PDE+and+ED

The following links are useful for the PA Standards Aligned System and for Federal site regarding the Ed Dept.

1. [|Clear Standards] - Pennsylvania standards describe what students should know and be able to do and reflect the increasing complexity and sophistication that students are expected to achieve as they progress through school. The Assessment Anchors clarify the standards assessed on the PSSA and can be used by educators to help prepare their students for the PSSA. We use the metaphor of an “anchor” because we want to signal that the Assessment Anchors anchor both the state assessment system and the curriculum/instructional practices in schools. 2. [|Fair Assessments] - Summative Assessment: seeks to make an overall judgment of progress made at the end of a defined period of instruction. They occur at the end of a school level, grade, or coursed, or are administered at certain grades for purposes of state or local accountability. These are considered high-stakes assessments and the results are often used in conjunction with No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP). They are designed to produce clear data on the student’s accomplishments at key points in his or her academic career. Scores on these assessments usually become part of the student’s permanent record and are statements as to whether or not the student has fallen short of, met, or exceeded the expected standards. Whereas the results of formative assessments are primarily of interest to students and the teachers, the results of summative assessments are also of great interest to parents, the faculty as a whole, the central administration, the press and the public at large. It is the data from summative assessments on which public accountability systems are based. If the results of these assessments are reported with reference to standards and individual students, they can be used as diagnostic tools by teachers to plan instruction and guide the leadership team in developing strategies that help improve student achievement. Examples of summative assessment include the PSSA and Terra Nova examinations. 3. [|Curriculum Framework] - A curriculum framework specifies what topics are to be taught at which grade levels for each subject in the curriculum. At any given grade level, the topics that are taught are those-and only those-that are needed to provide the foundation for what comes next. In Pennsylvania, we are developing curricular frameworks that are built by identifying standards, anchors, big ideas, concepts, competencies, essential questions academic vocabulary, and exemplars. Curriculum Framework Defined: a. Big Ideas: Declarative statements that describe concepts that transcend grade levels. Big Ideas are essential to provide focus on specific content for all students. b. Concepts: Describe what students should know, key knowledge, as a result of this instruction, specific to grade level. c. Competencies: Describe what students should be able to do, key skills, as a result of this instruction, specific to grade level. d. Essential Questions: Questions connected to the SAS framework and are specifically linked to the big ideas. They should frame student inquiry and promote critical thinking. They should assist in learning transfer. f. Vocabulary: Key terminology linked to the standards, big Ideas, concepts and competencies in a specific content area and grade level. g. Exemplars: Exemplars are performance tasks and can be used for assessment, instruction as well as professional development. Exemplars provide educators with a concrete example of assessing students' understanding of the big ideas, concepts and competencies. 4. [|Instruction] - Aligned instruction comprises the following activities: a. Teaching topics that are aligned with the standards. b. Making sure that you get the right level of challenge. Instruction that is too challenging leads to frustration and discouragement on the part of students. Instruction that is not challenging enough results in little or no learning. c. Focusing teaching based on the learning needs of each student. These needs are those identified through evaluation of student achievement against the standards. d. Implementing instructional strategies that 'scaffold' by building on each other to help students achieve the standards. 5. [|Materials and Resources] - The curriculum framework can be used as a guide for selecting only that material from textbooks, reading materials, software, and any other instructional resources that are needed to fit the framework and match the standards. Any curriculum worth teaching should contain instructional materials that represent a balance between concepts and competencies, applications and problem-solving. PDE has provided the following guidance to districts and schools when selecting research validated instructional materials: a. evaluated in comparison to a randomly assigned or matched control group; b. in studies of at least one semester, involving multiple schools; c. found to improve achievement significantly better than the control treatment; and d. published in a peer-reviewed journal. 6. [|Interventions] - The purpose of safety nets is to ensure students are provided with supports they need to meet and or exceed grade level standards as quickly as possible. The foremost safety net is to ensure that students attend school and are ready to learn. Decisions regarding student entry to and exit from safety net programs should always be made on the basis of data. What we know from data indicates that early intervention is essential; safety nets are those built into the structure of regular classroom. A comprehensive system of safety nets involves a graduated set of interventions. ||
 * < Standards Aligned System ||
 * < The Pennsylvania Department of Education (“PDE”) web-based project known as the Standards Aligned System (“SAS”) developed by Performance Learning Systems (“PLS”) is a comprehensive approach to support student achievement. Much research has been conducted as to what makes a great school. There are many intangible components. However, research gathered by PDE supports the notion that great schools and school systems tend to have six common elements:
 * <  ||< PSSA Reports: The GROW Network ||
 * < This website provides customized reports for teachers, parents, administrators, and students. Provides Web tools that offer guidance based on test results, instructional materials designed to target students’ needs, and professional development resources that build skills and enhance meaningful instruction. ||  ||<   ||
 * < PennData ||
 * < This website serves as Pennsylvania’s statewide data collection system for data anout school systems state wide. These data elements including demographics and information regarding special education services are collected twice a year from districts. This data is used for state and federal reporting. ||


 * < Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE): Hot Topics ||
 * < Hot Topics include Standards Aligned System, Race to the Top, the proposed 2010-11 Education Budget, the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act, School District Property Tax Relief, and Act 114 Requirements for Federal Fingerprinting. ||


 * < Common Core Standards Update ||
 * < On July 1, 2010, the Pennsylvania State Board of Education adopted the Common Core State Standards in English language arts (ELA) and mathematics, with a transition plan that targets July 1, 2013, as the full implementation date. The Board's unanimous vote follows six months of careful study that produced evidence of strong alignment between Common Core and Pennsylvania standards. To read more about Pennsylvania's adoption and plans for transition, please visit the Common Core tab in the Clear Standards section of the portal ||

NAEP: National Assessment of Educational Progress
 * < This website is also known as “The Nation’s Report Card” and is the only nationally representative and continuing ssessment of what America’s students know and can do in various subject areas. Since 1969, assessments have been conducted periodically in reading, mathematics, science, writing, U.S. History, civics, geography, and the arts. ||
 * < This website is also known as “The Nation’s Report Card” and is the only nationally representative and continuing ssessment of what America’s students know and can do in various subject areas. Since 1969, assessments have been conducted periodically in reading, mathematics, science, writing, U.S. History, civics, geography, and the arts. ||


 * < United States Department of Education ||
 * < The United States Department of Education is dedicated to 1) Establishing policies on federal financial aid for education, and distributing as well as monitoring those funds, 2) Collecting data on America's schools and disseminating research, 3) Focusing national attention on key educational issues, and 4) Prohibiting discrimination and ensuring equal access to education. ||


 * < The Education Commission of the States ||
 * < This website includes links to numerous places to gather data to answer many questions that deal with a multitude of educational issues. The Education Commission of the States has publications dealing with K-12 issues, leadership innovations, and local state and territory information. The Education Commission of the States connects with educational leadership in many forms. The website can connect you to publications that can be purchased about educational leadership throughout the United States. The website has an issue index from A to Z and under the leadership tab it connects you with information spanning licensure to problems in leadership right now. This website can help you gather data on educational leadership, implementing reform, and continuing education. The motto of the site is “Equipping Education Leaders, Advancing Ideas,” which is the cornerstone of educational leadership. As educators, we need to equip ourselves with information that will help us provide our faculty, staff, and students with the tools for success. ||

There is also a list of related resources and publications. Since all school administrators should keep up with policies that will affect state mandates. The website has information on the National Consortium, the National Association of States Boards of Education, the National Conference of State Legislatures, and the National Governors Association. The National Consortium is linked to major state policymakers, decision makers and educational researchers across America. ||
 * < The Council of Chief State School Officers ||
 * < CCSSO stands for the Council of Chief State School Officers and is a very useful website with links to many of the educational leadership sites that are mentioned in our course. The Council of Chief State School Officers is a bipartisan, nationwide, nonprofit organization of public officials who head departments of elementary and secondary education in the states. It provides leadership, advocacy, and technical assistance on major education issues.