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Update #18
January 23, 2013
 
Announcements:  

    

CRA Phase II Changes: In response to feedback, changes have been made to the scoring process for the upcoming February administration of the Constructed Response Assessment. This document explains these changes and provides a timeline for the administration and scoring process, as well as a list of resources to support schools.    
 

Proposed Social Studies Standards Revision

In order to best support instruction that builds the skills necessary for college and career readiness, the department is announcing a proposed revision of the social studies standards in grades K-12. The shift to the Common Core State Standards has engaged educators in the process of incorporating curriculum standards that push students to a deeper level of understanding in all content areas. Revisions to the social studies standards will reflect higher expectations for student understanding of historical content knowledge and the place social studies content should occupy in the process of teaching literacy skills to students across grade levels.   
  • Tennessee will be revising Social Studies standards this winter for implementation during the 2013-14 school year.
  • There will be a suspension of Social Studies Assessments during the 2013-14 school year and a reintroduction of Social Studies Assessments during  during the 2014-15 school year. This includes suspending all Social Studies TCAP Assessments and the US History End of Course.
  • Textbook bids will be expected to align to the new standards and ready for district use by the 2014-15 school year.
  • Training on the literacy standards will be offered Summer 2013 and training will be offered on the revised Social Studies standards during the 2013-14 school year.
Click  here for the proposed social studies standards revision document.

 

Online Assessment and Typing Instruction: Students' computer skills are increasingly important in the classroom  as well as in preparation for college and career. This year the eighth- and 11th-grade TCAP Writing Assessment will be administered online. As districts prepare for this and future online PARCC assessments, there has been an increasing focus on computer and typing skills required.

 

The attached document provides information on the best practices for ensuring students are ready for typing, and resources currently being used by districts.

 

   

PARCC Update:    

 

PARCC Draft Accommodation Policies for Review: In anticipation of potential accommodation policy changes in the areas of Read Aloud and Calculator Use due to the PARCC assessment, the Accessibility, Accommodations, and Fairness (AAF) working group along with Achieve have released two draft accommodation policies for public review and feedback. Tennessee is represented on the AAF by Lori Nixon, Director of Assessment Design for Special Populations; however, the Department is asking for additional stakeholder comments on the two policies. Please read the policies here and follow the directions provided in order to submit your comments. If you have specific questions, feel free to email them to [email protected] 

    

Resources:

The Role of Fiction in the High School English Classroom: In recent weeks, there has been some debate about the balance of literary and informational texts in the Common Core State Standards, especially in high school. This  article, written by the two lead authors of the English Language Arts Standards, refutes several myths and misperceptions and reaffirms the crucial role literature will continue to play under the Common Core.

   

Implementing the Common Core Mathematical Practices: The PARCC Model Content Frameworks state "The Standards for Mathematical Practice should be embedded in classroom instruction, discussions, and activities" (p. 8). This article addresses the need for anyone involved in mathematics education to have a firm understanding of Mathematical Practices. Ideas for managing, designing professional development, and selecting tasks that reflect the Practices are included.