This is the text transcript to the "Part 1: SBE discussion and start of public comment" video featured on the Why the Common Core State Standards in California? Web page.
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President Mitchell: Item three. Member Chan: Is
it appropriate this time to ask Kathy a question? Is
it? President Mitchell: Sure. Member Chan: Can I ask
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related to what she said. So regarding the
recommended text that you just mentioned, so
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we are saying that with this packet we are
not really looking at or approving these text
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lists. There is a list thats included on page
31 for example, Mr. Popper's Penguins. I mean,
we're not talking...
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Is that what you're talking about? Undersecretary
Radtkey-Gaither: Well, the appendices I
think were not forwarded by the Commission.
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No, I was referring to some preparatory materials
that were part of the released document from
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the national Common Core writers but our concern
in speaking with our attorneys is that because
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that preparatory material is not standards
and we're not certain what legal impact they
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would have if you accepted those as part of
the standards, we're requesting that you accept
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only the standards themselves. Does that help?
Chan: Somewhat, because what I am referring to on
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text illustrating the complexity. It is part
of the package. It is not an appendix and
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you have a list for schools for K-5 and you
have a list for 6-12 on the books that we
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are supposed to have so we are adopting that,
no? Mitchell: Let me take a try at that in
just a second
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because this is an important question but
I don't want us to go down that whole this
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way. Thanks Kathy. Let's take up item three.
Deb Sigman is going to introduce the item
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and then we will hear from the commission
and commissioners. After that, board members
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I think it would be appropriate for us to
ask questions of the commissioners before
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we go into public comment. I know there are members
of the public who would like to give us their
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guidance and we will appreciate that but I
do think, Yvonne, that clarifying what it is that
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we're being asked to do today and what it
is that we are not being asked to do today
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is absolutely essential and I want to reserve
the right to kind of break-in at the appropriate
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moment to try to separate those two things but
as we as we do go into this item, I want to
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echo something that I know that the superintendent
believes and was in the recommendation and
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Kathy Gather also mentioned it, that this is a
historic moment but it is not something new
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for us. California led the way in the development
of standards-based reform and this is an opportunity
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today thanks to the good work at the academic
content standards Commission for us to once
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again lead the nation in developing, promulgating,
and building curricula and assessment around
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the highest quality standards in the land and
if we were to go ahead with this, as I hope
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we do, we will indeed be leaders in the coalition
of the most advanced States in guiding the
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nation toward a coherent set of standards.
So Deb, all yours. Deputy Sigman: Thank you President
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Mitchel and good morning to you and Superintendent
O'Connell and board members and executive director
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Schweitzer. Welcome. I'm here to open and introduce
the item for consideration of the California
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Academic Content Standards Commission's recommendations
to adopt the Common Core Standards including
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California specific standards and in particular,
I want to provide to you Superintendent
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O'Connell's recommendation with regard to
the Common Core. Undersecretary Gather gave
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a beautiful background in terms of how we
are here today, so I will cut that a bit short
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but only to say that as she mentioned the
Superintendent, President Mitchell and the Governor
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sent forth a letter in the fall, pardon me,
in May of 2009 wanting to be part of the Common
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Core effort and the superintendent at that point,
as did the other authors of the letter, wanted
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to make sure that the standards would not
be watered down, that we would maintain
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our rigorous set of standards. That was obviously
incredibly important to the Superintendent.
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Then of course SBX 51 authorized the California
Academic Content Standards Commission, which
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met during the months of June and July, three
meetings, six days, and as Undersecretary Gaither
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mentioned, long hours and very hard work to
get to the point where we are today, and set
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forth a document including the standards but
additional text to which I think Secretary
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Gather was referring. The superintendent recommends
that this board adopt the Common Core Standards,
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the recommended additional standards, and the
recommendations as acted upon by the Commission.
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He also recommends that you direct the California
Department of Education to submit an implementation
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plan and a time line for the implementation
of the standards that is consistent with the
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Elementary Secondary Education Act and that it
be brought forward to you in a future meeting.
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That is the Superintendent's recommendation.
I'm happy to take questions and if there are
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none, I'm going to introduce the next speaker.
Mitchell: Let's keep going. Sigman: It's my
pleasure to introduce
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Sue Stickle, the Assistant Superintendent of
Curriculum and Interventions at the Sacramento
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County Office of Education. Sue also served
as the Project Director of the Commission.
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Sue. Assistant Superintendent Stickel: Well,
good morning. Good morning President Mitchell,
Superintendent O'Connell, Board members, and
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congratulations Executive Director Schweitzer.
My name is Sue Stickle and my day job is to
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work at the Sacramento County Office of Education.
My 24/7 job for the past six weeks has been
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to serve as the Project Director for the Academic
Standards Commission and, as with most things, I
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am grateful for the opportunity. It's my task
this morning to provide you with just a brief
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amount of background about the Common Core
Standards, give you a little history, give you
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a little bit of background to help base your
decision. A little over a year ago, the words
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"Common Core Standards" really were not...I was
thinking about it last night...we didn't even utter
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those words but now they've become part of
our everyday work and everyday vocabulary.
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The Council of Chief State School Officers
and the National Governors Association Center
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for Best Practices began work on the Common
Core Standards last summer. The focus of the
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standards was ensuring that our students are
college and career-ready when they graduate
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from high school. With this in mind, these
organizations, along with experts throughout
the country,
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developed the college and career-ready standards
for English language arts and mathematics
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and they were completed last fall of 2009.
As the experts continued to work on the K-12
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content standards that were ultimately released
on June 2nd, they used this college and career-ready
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work as the beacon and they embedded these
standards in their future work. In doing this
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work, the development team could have easily
taken all of the state standards of the 50 states
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and identified what they had in common and
called it good, but we all know that's not a
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really good choice and so they have done a
very a great deal of thoughtful work with
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a lot of feedback over the past year. The
overarching goals of these standards are to
ensure that
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our students are meeting college and work
expectations, that they're prepared to succeed
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in our global economy and society, and that
they're provided with rigorous content and
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applications of knowledge through higher order
thinking skills. The standards build upon the
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strengths and the lessons of current state
standards and it is quite evident that California
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standards had a huge role in this area and
that the standards that you see before
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you today have been well informed by research.
In developing the standards, four groups of
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experts were involved: an advisory group, a
standards development work group that included
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experts that were involved in developing California
Standards (Dr. Woo, Professor Emerituss from
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Berkeley and Dr. Luis Emouth), an expert
feedback group, and a validation committee that
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ensured that the standards met the development
criteria. Five California experts were members
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of this group. On June 2nd the final product
was released. To date nearly thirty states
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have adopted the standards. So let's just briefly
talk about English language arts and mathematics
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now. It's important to note that three parts
of California standards were used: reading
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foundations, the grade by grade standards, and the
focus from our 2008 framework on vocabulary
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and writing. Ways the Common Core have improved
on our current standards are as follows: a
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greater balance between literature and the
analysis of informational text and systematic
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almost stair step development of reading comprehension,
a focus on text complexity (which is the heart
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of failures of many of our students
for college readiness), reading
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and writing across the curriculum, and a focus
on writing arguments and drawing evidence
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from sources. In the area of mathematics they
also used California standards in their development.
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The college and career standards in mathematics
served as guide posts for the Common Core.
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They were built with a focus on preparing students
also for success in algebra 1. The math Common
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Core are a balanced combination of procedure
and understanding. The design of the standards
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feature the hierarchical nature of content
with clarity and specificity and they focus
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on conceptual understanding of key ideas. They
travel by grade level in grades K through
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8 and then there's sets of standards grouped in
conceptual clusters in high school such as
algebra, functions,
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geometry, but the Common Core in mathematics
also feature the Standards of Mathematical
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Practice. This is expertise that the standards seek
to develop in their students--things like reasoning
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abstractly and quantitatively and making sense
of problems and persevering in solving them.
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In conclusion, the Common Core Standards that
were released on June 2nd are rigorous. They
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form a coherent set of standards and they
prepare students for college and career and
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are sensitive to the needs of English learners
and the students with disabilities. And so
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now, it is my great pleasure to introduce Greg
Geeting who served as the Chair of the Standards
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Commission. He did incredible work and in three
short meetings...they seemed incredibly long
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but they were short...the time was short...
he did yeoman's work and he's here to talk
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to you about what we're bringing forward to
you today. Mitchell: Thank you Sue for an
extraordinary
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job. Good morning Greg. Chair Geeting: Yes,
indeed thank you very much Sue. President
Mitchell, Superintendent O'Connell, board members,
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Executive Director Sweitzer, and distinguished
guests, thank you for allowing me to participate
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in this review of the Academic Standards Commission's
recommendation of new English language arts
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and mathematics content standards. The recommendation
is based, as Sue told you, on the national Common
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Core Standards released June 2nd by the National
Governors Association and the council of chief
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State School Officers. This morning my intent
is to provide you some background information
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on the Commission and its work and then to
highlight some key additions to the Common
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Core that the Commission included in its
recommendation. For the most part the
Commission proposed
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additions to reflect material that actually appears
in or was inspired by the current California
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ELA and mathematics standards. At the outset
I must praise the individuals who served on
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the commission and they're appointing authorities.
These individuals brought a wealth of diverse
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backgrounds and experiences to the Commission's
charge and they went about their work with
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diligence, with intelligence, and with passion.
There were times that the passion became a
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challenge given the pressure of the ticking clock,
but in retrospect I'm glad that passion ran
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high. The journey we shared, even through objections
and amendments and points of order and motions
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to postpone, fundamentally visited places of
principal and belief about what students should
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learn and be able to do and visiting such
places as those is not time wasted. These commissioners
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are men and women of substance who did their
very best for the students of our state. I
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must also take a minute to praise the outstanding
staff who supported the Commission under the
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able leadership of Project Director Sue Stickle.
When we initially thought about this effort
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we envisioned perhaps five or six staff. Well
last week I prepared thank you letters to
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21 individuals who contributed to the staffing
effort. I literally ran out of superlatives
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to describe their work over our month of togetherness
but suffice it to say that they were magnificent
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and as for Sue, as Superintendent O'Connell
well knows, her talents and abilities long
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ago transitioned from mere stories to mythical
proportions and with this effort she truly
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transcends into the stuff of legend. We cannot
thank her enough. Now some of the details. There
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were 21 commissioners appointed for the most
part in early June about the same time the
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national Common Core was released in its final
form. We met for six days, two in mid-June, two
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in early July, and then we wrapped it up on
July 14th and 15th. We provided many opportunities
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for the public to access our meetings. Our
in person audience generally ranged from 20
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to 40 each day and between 200 and 300 unique
individuals viewed our proceedings via online
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streaming almost every meeting day and we
entertained public input frequently. We learned
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about the national Common Core from David
Coleman and Jason Zimba who were assigned
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to assist California as official emissaries
from the NGA and CCSSO. Our staff did presentations
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on the existing California Standards, the process
of international benchmarking, ways of determining
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college and career readiness, and most importantly,
the crosswalks between California's standards
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and the national Common Core. We also had individual
presentations by a supporter and a dissenter
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on the national Common Core for ELA and then
again for mathematics. In short, commission
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members embarked upon their deliberations
with a fair, balanced, and substantial informational
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base. A key decision was to include essentially
the whole of the national Common Core in the
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Commission's recommendation. [inaudible] argued
that the statute actually allowed something
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less than a hundred percent of the Common
Core Standards but the Commission did not
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pursue that consideration. What the Commission
did do was take very seriously its authority
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to recommend a package of additions to the
national Common Core. Our staff suggested additions.
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Some were accepted. Some were accepted with
modifications. Some were not. Also some of our
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members suggested additions. Again, some were
accepted with modifications and some were
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not. Commissioners were guided in their decisions
by a mental checklist of criteria including
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whether the proposed changes were substantive,
addressed perceived gaps, were defensible to
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practitioners, kept intact the original sense
of the standards to which they would be attached,
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and helped insure rigor. Ultimately the package
of ELA additions was accepted without descent.
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However, the package of additions in mathematics,
which thus became the vote on the final recommendation
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as a whole, passed by a two-thirds vote with
two members voting against and the remainder
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declining to vote, so clearly, the vast majority
of the Commission enthusiastically endorses
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this package and urges the State Board to
adopt it. Now let's take a look at just three
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key proposed additions in the area and English
Language Arts. Arguably the most significant
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addition is a strand related to formal presentations
in the speaking and listening domain. This
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strand appears in each grade level from grade
1 through grades 11-12. The Strand cycles through
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different types of presentations including
poetry recitation, narratives, and informational
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speaking. See for example page 21, where the
strand begins in grade one with memorization
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and recitation of poems, rhymes, and songs. Nearby
you'll see this strand continue in grade 2
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and then on page 23, it winds its way through
grade 5, and then on pages 46 to 48 you see
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the strand continue in grades 6 through
12. For example, one example being grades 9-10
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and which is page 47 and 48, there's delivery
of an informative or explanatory presentation
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as well as a reprise of formal recitations
such as poetry. A second area in English Language
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Arts is in the language domain in grades 2
through 4. Standards are added related to hand
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writing or penmanship. See for example page
24 where creating readable documents and legible
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print is added to grade 2, and then on page
26, writing fluidly and legibly in cursive
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or joined italics is added to grade 4. Third,
I want to point out an additional footnote
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related to foundational skills in kindergarten,
which appears on page 14. The footnote relates
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to major vowels and short and long vowel
sounds. The Commission was actually advised
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while we were meeting that this footnote
would be added to the national Common Core,
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so basically we helped you out by incorporating
the new footnote among our additions. Now
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various other language arts additions I'll
just touch on briefly: following simple and
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then progressively complex directions in the
early grades, providing more specificity about
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the use of and differentiation among pronouns,
thesis statements in informational texts,
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alternate word choices, archetypes (one of my personal
favorites), and more specific references to
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career development documents such as business
letters. Turning next to mathematics, I'll again
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highlight just 3 of the Commission proposed
additions. By far the most noteworthy addition
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relates to algebra 1, which begins at page
45. As presented to you, this algebra 1 package
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represents one of two options for mathematics
content at grade 8, the other being the grade
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8 Common Core itself, which begins on page
51. The grade 8 Common Core actually incorporates
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a generous portion of geometry as preparation
for algebra in high school. Now thanks to Undersecretary
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Kathy Gaither, I'll skip a major part of
the detail that I was going to provide about algebra
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1 but I want to highlight a couple of things
that were very important to the Commission.
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First, based on local decisions, nothing, nothing in
this package prohibits this algebra 1 package
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from being presented either as a traditional
one-year course, as a two-year algebra 1 course,
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or as a series of multiple year integrated
mathematics courses. The algebra 1 package
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includes the grade eight Common Core along
with some Common Core high school mathematics
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and parts of California's existing algebra
1 content. And the other highlight I wanted
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to mention was the most important one,
which is that either of these two options
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provides all students in grade 8 ample time
in high school to complete the advanced mathematics
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coursework necessary for admission to a four
year college. Now, a second change in mathematics
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brings down from grade 8 to grade 7, and similarly
from grade 7 to grade 6, some of the content
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standards related to number sense in geometry.
Examples of this can be seen on pages 36 and
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41. The Commission felt that presenting this
content earlier helps strengthen students
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algebra readiness by grade 8. A third key change
added considerable material from California's
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existing standards to the Common Core in high
school mathematics including California's
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standards for Calculus and for AP Probability
and Statistics which were added in their entirety.
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I will just briefly note that additions in
earlier grades included clearer or stronger
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references including such matters as concepts
of time, relating time to events, counting
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by multiples, estimation strategies, verifying
reasonableness, English units of major, use
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the number line, and distinguishing among shapes.
Now, as I wrap up my presentation I would like
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to leave you with these two thoughts assuming
that you will decide to adopt the Commission's
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recommendation which you are strongly encouraged
to do. First, the success or of failure this
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venture will depend to a great extent on the
substance and the adequacy of the implementation
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plan. If you leave this meeting today thinking
that you have done a great thing, you will
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be sadly mistaken if the implementation plan
is skimpy or underfunded. As doctor Michael
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Kirst of Stanford University reminds us, the
content standards well quite visible are really
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the easiest part of a standards-based system.
Creating opportunity to learn what implementation
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is all about is the most difficult. The implementation
plan needs to address many complicated issues
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surrounding the transition from our current
content standards to the new ones including
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refinements to the new standards that you
may find necessary as well as future changes
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to the Common Core that will inevitably be
coming along, framework development, and the
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creation of a new ELD standards document, instructional
material selection, professional development,
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changes in teacher preparation, and modification
of assessments. Second, and perhaps more importantly,
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you must ensure that this process of transition
does not result in any loss of integrity or
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continuity in the system of accountability that
California has constructed over the past dozen
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years, much under the leadership of Superintendent
Jack O'Connell, and those developments have
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been with the considerable investment of time and
money not only by the state but by local agencies
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and government as well. Be alert to excuses
that begin with "because the content standards
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changed." You really must not allow these new
standards to become a rationale to justify
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declines in achievement or evasion of responsibility.
If these new content standards are the keys
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to a shiny new car with all the latest features,
then please be sure that the car is consistently
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well maintained, treated with respect, and always
driven sensibly. Thank you and where do I go
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next? Mitchell: You do and we get to thank you.
Geeting: I know we have commissioners in the audience who
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would like to add comments as well so...Mitchell: And
I think that would be great and if you don't mind,
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I would love you to introduce them and help
us out with this next part, Greg, but before
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you do I want to thank you not only for those
comments, which I think are extraordinarily
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good guides for us members as we take this
up, but for your incredible leadership of the
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Commission doing an impossible task with an
impossible timeline with extraordinary professionalism
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and great grace so thank you so much. Geeting: It was
a pleasure to be associated with these terrific
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individuals. I enjoyed that part tremendously.
Mitchell: Great. Well, if you could...if you wouldn't mind
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introducing us to some of the commissioners
we could hear from...Geeting: I would be happy to do
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that. I hadn't anticipated you doing that. We
should probably proceed alphabetically. Mitchell: That
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makes good sense to me or just volunteers
from the front of the room to the back. Geeting: Let's
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begin with a very active commissioner in the
area of mathematics, Commissioner Scott Farrand,
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professor at Sacramento State. Scott...Mitchell: Thank
you so much, Scott, for your work. Commissioner
Farrand: Thank you
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I think I get a place in heaven, don't I, because
I agree with what has been said. It's been
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said very well and I don't need to take much
time. Thank you. Mitchell: Thank you.
Mitchell: Commissioners are you surprised? Geeting:
I clearly
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hadn't anticipated Scott being - I would also
like to introduce Commissioner Pat Sabo who
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helped out at one point in time chairing temporarily.
Mitchell: Thank you so much Pat. Commissioner Sabo:
I'm going to have a
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place in heaven right next to Scott and at
this point I agree with everything that has
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been said and will come up if I disagree.
Mitchell: Fantastic. Sabo: Thank you. Geeting:
And now I'd like to introduce another
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very active commissioner, Commissioner Ze'ev Wurman.
Mitchell: I think Commissioner Wurman and
Commissioner Evers
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are going to come together.
Commissioner Evers: President Mitchell, Superintendent
O'Connell, board members, I'm Bill Evers. I'm at
the Hoover
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Institution at Stanford. This is Palo Alto
businessman Ze'ev Wurman. I have five quick
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points to make. First of all, the K-
seven mathematics preparation is inadequate
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in these standards as they are before you.
They are not going to be prepared to take
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algebra in grade 8. The algebra in the grade 8
course is overstuffed and un-teachable. It
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is two years combined in one. It is a double dose
course, 74 standards instead of the normal
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30-35. Second point, minorities and low-income
students under our current standards have
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been doing well. They've been doubling, tripling,
and quadrupling, depending on which demographic
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you're looking at, their success rates at algebra
in 8th grade. They have been catching up with
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other students. This adoption, if you make it,
will damage severely this success. Point three,
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this is a major public policy ship that you're
undertaking today in this decision. It's going
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to have a serious affect, a disparate impact
on minorities and other disadvantaged children.
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I think you have a moral and a legal obligation
to have held regional hearings on the completed
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project and in the handout that I have put before
you, I give you the statutory passage that
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says that you must hold regional hearings.
Fourth point, there's an experimental geometry
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matter in the standards pertaining to similar
and congruent triangles. So just to refresh
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minds, remember side angle, side angle, side angle
and all those sorts of things...so there's a
Russian mathematician.
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His name is Andrey Nikolaevich Kolmogorov and he
invented this method that's being proposed
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and he tried it in an elite, gifted, and talented
boarding school in Russia and here's what his
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student wrote in a famous memorial essay on
this Russian mathematician. This is from a
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student Vladimir Tikhomirov: "It has to be honestly
said that these ideas are unacceptable, unsuitable
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for acceptance into math schools." Okay, so this
is pertaining to the thing that you...if you
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vote for this are going to be imposing on
the California students and my colleague Scott
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Farrand from the Commission said during the
deliberations that this was the most
worrisome thing that
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he found in the Common Core Standards. Final
point, I would pose a challenge to all the
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other speakers that come before you from the
CTA, from the California Federation of Teachers,
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from the California Mathematics Council, and
other presenters: Do you regard this algebra
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in 8th grade package, as a teachable, as doable
for the sixty percent of students that we
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succeed...that we have in our algebra in 8th
Grade now, and even for the numbers of success
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we have now--sixty percent--can they take this
double dose course? If you're okay with that
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mathematics program, a second question...how
do you regard the deprivation of opportunity
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to minorities and low-income students? And
board members I ask you, as you listen to any
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of these presenters, answer these two questions
about the overstuffed and about the disparate
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impact on minorities and low-income children.
Are they being forthcoming in their answers?
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Are they being evasive? Are they not answering?
Thank you very much. Mitchell: Thank you Bill and thank
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you for your extraordinary work on the Commission.
Thank you Ze'ev. Geeting: Next I'd like to call up
Commissioner
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Jim Lanich. Mitchell: Good morning Jim. Commissioner
Lanich: Good morning. President Mitchell,
Superintendent O'Connell, board members, I was
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an inner-city school teacher for a long time
for Los Angeles Unified in a riot recovery
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area. My wife taught in the poorest square mile in the
United States for most of her teaching career.
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We're a teaching and learning family. I went on
to become a bureaucrat and led Los Angeles
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County Office of Education programs for Curriculum and
Instruction for ten years. I worked in the
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100 lowest-performing schools of Los Angeles
County. I went on to represent the business
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community for eight years in raising student
academic achievement and closing the achievement
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gap and I currently serve as the Director
of the California State University Center
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to Close the Achievement Gap. Simple message...
the absolute vast majority of the members
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on this Commission have taught kids. They were
excited. They liked what they saw. They improved
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upon it and they're really looking forward
to getting more kids to grade-level than we've
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ever gotten in our state before. They put before
you a recommendation that I think is strong
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and well-deserved. I appreciate your time that
you've given to listen to us all today and
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I'm just really looking forward to getting
the job done. Thank you. Mitchell: Thank you Jim.
Geeting: Next
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I'd like to invite up Commissioner Mark Freathy
who teaches mathematics in Elk Grove Unified.
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Commissioner Freathy: I was not exactly prepared
to do this but I'm happy to be here and this
was a great
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honor to be on this commission and to have
some input. I'm excited. I'm excited because
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in a few days I get start my 34th year of
teaching and I'm excited when I looked at
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these standards. The grassroots - when I talk
to people across the state, especially elementary
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school teachers, and I told them what I was
involved in, they were really excited that
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we could have some standards that they could
focus on because they continued to say "there's
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too much" and so When we went through the
standards, the practitioners unanimously were
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very supportive that this can work. The people
that have been doing this, we've been preparing
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kids for algebra for years and years with
high success rates in some schools, but the
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success rate that we have, sixty percent of
students taking algebra, to me, is not the scorecard.
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It's how many students are successfully completing
algebra at all levels. That should be our scorecard,
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and if you look at the data, the data suggest
that the best thing we can do is prepare kids
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for algebra I so that they're successful in
taking algebra I the first time they take
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it. Thank you. Mitchell: Thank you. Geeting: And
last, but certainly not least, my buddy from
here in my days with
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the California Department of Education, Dr.
Deborah Keys. Commissioner Keys: Good morning President,
members of the Board.
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I'll be very, very brief. It was a privilege for
me to work with the commissioners who have
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brought forth their recommendation to you
today. I have been in education for a very
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long time and have great concerns about our
students in California. I believe that what
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you have been presented with in terms of the
recommendation indeed is going to support
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and move our kids forward. I want to also commend
the work Of the staff of SCOE who enabled
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us to really do the job that we needed to
do in a very, very short timeline. It was a very
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short timeline and we wouldn't have been able
to do it as well as we did without the support
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and the work of SCOE, so I want to publicly
thank Sue Stickle and her staff and I thank
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you so very much for really taking into account
the valuable work and time that the expert
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panel actually put into making its recommendation
today and I full heartedly supported it. Thank
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you very much. Mitchell: Thank you. Geeting:
I regret to say there's a bit of tarnish on the
legend. I had been told
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that Debora Keys was the last but there is
one more commissioner. Eleanor Evans is also
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here. Elinor...
Mitchell: Eleanor was simply sitting in the blind spot.
That's all. Commissioner Evans: Good morning.
I am Eleanor Evans
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from San Diego Unified School District. I am
the student that Dr. Evers talked about.
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I am the student. I'm a part of California public
schools, but I am a student that struggled
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with math through middle school and high school
and I want to say that the math component
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is excellent. I only wish that...My one regret
about going from high school to college is
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that my friends didn't go with me, okay, and
the reason why was because they did not have
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the math background. Math as you all know is
a gateway for college, for careers, and I would
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implore you to please, please support the Common Core
Standards in mathematics. Thank you very much.
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Mitchell: Thank you. Great. Thanks commissioners,
and board members, I hope you will join me
in a round of applause
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for the commissioners, obviously for those
who are here today but for everyone who served
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so amiably. Public service is often thankless
and it is not very often heroic, and hopefully,
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we have and will continue to provide the thanks
and certainly the service was and continues to
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be heroic in preparing us to make the decision that's
in front of us today. One second. Great.
So what I'd like now to do, board members, is
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to see if there are any clarifying questions
that you might have. While you're thinking
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about that, I'd like to return to Greg Geeting's
comments, if I might, for just a second and
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see if I can remind the board of the task
that's before us today. I think that Greg put
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it very well, so I'm really simply reinforcing
points that he made. I think that it's critical
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as we take this up to differentiate between
what we're being asked to do today and what
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we're not being asked to do today and, by extension,
what we as a board and we as a Department
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and the Legislature will be asked to do in
the future because I think that differentiating
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between those will provide us with a way of
making a decision in a world that's actually
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very complex, but a world in which we're taking
one bite today. So let me see if I can, again,
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emphasize some of the points that Greg
made first by talking about what we're not
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being asked to do today. So I think critically, we
are not being asked to determine grade level
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curriculum, courses, materials, or assessments.
Those are all steps in the process that, if
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we begin it today, will take place in an orderly
fashion where we will be involved in each
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step of the way, but those are steps that we're
not being asked to take today. We're not, even
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more specifically, being asked to array the
proposed standards within grade levels. Many
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of our colleagues and superintendents are
here today and they will tell you that even
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after the frameworks are established, that's
important work that they engage in with their
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teachers. We are not...and Greg thank you so
much for making this point...we are not being
365
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asked to step back, repudiate, or throw away
our current standards or our system of accountability,
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but when we think about an implementation
plan, we need to be very clear with ourselves
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and the field that the current standards are
in place, that there's a transition to new
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standards, but there's work to be done on the
blueprints, work to be done on materials adoptions,
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work to be done on assessments, and that when
that work is completed, and only then, will
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the state transition to a system based on
Common Core if we choose to take that step
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today. Further, we are not being asked to redesign
professional development for teachers, teacher
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certification for entry level teachers, nor
are we being asked today to connect the Common
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Core with any of those kinds of teacher professional
evaluation we've talked about in other areas of our work.
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So that's not what we're being asked to
do today. What is it that we are being asked
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to do today? And here the legislation is very
specific as are the usual ways that we operate
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as a board and as a system...What we are being
asked to do is to adopt or reject the academic
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content standards that have been proposed
to us. If we do so, we begin the process that
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Greg talked about. We begin the process of
unfolding blueprints that will operationalize
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these standards in the lives of teachers and
kids. We unfold the opportunity to create new
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assessments, new materials adoptions programs,
and for those of us who've been around this
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particular set of decisions for a while, we
know that that means that we'll be seeing
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more of Tom Adams as he walks us through that
work, but members, as we go through our decision-making
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process today, I implore you...and will probably
do so several times...I implore you to remember
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that that work, that critical, important work,
is tomorrow's work, not today's work. Questions?
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Comments? Vice President Bloom: If I may? First of all,
I was very happy to hear Greg refer to the great work
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that was done in 1997 with our California
standards and I was also very pleased to note that...have
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you note that our California standards have been...were a
part of the base national Core Standards. It's
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a major, major step and because we did that in
1997, it allows us, a different board, different
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people, but the Board of Education for the
State of California a comfortable place
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in order to accept this knowing as Ted has
said that we have a very, very long road ahead of
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us and that is in every aspect, that it's like
telling your teenage daughter you can go out
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on a date and then, somewhere down the line,
she's going to get married and have a family
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because that is...we're at the very beginning of
something. I appreciate the fact that commissioners
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have disagreed as well as agreed with the
math standards but I also am a great believer
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that from way back in graduate school, that
if you set high standards, you will teach to
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high standards and it will happen. I mean I've
been pleased in my many visits to schools
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over the years as a board member to have seen
classrooms where teachers have been trained
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and teach the state standards in their classes,
in their classrooms very different from the
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days when I was a teacher and I didn't even
know what a curriculum was and it was in the
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bottom drawer, I think, on the right, and inventing
my own way, but I am comfortable with this
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first step. I am also comfortable with the
fact that it has been that there are thirty
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states that have agreed to this and that a
great portion is...was done through California.
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I appreciate Sue's work and I look forward
to seeing what this board and this office
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and this state is going to do to make this
a reality in the future. So thank you. Mitchell: And thank
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you Vice President Bloom and just as a reminder
to board members, that I hope that we can use
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this as an opportunity to ask some clarifying
questions. We've got quite a lineup...Nick and
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I were conferring...quite a lineup of people
who would like to provide public comment. I
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want to turn to that in just a minute
so that we can hear from the public and then
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move to take action. Are you alright with that?
Great. So I'd like to now turn to public comment.
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We have over 25 people signed up for public
comment and given the hour, and Mr. superintendent,
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I know we've got a clock to watch, I would
love members of the public to keep their comments,
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in this instance, to one minute. Beth... Rice: The first
three are Arun Ramanathan, Sherry Griffith, and Shelley
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Kriegler. Mitchell: Great, thank you. Good morning
Arun. Ramanathan: Good morning State Board
President Mitchell,
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Superintendent O'Connell, and members of the
State Board of Education. My name is Arun
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Ramanathan. On behalf of my colleagues at
the Education Trust West, I thank you for the
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opportunity to speak with you today. While
we realize that there are many important issues
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before you, none is as closely watched as the
decision on the Common Core standards and
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the Commission's recommendations. California
has long been a leader in both standards and
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assessments. We at the Education Trust West
have long been advocates for increasing the
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rigor of our standards and graduation requirements
with the goal of ensuring that all of our
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high school graduates have a true choice between
college and career. We've consistently highlighted
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the opportunity in achievement gaps that prevent
so many students of color and students in
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poverty in our state from achieving college
and career readiness, and over the past eight
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years, we have pressed you consistently to
close those opportunity and achievement gaps
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and live up to the promise of our rigorous
standards. While we understand that the adoption
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of the Common Core will not by itself close
those opportunity and achievement gaps, we
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do believe that adoption of the Common Core
and the commission's recommendations is an
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important step in the right direction. First
and foremost, the Common Core were built upon
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a clear determination of what students need
to know by the end of high school in order
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to be college and career-ready. Second, the
college and career standards are benchmarked
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against international standards, and third,
by focusing on depth instead of breath, the
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standards present a true pathway and true
promise for our students of color and students
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in poverty in the State of California. As a
result, we do hope that you adopt the Common
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Core and we do hope that you take the commission's
recommendations. Thank you. Mitchell: Thank you very much
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and thank you for making the trip here today. Griffith:
Good morning board members, Superintendent
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O'Connell. Sherry Griffin with the Association
of California School Administrators. We are
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absolutely thrilled and pleased to support
the recommendations of the Commission both
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with the Common Core and the strengthening
through California specific standards. Our
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position is twofold. One is that we strongly
support the Common Core and the California-
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specific standards, and secondly, ACSA has made
as one of its highest priorities a comprehensive,
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fully-funded implementation plan of Common
Core if you adopt today. We commit to that
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over the next five years. We believe it's critical
for stakeholders and policymakers to, in a
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collaborative fashion, work closely together.
We want to commend the stellar work of the
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Commission. You would be so proud of these
educators. We were there witnessing firsthand
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their work, the stellar work of Sue Stickle
and her staff. It was just a phenomenal experience.
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We had to bring sleeping bags I think almost
a couple of nights, but it was excellent. I
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think what you'll see in the recommendations
is not only the strength of Common Core but
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where these content experts took it further
in ELA where they added what we needed in
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00:54:14,140 --> 00:54:20,479
informal presentations. In math, for the first
time, and so historic, that we're going to have
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00:54:20,479 --> 00:54:26,619
eighth grade Common Core math standards and
algebra I as an option. Think about this, our
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00:54:26,619 --> 00:54:32,229
administrators will no longer have to relegate
kids to repeat sixth and seventh grade standards,
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and has Kathy Gaither said, for the first time,
you're going to have two options for college
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readiness. We are so proud. Thank you. Mitchell: Thank
you very much,
and I do appreciate everybody working through
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their remarks in a sub two-minute fashion. It's
very helpful. Kriegler: Well then you'll be happy with
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me because I agree with what everyone has
said except Bill Evers. I'm Shelly Krieger
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and I flew up here today because I wanted to endorse...
to encourage you to adopt the standards and
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I thank you very much for your work. Mitchell: Thank
you very much and thanks for making the trip.
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Rice: Okay, the next three people line up so we can
move through quickly. Doug MacRae, Kathlan Latimer,
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and Juan Godinez. McRae: Good morning. I'm Doug McRae.
I'm a retired test publisher from Monterey
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and a veteran of the war of 1997 over California
content standards. I'd urge a "yes-comma-but"
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vote and I must say that I've heard a lot
of the conversation regarding the "comma-but"
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part of it...because the "comma-but" in my urging
has to do with the implementation of them.
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Frankly you're under the gun with seven hundred
million dollars potentially on the table and
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that's a practical matter. When the family
is hungry, there's a responsibility to
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put food on the table, and so I understand
that. On the merits, the Standards Commission
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recommendation, especially for math, looks like
a horse designed by a committee with an unknown
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00:56:17,239 --> 00:56:24,239
number of humps not unlike the camel. The content
standards need to have a strong horse--you've
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talked about this--capable of pulling five
standards-based carts: curriculum frameworks,
instructional materials,
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professional development, assessments, and
accountability systems. The content standards
as they currently
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exist are not ready to pull those carts. There's
a DC policy wonk that said the rush to common core
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standards this summer is not unlike joining
a fitness club: a lot of claims for benefits
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00:56:50,729 --> 00:56:57,729
before the workout schedule has been determined,
etcetera. That's all the stuff that's in front
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of you, so I...go ahead and urge you to do it
but do pay attention to the implementation
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issues. There are some major implementation
issues that may need revision of the standards
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before you can do them. Thank
you. Michell: Thank you, Doug. Latimer:
Good morning. I'm Kathlan
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Latimer, President-elect at the California
Mathematics Council, and to the point, California
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Mathematics Council endorses the recommendation
of the Academic Content Standards Commission
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for adoption of the augmented Common Core
Standards. We feel that the newly recommended
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standards provide an opportunity for K-8 students
to build a solid foundation with experiences
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in mathematical thinking that lead to stronger
and deeper understanding of mathematics. A
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few argue that the recommended standards will
not prepare students to take algebra I in
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eighth grade. CMC disagrees. In primary grades,
these standards emphasize number sense and
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other foundational skills critical for success
in mathematics. Many students who struggle
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in mathematics...struggle in algebra are weak in
these skills and that creates a poor understanding
of important
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topics. It's important that students are successful
the first time they take algebra. CMC supports
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the Commission's recommendation that generates
opportunities for success at grade eight algebra
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as well as grade eight standards. While some
may see this as tracking, CMC sees this as
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the alternative to repeating courses, so we
do stand firmly behind the standards as augmented
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and presented. Finally, we'd like to congratulate
the members of the Academic Content Standards
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Commission for their commitment to improve
education and know that the California Mathematics
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Council stands ready to support all aspects
for successful implementation of these Common
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Core Standards. Thank you. Mitchell: Thank you very much.