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CERT English Standards for California High School Graduates

Many California high school graduates do not have the English skills necessary to take full advantage of career opportunities and postsecondary study. To address this, the California Education Round Table, comprised of the state-level leaders of education from grade school through university, took the unprecedented step of calling for a consensus on the English knowledge and skills which all students should demonstrate by the time they are graduated from high school and enter the workforce or a postsecondary institution. The Round Table established a task force on English to agree on content standards for high school graduation. The Round Table members are convinced that a statewide consensus on content standards is necessary to improve instruction and student performance. Clear content standards will represent benchmarks for teachers, parents, students, and the public.

The eighteen members of the English Task Force were selected by the California Education Round Table. The majority of the task force was appointed by the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Delaine Eastin. Her appointees included high school teachers, school and district administrators, parents, and community and business members. In addition, the heads of the systems of higher education made faculty appointments through their academic senate organizations. Individuals were also included who had previously participated in the task forces established by the Superintendent of Public Instruction to consider student performance in reading and mathematics. Although not every organization or interest group could be represented among the members of the task force, its composition assured a wide spectrum of viewpoints. Consensus about content standards traditionally has been difficult to achieve; however, in developing each English content standard the task force members reached consensus across a broad cross-section of views. These are the only English content standards which have been developed for California schools by representatives of the K-12 education and postsecondary communities, together with community and business members.

Content Standards for Academic Achievement
One key element in meeting the challenge of improving academic achievement is to make clear what is expected of students by the time they complete high school. To develop the content standards, the English Task Force members asked, “What should all students know, understand, and be able to do in the areas of reading, writing, speaking, and listening, to move successfully into the 21st century?” To answer this question, the English Task Force members created content standards that can be achieved by all students and are equivalent to a rigorous, four-year high school English curriculum.

Content standards guide the curriculum. Although each teacher may have a particular understanding of what should be taught according to the state English–Language Arts Framework and school and district policies, it is important to have a statewide consensus about basic knowledge, concepts, or skills which students should master to complete high school. The absence of consensus on explicit standards can result in students being unable to begin college-level coursework or to meet the requirements in the job market without remediation, even though they have completed coursework with good or outstanding grades.

The English Task Force was guided by the knowledge that content standards must be connected to the development of performance standards. Performance standards are designed to indicate what individual students have to do and how they can meet or exceed proficiency in the knowledge, skills, and abilities set forth by content standards. The English Task Force has recommended that subsequent Round Table committees set performance standards that specify the student performance levels expected of all high school graduates.

The content standards for all students are the same; however, higher performance standards relative to a given content standard may be expected of students planning on technical careers or for admission to universities.

Guiding Principles
To develop the content standards, task force members adopted five guiding principles.

1. Content Standards for All Students
   The English content standards establish expectations for all students, regardless of their future educational goals or career aspirations. All students, including English Language Development (ELD) students, should be taught the core curriculum as described in the English–Language Arts Framework, which is consistent with the English content standards. The only appropriate exception to mastery of these content standards will be some students in designated Special Education programs.
   
   For an increasing number of California high school students, English is their second language. K-12 educators must use varied approaches to enable these students to meet the same content standards expected of all students exiting high school. ELD students should be evaluated with appropriate and valid assessments that are aligned with state and local content standards and take into account language acquisition stages. For some ELD students, additional instructional support including specialized English language development and access to the curriculum through primary language, will be required to meet the content standards.

2. Opportunities for All Students to Learn and Succeed
   As local school systems seek to raise content and performance standards to attain better student outcomes and opportunities, it is critical that all students be offered equal access to the common core curriculum. For all students to meet the content standards, they must be provided with sufficient educational opportunities. School districts must provide students with instructional time, an appropriate developmental process, and resources so that all students receive a fair opportunity to demonstrate their proficiency in meeting the content standards.
   
   For ELD students, it is important that English-as-a-Second Language, English, and foreign language classes (such as Spanish for Spanish speakers) provide an integrated curriculum which addresses their language-arts needs.
   
   All students should be directed through a program which prepares them to meet the content standards. For those students who are not showing adequate progress toward meeting the content standards, there need to be options including reading courses, summer school, continuing education, intensive tutoring, alternative education, and adult education.
   
   To help students meet the content standards as effectively and efficiently as possible, it is crucial that their teachers, whether at the secondary or postsecondary level, be trained in teaching English as a second or foreign language, as recommended in the document California Pathways. In school districts where there are significant numbers of English Language Development students, teachers in all subject areas should meet the state Bilingual, Cross-cultural, Language, and Academic Development (B-CLAD) or the Cross-cultural, Language, and Academic Development (CLAD) competencies for teaching ELD students. These include proficiency in the first language, knowledge of the structure of English and language acquisition, methods of teaching English as a second language, and intercultural communication. Teacher education programs must ensure that future teachers are B-CLAD or CLAD credentialed. School districts and universities can cooperate to provide in-service training for experienced teachers whose credential programs did not include these competencies.

3. High But Attainable Content Standards
   Throughout their deliberations, the task force grappled with the appropriate “level of pitch” for each standard. If standards are raised too high, the end result could be more student failure. If standards are not set high enough, the result could be the continued failure to prepare students adequately for their futures. The task force, therefore, sought to develop high but attainable content standards. Unless substantial numbers of students meet the content standards, the overall objective–to increase postsecondary and employment options for California’s students–will not have been met. Achieving a high level of proficiency in reading, writing, speaking, and listening will enable students to pursue a wide array of postsecondary educational opportunities, as well as a variety of introductory jobs. Students who do not achieve proficiency in English will be hampered in their ability to compete for the best jobs and educational opportunities. The ultimate test for each standard has been: What is absolutely essential for a literate high school graduate to know, understand, and be able to do?

4. Content Standards–A Schoolwide Responsibility
   By establishing the English content standards as a priority for academic achievement across the curriculum, educators can provide the conditions by which students can meet them. The content of the standards should be taught throughout a student’s high school career, and infused throughout the high school curriculum. Students should be expected to read widely and in-depth, and to write for a variety of audiences and purposes in all subject areas as well as in English classes.

5. Alignment with College and University Admissions
   These content standards are aligned with the recommendations of postsecondary institutions for entrance into their Freshman English programs. Because student performance levels will vary, meeting these standards will not assure automatic admission into college. Students who demonstrate mastery of these standards are ready for college-level course work without remediation.

Commitment to Support Implementation
These content standards, which have been developed collaboratively by K-12 with higher education, should be considered as a resource that districts can use to raise levels of student achievement. Many districts have already recognized the educational value of setting clear standards and are moving forward with the adoption of content standards. Ensuring that students are able to meet these higher content standards will require a substantial commitment from all those associated with education. For some schools it will take several years to implement the content standards as applied to all students. Successful implementation requires that all students be supported by an education system which ensures that they have a full opportunity to learn regardless of socioeconomic status or language background. Resources at each school site must support students’ mastery of these content standards.

In addition to school-site resources, all stakeholders–from the local level to the state level–must be part of the equation designed to prepare students well:

• Elementary and middle schools need to prepare their students to meet high standards that are in alignment with these standards so that their students can succeed in high school.

• Schools must engage parents and the community to help students reach the new content standards. Parents need to hold schools accountable for providing the educational environment that will result in student success. Parents need to know and understand the increased expectations required to attain a high school diploma.

• Students must be prepared to work harder and accept the responsibility for their own learning; they should realize that teachers, parents, and other students can help them to learn but can not learn for them.

• All teachers must be provided with ongoing professional development opportunities that will enable them to employ instructional methods and strategies to help students meet the new levels of mastery and attainment.

• Prospective employers and postsecondary institutions must work with the public schools to implement these standards.

• Schools of education must strengthen their teacher credentialing programs so that prospective teachers, especially those teaching English language learners, can teach to these standards.

• The Governor and the Legislature must provide sufficient resources to support the implementation of the content standards at the local level.

Providing the opportunities for students to succeed is the responsibility of the entire educational system. Every level of the educational enterprise must be prepared to increase significantly its commitment to the improvement of language arts instruction, if the attainment of the content standards by all students is to be realized.

Overview of the English Content Standards
The recommended English content standards cover six comprehensive topics: Reading; Writing; Grammar, Conventions, and Usage; Speaking and Listening; Literature; and Using Information. Each content standard describes what students should know, understand, and be able to do to meet the standard and includes examples of individual, small group, or whole class activities that would, in part, produce evidence of meeting the content standard. A compendium of annotated samples of student work illustrates achievement of the content standards, shows which standards the samples meet, identifies the samples’ strengths and limitations, and makes suggestions for improvement.

The content standards are designed to fit together; there is an intentional overlap between and among them: for example, meeting a reading content standard can be demonstrated through writing and/or speaking. Similarly, progress towards meeting a writing content standard can be demonstrated though the use of literature and by showing facility with the conventions of grammar and usage. The content standards are meant to integrate reading, writing, speaking, and listening, and their applicability crosses the traditional lines of subject-matter disciplines. Students may meet the content standards, for example, by including writing samples from history or science classes, engaging in speaking opportunities in their civics and mathematics classes, and demonstrating listening in formal situations when attending a guest lecture.

The Reading Content Standards indicate the kinds of materials students should read and what students should be able to show about what they have read through written or oral work. Using a variety of texts, students should employ many strategies to analyze and evaluate what they read and make connections between texts and experiences in and out of school.

The Writing Content Standards describe several types of writing that students could employ to communicate to others or for self-reflection. Among other purposes, students’ writing may inform, persuade, or entertain intended readers or organize and clarify students’ thinking. The various types of writing recommended in these content standards may be demonstrated in an English–language arts curriculum and across disciplines.

The Content Standards for Grammar, Conventions, and Usage make clear the expectations for comprehensible writing and speaking. By understanding and employing the conventions of writing, students should be able to use grammar, spelling, punctuation, and diction that are appropriate to their purposes and intended audiences. Similarly, students should be able to use conventions in oral presentations that are understood and well received by their audiences.

The Speaking and Listening Content Standards encompass both informal and formal communication situations: for example, students should be able to express themselves orally through the use of appropriate language when participating in group discussions. Similarly, students should listen actively to understand another’s point of view or to identify how one opinion differs from another.

The Literature Content Standards emphasize the value of reading excellent fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and drama, not only for pleasure and aesthetic value, but also to interpret histories, societies, other cultures, and common human experiences. Through the exposure to texts of high quality, students improve their thinking, reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills.

The Using Information Content Standards involve finding, analyzing, using and communicating information as fundamental to students’ abilities to process and think critically about the wide variety of printed and visual information that surrounds them. Students’ abilities to consider the meaning of new information, make knowledgeable inquiries, and produce useful information emphasize the kinds of analytical and problem-solving skills that are key to helping students understand and interact with the world around them.

The English Task Force does not expect students to reveal inappropriate personal or private information about themselves or their families to meet the content standards.

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