Study Shows 3 High-Impact Strategies for States
Aligning Classroom Materials to State Readiness Standards
How have schools managed the massive shift of aligning classroom
teaching materials to their states’ college- and career-readiness
standards?
New reports from the Southern Regional Education Board detail how
states approached the challenge and recommend strategies to focus
on as the work continues.
Explore the interactive reports >
After states adopted higher standards for what students should
learn, educators needed new textbooks, teaching strategies and
tests to help their students reach the new standards. How would
they know when materials were actually aligned to the standards?
And how could state departments of education help with the
massive shift ahead?
“In states, districts and classrooms, this is the long-term,
detailed implementation that will determine whether the standards
make a difference for students,” said Kim Anderson, director
of the SREB project. “Our aim in highlighting bright spots to
learn from is to inspire states to build on their work.”
The SREB study, Alignment of Instructional Materials: Trends
in State Efforts, analyzed the efforts of 15 states, during
2014-15 and 2015-16, to help schools choose high-quality
materials that align to their English language arts and math
standards. The reports point to three high-impact ways states can
help educators use quality classroom materials aligned to
state standards:
1. Establish clear criteria for quality materials — and clear processes for educators to design and review them.
Louisiana, for example, developed rubrics for schools to use as they chose textbooks and benchmark assessments. In North Carolina, the Department of Public Instruction and North Carolina State University reviewed online teaching materials, and new ones are evaluated at least twice a year.
2. Provide guidance, training and materials to schools as they select and create teaching resources.
Alabama’s State Department of Education, for example, developed extensive online guides to help educators understand the standards. Alabama’s online platform included extensive model lessons and unit plans, plus a tool to help teachers map a full year of instruction and assessment. Louisiana offered professional learning and technical assistance to all schools in the state and built networks of districts and principals so they could support one another.
3. Use data, research and evaluation to drive decision-making for continuous improvement.
The Delaware Department
of Education surveyed educators about their quality of state
resources and visited schools to learn how teachers used
them. The department also measured the impact of large
initiatives on student scores. To gauge the effectiveness of its
offerings, Arkansas assessed
the knowledge of educators before and after they used the state’s
online courses or training.
“Using data is the most critical area for improvement,” Anderson
said. “We need to collect the right types of information and be
sure we’re learning from it to improve what we do next.”
Find your state’s report >
Detailed analysis of each state’s efforts, success and status, plus state-specific recommendations
Regional report and rubric >
Full report for all states. And a rubric that shows what comprehensive support could look like.