1. Norms Exemplary Locus of Control

2. Lora Darden

3. Tests primarily assess cultural differences… This is particularly true if tests have a low alignment or match to any schools curriculum… -Fenwick English, p. xi

4. What are the differences between curriculum articulation & curriculum coordination? Articulation – level of focus and connectivity from one grade level to another or one course to another (in a sequence of courses) Coordination –level of focus and connectivity from one classroom to another at the same grade level from room to room and from campus to campus

5. What is the most effective way to get teachers to use the curriculum? Get teachers to monitor themselves by training them to live and breath by the ARRC resources.

6. Necessary Requirements of an Effective Curriculum Coordination – the sameness from classroom to classroom; campus to campus Articulation – grows from grade level to grade level demonstrates smooth transitions Elementary to Middle School Middle School to High School WITHOUT leading to slavish conformity where every teacher is on the same page at the same time

7. Slave to two masters Conformity of experiences for all learners vs. Demands for different Approaches Methods Materials To meet the needs of all learners

8. Tightening of the curriculum Refers to actions that bring the written, taught, and tested curriculum into alignment or congruence with one another One grade level is giving released TAKS tests every week in the weeks leading up to TAKS. While they are creating a tight alignment between the taught and tested, they are causing articulation issues with the grade levels above.

9. A new look at data disaggregation… Did you know that data disaggregation is really… Breaking test items down into smaller Components Skills Knowledge Content Which leads to an adjustment in the work plan (curriculum)… To what degree are we building in these changes as we receive data? To what degree does our curriculum indicate that people need to have a different set of directions from which to teach?

10. Content & Context: Two Levels of Alignment between test & curriculum Content alignment The content of the curriculum & the content of the test are in alignment Context alignment (also known as format alignment) The testing scenario is the same one as the curriculum/work plan If, as in the case of science, students learn better working in 3-D, the curriculum must still help translate the 3-D experiences into the 2-D context of the assessment

11. Curriculum Construction Gap analysis – as opposed to a survey, a gap analysis examines the current state of student performance against the desired outcomes for student performance Super Monday Meetings… Look at areas of need and examine curriculum to see how many opportunities they had to cover this TEKS/SE and whether there are any model lessons associated with this TEK/SE. Beef up this area for the next time this comes around in the curriculum documents. Units of study should be embedded.

12. Curriculum Language Well-organized Easy to read Unambiguous textual language Contextually relevant to real classrooms

13. The link to what is tested The curriculum-test connection should be represented in the curriculum guide so that the classroom teachers knows what will be tested when with what instrument (English, 1992, 48).

14. Time… There must be some sort of time designation within the curriculum guide Time will guide how much emphasis and stress is to be placed on those specific elements Time should be represented as ranges of time, not specific designations, to allow for learner variations

15. For curriculum alignment, STUDENTS must… Know the content of the curriculum Know how the test will be used to measure that knowledge

16. Food for Thought If curriculum is aligned to the test, and students are taught using the curriculum, then students who are given access should perform better on the test. Equal access should mean equal test scores. For student populations performing at a lower level, to what degree are they receiving access to the curriculum? What is it about access to the curriculum that is not providing them with what they need? How is this true across the board for specific student populations?

17. If the curriculum matches the assessment… The alignment should result in a J curve instead of a bell curve Bell curves occur when random variables are introduced J curves occur when the chance has been taken our of the equation because there is a tight alignment between the curriculum and what is taught

18. A thought about testing… If people dont have another chance to try the assessment to look for improvement, then theres no point in engaging in assessment. Assessment only matters if there is opportunity to show change over time. This has implications for data reports… do we ever talk about improvement over time in those meetings?

19. Locating Curriculum Breakdowns After test results are analyzed, how can we ensure there is a tight alignment among the re-teaching efforts? When students perform poorly, we need a plan of action to ensure their experiences will be more tightly aligned to the context of the assessment. The gaps in performance should prescribe the nature of the work.