The New Illinois Learning Standards & Assessments: What Parents Need to Know Brian Minsker President-Elect

Why Change Standards? What students are expected to know to graduate high school, as defined by state standards, required curriculum, and assessments The knowledge and skills demanded by colleges and employers for successful first-year students and new employees In many states, including Illinois, students can earn a high school diploma without the skills necessary for success in college and careers.

Why Change Standards? 81% of today’s jobs require college or career training 1/3 of college freshmen need remedial courses The majority of students taking remedial courses in college do not graduate.

Why Change Standards?

Proficiency Levels Vary by State

Can New Standards Really Create Change? Challenging content standards Aligned instructional materials (including open source) Assessment systems with a very different approach Aligned teacher preparation High-quality professional development

An Important Distinction Standards ≠ Curriculum Standards: Statements of skills Curriculum: The roadmap used to teach

The New Illinois Learning Standards: Common Core and More Common Core State Standards (2010) – English/Language Arts – Math Next Generation Science Standards (2014) New Physical Development and Health Standards (2014) Social Studies Standards (2015) Fine Arts under development (last 1996) Social and Emotional Learning Standards (2004)

The Opportunity High-quality, focused, widely-adopted standards lead to innovation, not standardization.

Assessment Illinois is a governing state in Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) – PARCC includes 11 states and DC – Other assessment group is Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (17 states) – Some states contracting for their own tests Makes better use of technology Aligned to the New Illinois Learning Standards

What’s Different with Assessment? Not just fill-in-the-bubble – Pull/highlight supporting text in ELA – Explain reasoning in math – Manipulate answers in math Questions tied to specific standards Adapt to meet student accommodations

What Does Assessment Look Like? Fourth Grade English/Language Arts

What Does Assessment Look Like? Eighth Grade English/Language Arts

What Does Assessment Look Like? Eleventh Grade English/Language Arts

What Does Assessment Look Like? Fourth Grade Mathematics

What Does Assessment Look Like? Eighth Grade Mathematics

What Does Assessment Look Like? Algebra II

What Does Assessment Look Like? Algebra II

What Do the New Assessments Mean? These upgraded tests are harder. With more emphasis on deeper learning, we have raised the bar for students, teachers, and parents. This new bar cannot be compared to the old one. The new scores are not higher or lower, just different.

How is PARCC Changing This Year? One testing window instead of two. Fewer modules. Reduced testing time (about 90 minutes total) More uniformity of module test times.

What Lies Ahead? Curriculum, textbooks, assessments, lesson plans, and resources will continue to evolve Every Student Succeeds Act New Social Studies Standards implementation New science assessment.

How the Assessment Will Help You Help Your Child Draft PARCC Math Report

How Will the Scores Be Used? Make instructional decisions. – Late scoring this year was a one-time situation. Determine the individual needs of students. – Extra support? – More challenging work? – Recommendations for future classes? Scores do not affect GPA, class rank, or college acceptance. Illinois Community Colleges will use PARCC scores for placement.

How Do the New Illinois Learning Standards Help Parents? Parents will know what is expected of their child at each grade level Standards give parents specific information to talk with their child’s teacher about during the school year Standards assure parents that their child has access to the same high-quality education as other students in Illinois and across the country

Parents’ Guides to Student Success Created by National PTA and endorsed and supported by Illinois PTA and the Illinois State Board of Education One guide for each grade level in Kindergarten through 8 th Grade, plus one each for High School ELA and Math Available in both English and Spanish

Provides an overview of what your child will learn in ELA and Math by the end of the year

Includes topics of discussion for talking with your child’s teacher about their academic progress

Contains activities to help your child learn at home

Resources Parents’ Guides to Student Success – (For Families menu) Common Core State Standards – – – PARCC – National PTA Common Core Video Series – The Hunt Institute Video Series – Be A Learning Hero –

Resources Khan Academy Common Core Series – National Council of Teachers of Mathematics – Howard County (MD) Public School System Family Mathematics Support Center – Common Core in Action – Supporting Your Child at Home –