Wednesday, November 30, 2011 If you know someone who would like to be on this listserv, please send their email address to Michael.Yarbrough@dpi.nc.gov. ***PLEASE NOTE: Each entry in this Weekly Update features the email address of at least one contact person or department. For questions, concerns or technical assistance, please email the appropriate contact(s) directly. Thanks! Archived Race to the Top Weekly Updates are available here: http://www.ncpublicschools.org/rttt/updates/ NEW THIS WEEK 
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Common Core and North Carolina Essential Standards WikiSpaces Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy Module Released PLAN Assessment in December Special Statement and Information for Text Exemplars Measures of Student Learning and the NC Testing Program UPDATED Professional Development Dates for December UPDATED 2012 Summer Institute Locations and Dates IN CASE YOU MISSED IT…  NC Selected to Participate in National Teacher Effectiveness Policy Effort  ‘Point to Point’ New Feature on RttT Website  New Link to IIS Video for Students Online
NEW THIS WEEK Common Core and North Carolina Essential Standards WikiSpaces The Curriculum and Instruction Division at NCDPI has created WikiSpaces for the Common Core and North Carolina Essential Standards. These collaborative online tools are for viewing and interacting with the various content area consultants, as well as viewing webinar postings and presentations, along with other instructional resources for your use. To join the WikiSpace for the content area of your choice, go to http://www.ncdpi.wikispaces.net/. These spaces are frequently updated with new information, so please check back often. MORE INFO: Maria Pitre‐Martin, Maria.Pitremartin@dpi.nc.gov Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy Module Released The Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy module will be released today (November 30) after 5 pm. This module provides an overview of the Cognitive Dimensions, Knowledge Domains, verbs, and their relationship to instruction, learning, and assessing the North Carolina Essential Standards. (***NOTE: To increase video and flash performance, it is recommended that you use an updated browser such as Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox. If you are using Internet Explorer, please click on Tools and check Compatibility View.) Additional resources also are available in the module menu. To log into the module, go to https://center.ncsu.edu/nc/. Use your Username and Password as you have with the other modules. If you are a new user, you will be able to create an account on that site. MORE INFO: Tracey Greggs, Tracey.Greggs@dpi.nc.gov PLAN Assessment in December For the first time, all 10th‐grade students in North Carolina will take the PLAN assessment, which will be administered between December 5 and 16. PLAN assists 10th‐
graders in building a foundation for future academic and career success. It is a curriculum‐based diagnostic assessment that measures achievement in English, math, reading, and science. PLAN consists of Non‐Cognitive and Cognitive measures. Although PLAN is part of the new assessments, it is NOT a component of the accountability measures. The PLAN webinar is now available on the following web pages: http://www.ncpublicschools.org/accountability/ http://www.ncpublicschools.org/acre/redesign/ MORE INFO: Audrey Martin McCoy, Audrey.Martinmccoy@dpi.nc.gov, Tammy Howard, Tammy.Howard@dpi.nc.gov Special Statement and Information for Text Exemplars As a follow‐up to the Text Exemplars document posted on the ACRE site, the Department of Public Instruction has provided a Statement Regarding the Use of Level Text and an important note for districts. We invite you to read this additional information located at http://www.ncpublicschools.org/acre/standards/common‐core‐
tools/#exemplar. MORE INFO: Julie Joslin, Julie.Joslin@dpi.nc.gov Measures of Student Learning and the NC Testing Program Measures of Student Learning (MSLs) are a common way to gauge student growth in all parts of the Common Core State Standards for Math and ELA and the NC Essential Standards. While these measures will be used statewide, they are not the same as our statewide summative assessments in the NC Testing Program: the End‐of‐Grade and End‐of‐Course assessments. Districts will have flexibility to use the MSLs in student grades, and LEAs own the results of the MSLs, although NCDPI will assist with scoring and data analysis. The NC Testing Program will continue with statewide summative assessments in grades 3‐8 in Mathematics and English Language Arts, grades 5 and 8 in Science, and at the high school level for Algebra I, English II, and Biology. Beginning in 2014‐15, NCDPI expects to participate in the assessments developed by the SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC). The assessments planned through SBAC would include ELA/Math for grades 3‐8 and one High School Assessment in ELA and Math (w/ Performance Tasks in grades 9 & 10) and would replace the current NC‐developed EOG and EOC assessments in ELA and Math. Approximately 800 North Carolina teachers from more than 100 LEAs and 10 charter schools are involved in the design process for the Measures of Student Learning. Their feedback on the development is ongoing and will continue for the remainder of the 2011–12 school year. MORE INFO: For more information about the State Summative tests, please visit our website at http://www.ncpublicschools.org/accountability/testing/, or contact Jennifer Preston, Jennifer.Preston@dpi.nc.gov. UPDATED Professional Development Dates for December This list includes noted revisions from last week: 1 ‐ Math CCES PD for LEA/Charter Leadership Teams, PTEC, 9 am to 4 pm 1 – Phase III Principal Training on ITES and Common Core/Essential Standards, Region 1, James Sprunt Community College, 9am‐noon and 1pm‐4pm. 2 – Phase III Principal Training on ITES and Common Core/Essential Standards, Region 8, WRESA, 9am‐noon and 1pm‐4pm. (***NOTE – This is a correction from the Nov. 16 Update, which was previously listed as Region 7)
8 – Phase III Principal Training on ITES and Common Core/Essential Standards, Region 7, Foothills Higher Education Center, 9am‐noon and 1pm‐4pm.
8 – NC Professional Teaching Standards Training for Principals and Assistant Principals, Sandhills RESA, 9 am to 4 pm.
9 – NC Professional Teaching Standards for Principals and Assistant Principals, SERESA
12 ‐ Phase III Principal Training on ITES and Common Core/Essential Standards, Region 6, UNCC, 9201 University City Blvd., Charlotte, NC, 9am‐12pm and 1pm‐4pm (***NOTE: This is a location change from the Nov. 16 Update)
13 – NC Professional Teaching Standards for Principals and Assistant Principals, NERESA, 9 am to 4 pm.
15 – NC Professional Teaching Standards for Principals and Assistant Principals, SWRESA, 9 am to 4 pm. MORE INFO: Yvette Stewart, Yvette.Stewart@dpi.nc.gov
UPDATED 2012 Summer Institute Locations and Dates
NCDPI is gearing up for the second year of Summer Institute training for each local PD Leadership team. We are excited to announce the location and dates of the 2012 Institutes to mark your calendars and to begin thinking about summer planning in preparation for your teams to attend. Please note that this is a SAVE THE DATE and further details are forthcoming. Additionally, this is a collaborative effort on the part of the agency, so representation from every district and RttT Charter School is critical. Information on Data Literacy, the NC Standard Course of Study, Information and Technology Standards, and the NC Educator Evaluation System will be featured at these trainings. Registration information will launch in February. Locations and dates are as follows (***NOTE: The Summer Institute 5 location has changed from last week’s Update):
Summer Institute 1
Summer Institute 2
Summer Institute 3
Locations
Enka High School
475 Enka Lake Road
Candler, NC (Buncombe County)
Maiden High School
600 West Main Street
Maiden, NC (Catawba County)
West Stokes High School 1400 Priddy Road
King, NC (Stokes County) Dates
Thursday, June 21‐Friday, June 22
Tuesday, July 10‐Wednesday, July 11
Thursday, July 12‐Friday, July 13
Summer Institute 4
Croatan High School
1 Cougar Lane/3355 Hwy 24 Newport, NC (Carteret County)
Tuesday, July 17‐Wednesday, July 18
Summer Institute 5
JH Rose High School
600 W. Arlington Blvd
Greenville, NC (Pitt County)
Thursday, July 19‐Friday, July 20
Summer Institute 6
SanLee Middle School
2309 Tramway Rd.
Sanford, NC (Lee County) Tuesday, July 24‐Wednesday, July 25
MORE INFO: Contact Yvette Stewart, Yvette.Stewart@dpi.nc.gov IN CASE YOU MISSED IT… NC Selected to Participate in National Teacher Effectiveness Policy Effort North Carolina is one of three states and one territory to be selected to participate in a national teacher effectiveness policy effort. The National Governors Association (NGA) has announced that North Carolina – along with Colorado, Nevada and Guam – will be a contributor to the State Strategies to Evaluate Teacher Effectiveness Policy Academy. Visit http://www.ncpublicschools.org/newsroom/news/2011‐12/20111116‐01 to read more. MORE INFO: Lynne Johnson, Lynne.Johnson@dpi.nc.gov ‘Point to Point’ New Feature on RttT Website "Point to Point" indicates the distance between the beginning and ending points of one day in a long race. NCDPI introduces our own Point to Point, a new feature on the Race to the Top website. This new addition will offer updates, insights and observations from various members of the RttT team. We invite you to check in on our progress, as North Carolina makes its way along the Race to the Top. Our inaugural Point to Point entry is from State Superintendent June Atkinson. You can find it at http://www.ncpublicschools.org/rttt/point/2011/20111110. MORE INFO: Michael Yarbrough, Michael.Yarbrough@dpi.nc.gov New Link to IIS Video for Students Online
Please check out a new link to a video that introduces the vision for the Instructional Improvement System as told from a student’s point of view. We heard that some were having trouble viewing it earlier, so it is now on our website and can be found at http://www.ncpublicschools.org/acre/improvement/resources/ MORE INFO: Eric Moore, Eric.Moore@dpi.nc.gov.