New Standards
New Alaska standards were adopted for English/Language Arts and Math in June. Anchorage and Copper River School Districts have adopted the Common Core State Standards.
Here is information from Alaska Department of Education and Early Development (EED) regarding the new Alaska Standards and their relationship to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS).
Driven by a desire to better prepare graduates for college and careers, the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development, with the support of Alaska educators and stakeholders, have created new English/Language Arts and Mathematics Standards to adequately prepare Alaskan students for college and careers…Forty-five states have adopted a common set of academic standards, the Common Core State Standards, which are designed to help prepare students with the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in college and careers.
Alaska did not choose to adopt the CCSS; it was important to Alaskan educators to have the opportunity to adjust portions of the standards based on the unique context of our state. Educators from across the state assisted department staff in reviewing the CCSS, evaluating Alaska Grade Level Expectations (GLEs), and, based on this rich review of information, developing the new Alaska English/Language Arts and Mathematics Standards.
Across the nation, many educational materials and resources aligned to the Common Core State Standards are being created. Educators and others have asked if Alaska will be able to take advantage of these materials. The answer is yes. One goal of Alaska’s standards revision process was to ensure that Alaskan schools would be able to use the materials produced for the CCSS. Alaska standards and the CCSS are very similar, and Alaska took great care to make sure that its standards are equal in rigor.
Distance Delivered Courses on Effective Instruction and Assessment – Start Anytime!
- Common Core State Standards in Mathematics, Grades 3-8
- Differentiation and the Brain
- Elementary Reading Intervention Strategies
- Grading: A Guide to Effective Practice
- Teaching Elementary Math Conceptually: A New Paradigm
- Teaching Reading and Comprehension to English Language Learners, K-5
- Why DI?: An Introduction to Differentiated Instruction
Resources
- Alaska Department of Education and Early Development:
- Alaska Standards Toolkit Website
- Why new standards?
- The 3 major shifts required by the standards.
Webinar Series Recordings on Effective Instruction and Assessment
Webinar recordings are available to any educator from a district that is a Tier 1 ASDN Member
- Explicit Instruction: Effective and Efficient Teaching with Anita Archer
- Explicit Instruction for Writing in Grades 1-8 with Anita Archer
- Leading Quality Literacy Instruction for Elementary Students with Lexie Domaradzki
- Leading Quality Literacy Instruction for Secondary Students with Lexie Domaradzki
- Using Data: Supporting Implementation of the Reading System with Lexie Domaradzki
- Using Data to Improve Instruction with Lexie Domaradzki
- Using Performance Data to Increase Student Learning with Lexie Domaradzki
- Advancing Formative Assessment in Every Classroom: A Guide for Teacher Leaders and Site Administrators with Julia Payne-Lewis
- Developing and Using Common Assessment to Monitor Student Learning with Deb Farrington & Julia Payne-Lewis
- Instruction and Assessment Strategies to Support the New Alaska Mathematics Standards with Julia Payne-Lewis
- Using Formative Assessment to Support Teaching and Learning with Deb Farrington
- Differentiated Instruction in Mixed-Ability Classrooms – Elementary Schools with Cindy Strickland
- Differentiated Instruction – Middle and High Schools with Cindy Strickland
- The Differentiated Classroom: Responding to the Needs of All Learners with Carol Tomlinson