During this session, participants will learn about the overarching priorities of the Common Core State Standards for English language arts and literacy. Alberti will discuss the major instructional shifts required by the standards, including the evidence behind the shifts. These same shifts will be represented in both consortia assessments. Additionally, Alberti will present a few recommendations regarding how to introduce changes in a thoughtful, concrete way to prepare both teachers and students for full implementation of the standards.

How do the Common Core English language arts standards differ from their predecessors? What do they emphasize? What are logical focus points for early implementation? The English and language arts standards depart radically from their predecessors with their insistence on text complexity and close reading skills.

This session, presented by David Liben from Student Achievement Partners, offered a look at various aspects of text complexity: how it is defined by the standards, as well as a range of measurement tools—including some newly developed and tested by the Race to the Text project—and how to use the tools for professional development. The focus on text complexity, close reading, and informational text has clear education implications as well. The presenter will examine some strategic focus areas for literacy instruction and explore ideas for bringing all constituencies to a fuller understanding of the Common Core standards and the features that make text complex.

This article provides a short discussion of authentic learner voice and the importance of bringing learners into important decision-making processes. Using an example of a school outside of San Francisco, it explores learner voice in detail.

Classrooms consist of diverse populations, which include students with disabilities and students from culturally or linguistically diverse backgrounds. It is important that we maximize learning opportunities by providing multiple and flexible methods of instruction and strategies that correspond to specific learning needs.

The "Determining Each Student's Readiness" section of this book review clearly identifies the benefits to learning aligned grouping options.

This article describes how Flexible Time and Pace can be considered and implemented when giving assessments.