1. The Next Generation of Standards, Assessment and
Accountability:
General Overview and the Online Writing Instructional
System
July 10th, 2009

2. Agenda for Today
Accountability and Curriculum Revision Effort
Overview of the Plan to Revise Standards,
20
Assessment and Accountability
A New Vision for Writing Instruction
25
in North Carolina
Demonstration and Exploration of the Writing
20
Instructional System
10 Writing Instruction in a 1:to:1 Environment

3. Blue Ribbon
Commission Report SBE’s Framework For
Change NCDPI’s Response to Framework
For Change

4. ACRE
Accountability and Curriculum Revision Effort
A Simple Vision
Essential Standards
Assessments
Accountability

5. Essential Standards
Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy
National & International
Course
21st Century Skills
Mandate for ES ES
a narrowed
TIMSS
ES ES
PISA
and
deepened ES ES
curriculum ES ES
ES ES

6. Essential Standards
Course
ES ES
ES ES
ES ES Prototypical
Classroom
Assessment
Objective
ES ES
Prototypical
EOC-EOG
Essential Assessment
ES ES
Standard
Objective
Objective
Objective

7. ACRE Assessment
Note: This does not mean more sequestered
testing like the EOCsEvaluate Knowledge…
To or EOGs.
Summative
o Transparent
(Statewide)
Non-Evaluative District
o Appropriately Used
Benchmark Controlled
(Classroom, School, To Inform Instruction…
•
District) o Centralized Benchmarking
Diagnostic Tools and
Tool
Formative Assessment Professional
o Systematic Formative
(Classroom) DevelopmentPD Modules
Assessment for Student
Learning
Built on what is most
Essential Standards important for students to learn
in the 21st century

8. ACRE Accountability
Summative
Growth Achievement (EOCs and EOGs)
(Statewide)
K-12
Benchmark
(Classroom, School, Future-
District) Graduation
+ + Ready + Readiness
Rate Core
Formative Assessment
(Classroom)
Essential Standards

9. Timeline 08-13
2008 - 2009 2009 - 2010 2010 - 2011 2011 - 2012 2012 - 2013
July July July July
Essential Stnds.
P1 P1 P1 P1 and Assessments
Essential Standards Item Development Field Test Operational
Benchmarking Tool for First Set (P1) of
P1 Essential Standards Operational July 2011
P2 P2 P2 P2 Essential Stnds.
and Assessments
Essential Standards Item Development Field Test Operational
tly
en
Benchmarking Tool for Second Set (P2) of
P2
r Essential Standards Operational July 2012
C ur Elementary Diagnostic Elementary Diagnostic
Assessment
Assessment Piloted
Results in June 2010 D Operational D
Innovative Assessment P1 = Phase I (Math,
Team Report (July 09) Science, Eng 10,
Criteria for choosing Constructed Information and
Resp. and Portfolio Report (Sept 09) Tech Skills,
Occupational)
Formative PD Modules 1-5 Modules 6-13
(August – Dec 2009) (Jun 2010) P2 = Phase I (ELA,
Social Studies, Other
Online PD Community Launch (June 2010) Subject Areas)
Case Studies on Administering 21st Century, Computer-Based
D = Elementary
Assessments (January 2011)
Diagnostic
New Accountability Committee Assessment
Report (September 09)

10. Excellence in Writing Instruction

11. Excellence in Writing Instruction
“21st-century skills, then, are not
new, just newly important.”
~ Elena Silva
Measuring Skills for 21st-Century
Learning

13. Good writing reinforces/requires…
Critical Thinking
Creativity and Innovation
Self-Direction
Oral Communication
Information Technology Application

14. Premises:
Writing is Important.

15. From English 10 Draft Essential Standards…
EII.C.1 Create increasingly complex
oral and written responses for a
variety of audiences, purposes, and
contexts.

16. Premises:
Writing is Important.
Writing is Hard.

17. There is alarming historical data about writing
achievement in our state:
In 2007, the average scale score for eighth-
grade students in North Carolina was 153.
This was lower than their average score in 2002
(157) and was not significantly different from
their average score in 1998 (150).¹

18. There is alarming current data about writing
achievement in our state:

19. Premises:
Writing is Important.
Writing is Hard.
North Carolina must
Improve.

20. From the Framework For Change
To elevate
Change the current approach to writing assessment.
the importance of writing throughout the
curriculum, the current 4th, 7th, and 10th
grade writing assessments are to be
replaced with a K-12 writing assessment
system that includes authentic and on demand writing
assignments, appropriate to each grade level and backmapped from the
graduation project. The DPI is to provide rubrics, aligned with the
writing rubric used for the graduation project, for LEAs to use in
assessing these K-12 writing assignments…….

21. On-Demand Prompt
Your local newspaper is sponsoring a contest titled
“Making a Difference.” Students have been
encouraged to write an essay on how they can “make a
difference” by improving their school or local
community. The winning essay will be published in the
education section of the newspaper.
Write an essay for the newspaper editor in which you
propose a solution to make your school or community a
better place.

22. Content-Specific Writing Assignments
All teachers in a building must teach
and reinforce excellence in writing
and take ownership for student
writing outcomes.

23. Continual Practice and Feedback
Students must write and receive
feedback on their writing throughout
the year to improve significantly.

24. Developing Passions and Interest
Writing instruction and practice is more
meaningful and likely to develop
knowledge and skills in students if they
are engaged in authentic writing tasks
about subjects that matter to them.

25. Rubrics
Developing a common standard for
proficiency in writing throughout the
school building.

26. In the future, the writing system
will be a K-12 writing system as
opposed to 4,7,10.

27. PD
Writing Professional Development

28. Trends and Lessons Learned
+
Most important positive trend in the feedback:
Many in the field support a shift
from a single, on-demand
assessment to a year-long
instruction and assessment system.

29. Trends and Lessons Learned
Most important emerging critical trend
in the feedback: ∆
Communication about purpose,
logistics, and implementation can
be improved.

30. Writing Instruction System Demo
Randy Craven

31. Questions?

32. Reflection:
How does a one-to-one
environment allow you to
support a cross-content approach
to writing?