April 2018 - In This Issue

Hot Topic:
Are High School Graduation Requirement Making the Grade?
 		 Client Solution:
More California Students May Get Access to Arts Education

Teaching Trends: EdGate Services:
Adopted versus Implemented - Understanding the Timelines
Standards Update
What's new in the repository? 

Top Stories


Greetings everyone,       

Have you heard the industry buzz about the CASE specification and the OpenSALT platform that is freely available through IMS Global?  OpenSALT is championing the much-needed effort to help states devise a method to publish standards (a.k.a. competency frameworks) in a consistent machine-readable format.  At the same time, OpenSALT's effort will also provide freely available unified standard identifiers for each state that can be passed back and forth between LMS's and other systems to display alignments.  Be watching for more to come about the OpenSALT's CASE format at educational events this spring. 
 
If your company is in need of OpenSALT's CASE identifiers for your correlations, look no further than EdGate.  We can correlate your content to the CASE identifiers and if your content is currently correlated and in the EdGate repository, we can provide the CASE identifiers.  For example, if your company already has your content aligned to Common Core or other state standards and you need a crosswalk to the CASE specification, EdGate can help.  Georgia is one of the first states to offer the CASE format and are now offering the Georgia Standards of Excellence in the CASE format and EdGate has those ready and available to include with alignments of your company's content.  Want to learn more?  Contact us!
 
As always, you can trust EdGate to keep the repository current and provide our clients with up to date information on state DOE initiatives.  If you would like to learn more please contact us .
 
Regards,

Gina Faulk
EdGate General Manager 
 
 
HotTopicHot Topic

Are High School Graduation Requirements Making the Grade?

A recent report by the  Center for American Progress points to an interesting trend over the last several years regarding the debate over the quality of a high school diploma.  While graduation rates have risen considerably, colleges have reported that students are  not fully prepared for college-level coursework. The report found that in  46 states proficiency standards required for high school graduation do not meet college entrance requirements. These disparities lead to a preparation gap that students must fill after graduation but before seeking admission to a four-year institution or by taking remedial classes once they have started college. Part of the issue focuses on the problem of not only having states produce rigorous academic standards but also then requiring the students to take coursework to meet those standards. Schools only focused on increasing their graduation rates are leaving their students ill-prepared for their futures and without adequate preparation for college admission. Higher expectations of our schools means it is critical that schools get the support and resources necessary to deliver a more rigorous and effective education to students. This topic will be something to watch as we inherently enjoy seeing how our clients meet the needs of students through their content.  
 
Project Manager
 
ClientSolutionClient Solution

More California Students May Get Access to Arts Education  
 
A new bill to increase arts education in California has its advocates, but also its skeptics who question how the quality of arts education will be guaranteed.

California state senator, Ben Allen, has proposed a bill, SB-933: " Arts for Every Student Incentive Grant Program" that would be handled by the State Department of Education to ensure that students are taught visual and performing arts. Although the state already has a law requiring districts to provide arts to California students, the law has never been enforced and budget cuts have often led to elimination of arts programs. Bill SB-933 would provide financial incentives using state budget surplus to create a one-time grant program.

Many organizations say they support the bill, recognizing that arts instruction increases students' learning achievement in non-arts subjects, but they are also hesitant to fully commit because of their concern for the way in which the program will be administered.  Professional educators are skeptical that the quality of arts teaching will be compromised, as the bill allows, private arts teachers to teach some of the classes.  They think only credentialed teachers can provide the quality arts education students deserve.  The other concern is that the grant is only available for one year.  They question whether a one-time grant is worth pursuing if there are no plans to continue the program in the future.


 
Announcing New Resources Added to the Curriculum Matrix this past month

In the last few weeks, more than 4,800 resources have been added to the Curriculum Matrix from the sources listed below:

  • E Reading Worksheets
  • EngageNY  
  • GCFLearnFree
  • Grammar Revolution
  • GrammarBook.com
  • iCivics
  • Illustrative Math
  • IXL
  • Microsoft - Hacking STEM
  • Microsoft - Minecraft
  • Royal Society of Chemistry
  • Starfall
  • The Punctuation Guide
  • Weather Wiz Kids
  • YouTube
 
TeachingTrendsTeaching Trends

The 2018 Principals' Assessment of Public Education has been released. Among the issues raised are college and career readiness, and the related area of career and technical education. Notably, the report states  "There are thousands of jobs that require technical training but do not require a college degree. On the other hand, there are still too many high school graduates who arrive at college unprepared for college level instruction."

The obvious implication is that college and career readiness should, and will, gain greater prominence within high school (and middle school) standards sets in the near future; this may require a more explicit definition of what constitute college and career readiness standards. Another more subtle implication is that the job market in certain industries may be turning away from requiring college degrees for their entry-level positions, and that other industries that had typically desired post-secondary technical training might now prefer to have much of that training take place in high school. This would lead to a greater emphasis on CTE, which could result in debates about how much weight to give CTE versus core subjects in class planning, what industries and areas of specialization are most appropriate for CTE training in high school (and earlier), individualization of graduation plans versus providing pre-planned suites of classes for students wanting to specialize in certain areas, and what to do about students who don't have a clear idea of what career they want to pursue or change their minds midway through a course of specialization.

EdGate continues to monitor developments with CTE standards and college/career readiness.  You can read a copy of the Principals' Assessment of Public Education here.

By:  Michael Walpole 
Project Manager
 
EdgateServicesEdGate Services

Adopted versus Implemented - Understanding the Timelines

If you're willing to be a sleuth, you can generally find all of this information hidden within each state's DOE website, including the adoption date, implementation timeline and/or revision cycle.  If you don't have the time to sleuth this information out, you can count on us to do it for you!  Generally speaking, state legislatures are responsible for establishing academic standards in nearly all states. Nearly every legislature then tasks its state board/department of education with adopting and implementing the standards. A number of legislatures have recently added steps, such as waiting periods for public comment on their draft standards before they are fully adopted and/or implemented.  When it comes to what standards are included in EdGate's repository the two key factors to consider are ADOPTION DATE (date the school board approves a new set of standards) and IMPLEMENTATION DATE (date the standards are put in practice and actually used by teachers).  The two are rarely the same and EdGate keeps the repository current with the implemented standards.  
 
Visit EdGate's Standards page to see the currently implemented standards for each of the states, as well as International standards in our ever-growing repository. 

To learn more about EdGate, our services, and partners, please contact us and one of our Account Executives will be happy to schedule an appointment with you.

 
Gina Faulk 
General Manager 
Heather Hawthorne
Account Manager
 
standardsStandards Update

Updates to The EdGate Standards Repository include:
  • Colorado CTE - Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (2015 - Grades 9-12)
  • Wisconsin Early Childhood (2017)
  • National Health Science Standards (2015 - Grades 9-12)
  • GED Assessment Targets - Social Studies (2016 - Grades 9-12)
  • GED Assessment Targets - Science (2016 - Grades 9-12)
  • GED Assessment Targets - Mathematics (2016 - Grades 9-12)
  • GED Assessment Targets - English Language Arts (2016 - Grades 9-12)
  • Florida CTE Coding Fundamentals (2018 - Grades 6-8)
  • Pennsylvania Career Education and Work (2006 - Grades K-3,4-5,6-8,9-11)
  • Scotland Curriculum for Excellence - Social Studies (2017 - Grades PK-4, 5-7,8-9)
  • New Hampshire CTE - Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (2013 - Grades 9-12)
  • P21's Framework for 21st Century (2015 - Grades K-12)
  • American Association of School Librarians (AASL) Integrated Framework (2018 - Grades K-12)
  • Alabama Digital Literacy and Computer Science (2018 - Grades K-12)
  • American Association of School Librarians (AASL) Learners Framework (2018 - Grades K-12)
  • South Carolina Visual and Performing Arts (2017 - Grades K-12)
  • Oregon CTE - Industrial and Engineering Systems (2015 - Grades 9-12)

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topstories

Ohio considers new 5-year education plan to shift away from tests
The Ohio Department of Education is considering a new five-year plan that focus on social-emotional learning, well-rounded education and "helping students find their chosen path rather than on simply raising test scores."


Analysts Believe There May Be Nothing Wrong With the Common-Core Tests

Critics question whether Common Core results genuinely reflected student achievement. SBAC analysts and another test-consulting group believe the test was functioning as it was designed to do.



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EdGate Correlation Services works with over 250 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.