Picture
Educators have frequently struggled with the sheer volume of state and national standards which outline what each student should know and be able to do.  Marzano and Kendall (1998) wrote, “if American educators were to adequately cover all of the knowledge identified in the current set of standards for the core subject areas, it might take as much as 22 years of schooling.”  Power Standards: Identifying the Standards that Matter the Most provides educators with a proven process for prioritizing standards and determining which standards are most essential for student success.

Ainsworth is quick to share that he is not advocating for teachers to randomly select standards which will be eliminated from curriculum and instruction.  The process is designed to assist schools and school systems in identifying essential understandings and skills that are important for students to develop. 

The Power Standards Identification Criteria:
Developed by Dr. Douglas Reeves

1)  Endurance: 
      Will this standard or indicator provide students with knowledge and skills
     that will be of value beyond a single test date?  For example, proficiency
     in reading will endure throughout a student’s academic career and
     professional life.

2)  Leverage:
     Will this provide knowledge and skills that will be of value in multiple
     disciplines?  For example, proficiency in creating graphs, tables, and
     charts and the ability to draw accurate inferences from them will help
     students in math, science, social studies, and language arts.  The ability
     to write an analytical and persuasive essay will similarly help students in
     every academic area.

3)  Readiness for the next level of learning:
     Will this provide students with essential knowledge and skills for that will
     prepare them for success in the next level of instruction? (p. 13)

The chapters in this book are outlined as follows:

Chapter One                  Why Power Standards?
Chapter Two                  How to Identify Power Standards
Chapter Three                Involving Everyone in Power Standards
Chapter Four-Six             Examples of the Process from U.S. School Districts
Chapter Seven                Frequently Asked Questions
Chapter Eight         Identifying Power Standards: The Step-by-Step Process
Chapter Nine                  Unwrapping Power Standards
Appendix A                 The “Safety Net” Curriculum
Appendix B                     Power Standards for the Middle Grades

If you or educators in your school have ever said, ‘I simply cannot cover all of the state standards in one year’, you are not alone.  Wiggins (1997) wrote, “with clarity about the purpose of content in the intended performance results, teachers and students will be able to grasp and better adjust in light of their priorities from day one” (p. 57).  Identifying Power Standards will provide clarity of purpose and will increase curriculum alignment within buildings and across school districts.  Please feel free to share your thoughts on Power Standards: Identifying the Standards that Matter the Most.

 
Ainsworth, L. (2003). Power standards: Identifying the standards that
           matter the most. Englewood, CO: Lead + Learn Press.

Additional References:

Marzano, R.J., & Kendall, J.S. (1998). Awash in a Sea of Standards. 
            Aurora, CO: Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning.

Wiggins, G. (1997). Work standards: Why we need standards for
            instructional and assessment design. NASSP Bulletin 81 (590):
            56 – 64. 


Add Comment
 
 

On Common Ground: The Power of Professional Learning Communities is a powerful contribution to the field of educational theory and research.  The contributing authors comprise a Who’s Who of Educational Leaders.  Roland Barth, Rebecca DuFour, Richard DuFour, Robert Eaker, Barbara Eason-Watkins, Michael Fullan, Lawrence Lezotte, Douglas Reeves, Jonathan Saphier, Mike Schmoker, Dennis Sparks, and Rick Stiggins share their individual research and collective experiences to allow educators to see how curriculum, instruction, assessment, and student achievement can improve through collaboration and purposeful actions of K-12 educators.

The book is organized into five sections:
   
      I.     Overview of PLCs
      II.    Critical Questions of PLCs
      III.   Creating PLCs
      IV.    Placing PLCs in a Broader Context
       V.    A Call to Action

Schmoker (2005) wrote, professional learning communities begin “with a group of teachers who meet regularly as a team to identify essential and valued student learning, develop common formative assessments, analyze current levels of achievement, set achievement goals, share strategies, and then create lessons to improve upon those levels” (p. xii).  Barth refers to professionals sharing their craft knowledge.  Fullan reminds educators that “each of us is the system” (p.221).  Professional learning communities provide educators with the opportunity to share craft knowledge, reflect on teaching and learning, develop curriculum, and improve the system.  Lezotte, whose name has become synonymous with the Effective Schools movement, wrote “There are only two kinds of schools – improving schools and declining schools” (p. 186).

Richard DuFour outlines three questions which drive the work of a professional learning community:

      1)   What do we want each student to learn?
  
      2)   How will we know when each student has learned it?

      3)   How will we respond when a student experiences difficulty in
            learning? (p. 33)

Professional learning communities are a method for ongoing school improvement.  This book allows educators to review the research from multiple educational leaders.  The research is clear that becoming a professional learning community is a method for focusing our efforts.  Teachers have traditionally worked in isolation and results have been between teachers.  The professional learning community concept “is specifically designed to develop the collective capacity of a staff to work together to achieve the fundamental purpose of the school: high levels of learning for all students” (p. 18).  For additional information on professional learning communities, educators are encouraged to visit www.allthingsplc.info.  Please feel free to share your thoughts on On Common Ground: The Power of Professional Learning Communities.


DuFour, R., Eaker, R., & DuFour, R. (Eds.). (2005). On common ground:
             The power of professional learning communities. Bloomington, IN:
             National Education Service.

Add Comment