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The Literacy Design Collaborative (LDC) was created to support teachers in implementing college and career readiness standards in order to teach literacy skills throughout the content areas. Teachers work collaboratively with coaches to further develop their expertise and design standards-driven, literacy-rich writing assignments within their existing curriculum across all content areas. This report presents the results on implementation of LDC in the New York City Department of Education during the third year of the intervention, and the impact of the program across multiple years. As of 2018-2019, participating schools included 13 from Cohort 1, which began implementation during the 2016-2017 school year, and 23 from Cohort 2, which commenced at the beginning of the 2017-2018 school year. Our primary impact analyses, presented in this report for the first time, pool teachers from both cohorts to measure their impact after participating in LDC for 2 consecutive years (2017-2018 student outcomes for Cohort 1 and 2018-2019 student outcomes for Cohort 2). Teachers and administrators appreciated LDC and perceived positive impact on their practice and their students' learning. Quasi-experimental analyses tended to produce positive estimates for the impact of LDC on student English language arts (ELA) assessment scores, but the differences did not reach the level of statistical significance. [For the 2017-2018 evaluation report, see ED606884.]

Engaged inthe evaluation of LDC tools since June 2011, UCLA's National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing (CRESST) is using multiple data sources and a quasi-experimental design to examine LDC implementation and impact in two cohorts of schools in two large, urban school districts. This report presents the results on implementation of LDC in the large urban school district on the West Coast during the third year of the intervention, and the impact of the program across multiple years. Findings from both participant surveys and analyses of student outcomes reveal positive results for the LDC intervention. Analysis of student outcomes provided evidence of the program's effectiveness and confirmation for participants' positive views. Quasi-experimental analyses demonstrated a statistically significant positive impact of LDC as practiced by middle school teachers with 2 years of program experience across two cohorts of schools and teachers. A statistically significant positive impact was also found for Cohort 2 middle schools after just one year of implementation. [For the original report, "Literacy Design Collaborative 2018-2019 Evaluation Report. CRESST Report 867," see ED605029.]

The Literacy Design Collaborative (LDC) was created in 2009 to support schools' implementation of rigorous college and career ready standards for English language arts (ELA). Combining evidence-based principles of professional development with a systematic design process, LDC helps teachers to embed literacy skill development throughout their content area curricula and promotes teachers' engagement in formative assessment and continuous improvement practices. UCLA's National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing (CRESST) has served as LDC's independent evaluator since 2011 and is currently completing a 5-year, nationally funded study of LDC's implementation and impact. This policy brief summarizes study results from a large, urban district on the West Coast. The brief starts with background on LDC and study methodology and then shares study findings, which demonstrate LDC's substantial effects on student learning. [For related reports, see "Literacy Design Collaborative 2017-2018 Evaluation Report. CRESST Report 863" (ED600053) and "Literacy Design Collaborative 2017-2018 Evaluation Report. CRESST Report 867. Revised" (ED606343).]

The Literacy Design Collaborative (LDC) was created to support teachers in implementing college and career readiness standards in order to teach literacy skills throughout the content areas. Teachers work collaboratively with coaches to further develop their expertise and design standards-driven, literacy-rich writing assignments within their existing curriculum across all content areas. This annual report reflects the second year of implementation in 18 Cohort 1 schools, which began implementation in the 2016-2017, and the first year of implementation for 35 Cohort 2 schools, which commenced at the beginning of 2017-2018. Teacher, teacher leader, and administrator participants reported positive attitudes toward LDC. All measures of satisfaction or improvement were rated positively by more than half of the respondents. Participants across all groups perceived a positive impact on student outcomes. Approximately three-quarters of teachers agreed that LDC helped improve students'reading skills, literacy-performance, writing, and content knowledge. Analysis of student outcomes indicated that there were positive impacts of LDC on student learning, but the differences were not statistically significant.

The Literacy Design Collaborative (LDC) was created to support teachers in implementing college and career readiness standards in order to teach literacy skills throughout the content areas. Teachers work collaboratively with coaches to further develop their expertise and design standards-driven, literacy-rich writing assignments within their existing curriculum across all content areas. This annual report reflects the second year of implementation in 14 Cohort 1 schools, which began implementation during 2016-2017, and the first year of implementation for 31 Cohort 2 schools, which commenced at the beginning of the 2017-2018 school year. Findings from multiple sources including participant surveys and analyses of student outcomes reveal positive results for the LDC intervention. Teacher, teacher leader, and administrator participants reported positive attitudes toward LDC. Participants across all groups perceived a positive impact on student outcomes. Additionally, analysis of student outcomes confirmed participants' positive views. Our quasi-experimental design study revealed that LDC had statistically significant effects on Cohort 2 middle school students' English language arts (ELA) performance, with an effect size of 0.15 for students receiving LDC instruction in all three core content areas: ELA, science, and social studies/history.

The Literacy Design Collaborative (LDC) was created to support teachers in implementing college and career readiness standards in order to teach literacy skills throughout the content areas. Teachers work collaboratively with coaches to further develop their expertise and design standards-driven, literacy-rich writing assignments within their existing curriculum across all content areas. The 2016-2017 school year was the first year of implementation, following a pilot year during which the implementation plan, instruments, data collection processes, and analytical methodologies were refined. Participants across all groups reported positive attitudes toward LDC and perceive a positive impact on student outcomes. Analysis of module artifacts suggest that teachers at the elementary school level were moderately successful in the backwards design process, particularly in developing high-quality writing tasks for students. As an ongoing multiyear intervention, the LDC implementation will continue to evolve year to year as participants provide feedback and LDC program managers make refinements. Thus, we anticipate that further significant changes to the course material and the delivery system that are already in progress for Year 2 will likely result in continued and possibly increased positive feedback. [Funding for this work was provided by the Literacy Design Collaborative.]

The Literacy Design Collaborative (LDC) was created to support teachers in implementing college and career readiness standards in order to teach literacy skills throughout the content areas.Teachers work collaboratively with coaches to further develop their expertise and design standards-driven, literacy-rich writing assignments within their existing curriculum across all content areas. The 2016-2017 school year was the first year of implementation, following a pilot year during which the implementation plan, instruments, data collection processes, and analytical methodologies were refined. Participants across all groups reported positive attitudes toward LDC and perceive a positive impact on student outcomes. This annual report presents an initial look at LDC implementation in the first cohort of 20 schools in a large West Coast district during their first year of implementation. Participants across all groups reported positive attitudes toward LDC and perceived a positive impact on student outcomes. Three quarters of teachers and 95% of administrators agreed that LDC helped improve students' literacy performance. At this point, there is insufficient quantitative evidence to suggest a positive LDC impact on student test scores either at the elementary or middle school level. This finding should not be surprising given the early stage of intervention, with teachers having only completed one year of the two-year implementation process.

This report presents the results of expert panels' item-by-item analysis of the 2015 PISA Reading Literacy and Mathematics Literacy assessments and compares study findings on PISA's representation of deeper learning with that of other related studies. Results indicate that about 11% to 14% of PISA's total raw score value for reading and mathematics literacy respectively are devoted to deeper learning, defined as items addressing depth of knowledge (DOK) Levels 3 or 4, based on Norman Webb's framework (Webb, Alt, Ely, & Vesperman, 2005). These levels are compared to those in the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and in recent tests of the CCSS. Study results suggest the complexity of establishing deeper learning benchmarks. Five appendices are included: (1) Panelist Recruitment; (2) Panelist Biographies; (3) Review Panel Training and Data Collection; (4) Reading Literacy Analyses; and (5) Mathematics Literacy Analyses.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation invested in the Literacy Design Collaborative (LDC) as one strategy to support teachers' and students' transition to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in English language arts. This report provides an early look at the implementation of LDC in eighth-grade history/social studies and science classes in two states, and the effectiveness of the intervention in these settings. The study found that across states and subjects, teachers understood LDC and implemented it with fidelity. Teachers also generally reported positive attitudes about the effectiveness of LDC and its usefulness in introducing literacy instruction into content area classrooms. Quasi-experimental analyses using Coarsened Exact Matching (CEM) techniques and hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) found a small statistically significant positive effect on reading scores in the one state where suitable data were available, but no effects on writing scores. However, students generally performed at low levels on assessments designed to align with the intervention, suggesting the challenge of meeting CCSS expectations. Exploratory analyses suggest that LDC may have been most effective for higher achieving students. However understandable, the findings thus suggest that, in the absence of additional scaffolding and supports for low-achieving students, LDC may be gap enhancing.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation invested in the Literacy Design Collaborative (LDC) as one strategy to support teachers' and students' transition to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in English language arts. This report provides an early look at the implementation of LDC in sixth-grade Advanced Reading classes in a large Florida district, and the effectiveness of the intervention in this setting. The study found that teachers understood LDC and implemented it with fidelity and that curriculum modules were well crafted. Teachers also generally reported positive attitudes about the effectiveness of LDC and its usefulness as a tool for teaching CCSS skills. Although implementation results were highly positive, quasi-experimental analyses employing matched control group and regression discontinuity designs found no evidence of an impact of LDC on student performance on state reading or district writing assessments. Furthermore, students generally performed at basic levels on assessments designed to align with the intervention, suggesting the challenge of meeting CCSS expectations. Exploratory analyses suggest that LDC may have been most effective for higher achieving students. However understandable, the findings thus suggest that, in the absence of additional scaffolding and supports for low-achieving students, LDC may be gap enhancing. Two appendices are included: (1) LDC Instruments and Rubrics; and (2) Summary Report: Developing an Assignment Measure to Assess Quality of LDC Modules (Abby Reisman, Joan Herman, Rebecca Luskin, and Scott Epstein).

With support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, researchers and experts in mathematics education developed the Mathematics Design Collaborative (MDC) as a strategy to support the transition to Common Core State Standards in math. MDC provides short formative assessment lessons known as Classroom Challenges for use in middle and high school math classrooms. UCLA CRESST's study of ninth-grade Algebra 1 classrooms in Kentucky implementing MDC showed strong support from teachers for the intervention and a statistically significant positive impact on student scores on the PLAN Algebra assessment, as compared to similar students statewide in Kentucky. The following are appended: (1) MDC Instruments and Rubrics, (2) MDC Teacher Log Descriptives; (3) MDC Teacher Survey Descriptives; (4) Analysis of MDC Student Work Artifacts; and (5) Quasi-Experimental Analysis of MDC Effects.

Kentucky has been a leader in the movement to more rigorous college and career ready standards to support their students' success in the 21st century. Kentucky was the first state to adopt new college and career ready standards (CCRS)--termed the Kentucky Core Academic Standards. Many of Kentucky's districts have moved proactively and strategically to meet the challenge of more rigorous expectations, and to facilitate educators' and students' transition to the new demands. All students are to be on a trajectory to graduate high school, and should be prepared for college and career success. Basic skills have given way to goals for deeper learning, where students are expected to apply, reason with, communicate, and use their knowledge to solve complex problems. This brief summarizes early evidence on the success of two tools Kentucky districts have used to support their teachers' transition to these more demanding goals: Literacy Design Collaborative (LDC), and Math Design Collaborative (MDC). LDC and MDC tools have been designed and implemented to embody the key shifts in teaching and learning that the new standards demand. Teachers engage in new pedagogy, and address relevant learning goals of the Kentucky Core Academic Standards through the implementation of these tools. A brief background on the two tools and the evaluation methodology are provided, as well as the findings for each intervention and the implications of findings across the two studies. The study is based on a limited sample of schools and teachers in select subjects and grade levels who participated in the piloting of the tools. These included eighth grade social studies/history and science teachers, and ninth grade Algebra 1 teachers who initiated their tool use during the 2010-11 or 2011-12 school years. Study results are based on data from the 2012-2013 school year.