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Eric.ed.gov – Participation and Performance of Students from Non-English Language Backgrounds: Minnesota’s 1996 Basic Standards Tests in Reading and Math. Minnesota Report.

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: In the assessment literature, a general recommendation has been to disaggregate scores and other data for students with limited English proficiency (LEP). This has rarely been done for most non-English language background (NELB) students in the United States, with the partial exception of Spanish speakers. Nationwide Spanish speakers make up the largest group of LEP/NELB students, but in Minnesota Southeast Asian students make up the largest single group of students with a language other than English spoken at home. While LEP/NELB students share some common characteristics, there are enough noteworthy differences to justify separate studies. This document reports on the achievement of LEP/NELB students from the largest seven language groups in Minnesota (Hmong, Spanish, Vietnamese, Lao, Cambodian, African languages, Russian) during the 1995-1996 school year when the… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Standards Deviation: How Schools Misunderstand Education Policy. CPRE Policy Briefs. RB-43

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: This brief summarizes the findings of a recent book, “Standards Deviation: How Schools Misunderstand Education Policy” (Spillane, 2004), that examines state and local government relations as the standards move from the statehouse to the district policymakers and teachers who attempt to make sense of them. It takes a case study approach, focusing on a single state, Michigan, and strategically sampled school districts. The study is based on empirical data from a four-year examination of approaches to the use of standards in nine Michigan districts between 1992 and 1996. This overview of the study’s findings first frames the subject of standards-based reform, and then moves to a discussion of the Michigan math and science standards. Variation in the progress of standards among districts is explored next, followed by… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Using “Children’s Choices” in the Early Childhood Curriculum: Linking Books to (Louisiana) Content Standards

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: “Children’s Choices,” a project of a joint committee supported by the International Reading Association (IRA) and the Children’s Book Council, is published annually in “The Reading Teacher.” Books recommended by children are grouped by levels: Beginning Reader (ages 5-7); Young Readers (ages 8-10); and Advanced Readers (ages 11-13). Books listed at the Beginning Reader level and Young Reader level of “Children’s Choices” from 1996 through 2006 were analyzed for support of specific curriculum areas. Books related to language arts, math, social studies, and science were categorized and listed according to Louisiana content standards for prekindergarten, kindergarten, first, second, and third grade. The resulting categorized, annotated book list reflects content areas and standards, and each annotation reflects age range as indicated in “Children’s Choices.” Early childhood teachers will… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Commentary & Feedback on Draft II of the Next Generation Science Standards

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: No one is satisfied with science education in the U.S. today. One need only look at Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), and National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) data to see what a mediocre job is being done of imparting a solid science education to the average American student. There are multiple reasons for this failure, not least the poor preparation of too many teachers whose job it is to teach this critical subject. One key explanation is the poor quality of academic expectations and standards themselves. In science–perhaps even more than other subjects–states must honor their responsibility to set forth, explicitly and rigorously, the skills and content that schools are expected to impart and students are expected… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Unintended Consequences: High Stakes Can Result in Low Standards

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: In all the elementary schools in the county, benchmark assessments were given six times a year in math and three times in reading; they were modeled after the questions anticipated on the Maryland School Assessment (MSA). Although results were sent to the school board, there were no cosmic consequences for the hourlong tests; they were supposed to be used by teachers to diagnose problems and adjust instruction. But at Tyler Heights Elementary School, benchmarks were seen as facsimiles of the MSA and treated with commensurate intensity. The first day of school was the last day the third-graders didn’t write a BCR–a “brief constructed response,” a paragraph-sized answer that’s required on the state test. Using Tyler Heights as an example, this article illustrates how standards and students suffer… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – NCTM Principles and Standards for Mathematically Talented Students

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: The “Principles and Standards for School Mathematics” published in 2000 by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) created a vision of mathematical concepts and processes to establish core educational guidelines for instruction from grades K to 12. The overall plan does emphasize higher level thinking, problem solving, and communication skills that were traditionally advocated for gifted learners but the implementation of this vision continues to fall short when serving mathematical talent. With the advent of No Child Left Behind (NCLB, 2001), less able math students are provided with support and alternative instruction to meet the proposed standards. Little has been done to identify and serve highly capable students until the high school level. The purpose of this paper is to introduce an understanding of talented… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – State Mathematics Standards: An Appraisal of Math Standards in 46 States, the District of Columbia, and Japan.

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: The Thomas B. Fordham Foundation has commissioned studies of state academic standards in five core subjects. This is the fourth of these studies, focusing on state standards for mathematics. For this evaluation of mathematics standards, researchers developed nine criteria under the four areas of: clarity, content, reason, and negative qualities. These criteria were applied to the standards documents of 46 states and the District of Columbia, and standards for Japan were reviewed for comparison purposes. The remaining four states either had no standards or did not make current drafts available. Only three states received a grade of “A,” and only nine received a grade of “B.” More than half received either a “D” or an “F.” The principal failures of these documents stem from the mathematical ignorance… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Year 3 of Implementing the Common Core State Standards: An Overview of States’ Progress and Challenges

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: States are in a crucial phase of implementing the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), which outline the knowledge and skills that students in grades kindergarten through 12 are expected to learn in mathematics and English language arts (ELA) to be prepared for college and careers. As of July 2013, 45 states and the District of Columbia have adopted these voluntary, state-developed standards in both subjects, and an additional state, Minnesota, has adopted the CCSS in ELA only. To learn more about states’ strategies, policies, and challenges in this third year of implementing the CCSS, the Center on Education Policy (CEP) at The George Washington University conducted a comprehensive survey of deputy superintendents of education or their designees in February through May of 2013. Forty states responded, including… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Experts’ Opinions on National Math Standards for Students with Disabilities. Technical Report 3.

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Eleven experts in mathematics education, special education, and assessment completed an open-ended survey on current math instruction in relation to the “Curriculum and Evaluation Standards” of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics and the perceived appropriateness and feasibility of the standards for students with disabilities. In general, the experts agreed that adoption of the Standards has been minimal and that math education in practice continues to emphasize basic skills. Two opposing viewpoints were evident in the experts’ responses. One viewpoint was that the Standards did not recognize the importance of individual differences and were not better than current practice in math education. The opposing viewpoint was that the Standards reflected a vision of what mathematics should be and that minimal, nonsubstantial modifications were needed for students… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Experts’ Opinions about the Appropriateness and Feasibility of National Math Standards. Technical Report 4.

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: The appropriateness and feasibility of the “Curriculum and Evaluation Standards” published by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics were examined with respect to the mathematics education of students with disabilities. Eleven experts from the areas of mathematics education, special education, and assessment were surveyed using a five-point forced rating scale. To investigate the response patterns among the experts, their responses were clustered using a hierarchical agglomerative technique. Most of the experts reached consensus that the Standards should be addressed through curriculum and evaluation in elementary level math education. All respondents perceived that the basic skills were adequately and feasibly addressed in the elementary curriculum. Some experts who believed in the visions provided by the Standards also approved the feasibility of the Standards in evaluation. In contrast,… Continue Reading