As we end the first quarter, I want to try again to explain many of the changes that are happening in education and here at Swiss Point.

Recent Changes in Education:

• Senate Bill 736 was passed a couple of years ago and states that all schools will be standards-based by 2014-2015.  Additionally, all courses will have an exam at the end of the course that will measure student progress.  The legislation also calls for 50% of a teacher's evaluation to be based upon student performance.  Either the end of course exams or some other district approved measure will be used to fulfill this mandate. 
• New high school graduation requirements were passed stating that a student must pass an End-of-Course (EOC) exam in Algebra, Geometry and Biology in order to earn a diploma.  They must also take a state exam in United States History that will be worth 30% of their grade for that course.  In addition, each student must take Algebra 2 AND Chemistry or Physics to graduate.  
• Middle School will have a Civics EOC worth 30% of their grade for that course in 2013-2014, and starting in 2014-2015, passing the exam will be a requirement to earn promotion to High School.
• Florida decided to adopt Common Core Standards (National) which will be fully implemented by 2014-2015. 
• FCAT 2.0 was introduced and the cut scores were changed.  Students have to answer more of the moderate and high level questions correctly to continue to score at a 3, 4 or 5.
• The FCAT 2.0 Reading and Math exams will be administered for the last year in 2013-2014. 
• The Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) will be administered in Reading and Math in 2014-2015.  (This year's 8th graders will have to pass the PARCC to meet the HS graduation requirement.)

What does Standards-Based mean?

Standards-based education means that teachers are teaching the content-area academic standards outlined by the state.  The FCAT 2.0 is a skill based test on the Next Generation Sunshine State Standards.  The PARCC will test students on the Common Core Standards.

Teachers have broken down these broad standards into learning , which are statements of what a student should know or be able to do to demonstrate mastery of a standard.

When a school is truly standards-based, students and teachers know exactly what standards a student has mastered and what still needs to be learned.   Grades in the classroom correlate to what a student truly knows and should be a good predictor of performance on end of course exams.  

A = the student has not only shown proficiency in general knowledge about the Learning Goals, but is able to make significant connections beyond what they were taught, and can teach others how to make those same connections.  They can handle a question of any cognitive complexity level from low to high.

B = the student has shown proficiency in general knowledge about the Learning Goals, and is able to make connections beyond what was taught most of the time.  This student can handle all low level complexity questions and moderate questions without making many mistakes.  They are successful most of the time on the higher level complexity questions.

C = the student is proficient in general knowledge about the Learning Goals, but is unable to make connections beyond what is taught.  This student can handle all low complexity level questions and from time to time finds success on moderate level questions.

D = the student is not proficient in general knowledge about the Learning Goals.   This student demonstrates success with low level question some of the time, but cannot handle moderate or high level complexity questions without assistance.

F = the student is not proficient in general knowledge about the Learning Goals.  The student does not demonstrate success with low, moderate or higher level complexity questions without assistance.

What does Cognitive Complexity mean?

Webb's Depth of Knowledge is used in Florida to determine cognitive complexity.

Low level questions - recall facts or use simple skills or abilities.

Moderate level questions - require engagement of mental processing skills and concepts beyond recalling or reproducing; probe comprehension and processing text through inferencing, summarizing, compare/contrast, or other cognitive steps to solve problems and answer questions.

High level questions - strategic thinking, prediction, elaboration, evaluating, reasoning and planning, analysis/synthesis/interpretation, and moving from concrete to abstract thinking.

A simple translation is...

• *      Low Complexity - Just Read the Lines
• *      Moderate Complexity - Read Between the Lines
• *      High Complexity - Read Beyond the Lines

Why do we care about cognitive complexity?

The FCAT 2.0 is written with a certain percentage of questions at each level. 

Percentage of Points by Cognitive Complexity Level for 

FCAT 2.0 Reading

Percentage of Points by Cognitive Complexity Level for 

FCAT 2.0 Math

Percentage of Points by Cognitive Complexity for 

FCAT 2.0 Science

The core teachers at Swiss Point have collaboratively written their unit tests modeling these percentages.  If we do not "practice as we play" on the FCAT 2.0 or future PARCC, then students will not be ready to answer these higher level questions.

Examples of different level of questions from 6th grade Science

Low Cognitively Complex Questions

You are investigating whether robins prefer one type of bird seed over any other type. Your independent variable is the type of bird seed used. What should be your dependent variable?

1. a.       The amount of bird seed in your feeder.
2. b.      The number of birds visiting your feeder.
3. c.       The number of robins visiting your feeder.
4. d.      The cost of the different types of bird seed.

The SI unit of time is the _______.

1. e.       Second                        b. minute                     c. hour             d. day

Moderate Level Cognitively Complex Questions

Bill wants to find which laundry detergent is the best at getting food stains out of cloths. He sets up an experiment to test two detergents. He spills spaghetti sauce on two identical shirts, making sure that the stain on each shirt is the same size. He uses the same temperature and amount of water in the washing machine. The only thing he changes is the kind of detergent. He uses Brand X on one shirt and Brand Y on the other shirt.

 What is the independent variable?

      a.  brand of detergent

      b.  amount of stain after the wash

      c.  type of spaghetti sauce

      d.  the washing machine

Is this a fair test?

a. Yes; he tested all the variables at once in each test.

b. Yes; he changed only one variable in each test.

c. No; he tested all the variables at once in each test.

d. No; he changed only one variable in each test.

High Level Cognitively Complex Questions

Two identical columns contained equal volumes of different-size particles. The same amount of liquid was added to the top of each column. A student timed how long it took for the liquid in each column to reach the wire screen. The data table below shows the results.

Picture on test of two columns with different size particles in each column.  A wire screen underneath each column.

DATA TABLE

Particle Size             Time (sec)

    large                             1.2

    small                             5.0 

Which of the statements below could you infer from the data?

a.       The temperature of the liquid poured over the large particles was higher than in the small particles.

b.      The temperature of the liquid poured over the small particles was higher than  in the large particles.

c.       The liquid was different; the particle size had not effect on the time it took for the liquid to reach the wire screen.

d.      The liquid was the same; the particle size effected the time it took for the liquid to reach the wire screen.

Mr. Brink's physical science class has been challenged to find the density of a rock. The class divides into four teams but the teams share the same rock so that their data can be compared. They know they need to first find the mass and the volume of the rock. Then they can calculate the density. The teams each record their results in a table.

Analyze the data from Mr. Brink's science class.  Write your answer on the white space of your scantron.

Differences between FCAT 2.0 and PARCC

The FCAT 2.0 is a multiple choice test that measures a student's knowledge on the Next Generation Sunshine State Standards. 

The PARCC will be a computer-based interactive test that measures a student's knowledge on the Common Core Standards.

Several shifts in current practice for the entire school community must take place to ensure that our students are fully prepared for PARCC in 2014.  Teachers, students and parents must alter how they address lessons, schoolwork, homework, assessments, and study habits in order reach the academic levels demanded by more rigorous classroom and assessment standards.

One shift is in the complexity of texts, and the use of multiple texts, for teaching concepts.  Students must be able to draw evidence from several sources to support claims that the author or the reader asserts.  They must be able to communicate their arguments in writing or spoken presentations, using appropriate language skills in all classes.  More informational texts are presented; more research is required; and more critical reading and thinking is expected due to higher expectations in high school, college and the workforce.  Evidence-based thinking, discussion, and writing are critical.

A shift for teachers is the addition of a set of national (and internationally benchmarked) standards that must be overlaid onto the state standards.  Teachers now use many more resources (not just the textbook) to illustrate new concepts and skills.  Teachers must be aware of the complexity levels of texts, a variety of teaching strategies to engage all students, developing and administering new assessments that more closely reflect the rigor of national assessments, and then teaching to varying skillsets of students so that all of them perform well at higher levels.  Reteach and retest opportunities are more prevalent.  Technology skills are invaluable.

Teachers are spending a great deal of planning time cooperatively developing lessons, assessments, monitoring plans, remediation plans, and learning extension activities.  Classrooms have become more interactive--student groups discussing and applying their learning to projects that enrich and deepen understanding.  Professional development at SPMS is ongoing, demanding, and aimed at specific targets identified by our teachers to enrich their expertise in all these areas.

Example Questions from PARCC

Grade 7 Prose Constructed Response from Research Simulation Task (Summary)

Sample Item

Student Directions

Based on the information in the text "Biography of Amelia Earhart," write an essay that summarizes and explains the challenges Earhart faced throughout her life.

GRADE 6 Math

Drag the slider to explore the relationship between the number of inches and the number of centimeters.

PICTURE of a slide rule here that students would manipulate.  (Sorry, I couldn't get the picture to copy.)

Select all of the statements that accurately represent the relationship between the number of inches and the number of centimeters.

• The ratio of centimeters to inches is 1 to 2.54.
• The ratio of centimeters to inches is 2.54 to 1.
• i = 2.54c, where i represents the number of inches and c represents the number of centimeters
• c = 2.54i, where i represents the number of inches and c represents the number of centimeters
• For every centimeter, there are 2.54 inches

GRADE 7 Math

Sample Item

If an object has constant speed, then the speed can be computed by the change in distance divided by the change in time.

Information about objects A, B, C and D are shown. Objects C and D both have constant speed.

There are 4 graphs here in the question - one per object that the student must interpret to get the necessary information needed to answer the question.  Sorry, I could not get the graphs to copy.

Based on the information given, drag and drop the object names in order from greatest speed to least speed in the table provided.

Object A

Object B

Object C

Object D

Greatest Speed to Least Speed

What does all of this mean for us?

With all of these educational changes, we must work together to support our students and teachers.  I have a high level of confidence that students and teachers will be well prepared for these changes.  I want to encourage all parents to partner with us in the process of improving instruction and learning for all students.  We are asking students to perform at a much higher level and this is challenging for most.  I am confident that we all have the same goal of growing every student.  We can work together to achieve this goal by all supporting the learning process.

 For more information on the PARCC click here

dated 10/23/2012 

Featured Business Partner

Pamela A. Hemmen of Remax Realty is this month's  featured business partner.  Ms. Hemmen was instrumental in the printing of the PTSO Directory.  Please view the link to the left for her information.  Thank you Ms. Hemmen for your support of Switzerland Point.

Calculation of Semester Grades

Semester grades are calculated according to the district formula of 1st Qtr grade (40%) + 2nd Qtr grade (40%) + Semester Exam (20%) = Semester Grade

If students did poorly this 1st quarter in a course, they still have time for improvement before the semester grade is awarded.