Millions of teachers and thousands of districts in 45 states are currently undergoing a sea change in the way that they teach and assess students. The new Common Core Standards for learning have been phased into states and districts since 2010, and the digitized Common Core Assessments are scheduled to deploy in states that have adopted them as early as the 2014-2015 school year.

Map of State Adoption of Common Core Assessments (Oct. 2013)

Note: Utah withdrew from Smarter Balanced, but will use the test until further notice. Pennsylvania has signaled it will likely drop out of both consortia. (Click to enlarge.)

 

Credit: Edutopia

Comparing Methods

Six consortia, funded by the U.S. Department of Education are developing systems for testing students' understanding of the Common Core standards. Two of these are developing assessments for English-language learners, which include English proficiency tests, and another two are developing assessments for students with the most significant cognitive impairments. The two largest consortia are Smarter Balanced and Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Career (PARCC). Both use interim tests to inform instruction, and both use writing and problem-solving tasks to assess critical thinking. A key difference between PARCC and Smarter Balanced is that PARCC uses a fixed format that shows the same questions to all students. The Smarter Balanced test is adaptive, using an algorithm to adjust the difficulty of questions according to students' responses -- as students get more correct responses, the questions get harder.

Total testing time for Smarter Balanced is 23 hours over several multi-day testing sessions in grades 3-8 and grade 11. PARCC's total testing time is about 46 hours over nine testing sessions in grades 3-11. Sample tasks for PARCC and Smarter Balanced can be found online. The table below provides further comparisons and links to the sample items.

Source: Center for K-12 Assessment & Performance Management at ETS (2013)¹, and ACT, Inc. (2013). *All three tests cost less than 1 percent of national average annual per pupil spending, which is $10,600. **Approximate, as of October 2013.

The Road Ahead for Assessment

The Educational Testing Service has analyzed scenarios in which a multitude of tests claim to measure the Common Core standards. In the worst case, it will not be possible to compare scores across tests, and in the best case, formulas can be used to translate scores from one test to another (not unlike translating scores between the ACT and SAT). Comparability metrics could only be understood through cooperation, communication and transparency between test providers.²

Despite states' disagreement over tests, the number of states using common tests will be greater than ever before in U.S. history, and never before have K-12 tests been fully digitized. Thousands of schools will need to purchase wireless computers and broadband Internet networks. Recent field-testing of PARCC and Smarter Balanced digital assessment reports indicate that schools which are relatively well equipped -- with wireless computers, broadband Internet and IT staff -- needed additional time and expertise for extensive troubleshooting. Glitches ranged from software and wireless device compatibility issues to the actual testing software. Tech-savvy schools that participated in field testing also report that digital assessments assume a level of digital fluency (such as familiarity with keyboard layout and using a mouse to select text), which will affect students who do not have regular access to digital tools.³

The New York Case Study

New York has been a model in providing supports for transitioning to Common Core, yet principals and teachers there have described the implementation as "rushed" and lacking in resources.⁴ One teacher said, "We were not given curriculum, and told this is what you guys are going to do. They just told us, 'This is the expectation, you figure it out.'"⁵ In order for the more rigorous Common Core Standards to deliver on the promise of engaging the vast majority of American students in more productive learning experiences, teachers and schools need support in the form of Common Core-aligned curricular resources, teacher and principal training, and wireless computers and Internet.⁶ Free Common Core-aligned curricular resources could also save states tens of millions of dollars.⁷ Finally, eliminating punitive outcomes for high-stakes tests would alleviate the stress of unknown outcomes during the transition.⁸

Early results from testing the Common Core Standards in New York and Kentucky indicate that the majority of students are not yet on track for college and career readiness. Supporting students and teachers in achieving challenging goals will take time and resources.

Learning More About Common Core Implementation

The benefit of more rigorous common standards depends on sharing resources and collaborating to engage students in deeper learning. Below are a few of the free resources and communities that are available to support Common Core implementation:

• Engage New York provides Common Core-aligned lessons and videos.
• Share My Lesson provides free Common Core-aligned lessons for ELA andMath, vetted and supported by the American Federation of Teachers.
• The Stanford Center for Opportunity Policy in Education describes how Common Core Standards can be combined with career-based learning to support high-quality, relevant 21st century instruction.
• The National Parent Teacher Association provides grade-level guides in ELA and math to keep parents informed and engaged.
• The Council of Great City Schools has created "parent roadmaps" that provide grade-level guides to Common Core Standards in ELA and Math.
• The Teaching Channel provides videos showing Common Core-aligned lessons.

Edutopia also provides several resources for supporting Common Core implementation:

• To support a curriculum in global competence, the students at John Stanford International School in Seattle, Washington learn about cultures around the world, while addressing Common Core....
• At Bates Middle School in Annapolis, Maryland, the faculty provides numerous examples of arts-integrated lesson plans aligned with Common Core.
• The faculty of MC2 Stem School in Cleveland, Ohio provide Common Core-aligned lesson plans that integrate English language ar... to support critical thinking, creativity, communication and collaboration.
• Finally, here are some tips for promoting digital access and digital literacy in K-12 schools.

Please also check out our Common Core in Action blog series for more innovative ideas to bring Common Core into the classroom.

Notes

¹Center for K-12 Assessment & Performance Management at ETS (2013).Coming Together to Raise Achievement New Assessments for the Common...
²Educational Testing Service (2010). Thoughts on an assessment of Common Core assessments
³T.H.E Journal (August 6, 2013). Getting Your School Tech Ready for Common Core Assessments
⁴School Improvement Network, Education Update (2011). Common Core State Standards Elementary School
⁵PBS News Hour Report (August 13, 2013). In Defining What Public School Students Should Know, Teachers Wonde...
⁶Center on Education Policy (2013). Year 3 of Implementing the Common Core State Standards: State Educa...
⁷Arizona Department of Education (2013). Estimated Costs of Common Core Implementation (FY 2014)
⁸Darling-Hammond, L., American School Board Journal (2013). "A New Vision for Accountability"