College and Career Ready, Common Core, Edgenuity...What Are These?

College and Career Ready, Common Core, Edgenuity...What Are These?

by

Dr. Bob Diepenbrock, Superintendent of Schools

There are many new terms used by educators, educational institutions, and legislators and these terms represent changes that have a profound meaning and impact upon your students. I think it is appropriate to introduce and elaborate on a few of those terms and how the work being done by teachers and students plays out in USD 331 Kingman-Norwich.

Common Core…What is it and why is it so controversial? That is a good question. The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) were developed by the National Governors’ Association and the State Chief Education Officers and was adopted by the elected Kansas State Board of Education (KSBE) in 2010 for English Language Arts and Mathematics. Recently, KSBE approved the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and new standards for social studies. KSBE approves new state standards about every 10 years after carefully investigating what businesses and colleges view as important for students to be able to know and do upon graduation from high school. The newly adopted standards were designed utilizing businesses, international standards, colleges and universities so American students could be competitive in the current economy. The developers worked backwards, first identifying the expectations for graduating students, then determining what a student should know each preceding grade level up to when they first begin school. For instance, the first standard for a kindergarten student in English Language Arts states, “With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a text.”  A related standard is expanded from grades 1-12 where in grade 12 the first English Language Arts standard states, “Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text, including determining where the text leaves matters uncertain.” In both standards, students are asked to answer questions about the text, but while being supported by the kindergarten teacher while the 12^th grade student should be able to analyze the text thoroughly, answer what is in the text and even what isn’t, but might be inferred. The developers of the common core standards, the colleges and universities and businesses want students or employees who can analyze text when they become college students or employees. It’s controversial due to a great deal of misinformation being disseminated, but my challenge to anyone is to simply look at the standards as I just presented one and determine for yourself if the standard is reasonable.

What are Kansas College and Career Readiness Standards then? Common Core Standards were designed so each state could add some standards unique to the state that adopted them. Kansas not only has done that, but has made them unique by focusing on the skills KSBE believes are important for graduating students to possess whether the student begins employment in a career, starts a technical education program, or leaps to a major university. All of the standards recently adopted by Kansas use Kansas Pk-12 and college educators and business people to analyze and apply the standards specifically for Kansas. For instance, the newly adopted science standards are Kansas College and Career Ready Science Standards based upon the next generation science standards (NGSS) and science professors and teachers in Kansas examined the standards and will adapt them for each science discipline.

What is the difference between a standard and curriculum? A standard expresses what a student should know or the skill(s) a student should have upon completion of a particular grade level. The curriculum is determined locally by educators within the school district and approved by the local Board of Education. The curriculum includes the resources that will be used to teach what a student should know or to help a student attain a particular skill. Teachers also have some flexibility within a curriculum to utilize various teaching methods or instruction to assist students with learning the curriculum. It’s important teachers can use various modalities since students do not all learn in the same way or at the same pace.

Is Edgenuity a curriculum then? The district refers to Edgenuity as a curricular resource similar to what a textbook is. Since textbooks are expected to be completely digitalized within a few years, the district curriculum leadership team made up of USD 331 teachers and administrators examined various digital resources that could assist with the changeover to digitalized curricular resources. The resources are not ever going to be totally digitalized and thus, teachers are encouraged to use Edgenuity as well as other resources currently and previously used to help teach the curriculum. Instructional techniques, curricular resources, and education are ever changing, as are societal needs, so educational institutions must continue to meet those needs. Edgenuity can be used as a stand alone virtual curriculum and is used for that purpose for the district’s virtual program, but in the traditional school grades 6-12, it is one resource that can be used to assist teachers and students to work at students’ own pace and help students learn at higher levels. Teachers will continue to get professional learning assistance so they can help students better utilize this resource along with all the resources available.