Meeting of the Board of Regents | December 2009

THE STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT / THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK / ALBANY, NY 12234

TO:
FROM:	John B. King, Jr.
SUBJECT:	Common Core Standards Review and Adoption Process
DATE:	December 7, 2009
STRATEGIC GOAL:	Goal 1
AUTHORIZATION(S):

 

SUMMARY

 

Issue for Decision

Should the Board of Regents support the following process for review and adoption of the Common Core Standards? 

 

• Review the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) and the National Governor’s Association (NGA) Center for Best Practices Common Core college- and career-readiness standards for “Mathematics” and for “Reading, Writing, and Speaking and Listening;”
• Align the New York State English language arts (ELA) and mathematics learning standards and performance indicators;
• Determine additional New York content (15% as judged necessary ); and,
• Adopt a combined set of learning standards and grade by grade performance expectations for P-12 in mathematics and ELA.

 

Reason(s) for Consideration

              Review of policy.

             

Background Information

 

              Through its Standards Review Initiative (SRI) NYS has taken a proactive stance in the development of the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) and the National Governor’s Association (NGA) Center for Best Practices Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for English Language Arts.   Under the leadership of Regent Saul B. Cohen, the SRI Leadership Team provided input on the ELA CCSS prior to the development and release of the initial draft public comment.  The SRI Leadership Team provides ongoing feedback to CCSSO/NGA on each iteration and has conducted several side-by-side comparisons of the proposed NYS draft ELA/ESL Learning Standards to the Common Core State Standards throughout their development.  This ongoing analysis will continue to inform world class standards for all NYS students.

              The Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) and the National Governor’s Association (NGA) Center for Best Practices released an “incomplete draft of the ELA and mathematics standards” for public comment on November 13, 2009.  In the Department’s December 4, 2009 response, Commissioner Steiner noted:

 

• New York State is glad to take on a leadership role as part of the Common Core State Standards Initiative. The Department is ready to engage the field to gather input on how Common Core Standards for English language arts and mathematics will affect teaching and learning in New York State. New York strongly encourages the Common Core State Standards panel to broaden the standards to include prekindergarten expectations, to ensure the seamless transition to kindergarten.

 

• At this time, both the draft Common Core ELA and Mathematics documents are works-in-progress, and do not contain complete K-12 grade-specific expectations. Once the K-12 standards and supporting materials are released together, New York will be able to comment on whether there is a rigorous and reasonable continuum of K-12 expectations leading to college- and career-readiness.

 

The final draft of the Common Core Standards in ELA and mathematics is expected to be released in early January 2010.  In anticipation of the release of the final draft document, the following plan for engaging the field in a review, alignment to existing NYS learning standards and adoption of a combination of standards and performance expectations (85% NGA/CCSSO Common Core Standards; 15% State developed as judged necessary) is attached.

Recommendation

Staff recommends that the Regents take the following action:

VOTED: That the Board of Regents direct staff to implement the review and adoption process for the Common Core State Standards and support the development of college- and career-readiness standards for ELA and mathematics learning standards and grade by grade performance expectations. 

Timetable for Implementation

              Upon approval by the Regents, Department staff will implement the plan outlined in the attachment entitled Common Core Standards Review and Adoption Process.

Attachment

Common Core Standards Review and Adoption Process

Phase I:           Public Review and Comment NGA/CCSSO ELA/Mathematics Standards (December 2009 – February 2010)

December 16, 2009

• Expand the NYSED Common Core Standards Initiative website http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/ciai/common_core_standards.html   to include a “toolkit for public comment” which contains:

• A video of the Commissioner inviting public comment;  
• A Power point presentation describing the Common Core Standards Initiative, sequence of events and timeline, the internal structure of the proposed ELA and mathematics standards and next steps in developing the NYS learning standards process;
• Two online survey instruments - one for public comment on the NGA/CCSSO proposed mathematics standards; the other for public comment on the NGA/CCSSO ELA standards; 
• NGA/CCSSO draft grade by grade Common Core Standards for public comment; and,
• Links to related materials.

 

December 16, 2009

• Standards Review Initiative (SRI) Leadership Team will provide to the Regents a report on SRI activities with respect to NYS ELA/ESL learning standards and provide a basis for discussion of their relationship to the Common Core initiative; and,
• Board of Regents approval on the process for review and adoption of the NYS learning standards and performance expectations in relation to the Common Core Standards for ELA and Mathematics.

 

January 29, 2010

• Conduct 8-12 regional forums statewide through the NYS Teacher Center Technology Committee.  Forums will combine virtual presentation and face-to-face facilitation using the toolkit materials described above.  Multiple regional stakeholders will be invited - teachers, administrators, professional development providers, and others, including BOCES, district, and public, charter and non-public school staff.
• Host a statewide discussion with live audience to seek feedback on the Common Core Standards for ELA and mathematics and the supports needed for implementation in NYS schools.
• Submit formal response to the NGA/CCSSO informed by statewide public comment, the work of the Standards Review Initiative Committee, and the NYSED Mathematics Advisory Committee.

 

 

February 9, 2010

• Update Board of Regents on timeline and next steps in process for review and adoption of NGA/CCSSO Common Core Standards.

 

Phase II:          Propose a revised set of NYS Learning Standards for ELA/ Mathematics (March 2010 – April 2010)

April 1, 2010

• Review the final set of NGA/CCSSO Common Core Standards against the draft ELA/ESL learning standards, 2005 Mathematics Core and the SRI Working Principles http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/standardsreview/StandardReviewWorkingPrinciplesfinal7.17.08.mht and other pertinent documents;
• Compile a proposed draft of the NYS Learning Standards for English Language Arts and Mathematics grades P-12, with input from cognitive psychologists, members of the Standards Review Initiative Committee and NYSED Mathematics Advisory Council;
• Develop recommendations to the Board of Regents on adoption of the NGA/CCSSO Common Core Standards on mathematics and English language arts (comprises 85% of Common Core standards) and additional NYS standards (15% as judged necessary) for statewide public comment.

 

Phase III:         Public Review, Comment and Adoption of NYS Learning Standards for ELA and Mathematics (April 2010 – July 2010)

April 20, 2010

• Present and request Board of Regents approval to seek statewide public comment on the revised NYS ELA and mathematics learning standards, and
• NYSED expands the Common Core Standards Initiative website http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/ciai/common_core_standards.html to include a “toolkit for public comment” which contains:

 

May 18, 2010

• NYSED conducts 8-12 regional forums statewide through the NYS Teacher Center Technology Committee.  Forums will combine virtual presentation and face-to-face facilitation, using the toolkit materials described above.  Multiple regional stakeholders will be invited - teachers, administrators, professional development providers, and others, including BOCES, district, and public, charter and non-public school staff.
• Update Board of Regents on the status of statewide public comment on the proposed ELA and mathematics standards.

 

July 10, 2010

• Revise NYS Learning Standards for ELA and Mathematics based on public comment; and
• Produce a final set of standards and grade by grade performance expectations for P-12 in mathematics and ELA.

 

July 20, 2010

• The new standards and grade by grade performance indicators for P-12 (Common Core 85% + New York State 15% as judged necessary) will be presented to the Board of Regents for adoption.

 

Phase IV:        Design ELA and Math curriculum frameworks, align professional development and pre-service education, and integrate new standards into virtual high school.  (Revise/create standards in other subjects, beginning with science and social studies.)

Implementation of the Board of Regents approved ELA and Mathematics Standards will include development of curriculum frameworks, alignment of professional development and pre-service education as well as opportunity for online coursework through the development of a virtual high school. As resources become available, the Department will engage the field in the revision of all NYS learning standards with priority given to science and social studies.