1. Rich Tasks for Real Kids
Aligning Performance Tasks to the Common Core State Standards and NC Essential Standards
The information in this presentation is based on information received from the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) at the Urban District Leadership Network (UDLN) convening attended by the CMS Deputy Superintendent, STEM, and Humanities Departments in Tampa, FL in May, 2013.
Please remember to document attendance for this state required half-day PD session. This session completes the five days of CCSS/ES training required by the NC waiver day plan for the school year.

2. Session Goals
To deepen our understanding of performance tasks aligned to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and NC Essential Standards
To explore how performance tasks impact a student’s journey toward college and career readiness
To consider the research on effective assessment practices
To understand how aligned assessment practices can raise rigor and expectations for all students
Review goals for this part of the training.
As we know, and as the research has shown, the assessment practices our students encounter in school – the means by which we indicate and inform the quality of their learning – send incredibly strong signals to them about what’s important in education: about what kind of skills they should seek to master and about the kinds of things they should seek to know and understand about the world.
For better or worse, the kind of assessment practices that our kids encounter in school are the lens through which they develop a sense of what they are capable of doing and what kind of value they bring to their own lives and the lives of others.
As we continue to implement the Common Core and the NC Essential Standards, we aspire to empower all students with the knowledge and skills they need in the 21st-century. It is critical that we succeed in aligning assessment practices with both the spirit and the substance of the Common Core.
Today, we’re going to talk about rich tasks for real kids. 2

3. Let’s talk about Miguel
Miguel begins kindergarten this year and will graduate from high school in 2026 and from college in What will Miguel’s world be like in 2030? We can’t know for sure, but a few things are certain:
It’s likely the career Miguel chooses doesn’t exist today.
Advanced technology will be more central to Miguel’s life and the life of his peers than for any previous generation in human history.
Miguel’s generation will grapple with the impact of global challenges using understandings not yet achieved and with technologies and solutions not yet invented.
The exponential pace of change means the world in which Miguel lives today will likely bear little resemblance to the world he will know in 2030.
When you think about it, there is probably a Miguel beginning kindergarten in every one of our elementary schools this fall. For our purposes today, Miguel represents the tens of thousands of students who will begin school this fall and who will graduate from college in 2030.
We can’t say for certain what the future holds, but we can say some things about what Miguel’s world will be like.
(Quickly read four sub-bullets. Advance to next slide.) 3

4. Miguel and the CCSS
While school can’t prepare Miguel for every challenge he will face in the future, a quality and inspired CCSS-aligned education can empower Miguel to:
Demonstrate independence and self-directed learning
Value evidence, reason logically, and think conceptually and abstractly
Analyze and use data
Comprehend as well as critique
Construct and present viable arguments
Use media and technology strategically
Persevere in making sense of and solving problems
Understand and appreciate different perspectives and cultures
Develop the skills and dispositions necessary to the responsible exercise of citizenship in an advanced democratic republic
These capacities, developed in the context of a well-rounded education, will ensure Miguel can engage with and contribute to his world effectively and with purpose.
While school can’t prepare Miguel for every challenge he’ll face, a quality education aligned to the Common Core can ensure that Miguel heads into the future being able to, among other things:
(Read three or four sub-points.)
Miguel’s best chance for the future is a high-quality, well-rounded education enabling him to engage effectively with his high-paced and ever-changing world. 4

5. Miguel, the CCSS, and Assessment Tasks
Ensuring Miguel – and all students – are able to acquire 21st-century knowledge, skills, and dispositions require the development of aligned assessments that:
Raises instructional rigor and empowers every student to become college and career ready.
Develops deep content knowledge and literacy across the curriculum and deep mathematical understanding across topic areas.
Focuses primarily on assessment for learning and thus provides timely and meaningful feedback, support, and the opportunities for practice and improvement necessary to master the CCSS.
Integrates into the daily instructional experience of teachers and students, thereby enabling students to transfer and apply knowledge and skill to novel and complex challenges.
But how will we know that Miguel is preparing for that future? What kind of assessments can signal not only how well Miguel is learning but also how best to improve and accelerate his learning?
The Common Core offers important clues that can help us consider some key principles when it comes to what a Common Core-aligned assessment system should be designed to do.
Assessments in all content areas designed to prepare Miguel to meet new learning expectations:
(Read sub-points.) 5

6. Turn and Talk
Take a few minutes to discuss your thoughts about the following question:
How do your current classroom assessment practices compare and contrast to the previously mentioned assessment components?
Encourage discussion and analysis. 6

7. What does the CCSS say about assessment?
“While the Standards delineate specific expectations in reading, writing, speaking, listening, and language, each standard need not be a separate focus for instruction and assessment. Often, several standards can be addressed by a single rich task…This means that students can develop mutually reinforcing skills and exhibit mastery of standards…across a range of texts and classrooms.”
CCSS ELA & Literacy, p. 5
“Mathematical understanding and procedural skill are equally important, and both are assessable using mathematical tasks of sufficient richness.”
CCSS Math, p. 4
The CCSS ELA & Literacy standards also stress the following:
“The Standards insist that instruction in reading, writing, speaking, listening, and language be a shared responsibility within the school.”
CCSS ELA & Literacy, p. 4
Now, let’s get a little more specific and let’s dive into the Common Core and investigate what it says about assessment.
In ELA and Literacy, the standards say that: (read quote with emphasis)
In mathematics, the standards say that: (read quote with emphasis)
(Read the remainder of the slide.)
I want you to keep the notion of a “shared responsibility” in mind, because we’ll reflect on that in just a little while.
The paradox of what the Common Core says about assessment is that it says very little and a whole lot at the same time. 7

8. What does the CCSS say about assessment?
From the CCSS, we can infer that assessment aligned to the CCSS:
Should balance assessment of discrete standards with assessment of multiple standards within “rich tasks” or “tasks of sufficient richness.”
Is a “shared responsibility,” which creates opportunity to ensure coherent instruction across subjects areas and topics.
Is less about testing and more about the kind of instructional practice that supports student mastery of the CCSS.
From the little the Common Core says about assessment, we can infer three overarching principles of Common Core-aligned assessment:
(Read/paraphrase sub-bullets.) 8

9. What are “rich tasks”?
Assessment through “rich tasks” or “tasks of sufficient richness” can drive focus and coherence in the daily instructional experience for teachers and students across all disciplines.
Rich tasks address multiple standards – sometimes across subject areas or topics – and can provide students worthwhile and cognitively challenging opportunities for feedback and deeper learning.
What are rich tasks?
IMPORTANT NOTE: In CMS, the C&I team has included sample performance tasks in curriculum guides for all content areas for next school year! We use the terms “rich tasks” and “performance tasks” interchangeably.
Fundamentally, rich tasks can take many diverse forms, as you’ll see, but at their core, rich tasks address multiple standards (as opposed to focusing on discrete standards) – sometimes involving content across subject areas and mathematical topics – and can drive the kind of focused and coherent instruction that is both worthwhile and cognitively challenging for students.
What the Common Core is suggesting is that through rich tasks students can make the critical link between the standards and what’s worth knowing and mastering in this world. Rich tasks can be the vehicles through which we can engage all students in more effective learning. 9

10. What does a rich task look like?
Smarter Balanced Sample 4th-Grade Math Performance Task: Planting Tulips, Part 3
The class finds a bag containing bulbs that are each 1 ½ inches wide and decides to use them in their rectangular planter. Following the planting guidelines, answer the questions and show your calculations.
This picture shows a tulip bulb that is 1 ½ inches wide. Use your ruler and mark an “X” where the next bulb could be planted.
Using your drawing, calculate the total length of space that is needed for each bulb with a 1 ½-inch width. Your answer should include the width of the bulb shown.
How many tulip bulbs with a 1 ½-inch width can be planted in a single row that is 5 feet long?
How many tulip bulbs with a 1 ½-inch width can be planted in a single column that is 2 feet long?
How many total tulip bulbs with a 1 ½-inch width can be planted in the 5-foot by 2- foot rectangular planter? Explain or show your reasoning.
This is a grade 4 example. Use with teachers as appropriate. It may be beneficial to display all three tasks so teachers can experience the progression in skills and rigor our students will experience.
Read prompt.
At your table, take three minutes to review and discuss this task and identify evidence that this is a rich task.
(Solicit volunteers to share their analysis. Encourage evidence.)
Remember when I asked you to consider the notion of “shared responsibility” called for by the Common Core? How does this task represent shared curricular and instructional responsibility at our school?
What makes this a rich task? Student will need to…
Solve real-world problems involving measurements.
Construct chains of reasoning that will justify or refute propositions or conjectures.
Select and use appropriate tools strategically. 10

11. What does a rich task look like?
Literacy Design Collaborative Sample Middle School Task:
Are the financial gains of hydraulic fracturing, commonly known as fracking, worth the environmental risk? After reading informational texts and viewing multi-media, write a letter to your state legislator that addresses the question. Support your position with evidence from the text(s). Be sure to acknowledge competing views. Give examples from past or current events or issues to illustrate and clarify your position.
What makes this a rich task? Students will need to…
Read multiple, cross-disciplinary complex texts, including non-print media, to develop content knowledge.
Produce clear and coherent writing using textual evidence to analyze a real-world issue and support an argument.
This middle school literacy task comes to us from the Literacy Design Collaborative. Use with teachers as appropriate. It may be beneficial to display all three tasks so teachers can experience the progression in skills and rigor our students will experience.
(Read LDC prompt.)
At your table, take three minutes to review and discuss this task and identify evidence that this is a rich task.
(Solicit volunteers to share their analysis. Encourage evidence.)
Remember when I asked you to consider the notion of “shared responsibility” called for by the Common Core? How does this task represent shared curricular and instructional responsibility at our school? 11

12. What does a rich task look like?
Smarter Balanced Sample 11th-Grade ELA Performance Task: Nuclear Power
Part 1: After you have reviewed the research sources, answer the questions below.
From the sources you have reviewed, summarize 3 major arguments that support, and 3 major arguments that oppose, the use of nuclear power for generating electricity. For each of the arguments, cite at least one source that supports this fact or point of view.
Evaluate the credibility of the arguments and evidence presented by these sources. Which of the sources are more trustworthy and why? Which of the sources warrant some skepticism because of bias or insufficient evidence?
Part 2: Write an argumentative report that recommends the position your congresswoman should take on the plan to build a nuclear power plant in your state. Support your claim with evidence from the Internet sources you have read and viewed. You do not need to use all the sources, only the ones most effectively and credibly supporting your position and your consideration of the opposing point of view.
This is a high school grade 11 task. Present to teachers as appropriate.
Read prompt.
At your table, take three minutes to review and discuss this task and identify evidence that this is a rich task.
(Solicit volunteers to share their analysis. Encourage evidence.)
Remember when I asked you to consider the notion of “shared responsibility” called for by the Common Core? How does this task represent shared curricular and instructional responsibility at our school?
What makes this a rich task? Students will need to…
Produce clear and coherent writing using textual evidence to support an argument.
Evaluate the credibility of claims.
Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English. 12

13. Turn and Talk
Take three minutes to discuss your thoughts to the following:
What are some primary advantages of assessing students through rich tasks versus more conventional classroom assessments?
We’ve just spent time reviewing some sample tasks that could be considered “rich tasks.” They ask students to engage in cognitively challenging work, across multiple standards, and some even have application outside of school, thereby increasing the opportunity to engage students in work that is worth doing.
Take time now at your table to reflect on the following questions:
(Read question.)
(Solicit volunteers to provide reflective answers.) 13

14. In other words…
If Miguel and his peers are to demonstrate mastery of the CCSS, they should engage in “authentic intellectual work” that:
Addresses multiple standards within a subject area and across the curriculum.
Is cognitively challenging and intellectually rewarding for students.
Is informed by educator expertise and student interests.
Deeply engages educators and students in work that is worth doing and has value beyond school.
Working to meet the rigorous expectations of the Common Core and NC Essential Standards means students, like Miguel, need to be engaged in authentic intellectual work that:
(Read/paraphrase sub-bullets.) 14

15. What does research say about “authentic intellectual work?”
“Authentic [intellectual] experiences should, to the extent possible, not be contrived and will often involve multiple measures across time to provide a comprehensive picture of students’ knowledge and abilities.” (McAlister, 2001, p. 23)
“Participation in authentic intellectual activity helps to motivate and sustain students in the hard work that learning requires.” (Newmann, Bryk, and Nagaoka, 2001, p. 30)
“Meaningful, contextualized experiences tend to promote better learning.” (McAlister, 2001, p. 31)
“Evidence indicates that assignments calling for more authentic intellectual work actually improve student scores on conventional tests.” (Newmann, Bryk, and Nagaoka, 2001, p. 29)
Engaging all students in authentic intellectual work will represent a tremendous shift for schools, teachers, and the students themselves. Some of the work we ask of our students may not be authentic, in that students, especially our most struggling, understand a clear connection between what they’re doing, what they’re learning, and how they can apply that learning to new and novel situations.
What does the research say about the impact of authentic intellectual work? (Highlight bullets)
Teachers may feel tension between engaging all students in classroom learning and designing authentic intellectual experiences that challenge all students. The CCSS and solid research suggest that, in fact, it is through authentic intellectual work that all of our students will have the best chance of demonstrating their capacity to achieve at the highest levels.
At the end of the day, what we know is kids meet our expectations . 15

16. Now, back to Miguel…
Performance tasks should prepare Miguel, and every other student, for success in college and/or a career of their choosing. When it comes to these tasks for students, they should be:
Less like a test and more like a valuable challenge worth tackling.
About getting useful feedback to improve and refine their work so they come to know what quality work is.
A seamless extension of daily instructional experiences, with application beyond the classroom.
Technology-enhanced and personalized when appropriate.
An opportunity to demonstrate knowledge, logic, ideas, values, insights, creativity, imagination, convictions, and passions through multiple modes of expression.
Let’s summarize this part of the session by thinking once again about Miguel and all the Miguels we have known and will know in our school. The Common Core presents a special opportunity to afford him a quality and inspired education. In order to achieve the promise of the Common Core, going forward, assessment for Miguel should be…
(Read/paraphrase bullets.)
This is hard work! It’s fulfilling work for us and for our students, and, ultimately, it’s the work the Common Core and Essential Standards demands in the service of all of our students. 16

17. Looking Ahead
CMS district-wide expectations include the teaching and analysis of performance tasks in all grades and content areas. A focus of professional development next year will include creating, teaching, and analyzing content-specific performance tasks.
Remember performance tasks are part of the CMS non-negotiables for all grade bands next school year in CMS.

18. How can I find out more about CMS performance tasks?
Attend subject-specific sessions at the CMS Teacher Institute June 19-28, 2013.
Look at your specific curriculum guides for sample performance tasks.
Work with your PLC to design and implement tasks at your school.
Encourage teachers to attend PD sessions this summer (and Curriculum Day next school year) to examine their new curriculum guides which include aligned performance tasks. Also encourage teachers to create additional performance tasks for their students. Next year, PD will include analysis of student work samples based on content/grade specific performance tasks.

19. Next Steps With your colleagues, explore opportunities for
performance task development.
Consider the following:
Interdisciplinary connections between CCSS and NC Essential Standards
Real-world contexts to broaden student perspectives
Resources (texts, technology, format)
In the remaining time, teachers may opt to begin planning based on today’s information. Locate course/grade specific curriculum guides and examine the rich performance tasks included. Discuss possible resources and instructional timelines.

20. Table Talk
Take a few minutes to discuss your thoughts about the following:
What are some of the practical curricular and instructional implications for you and your students of assessment through rich performance tasks? 20

21. References
“Common Core State Standards,” Common Core State Standards Initiative, May
McAlister, Brian. “The Authenticity of Authentic Assessment: What the Research Says… Or Doesn’t Say,” in Custer R. L., Schell, J., Scott, J. S., McAlister B.K. & Hoepfl, M. (2000) Using Authentic Assessment in Vocational Education: ERIC Monograph (Information Series No. 381).
Newmann, Fred, et al. “Authentic Intellectual Work and Standardized Tests: Conflict or Coexistence?” Consortium on Chicago School Research,
Orland, Martin and Janice Anderson. “Assessment for Learning: What Policymakers Should Know About Formative Assessment,” WestEd,
Partnership for the Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, Item and Task Prototypes,
Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium, Sample Items and Performance Tasks,
The information in this presentation is based on information received from the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) at the Urban District Leadership Network (UDLN) convening attended by the CMS Deputy Superintendent, STEM, and Humanities Departments in Tampa, FL in May, 2013. 21

22. http://youtu.be/Hms3XPw6wkI The Story of Our Work 22
Be sure you are connected to the Internet. Click the link to show the video. Use this as a springboard for reflection and celebration of our implementation journey. Consider reviewing the specific professional development you have provided for your staff. Celebrate your accomplishments! 22

23. And the Survey Says… CCSS/NCES Professional Development Survey 23
Direct staff to complete the CCSS/ES survey. This information will assist in assessing understanding and implementation levels and in creating next steps as a district. Information is NOT reported by school OR individual! Encourage all certified staff to participate. 23