Hello, Colleagues:
Attached is the August 2023 Secondary ELA Newsletter. Please feel free to share with interested parties.
Thank you,
Naomi
Naomi Watkins, Ph.D.
Secondary English Language Arts Specialist
Utah State Board of Education
(801) 538-7616
Error on USBE Graduation Course List
We were alerted to an error on the "Current Courses Meeting the Criteria for Graduation Requirements<https://www.schools.utah.gov/curr/graduationrequirements?mid=1014&tid=2>" today and wanted to notify you. The error has been corrected and will be loaded on our website shortly. In the meantime, please refer to the attachment for the corrected version. Specifically, Debate 1 had been unintentionally removed from the course list for as an option for ELA Applied and Advanced Courses. Debate 1, 2, and 3 are all eligible for ELA credit. We apologize for the error. If you have any questions, please contact Naomi.Watkins(a)schools.utah.gov<mailto:Naomi.Watkins@schools.utah.gov>
Naomi Watkins, Ph.D.
Secondary English Language Arts Specialist
Utah State Board of Education
(801) 538-7616
I know this may look identical to what I just forwarded, but it’s not. 😊
***
Greetings, Utah ELA Educators,
We are excited to announce a RISE ELA assessment development workshop opportunity coming soon. Below is a description of the RISE ELA Item Content Alignment Workshop. The workshop has a survey form to be completed for consideration to be selected to participate in the workshop.
RISE ELA Item Content Alignment Workshop
Monday September 25, 2023
ELA Grades 6-8
The purpose of the ELA Alignment Review is for Utah educators to advise the Utah State Board of Education on the content alignment of current test items. Educators will review ELA items in the current Summative and Interim assessment banks in order to determine if the items align to the revised Utah State English Language Arts Standards. The training at the beginning of the item content review meeting covers aspects of alignment to the revised ELA standards and how to use the Content Rater tool. CAI content specialists facilitate these reviews and include USBE content specialists in all meetings and post-meeting resolution.
Location: Utah State Board of Education offices at 250 E 500 S, Salt Lake City, UT, 84111
Date: Monday September 25, 2023
Time: 8:00AM to 4:00PM. There will be breaks throughout the day.
Food: Breakfast, Lunch and an Afternoon Snack will be provided
Compensation/Substitute: Substitute reimbursement is offered to schools for teachers who participate in the meeting on school time. Please be sure to discuss this time out of the classroom/school with school administration. Educators whose school is not in session, or who use a personal day for the meeting, may receive a stipend of $210 for the day. Travel reimbursement will be provided for every educator who participates. Travel reimbursement is calculated based on the distance the participant has to travel. Every educator who participates will receive 8 relicensure points per day.
Lodging: Participants qualify for hotel lodging if they have to travel 50 miles or more ,one way, from their home to the location.
Note: Please know that there is limited space, so all respondents are not guaranteed a spot. Committee participants are chosen to comprise an accurate representation of Utah educators. We will let you know by Tuesday, August 22, 2023, if you are chosen to participate to make the appropriate arrangements.
To register for consideration to participate in the RISE ELA Grades 6-8 Item Content Alignment Review, please complete this survey by Sunday August 20, 2023 (you do not need to respond to this email unless you have any questions or concerns): https://forms.gle/hSfB3cbsS9MhHYkJ7
We appreciate you taking an active role in Utah’s assessment development process.
Feel free to pass this information along to other ELA educators with expertise in the Utah Core ELA Standards and at least two years of teaching experience. Please contact me with any questions or concerns.
Thanks for all you do!
Megan Lopez
Megan Lopez, M.Ed.
Education Specialist, Secondary English Language Arts|WIDA
A2A Program Manager
Assessment & Accountability
Utah State Board of Education
Phone: (801) 538-7723
Email: megan.lopez(a)schools.utah.gov<mailto:megan.lopez@schools.utah.gov>
Greetings, Utah ELA Educators,
We are excited to announce an additional RISE ELA assessment development workshop opportunity coming soon. (Yesterday, 8/14/23, an opportunity was shared for a RISE alignment review.) Below is a description of the RISE ELA Item Content Review Workshop. The workshop has a survey form to be completed for consideration to be selected to participate in the workshop.
RISE ELA Item Content Review Workshop
Tuesday September 26 and Wednesday September 27, 2023
ELA Grades 6-8
The purpose of the ELA Item Content Review is for Utah educators to advise the Utah State Board of Education on the content of items that will be field tested on the 2023-2024 RISE ELA Summative Assessment. Educators will review all test items for the various components/aspects during the item content review process, as follows: Alignment to the Utah Core Standards, Grade appropriateness, DOK/cognitive complexity of the item as compared with the complexity of the standard, Content accuracy, and Interaction type and appropriateness (e.g., how the student responds). The training at the beginning of the item content review meeting covers all such aspects and reminds participants to be aware of any potential bias or sensitivity issues, even though those topics are not specifically their charge. CAI content specialists facilitate these reviews and include USBE content specialists in all meetings and post-meeting resolution.
Location: Hilton of Salt Lake City at 255 S W Temple St, Salt Lake City, 84101
Date: Tuesday September 26 and Wednesday September 27, 2023
Time: 8:00AM to 4:00PM. There will be breaks throughout the day.
Food: Breakfast, Lunch, and an Afternoon Snack will be provided both days
Compensation/Substitute: Substitute reimbursement is offered to schools for teachers who participate in the meeting on school time. Please be sure to discuss this time out of the classroom/school with school administration. Educators whose school is not in session, or who use personal days for the meeting, may receive a stipend of $210 per day day. Travel reimbursement will be provided for every educator who participates. Travel reimbursement is calculated based on the distance the participant has to travel. Every educator who participates will receive 8 relicensure points per day.
Lodging: Participants qualify for hotel lodging if they have to travel 50 miles or more, one way, from their home to the location.
Note: Participants must be able to attend both days to be considered for this review. Please know that there is limited space, so all respondents are not guaranteed a spot. Committee participants are chosen to comprise an accurate representation of Utah educators. We will let you know by Tuesday, August 22, 2023, if you are chosen to participate to make the appropriate arrangements.
To register for consideration to participate in the RISE ELA Grades 6-8 Item Content Review, please complete this survey by Sunday August 20, 2023 (you do not need to respond to this email unless you have any questions or concerns): https://forms.gle/sUVQMu7kXrAiDGP8A
We appreciate you taking an active role in Utah’s assessment development process.
Feel free to pass this information along to other ELA educators with expertise in the Utah Core ELA Standards and at least two years of teaching experience. Please contact me with any questions or concerns.
Thanks for all you do!
Megan Lopez
Megan Lopez, M.Ed.
Education Specialist, Secondary English Language Arts|WIDA
A2A Program Manager
Assessment & Accountability
Utah State Board of Education
Phone: (801) 538-7723
Email: megan.lopez(a)schools.utah.gov<mailto:megan.lopez@schools.utah.gov>
As promised, the new English Language Arts (ELA) Standards have been beautified and are ready for sharing. Please distribute this document widely throughout your district/charter to ensure implementation of these new standards for this school year (23-24). This document will also be available on the USBE website.
We have enjoyed the amazing conversations and questions coming out of the ELA standards tour this summer. Thank you to those who have been willing to host us at their district offices and schools 😊.
Naomi Watkins, Ph.D.
Secondary English Language Arts Specialist
Utah State Board of Education
(801) 538-7616
Dear Colleagues,
USBE is excited to announce the Fall 2023 Instructional Materials Review! We have received a variety of exciting NEW curriculum items from publishers and are looking forward to beginning the evaluation process. You can be one of the first people to examine these new items for Secondary English Language Arts.
Scope of Review
All reviews are completed remotely from home by collaborative teams of 3 or more reviewers. Each participant will review up to 5 items to be reviewed and will be paid $50 per item. It is estimated a team will complete a review of an item in an hour.
Your name on the instructional material review will remain anonymous when your critique is published. Other educators and districts/charters around the state are relying on these reviews for instructional guidance in purchasing and adopting these materials. Your opinion is very important! All materials reviewed are new to our state and will be published on the Utah State Board of Education MIDAS website.
If you are interested in reviewing, please complete this form<https://forms.gle/SE3HTpJJboDw1NFU8> by AUGUST 10th.
If accepted, you will be guided as to further instructions to be hired and supported in the process.
Naomi Watkins, Ph.D.
Secondary English Language Arts Specialist
Utah State Board of Education
(801) 538-7616