Use this chart to research key components of state and national initiatives that relate to rigor.
Recommendation 1—Rigor. Hold high expectations and provide numerous opportunities for each middle grades learner to succeed. Use California’s content standards, frameworks, adopted and aligned instructional materials, and common formative assessments as the coherent foundation for rigorous curriculum and instruction.
| Initiatives that Support Student Achievement |
Key Components that Relate to Recommendation 1 of the California Department of Education's 12 Recommendations for Middle Grades Success |
Essential Program Components for School Improvement |
Essential Program Components (EPC) #1 and 8
- Use State Board of Education (SBE) adopted English language arts and mathematics instructional materials, including intervention materials. Elementary and middle school levels: The school/district provides the most recent SBE-adopted core instructional programs, including accelerated interventions, for reading/language arts and mathematics, documented to be in daily use in every classroom with materials for every student.
- Lesson and course pacing schedule (grades K-8) and master schedule flexibility for sufficient numbers of intervention courses (grades 9-12).
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| No Child Left Behind (NCLB) |
Determine what educational programs and practices have been proven effective through rigorous scientific research. Federal funding is targeted to support programs and teaching methods that work to improve student learning and achievement. For example, the No Child Left Behind Act supports scientifically based reading instruction. Funds are available to help teachers strengthen current skills and gain new ones in effective reading instructional techniques. |
National Forum to Accelerate Middle Grades Reform (Outside Source)
California Schools to Watch–-Taking Center Stage (STW-TCS) Component
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Academic Excellence #1, 2
- Hold high expectations for all students;
- Align instruction and curriculum to state standards.
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| Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) (Outside Source) |
Essential Elements #3, 4, 5, 6, 7
- The school must be committed to full implementation of the AVID program with students enrolled in the AVID year-long (9-10 months) elective class provided as an integral part of the academic school day. (If the AVID elective is offered in a “zero” period, there must be other academic classes offered at that same time.)
- AVID students must be enrolled in a rigorous course of study that will enable them to meet requirements for four-year university enrollment.
- A strong relevant writing and reading curriculum provides a basis for instruction in the AVID elective class. Writing-to-learn activities, including formal and informal practice, are the methods of instruction used daily.
- Inquiry, including levels of questions and tutorial preparation, is used in the AVID class to engage students with their own thinking processes.
- Collaboration, including structured AVID tutorials (as opposed to one-on-one tutoring or homework study sessions), is used to bring students together to develop their critical thinking skills and enable them to take responsibility for their own learning.
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GEAR UP (Outside Source)
School Self-Assessment Rubric (PDF; 92 KB; 15 pp.) |
Rigorous Academic Curriculum; Intensive Academic Support; and Intensive College-Going Support |
Breaking Ranks in the Middle
(Outside Source) |
Cornerstone Strategy #1
- Establish the academically rigorous essential learnings that a student is required to master in order to successfully make the transition to high school, and align the curriculum and teaching strategies to realize that goal.
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Turning Points Principle
(Outside Source) |
Teach a curriculum grounded in standards. |
This We Believe (Outside Source)
and
Fundamentals for Student Success in the Middle Grades
(Outside Source)
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- Curriculum that is relevant, challenging, integrative, and exploratory.
- High expectations are set for every member of the learning community.
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Comprehensive School Reform Quality Center
(PDF; Outside Source) |
The key issues in middle school are literacy and reading (p. 15). |
Comprehensive School Reform Quality Center—Report on Middle and High School Comprehensive Reform Models
(PDF; Outside Source) |
- This report provides specific details about research results on key school reform models in the middle and high school levels.
- Developed by American Institutes for Research (AIR) for the Comprehensive School Reform Quality Center, October 2006.
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