Standards Analysis

The goal of this assignment is for you to not only become familiar with NCTE/IRA, the Michigan Language Arts, and Common Core Standards, but to be able to interpret, analyze and think critically about them.

The first step is to read the complete standards documents for Michigan, from 6th grade through 12th grade. That means reading all of the Michigan English 9-12 Language Arts Content Standards and the last three years of the Michigan K-8 standards (glancing at the earlier grades, 1-5, is also interesting).

The introductory material is crucial to interpreting the documents, so you will need to read through this carefully.

While the standards cover many aspects of language arts the focus for our class, and for your paper, should be on standards related to literature and reading.

You should also read the standards created by our national professional organizations, the NCTE/IRA Standards for the English Language Arts. While these standards do not have legal force -- they are not officially adopted by the US Department of Education or any other governmental body, they do represent the combined wisdom and research of the national professional organizations in the field of language arts instruction and thus can be appealed to by language arts teachers at all levels. These standards are obviously broader and fewer than the Michigan standards and thus leave more room for teacher interpretation.

Yet the Michigan standards also require significant interpretation -- and the ability to interpret these standards is what gives Michigan teachers the freedom they need to do teaching they believe in.

Now read the "Race to the Top" Common Core Standards for Language Arts. Consider how these compare to the Michigan Standards and NCTE Standards. As of 2010 Michigan has adopted the Common Core Standards which they view as compatable with their existing standards. What is your analysis of that?

Your short paper (3-4 pages) should make one important point about how the Michigan standards for reading or literature are compatible with Common Core Standards and one point about how the two documents differ. Illustrated each point by closely looking at one standard from each document. Quote that standard fully in your paper and carefully analyze it.

Demonstrate the skill of close and careful reading and your knowledge of good language arts teaching:

• What do individual words and phrases mean?
• How could the standard or content expectation be rewritten to be clarified or improved?
• What kind of teaching is allowed and encouraged by the standards you are examining?
• Does the standard or content expectation square with your understanding, from this class and others, of best practice teaching?
• What are the strengths and weaknesses of the standard or content expectation you are analyzing?

While focusing in on only 2 standards from the Michigan and Common Core standards, your paper should demonstrate awareness of all four documents (MI K-8, 9-12, NCTE/IRA, Race to the Top).

Created by: allen.webb@wmich.edu
Revised Date: 1/11