Common Assignment Study

By:  Renee Boss

The Common Assignment Study is a research study bringing together teachers from Kentucky and Colorado with a mission of creating units of study that will meet the demands of learning needed to ensure College and Career Readiness. English language arts, science, and social studies teachers from both states gathered recently in Seattle to begin creating the first unit they will teach this fall.  Based on recent successes with Literacy Design Collaborative (LDC) in our state and across the nation, the research study extends the use of LDC as it was always intended to be a module within a larger unit of study.  Though the units being designed include embedded LDC modules within a context of Understanding by Design (UbD), they also leave room for some teacher flexibility to meet the needs of individual students in each classroom.

With support from content experts at Stanford Center for Assessment Learning and Equity (SCALE), the teachers are emerging as teacher leaders who know what good teaching looks like.  With Kentucky’s new Professional Growth and Effectiveness System (PGES) emphasizing the importance of every student being taught by an effective teacher and every school being led by an effective principal, one hope is that the Common Assignment Study (CAS) is in a unique position to inform the various measures.

In addition to the teachers working collaboratively with one another, there are numerous organizations collaborating to support the work.  Already mentioned is the support of SCALE; the Kentucky Department of Education serves as a thought partner on the project, and The Fund continues to learn from the Colorado Legacy Foundation (an organization similar to The Fund that was established several years ago).  Of course, a research study would not be complete without researchers (Center for Assessment and Research for Action), and none of the work would be happening without the generous support of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

U.S. History teachers share their unit overview

In an upcoming post we will share more details about the project partners.  If you have questions about the Common Assignment Study, please contact Renee Boss at renee.boss@thefundky.org.