We are excited to work together with teachers to transform expectations for all students. As a first step, we encourage all teachers to begin to review and become familiar with the Common Core State Standards.
You can download them directly from the following links. You can also learn more from the Common Core website 
, particularly from the appendices.
In addition to reviewing the new standards, we encourage you to begin exploring in your teacher teams what instructional tasks might look like that are aligned to the rigor expected from CCSS.
Optional PD Opportunity for Teachers
There will be special Saturday Common Core State Standards professional development opportunities that is optional for all CPS teachers, the first set is scheduled for October 22nd and 29th. See flyer 
for details.
Please find the complete set of slides, including breakout sessions here 
.
Your Instructional Leadership Team will provide additional guidance and supports during the year. In addition, return to this page for updates on supports and other opportunities to learn more. As they become available, we will also be posting online samples of rigorous tasks, exemplars of student work, and unit plans.
Common Core Assessment
In order to better aid teachers and teacher teams in learning about the demands of the new Common Core State Standards (CCSS), we are introducing a new assessment aligned to the standards that will be delivered to all 2nd-8th graders (with testing for 2nd grade optional in the first semester). It is important to note that this assessment will not be used for accountability purposes, but will be used to help us begin to identify implications for instruction and planning so that we can begin to make adjustments this year. This year, the assessment will only consist of multiple-choice with extended response items aligned to a subset of Common Core reading and math standards. As we continue to learn more about the standards, and receive your ongoing feedback, the assessment tool will become more sophisticated and refined, eventually incorporating meaningful performance tasks that will measure a student's ability in more authentic ways. This assessment represents our first step towards creating a system that measures student progress on the Common Core State Standards, and we are excited about the kind of conversation it will foster regarding instruction.
Please find a guide that details the purpose and structure of the assessment, along with specific logistics for administering the assessment here .
Lesson Study Conference—October 28th
Teachers are invited to learn about lesson study, a practice where participants work together to analyze lesson content and student learning. The type of in-depth analysis that comes from lesson studies can help to transform instructional practice to reach alignment with Common Core mastery. Learn more here .
Resources