Teachers engaging in research has been discussed and carried out under the heuristics and methodologies of action research (Manfra, 2019; Pine, 2009). A typical action research project might involve an individual teacher studying the effectiveness of a specific instructional strategy like having students preview content before receiving direct…

States, districts, and schools all across the United States are busy developing or implementing teacher evaluation systems. One can trace this flurry of activity to a variety of reports and initiatives that highlight two failings of past efforts: (1) Teacher evaluation systems have not accurately measured teacher quality because they've failed to…

Over the last several years, state boards of education have become increasingly engaged in the development of content and performance standards and the assessments that will accompany them. This guidebook provides information on the move toward standards-based education. Part 1 provides a brief historical overview that places the standards…

This book articulates a process by which schools and districts can design their own standards-based system of education and provides models for implementing standards-based education. Chapter 1 describes the history of and impetus for the standards movement. Chapter 2 addresses such issues as: Where will the standards come from? What type of…

State-level policymakers, local-level administrators, and teachers alike are interested in how standards actually apply to classroom learning. This paper presents answers to questions that policymakers and educators should consider before implementing standards-based education at the local level. The following questions help sort through the…

The model presented in this document integrates authentic assessment with traditional evaluation practices to create comprehensive assessment systems for elementary and secondary school students. Specifically, the model poses six categories of competencies that enjoy high levels of acceptance and construct validity: (1) knowledge of concepts,…