Unit 2Selecting Texts Worth Reading

Produced under U.S. Department of EducationContract No. ED-VAE-13-C-0066, with StandardsWork, Inc. and

Subcontractor, Reingold, Inc.

December 2014

The Instructional Advances in ELA/LiteracyCCR Standards for Adult Education

Three Key Advances Prompted by the CCR Standards

1. Text Complexity: Regular Practice With Complex Text

(and Its Academic Language)

2. Evidence: Reading and Writing Grounded in Evidence

From Text

3. Building Knowledge: Building Knowledge Through

Content-Rich Nonfiction

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Key Advances Build Toward College and Career Readiness for All Students

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Unit 2 ObjectivesSelecting Texts Worth Reading

Understand the research base that explains the importance of text complexity to students’ preparedness.

Understand the staircase of complexity and the central role it plays in the CCR Standards for Adult Education.

Understand the features that make a text complex.

Understand how careful consideration of text(s) can yield insights for instruction and deeper understanding of what it takes to comprehend a text.

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Rationale for Focusing on Complex Text

Relevance and Importance Based on the Research

The complexity of text that students can read is the greatest predictor of success in college (ACT study).

The gap between the complexity of college and high school texts is huge (four years!).

Too many students are reading at too low a level.(Fewer than 50% of graduates can read sufficiently complex texts.)

Deficiencies deny equal opportunity . . .

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Implications of Focusing on Complex Text on Instruction

The CCR Standards have raised the bar for what

students should read and understand at each level.

Passages should be of high quality so they are worthy of

close reading.

CCR-aligned questions cannot be asked about passages

lacking complexity and fully developed ideas.

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What Is Complex Text, Exactly?

Complex sentences

Uncommon vocabulary

Lack of words, sentences, or paragraphs that review or

pull things together for the student

Lengthy paragraphs

Text structure that is less narrative and/or mixes

structures

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What Is Complex Text, Exactly? (Continued)

Subtle and/or frequent transitions

Multiple and/or subtle themes and purposes

Dense information

Unfamiliar settings, topics, or events

Lack of repetition, overlap, or similarity in words and

sentences

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Which Two of These Factors Cause Students the Most Difficulty?

Complex sentences

Uncommon vocabulary

Lack of words, sentences, or paragraphs that review or

pull things together for the student

Lengthy paragraphs

Text structure that is less narrative and/or mixes

structures

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1. Quantitative Scale

2. Qualitative Measures

3. Professional Judgment (of Reader and Task)

Three-Part System for Measuring Text:

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What Do These Parts Mean? How Do They Work Together?

1. Quantitative Scale: What a computer can “see” and

measure

2. Qualitative Measures: Text features best judged by

human evaluation (structure, language clarity and

conventions, knowledge demands, and purpose)

3. Professional Judgment: What the instructor does with

this text to help students read and understand it

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1. Quantitative Scale

CCR Levels of Learning ATOS

Degrees of

Reading Power

Flesch-Kincaid

The Lexile Framework

Reading Maturity

B (2nd – 3rd) 2.75 – 5.14 42 – 54 1.98 – 5.34 420 – 820 3.53 – 6.13

C (4th – 5th) 4.97 – 7.03 52 – 60 4.51 – 7.73 740 – 1010 5.42 – 7.92

D (6th – 8th) 7.00 – 9.98 57 – 67 6.51 – 10.34 925 – 1185 7.04 – 9.57

E (9th – 10th) 9.67 – 12.01 62 – 72 8.32 – 12.12 1050 – 1335 8.41 – 10.81

E (11th – CCR))

11.20 – 14.10 67 – 74 10.34 – 14.2 1185 – 1385 9.57 – 12.00

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2. Qualitative Measures

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3. Professional Judgment

“Students who struggle greatly to read texts within (or even below) their text complexity [level] must be given the support needed to enable them to read at an appropriate level of complexity. Even many students on course for college and career readiness are likely to need scaffolding as they master higher levels of text complexity.”

(From Appendix A, p. 9, CCSS – ELA)

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Determining Text Complexity

General Rule: Use the quantitative measures to place a text within a band, and qualitative measures to determine if the text is slightly, moderately, very, or exceedingly complex for that level.

Then consider what to do with the qualities of the text through instruction so students can access the ideas and information contained within it (reader and task considerations).

(Navigating Text Complexity)

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Why Text Complexity Is Essential

Academic vocabulary can be learned only from complex texts.

Mature language skills needed for success can be gained only by working with demanding materials.

Students won’t be prepared by reading simplified texts that have restricted, limited, and/or thin meaning.

There is no evidence that struggling readers catch up by simply increasing the complexity of simpler texts gradually.

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Now let’s do some hands-on work analyzing qualitative features of a text . . .

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Materials

Directions for Participants Worksheet: Qualitative Analysis of Text

Resource: Excerpt from The Words We Live By: Your Annotated Guide to the Constitution

Resource: Quantitative Analysis Chart for Determining Text Complexity

Resource: Qualitative Analysis Rubric for Informational Texts

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Directions

1. Read the excerpt from The Words We Live By. Decide whether to read the text aloud at your table while others follow along, or to read silently.

2. Look at the quantitative measures listed at the top of the Qualitative Analysis of Text worksheet for The Words We Live By. Consult the Quantitative Analysis Chart for Determining Text Complexity to determine in what level of learning the text belongs. When different measures indicate adjacent levels, look at the overlap in ranges between levels to decide in which level to place the text.

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Directions (Continued)

3. Review the Qualitative Analysis Rubric for Informational Texts. For each category or text feature (structure, language clarity and conventions, knowledge demands, and purpose), provide evidence in the blank space for why you think the text is or is not especially challenging in that category. Share your insights with a partner.

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Directions (Continued)

4. Share your evidence with other participants at your table and discuss any points of agreement or disagreement. Rather than discussing the rating itself, focus on the evidence from the text that supports your rating on the qualitative rubric:

What did you read in the text that made you think about it in this way?

Can you point to a specific example? Why does [refer to the specific example] seem to

be more moderately complex rather than very complex?

.

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Directions (Continued)

5. At your table, assign placement ratings in each category, and finally an overall placement of how complex the text is when you consider all its features. Remember, you are thinking about this text for a certain level of adult education students, so consider how challenging it is for students at that level.

6. Explain your overall placement for how complex the text is in the bottom row of the chart.

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Reflections

Did analyzing the text in this careful way help you notice

what would be difficult for students at this level?

How would you help students navigate the challenges

this text presents?

What type of supports might be needed?

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Next Steps

How has participating in this activity changed your thinking about the CCR Standards?

How will you use the information and understanding you have acquired to improve your teaching practice and student learning?

What additional training and tools would strengthen your ability to do so?