Higher Standards, Better Schools for All

Higher Standards, Better Schools for All
Author: Great Britain: Department for Education and Skills
Publisher: The Stationery Office
Total Pages: 126
Release: 2005-10-25
Genre: Education
ISBN: 9780101667722

The White Paper sets out the Government's proposals to further reform the management of schools in England, with the aim of creating a system shaped by parental choice where schools have greater autonomy in admissions policy. Proposals include: i) the role of local education authorities confined to being a local commissioner of services rather than an education provider, with a focus on raising standards through spreading best practice and championing parental choice; ii) each school able to acquire a self-governing trust status (similar to the network of Academies) or become a self-governing foundation school; iii) an increased role for new providers and the creation of a national Schools Commissioner to drive change and to promote the development of trust schools; iv) an expansion in the number of Academies to 200 by the year 2010 and easier provision for independent schools to enter the state system; v) the weakest schools to be given one year to improve standards or face closure, whilst high performing schools will have reduced bureaucracy and a lighter touch inspection regime; vi) increased provision for free school transport for poorer pupils; and vii) the introduction of a right for teachers to discipline pupils.

Standards for Our Schools

Standards for Our Schools
Author: Marc S. Tucker
Publisher: Jossey-Bass
Total Pages: 376
Release: 1998-01-23
Genre: Education
ISBN:

This timely, tough-minded book shows how American public schools can be saved by instituting high standards for academic achievement. Standards for Our Schools explains not just what the standards movement is about and why it is important, but also what it will take to bring every student up to high standards, no matter where that student starts. The authors show how a single-minded focus on achievement will change everything?from the kinds of curriculum materials we use and the design of elementary and middle schools to the abandonment of the comprehensive high school and the institution of a diploma based on meeting standards, rather than on attendance. At the heart of this revolution are the performance standards themselves, which provide clear expectations for student achievement by showing examples of standard-setting student work. Tucker and Codding focus on empowering both students and adults?by giving students the gift of high expectations and by giving school professionals the information, skills, authority and resources needed to do the job. They advocate building a standards-based instructional system, creating a results-oriented culture devoted to continuous improvement, and making the institution and the people in it accountable for reaching the goals set by the standards. This book lays out a step-by-step plan that will get struggling students to high standards as well as improve the performance of high achievers. An extremely practical book, it gives everyone involved in the education of our students the tools they need to do the job. Standards for Our Schools will be the bible of standards-based education and the foundation on which educators, parents, and policymakers can build the educational system of the future.

Beyond Standards

Beyond Standards
Author: Morgan Polikoff
Publisher: Harvard Education Press
Total Pages: 232
Release: 2021-05-11
Genre:
ISBN: 9781682536124

Beyond Standards highlights the structural conditions that have undermined the success of the standards movement and challenges us to confront them. The book offers an impassioned argument about the ways that our decentralized educational systems undermine the pursuit of educational equity and excellence. Morgan Polikoff applies a wide array of quantitative and qualitative data to provide a pointed critique of the US educational system. He addresses why standards have failed, whether standards-based reform can be salvaged, and what we can do to improve teaching and learning at scale across America's 13,000 school districts. Polikoff argues that no amount of tinkering can fix standards. Rather, we need to tackle the big, structural issues, such as decentralization. The author identifies curriculum reform as a high-leverage strategy for making meaningful progress at scale and emphasizes that states need to play a greater role in evaluating and recommending high-quality curriculum materials. Beyond Standards proposes a new, progressive vision that emphasizes the central role of states in challenging the antiquated, segregating structures that have thwarted educational improvement.

Will Standards Save Public Education?

Will Standards Save Public Education?
Author: Deborah Meier
Publisher: Beacon Press
Total Pages: 110
Release: 2000-04-24
Genre: Education
ISBN: 9780807004418

Somewhere. . . there is a place of sanity where education is intense and substantive. . . . It's in that place that Deborah Meier has been working all these years. Her voice conveys a life of struggle in the front lines-victories and losses, hopes and disappointments. . . . It's a voice our nation needs to hear. --Jonathan Kozol, from the Foreword Acclaimed educator Deborah Meier offers a fresh take on standardized tests. While others have criticized standards and what they measure, Meier rejects the very idea of a centralized authority that dictates how and what teachers teach. Standardization, she argues, prevents citizens-including teachers-from emerging as thoughtful, responsible adults, seriously engaged with shaping their own schools, classrooms, and communities. As a result, young people can't learn from them how to be thoughtful, responsible adults and good citizens, the primary goal of public education in a democracy. The New Democracy Forum is a series of short paperback originals exploring creative solutions to our most urgent national concerns. "A civic treasure. . . . A truly good idea, carried out with intelligence and panache." --Robert Pinsky

Educating One and All

Educating One and All
Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 305
Release: 1997-06-27
Genre: Education
ISBN: 0309057892

In the movement toward standards-based education, an important question stands out: How will this reform affect the 10% of school-aged children who have disabilities and thus qualify for special education? In Educating One and All, an expert committee addresses how to reconcile common learning for all students with individualized education for "one"â€"the unique student. The book makes recommendations to states and communities that have adopted standards-based reform and that seek policies and practices to make reform consistent with the requirements of special education. The committee explores the ideas, implementation issues, and legislative initiatives behind the tradition of special education for people with disabilities. It investigates the policy and practice implications of the current reform movement toward high educational standards for all students. Educating One and All examines the curricula and expected outcomes of standards-based education and the educational experience of students with disabilitiesâ€"and identifies points of alignment between the two areas. The volume documents the diverse population of students with disabilities and their school experiences. Because approaches to assessment and accountability are key to standards-based reforms, the committee analyzes how assessment systems currently address students with disabilities, including testing accommodations. The book addresses legal and resource implications, as well as parental participation in children's education.

The Schools Our Children Deserve

The Schools Our Children Deserve
Author: Alfie Kohn
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Total Pages: 356
Release: 1999
Genre: Education
ISBN: 9780618083459

Arguing against the tougher standards rhetoric that marks the current education debate, the author of No Contest and Punished by Rewards writes that such tactics squeeze the pleasure out of learning. Reprint.

Class and Schools

Class and Schools
Author: Richard Rothstein
Publisher: Teachers College Press
Total Pages: 210
Release: 2004
Genre: Education
ISBN: 9780807745564

Contemporary public policy assumes that the achievement gap between black and white students could be closed if only schools would do a better job. According to Richard Rothstein, "Closing the gaps between lower-class and middle-class children requires social and economic reform as well as school improvement. Unfortunately, the trend is to shift most of the burden to schools, as if they alone can eradicate poverty and inequality." In this book, Rothstein points the way toward social and economic reforms that would give all children a more equal chance to succeed in school. This book features: a summary of numerous studies linking school achievement to health care quality, nutrition, childrearing styles, housing stability, parental economic security, and more ; aA look at erroneous and misleading data that underlie commonplace claims that some schools "beat the demographic odds and therefore any school can close the achievement gap if only it adopted proper practices." ; and an analysis of how the over-emphasis of standardized tests in federal law obscures the true achievement gap and makes narrowing it more difficult.

The Complete Guide to Becoming an English Teacher

The Complete Guide to Becoming an English Teacher
Author: Stephen Clarke
Publisher: SAGE
Total Pages: 401
Release: 2009-11-13
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1446205606

Praise for the previous edition: ′This is a text that should accompany every student teacher of English and find its way on to the shelf of all practising teachers. This book excited me. It is written in a style that makes you want to try out activities and take up challenges. This book will encourage the student teacher to embrace the subject of English along with its associated values and debates′ - ESCalate `If I was training to teach English today, this is the book I would want - an extraordinarily professional handbook of good practice ′ - Geoff Barton, Times Educational Supplement, Teacher Magazine This essential companion for aspiring secondary English teachers has been extensively reworked to help students meet the very latest professional and academic standards, while also equipping them with the knowledge and skills they will need for the beginning of their teaching career. Focusing on the essentials needed to be a successful English teacher, the authors combine subject knowledge with ideas, examples and approaches for creating an effective, vibrant learning environment, and real examples of lesson plans and schemes of work. Each chapter clearly links practice to theoretical and critical perspectives on teaching, making this an ideal text for students working towards M-level credits or a Masters in Teaching and Learning. There are also brand new chapters which explore in greater depth specific areas of contention and challenging issues, including: - Diversities, including global perspectives on teaching English - The application and implications of using ICT - Multi-agency provision in personalising learning - Research methodologies - Transition from the training year and the first year as a teacher The latest requirements for Qualified Teacher Status are clearly signposted throughout, and activities at the end of each chapter help to reinforce knowledge and encourage reflection. Written by a team of highly respected authors, this new edition should be on every secondary English student′s bookshelf.

Learning and Teaching in Secondary Schools

Learning and Teaching in Secondary Schools
Author: Viv Ellis
Publisher: Learning Matters
Total Pages: 225
Release: 2007-06-08
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1844454274

This popular text guides trainee secondary teachers through the teaching requirements for initial teacher training and the Professional Standards for Qualified Teacher Status (QTS). It focuses on a range of key topics, summarises key educational research and includes both reflective exercises and school-based practical tasks. This third edition has been completely revised and updated to match the new QTS Standards.

Meeting the Needs of Your Most Able Pupils in Religious Education

Meeting the Needs of Your Most Able Pupils in Religious Education
Author: Dilwyn Hunt
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 152
Release: 2015-12-22
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1135396353

Meeting the Needs of Your Most Able Pupils: Religious Education provides specific guidance on: recognising high ability and multiple intelligences planning, differentiation and extension/enrichment in RE teacher questioning skills support for more able pupils with special educational needs (dyslexia, ADHD, sensory impairment) homework recording and assessment beyond the classroom: Visits, summer schools, masterclasses, links with universities, businesses and other organisations. This book includes comprehensive appendices with linked resources available online that feature: useful contacts and resources lesson plans liaison sheets for Teaching Assistants homework activities monitoring sheets. This book is essential for secondary teachers, subject heads of departments, leading teachers for G&T Education (Gifted and Talented co-ordinators), SENCos and LA advisers.