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component:what.standards
Education Standardization: Essential or Harmful?
In my previous post, I described how much of the standardization that exists in our current system of schooling is harmful to students and should be eliminated, but made the argument that not all standardization is harmful - that, in fact, in some cases it is essential to enable innovation and transformation.
PARCC Provides Advice on Access and Test Administration
The 22 state assessment consortia PARCC issued administrative guidelines this week and they included more advice about access. Previously, PARCC issued updates the design of both the assessments and released item prototypes. District and school administrators should pay attention to the The PARCC Assessment Administration Capacity Planning Tool.
From Batch Print to Show What You Know
The shift from print to digital is a big deal, but in many ways the shift from cohorts to competency is the more profound transformation underway in education.
10,000 Teachers Collaborate on Common Core-Alignment Project
None of those old basal textbooks are aligned to the Common Core State Standards, but they all include great content. What to do? About 10,000 teachers on Edmodo have turned to the The Basal Alignment Project, an online library of revised replacement lessons from common basal reading series (3rd-5th grades) each carefully aligned to the Common Core State Standards (Edmodo Group code: etuyrm).
Next Generation Science Standards: A Guide to the 2nd Draft
The second draft of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) is now available for public comment at http://www.nextgenscience.org/. This final public draft will be available online for everyone to review and provide feedback until January 29. Following this comment period, Achieve and the lead state partners will continue revising the draft, and expect to release the final standards for states to consider adopting in March.
7 Teacher Questions About Common Core State Standards
The Riverside Unified School District is taking a collaborative approach in the transition to Common Core State Standards (CCSS) by bringing together teachers from different levels and disciplines to serve as Common Core Ambassadors. These ambassadors will work together to discuss ideas, and to provide input regarding district-wide implementation. We have our second meeting next month, and I am looking forward to the process.
New Paper on Student Supports in Competency-Based Environments
In December 2012, CompetencyWorks released The Learning Edge: Supporting Student Success in a Competency-Based Learning Environment. The paper delves into the fourth element of the definition: Students receive timely, differentiated support based on their individual learning needs.
Answers For & Lessons From Critics of Competency-Based Learning
I'm trying to square two things that happened last week. The Nellie Mae Foundation issued a great report called Making Mastery Work: A Close Up View of Competency Education (MMW), a visit to 11 cool schools. The other event was a Facebook dialog with unschoolers that think competency-based schemes are more testing in a fancy package.
Top 10 Questions to Ask Common Core Vendors
The implementation of Common Core State Standards is intended to create change in our nation's public education system ... not put change in the pockets of the American publishing industry.
Wikispaces For Designing Common Core Activities
Are you wondering where to begin to adopt the Common Core ELA standards? While there are many individual standards to sift through, it’s important to take a step back and look at the big picture to gain an understanding of the importance of the teacher’s role in designing learning experiences to facilitate a more active classroom that supports students as producers.