What does the Standards for Achievement project mean for parents?

Standards for Achievement project

"standards and benchmarks(S&B), standards and benchmarks, why am I starting to hear about standards and benchmarks?!" Glad you asked! Last year five, educational Outcomes were developed (thanks to Matt Goedecke, Yetti Sinnreich and James Akridge) that articulated the skills and knowledge necessary for KDES/MSSD students to be "effective, contributing members of society". They define what we want students to be able to do, in broad terms, upon graduation. For students to gain competency in the Outcome areas, we need to identify specific learning targets for each Outcome. Then we need to "break-down" these targets into developmental steps so students acquire the foundational skills in the earliest grades and build on those skills throughout their time at KDES and MSSD.

During this school year, the DESS (Demonstration Elementary and Secondary Schools - KDES and MSSD) community will begin to identify these learning targets and steps, or as we will call them, standards and benchmarks(S&B). This process is being undertaken by many school systems around the country as they identify learning goals for students or adapt state standards to meet the needs of the students in individual school districts or schools. This handout will serve as an introduction to our Standards for Achievement project.

What are standards and benchmarks?

With so much professional jargon out there, it is easy to get confused when talking about standards and benchmarks. To begin to develop a "common language", I will borrow definitions from two well-known experts in the field, John S. Kendall and Robert J. Marzano. In their book, Content Knowledge: A Compendium of standards and benchmarksfor K-12 Education they explain that Content Standards "describe what a student should know and be able to do" and Performance Standards "describe a specific use of the knowledge and skills". Standards are the specific learning targets for an educational Outcome. To break down standards into "developmentally appropriate subcomponents" Benchmarks are developed. Benchmarks are often identified for a group of grades, e.g. K-2, 3-5, 6-8 and 9-12, and state the knowledge and skills to be acquired by the end of that group of grades. Thus, a benchmark might say that by the end of second grade (or fifth grade, eighth grade or twelfth grade) a student will know a specific piece of knowledge or be able to demonstrate a specific skill.

Why do we need standards and benchmarks?

Once established, DESS standards and benchmarkswill serve as both a foundation and a guide. As a foundation they state what we, as a community of parents, teachers/staff, students and administrators believe students need to know and be able to do and by what grade level. Then as a guide, S&B direct us as we enhance, modify and develop additional curricula that allow students to succeed as the strive to meet these challenging expectations.

Families familiar with our standards and benchmarkswill know the immediate and future learning targets for their child. They can use the S&B as a guide when supporting and encouraging their child's educational growth. Standards and benchmarks will also help to identify those students who need additional support, intervention or modification in specific areas. We can then design programs to meet their individual needs using their IEP as a guide.

Where will we get our standards and benchmarks?

Last year when the DESS Outcomes were developed, parents, teachers and staff indicated that they wanted KDES/MSSD students held to a high-level of standards. They recognized that many groups such as the National History Standards Project and the National Standards for Arts Education developed national content-specific standards. DESS Standards will incorporate the goals and standards of these national groups using information gathered by the and the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Design (ASCD). In areas where standards have not yet been established, such as in the area of Deaf Studies, we will need to establish our own learning targets. Once the Standards are defined we will identify the developmental benchmarks for each. McREL and ASCD have compiled benchmarks from state and national groups and we will use their compendium as our guide.

How will we develop our standards and benchmarks?

A Steering Committee, listed below, has been established to guide this process. They will work with small groups of teachers and staff who are interested in developing the standards and benchmarks for a specific Outcome or portion of an Outcome. There will also be opportunities to provide feedback and comments throughout the process.

The Standards for Achievement project Steering Committee

• Coordinator Sue Jacoby
• EPAR support Margaret Hallau & Linda Delk
• TPD support Betsy Meynardie
• Lead Teacher Terry Baird
• Kendall School Liaison To be determined
• Coordinator Outcome 1 Linda McCarty
• Coordinator Outcome 2 Maureen Nichols
• Coordinator Outcome 3 Sharon Sandoval & Marilyn Farmer
• Coordinator Outcome 4 Iva Johnson
• Coordinator Outcome 5 Heather Jilao
• Parents Doreen Moore and Denise Drake
• Student Representative To be determined

What about family and student involvement?

Family and student involvement is crucial to the success of the Standards for Achievement project. It is important to know the expectations of the families in our DESS community and the goals that parents have for their children. Parents are serving on the Steering Committee and families will have regular opportunities to share their thoughts and ideas related to the S&B. Family discussion groups, electronic forums on the computer, regular updates and articles in the family newsletters and S&B workshops are all in the planning stages. Families will also have a chance to review and respond to the standards and benchmarks as they are developed.

A student representative will also join the Steering Committee. Throughout the year students will have a chance to discuss a variety of topics related to being a student, succeeding in school and the importance of learning. Students will also have a chance to review and respond to the standards and benchmarksdeveloped.

Establishing standards and benchmarks is a challenging task and an on-going learning process for everyone. If you have any questions, ideas or comments, my e-mail is always open (Susan.Jacoby or Sjacoby) and you can find me at MSSD in Room 212A most Wednesdays and Fridays. I look forward to an exciting year!

Reference:

Kendall, J.K, & Marzano, R.J., (1997). Content Knowledge: A compendium of standards and benchmarks for K-12 education. Aurora, CO: McREL, Inc.