Alan Bancroft
UCMO PLC Resource Specialist
wbancroft@ucmo.edu
AGENDA
 Background information about the CCSS
 Implications for assessment
 Overview of the ELA and mathematics CCSS
What’s the Buzz?
Turn to your neighbor and share at least one
thing that you have heard about the
Common Core State Standards that you
liked.
Common Core State Standards
With your table group list the following on the
back of your handout.
What questions do you have about the CCSS?
2. What have you heard about the CCSS that bothers
you?
1.
Common Core State Standards
 A voluntary, state-led effort—48 states, 2 territories,
and D.C. originally signed on to the initiative
 Committed to developing a common core of state
standards for proficiency in English language arts and
mathematics for grades K-12
• College and career readiness for all
• A mobile population
• 1 set of standards/not 50
• Sharing of resources among districts/states
• Textbooks written for all states/not just the
big ones
• Internationally benchmarked to high
performing nations
Challenges
• Dramatic transitions from state to more
rigorous national standards
• Veteran staff not as prepared as new will be
for content expertise
• PD focused on content rigor
• Implementation timeline for districts,
funding, and new assessments
Prioritization
• Mike Schmoker, “schools will only be able
to teach about half of the standards”
• Douglas Reeves, “number of standards in
CCSS remains too high”
• Power Standards (ELO’s) more important
than ever.
English Language Arts key points
 Reading (10 strands)
Staircase of increasing complexity and
comprehension so that as students
advance they will gain more from their
reading.
 Must have a range of classic and
contemporary literature to use texts to
build knowledge, gain insights, and
explore possibilities.

Writing (10 strands)
 Must have ability to write arguments.
 Short and long term research emphasized.
Speaking and Listening (6 strands)
 Must gain, evaluate, and present complex
information through listening, speaking, and
media.
 Focus on one-on-one, small group, large
group, and presentations.
Language (6 strands)
 Students will determine word meaning,
nuances of words, and steadily expand their
repertoire of words and phrases.
 Will prepare students for real life experiences
in life and college. They must make informed,
skillful choices in expressing themselves.
Design and Organization
Standards for Mathematical Practice
Carry across all grade levels
 Describe habits of mind of a mathematically expert
student

Standards for Mathematical Content
K-8 standards presented by grade level
 Organized into domains that progress over several
grades
 Grade introductions give 2–4 focal points at each grade
level

Mathematics key points
 Solid foundation in whole numbers, addition,
subtraction, multiplication, division, fractions and
decimals provided in k-5.
 Provides guidance to k-5 teachers on how to teach
geometry, fractions, and negative numbers
maintaining a continuous progression from grade
to grade.
 Make sure students learn both procedural and
conceptual skills for all critical information.
 Students who have mastered k-7 will take algebra as
an eighth grader.
 High school standards have students practice
applying mathematical ways of thinking to real
world issues and challenges.
 High school standards rigorously prepare students
for college and careers.
 Uses mathematical modeling to link classroom
math and statistics to everyday life, work, and
decision making.
Professional development needs
 Prioritizing the CCSS
 Unwrap all Priority standards in Math and ELA.
 Must increase content area expertise in all areas.
 Research based instruction strategies
Differentiation, enrichment, RTI, ELL, Sp. Ed.
 Rigorous curriculum units and lessons
 Performance tasks to engage learners

Assessment
 CCSS rigor should raise MAP scores
 Must crosswalk CCSS, GLEs, CLEs, and MAP
 Start preparing now for 2014/2015 CCSS test
implementation.
 Informational writing across all disciplines
 Authentic performance tasks and projectbased learning across all disciplines
Things to change
 The way teachers plan and deliver
instruction
 Deeper, more systematic professional
development
 Nonfiction writing by every student in
every class
 Literacy has to be a shared
responsibility by every staff member
Thank You
 Alan Bancroft
 UCMO PLC Resource Specialist
 wbancroft@ucmo.edu
 Susan Feeback
 UCMO PLC Resource Specialist
 feeback@ucmo.edu