Kentucky Core Academic
Standards, the National
Common Core Standards and
Jefferson County Public
Schools
The Gheens Academy for Curricular
Excellence and Instructional Leadership
Jefferson County Public Schools
Background of the Common Core
State Initiative
The Common Core State Initiative
is a historic, bipartisan state-led effort by the
National Governor’s Association and the
Council of Chief of State School Officers along
with education groups such as ACT, College
Board (SAT) and Achieve to make US schools
globally competitive.
What Are Common Core State
Standards?
• Common Core State Standards are national standards
that provide a consistent, clear understanding of what
students are expected to know and be able to do at
each grade level.
• Common Core State Standards are NOT
a curriculum.
Example:
Grade 3: Reading Standards for Literature
Describe characters in a story (e.g. , their traits, motivations, or
feelings) and explain how their actions contribute to the sequence
of events.
More About Common Core Standards
• Common Core State Standards have been
developed in English/Language Arts and Math
for kindergarten through twelfth grade.
• Common Core State Standards are rigorous
and challenging. They reflect knowledge and
skills needed in college and career/job
readiness for the 21st century.
Why Common Core Standards?
• Common core standards will help ensure
consistent quality in education nationwide.
• Common core standards will provide a venue
for individual states to compare student
progress with other states.
• By 2014, 64% of jobs will require postsecondary training. Common core standards
will ensure that America’s students can
compete in a global job market.
Common Core State Standards in
Kentucky
Kentucky was one of 44 states to adopt the
Common Core State Standards. While the
standards remain the same, Kentucky chose to
rename the standards ...
Kentucky Core Academic Standards (KCAS)
Kentucky’s Commitment
Unbridled Learning – Senate Bill 1 (2009)
Requires the adoption of new academic
standards (KCAS)
Requires the adoption of
new assessments
Provides a unified plan for improving
college/career readiness
What Do KCAS English/Language Arts
Standards Look Like?
English/Language Arts consists of five
areas:
Reading
Writing
Speaking and Listening
Language
Foundational skills – phonics, word
recognition and decoding words
What Will I Notice As a Parent?
• You will notice a significant increase in the
amount of non-fiction reading and writing
your child will be doing.
• In the new standards it is clearly specified
that students will experience:
• 50 percent fiction (Ex. Charlotte’s Web)
• 50 percent non-fiction (Ex. The Diary of
Anne Frank)
What Do KCAS Math Standards Look
Like?
Kindergarten – Grade 8
 Grade by grade standards
with a concentration in
th
geometry and algebra in 7
and 8th grades.
What Will I Notice As a Parent?
• In the former standards, students repeated
specific math skills at several grade levels. In
KCAS the repetition is eliminated.
• In KCAS students will be learning new math
skills every year. The math skills that they
learn in grade 1 will be needed as they
progress through the math skills for grade 2.
Summary of KCAS:
What Will be Different for My Child?
Your child may be introduced to skill at an
earlier grade level than in the past.
Concepts moved from grade 3 to grades listed below:
Kindergarten: Attributes of three dimensional shapes are
introduced
Grade 1: Time to the nearest half hour
Grade 2: Skip count by 5’s, 10’s and 100’s
Odd and even numbers to 20 are introduced
Time to the nearest five minutes
Summary of KCAS:
What Will Be Different for My Child?
Your child may be introduced to concepts that
are new to their grade level.
Sample Concepts new to grade 3
* Fractions with denominators of 2,3,4,6 and 8.
(in prior standards fractions at the grade level were
limited to halves, thirds and fourths)
* Concept of area and the formula for area,
recognizing that area is additive
How Will My Child Be Assessed on the
KCAS Standards?
• Students in grades 3-12 will be assessed each
spring.
• Kentucky is currently in the process of
adopting a new assessment based on the
KCAS standards in English Language Arts and
Math to be administered in spring, 2012.
• Kentucky will be the ONLY state in the nation
to assess students using the new KCAS
standards in spring, 2012.
Summary of Proposed Kentucky StateRequired Assessments Spring 2012
Grade Reading
(KCAS)
Writing
(KCAS)
Mathematics
(KCAS)
Science
(CC 4.1)
Social
Studies
(CC 4.1)
3
CRT/NRT*
CRT/NRT*
4
CRT/NRT* Editing/
Mechanics*
CRT/NRT*
5
CRT/NRT* On-demand*
CRT/NRT*
6
CRT/NRT* Editing/Mechanics
& On-demand*
CRT/NRT*
7
CRT/NRT*
CRT/NRT*
8
CRT/NRT* On-demand*
CRT/NRT*
End of
Course
On-demand
Writing*
End of
Course
End of
Course
End of
Course
On-demand
Writing*
Algebra II
Biology
U.S. History
ACT
ACT
ACT
EPAS
CRT/NRT*
CRT/NRT*
CRT/NRT*
CRT/NRT* EXPLORE
9
10
English II
11
ACT
PLAN
(Used to meet
required testing)
ACT
Proposed Types of
Assessment
Third Grade Assessment will include:
• Multiple Choice
• Short Answer
Fourth through Twelfth Grade Assessments will
include:
• Multiple Choice
• Short Answer
• Extended Response
How Can I Support My Child’s
Learning?
• Refer regularly to your Parent’s Guide to Student Success
brochure published by the National PTA.
• Talk with your child. Ask questions about what he/she is
learning in class.
• Check for homework. It is most often an extension of what
your child is doing in class.
• Read with your child nightly and visit the public library often.
• Communicate regularly with your child’s teacher through
notes, emails, phone calls and parent-teacher conferences.
• Stay INVOLVED and be an advocate for your child!
Why PTA????
• National PTA adopted a position statement
supporting clear, high standards in 1981.
• PTA is the leading voice speaking on behalf of
parents.
• PTAs have the ability to be the vehicle of information
as Kentucky begins the implementation of the KCAS
Initiative.
• You can help us inform others and our community.
Ask your presenter how you can schedule
additional PTA workshops free of charge.
Together We Can Do It!
15 District PTA, JCPS Gheens Academy for
Curriculum and Instruction and JCTA are
partnering to share information and
learning about KCAS and helping our
students graduate college and career
ready.
Looking Toward the Future
• Common core state standards will be developed
in the subject areas of science and social studies.
• A national assessment based on the common
core standards will be adopted by 2014.
Where Can You Go For More
Information?
• www.pta.org
• www.15thdistrictpta.org
• http://www.jefferson.k12.ky.us/departments/
gheens/Index.html
• www.pta.org/parentguide
• www.education.ky.gov/KDE/
• www.achieve.org
• www.commoncore.org