Core Resources
Resources from "Changing Schools"
Resources for Principals
Resources for Teachers
Resources for Parents and the Public
Resources for Policymakers
An annotated list of Internet sites with K-12 educational standards and
curriculum frameworks documents -- brought to you by the Putnam Valley Schools,
Putnam Valley, NY. The very best gateway to standards on the Web. Updated
regularly. Now called "Developing Educational Standards."
Teaching
to Academic Standards
Standards are the WHAT of education while curriculum and instruction are
the HOW, says this on-line workshop at wNetSchool's "Concept to Classroom"
site. The workshop, developed by Education Trust, covers these topics: What
are academic standards? What's different about academic standards? What
do standards have to do with my classroom? How have standards developed
since they began in the early 1990s? What are the benefits of academic standards?
How can standards help students to learn better? What do critics of standards
have to say?
"Safe To Be Smart:
Building a Culture for Standards-Based Reform in the Middle Grades"
Published by the National Middle Schools Association in November 1998, Anne
Wheelock's 200-page book describes the promises and pitfalls of the academic
standards movement, with a middle grades focus. While she agrees that standards
can help shape better teaching for all students, she warns that without
careful attention to professional development and the impact of a school's
"culture" on change efforts, standards could further penalize
students who are already overlooked and underserved. Foreword by M. Hayes
Mizell
Standards
in Practice
The Education Trust supports one of the most respected groups of professional
development trainers in the area of academic standards. "Standards
in Practice" is Ed Trust's much-praised professional development program
that is helping schools in many parts of the US become standards-based.
Strategies
for Raising Student Achievement
The ASCD book, "Teaching What Matters Most: Standards and Strategies
for Raising Student Achievement" (by Richard W. Strong, Harvey F. Silver,
Matthew J. Perini) draws on 10 years of research in more than 300 schools
to lay out a blueprint for curriculum, instruction, and assessment that
includes "four clear and manageable standards that help students meet
the standards in any
content area and grade level." Read selections from the book and learn
how to order it.
Turning Points
2000: Preparing Adolescents in the 21st Century
Drawing on more than a decade of the Carnegie Corporation's middle grades
research and program activity, authors Gayle Davis and Tony Jackson challenge
the many middle schools that they believe have poorly implemented the middle
school model. They describe a coherent approach to building successful middle
schools, using a balanced approach that includes standards-based instruction.
""There is mounting evidence that when educators stay the course
of comprehensive reform, student outcomes improve," says Davis. This
link leads to a background page where visitors will find ordering information
for the book (NMSA, 2000), an excerpt, and access to a conversation between
the authors and middle grades educators.
Third
Edition of the McREL Standards Database
The Third Edition of "Content Knowledge: A Compendium of Standards
and Benchmarks for K-12 Education," is now online in full text . The
Standards and Benchmarks databases can be browsed and searched, and the
standards are connected to subject area Internet resources.
A
Comprehensive Guide to Designing Standards-Based Districts, Schools, and
Classrooms
This comprehensive guide to developing a standards-based or "referenced"
educational approach is being used in Long Beach, CA and other districts
to provoke discussion and deeper thinking about what it means to create
standards-based schools. By Robert J. Marzano and John S. Kendall. Find
other Marzano materials by searching for "Marzano" at the McREL
site. Published by McREL and the Association for Supervision and Curriculum
Development. Read
excerpts at the ASCD site.
"How
to Make the Link Between Standards, Assessments, and Real Student Achievement"
(PDF file)
One of several useful
guides developed by the New American Schools Development Corporation
for their affiliated schools. Available at the NASDC website in Adobe Acrobat/PDF
format. Also see NAS's report "Implementation
and Performance in New American Schools: Three Years into Scale-Up,"
an independent assessment by RAND describing the progress of various NAS
reform models.
New
Standards' Student Performance Standards
A two-year effort by the New Standards Project produced performance standards
in math, science, language arts and applied learning. Standards for elementary,
middle, and high school are available, as well as a video demonstrating
how student performances are linked to the standards. Ordering information.
National
Clearinghouse for Comprehensive School Reform
Developed to support the federal CSRD program (see below), the Clearinghouse
is a joint project of George Washington University, the Council for Basic
Education, and the Institute for Educational Leadership. Many resources
here - a good first stop for anyone interested in systemic reform.
Database
of CSRD Schools
This nationwide database includes schools that have been awarded funds under
the federal Comprehensive School Reform Demonstration program (Obey-Porter)
to develop research-based reform models. The easy-to-navigate "click
and go" database allows the user to search by school, grade, grade
range, geographical location, and type of model. The database will grow
as states complete the grant-awarding process. Also
see this 63-pp. on-line handbook for schools and districts considering
a federal Comprehensive School Reform Demonstration grant -- or searching
for a comprehensive school reform model (PDF Adobe Acrobat file for downloading).
Standards
and Systemic Reform: TERC resources
TERC, a nonprofit research and development group focused on mathematics
and science learning, developed this site as part of its "Teacher Enhancement
Electronic Communications Hall (TEECH)."
Although the project has ended, many papers and lectures of interest are
archived here. See for example the lecture from a 1996 conference, "Anatomy
of a Standard."
Center
for Research on Evaluation, Standards and Student Testing
CRESST has developed an outstanding WWW site that will please not only assessment
experts, but front-line educators who want to explore issues of classroom
and "authentic" assessment more deeply. The site includes samples
of performance assessments in science, history and mathematics for grades
5, 8 and 10. It also includes a "alternative assessment" database,
some material from CRESST's on-going partnership with the Los Angeles schools
to develop a multiple assessment model, and a handbook for parents that
looks at the question "What
Makes a Good School?" from an assessment perspective (PDF/Acrobat
file).
CCSSO
Standards and Assessment Page
The Council of Chief State School Officers offers a variety of information
about U.S. standards-setting efforts. See, for example: "How
Are Standards Changing Curriculum and Classroom Practices? Tools for Analyis".
Middle
School Standards and Interventions
The National Dropout Prevention Center reported on how well selected states
and districts with mandated academic standards supported middle grades students
who need a "second chance" to succeed.
Educator's
Guide to Schoolwide Reform
A joint publication of AASA, AFT, NEA, NASSP and NAESP, this guide examines
24 comprehensive reform programs. Prepared by the the American Institutes
for Research (AIR) and published by the Educational Research Service, the
guide includes a ratings chart that scores each program on its "evidence
of positive effects on student achievement" and other factors. The
report notes: "...this is the only guide that rates the approaches
against a common set of high standards or compares them to one another in
terms of scientifically reliable evidence." Complete text on-line or
order a hard copy at the site.
Middle
Grades Reform: A Phi Delta KAPPAN Special Report
This June 2000 special section in Phi Delta KAPPAN includes an
update on some important developments in middle-grades reform; a
report on the work of the National Forum to Accelerate Middle Grades
Reform, including the Forum's vision
and Schools
to Watch; an
excerpt from Anne Lewis' book "Figuring It Out" and a profile
of the Michigan's Middle Start Initiative; and an interview
with Anthony Jackson about the upcoming book "Turning Points 2000,"
and the future of middle grades reform. (All written by your friendly MiddleWeb
editors!)
Connecting
Standards to Middle Grades Classrooms
This free PDF document at the Public Education Network website is aimed
a schools which may find themselves unprepared "for the impact of standards
on their instruction and on their students' learning." Go to this page
and provide some basic information - then download the file. Also see the
PEN publication "Avoiding
Standardization in the Standards-Based Classroom."
Making
Standards Work
Now that your state or school district has adopted academic standards, what
do you do?" asks this article in the September 2000 issue of the American
School Board Journal. (Go to page and scroll down about half way.) Will
you continue with business as usual and wait for this latest educational
fad to pass? "Complain to the local newspaper about the unfairness
of standards"? Or "learn how to use standards to improve student
learning"? This article supports educators who choose the latter course
-- with information about the effecting strategies for implementing standards
and an assortment of print and web-based resources. Also see the ASBJ cover
story, "The
Trouble with Standards," which asks "Will our obsession with
measurement blight an otherwise healthy reform?"
Getting
Real About Standards (PDF File)
In 1996, The Pew Charitable Trusts gave four-year grants to seven urban
school districts to help implement standards-based systemic reform. Several
times each year, an evaluation team conducted interviews in the districts
to track progress in their reform efforts, asking: What does the theory
look like in practice? Do the presumed relationships hold up? Do they result
in higher achievement for all students? This fourth and final evaluation
report (2001), ""When Theory Hits Reality: Standards-Based Reform
in Urban Districts," synthesizes findings across all four years. Download
PDF file at this link.
Essential
Elements of Standards-Based Middle Grades Reform
Download "Essential Elements of Standards-Focused Middle-Level Schools
and Programs," developed by the New York State Education Department,
at the NY State Middle School Association website. The seven "essential
elements" (which are not NY-specific) grow out of two core beliefs:
(1) the intellectual development and academic achievement of all students,
and (2) the personal and social development of each student.
Making
Standards Work
This theme issue of Educational Leadership includes several on-line articles
and many others available in the print edition. See the table of contents
here with links to an interview
with Robert Manzano and comments
by the directors of Project Achieve. Also see the related
on-line articles in the Classroom Online feature.
ALSO SEE: The MiddleWeb
Assessment Resources Page
Middle School
Reform: Raising the Stakes
In their final newspaper report on middle grades standards-based reform
in Long Beach, CA, the Focused Reporting Project looks back at five years
of struggle and progress. Among their conclusions: "The Long Beach
Unified School District is building a tailored assessment system that will
drive standards-based reform through the use of end-of-course tests, comprehensive
professional development, and high expectations for principals, teachers
and students." (Complete index of stories (HTML and PDF formats), including
a special section on involving
parents in standards-based reform.
Creating the Standards-Based
Classroom
The Winter 1998 issue of "Changing Schools in Long Beach" profiles
the efforts of three teachers (social studies, language arts, and math)
to redesign teaching and learning around standards. Visit this page to find
out how to download or order. Also see our profiles
of standards-based classrooms in Louisville, Kentucky (Spring 1999), including
this interview with a standards-based teacher.
What issues do schools
face as they grapple with standards?
When teachers begin to open up to each other and talk about using academic
standards as the foundation for teaching and learning, what issues confront
them? According to principals and teachers, these are some of the basic
concerns they have to work through.
Building Standards-Based
Schools
Many teachers in LBUSD's middle schools are looking more deeply into their
own classroom practice and coming out of their classrooms to work together
on standards-based teaching.
Documenting
a Pattern of Student Improvement (PDF File)
The report "Students at Work," from the Annenberg Challenge, "documents
a pattern of student improvement in six urban sites and a consortium of
rural schools" and "describes details of increasingly demanding
and engaging student work in poor and high-minority schools." Available
in PDF format or by
mail.
Inquiry-Minded
Schools and Standards-Based Reform
This article by researchers at the Annenberg Institute for School Reform
draws on the experiences of successful schools (including a middle school)
"to offer a picture of what a school can do to take ownership of internal
and external standards and to use data from state assessments and other
sources to improve instruction." The researchers also examine "the
challenges that schools face in addressing standards and that policy makers
face in developing accountability systems to support the delivery of high-quality
instruction." (June 2000 KAPPAN magazine)
Teacher
Judgment Vs. Standardized Tests
If we should not trust numbers to mean anything by themselves, writes Selma
Wasserman, and if the subjective evaluations of professional teachers are
thought to be "unreliable," how will we find the ways and means
to ensure that students are learning and that high standards are upheld?
In this provocative September 2001 article, Wasserman makes the case "for
the use of informed, evaluative observations by teachers." Instead
of replacing teacher judgment with "the far less useful alternative
of standardized tests, maybe we need to direct our energies toward making
teachers' evaluations more helpful to students."
Powerful
"How-To" Series from the New American Schools
Go to this address on the New American Schools website and scroll about
halfway down the page. Here you'll find a series of "how-to" files
in Adobe Acrobat/PDF format. They include, among others, "How to Rethink
School Budgets to Support School Transformation," "How to Rebuild
a Local Professional Development Infrastructure;" "How to Make
the Link Between Standards, Assessments, and Real Student Achievement;"
"How To Build Local Support for Comprehensive School Reform,"
and "How to Evaluate Comprehensive School Reform Models."
Strategies
to Help All Middle Level Students Achieve
In their article, "Practices and Strategies To Help All Middle Level
StudentsLearn and Achieve at High Levels," Nancy Ames and Teri West
of the Education Development Center in Newton, Mass., detail the benefits
and potential pitfalls of standards and assessment at the middle level.
"Unless standards are accompanied by significant changes in curriculum,
instruction, and assessment, they will remain good intentions disconnected
from everyday practice." (Originally published in "Schools in
the Middle" magazine.)
Service
in an Age of Standards
Can service learning find a place in the curriculum when the stakes are
high? This collection of articles in the August 2000 issue of School Administrator
explore the question. Also see this set of articles from the November 1999
issue about communicating
what students know. And this December 2000 collection on high-stakes
assessment.
"Having" Standards
Is Not Enough
"Having" standards is not enough, just as "being" a
middle school is not enough, Hayes Mizell tells educators at a conference
for Kansas City educators. "Neither ensure more effective education
nor higher levels of learning. If the quality of standards matters, and
it does, then Missouri and Kansas have real problems." Two ideologically
opposite organizations, the "conservative" Thomas B. Fordham Foundation
and the "liberal" American Federation of Teachers, have both found
the standards in these states fail to make the grade, Mizell says.
The
State of Performance Assessments
Good overview of the performance assessment movement, written for school
administrators. Author Joan Herman explains that the idea is to construct
assessments that are "worth teaching for" because they embody
the standards we hold for student performance. "We purposely use assessments
to communicate both a vision and the reality of what's expected of students,
to illustrate models for teaching and learning practice, to provide useful
feedback to support improvement and to motivate performance." One of
several related articles in the December
1998 School Administrator.
Getting
Reform Right: What Works and What Doesn't
This article by Michael G. Fullan and Matthew B. Miles suggests seven reasons
why typical approaches to change do not work. Reform that endures must be
systemic and based on knowledge of the change process. The authors offer
seven propositions that can help schools "get reform right."
Is Your School Ready
for Standards-Based Reform?
"One of the tenets of standards-based reform policies is that 'only
outcomes matter'," writes Anne Wheelock, author of "Safe
To Be Smart: Building a Culture for Standards-Based Reform in the Middle
Grades." Wheelock has developed an assessment guide based on her
book that schools can use to consider their readiness for standards-based
reform. Available at MiddleWeb.
Getting
Staff "Buy In" for School Reform Models
Researchers, program developers, policy analysts and educators have all
noted that one of the most important ways to achieve the benefits of a well-designed
program is to make sure that those who will use it are fully committed,
says this policy/research brief at the American Federation of Teachers website.
The article focuses on implementation of "proven programs" and
underscores findings by RAND researchers that "schools that were forced
(by the district) to implement a design showed lower levels of implementation."
Musings
on Middle Grades Principal Leadership
This interview with Hayes Mizell appeared in the Jan. 1999 issue of "Ink,"
a newsletter published by the National Association of Secondary School Principals.
"Ink" is mailed to participants in the "Principals Make a
Difference" project on middle grades standards-based reform, funded
by the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation. Mizell directs the Program for Student
Achievement at the foundation. Among other topics, Mizell describes his
vision of a "culture of high standards."
Staff
Development That Benefits Student Learning
"Staff development is like learning in the sense that it occurs whether
or not it is organized and planned," middle grades reformer Hayes Mizell
told the first joint meeting of Staff Development Leadership Council, "but
high quality staff development, like high quality learning, only occurs
when people... are explicit about the results they are seeking to achieve,
and when they can subsequently produce evidence. . . ." (December 1998)
Eight
Questions You Should Ask Before Implementing Standards-Based Education at
the Local Level
By Robert J. Marzano. A brief, clearly written article that sorts through
the practical issues of standards implementation. Written for policymakers,
administrators, and teachers. At McREL. Download PDF/Acrobat file from this
page, read a text
version, or order a paper copy.
A
Crack in the Middle - Standards and Professional Development
"More than perhaps any other area of education, the challenge of educating
early adolescents requires caring, well-versed teachers who will balance
standards of excellence with the provision of supportive surroundings,"
say Joellen Killion and Stephanie Hirsh in this Education Week commentary.
"Yet for reasons ranging from collegiate preparation to personal preferences,
these middle school specialists are still in short supply. The most effective
and efficient way to increase their numbers is through high-quality, comprehensive
staff development geared specifically to middle-grades instruction."
Standards-Based Reform:
What Does It Mean for the Middle Grades?
For generations, good teachers have asked the questions "What
do I want my students to know at the end of the year?" and "What
do I want my students to be able to do with this knowledge?" In the
mid-1990s, these questions are at the heart of educational debate and reform
that reach beyond teachers' individual classrooms to engage entire schools
and communities. By Anne Wheelock. Another article, based on this report,
"Mathematics
and Science Standards: What Do They Offer the Middle Grades?"
appeared in the Sept./Oct. 1996 Harvard Education Letter.
Standards-Based
Reform Requires Standards-Based Staff Development
So argues Dennis Sparks, executive director of the National Staff Development
Council. "It is unrealistic to expect that teachers individually will
somehow be able to make sense of the numerous national and state content
standards without unprecedented amounts of support," he says in this
brief article from NSDC's "Developer" newsletter. Sparks makes
the case that NSDC's standards
for staff development should be an essential part of a school system's
move to standards-based reform. Visit the NSDC
Library for more articles, including "Scaling
the Elusive Summit," an article about the search for model
standards-based professional development programs in the middle grades.
Standards in Context
What happens in the superintendent's or principal's office heavily influences
the standards implementation process. "There are perennial issues that
challenge all school systems, and you must address them if your schools
are to have any hope of using standards to raise levels of student performance."
Remarks by Hayes Mizell, director of the Clark Foundation's Program for
Student Achievement, at a 1995 conference sponsored by the Council on Basic
Education.
The
Learning First Alliance: Tackling Reading and Math
The Learning First Alliance is a coalition of a dozen leading national education
organizations, including both teacher unions. At this page you'll find PDF
versions of three reports: Every Child Reading/An Action Plan; Every Child
Mathematically Proficient/An Action Plan; and the Alliance's more recent
work, "Working Together to Improve Student Learning: A Report on State
Learning Alliances (August 2001).
In Louisville, principal
leadership drives standards-based reform
Although middle school principals in Jefferson County, KY still struggle
to find the time they need to be "leaders of standards-based reform,"
they say a heightened awareness in the central office about their key role
in reform is leading to more support and better principal professional development.
(From "Changing Schools in Louisville," 1998.) Also see this article
on Louisville's standards-oriented
professional development program for principals in NSDC's "Results"
newsletter.
Principals and Standards
Hayes Mizell, director of the Program for Student Achievement at the Clark
Foundation, shares his perspective on the critical role of school leaders
in redesigning schools around standards. "Middle-Level Principals as
Leaders in Standards-Based Reform" challenges principals to make school
achievement their top priority.
What Principals Need
To Lead School Reform
A summary of findings by researcher Barbara Neufeld, based on her work with
schools supported by the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation.
"How
to Make the Link Between Standards, Assessments and Real Student Achievement"
(PDF File)
The New American Schools Development Corporation developed this useful guide
for its affiliated schools. Also see: "Strategies
for Improving Professional Development: A Guide for School Districts."
NAS offers many other resources about comprehensive, standards-based school
reform at their Resources
page.
ALSO SEE: Our Principal
Professional Development page
Swimming
with Middle Schoolers: Constructivism and Standards
In this article, "Teaching Students to Swim in Any Pond," a seventh-grade
teacher in Ithaca, NY makes the case for constructivist teaching tied to
standards and offers some ideas about how to bring more of a constructivist
approach into your classroom. (ENC case study)
Teaching
in the Standards-Based Classroom
This issue of Focus Magazine (Eisenhower National Clearinghouse) features
a series of articles aimed at supporting science and math teachers as they
use "the standards mandated in your school to improve your practice--to
help you teach in your standards-based classroom."
"Teaching
to Academic Standards" On-Line Workshop
This excellent teacher resource, part of the wNetSchool
(sponsored by the Disney Learning Partnership), introduces educators to
the techniques of standards-based teaching. Working "from concept to
classroom," the on-line workshop explains
the rationale behind standards; demonstrates
how they're being used in real classrooms; and helps
teachers explore their own "best practice" and answer the
question, "how do I start using standards?" When you're ready
to try it yourself, the workshop's "Implementation" section offers
a framework to design your own lessons aligned with standards. Includes
a
discussion board, and links to other resources.
Standards-Linked
Database of Lesson Plans & Curriculum Resources
Developed by the Mid-Continental Education Research Lab, this impressive
database consists of lesson plans, activities and curriculum resources
linked with corresponding subject-area content standards (From Content
Knowledge: A Compendium of Standards and Benchmarks for K-12 Education
). Among the subjects covered: The Arts | Behavioral/Social Sciences
| Civics | Economics | Foreign Language | Geography | Health/PE | History
| Language Arts | Math | Multi/Inter-disciplinary | Science | World History.
Just go to this page, choose "Grades 6-8" and select your subject!
Standards
and Backward Curriculum Planning
An on-line excerpt from the important Wiggins/McTighe book Understanding
by Design. This great resource on backwards curriculum planning works
well with a standards approach. From the introduction: "This book is...about
design -- the design of curriculums to engage students in exploring and
deepening their understanding of important ideas and the design of assessments
to reveal the extent of their understandings." There's a generous selection
from the book at this ASCD page. Search
the site for ordering information and a description of the UBD training
program. And see this
brief article describing the backward-design process.
Focusing
on Standards and Learners' Individual Needs
Standards-based instruction and differentiated learning can be compatible
approaches in today's classrooms, says differentiated-teaching expert Carol
Ann Tomlinson in this Educational Leadership article (September 2000). "In
truth," Tomlinson writes, "the conflict between focusing on standards
and focusing on individual learners' needs exists only if we use standards
in ways that cause us to abandon what we know about effective curriculum
and instruction."
Integrating
Middle School Curriculum and Standards
"Integrative Curriculum in a Standards-Based World," an ERIC Digest
by Gordon F. Vars and James A. Beane, suggests how middle level schools
can "reap both the benefits of genuine student-centered, integrative
curriculum and instruction and also develop student competencies in state-mandated
standards." Includes list of related resources.
ALPS:
Active Learning Practices for Schools
This remarkable website demonstrates active teaching and learning on the
Internet at an unprecedented level -- at least in our experience. Most exciting,
perhaps, is that it's a "beta" site, still under development.
ALPS allows teachers and teacher support staff to collaborate with educational
researchers and curriculum designers working at Harvard University's Graduate
School of Education and Harvard's Project Zero. The site includes model
lesson plans and activities; curriculum design tools; online educational
publications; and interactive forums, workshops and conferences and teacher
journals refecting on practice. The site is built around three themes:
Teaching for Understanding;
The Thinking
Classroom; and Education
with New Technologies.
Standards Based Teaching
"Opens Up Possibilities"
In this interview with the Focused Reporting Project, sixth grade language
arts teacher Margaret Lawrence describes her transition to a standards-based
classroom at Louisville's Meyzeek Middle School. See the complete
Spring 1999 issue of "Changing Schools in Louisville."
Creating the Standards-Based
Classroom
The Winter 1998 issue of "Changing Schools in Long Beach" profiles
the efforts of three teachers (social studies, language arts, and math)
to redesign teaching and learning around standards. Also see
our profiles of standards-based classrooms in Louisville, Kentucky.
Teaching
with Standards in Middle School
Seventh-grade English teacher Jill Barnes describes how she began to move
her classroom towards a standards-based model in this 1997 article in "Basic
Education" magazine. "Many teachers cringe when hearing the term
standards, but most already teach the content in these standards. In a middle-school
English classroom, it's hard to teach something that is not covered by one
or more standard. I have not considered my classroom standards-based, however,
because there was no conscious effort on my part to align standards with
learning."
Designing
an Effective Performance Task for the Classroom
Teachers, principals, and others anxious to explore performance assessment
will be delighted to find "Designing an Effective Performance Task
for the Classroom." These web pages, prepared by the Kentucky Department
of Education, are tailored to Kentucky performance standards but will be
useful (and useable) by any educator. The material includes several middle
school performance tasks. The math activity, "The
Storage Area," focuses on a "space and dimensionality"
standard. The American history activity, "Museum
in a Box," addresses historical perspective; students prepare permanent
resources for the school library around key topics like "Manifest Destiny."
Pathways
to School Improvement: Standards Resources
The Pathways to School Improvement
website, maintained by the North Central Regional Educational Laboratory
(NCREL), offers a coherent set of school improvement resources. In addition
to a standards resources page, Pathways includes a Critical Issues series,
which "discusses and explains math and science standards using linked
references to the standards, explanations of various concepts, and excellent
examples" (Charles Hill). See, for example, "Implementing
Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment Standards for Science Education."
Making
Students Part of Setting Standards
Students in this urban middle school are readying themselves to deal thoughtfully
and decently with the diverse, impersonal, and sometimes violent world ahead.
Article from "Performance,"
a publication of the Coalition of Essential Schools. Another article of
interest: "A
Big School Takes the Team Approach." "In the midst of its
population explosion this middle school improved student performance by
strengthening team structures that make school more personal and inclusive."
What issues do schools
face as they grapple with standards?
When teachers begin to open up to each other and talk about using academic
standards as the foundation for teaching and learning, what issues confront
them? According to principals and teachers, these are some of the basic
concerns they have to work through.
"Exemplars"
company offers standards-based assessment problems, rubrics
"Exemplars: A Teacher's Solution," a Vermont-based company, offers
teacher developed and classroom tested assessment problems in mathematics
for grade levels K-2, 3-5, 6-8 and 9-12 and in science for grade levels
K-2, 3-5 and 6-8. Each problem comes with rubrics based on national standards
and benchmark papers. (See samples.)
A Getting Started
page offers some tips for using Exemplars and beginning the process
of developing performance assessments.
Raising
Achievement in Low-Performing Schools
This resource guide was prepared by the American Federation of Teachers
to help members become involved "in successful efforts to redesign
low-performing schools." In part, the guide offers ideas about how
teacher unions can be pro-active to avoid state or district school takeovers.
This page also has links to many other resources related to comprehensive
and standards-based reform.
Sample
Performance Assessments
A selection of sample performance assessments in history, science and math,
including 8th grade history (Civil War), 8th grade math (fractions), and
8th grade science (matter). Developed by the Center for Research on Evaluation,
Standards and Student Testing and linked to California Academic Standards,
but useful to any anyone researching performance assessment.
Of Penguins and
Problem-Solving: Working Through New Math Standards
This story describes how one middle school mathematics teacher
is integrating standards into her lively, everyday classroom teaching. Sidebars
address professional development and explore why standards are important.
Examples of student work included.
"The Flood of
'97"
Here's one veteran teacher's early experiment with authentic assessment,
including student assignments, a description of the standards covered, a
scoring guide, and an example of student work.
A middle school leader
talks about standards and student achievement
"What is really going to be changing as a result of standards are the
things we ask kids to do," says Kristi Kahl, former 6th grade social
studies teacher and director of middle school reform for the Long Beach,
CA schools."And because we expect them to learn more deeply, we have
to assess them at a deeper level. We have to ask them to demonstrate their
knowledge and skills on assessments that require them to really assemble
what they know." (Kahl is now a middle school principal in LBUSD. See
her 2000-01 MiddleWeb diary here.)
Standards
by Subject Area
A compilation of links to sites that address standards by subject area.
Middle
School Teachers' Place - Working with Math Standards
Developed for math teachers by Drexel University. Includes lesson plans
-- many aligned with NCTM standards. Many related resources for math teachers.
Practicing the
Impossible
As teachers rush like Alice's rabbit from one demand to another, many see
the Long Beach school district's new emphasis on a standards-based curriculum
at the edge of their vision and think: "It will just have to wait its
turn" or "Prove to me it's more important than all the other pulls
on my time." Anne Lewis tries.
Beyond
the Standards Wars: Politics and Pedagogy in the National History Standards'
Controversy
Interesting paper by a a veteran high school history teacher who participated
in an independent review of the national history standards, sponsored by
the Council for Basic Education. Also see an article by Diane Ravitch and
Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., "The
New, Improved History Standards." The National Council for the
Social Studies has a page
of standards information, including NCSS's positions.
High
Academic Standards Work -- Here's the Evidence, says the AFT
This American Federation of Teachers paper contends that "it's one
thing to have public support for raising standards, but evidence that they
actually do work to raise student achievement is another matter. Some people
worry that higher standards will mean more students flunking and more dropouts.
Others are concerned that poor, minority children willbe harmed disproportionately
by higher standards. But the evidence shows that students can do it -- when
standards are raised, students respond."
A Business
Leader's Guide to Supporting Math and Science Achievement
"The Formula for Success: A Business Leader's Guide to Supporting Math
and Science Achievement" describes how businesses can work with schools
to improve math and science achievement. The guide includes a summary (and
examples) from the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS),
descriptions of successful local partnerships between business & schools,
examples of many jobs that demand advanced skills in math & science,
and a resource list of national organizations dedicated to improving mathematics
& science achievement. Developed by a coalition of business organizations.
Entire report on-line.
Questions and Answers
about Standards and School Reform
Written specifically for readers in the Jefferson County (KY) Public Schools,
this brief discussion of standards may be useful to any parent, citizen,
or educator looking for a "user-friendly" explanation of standards-based
reform.
Annenberg's
Accountability Toolkit
The "Toolbox for Accountability" -- another innovation at the
Annenberg Institute website -- offers practical approaches for parents and
educators who want to gauge their schools' progress in improving student
achievement and meeting standards. Ultimately the Toolbox will have eight
"drawers." When last we checked, three were available -- planning
an accountability event, conducting surveys to sample school performance,
and using the examination
of student work as a core accountability strategy. Upcoming "drawers"
will cover school visits and self-study; using standardized test data; developing
school report cards; analyzing teacher assignments, and monitoring equity
and access.
Involving
Communities in Setting Academic Standards
Communities, schools, businesses and parents prepared to pursue more rigorous
standards for students now have a guidebook they can refer to for getting
the process started and keeping it on track. This book, "Raising the
Standard: A Community Action Guide," profiles five communities where
standards were developed with significant community input. Full of first-person
accounts. Also available, with extra resources, on a CD-ROM.
Parent
Guide to New Standards
This 8-page parent guide to standards describes the work of the New Standards
project but will be useful to anyone interested in talking about standards
to general audiences. This page leads to an excerpt. The entire text is
available on the site in an PDF file.
National
Standards In American Education: A Citizen's Guide
A good general introduction to standards and the standards movement from
conservative education historian Diane Ravitch. How to order her book National
Standards In American Education: A Citizen's Guide (revised, 1996).
Also see her Brookings Institution policy briefing Student
Performance Today.
Just what IS a rubric?
If you're the parent of an elementary or middle school child, you may have
heard the word "rubric" and wondered what it means. Here's
one example of a rubric.
What
Should Children Learn?
This article by Paul Gagnon appeared in the December 1995 issue of Atlantic
Monthly. The author is highly critical of professional educators and
academics who, he believes, have weakened the standards movement through
"fuzzy thinking" and political correctness.
"8 lessons
of parent, family, & community involvement in the middle grades"
In its summary of this research-based article, Phi Delta KAPPAN wrote: "The
authors synthesized their findings across nine sites to arrive at conclusions
that move beyond conventional thinking to enrich our understanding of the
critical and complex nature of school/family partnerships in the middle
grades." How do schools involve families and the community as partners
in reform?
Getting
Real About Standards (PDF File)
In 1996, The Pew Charitable Trusts gave four-year grants to seven urban
school districts to help implement standards-based systemic reform. Several
times each year, an evaluation team conducted interviews in the districts
to track progress in their reform efforts, asking: What does the theory
look like in practice? Do the presumed relationships hold up? Do they result
in higher achievement for all students? This fourth and final evaluation
report, ""When Theory Hits Reality: Standards-Based Reform in
Urban Districts," synthesizes findings across all four years. Download
PDF file at this link.
SREB
"Making Middle Schools Matter" Program
The Southern Regional Education Board has mounted a
major middle grades reform effort, with a strong focus on standards-based
teaching and learning. This link leads to the program's publications page,
where you will find links to four SREB studies: Education's Weak Link:
Student Performance in the Middle Grades (PDF format) ; Raising the
Bar in the Middle Grades: Readiness for Success (PDF format); Improving
Teaching in the Middle Grades: Higher Standards for Students Aren't Enough
(PDF format); Leading the Way: State Actions to Improve Student Achievement
in the Middle Grades (PDF format). You'll also find links to the program
newsletter and to a Planning Guide for School Improvement.
Turning Points
2000: Preparing Adolescents in the 21st Century
Drawing on more than a decade of the Carnegie Corporation's middle grades
research and program activity, authors Gayle Davis and Tony Jackson challenge
the many middle schools that they believe have poorly implemented the middle
school model. They describe a coherent approach to building successful middle
schools. ""There is mounting evidence that when educators stay
the course of comprehensive reform, student outcomes improve," says
Davis. This link leads to a background page where visitors will find ordering
information for the book (NMSA, 2000), an excerpt, and access to a conversation
between the authors and middle grades educators.
Standards-Based
Reform: Urgent Actions Needed
Despite some positive results, there are serious concerns about the implementation
of standards-based education, says a statement from the Learning First Alliance
(January 2001). The Alliance, a group of major education organizations working
together to improve student learning, urges "mid-course corrections"
and describes five core areas that require urgent attention. Also
see the Education Week story about this report.
Making
Urban School Reform Work
Schools and districts must remain committed to their chosen reform strategies
for more than just a few years if they hope to make real gains in academic
achievement, writes Frederick Hess in "Spinning Wheels: The Politics
of Urban School Reform." Through his research on fifty-seven urban
school districts, Hess found that the "problem has not been that 'nothing
ever changes,' but that too much change is being pursued too often."
As a result, teachers and staff become tired of trying new practices and
learning new policies every couple of years; eventually, they become disillusioned
and resistant since all changes seem temporary. Hess's book can be ordered
from The Brookings Institution or read
the full text on-line. Also see this Brookings Review article, "Helping
Hands: Cities Need Capacity for Education Reform" (Summer 2000)
and the book It Takes
a City: Getting Serious about Urban School Reform.
Comprehensive
School Reform Resources
A January 2000 report from the Education Commission of the States details
the national education compact's experiences assisting and observing districts
that are implementing comprehensive school reform (CSR). "Five
Lessons from the Field" reports on five years of ESC work funded
by the Annenberg Foundation.
Standards
for Standards-Based Accountability
In their November 1999 Kappan article, "Standards for Standards-Based
Accountability Systems," Kenneth A. Sirotnik and Kathy Kimball propose
11 "content standards" that accountability systems themselves
should meet. Sample: "The accountability system must not be driven
by a single indicator (e.g., test scores) and simplistic formulas for rewards
or sanctions based on that indicator."
Standards-Based
Teacher Education Project
Program of the Council for Basic Education and the American Association
of Colleges for Teacher Education to redefine teacher education programs
around standards-based teaching and learning.
Kentucky's
Middle Level Program of Studies
The Kentucky State Department of Education has posted its complete "Implementation
Manual for the Program of Studies" in the middle grades. As the introduction
notes, "the vast majority of the document is dedicated to various course
models and content sequences... traditional and non-traditional." Core
and elective subjects are covered. This URL links to a page that includes
four PDF downloadable files.
What's
Missing in Middle Grades Standards-Based Reform?
Standards-based reform is doomed to failure, says the National Dropout Prevention
Center, unless states use their newly established, more rigorous standards
to develop interventions that provide teachers with the skills and knowledge
required to teach to the higher standards and students with additional opportunities
to achieve the higher standards. This article synthesizes information from
a variety of sources. The Center is supported in this work by a middle grades
reform grant from the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation.
Urban
School Boards and Student Achievement
Urban school boards can do more to improve student achievement, according
to a report by the National School Boards Foundation, and they can begin
by listening to what their communities value and expect from their schools.
The report draws from a national public opinion poll, a roundtable discussion
with education leaders, and "many discussions with urban school board
members across the country." The report "focuses on concrete strategies
for improvement. Entire text on-line.
AFT
Report Says Commitment to Standards Remains Strong in States
Commitment to standards-based reform remains strong in the states, according
to the American Federation of Teachers' survey (1999) of trends in standards-based
reform. The report evaluates the quality of state standards in the core
academic areas and looks at state plans to assess the standards, attach
consequences, and to identify and provide assistance to students having
difficulty.
Good
Teaching Matters (PDF File)
An excellent summary by Education
Trust of current research on effective teaching. Includes data from
studies by Ferguson, Ingersoll, Sanders, the Dallas Public Schools and others.
A brief, easy-to-read paper that pinpoints "How Well-Qualified Teachers
Can Close the Gap" for poor and minority students. From the "Thinking
K-16" newsletter (Summer 1998). PDF format. Also see the EdTrust report
"Dispelling
the Myth: High Poverty Schools Exceeding Expectations" (PDF File)
The
Standards Wars: Some Lessons Learned
Chris Cross, president of the Council for
Basic Education, shares five years' of experience on the front lines
of the standards movement in this 1998 Education Week op-ed column. "There
is no simple, cookie-cutter formula for setting standards. While many states
begin with standards, other states have found the need to 'back fill' to
create standards that align with other components of the system. While all
of that might not create a pretty picture, the most important principle
is having systems that align, so that standards, assessment, professional
development, and the other components are all aligned. "
Independent
evaluation of the "Children Achieving Challenge" initiative
The Consortium for Policy Research in Education is conducting an ongoing
evaluation of the "Children Achieving Challenge" initiative in
Philadelphia, funded by a multi-million dollar grant from Annenberg Foundation.
Check the research page at CPRE to find a selection of reports. Of particular
interest to policymakers: "Contradictions
and Control in Systemic Reform: The Ascendancy of the Central Office in
Philadelphia Schools" (PDF File)
When
Standards Drive Change (PDF File)
States and school districts engaged in standards-based reform are discovering
how complex the work is, says this article -- one in a
series published by the Panasonic Foundation in collaboration with the
American Association of School Administrators. This issue, intended for
school-system leaders who manage district-level change, examines standards-based
reform efforts in Aurora (CO), Community School District 2 in New York City,
Minneapolis, and an alliance of twelve districts and a university in the
Seattle area.
The
Promise of School Reform in Texas
This paper summarizes characteristics of high-performing, high-poverty schools
and attempts to link them to the effects of TAAS, the Texas state standards
and assessment system. The paper notes that the number of high-performing
schools with 50 percent or more poor children increased from a handful in
1993 to nearly 500 in 1996. Author Joseph F. Johnson, Jr. is associated
with the Charles A. Dana Center at the University of Texas (Austin). The
Center's site includes a well-developed collection of school reform
resources, including promising
practices and tools to help close the achievement gap.
Can We Have High Standards
and Meet Teacher Demand?
In this paper prepared for a September 1998 AFT/NEA conference on teacher
quality, Linda Darling-Hammond offers "strategies for solving the dilemmas
of teacher supply, demand, and standards." In "How Can We Ensure
a Caring, Competent, Qualified Teacher for Every Child?", Darling-Hammond
-- who directs the National Commission on Teaching & America's Future
--offers a "top ten" list of strategies that states and school
districts can use to balance the demands for quantity and quality over time.
Teaching
for High Standards:
What Policymakers Need to Know and Be Able to Do
"Teaching for High Standards: What Policymakers Need to Know and Be
Able to Do," by Linda Darling Hammond and Deborah Loewenberg Ball was
written for policymakers but has important ideas for administrators as well.
One of several commissioned papers from the National
Education Goals Panel that address implementation of standards-based
reform.
A
Critique of State Standards
The Fordham Foundation prepares state-by-state appraisals of standards,
testing and accountability. Perhaps the most cogent presentation of the
conversative accountability argument.
New
Page, Old Lesson: Why Educational Standards Fail the Political Test
Author and journalist Peter Schrag discusses the politics of state standards-setting,
using California's experience as an object lesson. From the April 1998 issue
of American Prospect.
Standards
and Accountability: Where the Public Stands
Public Agenda, a nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization, has been
surveying public attitudes about the standards and high-stakes accountability
movement for several years. This page lists pertinent Public Agenda reports,
including "Reality
Check 2000," and "Reality
Check 2001" (published in Education Week) and "Survey
Finds Little Sign of Backlash Against Academic Standards or Standardized
Tests" (2000 - PDF File).
Achieve
-- the Corporate/Government Standards Partnership
Achieve, Inc. is an independent, bipartisan, not-for-profit organization
formed in 1996 by governors and corporate CEOs "who shared a powerful
belief that: ...high academic standards, demanding tests to measure those
standards, and accountability for performance can push our schools and students
to much higher achievement." Website includes many standards-oriented
resources.
A
National Standards Clearinghouse
This standards database, developed by Achieve, Inc., offers a searchable
online collection of standards and benchmarks for K-12 education in English
language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies. Draws on standards
developed by many different sources. Achieve
is a business-led bipartisan, nonprofit organization that "helps states
raise academic standards, measure performance against those standards, establish
clear accountability for results and strengthen public confidence in our
education system."
Emerging
Educational Standards of Performance in the US
This August 1997 report by Eva L. Baker and Robert L. Linn of the Center
for Research on Evaluation, Standards and Student Testing reviews trends
in the development of content and performance standards and raises issues
that must be addressed by the assessment community. For a complete list
of CRESST standards-oriented reports, see
this index.
Attaining
Excellence: A TIMSS Resource Kit
Kit developed by the U.S. Department of Education to help educators and
citizens use the findings of the Third International Mathematics and Science
Study (TIMSS) to improve schools.
"Based on the world's largest, most comprehensive, and rigorous international
comparison of mathematics and science education, the kit will help state
and local policy makers, educators, and citizens compare their systems to
those of other countries. Its wealth of information about international
student achievement, teaching, and curricula is designed to facilitate local
discussions." It's free and downloadable (or order and get CD with
TIMSS videos). See
these other TIMSS resources.
Standards-Setting
Activities in the U.S.
This issue of Improving America's Schools (Spring 1996) provided
an overview of the variety of standards-setting activities occurring in
elementary and secondary education in the U.S. The issue includes these
brief articles: "Standards:
What Are They;" "The State Content and Student Performance
Standards Setting Process;" "Resources for Developing Challenging
State Standards;" "Discipline-Based Standards," and "Standard-Setting
Focuses Reform in Local Districts."
America's
Choice School Network: Standards-Based Reform Model
The America's Choice School Network (formerly the National Alliance for
Restructuring Education) offers its own version of comprehensive standards-based
reform, named as a "proven design" by the federally funded Comprehensive
School Reform Demonstration (CSRD) program.
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