1. Raising the Bar for Oregon

2. Why Now?  New Mathematics Content Standards were adopted for grades K-8 in 2007 and high school in 2009. Oregon Statewide Math Assessments will assess student mastery of these new Content Standards starting this school year. Oregon teachers are already providing instruction based on these new Content Standards.  Federal law requires that Achievement Standards align with Content Standards.  In August, ODE pulled together nearly 50 panel members from around the state including educators from both K-12 and higher education, parents, and business representatives. Panel members were charged with evaluating the math test items in the context of the new math Content Standards and national and international benchmarks and recommending new Achievement Standards.

3. Why Now? (cont)  Federal Requirements – Achievement Standards must align with Content Standards.  Predictability – districts are concerned that success at elementary and middle school does not closely align to success at high school. Students and parents may have a false impression of a student’s math achievement based on current standards.  National Competitiveness – states around the country are taking a hard look at what their students need to compete in the 21 st century job market. For the sake of our students, and our future economy, we can’t afford to wait. We must strive for higher standards and work tirelessly to ensure that our students are graduating ready to compete with their peers nationally and internationally.

4. Improving the System  The proposed Achievement Standards better align with national and international expectations and student performance.  We need to be more accurate about how much our students know and are able to do so that districts can better support their students  Implementing rigorous Achievement Standards across the grades is critical to preparing students for success during and after High School.

5. Budget  Schools have received repeated financial hits, and funds to do training and professional development are very low. And  Budget cannot keep us from moving forward. We need to educate ourselves out of this recession. Our students need strong foundational skills now more than ever to compete in today’s job market.

6. Impact of Achievement Standards on AYP  AYP targets go up to 70% this year.  Increasing Math Achievement Standards this year will make meeting AYP very challenging for many schools.  There are built-in transitions for status and “safe harbor.”  ODE plans to work with stakeholders to identify strategies to address these new complexities. We will examine state and federal accountability in light of these changes.  Concern over public perception regarding decreases in student performance

7. How Does this Relate to the Common Core?  We are 3 years into the implementation of Oregon’s Math Content Standards. The Common Core standards were finalized in 2010.  Raising our Achievement Standards and expecting more of our students now will help us transition to the higher standards of the Common Core. This is a step in our journey toward a rigorous, internationally benchmarked system.  These new Content Standards bring Oregon’s standards closer to those of other states including Washington.

8. How Does this Relate to the Common Core?  Why not simply wait to raise standards until we implement the Common Core? Districts are required to teach to the Oregon Content Standards and per federal requirements, Achievement Standards must be aligned with our Content Standards. Districts will likely be expected to transition to the new Common Core Standards by 2014-15. Waiting until 2014 to make a change would mean testing students on our old Content Standards for four more years (and a misalignment between instruction and the test). Waiting to raise standards until 2014 continues to give our students, parents, and communities outdated information about how prepared our students actually are to meet the challenges of today’s world.

9. Achievement Standards and the Oregon Diploma  Higher expectations in earlier grades will help ensure student are better prepared to meet the more rigorous Oregon Diploma requirements  Every step we take toward higher standards for our students is a step toward our final goal: preparing all of our students for the challenges and opportunities of life after graduation.

10. Next Steps  The recommended Achievement Standards will be reviewed at statewide conferences, with various stakeholder groups, and through a public opinion survey on the ODE website. You can access the survey at: http://surveymonkey.com/s/ SB33MXYhttp://surveymonkey.com/s/ SB33MXY  Feedback from the field will be thoroughly reviewed and a final recommendation to the State Board will take these concerns and comments into account.  Recommended Achievement Standards and the results from the public input will be presented to the State Board of Education at their October meeting.

11. Questions?