The EdGate Observer 

Connecting Publishers With What Works!

September 2014correlation.edgate.com   
Greetings everyone,

In this month's newsletter, we focus on the most recent education news pertaining to New Math Standards in Texas (Hot Topic), Common Core in North Carolina (Common Core Update), Professional Development Opportunities (Client Solution), Guidelines for a Quality Correlation (EdGate Services) and following up with new additions to the EdGate Standards Repository (Standards Update).

 

New to the EdGate Team this month is Gina Faulk, Sales and Marketing Manager. Gina comes to us with years of experience in the publishing industry and will be instrumental in developing client and business partnerships.

 

As always, EdGate is your source for staying current with new developments in education and the impact of educational standards.

 

Regards,

 

Sandra Schugren,
EdGate General Manager

 

Client Solution

Professional Development: Opportunities?

 

The National School Boards Association's Center for Public Education published a report on Teaching the Teachers: Effective Professional Development in an Era of High Stakes Accountability. This reports states "Meeting the new demands of standards-based reform will mean schools must not only change their approach to student learning, but teacher learning." It goes on to point out that in the aftermath of the 2013 Sequestration that 69.4 % of districts planned on cutting Professional Development budgets. It further reports that when asked about their experience in professional development, "most of those teachers...reported that it was totally useless."

 

An article written by Alvin Crawford, CEO of Knowledge Delivery Systems, states "Estimates are we spend more than $6 billion a year between federal, state and district on professional development for classroom teachers. If just half of that investment is "totally useless" in improving teacher efficiency and instruction, we're throwing away $3 billion annually on improvement methods that are falling flat." Additionally he states "And, even worse, students aren't feeling the investment either."

 

Several of our publishers have excellent Professional Development resources. Does the Professional Development situation need new products, new solutions, or both? Can you see this as a real business opportunity?

 

Rich_NewRich Street
Project Manager
Hot Topic 
Texas Implements New Standards in Grades K-8, Leaving Many Students Below Grade Level

 

This fall, students in Texas went back to school with a new set of math standards. For many students in grades 3 through 8, this leaves them behind whether they performed well on last year's STAAR test or not.

 

Students in grades 3 through 8 may feel that they are underwater in class this year. In each of these grades, there is a large number of tested standards that are either new or moved from high grade levels to lower grade levels. In grade 4, for example, 35% of the standards were not in tests last year, 11% of the standards were tested in 6th grade, and 11% of the standards were tested in 5th grade.

 

Last year, between 20% and 33% failed the math STAAR tests. Even after two retests, 9% of fifth graders and 11% of eighth graders hadn't passed the STAAR test which means those students were not eligible for automatic promotion. This year, however, students in those grades will not need the test for promotion to the next grade. This version of the test is new, so it hasn't been field tested yet. Students will have the 2014-2015 school year to be brought up to the new grade level expectations. After that, they will need to perform well on the STAAR test in order to be promoted to the next grade.

Lynn Sebring
Project Manager

Common Core Update 

Common Core In North Carolina

 

The General Assembly passed a law this summer that opponents of Common Core hope will derail its use in North Carolina's public schools. But the law doesn't mean the academic standards previously agreed to are automatically eliminated. Here's an explanation of how Common Core will be reconsidered in North Carolina:

 

WHAT'S THE NEW LAW DO? The General Assembly directs the State Board of Education to review the math and English language arts standards based on Common Core the board approved in 2010, and to propose modifications.

 

DID THE LAW REPEAL COMMON CORE IN NORTH CAROLINA? Not specifically. The law directs the current Standard Course of Study, which lays out the skills K-12 students should master in all subjects, to remain in effect for now. That means Common Core standards, which were first carried out in the 2012-13 school year and are part of the Course of Study, are still in place this fall.

 

CAN COMMON CORE STAY IN PLACE? While some standards in Common Core are universally accepted and will remain in updated standards, others likely will be squashed. The law tells the education board to implement the best method, leaving the door open for the board to retain some of Common Core.

 

WILL THE PUBLIC BE INVOLVED? The law directs the board to survey parents, teachers and others on new standards.

 

WHAT DO COMMON CORE SUPPORTERS THINK? Some education advocacy groups are worried the updated standards won't be an improvement. They say Common Core provided a better way to measure North Carolina students against students in other states and ensure they were prepared for future jobs.

 

Regardless, Common Core will remain in place for North Carolina until the new standards are created and implemented, perhaps under a different name.

 

For more information on how Common Core is playing out in the U.S., visit: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/02/50-states-common-core_n_5751864.html 

 

 

In This Issue
What's New
EdGate is proud to announce a new partnership with HotMath

HotMath offers a wealth of math content for grades 5 through Geometry and Algebra 2, including thousands of math problems with tutorial explanations, math lessons (in English and Spanish), math videos, math interactivities and games. This dynamic math content is now available for licensing by EdGate clients.

Top Stories 

American's Satisfaction With Education System Increases 

 

As students return to school in the U.S., 48% of Americans are "completely" or "somewhat satisfied" with the quality of kindergarten through high school education in the country, the highest Gallup has measured since 2004. For the first time since 2007, Americans are now about as likely to say they are satisfied as dissatisfied.

 

Khan Academy Tackles College Admissions Process

 

Khan Academy released a new set of 100 videos focusing on the college admissions process to increase college access for low income students.  These new videos will cover questions such as how to choose and apply to the right school, how to become an attractive candidate, how to pay, and finally, how to make the final decision. All these videos include personal stories from students, admissions officers, and even Sal Khan himself. 

 

New Core Arts Standards Emphasize "doing art"

 

Instead of just memorizing the definition of balance, or studying the career of a famous artist, students are learning about art the way the new National Core Arts Standards envision - by doing. The new standards cover dance, media arts, music, theater and visual arts. They are organized by artistic processes including: creating, performing/presenting/producing, responding and connecting.

 

Staff Highlight 

In this issue of the EdGate Observer, we would like to introduce a new member to the EdGate Team, Gina Faulk, Sales and Marketing Manager.   

 

   

A Puget Sound-native, Gina relocated from Portland, Oregon and joined the EdGate team in Gig Harbor, Washington. In the role of Sales and Marketing Manager, Gina is responsible for developing customer relationships and business strategies in order to grow and strengthen publisher partnerships. Gina has 18 years of experience in the business of publishing: both print and online. Over the last four years she held the position of Learning.com's Business Partner Manager, forming partnerships with resellers, third party online content publishers, and LMS companies.

 

EdGate Services 
Correlation 101: Guidelines for a Quality Correlation

 

Correlating as you may or may not know is, to some degree a subjective process. Achieving a good correlation first requires an understanding of standards and content, and the concepts contained therein. This is not done through simple mapping of content to standards by way of "natural language" or key terms but rather through the eyes and experience of subject area experts. EdGate believes that achieving a great correlation requires flexibility in the process and collaboration with our clients. 

 

Our staff of experts has over 200 years of combined experience in both education and technology. Most of our team has been together since our inception in early 2000 and have worked side-by-side to develop the approach and process that we have today, making us a leading competitor in the K-12 market.

 

We are proud of the service we provide and our ability for innovative thinking to support our clients in reaching their goals. If you are looking for a team of experts to professionally and accurately manage your alignments, whether broad or tight (specific), or even in need of a one-to-one hand correlation, please contact us today.

 

To reach Tracy Olstad please email tolstad@edgate.com. For Larry Johnson you can email  ljohnson@edgate.com. You can also learn more about EdGate products and services by visiting our website at http://correlation.edgate.com. 

 

Tracy_Olstad Larry_Johnson
The "EdGate Advantage is
YOUR Advantage"

Standards Update 

Updates to The EdGate Standards Repository include:
  • Florida Alternate Assessment Standards (Access Points) - Language Arts (2014)
  • Florida Alternate Assessment Standards (Access Points) - Mathematics (2014)
  • Florida Alternate Assessment Standards (Access Points) - Social Studies (2014)
  • National Coalition for Core Arts Standards (NCCAS) - Arts Education (2014)
  • National Curriculum for England - Arts Education (2014)
  • National Curriculum for England - Career and Technical Education (2014)
  • National Curriculum for England - Health and PE (2014)
  • National Curriculum for England - Language Arts (2014)
  • National Curriculum for England - Mathematics (2014)
  • National Curriculum for England - Media/Technology (2014)
  • National Curriculum for England - Science (2014)
  • National Curriculum for England - Social Studies (2014)
  • National Curriculum for England - World Languages (2014)
  • Nevada - Science (2014 NGSS)
  • New Jersey - Science (2014 NGSS)
  • New Jersey - World Languages (2014 NGSS)
  • New Jersey - Social Studies (2014)
  • New York Alternate Assessment Standards (NYSSA) - Language Arts (2014)
  • Ontario - Social Studies (2013)
  • Tennessee - Early Childhood Education (2014)
  • Vermont - Science (2014 NGSS)
  • West Virginia - Language Arts (2014)
Kristie
Kristie McCarley

EdGate Standards and Operations Manager
About Us 

EdGate Correlation Services works with over 200 content providers to increase the value of their products in a rapidly expanding digital world. EdGate uses its patented technology and highly skilled staff to assure client success. Employing its nearly two decades of innovation experience, EdGate has proven learning platforms, robust metadata tools and comprehensive correlation services to serve every clients unique needs.
EdGate currently focuses on correlation consulting, content and metadata development and management, media segmentation and licensing of international educational standards. EdGate Correlation Services LLC is a division of EDmin, Inc., a learning management and instructional technology solutions company based in San Diego, California.

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