Curriculum

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Curriculum Instruction

• Idaho Falls District 91

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• Spectacular achievement is always preceded by
  unspectacular preparation.
• Roger Staubach

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Factors Associated withHigh Achieving Schools

• Focus on clear standards and goals.
• Daily presence of visible principal.
• A faculty of teachers ensuring that all are
  taught and learn the standards.
• Gordon Cawelti Education Research Service

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Factors Associated withHigh Achieving Schools
Cont.

• Teachers working collaboratively to focus on
  student learning.
• Concentration over a period of time on the
  changes needed to improve learning.
• Gordon Cawelti Education Research Service

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Curricular Chaos
Reported
Written
Taught
Tested
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District 91 Curriculum Unity Model
Taught
Reported
Written
Tested
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Traditional Report Card
Taught
Written
Tested
Reported
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Without guaranteed viable curriculum, four
variables predict student achievement

• Type of community
• Poverty rate
• The education of their parents
• Number of parents in home

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Idaho Content Standards Webpage
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Idaho Content Standards Webpage
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Talking the Talk

• Coordination Geometry is geometry is geometry
• Articulation Avoiding gaps or unnecessary
  overlaps over a students entire school career
• Alignment The match between taught curriculum
  and tested curriculum.

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Three Levels of Alignment
The test
Test
Test
Teaching
Teaching
Teaching
Surface Alignment
Deep Alignment
No Alignment
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Four Lenses of Learning
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The Achievement Lens

• How are we doing compared to everyone else?
• Other Districts?
• Other Buildings?
• Other Classrooms?
• Other Students?

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The Proficiency Lens
How are we doing against the state selected cut
score? What percentage of our students is
proficient? Ex If the cut score for
mathematics at 10th grade is 242, what percentage
of our students has reached or exceeded that
score??
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The Growth Lens
How much growth did our students make this year
from fall to spring? Ex Whether students have
reached a cut score or not, how much growth did
they make in our district in one year? Six months
worth? Two years worth?
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The Instructional Lens
Using the data available from state, district,
and classroom assessments, what do principals,
teachers, etc. need to change or do to make sure
that all students are learning the curriculum?
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Do Tests Improve Learning?
No.
Learning only improves if we change what we are
doing based on what we learn from the test
results. Allan Olson, NWEA
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Tests, by themselves, do not improve learning,
any more than a thermometer reduces fever.
(Hubert, 2000)
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The main factor in improving achievement is a
knowledgeable, skillful teacher. (Breaux
Wong, 2003)
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Average School/ 50th 50th Average Teacher
Highly Ineffective School/ 50th 3rd Highly
Ineffective Teacher
Highly Effective School/ 50th 37th Highly
Ineffective Teacher
Highly Ineffective School/ 50th 63rd Highly
Effective Teacher
Highly Effective School/ 50th 78th Average
Teacher
Highly Effective School/ 50th 96th Highly
Effective Teacher
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Teacher Effectiveness (Randall, 2001)

• In a study, researchers determined that students
  assigned to three effective teachers in a row
  grew from the 59th to 76th percentile in three
  years. A different group, assigned to three
  ineffective teachers for three years dropped from
  the 60th to the 42nd percentile in the same time
  period.

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A Little History

• Practically, if not idealistically, poor
  education for many students was not a social
  problem when plenty of low-skilled jobs offering
  good wages were to be had. It is a problem today
  when most jobs demand much greater competence.
• Linda Darling-Hammond, Teacher and Professor

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A Look at the Future

• In 1950 there were sixteen workers for every
  person on social security by 2010, there will be
  only three (SSA, 1996). If not all of these
  potential workers are productive, our nations
  social compact will crumble.
• Linda Darling-Hammond

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A Look at the Future

• High school dropouts now have less than one
  chance in three of finding work, and if they do
  find a job, they typically earn less than half as
  much as they would have twenty years ago.
• William T. Grant Foundation, 1988

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Two things U.S. schools have never before been
called upon to do

• To teach for understanding. That is, to teach all
  students, not just a few, to understand ideas
  deeply and perform proficiently
• To teach for diversity. That is, to teach in ways
  that help different kinds of learners find
  productive paths to knowledge as needed.

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Critical QuestionsProcess

• Discuss Critical Questions in small groups
• List all questions, concerns, and ideas
• Rank each listing
• 1 Total Agreement/Key Point
• 2 Important Point/Save for later
• 3 Save for later
• Report all 1s from each group to large group

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Critical Question 1

• What interventions can be provided to students in
  order for the district to improve in the
  identified areas of AYP?

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ISAT Graduation Cut Scores
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ISAT AYP Percent Proficient Targets Approved by
State Board of Education Aug. 2006
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What happens when AYP is not met
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Critical Question 1Discussion and Ranking

• What interventions can be provided to students in
  order for the district to improve in the
  identified areas of AYP?

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Critical Question 2

• Are we committed to reporting the written
  curriculum K-12? If so, what are the barriers to
  implementation?

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Traditional Report Card
Taught
Written
Tested
Reported
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Standards Based Report Card
Taught
Reported
Written
Tested
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Critical Question 2Discussion and Ranking

• Are we committed to reporting the written
  curriculum K-12? If so, what are the barriers to
  implementation?

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As an educator, it is impossible to go through a
school day without impacting someones life.
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for better or for worse.
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What a great responsibility.
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What an even greater opportunity.