Schools to start using new standards

Common Core changes in English/language arts to be introduced this fall

Arkansas Department of Education commissioner Johnny Key
Arkansas Department of Education commissioner Johnny Key

New English/language arts standards for kindergarten through 12th grades will be introduced in Arkansas' public school classrooms in the 2016-17 school year and fully implemented the year after that.

The new standards, approved this month by the Arkansas Board of Education, are a revision of the Common Core State Standards in English/language arts that were developed by national committees of subject-area experts and have been the basis of instruction in Arkansas in recent years.

The revisions and clarifications -- affecting 62 percent of the now former English/language arts standards -- are the product of work by more than 100 teachers, school administrators, higher-education faculty members and Arkansas Department of Education staff members who took on the standards review last fall.

"We have created a product that is much more positive and has buy-in from Arkansas educators," state Education Commissioner Johnny Key said about the new standards, adding that the educator support is the result of the teachers being "at the table" to make the changes and revisions. Additionally, the revision work was streamed online so that members of the public could observe. Online surveys enabled educators and the public to react to proposed changes.

"A year ago, I would have thought this would bring in a roomful of people to have their say whether they were for or against it," Key said about the state Education Board meeting to vote on the final draft. "We don't have that. I don't think that means it is less important. I think it means we did a good job of getting everyone's input along the way."

The 871 grade-by-grade Common Core standards grew by 19 standards to 890 as a result of the review. Of the original 871 standards, 539 were revised and clarified in some way, according to Education Department data. The new standards are color-coded. Those shaded in green have been changed or moved. Standards shaded peach were not changed. Blue shading indicates "changed or moved and clarified."

As examples of changes, the new standards explicitly call for the teaching of cursive handwriting and instruction in phonics.

Additionally, the new standards -- in contrast to the now former standards -- omit any listing of suggested literature and nonfiction readings. Those text selections are left to local school districts and classroom decision-makers.

The new standards incorporate "teacher notes" throughout the approximately 500 pages of standards. Those notes are intended to put at a teacher's fingertips a variety of resources -- explanations, definitions and links to research -- related to specific standards for teachers to use if they choose.

Kiffany Pride, program administrator for literacy in the Pulaski County Special School District, said Thursday that her district has been tracking the state's work on the new standards.

"We have rewritten our curriculum to fit the new standards," Pride said. "We are going to fully implement them this year. We are excited about them. We feel they are comprehensive and fit the needs of our teachers and students."

Pride said the district appreciates the "teacher notes" that accompany the standards because they will help the teachers interpret the standards.

As for the addition of the cursive handwriting requirements for second- and third-graders, Pride said the Pulaski County Special District has been teaching cursive.

"We knew we were already covered in that area, but we are excited to see it in the standards," Pride said. "It's a match of practice and standards. That alignment helps."

Bridget Chitwood, Sheridan School District's assistant superintendent of curriculum, said Thursday in an email that she expects the new standards to be well-received by teachers in her district. One of Sheridan's teachers served on the state review committee and had provided the district with updates and insight on the changes.

"The standards are not dramatically different than what we had before, but they do seem to provide more clarity and more supportive resources for teachers," Chitwood said. "Some of our teachers have commented the new standards are more user-friendly."

The Sheridan district's faculty will work throughout the 2016-17 school year to identify the curriculum changes and the resources needed to make a complete transition to the new standards, Chitwood added.

Arkansas was one of more than 40 states that in 2010 adopted the multistate Common Core State Standards in mathematics and English/language arts. Those standards, which were phased into classrooms over three school years, were intended to be more academically challenging and better preparation for students entering college and the workplace. But some teachers and parents in Arkansas, and in other states, criticized the Common Core standards as being inappropriate for students at certain grade levels.

In 2015, Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson created and Lt. Gov. Tim Griffin led a task force of educators, business people and community members to study the Common Core standards. The task force concluded that the state Department of Education should review and revise the math and English/language arts standards and make them Arkansas' own -- with a name change to reflect that.

The state Education Board adopted the resulting Arkansas Mathematics Standards for kindergarten through 12th grades in April. The math standards also will be introduced to classrooms in the 2016-17 school year and will be more fully implemented in 2017-18.

In starting the review of the English/language arts standards last year, Education Department staff members and others conducted a public survey about the old standards. There were some 897 responses, according to the Education Department. A later, follow-up survey on draft standards produced an additional 1,539 responses, which led to more edits.

The new standards -- available for public review on the Arkansas Department of Education website -- include the "College and Career Ready Anchor Standards" that describe the knowledge and skills that high school graduates need in each of the categories of reading, writing, speaking and listening, and language. The anchor standards are the big-picture learning goals. The grade-by-grade standards are aligned to the anchor standards.

A separate document -- the Arkansas Disciplinary Literacy Standards -- also has been prepared to help math, science and social studies teachers incorporate literacy standards into their curriculums, said Stacy Smith, the Education Department's assistant commissioner for learning services.

The Education Board's adoption of the new standards will have a ripple effect on the content of existing courses such as English, creative writing, debate, journalism, oral communication and drama.

"We will have to revise all of the existing courses," said Sherri Thorne, English/language arts and disciplinary literacy specialist at the Education Department. "We have to align the courses to the new standards. We will be addressing every one of those courses, plus we would certainly consider any new courses that teachers feel would be helpful to them."

Committees of teachers will be called on to do that course work, Thorne said.

Smith, the assistant commissioner, said scrutiny of the standards and teacher notes will be ongoing as schools, districts and the state look at trends in student achievement on state tests. The standards also will have a continuing role in decisions on the training that is provided to teachers.

"We need to be strategic and specific about that," she said.

The English/language arts standards are not meant to limit instruction.

"The standards are what we expect all teachers to teach in the classroom," Smith said. "But they are not the ceiling. They are the base."

The standards are available on the Education Department website: arkansased.gov/divisions/learning-services/curriculum-and-instruction/curriculum-framework-documents/english-language-arts.

More information about the standards review process is available at this link: arkansased.gov/divisions/learning-services/curriculum-and-instruction/state-standards-review-for-mathematics-and-english-language-arts.

Metro on 07/22/2016

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