In 1997 Louisiana Adopted Content Standards and Benchmarks:
LA’s Content Standards are defined as: “broad statements that represent the overarching goals that describe what students should know and be able to do.”
Louisiana Has Seven ELA Content Standards:
1. Students read, comprehend, and respond to a range of materials, using a variety of strategies for different purposes.
2. Students write competently for a variety of purposes and audiences.
3. Students communicate using standard English grammar, usage, sentence structure, punctuation, capitalization, spelling, and handwriting.
4. Students demonstrate competence in speaking and listening as tools for learning and communicating.
5. Students locate, select, and synthesize information from a variety of texts, media, references, and technological sources to acquire and communicate knowledge.
6. Students read, analyze, and respond to literature as a record of life experiences.
7. Students apply reasoning and problem solving skills to reading, writing, speaking, listening, viewing, and visually representing.
Louisiana Has Six Math Content Standards:
1. In problem-solving investigations, students demonstrate an understanding to the real number system and communicate the relationships within the system using a variety of techniques and tools.
2. In problem-solving investigations students demonstrate an understanding of concepts and processes that allow them to analyze, represent, and describe relationships among variable quantities and to apply algebraic methods to real-world situations.
3. In problem-solving investigations, students demonstrate an understanding of the concepts, processes, and real-life applications of measurement.
4. In problem-solving investigations, students demonstrate an understanding of geometric concepts and applications involving one-, two-, and three-dimensional geometry, and justify their findings.
5. In problem-solving investigations, students discover trends, formulate conjectures regarding cause-and-effect relationships, and demonstrate critical thinking skills in order to make informed decisions.
6. In problem-solving investigations, students demonstrate an understanding of patterns, relations, and functions that represent and explain real-world situations.
Content Standards were followed by development of the Benchmarks:
“The benchmarks further define the standards for different grade clusters, PK-4, 5-8, 9-12."
“Like the content standards, the benchmarks have not changed.”
In 2003, BESE adopted the Grade Level Expectations (GLEs) which:
“…are directly related to benchmarks” and “define what the benchmark means for a given grade”
“Remember, the content standards and benchmarks are in grade clusters and have not changed. The GLEs are grade-specific standards, as required by No Child Left Behind.”
GLE Development was overseen by:
“3 national reviewers per content area” who were “Chosen by Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO – a lobbying group for the state superintendents) for unbiased review”
“National consultants were actively involved in all phases of the development process, serving as advisors to the development committees in order to ensure alignment with national standards.”
Common Core State Standards took the place of LA’s GLEs and there are important similarities:
Both the CCSS and the GLEs:
--Were developed under the watchful eye of the CCSSO
--Are aligned to national standards
--Carolyn Sessions was the Project Director for the GLEs and also served on the CCSS Development team
--Nancy Beben was the Supervisor of Secondary Standards for the GLEs and also served on the CCSS Development team
--Of the 1581 CCSS for ELA & Math, 90% are GLEs
Of the 10% that are reported to not be GLEs, the case can be made that most do exist within the GLEs
--Of the GLEs reported to have been deleted, many have been combined with other GLEs within the CCSS; and, the case can be made that many of the remainder do exist within the CCSS
CCSS ELA Breakdown:
Grade # CCSS # Reported to Not Be GLEs % that Are GLEs
K 73 6 92
1st 96 4 96
2nd 88 3 97
3rd 89 5 94
4th 98 6 94
5th 91 8 91
6th 85 8 91
7th 85 8 91
8th 91 10 89
9th 90 7 92
10th 89 7 92
11th-12th 78 8 90
TOTAL 1053 80 92
CCSS Math Breakdown:
Grade #CCSS # Reported to Not Be GLEs % that Are GLES
K 33 8 78
1st 42 2 95
2nd 40 1 98
3rd 45 2 96
4th 43 6 86
5th 36 5 86
6th 42 1 98
7th 36 5 86
8th 47 3 94
Alg.I 52 12 77
Geo. 63 14 78
Alg.II 55 12 78
Total 534 71 87
ELA/M 1587 151 90
From the Louisiana Department of Education report entitled “Louisiana’s Implementation Plan For Common Core State Standards":
“Louisiana’s current standards and benchmarks were developed in 1997-1998. These were amended by adding Grade-Level Expectations (GLEs) in 2004. In 2010, the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) approved the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) which will replace the current English and mathematics standards/GLEs.”
Bottom Line:
What our post shows is that the standards, benchmarks and grade level expectations in Louisiana have not changed.
Question:
Why are we paying millions more for purchasing books, instructional materials and professional development sessions labeled “Common Core” when the only thing that has really changed about our grade level standards is the name?!?