Setting high standards will not cause excellent student performance. Standards must be set for the everyday work teachers expect of students. Work-design standards are needed to protect students from pointless teacher-generated work. Greater coherence and focus for learning will occur if secondary schools are designed backward from worthy tasks…

Takes a systems approach to designing classroom instruction, providing models for program and course syllabuses, as well as for instructional units. Included are checklists for designing the three levels of instruction: the program, the course, and the instructional unit. (JW)