The Common Core State Standards
Secondary Protocol 2b:
Text Complexity
1
College and Career Readiness: Tools for Schools
Secondary Sequence
ELA Protocol 2a:
Structure of ELA
CCSS
Protocol 3a:
Structure of
Literacy in Content
Areas CCSS
Math Protocol 4a:
Structure of Math
CCSS
ELA Protocol 2b:
Text Complexity
Protocol 3b: Text
Complexity across
the Content Areas
Math Protocol 4b:
Mathematical
Practices
ELA Protocol 2c:
Written Argument I
Protocol 3c:
Written Argument I
in the Content
Areas
Math Protocol 4c:
Modeling in
Mathematics
ELA Protocol 2d:
Written Argument II
Protocol 3d:
Written Argument II
in the Content
Areas
Math Protocol 4d:
Mathematical
Progressions
Continuous Support from Complex and State; Feedback Loop
from Schools for Mid-Course Adjustments
Protocol 1: What
Works: Research
based Effective
Practices
Desired Outcomes
• General understanding of the three measures
of text complexity: quantitative, qualitative and
reader and task consideration
• General understanding of what a textdependent question is and why it is an
important tool to help students become
college and career ready
• Implications to consider for instruction
3
All Means All
• The Common Core State Standards articulate rigorous
expectations to prepare ALL students to be college and
career ready, including English language learners and
Special Education Students.
• These students likely will require additional instructional
support.
• English Language Proficiency Standards (ELP) for ELL
students are aligned to the CCSS.
Key Shifts in the CCSS
1. Read Text of Sufficient Complexity and Range
2. Read Closely to Analyze, Infer and Give Evidence
3. Write to Sources
4. Short, Focused Research
5. Written and Spoken Argument
6. Academic Vocabulary
7. Shared Responsibility for Literacy Development
Among All Teachers
5
Why is Text Complexity Important?
Complexity of K-12 texts have
eroded:
Complexity of college and career
texts have remained steady or
increased:
• High school textbooks have
declined in all subject areas
over several decades
• Lexile scores of college
textbooks have not decreased
in any block of time since 1962
and in fact have increased
• Average length of sentences in
K-8 textbooks have declined
from 20 to 14 words
• Vocabulary demands have
declined, e.g., 8th grade
textbooks equivalent to former
5th grade texts; 12th grade
anthologies equal to former 7th
grade
• Vocabulary difficulty of
newspapers has remained
stable
• Word difficulty of scientific
journals and magazines 1930–
1990 has increased since 1930
- Adapted from Susan Pimentel
Research: ACT Study
For college readiness:
“Performance on complex texts is the clearest differentiator
in reading between students who are likely to be ready for
college and those who are not”(ACT, 2006a).
For career readiness:
“According to an ACT (2006b) study of skills needed for
occupations that do not require a college degree but that
provide a living wage, the reading and mathematics skills
needed to obtain and hold these jobs are similar to those
needed to succeed in college” (Fisher, Frey, & Lapp, 2012).
What’s Wrong with the Simplified Text
Approach?
• Simplified texts are often synonymous with restricted,
limited, and thin in meaning
• Academic vocabulary can only be learned from complex
texts
• Mature language skills needed for success in school and
life can only be gained by working with demanding
materials
• No evidence that struggling readers catch up by
gradually increasing the complexity of simpler texts. . .
- Adapted from Susan Pimentel
Complex Texts for ALL Students
Lily Wong Fillmore (ELL scholar and researcher):
• Worried about the “gradual erosion of the complexity of texts”
offered to students, Fillmore suggested that when teachers offer
only simplified materials for students beyond the first year or two of
their learning English, it is “niceness run amok”.
• For the first year or two English learners need altered or alternative
texts, but asserted that “all students deserve the challenge of
complex texts”.
from - “With Rigor for All”, Carol Jago, 2011, p. 30
Lexile® levels today and with Common Core –
Rigor Increased 2-3 Grade Levels
(commoncoreinstitute.org)
Current
Common Core
Typical text measures
(by grade)
Text complexity grade bands
and associated Lexile ranges
Range of Reading and Level of Text
Complexity
Reading Anchor Standard #10
Read and comprehend complex literary
and informational texts independently
and proficiently.
How to Determine Text Complexity
“The Text Complexity Model”
Text complexity is defined by:
1. Quantitative measures – readability and
other scores of text complexity often best
measured by computer software.
2. Qualitative measures – levels of meaning,
structure, language conventionality and
clarity, and knowledge demands often best
measured by an attentive human reader.
3. Reader and Task considerations –
background knowledge of reader, motivation,
interests, and complexity generated by tasks
assigned often best made by educators
employing their professional judgment.
Reader and Task
Text Complexity Video
Microsoft Word
Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level
•Open text in Microsoft Word
•Turn on option to show readability statistics
•For PC Word 2007, click on:
•Office button
•Word options
•Proofing
•Show readability statistics
•Run Spelling & Grammar check
14
Quantitative Measures
Resources
Lexile Analyzer:
www.lexile.com/findabook/
AR BookFinder:
www.arbookfind.com
Common Scale
Common Scale for Band Level Text Difficulty Ranges
Text Analyzer Tools
Common
Core Bands: ATOS
2nd-3rd
2.75-5.14
DRP
42-54
FK
1.98-5.34
Lexile
420-820
4th-5th
4.97-7.03
52-60
4.51-7.73
6th-8th
7.00-9.98
57-67
9th-10th
9.67-12.01
11th-CCR
11.20-14.10
SR
0.05 – 2.48
RM
3.53 - 6.13
740-1010
0.84 – 5.75
5.42 - 7.92
6.51-10.34
925-1185
4.11 – 10.66
7.04 - 9.57
62-72
8.32-12.12
1050-1335
9.02 – 13.93
8.41 - 10.81
67-74
10.34-14.2
1185-1385
12.30 – 14.50 9.57 - 12
Qualitative Measures Resources
• Rubric for Literary Text
• Rubric for Informational Text
18
Text Complexity: Qualitative Measures Rubric for Informational Text
19
Reader and Task ConsiderationsResources
Questions for Professional
Reflection on Reader & Task
Considerations:
These questions are meant to
spur teacher thought and
reflection upon the text, students,
and any tasks associated with the
text.
20
Determining Text Complexity
A Four-step Process:
1. Determine the quantitative measures
of the text.
Common Scale for Band Level Text Difficulty Ranges
Text Analyzer Tools
Common
Core Bands: ATOS
2nd-3rd
2.75-5.14
DRP
42-54
FK
1.98-5.34
Lexile
420-820
4th-5th
4.97-7.03
52-60
4.51-7.73
6th-8th
7.00-9.98
57-67
6.51-10.34
9th-10th
9.67-12.01
62-72
11th-CCR
11.20-14.10
67-74
SR
0.05 – 2.48
RM
3.53 - 6.13
740-1010
0.84 – 5.75
5.42 - 7.92
925-1185
4.11 – 10.66
7.04 - 9.57
8.32-12.12
1050-1335
9.02 – 13.93
8.41 - 10.81
10.34-14.2
1185-1385
*Use this to place a text within a band.
2. Analyze the qualitative measures of
the text using the rubric.
*Use this to place the text at the top,
middle or bottom of the band.
3. Reflect upon the reader and task
considerations.
4. Recommend placement in the
appropriate text complexity band.
Reader and Task
12.30 – 14.50 9.57 - 12
Recommended Placement Form
Template for Text Complexity
Analysis and Recommended
Placement Form:
Text%Complexity%Analysis%of!___%
By%________________%
!
!
!
Text%Type:%_______________________%
Text%Description%
Recommended%Complexity%Band%Level%
! %
!
!
!
!
Quantitative%Measure%
Quantitative%Measure%of%the%Text:%
!
Range:%
!
Associated%
Band%Level:!
%
Qualitative%Measures%
The one-page template provides an
opportunity to record the thinking
involved in recommending the placement
of a specific text into a text complexity
band.
Text%Structure:%!
%
%
%
%
Language%Features:%!
%
%
%
!
Meaning/Purpose:%
!
%
%
%
!
Knowledge%Demands:%%!
!
!
Text%
Complexity%
Analysis%
of!___%
By%
________________%
!
!
!
Text%
Type:%
_______________________%
Considerations%
for%
Reader%
and%
Task%
Possible%
Major%
Instructional%
Areas%
of%
Focus%
(include%
3L4%
CCS%
Standards)%
for%
this%
Text:%
!
!
Keeping a record of such analysis and
thinking might be useful documentation
in the case that any questions arise in
the future.
Below!are!factors!to!consider!with!respect!to!the!reader!and!task:!
!
Potential%
Challenges%
this%
Text%
Poses:%
%
%
%
!
!
!
!
!
%
Differentiation/Supports%
for%
Students:%
!
!
!
Created!by!!!
!
!
Reviewed!by!_______________________(name,!state,!e4mail,!date)!
The Importance of the Placemats
The placemats are useful to:
• Help record the text complexity grade band
recommendation for a selected text
• Help identify what makes the text complex
• Help to inform what kinds of support will be needed for
all students to access and understand the text
Text Complexity, Close Reading, and
Text-Dependent Questions
• Research links the close reading of complex text – whether the
student is a struggling reader or advance – to significant gains in
reading proficiency and finds close reading to be a key component
of college and career readiness (Ericcson & Kintsch, 1993).
• Close reading is the methodical investigation of a complex text
through answering text-dependent questions geared to demystify
its meaning.
• Close reading forces students to extract evidence from the text as
well as draw inferences that logically follow from what they have
read.
What is a “Text-Dependent”
Question?
• It is a question that can only be answered by
referring explicitly back to the text being read
• It embraces the role of providing evidence from
the text and drawing inferences based on
consulting the text for answers
Importance of Text-Dependent
Questions
• Do not require information or evidence from outside the text
• Good questions linger over specific phrases and sentences
• Effective sequences of questions build on each other so students
stay focused on the text and learn fully from it
• 80-90% of reading standards require text-dependent analysis
• Yet, between 30 to 50% of Q’s in major textbooks are not textdependent
Let’s Look At Some Samples Together…
27
Which are Text-Dependent?
Which are NOT Text-Dependent?
• What are the people who are assembled at Gettysburg there to do?
• Have you ever been to a funeral?
• What is the unfinished work that Lincoln asks those listening to
commit themselves to at the end of the speech?
• Lincoln says that the nation is dedicated to the proposition that “all
men are created equal.” Why is equality an important value to
promote?
• Did Lincoln think that the north was going to “pass the test” that the
civil war posed?
• Why did Lincoln give this speech?
• Explain the logical progression of Lincoln’s argument.
Which are Text-Dependent?
Which are NOT Text-Dependent?
1. What are the people who are assembled at Gettysburg there to
Text-dependent
do?
2. Have you ever been to a funeral?
Not text-dependent
3. What is the unfinished work that Lincoln asks those listening to
commit themselves to at the end of the speech? Text-dependent
4. Lincoln says that the nation is dedicated to the proposition that “all
men are created equal.” Why is equality an important value to
promote? Not text-dependent
5. Did Lincoln think that the north was going to “pass the test” that
the civil war posed? Not text-dependent
6. Why did Lincoln give this speech?
Text-dependent
7. Explain the logical progression of Lincoln’s argument.
Text-dependent
Text-based answers
Students must
cite text to
support
answers
Questions tied
directly to the
text, but
extend beyond
the literal
Personal
opinions,
experiences,
and
connections to
the text are
minimized in
favor of what
the text
actually says
or doesn’t say
Questions are
purposefully
planned &
direct
students to
closely
examine the
text.
Tips: Helping Students Understand
Complex Texts
Teachers …
• Expose students to complex, grade-level text even if they are not
reading at grade-level
• Offer sequences of engaging text-dependent questions
• Offer extra supports to students who need it
• Place a premium on stamina and persistence
Students…
• Practice with lots of short, quality texts
• Slow down, read and re-read
• Take notes/annotate as you read
• Notice confusing parts
• Discuss the text
Fisher, Frey, & Lapp (2012). Text Complexity- Raising Rigor in Reading. Newark, DE: International Reading Association. p.
107.
31
Pimentel (2012). The Common Core State Standards: Priorities for Action [PowerPoint slides].
Reflections
• How might your understanding of text complexity
and text-dependent questions affect your
approach to curriculum, instruction and
assessment?
Commitment to Action
• As a department team, select common texts and use the
four-step process to determine the text complexity level
of each common text.
Possible Artifact: Completed Text Complexity Placemats (see
resources)
• As a department team, review the questions provided
with ELA common texts to determine if they are textdependent questions. Revise questions as needed.
(*Be sure to first determine that the texts used are at the appropriate level of text
complexity.)
Possible Artifact: A copy of revised/reviewed questions from
the selected ELA common text
Next Step:
Continue the Process
Read the handout “Guide for Creating Questions
for Close Analytic Reading” (see resources) to
understand the process of writing text-dependent
questions.
• Possible Artifact: A series of engaging textdependent questions to support student’s reading of
the selected text
Additional Resources
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
standardstoolkit.k12.hi.us
Rubrics for Text Complexity
Text Complexity Analysis Placemats
Common Core Appendix B
www.achievethecore.org
“Guide for Creating Questions for Close Analytic Reading” Handout
The Hunt Institute and CCSSO Common Core Implementation
Video Series
• “Text Complexity- Raising Rigor in Reading” (2012) by Douglas
Fisher, Nancy Frey, & Diane Lapp
• Video on text-complexity (15 min) http://vimeo.com/42791797
• http://www.smarterbalanced.org/smarter-balancedassessments/#item
PDE3 Survey Reminder:
https://pde3.k12.hi.us