Frequently Asked Questions
Part 100:
Q & A: English
Language Arts Related to Commissioner's Regulations Part 100
What are Learning Standards?
Learning Standards are an established level or degree of quantity, value, or quality. They are defined as the knowledge, skills, and understandings that individuals can and do habitually demonstrate over time as a consequence of skilled instruction and experience. In 1996, the New York State Regents approved 28 learning standards in seven content areas. The English language arts website is www.emsc.nysed.gov/ciai; click on the logo of Shakespeare.
Are English language arts learning standards applicable to all content areas?
Success in school and in life is determined in large part by competence in language. As a significant means for developing students' abilities to use their minds well, language is a central factor in learning for all students and in all disciplines. Thinking creatively, making informed and reasoned judgments, producing and inventing, critiquing and analyzing - all are facilitated through language. As a lifelong resource, skillful use of language is valued in all areas of our lives in which we participate - as adults, as parents, as workers, and as members of social and civic organizations. In fact, skillful use of language may be the single most important means of realizing the overarching goal of education.
What is the 2005 English Language Arts Core Curriculum?
The core curriculum is an outline that provides an additional level of specificity to the ELA learning standards. It respects the tradition of local (school/district) choice in New York that empowers educators to select texts, identify products, and use a rich array of instructional strategies and activities to meet student-learning needs. Local school districts organize, plan, and align local curriculum around NY State standards and core curriculum and, in so doing, shape and implement their local philosophy.
What are the Learning Standards for English Language Arts?
For each standard, students will read, write, listen, and speak* for
- Information and Understanding | Standard 1
- Literary Response and Expression | Standard 2
- Critical Analysis and Evaluation | Standard 3
- Social Interaction | Standard 4
*Receptive language skills are listening and reading; expressive language skills are writing and speaking.
What are key ideas?
Key ideas are the major domains (skills, knowledge, or ideas) that define fields of study or areas of learning. Key ideas define the respective learning standards in specific content areas or fundamental skills (e.g., reading, writing, listening, speaking).
What are performance indicators?
Performance indicators are descriptions of required student-achievement expectations or student skills. With the enactment of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), NYS has delineated the performance indicators grade-by-grade, prekindergarten through grade 12.
How might ELA standards be used to strengthen local curriculum?
Locally developed programs for raising student achievement and improving professional practice are most effective when they are:
- initiated by those involved in implementation
- developed in a culture of shared inquiry
- focused on a common mission that integrates local priorities with State policies and purposes
Is it local choice for a school/district to instruct in manuscript (print) and/or cursive writing?
Yes, the English Language Arts Core Curriculum (2005), available at http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/ciai/ela/elarg.html, gives guidance regarding handwriting instruction. It states: students will use legible manuscript (print) and/or cursive writing. The instructional approach to teaching handwriting is a local decision.
Are samples of learning experiences (lesson plans) available?
There are thousands of learning experiences/lesson plans - a number of which are available on the Internet. However, not all of them are aligned to NYS learning standards. New York State's Virtual Learning System (VLS) features learning experiences that have been peer-reviewed through the NYS Academy for Teaching and Learning. For samples of learning experiences, please refer to the Virtual Learning System (VLS) at http://eservices.nysed.gov/vls. Expansion of this collection is a major priority of the Education Department.
What is New York State's Virtual Learning System - VLS?
The purpose of the New York State Education Department's Virtual Learning System is to encourage the use of the Internet as a tool for teaching and learning and to provide help to classroom teachers in locating and using Internet resources for instruction.
VLS presents the definitive set of New York State's learning standards, including the full text of the 28 standards and their respective key ideas and performance indicators, as well as the alternate performance indicators for students with severe disabilities.
VLS offers resources that classroom teachers can use to support preK-12 standards-based instruction, such as sample tasks and learning experiences. Other teaching resources, including those from the State Library, Public Broadcasting Services, and Archives, are also available.
What is the recommended, minimal number of books students should read per year?
Students will read a minimum of 25 books, or the equivalent, per year, across all content areas (subjects) and standards.
What is the recommended, minimal AMOUNT of students writing per year?
Students will write at least 1,000 words per month across all content areas (subjects) and standards.
Does the New York State Education Department have required reading, spelling, or vocabulary lists?
The Education Department does not have a statewide curriculum. It issues core curriculum outlines that indicate the topics and skills that must be included in relation to the standards for those subjects. The core curriculum outlines afford school/districts autonomy to make local decisions regarding particular materials for (e.g., required books) and the sequencing and pacing of courses.
It is the local school/districts' responsibility to design curriculum which will provide students opportunities to reach New York State learning standards.
For additional information regarding New York State English language arts standards, please refer to the 2005 English Language Arts Core Curriculum.
What is the current status of the “Regents Policy Statement on Middle-Level Education”?
The NYS Board of Regents is continually updating the public regarding its meetings and agendas. For current information on this important topic, please refer to www.regents.nysed.gov.
What is contained in The website: “Part 100 of the Regulations of The Commissioner of Education”?
This website, http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/part100/opener.html, provides information about general education and graduation requirements. Links to regulatory language, questions/answers regarding policy, appropriate program offices, resource materials, and "hot topics" are included.
What is AIS - Academic Intervention Services?
AIS is additional instruction intended to assist students who are at risk of not achieving the State learning standards in English language arts, mathematics, social studies and/or science. For additional information, please refer to www.emsc.nysed.gov/part100/pages/topics.html#Academic Intervention Services.
What is Peer-Assisted Learning, and does it work?
The following is excerpted from the What Works Clearinghouse: www.whatworks.ed.gov
.
- a federal website which "provides educators, policymakers, researchers,
and the public with a central and trusted source of scientific evidence
of what works in education."
Peer-assisted practices are designed to improve academic outcomes by using students to teach one another in pairs or small groups. Interventions that use pairs or small groups of students to teach one another in schools (PALs) have been developed to engage children in learning and increase their academic achievement. PAL is widely used; in fact, two-thirds of classroom teachers engage students in work with their peers on a weekly basis, and as many as 50 percent of teachers receive training on PAL interventions annually. To date, 300 studies have been found on Peer-Assisted Learning.
What are New York State's graduation requirements for English?
According to Part 100 of the Regulations of the Commissioner for Education,
to receive a Regents-endorsed diploma, a score of 65 shall be considered
passing. Please refer to
http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/deputy/Documents/june05-diplomachart.shtml
What English language arts tests are given to PreK-12 students in New York State?
Beginning in the 2005-2006 school year, under the federally mandated No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), New York State will replace the Grade 4 and 8 testing program with the new grades 3-8 testing program. The Regents Comprehensive Examination in English language arts at the commencement level will remain the same.
What are the dates for the Elementary- and Middle-Level ELA State assessments for the Grade 3-8 Testing Program
The New York State Education Department, Office of Standards, Assessment and Reporting, is committed to informing the public of all important State-administered testing dates, including releasing schedules for upcoming testing dates.
For additional information, please refer to http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/osa/sched.html
What are the New York State approved Alternative Examinations for meeting the requirements for a local or Regents diploma?
The New York State Department of Education Assessment Panel meets periodically
to review proposals for alternative assessments to the Regents examinations
and to make recommendations to the Commissioner of Education about whether
the proposed alternatives should be approved. Several examinations have
been approved, and the minimum acceptable scores have been set. A complete
listing of all SED-approved alternative assessments may be found at
PDF http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/osa/hsgen/list.pdf
HTML http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/osa/hsgen/list.htm
What are New York State Alternate assessments?
The New York State Alternate Assessment (NYSAA) for students with severe disabilities is a data folio assessment in which students demonstrate their performance toward meeting the alternate performance indicator level of the NYS learning standards. These alternate performance indicators were developed for students with severe disabilities and are in a publication entitled, The Learning Standards and Alternate Performance Indicators for Students with Severe Disabilities. For additional information, please refer to http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/ciai/sate/altassessmentpart1.pdf
What website might be accessed to learn more about education services for students with disabilities?
The Office of Vocational and Educational Services for Individuals with Disabilities (VESID) is the best source of information regarding State law, regulation and policy governing the education of students with disabilities. This information is available at www.vesid.nysed.gov
What are Testing Accommodations for Students With Disabilities?
Many students with disabilities require testing accommodations in order
to participate in testing programs on an equal basis with their nondisabled
peers. Such accommodations provide students with the ability to demonstrate
mastery of skills and attainment of knowledge without being limited or unfairly
restricted due to the effects of a disability. For information on testing
accommodations for students with disabilities, please see Test Access & Accommodations
for Students with Disabilities: Policy and Tools to Guide
Decision-Making and Implementation. http://www.vesid.nysed.gov/specialed/publications/policy/testaccess/policyguide.htm
How can I participate in the state's English Language Arts program?
The Education Department values teachers' expert opinion in guiding this important work and encourages increased involvement from all parts of the State. SED has recently issued a Call for Expertise to solicit teacher interest in state-level work. Your name will be entered into our database maintained by the Curriculum, Instruction and Instructional Technology Team. After you enter your information, you will be contacted by SED if you are selected to participate in a future curriculum committee.
If you are interested in writing items/test questions for the Regents Comprehensive
Examination in English or participating in the rangefinding, item review,
final eyes, or passage selection for the Grades 3-8 ELA Testing Program,
please visit the following SED sites:
Grades 3-8 Testing Program recruitment:
http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/3-8/recruitment.htm
Regents Comprehensive Examination in English item writer training:
http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/osa/itemwriterapp.htm
Is the "Call for Expertise" available in all content areas?
Yes, the "Call for Expertise" has been solicited by all content areas and is accessed from a number of sites. However, regardless of where the "Call for Expertise" is completed, the information is registered in a central database for use by all offices in SED.
Who do I contact for more information about English language arts studies at SED?
Please contact one of the Associates listed below.
Office of Curriculum, Instruction, and Instructional Technology
(CIIT):
Erik Sweet at esweet@mail.nysed.gov
(518) 474-5922