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