WHERE WILL WE GET OUR STANDARDS?
Options:
Use the standards document produced by the corresponding state. Every state except one is in the process of developing or has developed state standards. Unfortunately, a study conducted by the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) reports that only 13 of 49 state documents are specific enough to be used effectively by teachers as a guide for classroom instruction or as a measure of instructor accountability.
Use the national standards documents such as the one published by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) or by the federal government. These documents contain a plethora of useful information about requisite knowledge and skills. However, this material is usually embedded within lengthy descriptions of performance activities, curriculum goals, instructional strategies, etc.
Use studies that have attempted to synthesize the information in the national standards and state standards documents. For example, the Mid-continent Regional Educational Laboratory (McREL) created a database that provides a synthesized version of the standards and benchmarks found in 85 national and state level documents. The database is available in hard copy from ASCD or at https://writeanypapers.com/ on the world wide web.
Recommendation:
Use one of the inventory studies of national and state documents. These studies can be employed to construct district level standards or to augment the standards identified in the current state document.
