Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/315828
created a three-year moratorium on using state tests for accountability pur- poses, giving educators some breathing room. U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan fought against it, but the governor held fi rm, and common sense prevailed against testing students on outdated standards while tran- sitioning to new ones. "It's about learning, not testing," says Vogel. "Among the lessons we've learned from No Child Left Behind is that testing should not drive instruc- tion. We must separate the standards from the testing and implement the standards the right way, before it even makes sense to count assessments. I am pleased to say that California is doing things differently — unlike what has happened in New York and other states where it's been a disaster, which prompted NEA President Dennis Van Roekel to call for a 'course correction' in how states implement the Common Core." (Read Van Roekel's statement at www.cta.org/vanroekel.) T H E C C S S were developed through the Na- tional Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers with feedback from states, teachers, colleges and the pub- lic. All but four states adopted them. Teachers were involved in California's adoption process. The state's 21-member Academic Content Standards Commission had 11 teachers in 2010, including Common Core coach Kathy Harris and Pat Sabo, a former Healdsburg Junior High School math teacher, now retired. "When people sa y teachers weren't in- volved, I can sa y tha t is a bsolutel y untrue," sa ys Sa bo, adding tha t the adoption of the English standards was much easier than the ma th standards. Eighth-g rade algebra was the "elephant in the room" causing major concern. "We asked ourselves, 'Is this develop- mentally appropriate?'" recalls Sabo. "As teachers, many of us felt that eighth-grade algebra was not. I taught middle school math for more than 30 years and saw that many of my students were just not ready." The standards were adopted as a package, but the commission made additions. Cursive was not in the CCSS, but the commission added it in California's version because teachers felt it was an important life skill, useful for motor skills and developmentally appropriate for students in grades 2-4. When researchers were cre- ating the standards, Harris sat on a review panel composed of teachers throughout the U.S. "I joined the National Council of Teachers of English review panel in November 2009, when I was teaching third grade," says Harris, Piner-Olivet Educa- tors Association. "We poured over the proposed standards, wrote our comments, and had conference calls with teachers throughout the countr y. Teachers sent recommendations to the development team, which was receptive to our questions, concerns and changes. There was a lot of teacher involvement even before California adopted the standards." Harris was part of the Text Complexity Development Team for the CCSS, working on K-2 standards with researchers in the areas of comprehension, vocabulary and reading. Teacher involvement has ramped up since the standards were adopted in 2010 by the State Board of Education, with CTA providing training and support to members in work- shops and conferences. CTA's Instruction and Professional Development (IPD) Department created "spirals" or visuals of the English language arts standards in an easy-to-follow format, beginning with kinder- garten and continuing to 12th grade, which show what students should know at their current grade level, which specific skills should already be mastered, and where the skills they are learning in their class will lead in subse- quent grades. To view the spirals, please visit www.cta.org/ipdspirals. At this year's Summer Institute, the IPD Strand will provide learn- ing new experiences for school employees to examine and gain in-depth knowledge of the CCSS and the accompany- ing new state assessments. (For story, see page 59.) For more information on upcoming CCSS professional development opportunities from CTA, contact the IPD Department at 650-552-5350. Pat Sabo "The new standards validate what good, effective teach- ers have been doing under the radar for years," says CTA President Dean Vogel. "Under the old system, teachers had to do things they knew intuitively were not good for students. The new standards are a direct validation of teachers as professionals." CTA research shows that an overwhelming majority of members — 81 percent — support the Common Core, mirroring studies by NEA. Of those who support it, 55 percent support it with reservations about implementation and the assessments. Lawmakers approved AB 484, a CTA-supported bill eliminating STAR testing this year, replacing it with Smarter Balanced field testing instead. The law also Teachers were involved from the beginning The Common Core is the biggest shift in education since 1999, when California adopted the highest standards in the nation. Previously, California had no standards and no uniformity. Long division, for example, could be taught in fourth, fi fth or sixth grade, depending upon your district. A LOOK BACK: P H O T O G R A P H Y B Y S C O T T B U S C H M A N 13 www.cta.org M AY 2 0 1 4 Educator 05 May 2014 v1.6 int.indd 13 5/16/14 3:21 PM