Race to the Top: Standards & Assessments
Posted on 23. Nov, 2009 by Heather.
The final Race to the Top (R2T) guidelines are out, and we all want to know what Washington’s chances are for scoring a piece of the pie. In a series of posts, you’ll find a detailed run through of the guidelines, as well as some analysis on where Washington stands (previous post on overall picture here, eligibility and requirements here, and state success factors here). This post focuses on the second of six selection criteria: standards and assessments.
Standards and Assessments (70 points)
B1. Developing and adopting common standards (40 points)
i) State’s participation in a consortium that is working toward jointly developing and adopting common K-12 standards that are internationally benchmarked and build toward college and career readiness (20 points)
ii) Commitment to (Phase 1) or adoption of (Phase 2) common set of K-12 standards (20 points)
Washington, along with 47 other states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, has signed on to the common standards work being led by the National Governor’s Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers. There is no guarantee that Washington will sign off on the standards to come out of this group; however, it does seem counterintuitive not to do so.
Prior to this initiative, Washington has been working with Achieve as part of that organization’s American Diploma Project network. While ADP did not write common standards, it did set content benchmarks in math and English. Participation in ADP is no slam dunk for Washington (34 states also belong), but it does help demonstrate Washington’s commitment to high standards — and our ability to play nice with others.
B2. Developing and implementing common, high-quality assessments (10 points)
State’s participation in a consortium that is working toward jointly developing and implementing common, high-quality assessments aligned with the consortium’s common set of K-12 standards
The common standards work will most likely lead to common assessments. With Washington’s involvement in the common standards consortium, it stands to reason that we would also engage in the common assessment work. Possible bonus points for Washington as we are current members of Achieve’s ADP Assessment Consortium on Algebra II (with 14 other states).
B3. Supporting the transition to enhanced standards and high-quality assessments (20 points)
The extent to which the state, in collaboration with local school districts, has a high-quality plan for statewide transition to and implementation of internationally benchmarked K-12 standards that build toward college and career readiness
If a state signs on to implement the common standards and assessments, then local districts will need to follow along, especially those signing on the state’s R2T application. Points in this sub-criterion will most likely be based on the quality of the plan presented. The R2T guidelines list a number of options, and many of them seem feasible for Washington. For example:
- Developing a rollout plan for the standards together with all of their supporting components — This could include phase-in (e.g. start with K-3, then move up), as well as adoption of standard curriculum where appropriate and/or textbooks.
- Aligning high school graduation requirements and college entrance requirements with the new standards and assessments — CORE 24 would be an excellent way to do this.
- Developing and delivering high-quality professional development to support the transition to new standards and assessments — No-brainer on this one. If we are going to expect our educators to teach these standards, we need to support them before and during (and after) transition.
Next criterion on the table: data systems to support instruction.
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Education news for November 23
Posted on 23. Nov, 2009 by Katrina.
Too complicated: Evergreen’s on-and-off kindergarten schedule is re-evaluated
Debate as more states consider Pre-K funding: The playtime’s the thing
Getting creative: White House pushes science and math education
What about reading? Study finds NCLB law lifted math scores
