The Tri-State Rubric: A Tool To Align Lesson Plans and Units to the Common Core State Standards

Illinois State Board of Education English Language Arts Content Specialists Hosted by Kathi Rhodus, June 2012 Content contained is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

Today’s Target

Gain knowledge about the Tri-State Rubric - a tool to help teachers and district personnel know if a lesson plan/unit is aligned to the Common Core State Standards.

Lesson Plan or Unit

The History Behind the Tool

The Tri-State Collaborative (comprised of educational leaders from Massachusetts, New York, and Rhode Island and facilitated by Achieve) has developed criterion-based rubrics and review processes to evaluate the quality of lessons and units intended to address the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics and ELA/Literacy. Now representatives from more than 25 states regularly convene to fine-tune the rubric. This presentation will focus on the ELA/Literacy rubric.

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Purpose

The primary purpose of this process: To provide

specific input

for

improvement

of instruction, so

teaching and learning

are

aligned

with the Common Core State Standards.

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•

Tri-State Quality Review Rubric is designed to evaluate:

Lessons that include instructional activities and assessments aligned to CCSS, extending over a few class periods or days.

• Units that include integrated and focused lessons aligned to CCSS extending over a longer period of time.

• The rubric is NOT designed to evaluate a single task or activity.

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The Tri-State Rubric Consists of Four Dimensions

Dimension #1

Alignment to the Rigors of CCSS

Dimension #2

Key Areas of Focus in the CCSS

Dimension #3

Instructional Supports

Dimension #4

Assessment Content contained is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

Step #1 Understand the Rubric

Identify the following components on the Tri-State Rubric.

 The criteria that define the rubric are organized as a checklist describing quality in four dimensions.  The most critical criteria are considered “must haves” for a quality CCSS lesson/unit and are marked with **.

 There is a rating scale for each dimension using 3, 2, 1, or 0.

 There is an “overall” rating scale using E,E/I,R or N.

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Step #2

Use the Rubric & Criteria to Evaluate a Lesson/Unit Record the grade and title of the lesson/unit at the top of the rubric.

Scan the lesson/unit.

Identify the grade-level CCSS that the lesson/unit targets.

Do a close reading of text that serves as the centerpiece for the lesson/unit.

Analyze the lesson unit for evidence of Dimension One. Check the criteria for which there is clear and substantial evidence of meeting the descriptors. Determine a rating for Dimension One.

Circle the rating at the bottom of the column.

Use the criteria to make observations and recommendations about this lesson/unit.

Continue the same process with each dimension.

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Step #3

Determine an Overall Rating The four dimensional ratings for a particular lesson or unit can tell a lot about its current status as an exemplar of CCSS instruction.

For example: A lesson rated 3-3-2-1 might be seen as well aligned with the CCSS and its Areas of Focus, but needs some additional thinking about Instructional Supports and some significant revision in its approach to Assessment.

1. Review the patterns of the checked criteria and the ratings for each of the four dimensions.

2. Make a summary judgment about the overall quality using E, E/I, R or N. 3. Record the Overall Rating on the top right of the Rubric.

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Feedback Format

• The two page format is used during the review process and includes columns for recording observations, comments, and suggestions for improvement. • The one page format contains the entire rubric including dimensions, criteria, and ratings.

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Resources

• Tri-State Rubric http://engageny.org/resource/tri-state-quality-review-rubric and-rating-process/

Contact Information

Sarah McCusker,100 N. First Street, Springfield, Illinois [email protected]

(217) 524-4832 Erik Iwersen, Area I-A,B,D [email protected]

(708) 544-4891 Amy Robinson, Area I-C [email protected]

(630) 495-6080 Jill Brown, Area II [email protected]

(815) 636-3060 Katy Sykes, Area III and IV [email protected]

(815) 937-2950 Kathi Rhodus, Area V and VI [email protected]

(618) 825-3900 Content contained is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License