7 challenges facing common core

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COMMON CORE IMPLEMENTATION:Current Themes and Future Challenges

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CURRENT THEMES

3 www.hanoverresearch.comCOMMON CORE IMPLEMENTATION:Current Themes and Future Challenges

Common Core Implementation – Current Themes

• Changes in Content • Changes in Delivery Professional Development

• Curriculum Alignment Tools

• Instructional Materials

Classroom Resources

• Communication Toolkits

Stakeholder Messaging


Non-Common Core States


Professional Development: Changes in ContentThere is a fair amount of content that professional development can cover:

Curricular Shifts


Alignment Measures


Instructional Shifts

Standard Shifts

Use of Instructional Technology

Assessment Literacy

Professional Development Classroom ResourcesStakeholder Messaging


Source: Hanover Research: Best Practices in Common Core Implementation


Professional Development: Changes in Delivery

Teachers are accessing a range of ways to get the professional development they need. This ranges from traditional workshops of varying length , professional development resources they can use in their own time , online resources , and they value PD in the form of collaboration with colleagues.

Multiple Formats: In-person workshops, take-home guides, online resources


Ongoing Learning Opportunities


Time for Collaboration

Locally-designed Modules




Classroom Resources: Curriculum Alignment ToolsEducators need tools to assess Common Core alignment of instructional materials, including texts, classroom tasks, and assessments.



Example of an alignment tool, produced by Student Achievement Partners:

Source: Student Achievement Partners




Classroom ResourcesChanges in instructional materials are needed to support the critical thinking expected in the Common Core.

Interactive Tasks


Tools to Differentiate Instruction

Open-source Resources

More Non-fiction Texts




Stakeholder Messaging To help states, districts, and schools explain Common Core and, in particular, explain the potential drop in test scores, multiple organizations have produced communication tool kits around Common Core related issues.






Of note: Five states did not fully adopt the CCSS from the beginning.Initial Non-Common Core States:



(Note: Minnesota adopted the reading standards but not the math standards.)




Today: Nine states are not implementing the standard.Current Non-Common Core States:

(Note: the Louisiana SEA chief is contesting the governor’s legal right to withdraw the state from the Common Core)

The growing number of non-Common Core states is an issue because these states will also need resources related to their own standards. Some states, like Oklahoma and Texas, require that instructional materials used in the state are demonstrably distinct from Common Core, despite the fact that state standards and the CCSS will inevitably overlap. Essentially, there is a growing market for demonstrably non-Common Core materials.

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FUTURE CHALLENGES


Common Core Implementation – Future Challenges

Promoting Open Source Educational Resources


Differentiating Non-open Source Educational Resources


Facilitating Lesson-sharing

Interpreting Assessment Outcomes

Setting Higher Standards for Vendors

Applying Common Core Non-tested Subjects


1. Teachers have somewhat greater access to free math tools than they do to ELA tools2. Most free resources are not differentiated for different student groups, although organizations

that focus on a specific student population already may produce resources tailored to that student group.

3. Organizations with existing local presence or partnerships reach more teachers 4. Although there isn’t a “watchdog” that monitors whether free tools are actually CCSS-aligned,

many organizations are run by CCSS writers or have CCSS writers as consultants/material reviewers.

HANOVER’S REVIEW OF OPEN-SOURCE TOOLS

Teachers have access to a growing number of free online resources to support Common Core implementation.

Promoting Open Source

Differentiating Non-open Source


Interpreting Outcomes

Setting Higher Standards

Applying to Non-tested Subjects


Many for-profit companies sell Common Core resources as well.







Unlike free resources, however, these sources rarely indicate that they were developed in conjunction with CCSS writers or higher education leaders. The resources sold by these companies vary, including curricular material, learning and assessment technology, professional development workshops/seminars, and a sales platform where teachers can sell to other teachers.


Facilitating Lesson-sharingWilliam Schmidt* of the Education Policy Center at Michigan State University recommends teachers use sites like Better Lesson and Share My Lesson to ensure their curriculum and instruction are Common Core aligned.







* http://www.ewa.org/blog-educated-reporter/textbooks-and-math-standards-have-little-common

Note: Better Lesson is partnered with the NEA and Share My Lesson is partnered with AFT.

www.hanoverresearch.comCOMMON CORE IMPLEMENTATION:Current Themes and Future Challenges

Many districts will most likely need support with test score interpretation.

Math Reading

60%

46%

30%26%

2012

2013

Annual Assessment Proficiency Rates, New York City







Leaders have predicted that the first round of Common Core assessments will result in lower student proficiency rates; however, the decline may suggest to people who review the data, only superficially, that student achievement has declined and blame Common Core. For Common Core to succeed, educators need to be transparent and communicative– expectations are getting higher.

In New York City, which implemented Common Core and administered Common Core-aligned tests ahead of the state, test scores declined substantially. Parents were obviously upset: a substantial portion of children that had been considered proficient in math and reading the year before were suddenly considered to be underperforming.


2.0 STANDARDS

TCI’S Embedded Professional Development is an example of a PD video that would accompany the instructional/lesson material.


Source: TCI







An EdWeek article* makes the case that Common Core will lead to better tech and higher expectations for vendors. The argument is that once all schools have broadband, hardware, etc., they may be able to get more creative with how they spend their technology money. As time goes on and the CCSS gets older, the market will get a better sense of what works and what doesn’t; weak, untested technologies that might be able to make their way into a district now will have a tougher time in the future.

*http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2014/06/11/35ii-commoncore.h33.html

http://vimeo.com/51641663



Source: 3D Systems

2.0 STANDARDS

3D System’s 3D printer, priced at $1,300, was reviewed as “kid-centric” by LA Times.







http://www.latimes.com/home/la-lh-3d-printers-set-to-build-on-interest-20131227-story.html



Source: SmalLab Learning







2.0 STANDARDS

Embodied Cognition

“Embodiment and Cognition. The working hypothesis in our lab is that human cognition is really embodied cognition. This means that cognitive processes are deeply rooted and come from the body’s interactions with its physical environment (Wilson, 2002). Multiple research areas now support the tenet that embodiment is an underpinning of cognition.”

- M.C. Johnson-Glenberg


The focus on non-tested subjects is partially inspired by the current reading standards, which include literacy expectations pertaining to science and social studies texts. While these standards could be and are addressed in ELA classes, schools and states make extra time for literacy instruction by incorporating those standards into the science and social studies curriculum.

Educators need support when incorporating literacy and numeracy instruction into subjects other than reading and mathematics, such as science and social studies.

Applying Common Core to Non-tested Subjects







The Common Core instructional shifts encourage greater differentiation and personalization. As math and reading classes make these advances in instructional practice, teachers in non-tested subjects will not be able to continue with the old ways. So, there is likely to be a growing need for Common Core-like instructional professional development for all teachers.

Hanover Analysis on Instructional Shifts

Research Without Limits

Blair Milam, Managing Director K-12

[email protected]

Heather Popielski, Content Director

[email protected]

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