The Role of the Common Core Standards to
Ensure Career & College Readiness for All
K-12 Students
Bob Bardwell
Monson High School
Monson, MA
With Thanks to Steve Kappler & ACT for slide sharing
Who Is Here?
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Secondary school counselors
Guidance directors
Graduate students
Community Based Organizations
Independent counselors
College Admission Counselors
Other
Why Are You Here?
•
•
•
•
Professional development
Your school made you come
Nothing else to do
Didn’t like the other sessions during this time slot
What Can I Offer?
• 20 year School Counselor and K-12 Director of School
Counseling
• Leader – local, state, regional & national
• Advocate for students, school counselors and our
profession
• Not an expert on Common Core but I know enough
that Common Core is my ticket to ensure that I have
a job in the years to come
What are the Common Core
State Standards (CCSS)?
• Beginning in the spring of 2009, Governors and state
commissioners of education from 46 states, 2 territories and
the District of Columbia committed to the process of
developing a common core of state K-12 English-language arts
(ELA) and mathematics standards.
• The Common Core State Standards Initiative (CCSSI) is a
state-led effort coordinated by the National Governors
Association (NGA) and the Council of Chief State School
Officers (CCSSO).
• www.corestandards.org
How did we get here?
• The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) align U.S. K-12
education with a uniformly higher standard – college and
career readiness
• 45 states and DC have adopted the CCSS for English language
arts and mathematics.
• ACT research on college and career readiness lies at the heart
of the CCSS
• Achieve and the College Board (SAT) were members of the
CCSS Development Team
How did we get here? (continued)
• CCSS were developed using a backward design model – start
with the end goal and then figure out how to get there
• Identified the college & career standards being sought and
worked backwards through each grade resulting in grade level
shifts in content throughout the grades
• Economic pressure and the continuous decline of the United
States regarding high school graduates and lackluster success
of college bound students when compared to other nations
was the driving force behind the creation of the CCSS
• Race to the Top (RTTT) pushed states to voluntarily make the
choice to join the CCSSI
Common Core State Standards Design
• Building on the strength of current state
standards, the Common Core State Standards
are designed to be:
– Focused, coherent, clear and rigorous
– Internationally benchmarked
– Linked to college and career readiness*
– Evidence and research based
* Ready for first-year credit-bearing, postsecondary coursework without
the need for remediation.
Common Core State Standards Evidence Base
• Evidence was used to guide critical decisions in the following areas:
–
–
–
–
–
Inclusion of particular content
Timing of when content should be introduced and the progression of content
Ensuring focus and coherence
Organizing and formatting the standards
Determining emphasis on particular topics in standards
• Evidence includes:
– Standards from high-performing countries, states, and nationally-regarded
frameworks
– Research on adolescent literacy, text complexity, mathematics instruction,
quantitative literacy
– Lists of works consulted and research base included in standards’ appendices
Higher Education and Employers
Want Students Who Can
• Identify areas for research, evaluate and synthesize
resources and develop & draw conclusions
• Conduct research and apply that research to solve
problems
• Apply skills and knowledge across the content areas
to solve problems
• Model real world situations and solving problems
What does this mean for School &
College Counselors?
We Must:
1. Understand the Standards
2. Support the Standards implementation
3. Act on the Standards
ELA Writing Standards
– Expect students to compose arguments and opinions,
informative-explanatory pieces, and narrative texts
– Focus on the use of reason and evidence to substantiate
an argument or claim
– Emphasize ability to conduct research – short projects and
sustained inquiry
– Require students to incorporate technology as they create,
refine, and collaborate on writing
The ELA Reading Standards
– Text Complexity
• Range of Reading – not just text books and literary works
• Exemplar Texts (Shakespeare, Hemmingway – U.S. Constitution, MLK
Letter from Birmingham Jail)
– Reading Comprehension
•
•
•
•
•
Standards for Reading Foundational Skills (K-5)
Reading Standards for Literature (K-12)
Reading Standards for Literacy in History/Social Studies (6-12)
Reading Standards for Literacy in Science and Technical Subjects (6-12)
Reading Standards for Informational Text (K-12)
The Mathematics Standards
• Call on students to practice applying mathematical ways of
thinking to real world issues and challenges
• Require students to develop a depth of understanding and ability
to apply mathematics to novel situations, as college students and
employees regularly are called on to do
• Emphasize mathematical modeling, using mathematics and
statistics to analyze problems, understand them better, and
improve decisions
• Identify the mathematics that all students should study in order to
be college and career ready.
The Other Standards
• Science: In a process managed by Achieve, with the help of the National
Research Council, the National Science Teachers Association, and the
American Association for the Advancement of Science, states are
developing the Next Generation Science Standards.
http://www.nextgenscience.org/
• World Languages: The American Council on the Teaching of Foreign
Languages published an alignment of the National Standards for Learning
Languages with the ELA Common Core State Standards.
http://www.actfl.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/Aligning_CCSS_Language_St
andards_v6.pdf
• Arts: The National Coalition for Core Arts Standards is leading the revision
of the National Standards for Arts Education.
http://www.arteducators.org/research/national-coalition-for-core-artsstandards
Successful Implementation Requires
•
•
•
•
•
•
Leaders build a culture of success
Changes in attitudes
Changes in practice
Embraced by all educators, including counselors
Instructional and systemic leadership
All staff buy-in and implementation
How can School Counselors
Support the Implementation?
• Think & work across the K-12 grade span
• Develop comprehensive school counseling plans
utilizing the ASCA national standards
• Create standards based college and career focused
classroom lessons and programs
• Design clearer processes for course sequencing
and credit articulation
How can School Counselors
Support the Implementation? (continued)
• Familiarize yourself with the standards
• Become part of the leadership team which is charged
with overseeing the CCSSI implementation
• Ensure that your school counseling program statement
of philosophy aligns with the school and district’s vision
and mission statements
• Formulate and distribute an agreed upon set of beliefs
and expectations that every student achieve at high
levels
Turn to a neighbor
• Have you begun to have conversation in your school
counseling program about how to get on the Common
Core bandwagon?
• If so, what is your role with the CCSSI movement? (in
other words, how do you do it?
Action Steps: Literacy instruction
• Gather & analyze relevant literacy standardized test data to
share with colleagues and invested constituents
• Gather & analyze relevant Response to Intervention (RTI)
Tier 2 & 3 data with colleagues and invested constituents
• Monitor and share student literacy related progress reports
• Identify students with literacy needs and plan with staff
appropriate interventions
• Integrate literacy standards into your lesson plans
Action Steps: Mathematics instruction
• Gather & analyze relevant math standardized test data
to share with colleagues and invested constituents
• Gather & analyze relevant RTI Tier 2 & 3 data with
colleagues and invested constituents
• Monitor and share student math related progress reports
• Identify students with math needs and plan with staff
appropriate interventions
• Advocate for four years of high school math requirement
if it is not already in place
Action Steps: Mathematics instruction
• Analyze data regarding
(continued)
– Students who are not on track for early math grade level
achievement (elementary level data analysis)
– Number of students repeating math courses – what grade
do they begin to fall behind and with which teacher(s)
– Students who do not minimally complete the college prep
math track – Algebra I, Geometry & Algebra II or integrated
math levels I-III
– Student achievement on state or national standardized
tests (I.e.: Accuplacer, SAT/ACT, AP, IB)
Action Steps: Mathematics instruction
(continued)
• Provide math faculty the opportunity to collaborate
with college math faculty to review scope and
sequence of course syllabi
• Review (and change if necessary) the school’s
policy regarding course selection, offerings &
sequencing to ensure all students have access to
higher level math courses
Action Steps: Systemic Approaches
• Participate in discussions about rigor in your
school
• Assist in the gathering of data on the # of
students on target to be career/college ready
– Explore, Plan, ACT, PSAT, SAT, Accuplacer, AP, IB
• Provide data analysis regarding the # of
students taking rigorous courses of study
Action Steps: Systemic Approaches
(continued)
• Provide data analysis about the # of students who attain
the ACT/SAT college readiness benchmarks
• Explore & provide dual/concurrent enrollment
opportunities with local colleges
• Explore & provide early college programs and
opportunities for students who show potential and ability
to participate in such activities
Action Steps: Instructional Time
• Help identify ways to extend learning time for
students, including those in Tier 2 interventions
• Monitor participation and progress of students
involved with Tier 2 and 3 interventions
• Share results & impact of such interventions
• Identify students and interventions for accelerated/
enriched extended learning opportunities
Action Steps: Instructional Practices
• Determine impact of the CCSS on the development and
implementation of educational plans for all students
• Develop & annually update 6 year individual learning plans
which contain necessary career & college readiness
elements
• Develop career & college readiness lesson plans aligned
with CCSS standards
• Develop school counselor classroom lesson calendar and
distribute to all staff
Action Steps: Professional Learning
• Be part of the discussions with school leadership
team, data team and/or literacy council based on
assessed needs of students and observed needs of
staff as they relate to CCSS implementation
• Be an active participant in school wide PD activities
• Include PD goals in your Comprehensive School
Counseling program and your individual evaluation
• Reference ASCA’s tools when creating PD plans
Action Steps: Assessment
• Ensure that students understand how to interpret
current standardized assessments and the
implications of the results relating to their level of
career and college readiness
• Begin learning about and communicating about
upcoming common assessments
• Use data to identify student needs and monitor
progress
Action Steps: Visuals
• Display college poster and pennants
• Post college information, scholarships and
student acceptances*
• Post achievement and accomplishments of
students – I.e.: NMSQT Semi-finalists & finalists,
AP scholars, Honor Roll, NHS
Action Steps: Visuals (continued)
• Proudly display pennants or articles of clothing
from their alma mater(s)
• Provide relevant and current information on your
counseling office website
• Create bulletin boards/special displays with
important career/college information or data
Action Steps: Auditory
• Make frequent announcements about student
accomplishments, deadlines, reminders, programs, field trips
• Engage in routine conversations with students and parents
about career and college research, selection and the
application process
• Have counselors, teachers and other educators engage in
frequent discussions with all students about careers and
college
• Bring in alumni (high school or college) and business people to
speak to students about colleges and careers
Action Steps: Practices/Rituals
• School wide celebrations for academic achievement
(Honor roll breakfast, National Honor Society induction)
• Incentives for academic achievement (I.e.: Renaissance
program, special privileges for honors students;
scholarship recognitions)
• Community activities that highlight academic successes
(I.e.: newspaper articles, bulletin boards in local
businesses)
• Advisory – incorporate career/college activities within the
small group advisory curriculum (if applicable)
Questions & Conversations
•
•
•
•
What is not clear?
What more do you need?
How can we help each other?
Who wants to share a success with CCSSI?
My contact information
Bob Bardwell
School Counselor & Director of School Counseling
Monson Innovation High School
55 Margaret Street
Monson, MA 01057
413.267.4589x1109
www.bobbardwell.com
bardwellr@monsonschools.com