What is your Common Core language?

Have you ever walked into a dinner party and been the only teacher in the room? A few years ago, I went to a dinner party with my husband and everyone there worked in my husband's field.  Everything was fine until they started talking "shop". I was listening, however, I had no idea what they were discussing. They had acronyms and numbers for everything that are significant to them but I really had no clue of the purpose of their conversation.  I just smiled and nodded hoping that no one would ask me for my thoughts.

Move ahead to this winter:  I attended an articulation meeting with Community College faculty and I had the same feeling of walking into a new language.  They also had acronyms and numbers that had significance because the faculty are steeped in the work but I had to ask for clarification to develop my understanding of their common language.

Present day: At the last Geometry meeting, I was rattling of acronyms like PARCC, EOY, PBA, LBG, etc and a teacher expressed the same feeling of walking into a foreign language class and the instructor was speaking so fast that nothing made sense.

This made me think, what is our Common Core language? I know that the Algebra teachers have been steeped in Common Core Algebra this year, yet, not all teachers have had the same experience with the standards, mathematical practices or assessments.

To assist with curriculum teams this summer, I want to articulate PUHSD mathematics Common Core language.  Below are a few of the "biggies" that we want to ensure everyone knows the common definition and as you are working with you collaborative teams, ask them- What is our Common Core language?

CCSS-M - Common Core State Standards for Mathematics- Here is a quick video that gives you a description of the vocabulary for the Common Core document and the purpose of the grain-size of the Common Core mathematics standards which include conceptual category, domain, cluster, and standard.

PARCC - Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers - PARCC will be the new assessment in 2015 for 9th and 10th graders.  This exam will replace the current AIMS.  Arizona Department of Education has posted the transition plan.  

PBA- PBA is the Performance-Based Assessment for PARCC.  This portion of the exam is given in February or March in 2015. The mathematics PBA will focus on expressing mathematical reasoning and modeling real-world problems.  There are prototypes on the PARCC website that will give you an example of a PBA.  

EOY- EOY is the End-of-Year Assessments and this portion of  the PARCC exam will be given in late April or early May (90% of the school year). The mathematics EOY will call on students to demonstrate further conceptual understanding of the Major Content and Additional and Supporting Content of the grade/course (based on the Model Content Framework).

LBG- Learning-based grade book to provide specific feedback to students on their learning so that they can re-engage in the content.

As you are winding down the school year and preparing for year 2 of PUHSD CCSS-M implementation  ask your teams, what Common Core language do we need to add to the list?

Year Five for "Strive for a 5"

The 5th annual Mock AP exam was incredibly successful.  Over 250 students walked out of the Mock exam with many tidbits on how to improve their performance on the May exam.  For the past 5 years, we gather all of the AP students from across the district to take a Mock AP exam.  In the morning, the students model Mathematical Practice #1: Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them!  The test is timed and this experience truly gives them a "flavor" of the actual exam.  In the afternoon, AP readers guide the students through a self- assessment of the free-response section of the exam and share "pearls of wisdom" on how to get the ultimate score of a FIVE! 

Congratulations to the following students.  They were recognized for their performance on the Multiple Choice portion of the exams: 

AP Calculus AB (Top three scorers)

AB Winners

·        1^st Place:  Isaac Lopez, Alhambra

·        2^nd Place:  LingYu He, Central and Raymond Seto, Central  

·        3^rd Place:  Connor Wade, South  

BC Winners

AP Calculus BC (Top three scorers)

·        1^st Place:  Brian Diaz, Cesar Chavez

·        2^nd Place:  Cesar Bernall, Metro Tech

·        3^rd Place:  Jezreel Garcia, Metro Tech

AP Statistics (Top three scorers)

Statistic Winners 

·        1^st Place:  Briana Hutchinson, North

·        2^nd Place tie:  Jakob Bookspan, North

·        3^rd Place:  Arren Kimbel Sannit, North and Sophie Pallisard, North   

This year, we also recognized the Highest Score from each school and they received a certificate:  

AB Top Scorers from across the district 

AB: Isaac Lopez- Alhambra. Vivian Guillen - Trevor Browne, Miguel Gutierrez- Camelback, LingYu He and Raymond Seto-Central, Jesus Guzman Alvarado - Cesar Chavez, Victor Trejo- Carl Hayden, Christopher Betancourt- Maryvale, Giselle Montellano Saenz - Metro Tech and Connor Wade- South 

BC: Brian Diaz- Cesar Chavez and Cesar Bernal- Metro Tech 

Statistics: William Tith - Fairfax, Juan Solis and Julian Santos- Alhambra, Dolores Chavez and Melissa Espinoza- Ceasar Chavez and Briana Hutchinson- North 

Congratulations to the following schools for having the highest average on the Multiple Choice section of the exams!  They will receive their plaques in a few weeks. 

·        AP Statistics:  North 

North Statistics Team 

·        AP AB Calculus: Central

I also want to say thanks to our sponsors:   

·        Immedia:  Thank you for your continued support for PUHSD mathematics and providing the food for the event.

·        Phoenix Union Foundation for Education:  Thank you for sponsoring the AP readers and the beverages for the day.  

·        AP Readers:  John Jensen (Rio Salado Community College) and John Doherty (PUHSD-North).  The teachers and the students were grateful for the opportunity to learn from the AP Readers experience grading the AP exams.  Each reader gave the students an open forum to ask questions and I was impressed with our students and their abilities to ask important questions to support their own understanding of the exam. 

·        PUHSD Public Relations:  for providing the medals and the plaques! 

·        Camelback and Metro Tech:  Thank you for hosting the events.  Everyone at the campus was incredibly helpful and each event ran smoothly!

·        Last but not least, thanks to the AP Teachers!  This day would not happen without their continued support and guidance with improving our AP mathematics programs across the district. 

Once again, Thanks to everyone involved for making this a successful event for our students.