate power dynamics and representations in the texts. The research questions used for this research were: (1) What are the characteristics of the CCSS K-1 text exemplars? and (2) What representations of people of color and women are present in the CCSS K-1 exemplars? The first research question was answered with information gathered from the descriptive analysis. The second question was primarily answered with information gathered from the critical analysis though the descriptive analysis also provided insight. Findings from the analyses provided data when viewed collectively that have implications for teacher educators, classroom teachers, and policy makers. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: www.proquest.com/en-US/products/disserta… [More] Descriptors: Common Core State Standards, English, Language Arts, Kindergarten
(2011). InTASC Model Core Teaching Standards: A Resource for State Dialogue. The purpose of this document is to serve as a resource for states, districts, professional organizations, teacher education programs, teachers, and others as they develop policies and programs to prepare, license, support, evaluate, and reward today's teachers. A systemic approach and supportive infrastructure are essential to successful implementation of these standards. In addition to this standards document, the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) has also released a complementary policy discussion document that outlines key considerations, recommendations, and cautions for using the standards to inform policy. This paper builds off of CCSSO's Education Workforce white paper (www.ccsso.org/intasc), which outlines the chiefs' strategic goals in building an educator development and support system of which these standards are the first step. In updating the InTASC model standards, efforts were made to ensure they align with other national and state standards documents that were recently revised or released. Specifically, this document has been reviewed to ensure compatibility with the recently-released Common Core State Standards for students in mathematics and English language arts, the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) accomplished teaching core principles, the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) accreditation standards, the National Staff Development Council (NSDC) (now called Learning Forward) professional development standards, and the Interstate School Leader Licensure Consortium (ISLLC) 2008 educational leadership policy standards and CCSSO's companion document of performance expectations and indicators for education leaders. A glossary is included. [More] Descriptors: Teacher Education Programs, State Standards, National Standards, Instructional Leadership
(2011). Why Can't I Have Everything? Teaching Today's Children to Be Financially and Mathematically Savvy, Math Solutions. Do you want your children to be financially and mathematically savvy? This resource for grades preK-2 is a must-have for parents and teachers. It provides more than forty activity-rich lessons to help children be financially and mathematically savvy at a young age. The activities embrace the following questions: (1) What is money?; (2) Where do we get our money?; (3) Do we have enough money?; (4) Why can't we have everything?; (5) How do we earn money?; (6) Should we spend, save, or share?; and (7) Where do we keep our money? Great literature–from "Where the Sidewalk Ends to Pennies for Elephants"–is used to situate these seven economic themes in a context that helps young learners make sense of these abstract ideas. Parents will find tailored suggestions at the end of each lesson; teachers will find reproducible letters for parents to go with each lesson. In addition, the lessons include formative assessment ideas, suggestions for differentiating instruction, and correlations to the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics. [More] Descriptors: Mathematics Instruction, Early Childhood Education, Money Management, Mathematics Activities
(2011). Building a Common Core for Learning to Teach: And Connecting Professional Learning to Practice, American Educator. Focusing directly on the development of instructional practice and its effects is not easy. One major shortcoming in the educational infrastructure has been the lack of a common curriculum. A second has been an impoverished approach to supporting teaching practice. These two are related, for any effort to develop and improve teaching is weakened when there is no agreement about what to teach. Taken together–no agreed-upon curriculum and no system for developing skilled teaching practice–hope for instructional improvement is slim. In this article, the authors propose a departure from inherited ideas about instruction and its improvement. Their proposal shifts away from individual "style" and open-ended "learning from experience" as the building blocks of practice, and emphasizes instead the importance of common professional standards. Given the strong individualistic culture that permeates teaching and learning to teach in the United States, why might a shift to shared specific standards for professional practice be possible? The Common Core State Standards, which specify a set of learning goals in mathematics and English language arts, represent a watershed for this country. They offer the possibility of a common foundation on which a stronger educational infrastructure could be built. And more Americans now understand that skillful teaching is crucial for students' success. Skillful teaching can make the difference between students being at the top of the class or the bottom, completing high school or dropping out. [More] Descriptors: Teacher Education, Faculty Development, Teaching Methods, Teacher Effectiveness
(2011). Teacher Training Gets High Priority in Maryland Push on Common Standards, Education Week. Maryland was one of 11 states, plus the District of Columbia, to win an award through the Race to the Top competition, a $4 billion grant program–backed by the Obama administration and funded by the 2009 economic-stimulus package–that was meant to foster school improvement and innovation. Along with 44 other states and the District of Columbia, Maryland, which won $250 million through the competition, agreed to adopt the common standards, a decision that earned it extra points in the scoring for the grants. The standards were developed through the Common Core State Standards Initiative, an effort led by organizations representing the nation's governors and schools chiefs. Since then, two consortia of states have begun crafting common assessments and curricular support to supplement the standards, with $360 million in Race to the Top money. States could also earn points in the competition for proposing professional development in areas such as helping schools use data wisely and tailoring such training to needs identified in school employees' evaluations. The author reports on how Maryland is using Race to the Top resources for extensive professional development in its push for common academic standards. [More] Descriptors: Inservice Teacher Education, Public School Teachers, Faculty Development, Academic Standards
(2010). State High School Tests: Exit Exams and Other Assessments, Center on Education Policy. Since 2002, the Center on Education Policy (CEP), an independent nonprofit organization, has been studying state high school exit examinations–tests students must pass to receive a high school diploma. This is CEP's ninth annual report on exit exams. The information in this report comes from several sources: CEP's survey of states that have mandatory exit exams, surveys of states without exit exams, media reports, state Web sites, and personal correspondence with state education officials. This report focuses on the impact of high school exit exams across the nation as well as new developments in high school exit exam policies that have occurred since CEP's last report on this topic in 2009. This year's report also contains a new feature providing information on trends in state graduation requirements and assessment policies in states that do not require exit exams. Key findings of this study include: (1) The number of states with exit exams increased from 26 states to 28 states, with the addition of Oregon and Rhode Island; (2) The percentage of all public school students enrolled in states administering exit exams has reached 74%; (3) Recent research concludes that high school exit exams may have a negative impact on certain student populations, such as low-performing students, student of color, or students from low-income families; (4) The number of states currently administering end-of-course exit exams increased to 7 states; (5) 23 of the 28 states with exit exams have adopted the Common Core State Standards in both English language arts and mathematics; (6) 23 of the 28 states with exit exams have joined at least one of the two federally funded state consortia developing new assessments aligned to the Common Core State Standards, and some have reported that the assessments could potentially replace their exit exams; (7) Seven states reported that tightening education budgets at both the state and local levels impacted funding for programs related to high school exit exams; (8) States use varying calculation methods to determine initial and cumulative pass rates on high school exit exams; (9) End-of-course (EOC) exams are growing in popularity even in states that do not require exit exams for graduation; (10) States with and without high school exit exams are moving toward policies that require students to take college entrance exams; and (11) States with and without exit exam policies already use or are considering adopting portfolio-based assessments or senior projects as part of the state high school testing system. Graduation Rate Definitions is appended. Individual chapters contain footnotes. [More] Descriptors: High Schools, Graduation Rate, State Standards, Exit Examinations