The Standards-Based Classroom:Make Learning the Goal

Win big in the standards-based classroom.

 Get to know which practices related to curriculum, instruction, and assessment are essential to make learning the goal for every student! A how-to book for hands-on implementation, this resource provides useful strategies for making changes that will pave the way for major transformation. Culled from over two decades of classroom expertise, this essential guide shows readers how to

• Create learning targets that are scalable and transferable within and across units
• Develop instructional scales for each learning target that define the increasing complexity of the skill progression
• Design non-scored practice activities, intentional formative assessments, and summative assessments to provide reliable, individual evidence of achievement toward learning targets
• Introduce and model skills that will be assessed and design tasks that allow students to use these skills to practice with the content
• Differentiate instruction and activities based on data from various types of assessments
• Maintain a gradebook that tracks summative achievement of learning targets, and score assessments accordingly
• Communicate clearly and efficiently with all students and families about progress and learning

The four sections—Articulate Desired Results, Develop Targeted Assessment, Design Effective Instruction, and Monitor and Communicate Learning—are chock full of examples, tools, templates, and initial PD scales.