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Standards Review and Revision
Intro
At our last department meeting, I pointed out a short article in NYSEC News article relevant to all of us. The Board of Regents is reviewing and revising all of the state’s learning standards (schedule is linked on our ELA page). Since ELA was the first to implement the new standards 9 or 10 years ago, we are the first to undergo the review and revision. The article gives a short 2-page summary of the upcoming changes and recommendations.
I spent a day trying to sort out the language in the article (with lots of help from Claire- thank you!). I also got a hold of the full report which I already posted on our ELA page. My goal is to summarize the full panel report best I can for all of us.
Working Principles
There are 4 major areas that all involved agree need to be the focus. These are:
1. Technology
2. Literacy across all content areas
3. Assessment including “multiple formative assessments which provide a more comprehensive view of progress and achievement.” Somehow proof of progress will be part of the new test? A portfolio piece?
4. Format. This will be the most noticeable of the changes.
Recommendations
Taking theses working principles, the panel made a number of recommendations. Some of these are:
1. Replacing the current standards with new language. Our 4 current standards will not be standards anymore. Three of them- info and understanding, literary response and expression and critical analysis and evaluation- will now be considered functions or purposes of literacy, why we read. “Social Interaction” will be subsumed throughout.
2. The new standards will be designed using two things. The first is the Core Performance Indicators which I included on our ELA page. There are too many of them to list. The new standards will also be drawn from the 5 qualities- Meaning, Organization, Development, Language Use and Conventions. How they are going to combine these two things, I don’t know. Especially in light of goal #6.
3. They want literacy to be explicitly in all content areas. I wonder if the ELA Panel has this power, but it seems like all parties involved agree this should be so.
4. Literature and language is separate and elevated from literacy. Literacy is a shared job across the content areas, literature is ours and separate from teaching a kid to read.
5. In addition to reading, writing, speaking and listening, the standards will add some sort of “viewing and representing” to take into account multimedia/technology. They don’t have the exact language down pat yet.
6. The format of the standards, performance indicators and competencies will be completely revised. The goal is to reduce to size and complexity to make the standards more accessible to teachers and parents and to reduce repetition. The discussion I sat in on last year suggested making the standards look more like math or science (which are very simple and clear).
One other big recommendation was including ELL students in with the ELA standards. As this one doesn’t generally affect us, I’ll skip it.
Other Recommendations
Below are recommendations that are still under consideration. These aren’t set in stone yet because of lack of consensus or wording.
1. Should the term be “Representing” or just “Presenting”?
2. How do you include technology standards that can be solidly worded but still able to evolve with the actual technology?
3. How can PK-16 connections be created?
4. The standards will require expanded teacher knowledge and skill in the areas of literacy, DI and technology. As much as we want a reading teacher, we will be expected to know how to teach literacy.
5. There is mention in this section again about “multiple formative assessments”. In the same line, bold-faced, they recommend teachers stay involved in the creation of any new assessments.
6. Grammar and conventions won’t be touched.
7. PK-3 is under heavy review. Their language may possible be modeled on Washington State’s standards.
8. Internet ethics/digital citizenship is mentioned a couple of times.
