United STATES Coalition for World Class Math

Read my comment on EdWeek's Blog.  Will the Career and College Readiness Common Core Standards dictate entrance criteria for higher education?

http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/curriculum/2009/11/former_ets_researcher_on_commo.html

I also agree with Lycos.  The $64,000 question is:

Will the Career and College Readiness Common Core Standards dictate entrance criteria for higher education? The national "voluntary" Common Core States Standards are not only going to define academic expectations for language arts and mathematics in K-12 but they are also going to explicitly create a national definition of what it means to be "college ready".  What are the implications of these high school exit standards on admissions requirements for post-secondary institutions?  Is it conceivable that the arts and sciences faculties in public universities and colleges will lose their academic authority to set their own admissions standards and create their own placement policies for credit-bearing courses for freshmen if their state's governor, state board of education, and legislature agree to adopt standards that define what being "college ready" means?

Public institutions of higher education must keep a close eye on the legal reach of the Common Core standards in their respective states. The standards may not be only about K-12 education as most professors probably think, and they may not be happy about how non-academic administrators, assessment experts, and politicians define the content of freshman credit-bearing mathematics and reading courses for them. www.usworldclassmath.org

Last week, the Common Core group announced (via a mass e-mail and press release) that there will be a national public forum on the Common Core standards in Washington, D.C. on Dec. 2, from 1:30 to 3:00.

See announcement here:

http://usworldclassmath.webs.com/apps/blog/entries/show/2135480-national-forum-on-common-standards-december-2nd

Seems like a nice effort, but what about all of the interested parties who can't get to D.C. on a mid-week afternoon for 1 1/2 hours but would value the opportunity to take part in it?

Dozens of people who received the e-mail actually wrote back requesting that this national forum be available to everyone via a webinar or conference call.  This makes sense!   There are hundreds, if not thousands, of stakeholders nationwide who are very interested in the process and the product that will have an huge effect on millions of U.S. students.

What a great way for the Common Core folks to prove their commitment to transparency and an open dialogue with the public!

But alas, no, they are not interested in opening this forum up through a webinar or conference call.  They will only post a video of the opening presentation on their website. 

And we keep hearing about the push for 21st century skills and increasing the use of technology in education.  Why wouldn't they want to model a 21st century skills lesson and have a truly open national forum?

Here's the mass e-mail that arrived today:

From: CommonStandards@ccsso.org

To: commonstatestandards@orbit.sparklist.com

Sent: 11/21/2009 1:54:14 P.M. Eastern Standard Time

Subj: Update: National Forum on Common Standards

Thank you for your engagement in the Common Core State Standards Initiative. Our sincere apologies for the numerous messages posted to the listserv last week that filled many of your inboxes. We have corrected the listserv issue so this will not occur again.

In response to your requests, we will post a video of the opening presentation from the National Forum on Common Core State Standards on the initiative's website www.corestandards.org.  We will notify you when the presentation recording is on the site.

Thank you for your continued involvement in this important work.

Evidently, the CCSSI web master used an e-mail list that was not blinded, so anyone who hit "reply" to send them back a message also delivered their message to the entire e-mail list of the CCSSI.

Here's one winner of a sent e-mail:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

To: commonstatestandards@orbit.sparklist.com

CC: genew@ccsso.org, DLinn@NGA.ORG, Gail.Taylor@state.vt.us

Sent: 11/16/2009 11:14:47 A.M. Eastern Standard Time

Subj: Re: National Forum on Common Standards - December 2nd

And is there a way to verify official roles of individuals involved with CCSSI?

I saw Coleman and Zimba each described as "Project Director" here - http://www.ncte.org/standards/commoncore/response2

I saw Phil Daro described as "Chair of the Mathematics Development Work Group of the Common Core State Standards Initiative" here - http://hechinger.tc.columbia.edu/default.aspx?pageid=780 on page 23

I saw this about William G. McCallum "For the second phase of the report, he will lead the math working team" here - http://uanews.org/node/27366

Can you confirm roles for individuals within the work groups, and for CCSSI in general? I'm wasting tremendous amounts of time trying to figure out what "the man behind the curtain" is doing - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWyCCJ6B2WE

Thank you in advance for answering (I hope).

Anne Clark

Read About Our Major Concerns of Standards on Our Home Page!

E-mail sent by CCSSI on 11.16.09

Colleagues:

The Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) and the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) would like to invite you to a National Forum on Common Core State Standards on Wednesday, December 2nd from 1:30-3:00 p.m. at 101 Constitution Avenue, NW, Suite 900, Washington, DC.

The purpose of this meeting will be to (1) provide an update on the Common Core State Standards Initiative, (2) discuss the process for developing the K-12 standards in English language arts (ELA) and mathematics, (3) outline elements of state adoption of the common standards, and (4) gather your input and feedback on initiative. Additionally, a graphic display of the standards development process is now available at: http://www.corestandards.org/Files/CCSSIProcess.pdf .

We look forward to seeing you next month. Advanced RSVP is not required for this event. If you have any questions, please contact commonstandards@ccsso.org  or visit www.corestandards.org .

Sincerely,

Gene Wilhoit, Executive Director, CCSSO

Dane Linn, Director, NGA Center

http://www.corestandards.org/Files/K-12DevelopmentTeam.pdf

News Release

11/10/2009

Common Core State Standards K-12 Work and Feedback Groups Announced

Contact: Jodi Omear, 202-624-5346

Office of Communications

WASHINGTON—The National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) today announced the individuals who will develop the K-12 standards for English-language arts and mathematics in the Common Core State Standards Initiative (CCSSI). Fifty-one states and territories have joined this state-led process.

The draft college and career-readiness standards, the first step in this initiative, were released in September and are available at www.corestandards.org. The K-12 standards for English-language arts and mathematics will align with the college- and career-readiness standards. They also will be research and evidence-based, aligned with college and workforce training program expectations, reflective of rigorous content and skills and internationally benchmarked.

The K-12 standards development process has a parallel structure to the college- and career-readiness standards, with a work group drafting the standards and receiving continual input from outside experts and practitioners.

The Work Group for K-12 standards development is composed of individuals representing multiple stakeholders and a range of expertise and experience in assessment, curriculum design, cognitive development, early childhood, early numeracy, child development, English-language acquisition and elementary, middle, and postsecondary education.

The Feedback Group will continue in its current capacity for the K–12 standards, providing information backed by research to inform the standards development process by offering expert input on draft documents. Click here to view the list of work and feedback group members. 

( http://www.corestandards.org/Files/K-12DevelopmentTeam.pdf )

"The Common Core State Standards Initiative allows states to work together to develop common standards that will ensure our students are prepared for the future," said Dane Linn, director of the NGA Center's Education Division. "The K-12 standards will articulate and help us make sure students are on track to meet the college- and career-readiness expectations."

"These standards, both the college- and career-ready and the K-12, are the critical first step for the transformation of our state education systems" stated Gene Wilhoit, executive director of the Council of Chief State School Officers. "We're committed to ensuring students are achieving to their highest levels and given every opportunity throughout their education to do so."

The draft K-12 standards are expected to be released by early 2010. States and national organizations will have the opportunity to review and provide evidence-based feedback on the draft documents throughout the process. As with the college- and career- readiness standards, the NGA Center and CCSSO will solicit public feedback on the K-12 standards at www.corestandards.org.

An advisory group also has been formed to provide advice and guidance on the initiative. Members of this group include experts from Achieve, Inc., ACT, the College Board, the National Association of State Boards of Education and the State Higher Education Executive Officers. For more information, please visit www.corestandards.org.

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-No Commitment Yet on 30-day Feedback Period for K-12 Common Core State Standards Draft -

I happen to feel that the grade by grade K-12 Common Core State Standards for Math and ELA are even more critical than the Career and College Readiness Standards Draft released last week. That's why I wanted to be sure that the folks at the CCSSI will allow the same generous 30-day feedback period they are providing for the "Readiness" draft.

I e-mailed Dane Linn of the NGA asking if there will be the same period for public review.  He put me in touch with Jodi Omear, Director of Communications, who responded to me.

Bottom line: CCSSI has not committed to a 30-day public review period.

Here is a copy of the e-mail thread:

Sent: 9/26/2009 2:54:25 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time

Subj: Will K-12 Draft have same 30 comment period?

Dear Mr. Linn,

Will the K-12 Common Core State Standards Draft to be released late December or in January have the same 30 day period for comments before states would have to commit to adopting them in the Race to the top Application?

Thank you,

Jill Gladstone - Co-founder, U.S. Coalition for World Class Math

_____________________________

Sent: 9/30/2009 5:16:21 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time

Subj: FW: Will K-12 Draft have same 30 comment period?

Hi Jill,

Thanks for talking with me. I hope this helps.

The K-12 common core state standards in English-language arts and mathematics are expected to be completed and publicly released in early 2010.  There will certainly be a public comment period on these standards as well.  NGA and CCSSO will release a timeline for this in the near future.

Jodi

______________________________

Sent: Thursday, October 01, 2009 11:25 AM

To: Omear, Jodi

Subject: Fwd: FW: Will K-12 Draft have same 30 comment period?

Hi Jodi,

Thank you for the information. Will the comment period also be 30 days?

Jill

___________________________________

Sent: 10/1/2009 11:30:57 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time

Subj: RE: FW: Will K-12 Draft have same 30 comment period?

We haven' t determined a timeline yet.

______________________________

Also see our August 12th blog post, "Answers To Our Questions From NGA's Mr. Linn"

NY Times Blog on Common Core Draft Released this week:

http://roomfordebate.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/22/national-academic-standards-the-first-test/

See the comments too.

News Release

09/24/2009

Common Core State Standards Initiative Validation Committee Announced

NGA Center, CCSSO Release List of Validation Committee Members

Contact: Jodi Omear, 202-624-5346

Office of Communications

WASHINGTON?The National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) today released the names of the members of the Validation Committee for the Common Core State Standards Initiative. This committee will immediately be tasked with reviewing and verifying the standards development process and the resulting evidence-based college- and career-readiness standards. The standards are intended to be research and evidence-based, aligned with college and workforce training program expectations, reflective of rigorous content and skills, and internationally benchmarked.

For the college- and career-readiness standards, the Validation Committee will:

• Review the process used to develop the college- and career-readiness standards and recommend improvements in that process. These recommendations will be used to inform the K-12 development process.

• Validate the sufficiency of the evidence supporting each college- and career-readiness standard. Each member is asked to determine whether each standard has sufficient evidence to warrant its inclusion.

• Add any standard that is not now included in the common core state standards that they feel should be included and provide the following evidence to support its inclusion: 1) evidence that the standard is essential to college and career success; and 2) evidence that the standard is internationally comparable.

Members of the validation committee were nominated by states and national organizations, with a group of six governors and six chief state school officers in the participating states selecting the final committee membership. The six governors were Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter; Connecticut Gov. M. Jodi Rell; Delaware Gov. Jack Markell; Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue; Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas; and West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin. The chief state school officers were: Maine Chief and CCSSO Board President Susan Gendron; Michigan Chief Michael Flanagan; Pennsylvania Chief Gerald Zahorchak; South Carolina Chief Jim Rex; and West Virginia Chief Steve Paine. After the college- and career-readiness standards and process have been validated by the committee, the NGA Center and CCSSO will begin the process of developing the K-12 standards.

The 25 members of the Validation Committee are:

Bryan Albrecht, President, Gateway Technical College, Kenosha, Wisconsin

Arthur Applebee, Distinguished Professor, Center on English Learning & Achievement, School of Education, University at Albany, SUNY

Sarah Baird, 2009 Arizona Teacher of the Year, K-5 Math Coach, Kyrene School District

Jere Confrey, Joseph D. Moore Distinguished University Professor, William and Ida Friday Institute for Educational Innovation, College of Education, North Carolina State University

David T. Conley, Professor, College of Education, University of Oregon CEO, Educational Policy Improvement Center

Linda Darling-Hammond, Charles E. Ducommun Professor of Education, Stanford University

Alfinio Flores, Hollowell Professor of Mathematics Education, University of Delaware

Brian Gong, Executive Director, Center for Assessment

Kenji Hakuta, Lee L. Jacks Professor of Education, Stanford University

Feng-Jui Hsieh, Associate Professor of the Mathematics Department, National Taiwan Normal University

Jeremy Kilpatrick, Regents Professor of Mathematics Education, University of Georgia

Barry McGaw, Professor and Director of Melbourne Education Research Institute, University of Melbourne; Director for Education, OECD

James Milgram, Professor Emeritus, Stanford University

David Pearson, Professor and Dean, Graduate School of Education, University of California, Berkeley

Stanley Rabinowitz, Senior Program Director, Assessment and Standards Development Services, WestEd

Lauren Resnick, Distinguished University Professor, Psychology and Cognitive Science, Learning Sciences and Education Policy, University of Pittsburgh

Andreas Schleicher, Head, Indicators and Analysis Division of the OECD Directorate for Education

William Schmidt, University Distinguished Professor, Michigan State University

Catherine Snow, Henry Lee Shattuck Professor of Education, Harvard Graduate School of Education

Christopher Steinhauser, Superintendent of Schools, Long Beach Unified School District

Sandra Stotsky, Professor of Education Reform, 21st Century Chair in Teacher Quality, University of Arkansas

Dorothy Strickland, Samuel DeWitt Proctor Professor of Ed., Emerita, Distinguished Research Fellow, National Institute for Early Education Research, Rutgers, The State University of NJ

Martha Thurlow, Director, National Center on Educational Outcomes, University of Minnesota

Norman Webb, Senior Research Scientist, Emeritus, Wisconsin Center for Education Research, University of Wisconsin

Dylan William, Deputy Director, Institute of Education, University of London

Please click here for biographical information on each of the Validation Committee members. Also, for more information on the Common Core State Standards Initiative and to comment on the draft college- and career-readiness standards, please visit www.corestandards.org.

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Latest draft of the Common Core "College and Career Readiness" Standards in Math and English-language arts released today.

Direct Link to Standards: http://www.corestandards.org/Standards/index.htm

EdWeek Article: Revised Draft of 'Common Core' Standards Unveiled

http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2009/09/21/05standards.h29.html?tkn=MWUFjAoZiI76827npWS%2F88wcARz27oF%2BNXKd

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