Educating students and parents/guardians about standards
Teachers can help both students and their family members understand the content standards and performance levels throughout the school year by taking the following actions:
- Post content standards in the classroom.
- Write the standard for each day’s lesson on the board.
- Discuss what each standard means in relation to what the students will be able to do at the end of the lesson. Explain terms to ensure that everyone in the class understands. For example, if the standard refers to “figurative language,” ask students for examples. Take special care to ensure that English learners and special education students have the supports needed to grasp the concept.
- Model the learning that demonstrates lesson proficiency.
- Review the standard from the previous lesson.
- Tie the current lesson to the specific standard.
- Preview the standard for the next day’s lesson and show its relation to the current standard students are studying.
- Prior to an assignment, provide examples of student work (exemplars) and corresponding (rubrics) to illustrate the range of performance within each level. To help students meet high expectations, teachers show students what high-quality work looks like in relation to the standards (not just in terms of neatness, timeliness, etc.).
- Prior to leaving the class, ensure that students understand how to do their homework. Make sure the homework assignment relates to the standard being taught. Ensure that the homework items are readable and clear and that answer keys (even from the textbook) are correct.
- Ask students to assess their own work using a standards-based rubric and exemplar before turning in their assignments.
- Grade open-ended assignments with a rubric that shows progress toward proficiency on the standard. For additional information on grade, please refer to the section on Grades and effective standards-based reporting.
- Provide written commentary on assignments and assessments, letting students know what they could have done to move up to the next performance level.
- Provide students with an opportunity to revise and redo the work until they demonstrate proficiency.
- Ask the student to explain his or her progress toward the standards at each student/parent conference.
- Reinforce an understanding of standards in regular communications with students and families by comparing student work with a standards-based exemplar and rubric.
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