January 11, 2001
Education Week, Vol. 20, Issue 17
Education
The Personal Touch
With many students failing state tests, Kent County officials responded with extra academic assistance.
Education
In Support of Teachers
Fayette County schools offer professional-development opportunities geared toward academic standards.
Education
Driven by Data
Educators in the Lancaster schools analyze students’ state and district test scores to improve instruction.
Education
Parent Power
The San Benito district reaches out to parents and trains them to help their children meet the standards.
Education
An Examination in Secrecy
When Andrew Renner sat down to take his state's high school graduation exam this past spring, he had seen a copy of the writing test only once before the first time he failed the exam. A typical teenager, Renner did not write more than he believed necessary to pass the retake of the Arizona Instrument to Measure Standards. He failed the writing exam a second time.
Education
The Standards Keystone
Experts look to the district as the focal point for bringing standards alive.
Education
How High the Bar?
The expectations states have set for students run the gamut from low to high.
Education
Overboard on Testing?
Tests were intended to be part of the standards system. Now, they dominate.
Education
Seeking Stability For Standards-Based Education
Without a better balance among standards, tests, and support, the movement could fail.
Education
Examples of Promising Practices
As states move deeper into standards-based reform, they are experimenting with a variety of way to help teachers improve classroom instruction. They're publishing manuals that explain how curricula should change, financing professional-development activities that support a standards-based approach, and operating Web sites that offer examples of lesson plans, curriculum units, and testing materials. Here is a sampling of what some states are doing to help make standards part of everyday life in schools. Each vignette represents a small piece of the state's overall standards strategy.
Education
The State of the States 2001
Education Week examines the building blocks for developing a high-quality education.
Education
Pressure Without Support
States have forged ahead with accountability systems, but not the infrastructure to support them.
Education
Missing Pieces
Though told to teach to the standards, teachers often aren’t given the tools for the job.
Education
Poll: Teachers Support Standards-With Hesitation
Education Week’s "National Survey of Public School Teachers, 2000" was conducted by Belden Russonello & Stewart, a Washington-based opinion-research group. The national survey of 1,019 public school teachers was conducted by telephone Aug. 28 through Sept. 17, 2000.
Education
Meeting the Challenge
One of the rallying cries of standards-based education is that all students can achieve at high levels--a point proven by a number of high-performing, high-poverty schools.
Education
Finding The Right Mix
Standards-based initiatives are reaching classrooms, but not all the results are positive.
Education
A Primer on Alignment
Alignment between academic standards and student tests is critical to the success of standards-based school improvement. Traditionally, "alignment" meant going through a checklist to see if a test question measured a standard.
Education
Gaining Ground
States have come a long way in designing standards and tests, but not far enough.