If you are feeling stressed, you are not alone. Teachers throughout the state are trying to boost student achievement under dismal conditions. California is $1,000 below the national average in per pupil expenditures and we often lack resources that our students need to succeed. On top of everything else, very little is being done to prepare teachers to teach in a standards-based environment.
The purpose of this guide is to help you make sense and make better use of the current standards-based reform movement. The information contained inside will provide some background on current efforts to improve schools by using tests. It also provides information that can be used in the classroom immediately to improve instruction in a standards-based and test-driven educational system.
Ultimately, you are the expert. You are in the best position to judge how to link standards with instruction and testing to benefit your students. This resource should help you discover how to do that.
The information in this guide can be shared with other teachers at your school. We have provided:
- A checklist that teachers may complete to determine whether they have the resources and support necessary to meet the standards.
- Information on how to bring grading into alignment with standards.
- Helpful tips for test preparation, including a list that can be shared with parents and community members.
- A glossary of terminology associated with standards and assessment, and a list of teacher resources.
Ask your local association to address local issues surrounding the implementation of standards. The reflection page at the very end of this guide (page 19) can serve as a starting point for discussions among colleagues. During these discussions, time should be provided for teachers to share practices they have found helpful in assisting students to meet new standards.
Don't forget to share those ideas with your officers. We'll pass them along to all of CTA's nearly 335,000 members.