1. Status Report on NC Race to the Top (RttT) Implementation & Reform Agenda Briefing for NCASCD Dr. Rebecca Garland, Chief Academic Officer NCDPI February 8, 2012

2. How will classrooms change? Instruction will help students achieve the standards; Assessments will be meaningful and will h elp students and teachers; Students will be taught different and better content and skills Standards Instruction and Assessments Educators will be meaningfully evaluated; Schools will be held accountable for graduating students ready for college and career Evaluation & Accountability “Clearer and Higher Expectations” Common Core in ELA and Math ex Focus on informational reading and writing ex More real-world application in math Essential Standards ex Physical science in early grades Instructional Improvement System A one-stop landing spot for instructional resources and assessments to help teachers diagnose need using data Support of formative assessment practices Learning maps Summative Assessments New State Assessments (12-13 & 13-14) SMARTER Balanced (14-15) o Computer Adaptive Testing o Performance Tasks Teacher Evaluation Evaluation based built on meaningful discussions and focused on practice improvement for all Inclusion of a measure of student growth in all evaluations Professional Development Initiative to improve practice New Accountability Model Based on College and Career Ready Expectations - including the ACT/PLAN/EXPLORE suite Updated data reporting Flexibility around No Child Left Behind (in progress)

3. Overview Common Core Implementation New Assessments – NC; SBAC Explore, Plan, ACT – College Career Promise Transition Courses Instructional Improvement System Accountability & ESEA Flexibility Teacher Effectiveness Initiatives

4. Goal of RttT: Advance Core Education Reforms College- and career-ready standards and high quality, valid, and reliable assessments for all students, including ELLs and students with disabilities Pre-K to higher education data systems that meet the principles in the America COMPETES Act Teacher effectiveness and equitable distribution of effective teachers Intensive support and effective interventions for lowest- performing schools

5. RttT Overall Goals (by June 2014) Overall RttT Goals Increase the high school graduation rate Produce more career-, college- and future- ready graduates, as measured by performance on the SAT, ACT, Accuplacer, Compass, and other relevant assessments Increase the number of graduating seniors who complete challenging capstone courses, including AP and IB DPI Goal? SBE Goal? Gov.'s goal? 1 3 2 In process – currently refining metric targets

6. RttT Overall Goals (by June 2014) Overall RttT Goals Increase achievement in all grades, as measured by state assessments, NAEP results, and other relevant indicators Improve the 118 low-performing schools and 23 low-performing districts so they are all above the current low-performing criteria Reduce the achievement gap by making larger gains for lower performing subgroups DPI Goal? SBE Goal? Gov.'s goal? 4 6 5 We are aligned on the goals for RttT and for NC over the next four years In process – currently refining metric targets

7. Common Core Implementation Regional Institutes & Technical Support Toolkits & Online Modules Local Initiatives Partnerships Core to College CCSSO

8. Common Core ELA Instructional Shifts Building knowledge through content- rich nonfiction and informational texts Reading and writing grounded in evidence from text Regular practice with complex text and its academic vocabulary

9. Building Knowledge through content- rich nonfiction & informational texts Across History, Science & Technical Subjects Focus on Knowledge about content K-5 – 50/50 balance between literary and informational texts 6-12 – more focus on non-fiction Rationale: Workplace reading is informational

10. Reading & Writing Based in Evidence from Text Shift from Narrative Writing to persuasive and critical writing Not a focus on student’s experiences but analysis of what a student can read and understand from text Students should be able to answer text- specific questions, particularly inferences based on evidence from text

11. Regular Practice with complex text & its rich academic vocabulary Focus on text complexity and frequent practice will build a staircase to career and college level reading Focus on academic vocabulary and multiple/nuanced word choice important in Common Core ELA

12. Shifts in Math Common Core Focus strongly where the standards focus Coherence: think across grades and link to major topics within grades Rigor: require conceptual understanding, procedural skill and fluency, and application with intensity

13. Focus strongly where the standards focus Restrict instruction only to the skills that are covered in the standards Students will gain strong foundational standards Many familiar activities will be erased from classroom instruction

14. Coherence: think across grades and link to major topics within grades Learning progressions in math - linking the same topics across grade spans Building on foundations – for example, linking multiplication & fractions across spans – not topic driven Nothing new but an extension of previous learning Nothing an end to itself

15. New Assessments 2012-2013 New End-of-Grade Assessments in Reading and Mathematics in Grades 3-8 New Science Assessments in Grades 5, 8, and Biology New End-of-Course in Algebra I/Integrated Math 1 & English II

16. New Assessments 2014-2015 Smarter Balanced Consortium Assessments on Common Core Grades 3-8 and Grade 11

17. Assessment Vision 17 1 Start of Schooling Graduation Formal Check for Readiness in 8th K 1234567891010 1212 Formal Check for Readiness in 10th 3-8 End-of-Grade Assessments High School End-of- Course Assessments Measure of Readiness Formative Assessment, Benchmark and Continuous Checks for Understanding Formal Check for Readiness in K-5 2/8/2012

18. Career and College Promise Dual Enrollment Program for Juniors & Seniors 3 Options – College Transfer, Career & Technical Certificate or Degree, Cooperative Innovative Program Eligibility & Continuation Requirements

19. CCP Eligibility & Continuation 3.0 Weighted GPA And/Or Principal Recommendation Pre-requisites, including testing requirements 2.0 GPA for continuation Must adhere to pathway courses

20. CCP College Transfer Pathway Humanities and Social Sciences Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Life and Health Sciences Business and Economics

21. CCP Career & Technical Pathway Aligned with CTE Clusters Programs identified by Community Colleges Available online and on campus Programs approved by System Office

22. And for those students not ready… Transition Courses through SREB partnership of multiple states…funded by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Alignment with IHEs for remediation free upon successful completion of courses

23. Accountability State and Federal

24. New State Accountability Model K-8 – Based on performance & growth on state assessments High School – Performance & Growth on Graduation Rates; Assessments; ACT College Readiness; Math Rigor; Career Readiness No School Designations – Reporting against standard

25. ESEA Federal Flexibility Principles College and Career Expectations for all students State-Developed Differentiated Recognition, Accountability, and Support Supporting Effective Instruction and Leadership Reducing Duplication and Unnecessary Burden

26. ESEA Flexibility – Federal Accountability Setting New AMOs Decreasing Achievement Gaps by 50% over seven years Same benchmarks for sub-groups across state Ex. 30% proficient; 70% gap; reduce gap by 35%; growth 5% per year for 7 years

27. ESEA Flexibility Annual AYP report by subgroups Priority, Focus and Reward Schools Local flexibility around sanctions Local flexibility around extended learning opportunities Federal negotiations with states