Tác động của việc áp dụng chuẩn chung giáo dục cho học sinh từ mẫu giáo đến phổ thông đối với giáo viên tại hoa kỳ

1 VIETNAM NATIONALUNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHER EDUCATION GRADUATION PAPER THE POTENTIAL IMPACT OF THE COMMON

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VIETNAM NATIONALUNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHER EDUCATION

GRADUATION PAPER

THE POTENTIAL IMPACT OF THE COMMON CORE STATE STANDARDS FOR ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS ON

K-12 TEACHERS IN THE UNITED STATES

Instructor: MS.HOÀNG THU PHƯƠNG (M.A) Student: NGUYỄN HÀ MY

Academic year: QH2010

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HANOI, MAY 2014

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ĐẠI HỌC QUỐC GIA HÀ NỘI TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ KHOA SƯ PHẠM TIẾNG ANH

KHOÁ LUẬN TỐT NGHIỆP

TÁC ĐỘNG CỦA VIỆC ÁP DỤNG CHUẨN CHUNG GIÁO DỤC CHO HỌC SINH TỪ MẪU GIÁO ĐẾN PHỔ THÔNG

ĐỐI VỚI GIÁO VIÊN TẠI HOA KỲ

Giáo viên hướng dẫn: THS HOÀNG THU PHƯƠNG Sinh viên: NGUYỄN HÀ MY

Khóa : QH2010

HÀ NỘI, 5/ 2014

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ACCEPTANCE PAGE

I hereby state that I: Nguyễn Hà My, QH2010.F1.E1, being a candidate for the degree of Bachelor of Arts (TEFL) accept the requirements of the College relating to the retention and use of Bachelor’s Graduation Paper deposited in the library

In terms of these conditions, I agree that the origin of my paper deposited in the library should be accessible for the purposes of study and research, in accordance with the normal conditions established by the librarian for the care, loan or reproduction of the paper

Signature

Nguyễn Hà My

Date

May 5, 2014

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would first liketo thank my supervisor, Ms Hoàng Thu Phương, for the guidanceand advice she provided throughout my time as her student I would also like to thank all the staff members at the Faculty of Linguistics and Cultures of English-speaking Countries and Ms NguyễnLêHường, who helped me in my supervisor’s absence during the first semester

I must pay homage to professor Kenji Hakuta and the 2013 Stanford University’s massive open online course named “Constructive classroom conversations: mastering language for the Common Core State Standards.” This is where my curiosity about k-12 education, U.S education policies, the standard movement and most importantly, my thesis topic were awakened

Completing this thesis would have been all the more difficult were it not for the excellent recommendation and assistance provided by the two witty intellectuals HiếuTrần and Enrique James Gomez Discussions with my senior QuânHồngNgô, M.A candidateLê Minh Nguyễn and my colleagueLêTùngSơn were illuminating as well I am very appreciative of the time they gave me.Additionally I should acknowledge my debt to

my cousin Nam Nguyễn, my two old classmates LêPhan and TrangĐỗ, my childhood friend LinhLinhNguyễnand my fellowQuyênVăn for granting me direct access to world- class library systems

Thanks are due to the members of my ‘owl’ class 10E1, especially LêThanhHà, also extended totumblr and my close friendsHaiAnhNguyễn and Herbie Kim who helped

me not to lose perspective upon things when I was under constant pressure

Last but not least, my heartfelt appreciation goes to my family: my mother, father, brother, sister-in-law and my newborn nephew who gave me a broad base of support throughout my undergraduate study

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ABSTRACT

For the first time in American history, there is a single set of educational standards for students from kindergarten to grade twelve, the Common Core State Standards, that are voluntary adopted by almost all states In spite of its first draft’s release only four years ago in 2010, the Common Core State Standards have already been considered the most significant shift in the modern American education, affecting a wide variety of groups such as students, parents, teachers, education leaders, etc However, there is a lack of comprehension ofthe Common Core State Standardsoutside the United

States, especially its effect on teachers and teaching preparation programs Hence, a

systematic understanding may help fill the gap of knowledge in not only the most date education initiative but also the rooted causes of future transitions in the American education system

up-to-This study aims at investigating the impact of the Common Core State Standards

on k-12 teachers and teaching preparation program, specifically the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts Secondary research method is employed and the steps involve data, content analysis and synthesis

On the basis of the investigation of the research, it can be concluded that for k-12 teachers there are up to some major changes that have already or likely to occur in their teaching profession, ranging from common expectations, goals, benchmarks for students; increased collaboration to changes in professional development and evaluation Even teachers of non-core subjects are also affected For the teacher preparation programs the study found that there are several substantial differences in student recruitment, disciplinary as well as professional courses, field experience and evaluation system

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Further research is recommended to study the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics or dig deeper into other areas of the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts

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Contents

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION 10

1.1 Statement of research question and rationale for the study 10

1.2 Research goals / objectives 12

1.3 Significance of the study 12

1.4 Scope of the study 13

1.5 Methodology 13

1.6 Organization of the study 15

CHAPTER II: OVERVIEW OF K-12 EDUCATION AND TEACHER PREPRATION PROGRAMS IN THE UNITED STATES 17

2.1 K-12 education in the US 17

2.2 K-12 educational standards in the U.S .18

2.3 K-12 teachers in the U.S 19

2.4 K-12 teacher preparation programs in the U.S 20

3.1 Overview of English Language Arts in the U.S .22

3.2 Overview of the Common Core State Standards 22

3.3 The Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts 24

3.3.1 The criteria that is used to develop the CCSS for ELA 24

3.3.1.1 Alignment with expectations for college and career success 24

3.3.1.2 Consistency across all states 25

3.3.1.3 Evidence and research-based 25

3.3.1.4 International benchmarking 27

3.3.2 The content of the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts 27

3.3.3Key shifts in the content of the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts 29

3.3.3.1 Regular practice with complex texts and their academic language 29

3.3.3.2Citing Evidence: Reading and writing grounded in evidence from text 31

3.3.3.3 Informational text: Building knowledge through content-rich nonfiction 32

3.3.4 The adoption of the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts 33

4.1 The impact of the CCSS for ELA on K-12 teachers’ expectations for students 35

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4.2 The impact of the CCSS for ELA on K-12 teachers’ goals and

benchmarks for students 36

4.3 The impact of the CCSS for ELA on K-12 teachers’ collaboration 36 4.4 The impact of the CCSS for ELA on K-12 teachers’ teaching techniques 38

4.5 The impact of the CCSS for ELA on in-service k-12 teachers’ professional development 39

4.6 The impact of the CCSS for ELA on U.S teachers’ evaluation system 41

4.7 The impact of the CCSS for ELA on K-12 teachers of non-core subjects 42

5.1 The impact of the CCSS for ELA on the student recruitment of teacher preparation programs 45

5.2 The impact of the CCSS for ELA on disciplinary courses of teacher preparation programs 46

5.3 The impact of the CCSS for ELA on teachers’ professional development courses 47

5.4 The impact of the CCSS for ELA on k-12 teachers’ field experiences 48 5.5 The impact of the CCSS for ELA on the evaluation system of teachers’ preparation programs 49

6.1 Summary 50

6.2 Limitations of the research 51

6.3 Suggestions for further research 51

REFERENCES 53

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CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Statement of research question and rationale for the study

In 1983 the U.S National Commission on Excellence in Education established a research report called A Nation at Risk: The Imperative for Educational Reform This publication is often considered a key event in modern U.S educational history as it pointed out that not only U.S student performance but also U.S schools were failing Additionally, since 1997 the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development has developed and administered theProgramme for International Student Assessment, an international survey allowing participating countries to compare their students' performance over time and assess the impact of education policy decisions (The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2013) The overall performance of the U.S is at or below average among countries participating in those assessments

As a result, a wave of standards-based reform has been swept over the U.S education system, pushing for more coherent policies because U.S education is widely accepted to be a function of individual states The emergence of this common standards movement represents one of the most important developments in education policy recently Two most well-known examples are the Improving America’s Schools Act in 1994 and the

No Child Left Behind Act in 2001 These two standards incorporate their way into reauthorizations of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (TESOL International Association, 2013) Yet they both suffer from some serious drawbacksanddid not produce the results they intended, namely to raise proficiency levels for all (TESOL International Association, 2013)

on an international level Unlike previous reform efforts, the CCSS represent state education policy leaders collaborating to improve the educational attainment of all students Thus, this new policy is often deemedto hold more promise than others in the past and is most visible and influential strand of the standards-based movement

As influential as the CCSS is to American education, it is undeniable that students also heavily influenced by the changes it brought upon Consider all the aspects where those changes are applied, teachers emerge

as the outstanding issue First, teachers are widely recognized to have a decisive role in students’ achievement regardless of age and gender Second, all the adjustments on curriculum and teaching content can only reach their expected outcome if the teachers are capable and properly trained to utilize them Thus, teacher training program is essential to ensure the success of CSSS

These reasons motivate the researcher to conduct a paper entitled

“The potentialimpact of the Common Core State Standards for English

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Language Arts on k-12 teachers and teacher preparation programs in the United States.”

1.2 Research goals / objectives

This study aims at investigating into the CCSS for ELA, enriching the knowledge and understandings associated with the standards movement as well as the education policy Specifically, the main objectives of this study

are:

 To systemize knowledge about the CCSS for ELA

 To analyze the practical and potential situations of the impact of the CCSS for ELA on k-12 teachers from different perspectives and a wide range of viewpoints

To achieve these aims above, this paper is carried out to address the following research questions:

(1) To what extent do the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts affect k-12 teachersin the U.S.?

(2) To what extent do the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts affect k-12 teacher preparation programs in the U.S.?

1.3 Significance of the study

American education policies are always a matter of concern to policy makers in other countries, as the U.S is among the leading education and political systems This paper provides not only a portrayal of the modern U.S education but also a critical perspective of the changing landscape of teaching profession in the U.S The paper therefore may serve as a reference

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in the American Studies course or for those interested in the field In addition, as Vietnam is constantly making changes and reforms that affect students and teachers alike, notably the recent changes in primary education policies, this paper can offer a comparison between Vietnam and the U.S in the way the two countries use policy changes as a means to improve education quality The study can also open various aspects of scientific research in relation with the CCSS or the standards-based education reform

1.4 Scope of the study

Regarding the CCSS, it is so broad a topic that can be found in many subjects (ELA, Mathematics), grade levels(k-12, higher education) or target audience (students, teachers, principals, state leaders, etc.) Due to the limitation of time and resources, the study could not cover all aspects of the CCSS but is limited to the impact of the CCSS for ELA for k-12 students

and teacher only Investigation into either:

 the adoption and/or implementation of the CCSS initiative for ELA

 the implications of the CCSS for ELA in higher education except for teacher preparation programs

 the impacts of the CCSS for ELA on principals, state leaders, school-level leaders

 any issues related to the CCSS for Mathematics

would be beyond this scope

1.5 Methodology

It is decided that the best method to adopt for this investigation is secondary research in which all data are collected from existing primary

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research and various sources of information such as books, articles, journals Afterwards, the relevant data are critically synthesized, analyzed and compared with specific focus on the impact of the CCSS for ELA on

In the first phase, the researcher identified the need for documents about the CCSS for ELA as well as teaching profession and teacher preparation programs in the U.S These were gathered from a wide range of credible sources from books, reports, journals to official universities' and libraries' websites All of the reports analyzed are independent research published by either prestigious research centers, education policy and strategy consulting firms or nonprofit organizations Similarly, other

Afterwards, the analyzed data would be synthesized which mean the researcher would find common points or relationships among the data, making data from different sources comparable At this time, the researcher was able to shed light on a new finding that contribute to the research In addition to comparisons, certain contrasts were made when necessary to point out the findings

1.6 Organization of the study

The remainder of the paper is organized into six chapters Chapter one,introduction, introduces the problem statement and described the specific problem addressed in the study as well as the design components.Chapter two,overview of k-12 education in the U.S, sets the background of the study by presenting the highlights of k-12 education including basic facts about k-12 teachers as well as teacher preparation programs Chapter three,overview of the CCSS for ELA,presents the significant features of the CCSS in general and the CCSS for ELA in particular In chapter four,the impact of the CCSS for ELA on k-12 teachers and chapter 5, the impact of the CCSS for ELA on teacher preparation programscontains an analysis of the informationand presentation of the

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CHAPTER II: OVERVIEW OF K-12 EDUCATION AND TEACHER PREPRATION PROGRAMS IN THE UNITED

STATES 2.1 K-12 education in the US

In the U.S education system, “K-12” stands for kindergarten to grade

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of basic education, including one year of kindergarten, six years of primary education, four years of junior high school and two years of senior high school.In 2001, the total number of k-12 schools in the U.S is 132,183 and the number of enrollment is 54,876,000(Aud, 2013)

Under U.S law, state legislatures exercise power over schools in any manner consistent with the state's constitution: "The powers not delegated

to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people" (U.S Const amend X) Each state carries a special burden of responsibility towards its own K-12 education The state department of education, often together with the state board of education, sets broad goals, implement standardized tests, and control state funding levels In addition, the state department of education is usually responsible for federal reporting; disbursing grants; providing information, resources and tools in support of local implementation of state and federal requirements (U.S Department of Education, 2005) State legislatures also often play a significant role in adopting fundamental education reforms, such as academic standards and new assessment systems Other key decisions regarding curriculum, disciplinary policy and human capital are made at the local level by local school boards, district superintendents and school-level leaders, such as

principals

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With respect to the role of the federal government, it is primarily funding and monitoring The federal government does not have direct control over any school's curriculum yet the U.S Department of Education plays an important role in several areas including:

 “Directing federal financial aid to states, districts, schools, and students;

 Collecting education statistics, evaluating programs and policies, and administering the National Assessment of Educational Progress;

 Implementing and monitoring the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (more commonly known as the No Child Left Behind Act), which requires states to set standards for each grade, test reading and math achievement in grades three to eight and once in high school and hold schools accountable for achieving adequate yearly progress;

 Offering competitive grants to states and local education agencies around specific programs, such as Race to the Top and School Improvement Grants.”

(The future ready project, 2012, p 8) States and localities are the primary sources of K–12 education funding About 87percent out of every dollar spent on education is estimated

to come from the state and local levels (43.5 percent from state funds and 43.8percent from local governments) while the federal government’s share is 12.7 percent(Aud, 2013) This division of funding support can be explained

by the U.S’s reliance on local control of education

2.2 K-12 educational standards in the U.S

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“Educational standards” is a commonly used notion in education & policy, yet it remains a difficult concept to define precisely Generally, educational standards have come to be used to refer to the knowledge and skills students should possess at critical points during their educational path They are the foundation upon which an education system is built including curriculum, instruction and assessment Furthermore, educational standards help teachers ensure their students have the skills and knowledge they need

to be successful by providing clear goals for student learning According to the U.S National Research Center (2001): "Standards serve as a basis of educational reform across the nation as educators and policy makers respond

to the call for a clear definition of desired outcomes of schooling and a way

to measure student success in terms of these outcomes.”

As explained in the previous section, under U.S Constitution the federal government cannot institute a national curriculum or national standards Instead, individual states have primary responsibility for the maintenance and operation of public schools, including the sets of educational standards defined by grade level Curriculum and assessment systems are then organized around these expectations in the core subject areas of English, mathematics, science, and social studies

2.3 K-12 teachers in the U.S

Unfortunately, a generally accepted definition of k-12 teachers is lacking In this paper, the term “k-12 teachers” is used in its broadest sense

to refer to all teachers as staff members who teach regularly scheduled classes to students in any of grades k-12

In the 2011–2012 school year, there were an estimated 3,850,100 k-12 teachers in the U.S (Aud, 2013) On average, they had about 14 years of

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experience Regular full-time teachers spent 52 hours per week on all school-related activities, including 31 hours per week that they were paid to deliver instruction to students(Snyder & Dillow, 2013) The average base salary of regular full-time teachers was higher in public schools ($53,100) than in private schools ($40,200); the average class size for public school teachers was 22 students in primary schools, 17 students in middle schools, and 18 students in high schools(Aud, 2013)

One aspect of k-12 teachers that receive much attention is professional development It is not only for teachers with low ratings but all teachers with

no exceptions The percentage of teachers that participated in any professional development in a period of12 months was 99 percent for public school teachers and 95 percent for private school teachers; about 85 percent

of public school teachers and 67 percent of private school teachers participated in professional development focused on the subjects they taught (Snyder & Dillow, 2013)

2.4 K-12 teacher preparation programs in the U.S

Teacher preparation programs ensure that teaching candidates are exposed to and mentored by effective teachers during their student teaching experience According to Snyder &Dillow (2013), during the academic year 2009–2010, 728,310 students were enrolled in teacher preparation programs while a total of 41,401 students finished these courses, having spent on average two years and thousands of tuition dollars to qualify for a teaching credential

In the U.S k-12 education system, teacher preparation programs are classified into two basic types termed traditional teacher preparation programs and alternative route program The former type, traditional teacher

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preparation programsmostly take four years to complete and generally include courses on pedagogy, academic content and courses on working with special populations such as students with special needs or English language learners According to U.S Department of Education (2013), a large majority (88 percent) of prospective teachers are enrolled in traditional teacher preparation programs

However, due to the shortages of either teachers in critical subjects or minority and male teachers, some U.S states startedalternateroute programs

as opposed to the traditional routes offered by colleges of education “They streamline the process of certification to move qualified candidates into the classroom on a fast-track basis.” (U.S Department of Education, 2013) Interested individuals must pass the same certification or licensure exams as their traditionally certified peers, but many of the other requirements such as course work in education philosophy or methods, pedagogy, practice teaching, etc are often shortened or waived entirely Usually, extra support

is given to these new teachers once they are in the classroom By reducing the barriers to entry, these programs enlarge the pool of potential teachers According to Snyder &Dillow (2013), about twelve percent of prospective teachers are enrolled in alternative route teacher preparation programs The components of alternative route teacher preparation programs vary but must provide intensive supervision for participating teachers In 2011, 45 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico reported that they had approved alternative route teacher preparation programs whereas nine states (Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Wyoming, American Samoa, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, and Virgin Islands) have not applied these programs

(U.S Department of Education, 2013)

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CHATER III: OVERVIEW OF THE COMMON CORE STATE

STANDARDS FOR ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS

3.1 Overview of English Language Arts in the U.S

According to Merriam-Webster dictionary (2013), “language arts” is

“the subjects (as reading, spelling, literature, and composition) that aim at developing the student's comprehension and capacity for use of written and oral language.” English language arts education incorporates the teaching and learning of reading, writing, speaking, listening, and viewing It is not perceived as individual content areas, but as one unified subject in which each of the five areas supports the others and enhances thinking and learning

In k-12 education, a locally developed language arts curriculum ensures all students are literate and can engage successfully in reading, discovering, creating, and analyzing spoken, written, electronic, and visual texts which reflect multiple perspectives and diverse communities and make connections within language arts and between language arts and other fields

3.2 Overview of the Common Core State Standards

According to the definition provided on the official website of the CCSS (2013), “the CCSS is a single set of clear educational standards for kindergarten through 12th grade in ELA and Mathematics” in the U.S In other words, these standards set the framework of the knowledge and skills that students need to develop and acquire after each school year as they progress from kindergarten to high-school graduation It also represents the next generation of k–12 standards designed to prepare all students for success in college, career and life Therefore, students are expected to have

by the best available evidence and the highest state standards in the U.S and across the globe Furthermore, they are designed to ensure that upon high school education students are prepared to go to college or enter the workforce and parents, teachers, and students have a clear understanding of what is expected of them The standards are benchmarked to international standards to guarantee that U.S students are competitive in the global

marketplace

Although the CCSS for ELA and math are for k-12, research from the early childhood and higher education communities also informed the development of the standards The authors of the CCSS argue that ELA and math are the only two subjects chosen for the CCSS to date because they are areas upon which students build skill sets that are used in other subjects However, there are plans to develop standards in other academic content

3.3 The Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts

3.3.1 The criteria that is used to develop the CCSS for ELA

3.3.1.1 Alignment with expectations for college and career success

The Career Readiness Partner Council (2010) suggests that career readiness is predicated on a person’s ability to adapt to and adopt a process

of lifelong learning “A career-ready person effectively navigates pathways that connect education and employment to achieve a fulfilling, financially secure and successful career.” Experts agree that to be career ready, students must possess core academic skills like ELA and they must be capable of applying those skills in context They must also have the necessary skills to effectively navigate the 21st century workplace and the technical, job-specific skills that enable them to succeed in a particular job or career pathway

The CCSS for ELA standards demand the development of skills that will serve students well in higher education and in the workplace Recent research conducted by the Educational Policy Improvement Center (2011) examined the knowledge and skills contained in the CCSS and the extent to which these standards are important and directly applicable to college and career readiness A survey of nearly 2,000 college instructors found they believe the standards to be a valid indicator of college and career readiness That is, students who are generally proficient in the CCSS will likely be ready for a wide range of postsecondary courses The survey also found that

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the greater the number of standards in which students are proficient, the more likely they will be prepared for postsecondary courses

3.3.1.2 Consistency across all states

The standards are designed to build upon the most advanced current thinking about preparing all students for success in college, career, and life This will result in moving even the best state standards to the next level In fact, since this work began, there has been an explicit agreement that no state would lower its standards College- and career-ready standards are needed because even in high‐performing U.S states, students are graduating and passing all the required tests but still need remediation in their postsecondary work

3.3.1.3 Evidence and research-based

Consistent with the commitment to research-based evidence, a variety

of sources were used These included research syntheses published by organizations expert panels convened by U.S federal government agencies and national subject-matter associations; scholarly journal articles, chapters, and conference presentations; reports by national organizations based on facultysurveys and analyses of the relationship between student performance onadmission tests and their grades in lower division course work; and reviewsof international test data and the standards of high-performing countries (McDonnell & Weatherford, 2013) The standards writers also reviewed existing state standards and the other frameworks Although they were not formal research studies, these reviews constituted a form of applied policy analysis in that the policy document underdevelopment was systematically compared with existing policies

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The report drew heavily on research using data from the Programme for International Student Assessment The report focused on US students’ low achievement, compared with international competitors and the achievement gap separating U.S students from different social and economic background It warned that the U.S is falling behind other countries in the resource that matters most in the new global economy that is human capital (Schmidt, 2011) Research alsoshows that standards in high-performing countries are characterized by focus (fewer topics covered at greater depth), rigor, and coherence (an orderly progression of topics).In short, research was used to guide critical decisions in the following areas:

 “Whether particular content should be included: One of the principal ways the research and evidence were used in the development process was as a guide when making tough decisions about whether content should be included or excluded

 When content should be introduced and how that content should progress: For example, the progression of topics in the international mathematics standards helped the development team make decisions about when to introduce topics in the CCSS as well as when to stop focusing on them

 Ensuring focus and coherence: Standards from other countries tend to be very focused, including only what is absolutely necessary

 Organizing and formatting the standards: Certain organizational aspects or characteristics of international standards that

during the development of the CCSS

3.3.2 The content of the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts

The CCSS for ELA includes two categories of standards The first is a list of College and Career Readiness standards in each of five strands (reading, writing, listening speaking and language) These College and Career Readiness standards are broad statements about what students should know and be able to do in each strand by the time they graduate from high school The second category includes grade-appropriate learning expectations for k-12 These expectations are designed to provide additional specificity by translating the College and Career Readiness standards into detailed, grade-specific learning objectives In grades six to twelve, the