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THE PRACTICE: Standards-Based Teaching to Each Student Teachers use instructional methods that allow students with different skills, aspirations, and interests to succeed in meeting standards. They develop courses that form a unified curriculum, integrating academic knowledge with real-life problems and tasks.
Content Presented By:
The Education Alliance at Brown University
National Association of Secondary School Principals

What is it?

In a personalized high school, all students are held to high standards, and their differences are valued. Teachers use a variety of instruction and assessment methods. These are designed to engage and challenge students with various learning styles and different life experiences. Furthermore, teachers choose course content that is both standards-based and instrumental to student aspirations. Teachers provide students with a clear picture of what is required of them as well as the necessary support to meet those requirements. Courses are structured to connect to one another, both within and across disciplines, so that they comprise a meaningful, unified curriculum. The school staff links academic knowledge to real-life problems and tasks. They find ways for students to develop and demonstrate their work in public settings, where knowing something actually makes a difference.

Questions to Think About

Is there common planning time in your school so that teachers can discuss curriculum in a meaningful way, both within departments and between departments?
How well do students understand the connections between and among disciplines and topics of study? What evidence can they provide of this understanding?
Is there a written statement that articulates the intent to make curriculum meaningful to students?

Breaking Ranks Recommendations

Breaking Ranks: Changing An American Institution is a 1996 publication of the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. It offers a series of recommendations that have become a guiding force for high school redesign throughout the nation. Listed below are the recommendations applicable to this practice. For a clearer picture of what each recommendation looks like in action, click on it, and its "indicators" will appear.

Indicators:

The school has outlined what all students should know and be able to do upon graduation: What is the essential core knowledge expected of all students? What proficiencies, skills, habits of mind, and social behaviors are expected? Are these standards/expectations built upon district, state, and national standards as well as the work of professional organizations? Has the school been able to bring its own unique flavor to student learning expectations rather than relying entirely on state standards?
The school is able to articulate the connection between the expectations and the national and state standards.
Prominent national organizations and reports influenced the inclusion of some of the expectations (e.g., NASSP's Breaking Ranks report; the Mid-Continental Regional Lab's Common Learner Outcomes; Expected Proficiencies listed in the SCANS report; Theodore Sizer's Habits of Mind; America's Choice standards; Maine's Promising Futures report).
Academic expectations are clearly stated in specific, measurable ways and are shared with students and used to measure success.
A school-wide rubric for each expectation that describes the characteristics of the expectation at different levels of achievement.
An indication of which level on the rubric represents the quality that allows students to "pass" or demonstrate proficiency.
Evidence exists that the faculty was integrally involved in developing this document.
Each subject area has its own curriculum document(s) indicating which school-wide expectations are being addressed in specific courses (or other curriculum-related programs) and clearly identifying the learning experiences required to meet each expectation.
Each subject area assesses student achievement of the school-wide expectations for which it has assumed responsibility by using school-wide performance standards/rubrics.

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The high school integrates its curriculum to the extent possible and emphasizes depth over breadth of coverage.
Breaking Ranks, Ch 1, #02

Indicators:
This particular indicator includes several different elements that should be visible in the curriculum and is, therefore, treated in two sections:
Part One: Efforts made to show interdisciplinary connections so that students recognize that knowledge and learning are not isolated within a particular subject area. Likewise, the curriculum is within a given subject area integrated so that basic concepts are shown to be connected and reinforcing of each other.

Math courses are integrated and spiral the basic concepts of algebra and geometry, of logic and statistics, etc. as suggested in most curriculum frameworks and in the NCTM standards.
Science courses integrate concepts, skills, and knowledge in the life and physical sciences (earth science, physics, chemistry) as recommended by national science organizations (NSTA, etc.)
Social studies courses incorporate and show the relationships between geography, history, economics, sociology, etc. rather than acting as discrete courses (e.g., American Cultural Studies instead of American history)
Humanities courses (rather than discrete courses in English, social studies, or art history) are offered as interdisciplinary opportunities for students to see the connections between literature, history, social culture, the arts, etc.
Interdisciplinary courses or programs are offered (or efforts within existing courses are made) to draw connections between ranges of subject areas/disciplines (e.g., environmental literature; calculus and advanced physics; arts and literature; math and music; etc.)
Themes or essential questions are used to drive the curriculum and thus encourage interdisciplinary thinking (e.g., is war inevitable in human society? An interdisciplinary unit focused on this question might ask students to read a war novel in English, analyze the causes of war in social studies, and study human behavior in psychology.)

Part Two: Depth of understanding is valued over breadth of coverage. The curriculum emphasizes higher order thinking and "essential questions." It pushes all teachers to encourage students to think critically and to "use their minds well."
(NOTE: State frameworks and standards generally call for an emphasis on "breadth." More recently, the new state testing programs have asked students to perform higher order assessment tasks such as open-ended questions and simulation exercises. Within this standard it is necessary to find evidence that the school has sought a balance in going beyond the state standards and has created opportunities for students to think critically, to spend time in truly understanding complicated concepts, and to demonstrate, perform, or exhibit their knowledge, skills, and understandings.)

Project-based learning is evident throughout the school.
Essential questions or themes are used to frame lessons, units, or course descriptions and are found in course booklets, department curriculum documents, handouts to students, or on classroom marker boards.
History courses revolve around themes (e.g., "What impact has war had on American society?") rather than chronological coverage (i.e., survey courses) and allow for in-depth research.
Science and math courses allow for in-depth application of concepts to real-life situations.
Assessment activities include many opportunities for students to demonstrate higher order thinking, not simply rote responses on multiple choice tests (e.g., students are asked to apply information, skills, ideas, and concepts that they have learned to new situations).
"Habits of Mind," lists of expected thinking skills, and other expectations for higher order student learning are posted in classrooms in order to emphasize to students the importance of critical thinking and the level of learning expected of them; these expectations are evident in the curriculum and teaching and are continually reinforced by teachers.

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The content of the curriculum, where practical, should connect to real-life applications of knowledge and skills to help students link their education to the future.
Breaking Ranks, Ch 1, #04

Indicators:

The curriculum intellectually challenging and provides opportunities for students to authentically apply knowledge and skills.
All courses, regardless of level, provide students with rigorous learning experiences that require them to apply, analyze, synthesize, compare/contrast, and evaluate.
The course catalog clearly offers rigorous coursework for all students (i.e., there are no courses that "water down" the curriculum for certain "less able" students).
Intellectual rigor is revealed in the quality of student work.
Students are regularly called upon to demonstrate their growing body of knowledge, skills, ideas, and concepts and to apply them to real life situations by presenting work to a non school audience though writing, portfolios, project work.
Opportunities are offered for student learning to occur beyond the regular course offerings and the school campus such as school-to-work opportunities (e.g., internships, apprenticeships, school-based enterprises, and cooperative education); extensive co-curricular opportunities are available that cater to a diverse set of student interests and needs; community service programs and other service learning opportunities are available to (perhaps required of) all students.
Opportunities are offered for student learning to occur beyond the regular course offerings and the school campus such as school-to-work programs (e.g., internships, apprenticeships, school-based enterprises, and cooperative education). Extensive integrated-curricular opportunities are available that cater to a diverse set of student interests and needs; community service programs and other service learning opportunities are available to (perhaps required of) all students and distance learning (e.g., college courses via satellite) or e-learning is available to allow students access to coursework that would otherwise be unavailable at the school.

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Schools make technology integral to curriculum, instruction, and assessment, accommodating different learning styles and helping teachers to individualize the learning process.
Breaking Ranks, Ch 4, #02

Indicators:

The use of technology is integral to a teacher's instructional practice.
All teachers have been adequately trained in the use and application of technology in their particular field.
Teachers use computer and other technologies to enhance their practice (e.g., graphing calculators in math, computer simulations and micro computer based laboratories in science, various software programs throughout the curriculum, etc.).
Students are routinely called upon to use technology, particularly computers, as a means to apply knowledge and to increase computer literacy (e.g., computer animation in math, spreadsheets in social studies and science, PowerPoint presentations in language arts, etc.).
The library/information services (both programs and materials) are fully integrated into the school's curriculum and instructional program.
Teachers regularly use library/information services to support instruction.

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Each high school presents alternatives to tracking and to ability grouping without restricting the range of courses and learning experiences it offers.
Breaking Ranks, Ch 5, #06

Indicators:

Student grouping patterns reflect the diversity of the school and support the learning of all students by fostering heterogeneity. Student grouping patterns are consistent with the school's mission and expectations for student learning as well as current educational research.
Student grouping patterns ensure that all students, regardless of ability level, are provided with challenging learning experiences that enable them to achieve the school-wide expectations.
In accordance with educational research, efforts to group students more heterogeneously and to end de facto tracking are evident.
"Restructuring" committees base their decisions about future grouping of students upon educational research and upon consultation with schools that have investigated comparable issues.
Inclusion models and other special education strategies have been investigated to ensure that all students, including those with special needs, have equal access to the same curriculum and school-wide expectations.

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The curriculum exposes students to a rich array of viewpoints, perspectives, and experiences.
Breaking Ranks, Ch 8, #02

Indicators:

Full treatment of diversity requires that the teaching resources of the school promote inclusion and use resources and materials that recognize the backgrounds of a more diverse population.
The curriculum consists of more than just textbooks and draws upon a variety of original and supplementary sources.
Teachers encourage students to exercise their powers of critical judgment so that they understand the difference between fact and opinion and recognize how diverse backgrounds can produce conflicting interpretations.

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The high school requires each student to participate in a service program in the community or in the school itself that has educational value.
Breaking Ranks, Ch 12, #07

Indicators:

The health of our democracy depends on students gaining a sense of their connection to the larger community and one of the ways to create this connection is through service learning that enables young people to contribute their efforts to activities that are useful to the community and reflect on what they learn from participation.
The school defines the educational objectives and establishes the criteria for assessing the experience.
The school philosophy embraces the educational value of service learning.
The school can develop a format by which students use experiences outside of the classroom to derive formal lessons on the value of helping others.

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Teachers design work for students that is of high enough quality to engage them, to cause them to persist, and when successfully completed, to result in their satisfaction and their acquisition of learning skills, and abilities valued by society.
Breaking Ranks, Ch 1, #03

Indicators:

All courses, regardless of level, provide students with rigorous learning experiences that require them to apply, analyze, synthesize, compare/contrast, and evaluate.
The course catalog clearly offers rigorous coursework for all students (i.e., there are no courses that "water down" the curriculum for certain "less able" students).
Intellectual rigor is revealed in the quality of student work.

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Teachers know and are able to use a variety of strategies and settings that identify and accommodate individual learning styles and engage students.
Breaking Ranks, Ch 2, #02

Indicators:
Rich and varied teaching strategies are evident throughout the school and lines of desks and teacher-centered approaches are not the norm. Teachers demonstrate a repertoire of instructional strategies that accomplish the following:

Personalize instruction: Teachers meet regularly with individuals or small groups of students to address individual learning needs; teachers select the appropriate instructional approaches to address various learning styles; teachers call home to talk with parents; teachers show respect, positive rapport, etc. in day-to-day conversations with students; teachers act as 1:1 advisors/mentors.
Engage students as active self-directed learners: Teachers act as "coaches" who facilitate student learning by asking students to do independent research, work in cooperative groups, apply knowledge in real-world situations, etc; teachers routinely ask students to reflect on their work and to self-critique (e.g., through the use of portfolios).
Provide opportunities to demonstrate the application of knowledge or learning: Teachers ask students to write for audiences beyond the classroom, share portfolios with parents and critical friends, engage in project work that leads to formal public presentations, participate in internships and school-to-career opportunities, etc.

Teachers make assessment integral to learning in order for students to learn the skills of reflection and self-criticism.

Teachers meet frequently to discuss assessment and rubrics.
Teachers make it clear to students that assessment is part of the learning process, not simply an evaluation at the end of an activity/unit.
Teachers routinely and regularly ask students to reflect on and critique their own work and that of their peers (e.g., peer writing groups and other cooperative learning opportunities, portfolio assessment approaches).

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Teachers teach in ways that help students to develop into competent problem solvers and critical thinkers.
Breaking Ranks, Ch 2, #04

Indicators:
Teachers routinely meet to discuss problem-solving strategies that are useful in the classroom. Rich and varied teaching strategies are evident throughout the school and lines of desks and teacher-centered approaches are not the norm. Teachers demonstrate a repertoire of instructional strategies that accomplish the following:

Draw connections across disciplines: Teachers know their subjects well enough to confidently integrate concepts and knowledge within and across other discipline; teachers make an active effort to show students how a given topic extends across more than one subject area/discipline.
Involve all students in higher order thinking to promote depth of understanding: Teachers know their subjects well enough to confidently focus student learning on key themes, concepts, and essential questions, teachers spend sufficient time on a unit/theme/topic/essential question to allow students to understand the concepts or information in depth, teachers engage students in problem-solving and inquiry-based learning, teachers ask questions and use assessment approaches that encourage students to apply, analyze, synthesize, compare/contrast, and evaluate, not simply to pass information back through rote memory.
Provide opportunities to demonstrate the application of knowledge or learning: Teachers ask students to write for audiences beyond the classroom, share portfolios with parents and critical friends, engage in project work that leads to formal public presentations, participate in internships and school-to-career opportunities, etc.

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Teachers integrate assessment into instruction so that assessment does not merely measure students, but becomes part of the learning process.
Breaking Ranks, Ch 2, #07

Indicators:
Teachers make assessment integral to learning in order for students to learn the skills of reflection and self-criticism.

Teachers meet frequently to discuss assessment and rubrics.
Teachers make it clear to students that assessment is part of the learning process, not simply an evaluation at the end of an activity/unit.
Teachers routinely and regularly ask students to reflect on and critique their own work and that of their peers (e.g., peer writing groups and other cooperative learning opportunities, portfolio assessment approaches).

Teacher grading and reporting is based upon specific learning criteria that are clearly communicated to students and parents.

Student performance is evaluated based on rubrics or some other set of indicators that designate the range and levels of success in meeting the expectations.
Teachers articulate clear criteria for evaluation (e.g., a research paper might be evaluated on the integration of primary sources, the proper use of the MLA style of documentation, etc.).
Teachers provide samples of work (e.g., anchor papers) to students that clearly indicate the relative quality expected.
Teachers tell students and parents ahead of time how grading will occur for the course as a whole and for each individual piece of work, activity, presentation, project, etc. that is required.

The results of classroom assessments are used to improve instruction

Teachers show evidence of reflecting on and modifying their classroom practices and instructional skills as a result of examining classroom assessment results.
Teachers use ongoing classroom assessment results to modify or adjust their instructional strategies as they proceed through the year (e.g., low scores on a rubric designed for persuasive writing suggest that students need some differentiated instruction on writing and persuasive essay).
In departments and teams, teachers collaboratively reflect on student work.

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Assessment of student learning will align itself with the curriculum so that students' progress is measured by what is taught.
Breaking Ranks, Ch 1, #05

Indicators:

The curriculum is intellectually challenging and provides opportunities for students to authentically apply knowledge and skills.
All courses, regardless of level, provide students with rigorous learning experiences that require them to apply, analyze, synthesize, compare/contrast, and evaluate.
The course catalog clearly offers rigorous coursework for all students (i.e., there are no courses that "water down" the curriculum for certain "less able" students).
Intellectual rigor is revealed in the quality of student work.
Students are regularly called upon to demonstrate their growing body of knowledge, skills, ideas, and concepts and to apply them to real life situations by presenting work to a non school audience though writing, portfolios, project work.
Opportunities are offered for student learning to occur beyond the regular course offerings and the school campus such as school-to-work opportunities (e.g., internships, apprenticeships, school-based enterprises, and cooperative education); extensive co-curricular opportunities are available that cater to a diverse set of student interests and needs; community service programs and other service learning opportunities are available to (perhaps required of) all students.

[Return to List of Recommendations]

The high school will assess the academic progress of students in a variety of ways so that a clear and valid picture emerges of what they know and are able to do.
Breaking Ranks, Ch 6, #01

Indicators:

Assessment of student work should provide a rich collection of information that reflects on a student's progress in moving through the curriculum.
For assessment to depict a student's academic growth, it should not be static, and will have multiple dimensions.
Student's accomplishments are demonstrated in the forms of portfolios, performance tasks, standardized tests, etc.
The school presents assessment results in a way that is useful to parents, admission officers, managers, and the student.
The assessments are rigorous and people have confidence in them.
Teachers work together to design assessment strategies, and professional development is provided to the school community.

[Return to List of Recommendations]