Digital Discourse / Archives for CCSS

What’s new in Common Core Standards & Assessments?

February 13, 2013 By

Common Core State Standards (CCSS) continue to be a core driver of educational policies and practice, including for education technology and digital learning. As the deadline inches closer, more decisions are being made, steps taken and information made available. To help SIIA members better track the details and trends, SIIA is launching a new series of monthly reports for SIIA members on the newest and most relevant information, aggregated and summarized.

Notable releases from the SIIA January 2013 report include new system framework guidelines and accommodation policies by the two assessment consortia. Also included are studies with data supporting implementation and recommendations to both developers and school districts as they create their plans for the transition to CCSS.

The SIIA monthly series will  contain information on both the major assessment organizations, Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) and Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC), as well as on the standards definitions and implementation.  As information is released, it will be added as well, creating a one-stop resource for SIIA members working to ensure their products and services help meet education common core related needs.

Look for more updates by SIIA Education Policy in a month!

Meanwhile, SIIA members can review past SIIA webinars on CCSS, SBAC and PARCC, as well as register for SIIA’s Ed Tech Government Forum, April 9-11 in Washington, DC featuring several sessions addressing these issues.

 

Lindsay HarmanLindsay Harman is Market and Policy Analyst for the SIIA Education Division.

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Filed Under: Ed Tech Government Forum, Ed Tech Industry Summit, Education, Education Events, Education Policies, Education Policy, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , ,

Testing College and Career Readiness

October 9, 2012 By

Addressing the high levels of remedial coursework in higher education and better preparing students for college are important national challenges as the United States works to improve its educational and economic standing. Both are high on the agenda of PARCC (Partnership for the Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers) and SBAC (SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium), the two assessment options for the Common Core State Standards implementation.

On a recent Alliance for Excellent Education  webinar, SBAC and PARCC leaders provided a good overview of their tasks, deliverables and timelines. Both will pilot their computer-based assessments in the 2013-2014 school year and fully implement in 2014-2015.

SBAC and PARCC are focused on the challenge of testing college and career readiness as defined by CCSS.  SBAC’s goal is to have their high school assessment qualify students for entry level, credit bearing coursework in college or university.  SBAC is working in collaboration with 175 public and 13 private higher education systems to ensure their assessments meet the rigor required by these institutions.

PARCC has established a 5 point assessment scoring scale to address college and career readiness. Students who score a level 4 or 5 will be exempt from college placement tests and will be able to immediately begin credit bearing coursework. A detailed description of the 5 levels can be found on slide 8 of the PARCC presentation.

SBAC and PARC leaders and states acknowledge that collaboration with Higher Education is key in developing accurate and constructive examinations for the common core curriculum, and securing their buy in for placement.

SBAC is releasing new samples on October 9th that give a better idea of the upcoming assessments.  To learn more about the samples and the implications for curriculum publishers and technology developers, SIIA members are encourage to attend SIIA’s October 11 webinar  that will help companies prepare for the assessment future.

 

Lindsay HarmanLindsay Harman is Market and Policy Analyst for the SIIA Education Division.

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Filed Under: Education, Education Policies, Education Policy, Policy, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , ,

Teachers and Tech

September 20, 2012 By

One of the biggest myths surrounding educational technology has been that teachers will be replaced by computers (or tablets, or software, or any number of technological developments). But the reality is that there is room for both the teacher and education technology in the classroom. Technology is an aid to teaching, not competition for teachers.

Common Core State Standards expect students to gain deeper college and career-ready knowledge and skills, presenting the most significant challenge that schools and teachers must address in the coming years. Among the questions is the role of technology and digital learning. At the same time, many in K12 education are questioning our traditional “seat-time” system and looking to the alternative “mastery” model, again opening up opportunities for technology.

With Mathematics as one of the areas covered by CCSS and common Science standards moving forward as well, STEM leaders are excited about the opportunities in their field. At a recent STEM Vital Signs report release by Change the Equation providing a state-by-state measure of STEM education and related careers, panelist Carolyn Landel, Chief Program Officer of Washington STEM, remarked that the teacher should NOT remain the sole source of educational knowledge in the classroom. The teacher is not going anywhere, but with the amount and depth of material required for coverage in CCSS, there is a need for additional learning opportunities outside the traditional teacher-centered classroom.

This conversation at the event highlighted opportunities for innovative instructional practices made possible through use of technology in the STEM subjects. One person even commented that, “you can’t tell kids Math and Science are fun and then put them in the same boring class”. The need for innovative and effective STEM learning models presents a bright future for digital learning. For example, Change the Equation is releasing an online game-based learning program to show a variety of methods to promote and encourage STEM learning. The future for educational technology and teachers is encouraging in a CCSS future.

 

Lindsay HarmanLindsay Harman is Market and Policy Analyst for the SIIA Education Division.

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Filed Under: Education, Education Policy, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , ,

Kentucky’s Implementation of Common Core State Standards Demonstrates Key Role of Technology

April 19, 2012 By

Kentucky was the first state to adopt the Common Core State Standards and has become a pioneer in implementation. Cindy Parker, a representative from the Kentucky Board of Education spoke recently at a National Adolescent Literacy Council event about the challenges and solutions to implementing the Common Core Standards. Kentucky began to implement CCSS for the 2010-2011 school year with very little funding support from state legislature. Educational technology has helped Kentucky by providing new and innovative methods for professional development, curriculum dissemination and teacher support.

A robust teacher training online platform was created to update teachers on the best practices for implementing the new standards. Lack of funding for traditional development methods created unique challenges that were overcome by implementing more flexible and easily accessed digital tools to support Kentucky’s educators.
Examples include:

  • iTunesU is used for podcasts and webinars for professional development of teachers. A monthly webinar with the state’s Education Commissioner and the district Superintendents has been established to create better communication.
  • Race to the Top funding was used to create “Literacy Central,” a website designed to aid teachers in professional learning. Videos, lesson plans, and forums are contained on the website and act as guideposts for teachers.
  • The Continuous Instructional Improvement Technology System (CIITS) was created in partnership with Pearson Schoolnet. This was designed as a one stop online platform for teachers to access CCSS literacy plans.  Modules within the site provide analysis of CCSS requirements and how to incorporate those into day to day classroom activities. Professional growth plans and consolidated professional development resources are also included.

The implementation of the CCSS in Kentucky led to not only classroom technology upgrades and changes, but also important changes in professional development. As new content and new guidelines were introduced, Kentucky reacted by creating technologically savvy teacher training. The important role of technology and digital learning, both for curriculum as well as for professional development, is clear.

SIIA’s recent CCSS webinar and Ed Tech Government Forum session are available to SIIA members seeking additional information about how they can support education’s needs with CCSS aligned content, technologies and resources. Further reading can also be found in Ed Week’s recent article.

 

Lindsay HarmanLindsay Harman is Market and Policy Analyst for the SIIA Education Division.

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Filed Under: Ed Tech Industry Summit, Education, Education Policy, Events, Uncategorized Tagged With: ,