Dr. John D. Barge, State School Superintendent “Making Education Work for All Georgians” Focus: Text Complexity 3/28/2011 1

Dr. John D. Barge, State School Superintendent “Making Education Work for All Georgians” Why Text Complexity Matters 2006 Report, ACT, Inc. Reading Between the Lines  Report looked at scores of students who equaled or exceeded the benchmark score (21 out of 36) on the reading section of the ACT college admissions test from those who did not  Only half of all test-takers (250,000) achieved the benchmark score or better ( group)  Results: These students had a 75% chance of earning a C or better in an introductory, credit-bearing course in US history or psychology (two courses which rely heavily on reading and are common for first year students ). There was a 50% chance of earning a B. 3/28/2011 2

Dr. John D. Barge, State School Superintendent “Making Education Work for All Georgians” Surprisingly……. The clearest differentiator in the scores among those who met the benchmark from those who did not was the students’ ability to answer questions associated with complex texts. 3/28/2011 3

Dr. John D. Barge, State School Superintendent “Making Education Work for All Georgians” The bottom line from Reading Between the Lines What students could read, in terms of complexity, was at least as important as what they could do with what they read. 3/28/2011 4

Dr. John D. Barge, State School Superintendent “Making Education Work for All Georgians”  : a 13 year decrease in difficulty of text in grades 1, 6, and especially 11 (Chall, Conrad, & Harris, 1977)  Extending study to 1991: Dangerously high declines in average sentence length and vocabulary level in reading textbooks within a variety of grades (Hayes, Wolfer, & Wolf, 1996)  Present day: There is a 350L gap between the difficulty of end-of-high school and college texts. This is more than the Lexile difference between what we expect of a 4 th grader as compared to that of an 8 th grader (Gary Williamson, 2006) 10/22/20155

Dr. John D. Barge, State School Superintendent “Making Education Work for All Georgians” What do we know? K-12 Reading texts have seen a decline in the levels of difficulty over the last half-century The reading demands of college and workforce training have held steady or increased over the past 50 years Only between 7% and 15% of elementary and middle school reading is expository 10/22/20156

Dr. John D. Barge, State School Superintendent “Making Education Work for All Georgians” “A high school graduate who is a poor reader is a postsecondary student who must struggle mightily to succeed.” “If students cannot read challenging texts with understanding---if they have not developed the skill, concentration, and stamina to read such texts---they will read less in general.” Appendix A/Common Core 10/22/20157

Dr. John D. Barge, State School Superintendent “Making Education Work for All Georgians” Too many students are reading at levels far too low Low reading achievement impacts students’ readiness for college, careers, and life in general Reading levels among the adult population are disturbingly low 10/22/20158

Dr. John D. Barge, State School Superintendent “Making Education Work for All Georgians”  Students’ ability to read complex text does not always develop in a linear fashion.  Students need opportunities to stretch their reading abilities, but they also need to experience the satisfaction and pleasure of easy, fluent reading, both of which the Standards allow. 10/22/20159

Dr. John D. Barge, State School Superintendent “Making Education Work for All Georgians” Factors to consider in text selection: The student’s motivation to read The student’s background knowledge The student’s experiences 10/22/201510

Dr. John D. Barge, State School Superintendent “Making Education Work for All Georgians” 3/28/ Qualitative aspects of text complexity best measured by an attentive human reader, such as levels of meaning or purpose; structure; language conventionality and clarity; and knowledge demands Quantitative aspects of text complexity, such as word length or frequency, sentence length, and text cohesion, that are difficult if not impossible for a human reader to evaluate efficiently, especially in long texts, and are thus today typically measured by computer software Reader and task considerations focus on the inherent complexity of text, reader motivation, knowledge, and experience and the purpose and complexity of the task at hand. This kind of assessment is best made by teachers employing their professional judgment.

Dr. John D. Barge, State School Superintendent “Making Education Work for All Georgians” 3/28/

Dr. John D. Barge, State School Superintendent “Making Education Work for All Georgians” Sixth Grade Reading Standard 10 CCRR10: Read and comprehend complex literary and informational texts independently and proficiently. LITERARY STANDARD ELACC6RL10: By the end of the year, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems, in the grades 6-8 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range. INFORMATIONAL STANDARD ELACC6RI10: By the end of the year, read and comprehend literary nonfiction in the grades 6-8 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range. 3/28/

Dr. John D. Barge, State School Superintendent “Making Education Work for All Georgians” Eighth Grade Reading Standard 10 CCRR10: Read and comprehend complex literary and informational texts independently and proficiently. LITERARY STANDARD ELACC8RL10: By the end of the year, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems, at the high end of grades 6-8 text complexity band independently and proficiently. INFORMATIONAL STANDARD ELACC8RI10: By the end of the year, read and comprehend literary nonfiction at the high end of the grades 6-8 text complexity band independently and proficiently. 3/28/

Dr. John D. Barge, State School Superintendent “Making Education Work for All Georgians” Do teachers need to abandon all previously used texts? NO! Teachers who have had success using particular texts that are easier than those required for a given grade band should feel free to continue to use them so long as the general movement during a given school year is toward texts of higher levels of complexity. 10/22/201515

Dr. John D. Barge, State School Superintendent “Making Education Work for All Georgians” CONCERNS regarding the “Text Exemplar” Lists: Our school doesn’t have all those novels on that list! Is someone giving us money to buy new novels? The novel I’ve always taught to my 10th graders is now on the 9 th grade list! Do we have to teach EVERYTHING on that list? Who’s going to tell those 6 th grade teachers to stop teaching the novel I am supposed to be teaching now in 7 th grade?

Dr. John D. Barge, State School Superintendent “Making Education Work for All Georgians” The story I’m supposed to be teaching my 8 th graders is in the 9 th grade anthology! The poem I’m supposed to be teaching my 11 th graders is in the 12 th grade anthology! Are we getting new anthologies? Do I have to use those Language Arts units on the Common Core “Mapping” site, or are they just suggestions?

Dr. John D. Barge, State School Superintendent “Making Education Work for All Georgians” Everybody breathe………

Dr. John D. Barge, State School Superintendent “Making Education Work for All Georgians” We are only in the introduction and orientation stages of implementing the Common Core--a process that will take several years. The samples in Appendix B (Text Exemplars) primarily serve to exemplify the level of text complexity and quality that the standards require.

Dr. John D. Barge, State School Superintendent “Making Education Work for All Georgians” What big ideas SHOULD we take away, from the “Text Exemplar” List & the new Common Core?  Begin NOW to bring more INFORMATIONAL text into your curriculum.  Make an effort to “bridge the gap” for your students by making 20% of your classroom reading grade-level- challenging text or “stretch- text.”  Be sure to offer an appropriate amount of “scaffolding” in order for students to be able to access this challenging text!