Friends:
Just had this statement from DC -- key framer of the ELA CC -- forwarded to me. It is everything I would have hoped he would say:
David Coleman
Founding partner of Student Achievement Partners and a lead writer of the CCSS in ELA.
"[CCSS co-author] Sue Pimentel and I think if fundamental changes are not made to the quality of curriculum, and the quality of assessment, following the [CCSS], they will not have been worthy of the work that was put into them. Period.
There is no such thing as doing the nuts and bolts of reading in Kindergarten through 5th grade without coherently developing knowledge in science, and history, and the arts. Period. It is false. It is a fiction. And that is why NAEP scores in early grades can improve slightly but collapse as students grow older. Because it is the deep foundation in rich knowledge and vocabulary depth that allows you to access more complex text.
Let’s not get confused here that [the CCSS] are adding back nice things [history, arts, science] that are an addendum to literacy. We are adding the cornerstones of literacy, which are the foundations of knowledge, that make literacy happen.
There is no greater threat to literary study in this country than false imitations of literature which do not deserve to be read.
States in this first year of [CCSS] implementation, we beg you, to turn back mediocre or low-rate materials, rather than buy them stamped “Common Core.” If we must wait, it is better than to misrepresent the Standards with second-rate stuff. Please support states and districts in being brave and holding the line on excellence and giving time for a better generation of materials to take hold."
Hold the line on excellence, wait for new materials, realize that literacy from K on is a matter of content not just mastery of decoding. This is exactly what NF authors know, what librarians know, what teachers need to know -- spread the gospel friends, spread the good news.
Just had this statement from DC -- key framer of the ELA CC -- forwarded to me. It is everything I would have hoped he would say:
David Coleman
Founding partner of Student Achievement Partners and a lead writer of the CCSS in ELA.
"[CCSS co-author] Sue Pimentel and I think if fundamental changes are not made to the quality of curriculum, and the quality of assessment, following the [CCSS], they will not have been worthy of the work that was put into them. Period.
There is no such thing as doing the nuts and bolts of reading in Kindergarten through 5th grade without coherently developing knowledge in science, and history, and the arts. Period. It is false. It is a fiction. And that is why NAEP scores in early grades can improve slightly but collapse as students grow older. Because it is the deep foundation in rich knowledge and vocabulary depth that allows you to access more complex text.
Let’s not get confused here that [the CCSS] are adding back nice things [history, arts, science] that are an addendum to literacy. We are adding the cornerstones of literacy, which are the foundations of knowledge, that make literacy happen.
There is no greater threat to literary study in this country than false imitations of literature which do not deserve to be read.
States in this first year of [CCSS] implementation, we beg you, to turn back mediocre or low-rate materials, rather than buy them stamped “Common Core.” If we must wait, it is better than to misrepresent the Standards with second-rate stuff. Please support states and districts in being brave and holding the line on excellence and giving time for a better generation of materials to take hold."
Hold the line on excellence, wait for new materials, realize that literacy from K on is a matter of content not just mastery of decoding. This is exactly what NF authors know, what librarians know, what teachers need to know -- spread the gospel friends, spread the good news.
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