The school year is off to a good start and students are adjusting well to new routines and settling in for fall. We are pleased that all of our curriculum materials are now aligned with the 2011 version of the Massachusetts State Standards. The standards were drawn from the wid Common Core, implemented in 47 states, and many districts began using them ahead of Westfield as we were not part of the Race to the Top initiative. This delay was helpful as it enabled us to learn from other districts to see how they managed the implementation and also gave us time to choose instructional materials with care.
The Common Core has been in the news frequently. It is so interesting from my vantage point as so many politicians profess expert opinions on its advantages and disadvantages. Simply stated, the Common Core is not a lot different from past curricular mandates. It is a list of what we expect a student to know at the end of the year in each content area. What is different is that most states agreed to the same list; specifically, each state agreed to make the Common Core 85% of their foundation. To me, this was a positive move as many of our students and families are mobile and this ensures a more consistent educational experience. The more controversial aspects of the Common Core are tied to assessment and teacher evaluation. These will be explored in future articles.
One reason that our MCAS scores have trailed similar districts across the state is that we were behind in the match between our curriculum materials and the standards. Since the MCAS is measuring mastery of the standards, we need to be certain that our students are competitive with others who will be vying for spots in universities and in the workplace. It seems obvious to state that effective teaching is much more than teaching the standards. We encourage our teachers to teach the standards in a way that is engaging and has real world application.
Many of our teachers became ‘brand new’ educators with the adoption of this work. A whole new curriculum needed to be learned and all of the components of the new programs also needed to be mastered. This work is ongoing as the adoption of new books and programs continues in this school year. Our 4th and 5th grade teachers will be mastering the new Language Arts curriculum with students who have been learning the new standards since 2nd grade. This should translate into improved MCAS scores in the years ahead as our students grow into the new expectations. For example, the first class to start with the new standards from the beginning of their education are now 2nd graders. In the Fall of 2016, we will have our first set of MCAS data on 4th grade students who have had the new standards from the beginning. Until then, we will see pockets of success based on the length of implementation. For example, last years 4th & 5th grade students were still not using aligned curriculum. Yet, our 2nd and 3rd graders were in their 2nd year of the new standards. Currently, if we examine only Math and Language Arts, the year of implementation of the new standards is shown below.
Grade Reading Math
K —- —-
1st Year 2 Year 2
2nd Year 3 Year 3
3rd Year 3 Year 4
4th Year 1 Year 4
5th Year 1 Year 4
6th Year 1 Year 4
7th Year 2 Year 2
8th Year 2 Year 2
As a team, we are fortunate to work in a city that supports its schools and that the budget has allowed us to purchase needed curriculum materials. We are also fortunate to have an outstanding staff development program that ensures our teachers have the time and training to develop their new programs.
Here’s to a year of growth and success for Westfield Public Schools.
NEXT TIME: Testing: The Real Controversy about the Common Core
