Standards are the WHAT of education (a well defined goal) while curriculum and instruction are the HOW.

Standards are public, written statements of expectations…..what a student will know and be able to do.

In standards – based learning, standards are written and parents and students can ask whether their school is helping students reach the agreed-upon bench marks.

Standards apply to ALL students – from the college bound to the student with special needs. Standards seek to help 100% of the students.

Types of Standards

There are 2 types of standards – content and performance.

Content standards indicate what students should know and should be able to do. Because we don’t have “standard” students, it will take some students longer than others to achieve the required proficiency. Every child has the ability to learn and with the right opportunities, students can achieve.

Performance standards tell us when students know enough to be proficient. A performance standard actually describes how students should perform to meet a content standard. A performance standard has levels (such as 4, 3, 2, and 1: or advanced, proficient, novice, basic). Performance standards list what the student work must have to get a certain score.

Elementary School Example

Content Standard:
Students write using appropriate forms, conventions and styles to communicate ideas and information to different audiences for different purposes. (This standard could apply to any grade.)

Performance standard for 4th grade:
The student writes a short story which is focused on a purpose; communicates with an audience; has evidence of voice or suitable tone; show depth of idea development supported by elaborated, relevant details; has logical, coherent organization; has controlled and varied sentence structure; employs acceptable, effective language; and has few errors in spelling punctuation, and capitalization relative to length and complexity.

Whew.

Teachers are given examples that reflect the performance standard (providing a benchmark) and receive professional development so that every teacher will get a clear understanding of what quality work looks like.

The standards system changes everything.

No longer is the school system about fixed “inputs” where a child either does the work or not and the “outcomes” are varied – some children make it and others drop out. Instead, the school system varies the “inputs” – some children need more time and different teaching methods and the “outcomes” are fixed – everyone meets the standard.

Example

Under the old system, in a nine- month school year, students were generally expected to learn a fixed amount – if they didn’t, then they missed it. In the “standards-based” system, the standards are fixed, but the student can take a longer or shorter time to learn what they need to reach them. Many states have benchmark points that a student can’t go past without meeting the standard.

Benefits

Standards provide a focus for school reform efforts. Students must reach them and teachers can see how well the student is doing by looking at their progress towards standards.

Ideally, students learn better in a standards-based environment because everyone is working towards the same goal

Teachers know what the standards are and choose classroom activities that enable students to achieve the standard.

Parents know the standards and can help their students by seeing that their homework lines up with the standards.

For more information about standards, go to the websites below: