Standards drive critical elements of the American educational system--the curricula that schools follow, the textbooks students read, and the tests they take. Similarly, standards establish the levels of performance that students, teachers and schools are expected to meet. To succeed in the 21st century, all students will need to perform to high…

Now in its second edition, this essential textbook and professional development resource offers a new foreword by James Hiebert. Drawing on the authors' work over the past decade, two important new chapters focus on the ways in which the book can be used to support the learning of teachers and administrators. Chapter 11 illustrates the various…

As part of its proposal to the U.S. Department of Education, the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) committed to developing model content frameworks for English language arts/literacy (ELA/Literacy) to serve as a bridge between the Common Core State Standards and the PARCC assessments. The Model Content…

For lower-achieving students with disabilities, effective and appropriate alternate assessment based on modified achievement standards (AA-MAS) can open the door to greater expectations and opportunities. State policymakers have the option of providing certain students who have disabilities with AA-MAS aligned with grade-level content--and now…

The rationale for taking bold action on the nation's persistently failing schools can be summed up in one dramatic and disturbing statistic: half of the young Americans who drop out of high school attend just 12 percent of the nation's schools. Ending the cycle of failure at schools is a daunting challenge and a surprisingly controversial one.…

Until every school gives all students an education that prepares them for college and a career, African-American parents will have to fight for their children's future, class by class, teacher by teacher, and school by school. Your child deserves nothing less. This guide shows you: (1) Why your child needs to prepare for college and a career; (2)…

Many educators agree that we already know how to foster student success, so what is keeping common sense from becoming common practice? The author provides step-by-step guidance for overcoming the barriers to adopting the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and achieving equity and excellence for all students. As an experienced teacher and…

Achieve and the U.S. Education Delivery Institute have developed a practical Common Core Implementation Workbook for all states in the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC). This workbook uses a proven performance management methodology known as "delivery" to lay out clear action steps for states and districts. It…

This guide will help policymakers understand and define the principles behind fusing core subject knowledge and higher-order thinking skills. Recommendations that reflect these principles will help policymakers support 21st century readiness for all students throughout a reauthorized ESEA and other federal legislation.

American high schools have a major gap to close--a gap that threatens not only the future of the students they serve but of the nation as well. At a time when postsecondary education or training has increasingly become a must for young people, most students continue to leave high schools unprepared to pursue those options. Until recently, there…

This playbook draws from the findings of "Gaining Ground in the Middle Grades," the largest empirical study of this grade level conducted to date. The "Gaining Ground in the Middle Grades" study was designed to find out what higher-performing schools do differently. The result is a compelling set of specific, actionable…

Charter schools emerged in the early 1990s as a strategy for improving student learning and increasing quality educational options, often for underserved students and communities. The charter school idea centers on the promise of increased autonomy for accountability for results. Thus, the charter movement has helped to lead the charge--and has…

This booklet helps parents understand an assessment option that can be made available to certain students who receive special education. This option is called an "alternate assessment based on modified academic achievement standards" (AA-MAS). Parents will learn how this option can work to improve their child's academic performance and ensure that…

Results of the 2007 National Assessment of Educational Progress tell that more than one-third of 4th graders (and an even higher number of at-risk students) read so poorly they cannot complete their schoolwork successfully. It is critical to start early if children are to develop the skills they need to be successful. Research evidence confirms…

In order to assess how completely a Small Learning Community (SLC) and/or Career Academy is implemented in any given site, and to connect the degree of implementation with the amount of improvement in student performance, two kinds of information are needed. The first is information on the quality of implementation, which can be collected by…