Wednesday, October 26, 2011 CONGRATULATIONS to Tina Mansfield of Chapel Hill-­‐Carrboro City Schools, who is our 1,000th Weekly Update listserv member! If you know someone who would like to be part of the NEXT thousand, 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. For questions, concerns or technical assistance, please email the appropriate contact(s) directly. Thanks! NEW THIS WEEK •
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SPECIAL NOTE: New Links Next Generation of Assessments: SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium Next Generation of Assessments: Computer Adaptive Testing Essential Standards Amendment DSW Approvals Update IN CASE YOU MISSED IT… •
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NCDPI Panel Featured at 2011 Learn NC Fall Conference 2011-­‐12 Comprehensive Professional Development Map ‘Developing Local Curricula’ Module for Districts and Charter Schools Content Specific Live Chats NEW THIS WEEK SPECIAL NOTE: New Links In last week’s issue, there were several incorrect links that pointed users to sites that were still under development. Please note that under this week’s IN CASE YOU MISSED IT the following three articles contain the new, correct links: 2011-­‐12 Comprehensive Professional Development Map, ‘Developing Local Curricula’ Module for Districts and Charter Schools, and Content Specific Live Chats. Please use these new links, and replace them if you have them bookmarked them or marked them as favorites. We apologize for the inconvenience. Thanks! Next Generation of Assessments: SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium In 2010, North Carolina joined the SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) to help with the development of an assessment system based on the Common Core State Standards. SBAC comprises 29 states, of which North Carolina is one of eight governing states. The goal of the Consortium is to ensure that all students leave high school prepared for post-­‐secondary success in college or a career through increased student learning and improved teaching. To learn more about SBAC, please review the materials and resources available on the website at http://www.k12.wa.us/smarter. MORE INFO: Tracey Greggs, Tracey.Greggs@dpi.nc.gov Next Generation of Assessments: Computer Adaptive Testing What is computer adaptive testing? Computer adaptive tests are computerized tests that adapt to the skill level of the person taking the test. As a member of the SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium, North Carolina is committed to the development of next generation assessments that include the utilization of computer adaptive testing. There are several advantages to computer adaptive testing over the traditional paper and pencil form, including a more accurate evaluation of student achievement and a more efficient delivery method for the assessment and the results. SMARTER Balanced has a factsheet available about computer adaptive testing that can be found on their website at: http://www.k12.wa.us/SMARTER/pubdocs/SMARTER_CAT_Factsheet.pdf. MORE INFO: Tracey Greggs, Tracey.Greggs@dpi.nc.gov Essential Standards Amendment The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction has provided an amendment to the Essential Standards for American History I, American History II, and Civics and Economics. While the Essential Standards have not been changed, the amendment does reflect the alignment of these standards to the content enumerated in The Founding Principles Act (SL 2011-­‐273) that was passed by the North Carolina General Assembly on June 23. To view the amendment to these courses, visit, http://www.ncpublicschools.org/acre/standards/new-­‐standards/ MORE INFO: Fay Gore, Fay.Gore@dpi.nc.gov DSW Approvals Update Only a very few of our LEAs and participating charter schools have yet to submit their refined Race to the Top Detailed Scopes of Work (DSWs) based on feedback provided by NCDPI. Currently, 127 of 142 DSWs have been fully approved. ***NOTE: The approved DSWs posted on the NCDPI website (http://www.ncpublicschools.org/rttt/lea-­‐charter/) are in an Excel downloadable file. For any future amendments to your LEA or charter school file, please download the Excel file version from this website to make your revisions. MORE INFO: Adam Levinson, Adam.Levinson@dpi.nc.gov. ________________________________________________________________________ IN CASE YOU MISSED IT… NCDPI Panel Featured at 2011 Learn NC Fall Conference LEARN NC will host its annual fall conference on Monday, Nov. 7. This year, for the first time, the conference will take place entirely online. Participants can listen to the presenters, pose questions, and interact with other participants from any Internet-­‐
connected computer. And, as always, the conference is free. Topics will include how to reach struggling readers, teaching about North Carolina American Indians, modeling-­‐based science instruction, and the state’s adoption of new content standards and professional teaching standards. Presenters include classroom teachers, UNC faculty members, and the following leaders from DPI: Tracey Greggs, Race to the Top Project Coordinator, Standards and Assessments Dr. Tammy Howard, Director, Testing and Accountability Dr. Sarah McManus, Director, Learning Systems and NC FALCON Yvette Stewart, Race to the Top Project Coordinator, Professional Development Guest panelist Ashley Padgett, 6-­‐12 Curriculum Coordinator for Beaufort County Schools, will address how the 2011 Summer Institutes assisted her district team in preparing educators for implementing the new standards in 2012-­‐2013. The conference comprises at total of eight sessions, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. All sessions will be archived for future viewing. For more details and to register, please see the conference website. We look forward to your online attendance! http://www.learnnc.org/lp/editions/fall-­‐conf-­‐2011-­‐registration/contents MORE INFO: Cheryl Mason Bolick, cbolick@email.unc.edu 2011-­‐12 Comprehensive Professional Development Map The Department of Public Instruction is providing a wide range of professional development opportunities for teachers, administrators, district leadership teams and institutes of higher education to support the transition to and implementation of the new Common Core State Standards and North Carolina Essential Standards, as well as the North Carolina Professional Standards. To learn more about these offerings, we invite you to review the 2011-­‐12 Professional Development Map at http://www.ncpublicschools.org/acre/profdev/. Click on the links for Teachers, Administrators, District Leadership Teams, or Colleges for specific dates and locations. Additional opportunities will be posted soon. MORE INFO: Yvette Stewart, Yvette.Stewart@dpi.nc.gov, or Tracey Greggs, Tracey.Greggs@dpi.nc.gov ‘Developing Local Curricula’ Module for Districts and Charter Schools The Developing Local Curricula module is available online. This module is organized into sections that illustrate three suggested phases and teams needed during the process for developing standards-­‐based local curricula. The phases and suggested teams are NOT intended to be prescriptive and will be enhanced by the knowledge and situations at the district and school level. Examples and suggestions included in this module reflect research-­‐based theories regarding curriculum design and classroom instruction. The module is designed to be viewed by district and school teams as they make the transition to the new Standard Course of Study. Teams are encouraged to review the sample Transition Plan outlined in the Summer Institute Facilitators Guide. To assist districts and school teams in identifying their level or preparedness, the module also provides a sample rubric that accompanies the sample Transition Plan. To self-­‐enroll and to access all instructional modules, please visit https://center.ncsu.edu/nc/login/index.php MORE INFO AND LOGIN HELP: Tracey Greggs, Tracey.Greggs@dpi.nc.gov Content Specific Live Chats You are invited to “chat” with the NCDPI content experts in the K-­‐12 Curriculum and Instruction Division. These live sessions will dedicate 60 to 90 minutes to addressing critical components and answering questions regarding the new Common Core State and North Carolina Essential Standards. For a schedule and for more info, please visit http://www.ncpublicschools.org/acre/profdev/district/ MORE INFO: Maria Pitre-­‐Martin, Maria.Pitremartin@dpi.nc.gov