The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) represent the first time that nearly every state has set common expectations for what students should know and be able to do. In the past, each state set its own standards, and the results varied widely. And while states collectively developed these common standards, decisions about the curriculum and…

Today's ever-changing learning environment is characterized by the fast pace of technology that drives our society to move forward, and causes our knowledge to increase at an exponential rate. The need for in-depth research that is bound to generate new knowledge about curriculum and program development is becoming ever more relevant.…

In recent years, governors, chief state school officers, business leaders, and college faculty have grown increasingly concerned that American students are not adequately prepared either for college or for the workforce. Governors and chief state school officers understood that the changing economy and persistent achievement gaps required a…

A brief list of questions is offered as a checklist for local school districts who have developed a language arts curriculum plan and who want to appraise their work. The questions elicit information on curriculum design, key components and elements of the curriculum plan, teacher role, continuity, sequence, flexibility, implementation, and…

Representing a shift toward performance based education, this content guide and framework is designed to help schools in Idaho develop a K-12 English language arts curriculum and program and formulate some realistic goals for themselves and their students. An introductory section discusses performance based education, goals for English language…

Explores educational possibilities and discusses how classroom practice might be related to one's communal and national future. Defines pedagogy as the integration in practice of particular curriculum content and design, classroom strategies and techniques, a time and space for the practice of those strategies and techniques, and evaluation…

Noting that multiage education continues to receive a great deal of interest as educators, legislators, and parents seek to find ways to improve educational experiences for all children, this book takes readers by the hand and guides them as they move from exploring the concept of multiage to the actual stages of implementation. As is consistent…

This booklet shows teachers and administrators how their school districts can use the Reading Authority List of the Reading Information System I (I-RIS), an analytic process for making decisions about language arts curriculum materials. Following an outline of I-RIS, pages of the Reading Authority List are accompanied by guidelines for using the…

The techniques used to collect data on the dominant speech patterns and verbal expressions of elementary school children are described as a means of systematizing oral language instruction. Specific recurring errors discovered in children's communication are discussed: the failure to focus on a major point, to support ideas, and to clarify…

Eight curriculum guides are provided for music and social studies; reading/language arts/social studies; reading/language arts; science; science/art; social studies. Objectives, resources, grade level, activity procedures, evaluation and follow-up suggestions are outlined for each activity. (JKP)

The responsibility of the reading/language arts program is to provide quality instruction, materials, and assessment practices to a diverse community of students. The responsibility of the Supervisor of Reading/Language Arts is to provide leadership toward integrating all communication skills with focus on increased student learning. There is no…

A report on the evaluation Workshop to define school objectives is presented. The three-week workshop in defining and measuring objectives in the areas of interests, attitudes and values was held at Emerson School in Elmhurst, Illinois. Some questions studied by the workshop group include the following: Can interests, attitudes, and values be…

The EXCELS! Project of the Anchorage School District (Alaska) was initiated in 1994 through a grant from the U.S. Department of Education to demonstrate the development of a kindergarten through sixth grade instructional program reflecting state and national standards in History, Civics, Geography, and English. More than 1,200 Anchorage teachers…

This appendix accompanies "Gaining Ground in the Middle Grades: Why Some Schools Do Better. A Large-Scale Study of Middle Grades Practices and Student Outcomes. Initial Research Report." This appendix focuses on the findings and domain comparisons of the study. This appendix contains the following: (1) Decision Rules; (2) Full Set of…

This document, part of a series of papers which describe the assessment of student learning in areas of the curriculum from prekindergarten through grade 12, focuses on assessment in the language arts. Current practices are reviewed. Subsequent sections describe guidelines for appropriate curriculum goals and content in language arts programs. A…