Teaching & Learning

Despite the nationwide push to set higher expectations for academic performance, many districts are not ensuring that teachers know how to help students measure up against those new standards, the results of a study suggest.

In a poll of 212 of its members, the National Staff Development Council found that barely half were in districts where state performance standards were used as a basis for designing staff training. Nationwide, more than 8,000 curriculum-development coordinators, school administrators, and other educators belong to the Oxford, Ohio- based NSDC.

The organization's new report also shows that many school systems are making only a limited investment in any kind of professional development— either in time or money. About 38 percent of those who responded to the survey reported that their districts set aside just three days...