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Grades 3, 5, & 7 Math Standards - Public Comment Notice
Posted:
Oct 2, 2003 10:41 AM
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Public Comment Notice - Grade Level Standards, English Language Arts
and Mathematics
Dear Colleagues,
The curriculum frameworks for English language arts (2001) and
mathematics
(2000) contain standards written for two-year grade spans, such as 3-4
and
5-6. We currently have MCAS tests for English language arts at grades
3, 4,
7, and 10 and for mathematics at grades 4, 6, 8, and 10 based on these
standards. The No Child Left Behind Act, however, requires annual
testing
at each grade from grades 3 through 8 in both reading and mathematics
beginning in 2005-2006. Therefore our staff, working with committees
of
teachers, have drafted standards for grades 3, 5, and 7 in these
subjects.
We are not changing the curriculum frameworks, since the existing
standards
will remain the same, but rather providing detailed guidance about the
learning expected at each grade level and the content of future
grade-level
assessments.
Teachers from more than 20 urban, rural, and suburban districts worked
with
Department staff during the spring and summer of 2003 to draft grade
level
expectations for grades 3, 5, and 7 from the existing two-year
standards for
grades 3-4, 5-6, and 7-8. The essential content in the Massachusetts
English Language Arts Curriculum Framework and the Massachusetts
MathematicsCurriculum Framework remains unchanged. In seeking public
comment we areasking educators if we have met the goal of providing
more explicit guidancefor local school districts and a solid basis for
the new grade 3-8 assessments. It is our hope that the grade level
standards will go beyond
meeting the requirement of NCLB and create an effective teaching and
learning resource for standards-based curriculum.
Educators in all of our schools and in educator preparation programs
have a
crucial role to play in judging the clarity and usefulness of these
draft
standards and suggesting ways in which they may be strengthened. I
encourage you to review and respond to the draft grade level standards
in
English language arts and mathematics by using the online form found
on our
website at http://www.doe.mass.edu/frameworks/updates.html until
November
25, 2003. A final draft of the grade 3, 5, and 7 standards, revised
to
reflect your comments, will be presented to the Board of Education for
discussion in January 2004.
Thank you for your help in this important step in education reform for
Massachusetts.
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