-Standards-based+Curriculum

= Standards-based Curriculum =

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 * Designing standards-based curriculum, instruction, and assessment.
 * As we all knows standards-based curriculum, instruction, and assessment is discussed in every school across the nation. The reason for a standards-based approach to teaching is to help level the playing field for all students while still setting high learning targets. However, the standards-based approach seems not to be leveling the playing field or setting high learning targets due to misconceptions about what standards based instruction should be. In my opinion, we should be using these standards as a way to know where students are, where we want them to be, and how we will get them where we want them to be; what skills/content we want them to acquire, learn, or understand.
 * According to the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) reports, which compared state proficiency standards to the NAEP standards:
 * //There is a strong negative correlation between the proportions of students meeting the states’ proficiency standards and the NAEP score equivalents to those standards, suggesting that the observed heterogeneity in states’ reported percents proficient can be largely attributed to differences in the stringency of their standards (National Center for Education Statistics, 2007, p. iii)//
 * This means that schools across the nation are operating with different standard. Some are striving to meet higher learning goals while others are lower expectations as a way of meeting testing requirements put forth by the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). Many people want to know how this is allowed to happen. Who is in charge of monitoring state standards and the implementation of those standards in the classroom? How will we ever level the playing field for all students if we are not all implementing the same standards and creating high expectations?
 * To address these issues the Council of Chief State School Officers and the National Governors Association have created Common Core Standards for math and English. These Common Core Standards were developed to help create more uniformity throughout our nation’s schools. There are positive and negative aspects of all states adopting the same standards. It will help level the playing field, in theory, but in actuality how will it play out. How will these standards help address the challenges facing school, such as inequitable financing or uneven teacher quality.
 * Below you will find a link to view the Common Core Standards and you can start to develop your own ideas about the positive and negative aspects about them, how to implement them, and if we should consider supporting them?
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 * Another aspect facing us as educators that relates to standards based curriculum is the utilization of digital standards. The International Society for Technology in Education (iste) has digital standard to help address curriculum issues for the 21stCentury learner and the digital natives that we are faced with daily in our classrooms. We need to make sure we are aware of these types of standards because this is how we are going to meet students were they are at. Below are some of the areas that the iste standards address:
 * Creativity and Innovation
 * Communication and Collaboration
 * Research and Information Fluency
 * Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making
 * Digital Citizenship
 * Technology Operations and Concepts
 * Below you can find a link to the iste’s website so you can review both the teacher and students technology standards.
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 * Let me know what your thoughts about how you feel about standards-based curriculum, instruction, and assessment. Do have any ideas to share about how you address your states standards? Do you like or dislike the idea of Core Curriculum Standards? Head the discussion page and voice your opinion.