Teaching to Academic Standards

Council for Basic Education (CBE). STANDARDS FOR EXCELLENCE IN EDUCATION: A GUIDE FOR PARENTS, TEACHERS, AND PRINCIPALS FOR EVALUATING AND IMPLEMENTING STANDARDS FOR EDUCATION. Washington, D.C.: CBE, 1998.
Brings together standards on a manageable scale. Comes with a CD-ROM.Their multimedia materials on standards can be ordered from their Web site at
http://www.c-b-e.org/

Education Trust. FRONT-END ALIGNMENT: USING STANDARDS TO STEER EDUCATIONAL CHANGE. Washington, DC: Education Trust, 1996.
Short introduction to standards. Accessible to educators.

Marzano, Robert J., and John S. Kendall. A COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE TO DESIGNING STANDARDS-BASED DISTRICTS, SCHOOLS, AND CLASSROOMS. Alexandria, VA: ASCD and McREl.

Marzano, Robert J., and John S. Kendall. CONTENT KNOWLEDGE: A COMPENDIUM OF STANDARDS AND BENCHMARKS FOR K-12 EDUCATION. Alexandria, VA: McREl, but available from the ASCD.
A huge compendium of all the standards.

Mitchell, Ruth, Marilyn Willis, Marilyn Crawford, and the Chicago Teacher's Union Quest Center. LEARNING IN OVERDRIVE: DESIGNING CURRICULUM, INSTRUCTION, AND ASSESSMENT FROM STANDARDS. A MANUAL FOR TEACHERS. Golden, CO: North America Press, and Washington, DC: The Education Trust, 1997.

National Center on Education and the Economy (NCEE). NEW STANDARDS PERFORMANCE STANDARDS, ELEMENTARY, MIDDLE, AND HIGH SCHOOL. Washington, DC: NCEE, 1997.
Phone: 202-783-3668 or 1-800-228-0752.

National Center on Education and the Economy (NCEE). READING AND WRITING GRADE BY GRADE: PRIMARY LITERACY STANDARDS FOR KINDERGARTEN THROUGH THIRD GRADE. Washington, DC: NCEE, 1999.
Accompanied by a CD-ROM.

Newmann, Fred. M., and Gary G. Wehlage. SUCCESSFUL SCHOOL RESTRUCTURING. A REPORT TO THE PUBLIC AND EDUCATORS by THE CENTER ON ORGANIZATION AND RESTRUCTURING OF SCHOOLS. Madison, WI: Wisconsin Center for Educational Research, 1995.

Ravitch, Diane. NATIONAL STANDARDS IN AMERICAN EDUCATION: A CITIZEN'S GUIDE. Washington, DC: The Brookings Institution, 1998.

Tucker, Marc and Judy Codding. STANDARD FOR OUR SCHOOLS: HOW TO SET THEM, MEASURE THEM, AND REACH THEM. San Francisco: Jossey Bass, 1998.

Academic Standards discussion from American Federation of Teachers
http://www.aft.org/edissues/standards/

"Developing Content Standards: Creating a Process for Change"In CPRE POLICY BRIEFS (October 1993)
http://www.ed.gov/pubs/CPRE/rb10stan.html
Practical suggestions to improve standards.

"Finding Time to Meet in the School Day" in FOCUS (1997).
This article looks at how schools can effectively use instructional time. Suggestions on scheduling are discussed along with recommendations on how to better meet standards. A publication of The Boston Plan for Excellence. Contact Mary Ann Cohen at 617-227-8055 for more information. Web site:
http://www.bpe.org

Jones, Jeffrey M. "The Standards Movement - Past and Present."
http://www.execpc.com/~presswis/stndmvt.html
An overview of the history of how standards are set, beginning with the famous Committee of Ten report to Goals 2000. The author discusses issues surrounding the conceptualization and implementation of standards.

Marzano, R. J., and John. S. Kendall. "The Fall and Rise of Standards-Based Education."
http://www.mcrel.org/products/standards/fallrise.asp
A lengthy and informative treatment of the history of standards as well as an argument for reforming education through higher standards.

"Third International Maths and Science Study."
http://www.col-ed.org/smcnws/timss/
The international comparative study that sparked recent calls for reform in the way we teach mathematics and science.

"Too Many Standards? Too Little Time? A Closer Look," in FOCUS, Vol. 1 (1999-2000), a publication of The Boston Plan for Excellence.
Contact Mary Ann Cohen at 617-227-8055 for more information. Web site:
http://www.bpe.org

"1999 TIMSS Benchmarking: Benchmarking to International Standards"
http://timss.bc.edu/TIMSS1/Bench99.html
Discussions on how data from the TIMSS 1999 study can be used by states to gauge performance standards and to set an agenda for educational excellence.

American Federation of Teachers
http://www.aft.org/

Department of Education
http://www.ed.gov

Learning and Research Development Center, University of Pittsburgh
http://www.lrdc.pitt.edu/director.htm

Mid-Continental Regional Educational Laboratory
http://www.mcrel.org/

National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
http://www.nctm.org/

Putnam Valley School District
http://putnamvalleyschools.org/

MAKING GOOD ON THE PROMISE: HIGH STANDARDS FOR ALL
Prepared by the Cross City Campaign for Urban School Reform. Cross City's mission is the dramatic improvement of public education so that all urban youth -- especially students who are Black, Latino, Asian, and Native American and students from low-income communities -- are well prepared for post-secondary education, work and citizenship.
Phone: 312-322-4880. Web site:
www.crosscity.org

MATHLINE
http://teacher.shop.pbs.org/
MATHLINE brings the most recent advances in instructional techniques to teachers across the country. Through participation in MATHLINE, teachers collaborate to make important decisions about their teaching. Each project, ESMP (K-5), MSMP (5-8), and HSMP (7-12) provides Internet-based learning communities facilitated by experienced classroom teachers, a series of video lessons which allow teachers to make "virtual visits" to classrooms where teachers and students are engaged in standards-based instruction, and lesson guides along with suggested ideas for online discussions. There are unlimited opportunities for online interaction and collaboration with teachers, both locally and nationally, who are involved in mathematics education reform.

THE THINKING CURRICULUM: A HIGHER STANDARD OF LEARNING
THE THINKING CURRICULUM is a nine part series that examines a range of topics and issues including reforming schools, parental involvement, equitable practices, assessment, and new approaches to instruction.

Department of Education's Publication on Standards
http://www.ed.gov/pubs/Standards/

Principles and Standards for School Mathematics
http://standards-e.nctm.org/

Education Week
http://www.edweek.org/

EXEMPLARS
Exemplars offers math (K-12), science (K-8), reading, writing, and research (5-8) materials for districts and schools using standards-based learning. It also offers professional development classes for teachers. For more information, call 800-450-4050 or visit the Web site at
http://www.exemplars.com/.

MARYLAND ASSESSMENT CONSORTIUM: PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT TASKS, ELEMENTARY AND MIDDLE SCHOOL LEVEL.
Contact Maryland Assessment Consortium, 115 East Church St., Frederick, MD 21701; phone: 301-694-1337. There is a sliding fee for using these tasks.

NEW STANDARDS RELEASED TASKS: ELEMENTARY, MIDDLE, AND HIGH SCHOOL IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS AND MATHEMATICS.
Call 1-800-228-0752.

NEW STANDARDS PORTFOLIOS IN ELEMENTARY, MIDDLE, AND HIGH SCHOOL IN ENGLISH/ LANGUAGE ARTS, MATHEMATICS, AND SCIENCE

PACKETS: PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT FOR MIDDLE SCHOOL MATHEMATICS
Developed by the Educational Testing Services, now sold by D.C. Heath. For more information, contact Nancy Katims at ETS, 1-800-545-2302.

Recommendations and Standards
http://www.ed.gov/pubs/PeerReview/title.html

Statistics on Standards and Other Topics on Education
http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/bytype.asp?pubtype=003

The Nation's Report Card
http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/


Organizations

National Center for Education Statistics
http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/
This organization produced the nation's education "report card" and makes information on student performance available to policymakers at the national, state, and local levels.

National Center for Restructuring Education, Schools and Teaching
http://www.tc.columbia.edu/~ncrest/
"NCREST works to develop understandings that help schools become: learner-centered by focusing on the needs of learners in school organization, governance, and pedagogy; knowledge-based, by restructuring teacher learning and professional development; and responsible and responsive, by restructuring accountability and assessment practices." Renowned educational theorists Linda Darling-Hammond and Gary Griffin direct the center.

The Education Trust
http://www.edtrust.org/
"Established in 1990 by the American Association for Higher Education (AAHE) as a special project to encourage colleges and universities to support K-12 reform efforts, the Education Trust has grown into an independent nonprofit organization whose mission is to make schools and colleges work for all of the young people they serve." States the mission statement of this nonprofit organization.


Initiatives

Coalition of Essential Schools
http://www.essentialschools.org/

Congress's National Educational Goals
Published on THE NEW YORK TIMES Web site. (This site requires registration.)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/national/120399national-goals-edu.html

Mission Consolidated Independent School District, Texas
http://www.mission-cons.k12.tx.us/

The Boston Plan for Excellence
http://www.bpe.org/

Ysleta School District, Texas
http://www.ysleta.isd.tenet.edu

Teaching to Academic Standards
Explanation | Demonstration | Exploration | Implementation