Parents & Students
Department of Defense Education Activity
(DoDEA) Links
Non-DoD Schools Program
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A Standards-Based
Education System.
Standards-based education is a process for planning, delivering,
monitoring and improving academic programs in which clearly
defined academic content standards provide the basis for
content in instruction and assessment.
- Standards help ensure students learn
what is important, rather than allowing textbooks to
dictate classroom practice.
- Student learning is the focus
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aiming for a high and deep level of student understanding
that goes beyond traditional textbook-based or lesson-based
instruction.
A standards-based system:
- measures its success based on student
learning (the achievement of standards) rather than compliance
with rules and regulations.
- aligns policies, initiatives, curriculum, instruction,
and assessments with clearly defined academic standards.
- consistently communicates and uses standards to focus
on ways to ensure success for all students.
- uses assessment
to inform instruction.
Standards-based systems increase student achievement
Students generally learn better in a standards-based environment
because everybody's working towards the same goal.
- Teachers know what the standards are and choose classroom
activities and teaching
strategies that enable students to achieve the standards.
- Students know the standards, too, and can see scoring
guides that embody them. The students can use them to
complete their work.
- Parents know them and can help students by seeing that
their homework aligns with the standards.
- Administrators know what is necessary to attain the standards
and provide professional development, resources and materials
to ensure that students are able to reach the prescribed
standards.
Differences Between
Standards-Based and Norm-Referenced
Systems
| Norm-Referenced |
Standards-Based |
| Believe some students are naturally smarter than
others. |
Believe virtually all students can "get smart" through
effort. |
| Content subject matter varies with different groups
of students. |
Content subject matter is the same for all groups
of students. |
| Assessments compare what students know to what other
students know. |
Assessments compare what students know to standards
and benchmarks. |
| No objective criteria to deploy resources -- students
who need the most often get the least. |
Resources are deployed as needed for all students
to meet standards -- students who need more get more. |
| Professional development episodic -- one-time workshops. |
Professional development focuses on improving instruction
so all students meet standards. |
“The standards come alive when teachers
study student work, collaborate with other teachers to improve
their understanding of subjects and students’ thinking,
and develop new approaches to teaching that are relevant
and useful for them and their students”
- Linda Darling-Hammond, 1997
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4 Keys to Success for ALL Students
- Curriculum: Specifies
the program devised by DoDEA used to prepare students
to meet content standards.
- Instruction: Methods
and strategies used to teach the curriculum.
- Assessment: Monitor
student achievement and evaluate progress toward goals.
- Environment: The physical surroundings,
allotted time, and climate in which instruction takes
place.
In a standards-based system. . .
Teachers:
- - Articulate standards
- - Inform students about the standards
- - Use standards to design instruction and assessment
- - Use rubrics and other methods to clearly communicate student
expectations.
- - Provide feedback to help students improve performance
- - Use teaching methods that suit the individual student's
needs.
- - Communicate progress towards the achievement of standards
Students:
- - Can describe the standards
- - Use self-assessment and reflection to improve performance
- - Take
responsibility for their own learning.
- - Communicate progress towards the achievement of standards
“Academic standards are a fair and effective
way to give students the ‘rules of the game’ when
they are in school. By comparing your child’s performance
to a fixed standard, parents, children, and teachers all know
precisely what is expected. Every time the child attempts a task,
the performance is compared to the standard—not to the
performance of other children. The most important advantages
for children and their parents are fairness, clarity and improved
student learning.”
(from Prisoners
of Time, National Education Commission on Time
and Learning)
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