A Standard of Measure
Melinda ButlerEDCI 650
Standard of Measure• Something established by authority, custom,
or general consent as a model or example
• As Christians we are held to high standards on how to live a life of service to God and others• Proverbs 3:5-7
• Colossians 1:10, 3:5-10
• We are given detailed instruction on how to• Make decisions• Carry them out• Assess how we’ve done
We are also provided with rewards -- 2 Peter 1:8-11
Standards in Education• Skills and levels of competency that all
students must possess in order to move through the educational system.
• Statements that identify essential knowledge and skills to be learned -- taught.
• Set by local, state, federal groups`
• Goal: set clear, high expectations for what all
students should know and be able to do at each grade level.• Assessed through standardized testing.
America 2000Goals 2000
No Child Left Behind
A Nation At Risk
The Wave of School Reform
1983
Criticized schoolsLinked decline of U.S. Ability to compete globallyWith decline in school quality
National Standards Meets World ClassStandards
Accountability
2001
Ambitious Standards
School Accountability
AlignedAssessment
Guide forImprovement
Motivation To Improve
Aligned Professional Development Better TeachingSchool Flexibility More Instructional Time for Remediation.
ClearHigh
Expectations
For Students
Benefits of a Standard Based Design
• Changes in expectations and accountability needed
• This design holds the greatest hope for improving student achievement
• Supports good learning and assessment
• High expectations• Provides focus for
educators• Reinforces “best
teaching” practices• Establishes
accountability
Proponents State:
Important Structural Guidelines
• Standards need to be:– Clearly stated– Free from jargon– Succinct
• Assessment need to be– Aligned with standards– Remedial tools
• Teacher Quality needs to be:– Highest quality– Supported by professional development
Areas of Concern
Opponents state:• Little empirical
evidence of effectiveness
• Difficult for educators to define what students should know
• Top-down standards don’t consider “How” children learn
• Test driven methods lower quality of education overall
Leading Opponents Alfie Kohn -- W. James Popham
• “rhetoric of ‘standards’ is turning schools into giant test-prep centers, effectively closing off intellectual inquiry and undermining enthusiasm for learning and teaching” (Kohn, 2000).
• “standard” is being misconstrued; tricking us into thinking that it will become the new panacea in education while implying standard-based assessments becomes a tool that promotes students’ mastery of these content standards (Popham, 2003).
• Making students accountable for test scores works well on a bumper sticker and it allows many politicians to look good by saying that they will not tolerate failure. But it represents a hollow promise. Far from improving education, high- stakes testing marks a major retreat from fairness, from accuracy, from quality, and from equity. --- Senator Paul Wellstone (1944-2002).
High Stakes Accountability• Concern over high stakes tests:
– Culturally biased– Not objective measures of ability or achievement– Used to pass judgment on teaching and schools– Affected by inequitable dispersement of funds and
resources
If bonuses for high scores are dangled in front of teachers or schools – or punitive “consequences” are threatened for low scores – chances are far greater that a meaningful curriculum will be elbowed out to make room for test-oriented instruction. -- Alfie Kohn, 2000
Standards and Curriculum Design
• Bottom Line - How to align curriculum with standards to improve student learning.
• Curriculum alignment - the “match” or fit between the curriculum and the assessment
Benjamin Bloom• Bloom’s Taxonomy
– Higher Order Thinking Skills– Cornerstone for establishing Behavioral
Objectives• Earliest form of curriculum alignment
• Programmed/Mastery Curriculum– 1960’s early 1970’s– Detailed Learning Objectives formed basis
for lesson planning
Curriculum
TestingTeaching
`
Curriculum Alignment Design
Continuous Connections
Fenwick English
Leading Advocate inCurriculum Alignment
Frontloading
Backloading
Frontloading
• Alignment established by working from the curriculum to the test
• Develop curriculum first then select,adapt, or develop the test that fits the curriculum
Backloading
• Alignment established by beginning with the test and working “back” to the curriculum
• The content of the test becomes the content of the curriculum
Easy - Inexpensive
• Favorite process when concerns with High Stakes Tests
Combining Frontloading/Backloading
• Backloading– Aligns curriculum with test objectives to
raise test scores
• Frontloading– To develop classroom assessments that
are in alignment with existing classroom curriculum
Popular Designs• Standards Linking
– Judy F. Carr & Douglas Harris– Succeeding with Standards
• Backward Design–Understanding by Design–Wiggins & McTighe, 1998
• Curriculum Mapping
Standards Linking
Backward Design
Identify Desired ResultsEnduring Understanding
Essential Questions Determine Acceptable Evidence – Assessments that are ongoing, varied
Plan Learning Experiences
Activities, Materials, Resources that guide students to enduring
understandingDevelop Lesson Plan
Curriculum Mapping
Collect Data
Use Calendar Based Format
Review Data
May involve Individual or Group
Identify Changes
Needed to Align Curriculum
Widely used by school districts
Teachers use it as a tool to keep track of whatHas actually been taught throughout the year thenModify and refine next years curriculum
Major Benefit: School wide input and involvement
Curriculum concepts
Standards andState guidelines
Activities
Assessments
School Calendar Events
ConclusionImportant -Development of curriculum based on clearly
established standards.Problems -Accountability through Increased State and
Federal Pressures and High Stakes TestingEffects: General School Structure, Classroom Environment, Teaching Strategies,Student Well Being
Assessment
References• American Federation of Teachers. (1996). A system of high standards: What we mean and
why we need it. http://www.aft.org//Edissues/standards/higstan.htm• (Retrieved February 3, 2003).
• David, J. L., Shields, P. M., Humphrey, D. C., & Young, V. M. (2001). When theory hits reality: Standards-based reform in urban districts, Final narrative report. Menlo Park, CA: SRI International.
• English, F.W. & Frase, L.E. (1999). Deciding what to teach and test: Developing, aligning, and auditing the curriculum. Newbury Park, CA: Corwin Press.
• Gandal, M. (1997). Making standards matter: An annual fifty-state report on efforts to raise academic standards. Washington, DC: American Federation of Teachers.
• Gandal, M.& Vranek, J. (2001). Standards: Here today, here tomorrow. Educational Leadership, September, 59 (1): 6-13.
• See notes below for continuation of list