Balancing Educational Focus
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Educational focus is clearly on Assessments.
The huge availability of Assessment information
compared with the information content of Standards has tipped the education scales
to concentrate on Assessments.
A·B·D
restores the balance by providing Teachers with
detailed and usable classroom information
aligned with Standards.
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In the wake of Standards-based reform implementation,
educators have worked tirelessly to meet Federal and
State education benchmarks.
Educational experts in place in most States have
determined that the barriers to meeting the benchmarks
are systemic and interrelated.
They have found that State Standards are devoid
of real content, lack specificity, and inadequately
define the skills, concepts and Knowledge underpinning
them. They are in a form most like an end product rather
than a specification to be followed for designing
instructional Curriculum and Assessment items.
Lacking specificity and content, Standards are not
directly usable for either Teachers or Assessment
developers. But Assessments are developed by States and
get specific and significant funding. Consequently, from
the Teacher perspective, there is actually far more
information available relating to Assessments than to
Standards. Since Assessments have been given ultimate
importance, these Assessment materials have become the
primary LEA/Teacher resource. As a result, Curriculum is
often based on the Assessment materials and the focus
becomes ”teaching to the test” rather than the content
Standard.
Educational experts agree
that Standards should be presented in a way that is
useful for teaching and learning and need to be
translated into much more detailed, structured elements
that:
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Are true specifications of the skills, Knowledge and
information to be taught and the cognitive level
expected at each grade level
·
Allow Curriculum to be developed that is truly linked to
Standards
·
Allow Assessment to be designed that track Curriculum
and Standards
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Allow schools to meet State education benchmarks and
goals.
Aligned·By·Design
contains detailed Knowledge-linked Standards library and
usable model Curriculum connected to detailed Standards.
Aligned·By·Design
provides the Standards detail sufficiently disaggregated
to develop curricula from them instead of from
Assessment materials.