The Common Core Standards, the BrainPOP Mixer and Related Readings
Posted by Andrew Gardner on
With the large scale adoption of the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts and Mathematics, the education world is preparing for impending assessments beginning in 2014. The 2014 assessments are being developed by two organizations: PARCC, the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers and the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium. The exact formats for the assessments are currently undetermined as the organizations work with various stakeholders to create them. However, we do know that the assessments will continue to include “selective response” or multiple choice and open-ended, “constructive response” questions that require students to share processes and demonstrate understanding in ways rarely measured before on standardized tests.
Fortunately, BrainPOP’s Mixer™ tool allows you to find or create your own “open response” questions, perfect for capturing “evidence based” answers that are more difficult to assess via standard multiple choice. Using the Mixer, you can explore pre-written open-ended questions by clicking the filter and selecting “open-ended,” or write your own. Either way, the open-ended question format can elicit higher order thinking from your students – the kind that will be assessed on the future tests.
Looking for good question prompts? Take a look at the Related Reading section on each of our topic pages. Full of high-interest reading, statistics and fun facts, the Related Reading can serve as an invaluable stimulus around which to build your questions.
By creating your own quiz with open-ended Mixer questions aligned to the Common Core and shaped by the Related Reading, you can support your students’ achievement with BrainPOP, a resource they already love.
These new standards have established a very high bar for student achievement, and we’re pleased to support you and help your students along the way! Be sure to visit our BrainPOP and the Common Core support page for more information.
