The Early Childhood Data Use Assessment Tool is designed to identify and improve data use skills among early childhood education (ECE) program staff so that they can better use data to inform, plan, monitor, and make decisions for instruction and program improvement. Data use is critical in quality ECE programs but can be intimidating for some ECE…

The years between pre-K and third grade are vital for creating the foundation for later school success. The skills students develop at one age level or grade must be built upon and reinforced in later grades. Furthermore, for students to sustain gains made in one grade, they must continue to receive high-quality teaching in subsequent grades.…

This document is designed as a self-assessment tool for districts to gauge their progress in implementing college- and career-readiness standards. This tool was primarily designed to help central office leaders and staff assess implementation at a systems level. Each section provides a core set of leading questions, along with descriptions of what…

This resource is part of a series of reports about challenges facing statewide science assessments and innovative solutions states are enacting to meet those challenges. Deciding to implement a system of assessments is a critical step toward ensuring that all students are getting the high-quality science education they need--but it is also…

In response to the need to develop leaders to guide the implementation of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), the Carnegie Corporation of New York provided funding to WestEd to develop a framework that defines the leadership knowledge and actions needed to effectively implement the NGSS. The development of the framework entailed…

The changing demands of the 21st century--and the students growing up in it--are generating fundamental challenges to historical assumptions about what education looks like. The challenge today is to provide a deeper level of personalized learning to each and every student so that all can achieve mastery of the Common Core standards and other…

This guide will help policymakers understand and define the principles behind fusing core subject knowledge and higher-order thinking skills. Recommendations that reflect these principles will help policymakers support 21st century readiness for all students throughout a reauthorized ESEA and other federal legislation.

This guide is intended to stimulate professional reflection, dialogue and debate about mathematics and how to improve it. It draws together themes, features and characteristics of effective improvement in mathematics and descriptions of good practice. It offers a reference point for staff and teachers who are working together to improve…

This handbook, aimed primarily at the inexperienced teacher in higher education, but useful also for the more experienced faculty member, provides practical advice on teaching, learning, and assessment that incorporates recent research findings. Following a "User's Guide" (Heather Fry, Steve Ketteridge, and Stephanie Marshall), the chapters of…

The Curriculum and Instructional Projects Team at the Florida Center for Reading Research (FCRR) developed "Guidelines for Reviewing a Reading Program" ("Guidelines") to assist reviewers in determining if a program is consistent with the scientific research on reading. Based on that work, the Center on Instruction Reading Strand developed this…

This resource guide is designed to provide school districts with information and guidelines to help meet the requirements of Texas Education Code 28.006. The guide contains the list of reading instruments adopted for the 1999-2000 school year, recommendations for administering the instruments, guidance on professional development, suggestions for…

Suggestions for improving teacher assessment of student performance are presented in this paper, with attention to ways in which superintendents can help. Suggested activities include pre- and post-observation conferences, a review of the teacher's plan book, and development of a professional growth plan. Because teachers as a group often lack…

This "Field Guide" is designed to help academic leaders in the current climate of change. It provides information and suggestions for action and administrative practice around a range of issues. The first section, "Basis," contains these chapters: (1) "Pressures for Fundamental Reform: Creating a Viable Academic…

This book is intended to provide teachers with research information and practical ideas for modifying assessments to make them more equitable and beneficial for all students. It encourages teachers to recognize the diverse sociocultural factors that contribute to students' identities in order to accurately and equitably assess their learning. The…

Suggested ideas for the effective use of the student teacher in the early stages of the assignment include: allowing the student teacher to work with small groups of students; team teaching at least one unit; and having the student teacher prepare a special activity related to one of the subject areas. (JN)