I M P L E M E N T I N G T H E C O M M O N C O R E I N C O N N E C T I C U T

LEADING FOR CHANGE

LEADING FOR CHANGE

“When we see the need for deep change, we usually see it as something that needs to take place in someone else. In our roles of authority, such as parent, teacher, or boss, we are particularly quick to direct others to change. Such directives often fail, and we respond to the resistance by increasing our efforts. The power struggle that follows seldom results in change or brings about excellence. One of the most important insights about the need to bring about deep change in others has to do with where deep change actually starts."

— Robert E. Quinn

CCSS DEVELOPMENT CRITERIA

Align with expectations for college and career success

Are clear and consistent

Articulate both the knowledge and the skills students need to succeed

Build upon lessons from top state, national, and international standards

Internationally benchmarked

Evidence- and research-based

WHICH STATES ADOPTED CCSS?

MA

RI

CT

NJ

DE

MD

DC

Standards adopted

Adopted ELA standards only

Standards not adopted

STATE PARTICIPATION IN ASSESSMENT CONSORTIA

MA

RI

CT

NJ

DE

MD

DC

PARCC governing state

PARCC participating state

Smarter Balanced governing state

Smarter Balanced advising/affiliate state

State advising/participating in both consortia

WHY COMMON CORE IN CT?

Connecticut’s Competitivenes

s

While 82% of CT high school

students graduate in 4

years…

…Fewer than half of working-

aged adults have 2- or 4-year degrees

By 2018, an estimated two-

thirds of jobs will require

postsecondary education

Connecticut has some of the

largest achievement gaps in the

nation

WHAT IS COMMON CORE?

What

ELA

Math

Science

Social Studi

es

WHAT THE CCSS IS NOT?

HOWWhethe

r

ELA

Math

Science

Social Studi

es

INSTRUCTIONAL SHIFTS

ELA

Building knowledge through content-rich nonfiction and informational texts

Reading and writing grounded in evidence from text

Regular practice with complex text and its academic vocabulary

Math

Focus strongly where the Standards focus

Coherence: think across grades, and link to major topics within grades

Rigor: require conceptual understanding, procedural skill and fluency, and application with intensity.

Science/ Social

Studies

Building knowledge through content-rich nonfiction and informational text

Regular practice with complex text and its academic vocabulary

MYTHS & MISCONCEPTIONS

• Common Core is a national curriculum.

• Common Core ELA standards require high school literature teachers to devote 70 percent of their instructional time to informational text.

• Common Core math standards promote low-level, “fuzzy” math.

• Common Core requires a single national test.

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LEADING CCSS IMPLEMENTATION

OCCAM’S RAZOR

Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler.

--Albert Einstein

DISTRICT IMPLEMENTATION

Curriculum

Professional Development

Assessment

Evaluation/ Accountabilit

y

FIRST THINGS FIRST

Curriculum

Professional Development

Assessment

Evaluation/ Accountability

FIRST THINGS FIRST

The first thing we do, let’s kill all the publishers.

--Shakespeare (ish)

GATHERING THE FACTS

Know where you are

Plan where you want to be

Identify the gaps and roadblocks

KNOW WHERE YOU ARE

Poor Fair Good Great

BE REALISTIC

Poor Fair Good Great

GATHERING THE FACTS

Know where you are

Plan where you want to be

Identify the gaps and roadblocks

CONCRETE, REALISTIC GOALS

Poor to Fair

“tightly control teaching and learning processes from the center because minimizing variation across classrooms and schools is the core driver of performance improvement at this level.”

Good To Great

“provide only loose guidelines on teaching and learning processes because peer-led creativity and innovation inside schools becomes the core driver for raising performance at this level.”

GATHERING THE FACTS

Know where you are

Plan where you want to be

Identify the gaps and roadblocks

RISKS AND PITFALLS

Focus is very hard

Standards alone don’t change teaching and learning

Everyone will claim alignment

Talking the talk is different than walking the walk

Natural resistance to change

QUESTIONS TO ANSWER

What are your instructional and planning/curricular strengths?

Where are your instructional and planning/curricular strengths?

What are the gaps between where you are and where CCSS requires you to be?

Where are the gaps between where you are and where CCSS requires you to be?

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WHAT DOES THE CCSS LOOK LIKE?

UNDERSTANDING THE RESEARCH SIMULATION TASK

• Session 1:

– Students begin by reading an anchor text that introduces the topic. EBSR and TECR items ask students to gather key details about the passage to support their understanding.

– Then, they write a summary or short analysis of the piece.

• Session 2:

– Students read two additional sources (may include a multimedia text) and answer a few questions about each text to learn more about the topic so they are ready to write the final essay and to show their reading comprehension.

– Finally, students mirror the research process by synthesizing their understandings into an analytic essay using textual evidence from several of the sources.

GRADE 7 ANALYTICAL PROSE CONSTRUCTED-RESPONSE ITEM #1

Based on the information in the text “Biography of Amelia Earhart,” write an essay that summarizes and explains the challenges Earhart faced throughout her life. Remember to use textual evidence to support your ideas.

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FINAL GRADE 7 PROSE CONSTRUCTED-RESPONSE ITEM #2

You have read three texts describing Amelia Earhart. All three include the claim that Earhart was a brave, courageous person. The three texts are:

• “Biography of Amelia Earhart” • “Earhart's Final Resting Place Believed Found” • “Amelia Earhart’s Life and Disappearance”

Consider the argument each author uses to demonstrate Earhart’s bravery.

Write an essay that analyzes the strength of the arguments about Earhart’s bravery in at least two of the texts. Remember to use textual evidence to support your ideas.

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GRADE 6 PROSE CONSTRUCTED-RESPONSE ITEM

In the passage, the author developed a strong character named Miyax. Think about Miyax and the details the author used to create that character. The passage ends with Miyax waiting for the black wolf to look at her.

Write an original story to continue where the passage ended. In your story, be sure to use what you have learned about the character Miyax as you tell what happens to her next.

GRADE 6 TECHNOLOGY-ENHANCED SELECTED-RESPONSE ITEM

Choose one word that describes Miyax based on evidence from the text. There is more than one correct choice listed below.A. recklessB. livelyC. imaginative*D. observant*E. impatientF. Confident

Find a sentence in the passage with details that support your response to Part A. Click on that sentence and drag and drop it into the box below.

Find a second sentence in the passage with details that support your response to Part A. Click on that sentence and drag and drop it into the box below.

GRADE 3 TECHNOLOGY-ENHANCED CONSTRUCTED-RESPONSE ITEM

Drag the words from the word box into the correct

locations on the graphic to show the life cycle of a

butterfly as described in “How Animals Live.”

Words:

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Pupa Adult

Egg Larva

GRADE 7 ILLUSTRATIVE SAMPLE ITEM

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