Common Core State Standards: Opportunity for Reform or Same Old, Same Old…?
P. David Pearson
UC Berkeley
September 2011
Slides posted at www.scienceandliteracy.org
Survey
Elementary? Secondary? College? What’s the difference
Elementary Teachers Love
Their kids
Secondary Teachers Love
Their subjects
College Teachers Love
Themselves
Goals
Situate the Common Core StandardsDiscuss their VirtuesUnearth their Vices and UncertaintiesSpeculate on their Impact
Slides posted at www.scienceandliteracy.org
Acknowledgements
Karen Wixson Standards and AssessmentSheila Valencia AssessmentFreddy Hiebert Complexity
My Relationship with CCS
• Member of the Validation Committee• Background work on text complexity with a grant from
Gates Foundation• Long (and occasionally checkered) history with standards
going back to– NBPTS: Standards for Teaching– IRA/NCTE Standards
• Research and development work on assessment
Just to remind us
College and Career Readiness Standards
Common Core State Standards (grade by grade)
Assessments to measure their mastery
10 recurring standards for College and Career Readiness
Show up grade after grade
In more complex applications to more sophisticated texts
Across the disciplines of literature, science, and social studies
Affordances of the CCS
1. An uplifting vision based on our best research on the nature of reading comprehension
2. Focus on results rather than means3. Integrated model of literacy4. Reading standards complement cognitive theory and
NAEP5. Elaborated theory of text complexity6. Shared responsibility (text in subject matter learning)7. Lots of meaty material in writing and language
standards
An exercise
Take one of the CCR standards and trace it out across all the grade levels to see how it changes
Students who meet the Standards readily undertake the close, attentive, reading that is at the heart of understanding and enjoying complex works of literature.
They habitually perform the critical reading necessary to pick carefully through the staggering amount of information available today in print and digitally.
They actively seek the wide, deep, and thoughtful engagement with high-quality literary and informational texts that builds knowledge, enlarges experience, and broadens world views.
They reflexively demonstrate the cogent reasoning and use of evidence essential to both private deliberation and responsible citizenship in a democratic republic.
1. An Uplifting Vision: ELA CCSS
2. Focus on results rather than means
Why? Leave a place for each lower level to add its own signature Some decisions about means really are local Appropriate role for a larger body politic
Balance between our goals and our methods
From the ELA Standards Document…
By emphasizing required achievements, the Standards leave room for teachers, curriculum developers, and states to determine how those goals should be reached and what additional topics should be addressed.
Thus, the Standards do not mandate such things as a particular writing process or the full range of metacognitive strategies that students may need to monitor and direct their thinking and learning.
Teachers are thus free to provide students with whatever tools and knowledge their professional judgment and experience identify as most helpful for meeting the goals set out in the Standards.”
3. Integrated Model of Literacy
Two views of integration Integrated Language Arts Integration between ELA and disciplines
The CCSS are better on the interdisciplinary than on the ELA integration
Corresponds to the actual uses to which reading and writing are put.
Reading, writing, and language always serve specific purposes Reading and writing, not generically, But about something in particular
The something in particular
What reading, writing and language look like in a domainThe information for a particular topic or unit or chapterThe information in a particular text
Our current view of curriculum
Lang
uage
Art
s
Mat
hem
atic
s
Soci
al S
tudi
es
Scie
nce
A model I like: Tools by Disciplines
Science Social Studies
Mathe-matics
Literature
Reading
Writing
Language
Academic Disciplines………..La
ngua
ge To
ols
Early: Tools dominate
Science Social Studies
Mathe-matics
Literature
Reading
Writing
Language
Academic Disciplines………..La
ngua
ge To
ols
Later: Disciplines dominate
Science Social Studies
Mathematics
Literature
Reading
Writing
Language
Academic Disciplines………..La
ngua
ge To
ols
Weaving is even a better metaphor than a matrix
mathliterature
Social studiesScience
ReadingWriting Language
ScienceW
riting
Read
ing
Lang
uage
Social Studies
LiteratureMathematics
Integration is tough…What happens when you try to
integrate reading and math?
The evolution of mathematics story problems during the last 40 years.
1960'sA peasant sells a bag of potatoes for $10. His costs amount to 4/5 of his selling price. What is his profit?
1970's (New Math)
A farmer exchanges a set P of potatoes with a set M of money.
The cardinality of the set M is equal to $10 and each element of M is worth $1. Draw 10 big dots representing the elements of M.
The set C of production costs is comprised of 2 big dots less than the set M.
Represent C as a subset of M and give the answer to the question: What is the cardinality of the set of profits? (Draw everything in red).
1980'sA farmer sells a bag of potatoes for $10. His production costs are $8 and his profit is $2. Underline the word "potatoes" and discuss with your classmates.
1990's
A kapitalist pigg undjustlee akires $2 on a sak of patatos. Analiz this tekst and sertch for erors in speling, contens, grandmar and ponctuassion, and than ekspress your vioos regardeng this metid of geting ritch.
Author unknown
2000'sDan was a man.Dan had a sack.The sack was tan.The sack had spudsThe spuds cost 8.Dan got 10 for the tan sack of spuds.How much can Dan the man have?
4. Comprehension Complements Other Important Efforts
NAEPRand view of Comprehension
NAEP
Locate and RecallInterpret and IntegrateCritique and Evaluate
Common Core
Key ideas and detailsCraft and structureIntegration of knowledge and ideasRange and level of text complexity
Key ideas and detailsCraft and structureIntegration of knowledge
and ideasRange and level of text
complexity
Locate and RecallInterpret and IntegrateCritique and Evaluate
Complexity is specified but implicit not explicit
CCSS NAEP
Consistent with Cognitive Views of Reading
Kintsch’s Construction-Integration ModelBuild a text baseConstruct a “situation” modelPut the knowledge gained to work by applying it to novel
situations.
What the text saysWhat the text meansWhat the text does
Locate and RecallIntegrate and InterpretCritique and Evaluate
DecoderMeaning Maker
User/Analyst/Critic
Key Ideas and DetailsIntegration of Knowledge and Ideas
Craft and Structure
Kintsch 4 Resources NAEP CCSSText Base Decoder Locate and Recall Key Ideas and
DetailsSituation Model Meaning Maker Interpret and
IntegrateIntegration of Knowledge and Ideas
Put Knowledge to Work
Text Analyst Critique and Evaluate
Craft and Structure
Says
Means
Does
These consistencies provide…
CredibilityStretchResearch “patina”
5. Elaborated Theory of Text Complexity
Why text complexity? The gap for college and career readiness
Jack Stenner’s (lexile guy) depiction of the 200 lexile gap
6. Shared Responsibility
English and Subject MatterWhat we said before, reading and writing are always
situated in a topic and a purpose.Knowledge fuels comprehension and writing.Reading and writing, along with experience and
instruction, fuel knowledge.Reading and writing and language work better when they
are “tools” for the acquisition of Knowledge Insight Joy
Why sharing now?
The gap for college and workplace readinessThe increasing demands of an informational societyFinally addressing a problem that has always been thereIncreasing awareness among disciplinary scholars
April 23, 2010 edition of Science.
7. Lots of meaty material in writing and language
All of the good vocabulary skills and content that we often claim for reading? As much of an issue for oral language and writing as for reading.
Writing Media Argumentation: Claim-evidence-warrant Form follows function: we write with particular structures to
achieve particular purposes As important for comprehension as it is for composition
Constraints, Dilemmas, and Puzzles?
1. Can we manage the text complexity issue?2. How do we disarm the “We already do all this” stance?3. How do we avoid a canon of texts?4. Mezza Boca problem5. IF TIME: What do we do about assessment?
Text Complexity
Can we really make up the gap? If we are really honest, we’ll acknowledge that in our current
“dumbed down” world, we have LOTS of kids who can’t handle the texts we currently give them
What makes us think that we can up the ante without promoting even greater angst among students and teachers?
Doesn’t text complexity have to be calibrated at an individual level? Independent-Instructional-Frustration level
What are we going to do about text complexity in Grades K-3? Lexiles are highly unstable at prior to grade 3
Broaden our notions of Text Complexity—Appendix A
Qualitative evaluation of the text Levels of meaning, structure, language
conventionality and clarity, and knowledge demands
Quantitative evaluation of the text Readability measures and other scores of text
complexityMatching reader to text and task
Reader variables (such as motivation, knowledge, and experiences) and task variables (such as purpose and the complexity generated by the task assigned and the questions posed)
Grapes of Wrath (9-10 Complexity Band)
Qualitative MeasuresLevels of Meaning There are multiple and often implicit levels of meaning within the
excerpt and the novel as a whole. The surface level focuses on the literal journey of the Joads, but the novel also works on metaphorical and philosophical levels.
Structure The text is relatively simple, explicit, and conventional in form.
Events are largely related in chronological order.Language Conventionality and Clarity Although the language used is generally familiar, clear, and
conversational, the dialect of the characters may pose a challenge for some readers. Steinbeck also puts a great deal of weight on certain less familiar words, such as faltering. In various portions of the novel not fully represented in the excerpt, the author combines rich, vivid, and detailed description with an economy of words that requires heavy inferencing.
Knowledge Demands The themes are sophisticated. The experiences and perspective
conveyed will be different from those of many students. Knowledge of the Great Depression, the “Okie Migration” to California, and the religion and music of the migrants is helpful, but the author himself provides much of the context needed for comprehension.
Quantitative MeasuresThe quantitative assessment of The Grapes of Wrath demonstrates the difficulty many currently existing readability measures have in capturing adequately the richness of sophisticated works of literature, as various ratings suggest a placement within the grades 2–3 text complexity band. A Coh Metrix analysis also tends to suggest the text is an easy one since the syntax is uncomplicated and the author uses a conventional story structure and only a moderate number of abstract words. (The analysis does indicate, however, that a great deal of inferencing will be required to interpret and connect the text’s words, sentences, and central ideas.)
Reader-Task ConsiderationsThese are to be determined locally with reference to such variables as a student’s motivation, knowledge, and experiences as well as purpose and the complexity of the task assigned and the questions posed.
Recommended PlacementThough considered extremely easy by many quantitative measures, The Grapes of Wrath has a sophistication of theme and content that makes it more suitable for early high school (grades 9–10), which is where the Standards have placed it. In this case, qualitative measures have overruled the quantitative measures.
No matter how many indicators we have in place, teacher judgment will have to be used in particular cases.
What we really need are even more instructional scaffolds, so we can answer the question, under what conditions of support can particular students read the text?
And we are going to need a whole new theory of text complexity for grades K-3?
2. How do we prevent the “there’s nothing new” response?
If educators do the mapping at a fairly general level, they will conclude that we already do all of these things.
Almost any current set of state standards will map onto these standards at the 60-80% level, especially if we include the foundational skills.
Have to examine the entirety of these standards, regard them as an integrated system of pedagogy.
Start with the ELA Common Core State Standards (CCSS)
Three main sections K−5 (cross-disciplinary) 6−12 English Language Arts 6−12 Literacy in History/Social Studies,
Science, and Technical SubjectsShared responsibility for students’ literacy development
Three appendices• A: Research and evidence; glossary of key terms• B: Reading text exemplars; sample performance tasks• C: Annotated student writing samples
Karen Wixson
Learn How to Read the ELA CCSS
The standards are meant to be read as an integrated ELA program The Reading standards should be read with the complexity
information in Appendix A and with the exemplary works that comprise each complexity band found in Appendix B
The Writing standards should be read with the writing samples in Appendix C, which illustrate how good is good enough for each genre, grade by grade
The Language standards should be read with the skills ladder in Appendix A which illustrates when skills should be introduced/mastered
In sum, a standard “alignment” exercise should take into account not just the grade level standards alone, but also how the appendices help define these standards PLUS what comes before and after each grade band
ELA CCSS 6-12
The opportunity of a lifetime…
We are poised, with these standards in hand, to achieve integration both within the language arts and between ELA and the disciplines
Do we have the chutzpah and commitment to take advantage of this moment?
3. The Textual Canon Dilemma
The tyranny of the example: if it was good enough to illustrate the sort of thing we should be doing, then we should do it!
Given space limitations, the illustrative texts listed above are meant only to show individual titles that are representative of a wide range of topics and genres. (See Appendix B for excerpts of these and other texts illustrative of K–5 text complexity
No one will read this disclaimer…
4. Mezza Boca: OR…What the left hand giveth, the right hand taketh away
Criteria to evaluate reading programs
From the ELA standards
By emphasizing required achievements, the Standards leave room for teachers, curriculum developers, and states to determine how those goals should be reached and what additional topics should be addressed.
Thus, the Standards do not mandate such things as a particular writing process or the full range of metacognitive strategies that students may need to monitor and direct their thinking and learning.
Teachers are thus free to provide students with whatever tools and knowledge their professional judgment and experience identify as most helpful for meeting the goals set out in the Standards.”
But
I. Text Selection 1. Text Complexity 2. Range and Quality of Texts
II. Questions and Tasks 1. High-Quality Text-Dependent Questions and Tasks 2. Cultivating Students’ Ability To Read Complex Texts
IndependentlyIII. Academic VocabularyIV. Writing to Sources and Research
1. Writing to Sources — a Key Task 2. Extensive Practice with Short, Focused Research Projects
V. Additional Key Criteria for Student Reading, Writing, Listening, and Speaking 1. Reading Complex Texts with Fluency 2. Increasing Focus on Argument and Informative Writing 3. Engaging in Academic Discussions 4. Using Multimedia and Technology Skillfully 5. Covering the Most Significant Grammar and Language
Conventions
The standards suggest balance of text, reader and context factors,…
But the criteria are pretty focused on the text
80-90% of questions are text dependent.High-quality sequences of text-dependent questions
elicit sustained attention to the specifics of the text and their impact.
Questions and tasks require careful comprehension of the text before asking for further connections, evaluation, or interpretation.
High-quality sequences of text-dependent questions elicit sustained attention to the specifics of the text and their impact.
Materials make the text the focus of instruction by avoiding features that distract from the text.
5. The VAST unknown: CCSS and Assessment
Assessments will make or break the CCSS movementThis is where we decide whether the movement is
Opportunity for reform Or Same old, same old
If assessments are not changed, these standards will not make an iota of difference in teaching and learning
Short version of assessment…
With these standards, we’ll never get there with…Multiple Choice or even short answer assessments as the
primary focusThese standards require us to engage kids in
Multiple day performance exams Read within and across texts Focus on project-based learning Deeper learning
Have to return the the excitement of the mid 90s and get it right this time.
I give PARCC and Smarter Balanced a 70% chance of getting it right
108
The Players in the Assessment Game
Partnership for the Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers: PARCC
Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium: SBAC.State AssessmentsNAEPTesting Industry
Constraints Common Core Standards Assessment consortia frameworks
Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) Partnership for the Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC)
Different audiences and purposes (summative/formative/diagnostic)Affordances
Learning progressions Computer adaptive testing Automated and distributed scoring Improved psychometric tools
PARCC Signal & model good instruction Rich & rigorous performance tasks
SBAC Empirically validate descriptions of learning
progressions
Through-Course, Interim/Benchmark Assessment Visions
Should: reflect the interactive and multidimensional nature of
comprehension assess readers’ abilities to understand, learn from, and use
text to accomplish specific purposes provide transparent models of the demands of skilled
reading across a range of grades, disciplines, tasks provide strong and informative predictors of success in
college, careers, and K-12
Through-Course Comprehension Assessments & Learning Progressions
From Pearson, Valencia, and Wixson
An assumption/prediction?
Whatever model we develop, it is likely to be a hybrid model. Item format
Multiple Choice Constructed Response Performance Tasks
Passage issues Length and authenticity Disciplines—Literature, Science and History
Efficiency
Instructional Validity
Deeper Learning
My focus
Given ourvast experience with MC and CR, I’ll focus on performance tasks…
Except to say that well developed theories of mc items, along with equally well-developed theories about classes of distractors, are really important to decision validity and the information value of test items.
We need to learn something from each and every response a student makes, not just the right ones.
Performance Tasks: Why bother?
External validity College ready Career ready
Curricular validity Powerful learning Deeper learning
Consequential validity What curricular activities will it lead teachers and students toward?
Compare the PARCC and SMARTER Proposals to ELA CCSS
Two Salient Issues from the CCSS Text Complexity
PARCC proposes to create a “text complexity diagnostic tool” SMARTER doesn’t consider directly
Reading across the Disciplines PARCC addresses indirectly through sample items SMARTER makes general references, but nothing specific
PARCC Attention to Discipline/Genre
Through-Course Assessments (Interim/Benchmark) After roughly 25% of instructional time (ELA-1) After roughly 50% instructional time (ELA-2) After roughly 75% instructional time (ELA-3
Sample Extended Constructed Response Items for ELA-1 and ELA-2
Through-Course Assessments
Measure the most fundamental capacity essential to achieving college and career readiness according to the CCSS: the ability to read increasingly complex texts, draw evidence from them, draw logical conclusions and present analysis in writing.
ELA-1 & ELA-2 assessments include up to 2 extended constructed response items
For ELA-3, students have extended time to identify or read relevant research materials and compose written essays. Students then publicly present the results of that research and writing, answering questions or engaging in debate, so teachers can assess their speaking and listening skills using common rubric
Provide actionable data and useful models of student work teachers can use to plan and adjust instruction
Sample Extended Constructed Response Items (taken from CCSS)
9-10 ELA, Informational--Students analyze how Abraham Lincoln in his “Second Inaugural Address” unfolds his examination of the ideas that led to the Civil War, paying particular attention to the order in which the points are made, how Lincoln introduces and develops his points, and the connections that are drawn between them.
11-12, ELA, Informational--Students delineate and evaluate the argument that Thomas Paine makes in Common Sense. They assess the reasoning present in his analysis, including the premises and purposes of his essay.
Sample Extended Constructed Response Items (taken from CCSS)
11-12, ELA, Drama--Students compare two or more recorded or live productions of Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman to the written text, evaluating how each version interprets the source text and debating which aspects of the enacted interpretations of the play best capture a particular character, scene, or theme.
11-12, ELA Poetry--Students cite strong and thorough textual evidence from John Keats’s “Ode on a Grecian Urn” to support their analysis of what the poem says explicitly about the urn as well as what can be inferred about the urn from evidence in the poem. Based on their close reading, students draw inferences from the text regarding what meanings the figures decorating the urn convey as well as noting where the poem leaves matters about the urn and its decoration uncertain.
Sample Extended Constructed Response Items (taken from CCSS)
11-12, Informational Texts: Science--Students analyze the concept of mass based on their close reading of Gordon Kane’s “The Mysteries of Mass” and cite specific textual evidence from the text to answer the question of why elementary particles have mass at all. Students explain important distinctions the author makes regarding the Higgs field and the Higgs boson and their relationship to the concept of mass
Resources
www.commoncore.org (not the “official” website, provides curriculum “maps”)
Lee, C. D. & Spratley, A. (2010). Reading in the disciplines: The challenges of adolescent literacy. New York, NY: Carnegie Corp.
Example of a New Standards Task from mid 1990s
Man and His MessageMLK6-8 days, depending on class timeCulminating task: write an essay based upon choosing one
of several prompt options.
Pearson
Texts Encountered
A video about the Civil Rights Movement entitled, A Time for Justice. An article about the Civil Rights Movement entitled, Confrontations. An article about Ghandi from Scholastic's SEARCH magazine. An oral rendition of King's Letter from a Birmingham Jail. Printed versions of other King speeches. An excerpt from a Time magazine account of the Rodney King riots in
East Central Los Angeles. Two CNN video accounts of the riots: Rage of Despair and Roots of the
Problem.
Tasks Completed over the Period
collaboratively complete separate cognitive webs on key concepts from the readings (Martin Luther King, Civil Rights Movement, Non-Violent Resistance).
keep an ongoing log/chart of emerging learnings from all the different texts (written, oral, or video).
answer straightforward "assignment-like" questions.compare the similarities and differences between King and Ghandi
in a modified Venn diagram display.the culminating essayEVERYTHING can be scored
Affordances
Has the look and feel of powerful or deeper learningEngages students in workplace like behaviors, including social
behaviorsExpands our conceptualization of what counts as a textHigh capacity for engagement: interest and relevanceMaps onto many of the Common Core Standards for reading in
HistoryCould build professional community of teachers around
implementation and scoring
Constraints
Whose work is it anyway? The inevitable dilemma of collaboration
Not just reading (video and audio texts)
The usual suspects for performance tasks Task generalizability Scoring costs
Domain coverage What counts for which standards
Example of a MEAP Inspired Pilot Task circa 2000 for a Local Michigan District
School-wide Comprehension Assessment
Instructionally embedded (took a week out of the LA block) Multiple text Listening and reading Reliance on multiple choice questions
Individual texts Cross texts
Written Response to Reading Position taken in response to the prompt question Support from personal experience Support from texts Counts for both writing and reading comprehension depending on the
rubric used
Listening: Sister Anne’s Hands
Multiple Choice Question Stemsfacts, relationships, inferences
This story is mostly about…Sister Anne showed determination when she said…What did Sister Anne mean when she said, “For me, I’d rather open
my door enough to let everyone in”?The children learned much from Sister Anne. This selection tells us
that…
Kate Shelly and the Midnight Express
Multiple Choice Question Stems facts, relationships, inferences
An important lesson of this story is… How are Kate and her mother different? In this selection, how do you know Kate showed determination and
bravery when crossing the Des Moines River Bridge? Because Kate followed through, how would you predict she will face
problems in the future? What dialogue does the author use to show you Kate has determination? How do you know this story takes place in the past?
A Day’s Work
Multiple Choice Question Stems facts, relationships, inferences
By showing determination, Francisco… An important lesson from this selection is… In this selection, why did Francisco and Grandpa leave the weeds? This selection is not only about determination, it is also about… Why did the author have Grandpa and Francisco speak in Spanish?
Cross Text Mult Choice Stems facts, relationships, inferences
What important advice would both Grandpa and Kate give?In both reading selections you read about main characters who…How are Francisco and Kate different?How were the characters rewarded for showing determination and
following through?
Applying Ideas to a Task
If you were trying to do something that was very hard, and you did not think you could get it done, would you keep trying or quit? Use examples from the two stories we read to support your decision.
Scoring
Answers question orresponds to theme
Answers question and refers toideas in one text
Answers questions and uses ideas from at leastone story to support position taken.
Answers questions by making connections betweenreadings and using ideas from both readings to support
position taken
Writing in Response to ReadingPoint Score 6
The student clearly and effectively chooses key or important ideas from each reading selection to support a position on the question and to make a clear connection between the reading selections. The point of view and connection are thoroughly developed with appropriate examples and details. There are no misconceptions about the reading selections. There are strong relationships among ideas. Mastery of language use and writing conventions contributes to the effect of the response.
Affordances
In the direction of powerful and deeper learning, but…Only one task for rubric-based scoringPretty good coverage of a range of cognitive targets vis a
vis question types.
Constraints
Does the reliance on MC format compromise its position vis a vis powerful and deeper learning?
Limited to a single discipline—literatureLimited to a single genre—narrativeLimited to a single medium—text
Looking Ahead
Lots of dilemmas to manageBack to the future and déjà vu all over againTake advantage of new technologies, tools, and
understandings
Dilemmas to Manage
Social nature of embedded tasksDomain coverage
Enabling skills or just the big outcomesDependence/independence across
Standards/cognitive targets/itemsIssues of equity across populations, especially ELL and
LD populations
Déjà vu all over again
Build on what workedFace the music on
Intertask generalizability Scoring reliability and cost
Take advantage of new tools and technologies
Learning progressions (see SBAC) But they are hard and different in reading Discipline, topic, and text play a MAJOR role in shaping item
difficultyWe’ll just have to see how things scale in IRT modelsComputerized scoring, but…
Easily corruptible Will clever kids learn how to school the systems?
Computer adaptive testing Garbage in-Garbage out
The promise of the ELA CCSS will not be realized unless we create a new generation of reading assessments that capitalize on the knowledge gained in recent decades and the visions for the future.
FINAL THOUGHT ABOUT ASSESSMENT
108
Thunder is a rich source of loudness
"Nitrogen is not found in Ireland because it is not found in a free state"
The perils of performance assessment: or maybe those multiple-choice assessments
aren’t so bad after all…….
109"Water is composed of two gins,
Oxygin and Hydrogin. Oxygin is pure gin. Hydrogin is gin and water.”
"The tides are a fight between the Earth and moon. All water tends towards the moon, because there is no water in the moon, and nature abhors a vacuum. I forget where the sun joins in this fight."
The perils of performance assessment
110
"Germinate: To become a naturalized German."
"Vacumm: A large, empty space where the pope lives.”
Momentum is something you give a person when they go away.
The perils of performance assessment
111· The cause of perfume disappearing is
evaporation. Evaporation gets blamed for a lot of things people forget to put the top on.
· Mushrooms always grow in damp places which is why they look like umbrellas.
· Genetics explains why you look like your father, and if you don't, why you should.
The perils of performance assessment
112
"When you breath, you inspire. When you do not breath, you expire."
The perils of performance assessment
To Summarize
Lots to Like
Affordances of the CCS
1. An uplifting vision based on our best research on the nature of reading comprehension
2. Focus on results rather than means3. Integrated model of literacy4. Reading standards complement cognitive theory and
NAEP5. Elaborated theory of text complexity6. Shared responsibility (text in subject matter learning)7. Lots of meaty material in writing and language
standards
Lots to Worry about
Constraints, Dilemmas, and Puzzles?
1. Can we manage the text complexity issue?2. How do we disarm the “We already do all this” stance?3. How do we avoid a canon of texts?4. How do we hold the standardistas to account?5. What do we do about assessment?
Old Chinese Proverb
May you live in interesting times…