The Role of the Common Core Standards to Ensure Career & College Readiness for All

K-12 StudentsBob Bardwell

Monson High SchoolMonson, MA

With Thanks to Steve Kappler & ACT for slide sharing

Who Is Here?• Secondary school counselors• Guidance directors • Graduate students • Community Based Organizations• Independent counselors• College Admission Counselors• Other

Why Are You Here?• Professional development• Your school made you come• Nothing else to do• Didn’t like the other sessions during this time slot

What Can I Offer?• 20 year School Counselor and K-12 Director of School

Counseling• Leader – local, state, regional & national• Advocate for students, school counselors and our

profession• Not an expert on Common Core but I know enough

that Common Core is my ticket to ensure that I have a job in the years to come

What are the Common Core State Standards (CCSS)?

• Beginning in the spring of 2009, Governors and state commissioners of education from 46 states, 2 territories and the District of Columbia committed to the process of developing a common core of state K-12 English-language arts (ELA) and mathematics standards.

• The Common Core State Standards Initiative (CCSSI) is a state-led effort coordinated by the National Governors Association (NGA) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO).

• www.corestandards.org

How did we get here?• The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) align U.S. K-12

education with a uniformly higher standard – college and career readiness

• 45 states and DC have adopted the CCSS for English language arts and mathematics.

• ACT research on college and career readiness lies at the heart of the CCSS

• Achieve and the College Board (SAT) were members of the CCSS Development Team

How did we get here? (continued)

• CCSS were developed using a backward design model – start with the end goal and then figure out how to get there

• Identified the college & career standards being sought and worked backwards through each grade resulting in grade level shifts in content throughout the grades

• Economic pressure and the continuous decline of the United States regarding high school graduates and lackluster success of college bound students when compared to other nations was the driving force behind the creation of the CCSS

• Race to the Top (RTTT) pushed states to voluntarily make the choice to join the CCSSI

Common Core State Standards Design• Building on the strength of current state

standards, the Common Core State Standards are designed to be:– Focused, coherent, clear and rigorous– Internationally benchmarked– Linked to college and career readiness* – Evidence and research based * Ready for first-year credit-bearing, postsecondary coursework without

the need for remediation.

Common Core State Standards Evidence Base• Evidence was used to guide critical decisions in the following areas:

– Inclusion of particular content – Timing of when content should be introduced and the progression of content– Ensuring focus and coherence– Organizing and formatting the standards – Determining emphasis on particular topics in standards

• Evidence includes:– Standards from high-performing countries, states, and nationally-regarded

frameworks– Research on adolescent literacy, text complexity, mathematics instruction,

quantitative literacy – Lists of works consulted and research base included in standards’ appendices

Higher Education and Employers Want Students Who Can

• Identify areas for research, evaluate and synthesize resources and develop & draw conclusions

• Conduct research and apply that research to solve problems

• Apply skills and knowledge across the content areas to solve problems

• Model real world situations and solving problems

What does this mean for School & College Counselors?

We Must:1. Understand the Standards2. Support the Standards implementation3. Act on the Standards

ELA Writing Standards

– Expect students to compose arguments and opinions, informative- explanatory pieces, and narrative texts

– Focus on the use of reason and evidence to substantiate an argument or claim

– Emphasize ability to conduct research – short projects and sustained inquiry

– Require students to incorporate technology as they create, refine, and collaborate on writing

The ELA Reading Standards– Text Complexity

• Range of Reading – not just text books and literary works• Exemplar Texts (Shakespeare, Hemmingway – U.S. Constitution, MLK

Letter from Birmingham Jail)– Reading Comprehension

• Standards for Reading Foundational Skills (K-5)• Reading Standards for Literature (K-12)• Reading Standards for Literacy in History/Social Studies (6-12)• Reading Standards for Literacy in Science and Technical Subjects (6-12) • Reading Standards for Informational Text (K-12)

The Mathematics Standards

• Call on students to practice applying mathematical ways of thinking to real world issues and challenges

• Require students to develop a depth of understanding and ability to apply mathematics to novel situations, as college students and employees regularly are called on to do

• Emphasize mathematical modeling, using mathematics and statistics to analyze problems, understand them better, and improve decisions

• Identify the mathematics that all students should study in order to be college and career ready.

The Other Standards• Science: In a process managed by Achieve, with the help of the National

Research Council, the National Science Teachers Association, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, states are developing the Next Generation Science Standards. http://www.nextgenscience.org/

• World Languages: The American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages published an alignment of the National Standards for Learning Languages with the ELA Common Core State Standards. http://www.actfl.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/Aligning_CCSS_Language_Standards_v6.pdf

• Arts: The National Coalition for Core Arts Standards is leading the revision of the National Standards for Arts Education. http://www.arteducators.org/research/national-coalition-for-core-arts-standards

Successful Implementation Requires• Leaders build a culture of success• Changes in attitudes• Changes in practice• Embraced by all educators, including counselors• Instructional and systemic leadership• All staff buy-in and implementation

How can School Counselors Support the Implementation?

• Think & work across the K-12 grade span• Develop comprehensive school counseling plans

utilizing the ASCA national standards• Create standards based college and career focused

classroom lessons and programs• Design clearer processes for course sequencing

and credit articulation

How can School Counselors Support the Implementation? (continued)

• Familiarize yourself with the standards• Become part of the leadership team which is charged

with overseeing the CCSSI implementation• Ensure that your school counseling program statement

of philosophy aligns with the school and district’s vision and mission statements

• Formulate and distribute an agreed upon set of beliefs and expectations that every student achieve at high levels

Turn to a neighbor

• Have you begun to have conversation in your school counseling program about how to get on the Common Core bandwagon?

• If so, what is your role with the CCSSI movement? (in other words, how do you do it?

Action Steps: Literacy instruction• Gather & analyze relevant literacy standardized test data to

share with colleagues and invested constituents• Gather & analyze relevant Response to Intervention (RTI)

Tier 2 & 3 data with colleagues and invested constituents• Monitor and share student literacy related progress reports • Identify students with literacy needs and plan with staff

appropriate interventions • Integrate literacy standards into your lesson plans

Action Steps: Mathematics instruction• Gather & analyze relevant math standardized test data

to share with colleagues and invested constituents• Gather & analyze relevant RTI Tier 2 & 3 data with

colleagues and invested constituents• Monitor and share student math related progress reports • Identify students with math needs and plan with staff

appropriate interventions • Advocate for four years of high school math requirement

if it is not already in place

Action Steps: Mathematics instruction (continued)• Analyze data regarding

– Students who are not on track for early math grade level achievement (elementary level data analysis)

– Number of students repeating math courses – what grade do they begin to fall behind and with which teacher(s)

– Students who do not minimally complete the college prep math track – Algebra I, Geometry & Algebra II or integrated math levels I-III

– Student achievement on state or national standardized tests (I.e.: Accuplacer, SAT/ACT, AP, IB)

Action Steps: Mathematics instruction (continued)

• Provide math faculty the opportunity to collaborate with college math faculty to review scope and sequence of course syllabi

• Review (and change if necessary) the school’s policy regarding course selection, offerings & sequencing to ensure all students have access to higher level math courses

Action Steps: Systemic Approaches• Participate in discussions about rigor in your

school• Assist in the gathering of data on the # of

students on target to be career/college ready– Explore, Plan, ACT, PSAT, SAT, Accuplacer, AP, IB

• Provide data analysis regarding the # of students taking rigorous courses of study

Action Steps: Systemic Approaches(continued)

• Provide data analysis about the # of students who attain the ACT/SAT college readiness benchmarks

• Explore & provide dual/concurrent enrollment opportunities with local colleges

• Explore & provide early college programs and opportunities for students who show potential and ability to participate in such activities

Action Steps: Instructional Time• Help identify ways to extend learning time for

students, including those in Tier 2 interventions• Monitor participation and progress of students

involved with Tier 2 and 3 interventions• Share results & impact of such interventions• Identify students and interventions for accelerated/

enriched extended learning opportunities

Action Steps: Instructional Practices• Determine impact of the CCSS on the development and

implementation of educational plans for all students• Develop & annually update 6 year individual learning plans

which contain necessary career & college readiness elements

• Develop career & college readiness lesson plans aligned with CCSS standards

• Develop school counselor classroom lesson calendar and distribute to all staff

Action Steps: Professional Learning• Be part of the discussions with school leadership

team, data team and/or literacy council based on assessed needs of students and observed needs of staff as they relate to CCSS implementation

• Be an active participant in school wide PD activities• Include PD goals in your Comprehensive School

Counseling program and your individual evaluation• Reference ASCA’s tools when creating PD plans

Action Steps: Assessment• Ensure that students understand how to interpret

current standardized assessments and the implications of the results relating to their level of career and college readiness

• Begin learning about and communicating about upcoming common assessments

• Use data to identify student needs and monitor progress

Action Steps: Visuals• Display college poster and pennants• Post college information, scholarships and

student acceptances*• Post achievement and accomplishments of

students – I.e.: NMSQT Semi-finalists & finalists, AP scholars, Honor Roll, NHS

Action Steps: Visuals (continued)• Proudly display pennants or articles of clothing

from their alma mater(s)• Provide relevant and current information on your

counseling office website• Create bulletin boards/special displays with

important career/college information or data

Action Steps: Auditory• Make frequent announcements about student

accomplishments, deadlines, reminders, programs, field trips• Engage in routine conversations with students and parents

about career and college research, selection and the application process

• Have counselors, teachers and other educators engage in frequent discussions with all students about careers and college

• Bring in alumni (high school or college) and business people to speak to students about colleges and careers

Action Steps: Practices/Rituals• School wide celebrations for academic achievement

(Honor roll breakfast, National Honor Society induction)• Incentives for academic achievement (I.e.: Renaissance

program, special privileges for honors students; scholarship recognitions)

• Community activities that highlight academic successes (I.e.: newspaper articles, bulletin boards in local businesses)

• Advisory – incorporate career/college activities within the small group advisory curriculum (if applicable)

Questions & Conversations• What is not clear?• What more do you need?• How can we help each other?• Who wants to share a success with CCSSI?

My contact informationBob BardwellSchool Counselor & Director of School CounselingMonson Innovation High School55 Margaret StreetMonson, MA 01057413.267.4589x1109www.bobbardwell.com bardwellr@monsonschools.com