CCSS Publishers’ Criteria for ELA/Literacy

Susan PimentelMeredith LibenDavid Liben

June 6, 2013

Agenda

1:00PM Welcome & Intro 1:05PM Key Shifts 1:20PM Text Complexity 1:30PM Academic Language1:40PM Volume of Reading1:55PM Building Knowledge: Text Sets2:05PM Text-dependent & Text-specific Questions2:35PM Writing to Sources2:45PM Q&A

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Key Shifts in ELA/Literacy

Implications of the Three Shifts for Instructional Materials

1. Complexity: Regular practice with complex text and its academic language

2. Evidence: Reading, writing, and speaking grounded in evidence from text, both literary and informational

3. Knowledge: Building knowledge through content-rich non-fiction.

The Shifts Build Toward College and Career Readiness for All Students

Key Shift 1: Complex Text

What does Shift 1 mean?

• This shift is based on the fact that the ability to read and understand complex text is foundational to college and career readiness.

• Reading Standard 10 includes a staircase of increasing text complexity, grade by grade, from elementary through high school.

• Anchor Standard 10 reads, “Read and comprehend complex literary and informational texts independently and proficiently.”

Key Shift 1: Complex Text

What are the implications of Shift 1 for publishers?

• To be aligned, reading passages in materials should have appropriate complexity. (The Standards have raised the bar for what students should read and understand at each grade.)

• Publishers should employ research-based quantitative tools as well as qualitative tools to ensure that text complexity is appropriate for the given grade. (That data should be available for each passage.)

• Questions tied to passages should require and reward careful, close reading rather than skimming of complex passages.

Key Shift 1: Complex Text

Implications publishers (cont’d.)

• Accordingly, passages should be of high quality so that they are worthy of close reading. Passages should be previously published or, at minimum, show evidence of professional editing.

• A powerful link exists between text complexity and text quality: o Only by starting with a complex text is one able to increase

reading proficiency. o When passages are not complex, they lack full development of

ideas, and thus they lack the complexity needed for CCSS-aligned questions, which require students to locate and use evidence from the text.

Key Shift 1: Complex Text

Implications for publishers, cont’d.

• Questions should focus on words that matter most—not obscure vocabulary but academic vocabulary and the use of context to determine their meaning.

• Other vocabulary items can cover: o Figurative language (the meaning or intended purpose, not the

identification of labels for the kinds of figurative language)o Words that impact the tone of the texto Words that have diverse meanings in different places in the texto Grade-appropriate use of strategies like roots and affixes

Key Shift 2: Evidence

What does Shift 2 mean?

• This shift is based on the fact that most college and workplace writing requires evidence and that the ability to cite evidence differentiates strong from weak student performance on NAEP

• The Standards prioritize students’ command of evidence across the domains of the CCSS:o Rigorously cite evidence from texts to support claims/inferences

(Reading Standard 1)o Draw evidence from texts to support analysis, reflection and

research (Writing Standard 9)o Engage in purposeful academic talk (Speaking and Listening

Standard 1)

Key Shift 2: EvidenceWhat are the implications of Shift 2 for publishers?• Overwhelming percentage of reading Q’s should be text-

dependent, requiring students to follow the details of what is explicitly stated and also to make valid inferences that square with textual evidence: o Q’s should enable and require students to linger over the

specifics and particulars of texts, leading back to the text for close reading.

o Q’s should not require information or evidence from outside the text.

• All reading Q’s—text-dependent and text-inspired—addressing the CCSS should include Reading Standard 1 (students’ command of evidence).

Key Shift 2: Evidence

What are the implications of Shift 2 for writing assignments?

• Writing assignments should require students to:o Respond to text-dependent Q’so Draw evidence from texts rather than write to

decontextualized expository prompts

Key Shift 3: Knowledge

What does Shift 3 mean?

• Shift is all about reading nonfiction (makes up the vast majority of required reading in college/workplace).

• CCSS pertain not just to ELA but also to literacy across the disciplines of science, social studies, and technical subjects.

• CCSS require certain percentages of literature and informational texts in instruction and assessments (modeled on NAEP):

o 50% informational and 50% literary at the elementary levelo 55% informational and 45% literary at the middle school level o 70% informational and 30% literary at the high school level

(modeled on NAEP)

Key Shift 3: KnowledgeWhat are the implications of Shift 3 for publishers?• At the elementary level, textbooks should include a variety of

complex passages that are strong, cogent examples of literature, literary nonfiction and scientific, technical, and historical writing (50:50).

• At the secondary level, ELA textbooks should include a balance of complex literature and literary nonfiction.

• At all levels, textbooks should include:o Coherent sequences of textso Effective sequences of questions so students stay focused on the

texts and learn fully from themo Regular opportunities for research

The Three Shifts Boil Down to. . .

Texts worth reading,questions worth answering,

and work worth doing!

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Text Complexity

Google Trends“Text Complexity”

Crisis of Complexity

• What students can read, in terms of complexity, is the greatest predictor of success in college (ACT study).

• Gap between complexity of college and career texts, on the one hand, and high school texts on the other is huge (4 years!).

• Too many students are reading at too low a level (less than 50% of graduates can read complex texts sufficiently).

Confirm & Extend the Preliminary Research in Appendix A of the CCSS

Test and validate quantitative measures of text complexity and difficulty (led by Jessica Nelson and Chuck Perfetti, U of Pitt)

In particular, assessed the capabilities of six quantitative metrics to predict text difficulty for students on standardized tests: ATOS - ATOS® (Renaissance Learning) DRP - Degrees of Reading Power® (Questar) FK - Flesch Kincaid®

Lexile - Lexile® Framework (MetaMetrics) SR - Source Rater© (Educational Testing Service) RM- Pearson Reading Maturity Metric© (Pearson Education)

Results

1. All the metrics were reliably, and often highly, correlated with how students perform with grade-level texts across a variety of assessments (No measure was better than any other in predicting text difficulty for students).

2. All measures were equally good when situating informational texts on the scale (less so with respect to narrative fiction).

3. While some variance existed between and among the measures about where they place any single text, they all climb reliably—though differently—up the text complexity ladder to college and career readiness.

4. Six measures now share a common scale—anchored by texts representative of those required in typical first-year credit-bearing college courses and in workforce training programs.

Common Scale

Common Scale for Band Level Text Difficulty Ranges

ATOS DRP FK Lexile SR RM2nd-3rd 2.75-5.14 42-54 1.98-5.34 420-820 0.05 – 2.48 3.53 - 6.13

4th-5th 4.97-7.03 52-60 4.51-7.73 740-1010 0.84 – 5.75 5.42 - 7.92

6th-8th 7.00-9.98 57-67 6.51-10.34 925-1185 4.11 – 10.66 7.04 - 9.57

9th-10th 9.67-12.01 62-72 8.32-12.12 1050-1335 9.02 – 13.93 8.41 - 10.81

11th-CCR 11.20-14.10 67-74 10.34-14.2 1185-1385 12.30 – 14.50 9.57 - 12

Common Core Bands:

Text Analyzer Tools

Stretch Continuum

Determining Text Complexity

1. Run each passage through a quantitative analyzer tool and determine its ratings.

2. Use the Common Scale to determine its placement in a particular band.

3. Use qualitative measures (Structure, Language and convention, Knowledge demands, Level of meaning/process) to place a text in a specific grade.

4. Exceptions:

• At times, qualitative measures will trump the quantitative measures (narrative fiction).

• For drama and poetry, only qualitative measures can be used.

Qualitative Tool Template

CategoryNotes and comments on text and support of placement in band

Place a check mark in the box where you think the passage fits based for each category described.

Too low for band

Lowest grade in band

Middle grade(s) in band

Highest grade in band

Too high for band

Structure (both story structure and form of piece, including genre)

   

         

Language and convention demands (including vocabulary and sentence structure)

         

Knowledge demands (life, content, cultural/literary)          

Levels of meaning/purpose 

         

Where in grade band does this text belong?What factor weighed most heavily?

    

         

Implications for Publishers

1. Pay attention to the complexity band levels as defined by the Common Scale.

2. Be transparent about the complexity levels of the texts that are included in textbooks, particularly with respect to the quantitative measures.

3. Add annotations to accompany the passages in order to provide educators with a deeper, more multidimensional picture of text complexity to assist them in planning their lessons and instructional focus.

4. Select texts/passages for student reading that depend not only on text complexity but also on considerations of quality and coherence.

Text RoadmapRemarks on the Assassination of MLK

Text RoadmapRemarks on the Assassination of MLK

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Academic Language

Academic Language

Shift one focuses on text complexity. Though there are many features of complex text, recent work (Nelson et al 2012, Stenner and Wright 2004) shows academic language is the greatest source of difficulty with complex text.

Academic language is vocabulary plus syntax. More complex text contains fewer common words and longer sentences.

.

Implications for Publishers: Syntax

Materials need to pay far more attention to syntax. This can be done by:

• Calling attention to longer sentences in a text and asking students to paraphrase them or rewrite them as two or more smaller sentences.

• Asking text-dependent questions that require integrating information from a section of the text that includes one or more complex sentences.

• In earlier grades, texts designed for reading aloud (more on this later).

• Working with sentences out of context.

Implications for Publishers: Vocabulary

Given the difficulty of catching up, materials need to pay far more attention to vocabulary.

Academic vocabulary refers to non domain-specific words more likely to appear in print than oral discourse e.g. perceive, vary, product, intangible…

This can be done in two ways: direct instruction and volume of reading.

Direct Vocabulary Instruction

In order to catch up vocabulary instruction needs to be:

• Extensive

• Efficient

• Effective

Extensive Vocabulary Instruction

• Need to teach far more words than traditionally done

• More complex text requires multiple readings, allowing for more time and attention on academic vocabulary

• No evidence that students can’t learn more words

• This is not memorizing lists but rather learning words from the context of rich complex text

Efficient Vocabulary Instruction

• To be efficient, need to know which words require relatively less time and attention and which relatively more.

How much time & attention?Criteria:• Abstract/Concrete• More multiple meanings/less or no multiple meanings • Represents a concept, idea, event or emotion familiar to most

student’s experience

Which word would take more time & attention?

Or we can make an effort, as Martin Luther King did, to understand, and to comprehend, and replace that violence, that stain of bloodshed that has spread across our land, with an effort to understand, compassion, and love.

And let's dedicate ourselves to what the Greeks wrote so many years ago: to tame the savageness of man and make gentle the life of this world. Let us dedicate ourselves to that, and say a prayer for our country and for our people.

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How much time and attention?

Less Time & Attention• Bitterness• Polarization• Compassion• Vast • Abide

More Time & Attention• Effort• Despair• “awful grace” • Savageness

Remarks on the Assassination of MLK

Vocabulary Quadrant

Effective Instruction

• Distributed vs. mass practice• Employ the context of the text• Using and thinking about the word• Holding students accountable for spelling and pronunciation• Definitions less useful• Determining words from context

Word Study

• Proficient readers don’t only know the meaning of words or the semantic component, but also: • Morphological • Phonological • Orthographic• Grammatical

• All of the above – but especially morphology – help students determine words from context.

• Determining words from context is essential, as reading is still where most words are learned. Hence, a volume of reading is essential to vocabulary development, and once again, especially for those students behind.

Volume of Reading

• Volume of reading provides vocabulary, background knowledge, stamina, and habit of engaged reading.

• Vocabulary and background knowledge go together.

• Traditional independent free choice reading, (DEAR, USSR..) not enough.

Volume of Reading (How to)

• Gradated Text Sets• Series of texts around a topic, gradually increasing in linguistic and

conceptual complexity• Ending, beginning, or both, with a complex grade-level or above

text

• Assigned Readings• Texts students can read independently, connected to topic or

theme being studied• Connection to topic or theme allows students to independently

read more complex text, though not necessarily grade-level• Students held accountable for texts read independently• Complex grade-level texts read separately by all students with

abundant support

Vocabulary and Background Knowledge K-2

• What students read independently in these grades cannot grow vocabulary, background knowledge or proficiency with more complex syntax.

• This has to come from reading aloud.

• Books read aloud, as clearly called for on page 33 of the standards, “…need to be selected around topics or themes that systematically build the knowledge base of students.”

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Text-Dependent & Text-Specific Questions

Text-Dependent and Text-Specific Questions

In this next section, we’ll explore the following:

• Defining text-dependent and text-specific questions• Why this focus in the CCSS?• The nature of text-dependent or text-specific

questions• Creating a coherent sequence of questions• Text-specific or not?

Defining Text-Dependent/Specific Questions

These questions push students to rely solely on the text for insight and analysis of content-based ideas and information.

These inquiries must be traceable “back to the text.”

Answering these questions requires focused reliance on the language and mechanics of the text itself, not personal experience or opinion.

Simply put, these questions identify the text as the “expert” in the room.

Why Text-Dependent Questions?

80-90% of the Common Core Literacy Standards require students to become entrenched in text-specific analysis.

Aligned materials should contain 80-90% text-dependent questions.

Text-dependent questions provide concrete ways for both students and teachers to begin addressing the instructional/skills-based shifts of the Common Core Standards.

The Nature of Text-Dependent Questions

Text-dependent questions provide students a wholly text-dependent experience when reading complex informational text.

There is no reliance on personal experience or knowledge to construct appropriate, evidence-based answers. Personal bias is minimized in favor of the text evidence.

Text-dependent questions privilege the text and allow students to deal with information that is directly before them.

Strong Sequence for Constructing Question Set

• Investigate the qualitative features of the text• Identify the core understandings and key ideas of the

text• Start small to build confidence and check understanding• Target vocabulary and text/sentence structure• Tackle tough sections head-on• Create coherent sequences of text-dependent questions• Identify the standards that are being addressed• Create a culminating assessment by referring back to

the core understanding or key ideas

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How we rated them:

1. Take the entire first paragraph and restate it as a short sentence that tells what the news was.

2. The speaker says “Martin Luther King dedicated his life to love and to justice between fellow human beings.” What had he been involved in and done that made him so famous?

3. The speaker offered a choice to the audience between greater polarization or understanding, compassion and love. Based on the word itself and its context (in paragraph 3), what does “polarization” mean?

1. Text-dependent. This is a good practice that compels readers to take account of any complex chunk of text. It also serves to signal to the teacher if students are understanding.

2. Not text-dependent. A reader would need to tap into background knowledge to know this information and respond successfully. This is a VERY common type of question!

3. Text-specific and dependent. Pushes readers to practice standard 4, assessing the meaning of vocabulary from its context.

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How we rated them:

4. “I had a member of my family killed, but he was killed by a white man.” Is there anything odd about this sentence? What race do you think the person was who was talking? Explain your thinking by referring to evidence in the speech.

5. Who was the speaker’s famous brother who was killed?

6. Why was Robert Kennedy giving a speech that night in 1968 when King was assassinated?

4. Text-dependent and specific. You want the students to notice the seeming non-sequitur, which, after the information that King’s killer was white and anger was deserved because of that fact, becomes a clue. This is a challenging question that focuses students sharply on author’s choices.

5. Not text-dependent. You would have to just know this from elsewhere.

6. Not text-dependent. But does this question matter? Many adults would think it does. This needs to be carefully considered.

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How we rated them:

7. There are three distinct points in this speech where a choice is discussed. The first is the one mentioned in question 2 about paragraph 3. Find each and summarize the choice offered each time. What observation can you make about the way this short speech is structured?

8. Aeschylus was an ancient Greek playwright and poet. Where did Aeschylus say wisdom comes from? Why might it come “against our will”?

9. According to Aeschylus, why is the grace of God awful?

7. Text-dependent and specific. This gets to the structure of rhetoric and is challenging. Note the support (no “gotchas” allowed) built in by pointing students’ attention.

8. Also text-dependent and specific. This directs students to carefully consider the most challenging (and central to the theme) point of the speech.

9. Text-dependent and specific. These lines are so central that the designer made them the focus of 2 questions. This is a tough concept for students, abstract and hard to build for oneself. It takes multiple readings for a younger reader to build this sense.

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How we rated them:

10. Which version of America has won, in your view: the polarized America or the America of the compassionate understandings?

11. This is a transcript of a speech, which means the speech was said and then written down. Find at least three pieces of evidence in the form of odd sentence structures and punctuation, or self-corrections (do-overs) that display these features of a transcript.

10. Not. But this is a tempting question, since it feels essential and like it would tie the text to its broader historical context. Few students would be equipped to respond well, and that capacity would have nothing to do with experiencing this text and everything to do with what the reader brought to the reading.

11. Text-dependent. A good exercise in genre, text structures and language standards. Asks students to consider the differences between written language and oral, and then to engage in a careful review of the punctuation and syntax that arose from this being a transcript. Note that you can teach a new concept through a seemingly pedestrian question.

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Writing to Sources

Big Shifts in Writing in the Common Core

• Integrate writing with reading

• Focus on drawing evidence from texts

• Involve reading and writing across the curriculum

• Measure the most fundamental performances that have writing at their core (writing to sources and research)

Writing Demands of the CCSS

• Standards ask students to master three types of writing: writing arguments writing to inform/explain writing narratives

• Narrative writing gives way to arguments and writing to explain/inform by high school (80:20)

Persuasion vs. Logical Arguments

Persuasion Appeal to character or credentials of the writer Appeal to audience’s self-interest or emotion Can be based on personal opinion un-tethered to

evidenceArgument

Convince because of perceived merit and reasonableness of the claims and proof

Supports claims with sound reasoning Demands relevant, sufficient evidence, statistics,

definitions for support Something far beyond surface knowledge is required

Old Mode of Writing Prompts Called “Persuasive” Writing:

• Stand-alone prompts (not passage-based) that ask students to use real or imagined examples to support their position on the topic.

• Sample persuasive writing prompt: “Write a persuasive letter to your principal to convince her that mandating school uniforms is either a good or bad idea.”

CCSS Mode of Argument Writing:

Draw evidence from a text in one of three ways: • Students provided with several texts that have

evidence for one or both sides of an issue are asked to make a claim about the issue using evidence from the texts.

• Students provided with text(s) that make a claim, and then asked to argue whether the claim is well-supported by evidence in the text(s).

• Students provided with a text, then asked to make a claim about some aspect of it, and support it with evidence.

Which prompt demands writing to sources?

1. After delivering the news of MLK’s death, Kennedy gives several reasons why the audience should choose peace and

understanding in the face of violence against MLK. Write an essay in which you tell about an experience in which you or someone you know was faced with a similar challenge between choosing revenge or choosing compassion. Include reasons to justify the choices that were made. 2. After delivering the news of MLK’s death, Kennedy asks his audience to dedicate themselves “to tame the savageness of man and make gentle the life of this world.” Write an essay in which you argue whether or not you feel that is the right choice for those listening to him to make given the circumstances. Include reasons to support your argument. 3. After delivering the news of MLK’s death, Kennedy asks his audience to dedicate themselves “to tame the savageness of man and make gentle the life of this world”? Write an essay in which you explain what this phrase means and how the argument in his speech arrives at this conclusion.

Draft Criteria for High-Quality Writing Prompts

When evaluating a writing prompt (for any type of writing) for alignment to the CCSS consider the following: Is the question worth asking? Does the prompt ask students to include evidence from the

text in their response? Does the prompt provide clear guidance to students? Does the prompt use the language of the standard where

appropriate? Does the prompt provide students with the criteria they will

be scored on?

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Questions?