2101 N. Main St
Nappanee, IN 46550

Phone: 574-773-4127
Fax: 574-773-4099

January 2011

Educational Review For Parents

January 2011

by Principal David L. Maugel

On the August 2010 International Center for Leadership in Education website, Willard R. Daggett, Ed.D, CEO, wrote a white paper on Common Core State Standards Initiative: Classroom Implications for 2014.

The paper describes the expectations of the U.S. Department of Education on student curriculum and assessment for the year 2014. Common Core State Standards (CCSS) have been adopted by thirty-three states and the District of Columbia. The driving force behind CCSS relates to the changing nature of work, technology, and competition in the global job market outpacing the U.S. educational system. In June 2010, a final version of the CCSS for English and math was released and a plan for Indiana can be found at:

http://media.doe.in.gov/curriculum/2010-08-03-CommonCore.html.

The paper describes three main sections of the Common Core: K-5 (cross-disciplinary), 6-12 (English language arts), and 6-12 (literacy in history/social studies, science, and technical subjects). Willard Daggett describes a paradigm shift of understanding and application of knowledge through a quadrant diagram. He states the shift from multiple-choice items, resulting in low rigor/low relevance to designing assessments that include performance-based tasks and open-ended questions to have high rigor/high relevance. “Students need to be prepared to read and analyze more complex texts to be successful on these tests.”

NorthWood High School continues to discuss and plan for these changes during teacher collaboration time.

Resource: http://www.leadered.com/whitepapers.html

Mr. Maugel writes a monthly review of materials he has found from journals, magazines, or other articles that may be of interest to parents.