How to Use This Book

proficiency scale for each priority standard guides teaching and learning, building more complex knowledge on the foundation of simpler content. A high-quality scale brings together all the elements of planning, instruction, assessment, and feedback in a standardsbased classroom. Therefore, it is vital not only that teachers have high-quality scales with which to work, but also that they are thoroughly familiar with the process by which scales are created and how the levels of a proficiency scale are related to each other. Since schools and districts often do this curriculum work at the school or district level, you may not need to prioritize standards or create proficiency scales yourself, but chapter 1 will provide important background information regardless.

After identifying priority standards and developing high-quality proficiency scales, the next essential step is to determine the order in which you will present the standards during the school year. Doing so ensures the standards—not a textbook or third-party resource— are the basis of course pacing and sequencing. In chapter 2, we provide several methods by which teachers can carefully craft a plan to logically sequence the material—a process we refer to as curriculum mapping. While we highly encourage teams of teachers to take on this task together, it can readily be done by a single teacher adopting standards-based learning for his or her classroom. In most cases, curriculum mapping for a course or grade level only needs to be done once and then occasionally revisited for adjustments.

In chapter 3, we present an eight-step process for developing instructional cycles. Following this detailed process allows teachers to develop units around the standards and associated proficiency scales while including plans for assessments, reteaching, and enrichment activities. Instructional cycles are ideal for developing student proficiency on established and identified priority standards. The essential difference in a standards-based learning approach is the shift in emphasis from the teacher’s instruction to the student’s learning. Rather than a focus on what the teacher does during the instructional cycle, our eight-step process emphasizes what students know and can do. Our process supports that important shift and makes it easier for teachers to align instruction with the learning progression described in the proficiency scale, which drives the instructional cycle.

Certain aspects of the instructional cycle warrant further exploration. One of these is planning and executing individual lessons, which chapter 4 reviews in depth. Here, we guide teachers to select instructional strategies and lesson types aligned to a particular level of a proficiency scale. This chapter also discusses ways to shape lessons as students’ understanding develops, including adjusting plans according to student needs and offering extension and remediation. These adjustments go a long way to helping teachers meet student needs throughout the instructional cycle.

Chapter 5 provides basic information on assessment. Measuring and tracking student progress are essential in standards-based learning because such assessments provide teachers with clear formative data to use in adjusting instruction to meet the needs of students and ensure they learn. We discuss creating and scoring assessments aligned with proficiency scale levels. Just as teaching strategies can be aligned with each level of the proficiency scale, so too can assessment items provide specific feedback on each learning target on each level of the scale. We have also included information about student goal

setting and tracking progress on these goals. Having students set personal learning goals and then track their own progress on those goals fosters enormous growth in students’ connection with their own learning.

Finally, chapter 6 reviews the proficiency scale as a communication tool. It is the basis of communication with students about the changes that standards-based learning brings to the classroom. Furthermore, scales enable clearer communication with parents and guardians. We understand that when taking on a change as major as standards-based learning, teachers will be concerned with how parents and guardians perceive this change and whether they will accept it. This new approach to teaching and learning will be substantially unlike anything most adults experienced in their own school careers, so we have included some helpful advice on how to involve parents with this change.

Although the changes described in this book may at first appear daunting, the benefits that emerge as teachers make the transition to standards-based learning will outweigh the concerns at the start. Students will be more engaged, more likely to complete assignments, more able to see the relevance of what they are learning, and more likely to value the learning they accomplish. Teachers will find a clarity of purpose and process that may inspire a renewed love for their profession. We now examine each step in the process of standards-based learning for planning and instruction, starting with priority standards and proficiency scales.