Maine Course Pathways Maine School Superintendents’ Conference June 24 – 25, 2010

Who is the Educational Policy Improvement Center (EPIC)? David Conley, PhD Founder, CEO, and Principal Investigator EPIC’s Mission: Nonprofit research center to help policymakers and educators do a better job of using educational policy as a tool to improve schooling and student learning EPIC specializes in: Developing and validating standards for college and career readiness Measuring and helping teachers improve the cognitive skills and strategies needed for college and career success Determining alignment of syllabi and courses, assessments, and state and national standards to college readiness standards

Maine Course Pathways Project Overview Maine Course Pathways is an online syllabus review process that validates Maine’s Learning Results (MLRs) using course syllabi. School administrators create course catalogs online. Teachers submit syllabi online and identify MLRs for each unit of the syllabus. Reviewers confirm teacher-identified MLRs, providing feedback to teachers. The Pathways system analyzes all components in a four-year combination of courses in a content area to determine if students have opportunity to learn all MLRS. Reflects Chapter 207, a law adopted in June 2009 that mandates that all schools provide students with multiple pathways for graduation.

Project Goals Goal: Ensure that every student has the opportunity to learn all of Maine’s Learning Results. Help schools validate curriculum and academic programs, while also maintaining local control over the content and sequencing of courses. Make public to students, parents, teachers, and administrators which knowledge and skills are taught, as well as how they are taught. Identify what needs to be modified or added to a school's academic program. Improve curricular alignment (vertical and horizontal) as teachers and administrators work together to develop syllabi and identify standards for each course.

Maine Course Pathways Three Year Timeline Winter 2007: EPIC collaborated with Maine DOE to conduct AP Course Audit teacher trainings. Maine DOE contracted EPIC to validate student opportunities to learn MLRs in high school through a syllabus review process. –2008: EPIC developed conceptual framework for MCP based on the AP Course Audit syllabus review system. – : MCP was launched as a small review pilot without a pathways system. – : MCP launch on a first-come, first-serve basis to a limited number of schools with a pathways system. – : MCP continues implementation with additional schools.

Steps in Maine Course Pathways Teachers Submit Syllabi School Administrator Chooses one Syllabus of Record for Each Course Reviewers Rate Syllabi Pathways Analysis School Administrator Creates Course Catalog Teachers Create Syllabi

Course Pathways A combination of courses that together provide students an opportunity to learn all MLRs in a content area. A system to identify unconvential pathways that provide opportunity to learn all MLRs. A tool to identify coverage gaps in the MLRs.

Student Pathways Results of all final syllabus reviews are put into the Pathways system. Administrators choose four- year combinations of courses in a particular content area to identify student opportunity to learn all of the content area’s MLRs.

Analyzing Pathways The software evaluates pathways to measure student opportunity to learn the MLRs in the content area.

Analyzing Pathways The Pathway Summary Report allows schools to easily identify where standards and components are taught.

The MCP Syllabus

MCP Syllabus The Maine Course Pathways syllabus aligns individual components of the MLRs performance indicators to each unit of instruction. –Components are used to “unpack” or break down multi-faceted standards and performance indicators. No single syllabus is expected to reflect achievement of all standards. –By breaking down each standard and performance indicator into multiple components, broad performance indicators and even broader standards can be met in a variety of learning opportunities throughout the high school experience.

Elements of the MCP Syllabus Course & Instructor Information Provides course information, including objectives and learning targets Gives students information on how to succeed in the course and in the discipline Curriculum & Course Schedule Outlines the content that will be covered in the course Aligns curriculum to standards Course Policies Written documentation of course policies, including grading and behavior expectations

SyllabusMaker A syllabus development tool created by EPIC. Guides teachers in creating high-quality syllabi with characteristics similar to postsecondary syllabi. Aligns curriculum with various standards: State standards Common Core standards College Readiness standards

SyllabusMaker for Administrators An online course catalog is linked to course syllabi. –The administrator has read privileges for all course syllabi. Administrators can create school-wide course policies that: –standardize policies in all school syllabi. –teachers cannot edit.

SyllabusMaker for Teachers Enables teachers to manage all syllabi in one place. Supports collaborative planning by: –allowing teachers to share their syllabi. –allowing multiple teachers to edit a syllabus.

SyllabusMaker for Teachers Provides a step- by-step guide to creating high- quality syllabi. Helps teachers organize curriculum. –Units –Topics –Activities –Assessments

SyllabusMaker for Teachers Helps teachers align standards to units. Formats syllabi so that: –all course syllabi in the school are consistent. –teachers can publish and share their syllabi.

Syllabus Submission The syllabus submission process requires a teacher to identify individual components of the MLRs performance indicators for each unit of instruction. –Components are used to “unpack” or break down multi-faceted standards and performance indicators. No single syllabus is expected to reflect achievement of all standards. –By breaking down each standard and performance indicator into multiple components, broad performance indicators and even broader standards can be met in a variety of learning opportunities throughout the high school experience.

Syllabus Review Goal: The overall goal of the methodology is confirm/not confirm student opportunity to learn standards. Model: Maine Course Pathways uses a criterion-based professional judgment method of analysis. –At least two trained college faculty reviewers apply a dichotomous score to each teacher-identified component in each unit. –The Scoring Guide provides clear scoring parameters that yield accurate and consistent ratings by reviewers. Result: The final result is a determination that units of the syllabus demonstrate or do not demonstrate enough evidence of student opportunity to learn the standards.

Content Area Scoring Guides Contain the criteria and guidelines used by reviewers to determine whether a unit contains sufficient evidence of the MLR scoring components indicated by the teacher. Essential for teachers in developing syllabi prior to review.

Elements of the Scoring Guide Scoring Guides include the following information: –Performance Indicators: Referenced directly from the 2007 Learning Results. –Scoring Components: A break down of the performance indicators to a finer level that can be taught and evidenced in a single curricular unit. –Key Terms: Particular words and phrases in the scoring components defined to ensure consistent understanding among teachers and reviewers. –Decision Rules: Criteria used to make consistent judgments. All Decision Rules must be met in a unit for the component to be confirmed in that unit. –Important Considerations: Additional information to provide context for the Decision Rules and guide reviewers’ decision-making. This may include additional subject-specific context that may not appear in the performance indicator or component.

Teacher Feedback Report The Teacher Feedback Report provides evidence of alignment.

Syllabus Resubmission Teachers can address Reviewers’ feedback. Teachers can submit each syllabus up to three times a year.

| For Information, please contact: Lora Downing or Daniel Chuhta or