essential skills overview - basics, transitions, and ... · basics, transitions, and common core...

Essential Skills Basics, Transitions, and Common Core Connections

Derek Brown, Manager

Cristen McLean, Policy Analyst

Topics and Objectives

Topic Objective

Essential Skills 101 Collect feedback

Common Core and

Essential Skills

Examine the connection between the Essential

Skills and the Common Core

Common Core assessment

selection

Describe process and outcomes for Common

Core assessment work group meetings

Essential Skills graduation

requirements

Describe the assessment options during the

assessment transition

OAKS to Common Core

assessment

Describe the OAKS to Common Core

assessment transition impacts graduation

requirements

Work sample planning Examine how Common Core implementation

impacts work samples

ESSENTIAL SKILLS 101

101 Topics

What are the Essential Skills?

Are they another set of content standards?

Why do we have the Essential Skills?

Which Essential Skills are required for graduation?

How do students show that they have

these skills?

What else is required for graduation?

Do other states have similar graduation requirements?

What are the Essential Skills?

… cross-disciplinary skills that students should be developing

across grades K- 12.

These skills are necessary for success after high school. 1. Read and comprehend a variety of text

2. Write clearly and accurately

3. Apply mathematics in a variety of settings

4. Listen actively and speak clearly and coherently

5. Think critically and analytically

6. Use technology to learn, live, and work

7. Demonstrate civic and community engagement

8. Demonstrate global literacy

9. Demonstrate personal management and teamwork skills

These skills are necessary, but not sufficient for success after high school.

These represent the basic toolkit and there are many additional important skills.

Are they another set of content standards?

…no, they are proficiencies that are embedded within the

content standards.

The Essential Skills are skills that all students should have as a

result of completing K-12 education.

Content Standards Essential Skill

Proficiencies

Smaller grain size Larger grain size

Guides curriculum

development

Describes outcomes of educational

experiences

Describes what students

should learn each year

Describes what students should be

able to do at the end of high school

Why do we have the Essential Skills?

… to make the diploma meaningful.

Essential Skills were developed:

• As a part of the New Oregon Diploma (within a

national movement)

• By the Essential Skills Task Force

Educators Post-secondary connections ODE

Legislators Business community State Board

• Over multiple years, which included defining each skill,

setting implementation timeline.

Essential Skills were adopted into law in 2008. This was the

8th grade year for the first group of students who would be accountable for

Essential Skills graduation requirements.

Which Essential Skills are required for

graduation?

… in order to earn a diploma this year*, students must show

that they have the first 2.

1. Read and comprehend a variety of text

2. Write clearly and accurately

* Graduation requirements are based on the year that students begun high school.

The first two Essential Skills are required for students who begun high school

2009-10, most of whom will be graduating this spring, 2012-13.

… the remaining 6 skills are not yet planned as diploma

requirements.

in a variety of settings

4. Listen actively and speak clearly and coherently

5. Think critically and analytically

6. Use technology to learn, live, and work

7. Demonstrate civic and community engagement

8. Demonstrate global literacy

9. Demonstrate personal management and teamwork

skills

How do students show that they have

these skills?

… by earning a certain score on one of the following

assessments.

• OAKS

• Local performance assessment (districts develop,

administer, and score work samples)

• Other standardized tests (ACT, SAT, AP, IB, etc.)

What else is required for graduation?

… students must meet two other requirements.

• Earn 24 credits.

• Complete personalized learning requirements

Do other states have similar graduation

requirements?

… well, it varies.

There is substantial variability from state to state.

Some states have:

• Similar graduation requirements, but easier assessments or more difficult assessments.

• More graduation requirements, such as requiring more assessments.

• Fewer graduation requirements, such as only requiring credits and not requiring assessments results.

This is why it is not possible to compare graduation rates across states.

Summary of the Essential Skills

Graduation Requirement

The Essential Skills represent the skills that are necessary for success after high school.

This year – to graduate – students must show they can:

1. Read and comprehend a variety of text

2. Write clearly and accurately

Next year – to graduate – students must also show they can:

3. Apply mathematics in a variety of settings

There are a variety of assessments that students can use to show that they have these skills.

The Essential Skills include 6 other skills that are not yet required for graduation.

COMMON CORE AND ESSENTIAL SKILLS

Reading and Writing

Common Core and Essential Skills…

…are not separate.

All that you do for Common Core implementation is also

helping with Essential Skills.

You are already:

◦ Helping students develop proficiency in the Essential

Skills.

◦ Preparing students to meet the Essential Skills

graduation requirement.

Reading

Look at the Essential Skills definition and the Common

Core reading anchor standards.

What similarities do you see?

Writing

Look at the Essential Skills definition and the Common

Core writing and language anchor standards.

What similarities do you see?

COMMON CORE ASSESSMENT SELECTION

Convene a representative workgroup

Workgroup outcomes

1. Examined assessment options against Oregon’s requirements for an assessment

2. Voted on % of selection for each of the assessment features (distribute 100% over 5 features)

3. Independently evaluated each assessment against criteria for each feature

4. Through discussion, established group consensus on which assessment was best in terms of each feature

5. Calculated assessment selection per feature against % for each feature to determine assessment with highest %

Assessment Selection

Outcome

Feature % of 100 Best Assessment

1. Quality Assessment 33 SMARTER BALANCED

2. Accommodations

Available 22 SMARTER BALANCED

3. Suite of Resources

Available 28 SMARTER BALANCED

4. Aligned with college

and career 07 SMARTER BALANCED

5. Oregon can

contribute to content 10 SMARTER BALANCED

ESSENTIAL SKILLS GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS

2014-2015: OAKS (ELA and Math) will be replaced by the Smarter Balanced assessment

Students will still have three assessment options for demonstrating proficiency in the Essential Skills

Available Assessment Options

OAKS

Work Samples

Other standardized

assessment

Current

Smarter Balanced

Work Samples

Other standardized assessment

Future

Transition timeline, through the lens of cohorts (or

grade groups)

Cohort Impact

11-12 12-13 13-14 14-15 15-16 16-17 17-18 18-19 19-20

3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

6 7 8 9 10 11 12

7 8 9 10 11 12

8 9 10 11 12

9 10 11 12

10 11 12

Cohort/Grade

School Year

Cohort Year

Smarter Balanced Assessment - Operational

Will students be able to use Essential Skills evidence

collected prior to the transition to Smarter Balanced?

◦ Yes, so long as it comes from the approved list of

assessment options.

Eligible Evidence for Graduation

Requirement

OAKS TO SMARTER BALANCED

Smarter Balanced field test results will be used to

establish an equivalent level of rigor to OAKS

0

236 (meets)

280

0

500

300

* Mock Scale

*

Equivalent Levels of Rigor

Summer 2014: Smarter Balanced will set achievement level; results may reveal a discrepancy in the level of achievement defined as “meets”

Late Summer/Fall 2014: State Board will make final decision regarding achievement level required for students to meet Essential Skills graduation requirements

Achievement Level

0

236 (meets)

280

0

500

300

* Mock Scale

*

320 (meets)

Raising the achievement level(s) required for students to meet Essential Skills graduation requirements means students must be given adequate notice

◦ Defined as March 1st of the 8th grade year

0

236 (meets)

280

0

500

300

* Mock Scale

*

320 (meets)

Raising the Achievement Level?

The achievement level must be consistent across all assessment options. ◦ The two other assessment options will be stable in

terms of achievement levels while equivalent levels of rigor are being established.

Achievement Level Across

Assessment Options

OAKS

Work Samples

Other standardized

assessment

Current

Smarter Balanced

Work Samples

Other standardized assessment

Future

WORK SAMPLE PLANNING

When did your school transition to the Common Core?

Common Core Transition

11-12 12-13 13-14 14-15 15-16 16-17 17-18 18-19 19-20

3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

6 7 8 9 10 11 12

7 8 9 10 11 12

8 9 10 11 12

9 10 11 12

10 11 12

Cohort/Grade

School Year

Cohort Year

Smarter Balanced Assessment - Operational

Work samples should be aligned to the standards to

which the majority of their curriculum was aligned.

Who Question

Districts who

transitioned last year

or before

How has the transition to

Common Core impacted

your work sample planning?

Districts who are

currently transitioning

or will transition

How are you planning for

Common Core-aligned work

samples?

Common Core Work Samples

Questions?

Cristen McLean, Policy Analyst Cristen.McLean@state.or.us

Derek Brown, Manager Derek.Brown@state.or.us